I will not be a pawn anymore!//Open

Noelia had lost track of time. Not minutes, not hours, and not even days. She had lost track of the months. She was no longer sure what month it was, let alone what day. She could tell though, that summer was slowly fading away. The days were no longer blistering hot, and the sun was behind the clouds more often now. She stared at her arms for a moment, because they were no longer the golden tan that they were in the deeper summer months, but more pale from the lack of sunlight that was reaching them. It would be fall soon. No, no, no, no... was the only thought that ran through Noelia's head, as she leaned up against a tree to take a break. When was the last time that she had seen her sister? A memory played across her mind, of the bright summer sun glinting on her sister's brown hair, the light brightening up her eyes only slightly. It had to be the beginning of summer, when she saw Myla last. Noelia needed her sister. For all she knew, her sister could have gone and jumped off a cliff. She hadn't seen her in forever. It was hard. Myla was her rock, the only thing that ever kept Noelia sane. Oddly enough, the girls were very different, despite the fact that they were twins. Obviously, they didn't look like eachother. Actually, they looked nothing alike whatsoever. Myla had dark brown hair and eyes, and always wore an unhappy expression. Noelia's hair was golden blonde, colored with bright colors like purple and teal. Her eyes were just as colorful. Sometimes just hazel, but most often tinted with darker brown and green as well.

The two girls were also very unalike in personality. While Myla was a quiet and tough, Noelia was more outgoing. She could talk to any person that she met. She always saw the best in people, and was exceptionally weaker then her sister. When they were hunting, Myla would be the one to kill the animals. Myla was the one to defend Noelia when someone they met had a problem with her. Myla was the strong one.

With Myla not being with her though.. things had changed. Noelia had been by herself for months now, and had toughened up ever-so-slightly. She had gotten better at handling a bow-and-arrow, and the smile that was so often on her face before was very rare now. It was only when she wasn't with her that Noelia realized that her sister was what made her smile.

It was right then, in the midst of her many thoughts, that Noelia heard a noise. A loud noise. She jumped as she heard a tree hit the ground, and what could only be a boy's voice yelling "Timber!" She was just close enough to hear a low chuckle as well. Taking caution, Noelia silently stood up straight and turned around. Not far away was a worker from District Seven. Noelia's expression was not happy. Her eyes were wide from surprise, and her mouth turned downwards into a frown as she hesitantly took a step in the direction of the stranger. He wasn't far away, only fifty yards or so, and Noelia took each step with worry. The new person that she was was more cautious, and she wanted to turn around. Her old self would literally skip over to this stranger and strike up a conversation.As she neared the boy, she could see that he was probably around her age, more or less. He was easily chopping up the tree that he had just cut down, completely unaware that someone was watching him.

Silently, Noelia walked closer until she was leaning up against a tree about ten yards away from him. Years of being in the forest taught her to be silent, and this was the only thing that she could take pride in. She raised her eyebrows and spoke in a shaky voice that was so unlike what it used to be.

"Hello." Was the only word that she said.

At the sound of her voice, the boy jumped and instantly turned around. She saw his hand fly towards his axe, but that was of course before he saw who it was. She wasn't sure how anyone percieved her anymore,and frankly she didn't know what even she thought of herself. Despite that, she knew she probably looked weak. Heck, she was weak. Her sister had always been the one to provide for the both of them, and now that she was gone Noelia had started hunting for herself. Her efforts were fruitless though, for what Myla could easily do with a knife, Noelia struggled to do with a bow-and-arrow, obviously the easier of the two weapons. She hadn't really eaten that much, and she was afraid that she was starving. Even though she hunted constantly, she was nowhere as good as her sister was. She was lucky if she could shoot a rabbit every two days. Any muscles that she used to have from her time with Myla was gone, and she looked dangerously thin. This was why right then, instead of having her normal white cotton dress that she habitually put on before every visit into a district, she was bundled into a sweatshirt and ratty old jeans. Despite the difference in hair color and appearance, Noelia probably resembled Myla more then her actual self right then. Maybe she had a streak of dirt on her face. She was sure that her golden colored hair was tangled, as she pushed it back out of her face when she looked at the boy. She looked like a train ran over her. She was weak.

The boy had another opinion though. "Did you get attacked by a gay painter?" Noelia normally would have laughed, but all she did was manage a small smile. The tone of his voice was friendly and joking, normally what hers would be like. Noelia managed to widen her smile and laugh, although for once it was forced. What in the world had gone wrong in her head? Quietly, she replied. "Something like that."

She observed him for a moment, as he rolled two pieces of lumber towards her. His hair was dark and long, and almost came down and covered his eyes, which were a pretty shade of bright blue. He was tall, slightly more so then herself, and obviously stronger and less clumsy then Noelia. He wasn't a threat, Noelia realized and she calmed down a bit. Her posture relaxed, and she sat down on piece of wood just as he asked her to. "Have a seat. I'm Jett by the way." Noelia watched as he opened his canteen and sipped at the water. Her eyes widened at it, because along with her lack of food, she hadn't easily found a fresh water source in days. "Thirsty? I don't have cooties, I swear. Got rid of 'em last week." She probably would have shakily laughed at the joke, but she was thirsty. She tried not to look too desparate for the water, but she snatched the canteen and took a gulp before she realized what she was doing. In a way, she could be compared to some abandoned dog on the streets, begging people for their help. She didn't used to be like this.

After that, she slowly took sips of water, but after a few seconds she gave it back to him, because she didn't want to hog all of it. She quickly swallowed and ended up coughing, and she took a moment to recover herself as she covered her mouth. Her expression was one of embarrassment, and she looked to the ground while her cheeks turned a shade of bright pink. The question still remained.. what had gone wrong in her head?

She was silent for a moment before she realized that he had introduced herself and would expect her to do so as well. Swiftly moving her gaze up again, she opened her mouth to say something, stopped, and then actually spoke. "I'm Noelia." Her voice was shaky again, this time more so from the embarassment. Now, not only did she resemble her sister in looks, but also in her actions. Myla may have been the strongest person that she knew when arguing, but the girl was horrible at being social. Noelia met the sapphire eyes of the boy, Jett was his name, before she looked down again.

Something was definitely wrong with her head.

The boy seemed deep in thought up until the moment that she spoke, and she silently wondered what he was thinking about. Probably how odd it was to run into some wierd starving girl in the woods. Then again, why was he out here? She reminded herself that he had just cut down a tree and had been chopping it up when she made her entrance. What District was this? She tried to remember all of the districts she had visited before, and what their jobs were. This District would be something along the lines of construction.. was it District Seven? She rattled off the districts in her head again, and she decided that it was. She didn't know all that much about this District, and frankly this was only the second time she had ever been here.

Obviously he realized that she wasn't from here either, because he at least was able to put the pieces together. "So, Noelia... why are you out here? I-I mean I'm not tryin to pry, or be rude or anything... but I don't see many people-girls, alone out here. It's really not safe. Or so says the Capitol." He scoffed at the last part, so she was sure that he had some dislike for the Capitol. Heck, who didn't these days? When she used to live in District Twelve, everyone hated the Capitol. It was just obvious, although no one really said it aloud.

District Twelve.. Noelia pictured the starving people, the unhappy workers.. and it was worse for her and her sister. They never ever met their parents, and they had spent most of their lives in the community home. She shivered at the thought and forced herself to pay attention and answer the boy's question. What had he asked again? What was she doing here?

Noelia set her face in her right hand for a moment and looked at the ground. She wasn't sure if she wanted to answer his question, because what could she say? She wasn't even quite sure herself what she was doing in the woods. Mostly looking for her sister, but she didn't actually know if her sister was anywhere near this District. They never made plans on where they would meet up.. they just always sort of met again after a week or so, just because they sort of knew where to go.. It was like a wierd kind of instinct. This time it had failed them though, because Noelia hadn't heard from her sister in months. A few days ago though, she had the oddest feeling to go and find District 13. That was the one place she had never actually been, but for some reason she just knew that her sister would be there.

Her voice was the tiniest bit stronger now, with thoughts of finding her sister inside her head."I'm looking for my sister. I'm heading for District Thirteen."

Noelia looked up at him as he picked up what seemed to be his lunch, and sat it next to her. She was just about to push it away stubbornly when he of course added, "Take 'em. Don't argue with me about it, I'm not hungry anyway."