threading the needle.— [six/thread]

[Deleted]

Six was struggling. The rest of the first aid station made so much sense to him. He was doing well with every other aspect. Except this one. The needle and thread. He just couldn't seem to get it right. The issue was with his technique. He head the thread hooked up to the needle wrong. He was holding the needle wrong. And he was even using the needle wrong. Basically anything he could do wrong, was wrong. This worried him quite a bit. He's seen past Hunger Games. He knew how important first aid, including a needle and thread, could be. He felt like just dropping the needle and giving up. But he couldn't, that would be a stupid idea. Especially considering first aid would probably be one of his biggest strengths.

Six wasn't a big guy for his age. He was short and scrawny. A lot of the guys who got reaped were older than him or at least bigger than him. He knew that certain training stations, such as strength, wouldn't be a big help for him. But this one would. He didn't want to kill a bunch of people. Maybe that's what some of the tributes wanted to do. They wanted to kill people and violently. The idea of killing made him feel sick to his stomach. It made him feel disgusting. It reminded him that he was a sinner. Every one of them would be a sinner. Because even if someone was the first to die, they were ready to kill. That in itself in unforgivable in Six's mind.

Then he looked over at the guy next to him. He tried to remember his reaping video, but they all seemed to blur together. One or two stood out to him of course. The one from district four with the boy who couldn't hold back his tears, the one from district one considering they both had the same last name, and the one from district six with all of the weird glitches in it. There were other reapings that stood out too, but those were the main ones. Regardless, the guy was doing way better than Six. Honestly, it seemed like he was doing better than anyone else there. He wanted to ask for help, he did. But he felt like that might be a sign of weakness. He already felt and looked weak, he didn't want to confirm everyone's suspicions. Honestly half the people there probably just saw him as easy prey. His eyes said what his voice couldn't as he looked at Thread. Please help me. I don't get it. Help.

[pearl mcclain d4 [ryan]]

"You know your brother was a monster right?"

A trainer speaks towards Thread, and for once Thread simply shrugged. He knew what the man was talking about, he would be silly to think that he didnt know. Thread watched what happened during their games. How Stitch acted was what he would have expected. After all, he was trying to survive.

Just like Thread was as well.

Easy for you to say asshole. he thought to himself as he passed through the doors and wondered just how much he would get in trouble if he had actually said something. The funny part about Thread, and why he always said that he was extremely different from his brother, was the fact that Thread just didnt have time for the bullshit.

Stitch did.

Stitch was always more hung up on the little details, but Thread, he only cared about what he needed too.

And right now, he needed to do everything he needed to survive.

---

He moved to the first aid station, one that he didnt know too much himself. However, there was a little bit of pressure from the trainers on this one. Do it. He needs to know this.

There were dummies everywhere, needles left in rows, with what looked like thread and bandages placed inconspicuously. Thread wondered what Stitch would have done here. He sighed for a moment, pulling some of the thread and needles forward. He looked up and grabbed a dummy with a certain amount of distaste. He saw the laceration on the side of the dummy. He had taken the thread and tied it through the needle, with a little bit of effort, he was able to close up the wound.

He knew that he would have been more painful when he had to do it on himself. But what choice did he have? Realistically? He knew what was coming his way, and maybe he did want to find a way to make things work for him. But right now, in this moment, he knew what he meant to know how to do this.

It could save his life.

Another boy, small and frail, had joined him at the station, and while Thread had known well enough to be cautious, he couldnt help but watch some of the trainers talk. He knew what they might be thinking.

Thread wasnt a monster. Not in the slightest.

He could tell the boy had been overwhelmed, but the look the boy gave him was what made Thread realize that he was asking for help. Thread had never been the nicest person, but a favor like this could probably help him. "Tie the thread through the needle." Thread had said softly as he got down to eye level with the other boy. "Take a deep breath, and just follow what I do okay?" Thread gave the other boy a small smile before grabbing another dummy.

He was going to be helpful, whether he liked it or not.

[Deleted]

He let out a sigh of relief when Thread began to help him. He was grateful for it, really. Thread was someone who he thought was intimidating at first, even without him realising his brother had been a tribute in the past. He was just a relatively big guy and honestly, it's normal to be a bit intimidated of everyone in a situation like this. When everyone in the room has something to gain from your death, it's worth the caution. But, the softness of his voice and the way he bent down, it eased Six's nerves. It reminded him of his older brothers, the gentleness of it all. It reminded him of home.


It made him curious whether or not Thread had any siblings. He thought maybe he had a younger sibling and that's how he knew how to best calm down Six. Or maybe he was a younger sibling himself and just mimicking what he had seen his own siblings do. Of course, it was possible that neither of these were true. Six was tempted to ask if he had any siblings but decided it might be best to wait until Thread opens up the conversation or they at least start getting to know each other better. After all, he didn't even know his name at this point.

He threaded the needle and waited as Thread grabbed another dummy. While he was doing that, Six inspected the fake wound on the dummy Thread was previously using. It was a good stitch. A really good one. He was guessing he was from district eight, he looked old enough to be out of school and into the factory. Of course, in district eleven you could work regardless of age, you just had to do it before and after school. But, he knew enough that there was certain work that Panem just didn't want kids doing. The government had no issue with them murdering each other, but it might be kind of risky if they mine.

Once Thread had returned he decided to start a conversation. He took a deep breath. He was still a bit frustrated with his inability to get this right and didn't want to take it out on the person helping him or sound like he was annoyed with him. After Six took the deep breath he gave Thread a small smile and began to speak, "Thank you for the help... what's your name, by the way? I'm Six O'Malley."

One thing he was thankful for was how long it's been since an O'Malley had been reaped. He doubted anyone would remember the name of one of the first to die during the 5th Hunger Games. And, fortunately for Thread, Six was quite young when Stitch was a tribute so even after he learned his name he wouldn't have remembered that he was related to a previous tribute. Six wouldn't see him as a monster or the brother of a monster, he'd see him as the nice guy who helped him out.

[pearl mcclain d4 [ryan]]

His brother was kind. He knew that much, and maybe that is where he had gotten a lot of this from. He knew well how to at least try to hide his true feelings. He didnt want to show too much vulnerability here, but a part of him had a feeling that he wouldnt be able to help that now would he?

After all, a reputation was just that. Something of imgination.

But people believed it, or at least, people believed it here. They bought into whatever story they wanted to spin, and to be quite clear, Thread was no interested in the bullshit they wanted to spew. Quite honestly, he had every right to reject whatever story they were trying to create for him.

But Thread had a feeling that he wouldnt be able to shed this skin would he?

---

There is a certain beauty in the silence that was between him and the boy from eleven. Thread did wonder how young the boy was, like, it was itching at his mind just a little bit. He couldnt focus on that right now though, because in this moment, he was being watched. He didnt want a narrative created out of nothing, but the capitol was good at grasping for straws.

It was clear the trainers already had a full trilogy of things about the Gabels.

The boy revealed his name, and to be quite honest, Thread was a little surprised by the tone of his voice. He sounded exactly how he thought he had sounded. Shy, a little meek. What Thread had sounded like at one point in his life when he actually cared what people thought about him.

He could tell that was kind.

He came back with a dummy, and then the boy had introduced him. Six. What an interesting name. He didnt recognize the last name, but that didnt matter. "Nice to meet you Six." Thread had always been seen as a daunting person, but there was no reason for him to be in this moment. "Thread." he said with a smile. He wasnt his brother. He wouldnt be.

He would laugh at himself if he was in the right state of mind.

But he wasnt, and he was in the middle of showing someone how to sew something up. He needed to focus on that. "I am not my brother, but I know how to at least sew something together." He pulled the needle through another dummy laceration and made even quicker work of this one.

"This is all about focus." Thread said quietly to Six as he pulled the wound tight.

This was gonna be a bitch on the skin wasnt it?

[Deleted]

The continued gentleness was really starting to remind Six of his older brother Lock. Then he learned his name. Thread. He didn't have any family named Thread, but it still sort of reminded him of a name his parents would use. All of his siblings and him had unconventional names - Prop, Hook, Inside, and Eightman to name a few. Though, he liked the name Thread. Plus it made sense considering what district he was from.

Then Thread mentioned he had a brother. Six instantly became curious whether it was an older or a younger brother. He guessed younger just because of how well Thread seemed to do with younger teenagers. Though, it could be an older brother and he could just be copying what his own brother had been doing. Six was planning to talk about family after Thread finished his stitching, he didn't want to distract him after all.

After Thread had finished, Six tried to copy what he saw him do on his own dummy.  The stitches were a little uneven, but they were much better than whatever he was doing before hand. The main issue was the tightness. Six was being too gentle with the dummy so the stitching was too loose. There were gaps in the stitches where you could see inside of the dummy's wound, though the gaps were small that would result in bleeding or an infection in the actual Hunger Games.

He honestly looked a little proud of this attempt though. He definitely needed improvement before entering the Hunger Games, but he was taking it one step at a time. Now that neither of them had to focus, he decided to talk about his own family and ask about Threads. Family was one thing he never minded talking about - especially considering that Thread reminded him so much of his family. He looked back to Thread, he actually had a small smile now.

"You mentioned a brother? I have quite a few brothers myself - I have fourteen siblings actually. But uh you kinda remind me of my older brother Lock. Is your brother older than you or younger than you? You sort of seem like an older brother."

He didn't realize how sensitive this topic was. Family was sensitive for quite a few tributes considering they likely missed their family who they may never see again, but he didn't realize that Threads brother was dead. Not only that, he died as a result of the Hunger Games. Six was freaked out about an ancestor dying during the 5th Hunger Games, he had no clue how hard it must have been for Thread losing a sibling not that long ago.