I'm Sorry That We're Hopeless[WT]

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gxk
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When in doubt flail it out

I'm Sorry That We're Hopeless[WT] Jun 29, 2011 16:35:38 GMT -5

Post by gxk on Jun 29, 2011 16:35:38 GMT -5

The 57th Games had ended, and Jana's friend Themba had been murdered on National Television. She cringed at the horrid memory. How could the Capitol rip a father away from his child? Life had no meaning, no value to them. Poor Ayane was all alone now, and Jana felt obligated to take care of her. Who else would look after the poor thing? Taking care of Ayane would be Jana's way of paying respect to Themba. He would want to know that his little girl was going to be taken care of. But I know nothing about taking care of kids. Dad can help, but he's not the most sensitive person either... What the hell have I gotten myself into? Sighing in defeat the redhead plopped onto the ground in a pile of pine needles. The blazing summer heat was only adding to her confusion and miserable mood. Birds belted their songs out above her head; they were the lucky ones. When things got tough they could just fly away. Fly far far away from their troubles. Not her though, not Ayane either. They were stuck in District Seven as victims of whatever the Capitol felt like forcing on them. Trying to escape was suicidal, sticking around wasn't much safer. A shaking hand yanked a water flask free of her belt so she could take a long drink. This was one of the worst summers the Seventh District had ever seen. There was news that some Districts had such severe drought that they had been turned into giant dust bowls. The forests of Seven provided some protection from that, just like the ocean by Four would give them at least some relief. Others were not so fortunate...

Jana was on her way to pick up Ayane and bring her back to her family's house. While heaving herself up Jana groaned. Things could never be easy for her, could they? No it's much more fun to watch me struggle for every damn thing I have isn't it? What's the fun in giving me a break... The sixteen year old had no idea who she was even referring to, but it made no difference really. Frantic thoughts raced around Jana's mind. How would Ayane take the news that her father was never coming back from the Capitol? What if she got sick? Or had a strange allergy? Or tried to run away? There were too many things that could go wrong for Jana to even try to list. She was flying blind here. Even her father had been shocked when she told him she would be at least temporarily taking in a friend's daughter. Her father had laughed. Not that she could really blame him, it wasn't like Jana to do anything remotely girlish, but this situation called for her to act differently than she normally would.

Oak. Ash. Maple. Pine. Pine. Oak. Elm. Green eyes took in images of each tree she passed on her walk. Identifying them was a way to keep her mind busy for the time being. So many different kinds of trees made up the thick forests. If only the District could come together maybe they could... No. It would never work, the Capitol had made that quite clear. That was why twenty-four children would die each year. Punishment for believing they could ever be free from the iron grip of the Capitol. Every year the Games laughed in their faces. They weren't strong enough. Their children would die every year for the amusement of others and there was nothing they could do to stop it unless they wanted to be wiped off the map like District Thirteen.

Finally arriving at the place where she was to pick up Ayane, Jana began to really panic. What was she supposed to say or do? There was no practicing for this kind of thing, no way to plan. This was going to be whatever the hell popped into her head. How did one go about telling a such a young child that they had no parents? You shouldn't have to. It was all becoming a little much to handle. Even standing in the shadow of a large old elm Jana felt as though she could burst into flames at any moment, and it wasn't just from the heat of the summer day. This was ridiculous to say the least. If Themba hadn't been such a good friend, and if his death hadn't been so tragic, there would be no way Jana would ever even consider doing something like this. Clutching a small parcel she'd brought for the young girl Jana forced herself to be brave. "Ayane? It's Jana... I'm here to take you for a umm visit to my house."

[Very suckish thread starting post, but I had no idea what else to do. Forgive me lol.]

WT
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time, gender, furbies, and other things that don't exist

I'm Sorry That We're Hopeless[WT] Jul 10, 2011 20:08:08 GMT -5

Post by WT on Jul 10, 2011 20:08:08 GMT -5

((OOC- I forgot how difficult she is.

Holy crows. Okay then. Sorry about that. D: Hopefully this'll get easier- and the posts will get better- with practice.))

Very rarely did the Capitol allow travel between Districts. The government vastly preferred to keep citizens where they were born, thereby minimizing the flow of information and keeping membership in unpleasant things like uprisings to a minimum. Occasional mail and movement were allowed for companies that needed to ship things, but that was about it. As for permanent moves, forget it. Unless an entire District was in upheaval and the Capitol could benefit from it- for instance, the massive migration of farmers from District Five to Ten to make way for oil refineries in Five- almost nothing could convince Panem’s powers that be to let someone relocate.

At the age of five, Ayane already understood this. When she was very small and asked for Kima, Themba just told her that her aunt would come home soon, but eventually they reached a point where he had to explain or let her distrust him for the rest of their lives. As young children are wont to do, she accepted it and then ceased to think about the matter at all, unless Kima was brought up, for months on end.

So when Kima was allowed into District Seven for a short time during the Games, Ayane was prepared for the halting explanation that her aunt could not stay and Ayane could not go home with her. (After all, a victor had to stay in her District. And children were orphaned all the time; why should this one be given special treatment?) With an almost eerie calm she hugged Kima around the neck, then trundled off to her room to draw clumsy pictures to send with her second mother. Between the small sections of the Games that her aunt allowed her to watch, the girl pushed out images that were just barely recognizable as the two of them, or the two of them with Themba, or places around District Seven. Kima wasn’t allowed to see them until the day she left, when little Ayane pressed the crumpled pages into her hands.

Before then, Ayane had promised herself not to let Kima see her cry. She did so, of course, but only at night when she thought her aunt wasn’t sitting outside the door listening. How could she not? Her mother had gone to the Capitol to play a game, and never left; now her father was going to the same place, and Ayane didn’t expect to ever see him again. But at that moment, when Kima clutched the drawings to her chest with one hand and tangled the other in Ayane’s hair, the normally-cheerful girl had to press her face into the woman’s knees and sob. Here her aunt was leaving her too, and soon she would go to a home for children without parents, a place where she would know nobody and be cut off from everything she knew. Watching Kima step onto that train was, as far as her young mind could comprehend, the end of the world.

So when Jana came to the front door, Ayane was ready to go. Her few belongings (her father’s ring, her mother’s sweater, the bird Jana had carved for her some time ago, some pencils, and several changes of clothes) were wrapped in a blanket, which she had pulled out to the living room of what had been her father’s house. Over the course of the morning she left several times to meander around the house, her restless energy building up into a need to move even if she didn’t actually do anything, but she always returned to the couch. Most of her time alone was spent perched on the edge of the cushion next to her bundle, kicking her legs while she waited for the people from the orphanage to come get her. Never in her short life had she been sadder, lonelier, or more terrified.

Luckily, it was not the voice of some frightening stranger that reached her through the door early that afternoon, but a friend. Ayane’s head shot around at the familiar sound, her entire body perking up a little bit as she slid from the couch and ran to the door. “Jana!” Fumbling with the doorknob, she pulled open the entrance and barreled through almost before it had passed her, all but attacking the teenage on the other side with her enthusiastic hug. “Hi,” she said emphatically, looking up to offer a toothy grin. In the excitement, her general disappointment with life was briefly forgotten, shoved back by an attention span that could only deal with so many emotions at once. Unfortunately, as she continued to speak she was reminded of it; her grin slowly faded and her grip around Jana’s legs slackened as she remembered that she was supposed to be afraid. “You shoulda camed yesterday. Auntie Kima was here, but she goed because the Capitol said she couldn’t stay and now I have to go to an o- or- place. But its good to see you.” With a herculean effort she beamed upward, not wanting this friend of her father- almost another aunt, really- upset. Themba definitely wouldn’t want that.

'the way we lived' in stylized text, with 'character directory' as a subtitle underneath

banner by Dars! <3

gxk
Retired Staff

[M:-3145]

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last seen Oct 28, 2012 17:49:11 GMT -5

When in doubt flail it out

I'm Sorry That We're Hopeless[WT] Jul 17, 2011 16:58:10 GMT -5

Post by gxk on Jul 17, 2011 16:58:10 GMT -5

When she first arrived Jana that feared Peacekeeper scum may have already taken Ayane away to the orphanage or made her disappear all together. It wouldn't be unlike the Capitol to dispose of the little girl, anything that didn't suite their needs had a habit of going missing. Unfortunate accidents were more common than one would think as well. The very thought sent anger burning through the red head. What kind of monsters would even think about doing such a thing? It wasn't Ayane's fault that both her parents were victims of the Hunger Games. Jana couldn't even be sure anything had happened to Ayane, but lately her thoughts had been running away with her.

Everything in District Seven has been pretty quiet since the Games, no victor from Seven, but there was a silent victory in the fact it was another District Twelve victor. How the Capitol must be loving their new legless victor. The girl, Heron was it, had had her legs burnt off in lava and still managed to win. It went against all odds, and for that Jana felt thankful to Heron for her very being alive stuck it to the Capitol. Themba and Ayane's mother had not been so lucky. Jana clenched her teeth as her fists curled into balls so that her fingernails were digging into her palms. It just wasn't right. It seemed to her that in Panem the guilty never had to pay for anything, it was always the innocent dying. Even the Peacekeepers were corrupt, but no one did anything to stop them for fear of death or torture. The Districts were kept apart to diffuse any chance of a repeat of the Dark Days. The Capitol kept the Districts in the dark. And every year the Games laughed in their faces that there was not a damn thing they could do to stop it. It all seemed so hopeless that for a moment Jana had to pause to calm herself down. She did not want Ayane to see her so upset, that was the last thing she needed.

When the front door opened to reveal Ayane safe and sound the amount of relief Jana felt was unimaginable. There before her stood the child seemingly unharmed with her belongings in hand. I wasn't too late, thank goodness... Something was off though, Ayane seemed so sad and Jana couldn't blame her. But what a change it was from when they had first met in the forest that night. No one her age should have to deal with everything she'd been through, but here she was trying to cope. Her strength impressed Jana a great deal, she'd expected crying and sobbing, something of that nature. Instead she received a slightly forced, but overall cheerful greeting.

“You shoulda camed yesterday. Auntie Kima was here, but she goed because the Capitol said she couldn’t stay and now I have to go to an o- or- place. But its good to see you.” Jana cringed. If she'd been even a little later Ayane probably would have been taken to the orphanage. Those cruel bastards wouldn't even let her Aunt Kima stay with her. It was unbelievable to Jana how anyone could deny that too such a young child who obviously needed someone to support her. The orphanage wasn't a happy place, the kids that went there were never the same again. Jana smiled down at Ayane before speaking gently, "I would have come yesterday but I had to help out at home. I'm here to take you home with me so you don't have to go to the orphanage. I don't think you would like it there." She began to get slightly choked up, "There's plenty of room at my house. I live up on top of a hill in the middle of the woods. My family owns a logging and carpentry business to we need access to a lot of trees."

Quietly Jana hoped Ayane would come with her without further explanation. Talking had never been a strong point of hers. She much preferred chopping down trees or carving things from wood. Jana had a particular interest in carving birds. She wasn't sure exactly why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were so free and could fly away from places like this. Ever since she was a little girl Jana had admired birds. Her mother used to point out each different kind to her when she was just Ayane's age. The memories sadden Jana but made her happy all at the same time, it was so conflicting. Sadness over her mother's dead, but happiness for the time she'd had with her. And she still had her father, that was more than Ayane had, so she felt she had to be thankful for that much. She had Dominic too. No everyone would see having the stereophonic around as a good thing, but Jana wasn't everyone. The green eyed girl had always been just a little but off beat with everyone else. Even her own father had teased her about being different. He would laughed and say she was just like her mother. In that fleeting moment Jana wondered how much Ayane was like her mother who had died in the Games.