Karia Evanoa, District Two [Finished]

The three of them spent hours trying to think of a name. Her little voice occasionally suggesting something odd and exotic, while her parents spoke mostly of common names. After she had gone off to sleep, the two would chuckle at the titles she thought up- each funnier than the last. It was one night, over a dinner of chicken and potatoes, when her small head looked up suddenly, childish face lighting up as she grinned widely. Her parents exchanged a glance, preparing for the worst, but the title that left her six-year-old lips sounded perfect in both of their minds.

Karia Ann Evanoa

"Keep wishing on that shooting star..."

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...Basic Information

"Because I am no more than a stranger to you."

Karia was born during the year of the 46th Hunger Games, making her twelve [12] years old. She was born on a clear, sunny day only three days early. The doctors quickly announced that she was a healthy baby girl. Her name is pronounced Kuh-rhay-uh Ann Ev-uh-noh. She's lived in District Two [2] for her entire life, just like the rest of her family. Her parents are Jessica and William Evanoa, a happy couple that are considered quite popular... and quite rich. She is one of three children- her sister, who is Karia's elder by six years, is named Jennifer, and her brother, who is two years younger, is named Eric. Jennifer is a known mathematical genius, as well as a very successful Career. Eric is also on his way to becoming a strong and confident Career, and succeeds in all academics, especially art. Karia also shows promise as a Career, although not quite as prominently as her siblings. Karia's parents were also both Careers, though they never got a chance to compete. Her father works as a miner, and her mother is a successful businesswoman.

...Appearance

"They describe me as one of them."

When she catches her reflection in the large mirror that is placed in the living room, Karia sees no one special. A blend of her parents' features, with more of her father than her mother. A younger version of Jennifer, perhaps, although much less pretty. During her early childhood, this didn't matter to Karia. She was a beautiful fairy princess, and no one dared to tell her otherwise. But after a while, the Karia in the mirror seemed to matter more and more, flaws becoming more prominent and beauty seeming to shrink and vanish. Beauty isn't something that is really important to Karia, though- it has just been added to the long list of things she lacks.

Her hair has little dimension. It is one single color- brown. And not a pretty, rich, golden hinted brown, like Jennifer's. It is the color of mud, although her parents insist that hers is no different than her sister's. It is always neatly brushed (her sister insists on it every morning) and rarely frizzes up, yet Karia ties in back almost every day- that is, except for the days that Jennifer decides she's going to act sisterly and does it for here. Those are the mornings when Jennifer wakes Karia up early, dragging her into the bathroom and tangling and twisting her straight, medium length hair up and around in many different ways, complaining about how Karia's bangs are too short to do anything with. Jennifer says that Karia should just grow her bangs out, instead of leaving them at their odd length where they are constantly getting in her eyes. It is one of the few things Jennifer says that Karia doesn't obey. Her hair is always parted to her right side- Jennifer's idea, which Karia actually ended up liking.

She has her father's face- long and oval shaped, with a chin that sticks out just a little too far. Her forehead is far too big, her hair beginning to grow too high up on her face. It's her father's forehead. It's one of the few features that sets her apart form her siblings, as they both have their mother's foreheads. She's always hated her forehead. Her eyebrows are set low, in very thick, straight lines, making it look even bigger.

Her eyes are a brilliant shade of dark gray-blue that seems to penetrate right through a person. Her gaze seems to always be intense, even when she doesn't mean for it to be. They light up in a beautiful way when she laughs, but mostly they are free of emotion. But even then, they are a very pretty hue. They're made even more beautiful by long black lashes. However, her eyelids are always lowered slightly to show her constant exhaustion. It gives her a defeated look, as if she's trying to tell someone that they've already won, and she's tired of playing the game.

Her nose is slightly too large and plump around the middle. It hasn't yet lost it's childish appearance- it is one of many features that keeps her looking like a little girl. Freckles are scattered down it and underneath her eyes, but not the cute kind. The slightly smudged tom boy kind. Her cheekbones aren't prominent in any way, making her face look very oval shaped. Her lips are small but plump, almost always drawn into an emotionless line. Her ears are rather large, but she makes little to no effort to hide them.

Her shoulders are small and slumped in a tired position, arms perhaps a bit too long, with small hands and long fingers. Her nails are short, with short, jagged tops and sometimes blood from when she bites them too much. Hangnails make the skin around them ugly and torn. Her palms, however, are smooth, free of callouses and blisters because she rarely climbs or uses them for hard work. Her knuckles are rather large- yet another trait from her father that her siblings didn't get.

To complete Karia's childish tom boy look, she has no curves. The shirts she wears are often to big and help in no way. When Jennifer sees her, her lips press tightly together and she eyes the shirts accusingly, but says nothing, knowing it is hopeless to try and change this about her little sister. Karia has never, ever been given her sister's clothes- what would the neighbors think, her wearing old clothes? They'd think the Evanoa family is poor, which they certainly are not! So Karia wears boyish tops- some are even her father's old shirts that shrunk in the laundry. Not exactly a step up, but Karia refuses to wear anything else that is presented to her. And jewelry is of course out of the question.

Her legs are long and strong, ending in big feet, but they do nothing to make her look taller than her 4'8" height. She's always considered herself short, since few her age are shorter, and because her younger brother is taller than her. Once again, it makes her look younger than she really is. Only her constantly serious expression keeps her looking older than eleven, maybe even ten. She wears the constant expression of someone innocent who has been through hard times, with only a hint of pride remaining within her. Jennifer says that if she'd only smile now and then, she'd look so much better. But Karia doesn't really care about appearance. Not anymore, anyway.

...Personality

"Just gotta keep moving on."

There are several words that could be used to describe Karia; some of them are positive, some negative, and some conflicting. She's more complicated than a person would think- yes, she's only twelve, but she has many things that burden her. Very few know of the things that make her life so complicated, and fewer still know why it's so hard for her. Some people say that she just takes things too hard. They say she's delicate, that things that would normally be nothing to any normal person break her.

They lie.

Karia Ann Evanoa is no weakling. Yes, she's got a lot weighing down on her, but that doesn't mean she isn't strong. In fact, it means the exact opposite- she moves on in her own quiet way despite everything. Things can get hard for her, and she doesn't make much of an attempt to hide her exhaustion of dealing with it all, but she presses forward and that's all that really matters in the end. Her family may be rich, but she doesn't get things handed to her on a silver platter. At least, not the things that she wants. Her strength isn't the kind that is shown in Career training, or the kind shown in volunteering for the Hunger Games. It's the kind that is silent and goes unnoticed by most. The kind that is hidden, the kind that people wouldn't recognize unless they really know Karia, her family, and her history.

She's always walked alone. Occasionally, a shadow of a friend would come along, but all too quickly they would be gone and she would be left on her own again. Perhaps her shyness and silence makes it hard to get to know her, or perhaps other people are just too clueless and shallow to really understand her. Either way, she always ends up feeling very lonely and unwanted. Yes, her mother is always at home, but she works nonstop. Her father is often gone until late hours in the night, and her brother at Career training when he's not at school. Her sister, being the brilliant, beautiful, popular girl she is, seems to always be everywhere except home. Most afternoons Karia spends on her own. Dinner is usually eaten late, cooked by the twelve year girl instead of the mother. Most of the time, her siblings are home to eat with her, although their parents rarely join. There are some nights when she sits alone.

She's never been the kind to tell everyone about her problems, though. No, Karia is the quiet type who sits in the corner and watches the world, with sorrowful thoughts locked up inside. When she sees other people who seem to be constantly talking about how horrible things are for them in order to gain pity, she turns her head away and glares at the wall, the words just shut up, you have no idea what it's really like on her tongue but never leaving, because that would be giving herself away.

Karia is certainly thoughtful. If one has a problem, she is certainly the one to go to. She considers every side of an argument carefully, and her answers are almost never straight forward- the true sign of a deep thinker. She'll think about almost anything, from wondering what it would be like to sleep on a cloud to figuring out whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable (she has determined that it is a fruit but should be treated like a vegetable in cooking). Some say she tends to overanalyze, which is probably true.

Karia is smart, as all the Evanoa children are. However, she is not as totally brilliant as her siblings, so she is seen as only decent in comparison. Math has never been her strong subject, although her writing is beautiful and (no surprise) well thought out.

In all honesty, she feels forgotten. Like her parents are so proud of their two amazing kids, who everyone admires, and then they have... Karia. Her older sister is beautiful and a mathematical genius. Her younger brother is an amazing Career and good in all subjects at school, and is wonderful at drawing. What is Karia good at? What are her strengths? The only time her parents ever look really proud is when they see her in training, and they rarely come to her sessions. Besides being a Career, she has a long mental list of things she's not skilled at- a million reasons why she is never good enough for her parents. And all on top of being the middle child in her family.

Maybe that's why she values family and friendship so much- she's never had either. What few friends she had she treated with great kindness and respect, always desperately avoiding arguments. She is undeniably loyal to anyone who treats her like a friend, however, what few freindships she had in her childhood were weaker, and quite short lived. In her mind, just having someone to be there for her would be the most amazing thing- it's why she is always treating others gently, and giving support to those who need it. She understands what it's like to not have friendship, and so she gives kindness to whoever she thinks deserves it.

Of course, Karia does have a small group of people who would perhaps call themselves her friend, but Karia has yet to return this feeling. It's not hard to see that she's the odd one out- the quiet one who could wander away from the group without anyone noticing. She feels like they're taking pity on her. Like they don't care as much about her as the broken look in her eyes. But still, it is nice to have companions, as so she shadows them, silent and opinionless, going almost totally unnoticed. At least being around them means she doesn't have to be at home alone for the entire afternoon.

Not many people really understand Karia. She's definitely been through some stuff (no one really knows what, though), and she obviously doesn't hide the fact, yet... yet she's not the kind who sits and sulks about it. Instead, she is kind and gentle, yet quiet and secretive. It makes it hard to really get to know her- one minute, it seems like she's drawing you in with pleading eyes and a cautious smile, but the next she is pushing herself away from you, her eyes growing distant and her smile vanishing. She wants friendship desperately, yet finds that it's getting harder and harder. The best she can give is only the ghost of friendship- oddly appearing to congratulate your acheivements, and then vanishing again as she goes off into her own little world.

She's a dedicated Career, because she wants to impress her parents just as much as Jennifer and Eric do. She tries so hard to be the best she can be, but it's never god enough- her siblings are always better than she is. Her sister is a master with the sword and is extremely strong, and her brother is already a skilled archer. Karia is swift, good at dodging blows. She's decent with a sword and has good aim when throwing knives, but she doesn't have much arm strength or power behind her strikes, which are two very important traits she needs- without them, it is extremely hard to be a good Career.

And, of course, there's the fact that she hates training.

The Games terrify her- everyone says that she's destined to go into them, and she pretends to be excited about that, but really, Karia doesn't want to go in there and become a monster. She hates violence, and the idea of the Games. Of course, she would never tell anyone- what would they think of her?

Anger is not a foreign feeling to Karia. Of course, it is rare for her to be truly angry. Very few things can really upset her- cruelty and betrayel are among those things. It is smart to avoid these things- little Karia can often find the cruelest words that hit a person right at their weak point. Her temper almost always appears in defense of others, though. Rarely does she get mad at someone for hurting her- she's rather selfless in that area. She lost her ability to feel anger at that kind of thing a long time ago, but she can't stand to see others in pain.

Her favorite time of day is just at sunset, when the sky is fading into a deep, glowing blue and the last dying rays of sunlight illuminate the world in a whole different light- as if the sun is saying it's final farewell before vanishing beneath the horizon. It's always given her a sense of peace- like all the problems are washed a day, disappearing along with the sun's light.

Of course, Karia still has some childish traits about her. She still sleeps with her little stuffed dog she named (quite creatively) Puppy when she was only five. She loves to go out and run around in the rain, getting as muddy as possible. She loves watching rainbows appear in the sky, and still loves to dress up on special occasions.

It's almost like she's torn- while being alone has forced her to grow up early, it also keeps a part of her a young child. While she is kind and gentle with others, it is obvious that there is something different about Karia. Something longing. Like all she wants is to belong.

...History

"Surrounded by strangers, totally alone."

Karia Ann Evanoa was born on the day of the 46th reaping.

Several of her parents' friends thought that this was a good sign, even though she wasn't born during the actual reaping. They said it meant that Karia would become an excellent Career- maybe she would even be in the Hunger Games! The Evanoa parents did not share this excitement as they gazed down at the newborn child. Instead, they felt worry make their stomach twist. Their little girl, in the Hunger Games? While they would never admit it, the thought was terrifying to them.

They quickly grew out of this protective faze when Jennifer began training. She was so brilliant at it that all of their friends were totally amazed- they said that no doubt Karia would become as skilled as her sister. Already the toddler was going to watch her older sister in the training, her grey blue eyes wide with what her parents assumed as excitement as she watched Jennifer's sword flash in front of her. It was such a new world to the young girl- she was only two, yet she grasped the concept that much was changing around her. Suddenly, her parents were taking her to this odd building filled with shiny, sharp things, and her pretty, sweet older sister was swinging them around and attacking really big dolls. On top of that, her parents suddenly had a really tiny person who was really loud that they had to take care of. It confused little Karia. All she really understood was that her parents really loved her older sister, especially when they were in the weird building, and that the little squriming boy was her little brother.

As she grew, she began to understand. Her older sister was called amazing because she was good at training for the Hunger Games. Karia, of course, had to watch the Games, just like the rest of Panem. But... something seemed wrong about them. Something she couldn't quite grasp or understand yet, since she was only five years old. She knew she didn't like the crying, though. And the people were too loud when they shouted. And there were a lot of bad words. And the man who talked to the tributes before they went into the Arena was kind of annoying.

Time also allowed her to understand other things- being the middle child, she would have to work extra hard to get her parents' attention. However, that task was becoming more and more impossible for her. As Eric grew, he no longer need parents to be constantly around. William Evanoa left for work, his hours becoming longer and later. Jessica began to work at home, keeping a close eye on her younger children, but rarely playing with Karia since she was older and needed less attention.

And so Karia waited impatiently for her eighth birthday to come. Jennifer began training when she was eight, so why couldn't Karia? In school, she did not make friends. Not real ones, anyway- she would shadow those who knew what they were doing, keeping silent and out of the way. People grew used to it. It wasn't like Karia was a nerd, so why not let her tag along? They rarely spoke to her, though. When they played house, she often ended up being the pet, making little sound and being very insignificant to the game.

By her seventh birthday, Karia felt totally unnoticed. Jennifer was put in charge of watching Eric, so the young girl was left to do what she want. Bored and lonely, she would often roam the large house in search of a book she could read, sometimes even grabbing one she didn't understand just to read the words. The afternoons were long, and the summer days almost unbearable. She would sometimes just sit and watch her mother work, writing and making various phone calls. Jessica never questioned it. Either she was used to Karia's odd ways by then or she was just too busy to really notice her. When her father got home, her mother would stop working, and Karia would always hope with all her heart that they would have dinner together. However, most of the time Jessica would immediately go up to change into a fancy dress, instruct Jennifer on what to make, and then go to some party at a friend's house. Karia loved dinner anyway- she would pull a chair up to the counter and help Jennifer make it, and she always thought that was so much fun.

There was never a child more excited for her eighth birthday. When it finally arrived, Karia cut off her mother's "happy birthday, honey" and immediately asked if she could train for the Hunger Games. William blinked and glanced at Jessica- it was obvious to them that Karia was very eager, and had been waiting for a long time. They hadn't even noticed how she watched Jennifer with wide eyes and practiced the sword movements (rather inacurately) in her bedroom. Her father's reply was slow. "Well... sure, honey. If that's what you want. We'll... we'll start tomorrow, okay?"

Her birthday couldn't be over fast enough. That morning, she rose with the sun, running into Jennifer's room and bouncing on the foot of the bed asking what kind of clothes she was supposed to wear and what she was supposed to do when she got there. At breakfast Karia was talking nonstop, something she didn't do often. She talked about how she was going to be as good with the sword as Jennifer was, and that she couldn't wait to meet her trainer. She promised to practice day and night, and her father nodded slightly as she said this while reading something under the table and her mother said nothing as she ate as fast as she could so she could get back to work. When Karia finally asked if they were going to bring Eric, her father had looked up. "Oh, no, sweetheart. There would be no one there to watch him."

Karia's eyebrows had shot up and then drawn together in confusion. "What do you mean? You'll be there to watch him."

"Oh no, honey," her mother had said. "I have some very important work to finish, and your father will be working in the mines."

Karia's heart broke right then and there, and she had stared at her parents in disbelief. They... they wouldn't be coming? She flashed back to all the times when her parents had taken her to watch Jennifer during some especially important training, and she knew that the three of them had attended her first training session because Jennifer said she had been so nervous because her family was watching. She said that their parents took her out for ice cream afterward, and didn't stop talking about it all night. Karia was shocked by how indifferent her parents seemed to be. "So... who's taking me, then?" she had finally whispered, her voice hollow. Only Jennifer noticed, and she squeezed Karia's hand under the table. That made Karia feel absolutely horrible.

"Jennifer," her mother had said quickly before leaving the table.

And so Jennifer ended up taking her training. By the time they had arrived at the training center, Karia was determined to be the best of the best. She wanted to impress her parents and make them proud, like they were proud of Jennifer. But when she got there and her trainer began, Karia realized something: she couldn't. She just couldn't be the best of the best, no matter how hard she tried. Jennifer would always be better. Karia could only do ten push ups. Jennifer could do fifty and hardly be tired. Karia's sword actions were choppy. Jennifer was graceful and quick. By the end of the session, Karia felt weak and tired and totally hopeless. She'd never be the best of the best. But that night Jennifer walked her home and congratulated her the whole way, telling Karia how proud of her she was and how she was going to be an amazing Career. When they got home their parents had already left for a party. Jennifer let Karia help cook and then she took her two little siblings out for ice cream as a celebration of Karia's accomplishment.

But it wasn't the same.

Karia spent her eight and ninth years of life desperately training. Her grades slipped, but it wasn't like her parents noticed or cared. Karia knew she couldn't be as good as Jennifer, no matter how much she trained. But it felt like that was all she had left- if she gave up, she would never get her parents' attention. Jennifer didn't understand why her little sister wanted to train so badly, but she did her best to help anyway. Without Karia really realizing it, Jennifer became kind of like a second mother, just when she really needed it.

At the age of ten, Karia just kind of gave up. It wasn't like she slowed down training or anything. She would always keep training, but her heart wasn't in it anymore. After the motivation dissolved, all she was left with was the feeling that what she was doing was totally wrong. She understood the Games by that point, and they scared her. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to compete in them. But she did understand that if she stopped training, everyone would think she was wierd. She would embarass her parents and herself. Not to mention Eric had started training, and he was already just as good as she was. So she kept training for a cause she knew wasn't worth it.

It was around then when the walks started. She had gone to the door of her mother's office and told her she was going to walk around the neighborhood a little. Her mother turned around with eyebrows raised in surprise, but allowed Karia to go. And Karia loved it. She walked the roads at sunset, and her mind just became... clear. Suddenly, it didn't matter if she was good in training or if she was doing good in school or if she wasn't as good as her siblings. She didn't have any expectations she was just... free. And it felt good. Her walks became regular, and she stopped asking for permission. She didn't need it. They knew where she was.

People who know her history don't understand. She's from a rich family, so why isn't she happy? Why does she look like she's been through so much when she hasn't? Why does she have a broken heart? They don't know. They don't realize that attempting to live up to her parents' standards wore her down and broke her again and again. They don't know what it's like to have two amazing Career siblings.

To them, she's just the girl with the wide eyes who follows people around.

...Codeword

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