Leonard Terrapin D4 {FIN}

Leonard Terrapin
Eighteen Years of Age
Male
The Fourth District of Panem
odair
Fc is Hiruma Miura
Theme: Me Against The World by Simple Plan

And to think, a rose by any other name smells just as sweet, but once you've plucked it from its perch the scent will soon become the smell of decay as the the flower withers and dies, its pink petals turning a horrid shade of brown and the smoothness it once held becoming as brittle as dry bones before crumbling into a fine powder. A hard price for the flower to pay for a few fleeting moments of a rapturous fragrance to tickle your nostrils. You may disagree for beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is simply a shame that everyone thinks that they are a critic. Salutations and other such greetings to you. I am Leonard Terrapin. Eldest of my four brothers and narrator to a decidedly...captive audience. Oh don't get me wrong, you are free to leave at any time, but I dare say by this time you won't want to until I've finished speaking my piece. Poor choice of words? Captivated audience is closer to what I meant. I am currently eighteen years of age and living in the fourth district of this fine country. If I had to describe myself; which I will, I would say that I am dressed the way most would find me. Dressed to impress, though who I aim to impress is a mystery.

Even to me.

Its nice to keep my hair in order when I am not working out, even if it chooses to be unruly, even under the tutelage of my comb. I know several people that are just the same way. My skin is unblemished if a bit tanned, the only way to tell that I keep up with my training is perhaps the leanness of my torso, or the scars that cover my hands, having being slammed against the likes of walls or trees many a time as I learned the art of hand to hand combat. There is no growth without sacrifice. Even as a tree must cast off its leaves in order to return from its slumber healthier and newer than before, so I too have been taught to let small matters such as those to not bother me and move forward into a greater season. I look very much like my brothers; or perhaps it is they who look like I, as I was here first. Sharp features and a sharper intellect convey both my abilities and my sense of self. But what governs all of that is my strict code of honor. The same one that has been instilled into my three siblings, though I believe that our grandfather's teachings have touched none more deeply than I.

***

They say that children are the future, but the only thing that I can see in mine is either a blossom picked before its time or the slow decay that happens when left too long on the branch. Not the best of options now is it? However, what bothers me more than that is not knowing who "they" are. I do not abhor the games as they are necessary to keep the country running smoothly, but neither do I revel in them like some of my career minded peers. There is no glory to be found in the shedding of blood and the taking of lives; it is foolish to think otherwise. And yet, I will train, for it is wise and prudent to prepare oneself for a possible future. I do not understand the camaraderie that some share with each other when there is a high chance of having to prevent the other from coming home someday. Would it not be better to train alone instead of in packs, that way none can know your secrets or your weaknesses. It is for those reasons I train only with my brothers, and no one else. Better to keep it all in the family and away from prying eyes.

There is a regimen I keep myself to, having chosen a particular skill to hone above all else. My brothers vary in their paths, weapons, strength, smarts. But the thing I hold in the highest of esteems is my speed. Running over the sand in my bare feet has made me far faster than running on solid ground. It is much more difficult to keep a steady pace when what you walk on could shift and change at any time. The granules that were once rocks form the make-up of the beach and teach me much about the gradual wearing away of everything.It is inevitable, for the only things in life that are certain are uncertainty and the extinguishing of life itself. A fact I learned at quite a young age. However, there will be more on that later. We are still discussing the way I think are we not? Thought is the product of the brain, though the more colorful euphemisms always label the heart as the thought center, such as a bleeding heart to describe an overly emotional person, or wearing your heart on your sleeve to illustrate the fact that your intentions are out in the open. I never put much stock in similes myself, especially since ones like those, if taken literally, would mean you were dying because of a central organ being ventilated in several ways.

My relationships with the people in my life are strenuous at worst, tenuous sometimes, but for the most part a good thing. Living with my brothers and my grandfather has taught me that what we do puts us a step above the rest. Our integrity. Our honor. I take pride in knowing that ours is a proud family line, one whose deeds will be talked about in song someday. Should I or one of my siblings get reaped, Grandfather says that we will fight, and we will win for the simple reason that we are not animals like so many former tributes. Oh, I've watched the vids. I've seen cannibals and body-part carters, deviants and all manner of crazy. Talking to themselves, chasing ghosts and otherwise soiling the honor that comes with being a tribute. Of course, Grandfather says that there is no honor in hat they do anyway, which is why we would bring it to them should we ascend as such.

I don't have a special woman in my life yet, for it would be folly to search for a suitable mate until after I have aged past the age of reaping. Can't let myself get sucked into one of those incredibly fast paced relationships that always seem to happen. There is no need to create unneeded complications in a place where but one can exit. I've already told you that I have spent much of my teenage years physically preparing for the ultimate test of my honor, but a vast amount of mental psyching up goes into it as well. Should the unthinkable happen to me, I shall not let my mind be broken. My body can be broken, beaten, shackled, but my mind will remain free and clear, unfettered and unbound by the restrictions they would attempt to place on me. I will not bring great shame upon my family the way others have done to theirs.

***

I was young when my parents died. We all were. Separated by only a few years each, I and my younger brothers; Donnie, Ralph and Michael respectively, would have been shuffled into the orphanage systems if not for the timely intervention of our fathers father to save us from that. Despite my parents negligence in letting themselves get killed in a boating accident, Grandfather would be there to make sure we were raised properly. For that, I am truly grateful. I was eight years old when we were sent to live with him, and my brothers seven, five and four. Life changed a lot for us during that time, as we began our training almost immediately. Before then, I had toyed with the idea of becoming a fisherman, perhaps owning a boat of my own, but grandfather laid those concerns to rest as he instructed me to be the best that I could be be; the eldest and therefore the one with the most responsibility on his shoulders.

Grandfather was never a harsh taskmaster, but a firm one, keeping us on and diets making sure we focused on our studies as well as our training. Besides my speed training, I have discovered an aptitude for swordplay. It is my niche, whereas each of my brothers has found a different weapon that governs their skills. To me, the sword is the most magnifiecnt of blades, elegant, almost beautiful in some way. It is a pity that former tributes have sullied it the way they have with their wanton carnage or their lack of skill making the weapon itself seem like folly. It is something I find harder to understand from the higher districts. How could they fail so miserably for so many years when all they should be living for is a place in history? It boggles the mind.

That's perhaps the greatest thing Grandfather ever taught me. To have my own opinion, a boon I use most frequently when dealing with the various intellectually challenged careers I occasionally come across. Voicing that opinion is another matter, as he has taught me that a wise man knows when to hold his tongue. Especially in the presence of fools. More great men have perished from a lack of their peers understanding than anything else. Ignorance is the bane of Panem, and the worst part is that few know it, because the same skills needed to realize ignorance are the same ones needed to not be ignorant. The greatest of all travesties, and just one of the many things I plan to avoid as I move throughout life.