Lemonade [Rade; JB]

The farewells that his family gave him were the type that he had always suspected he'd get. His mother was a ball of emotions, clinging to him like a drowning man would cling to driftwood, in spite of all of the reassurances he gave her about his chances, especially under the tutelage of district heroes like Arbor, Heron and Aranica. That only seemed to make her weep more and clutch him until it started to get hard to breathe. His father on the other hand remained stoic, hard. gripping his shoulders in silence and wordlessly handing him a small lemon slice shaped pendant. Erik understood what his father meant, even if no words would come forth.

His sister Sarah on the other hand was a bit more explosive, slapping him across the face before calling him a stupid sack of shit. Right after that of course, she had hugged him and begged him not to be an idiot and actually come home in one piece and alive instead of in a pile in a box. She hadn't taken his comforts very seriously either, but had left when moisture had started to collect in the corners of her eyes. After the door had clicked shut, Erik had expected that he'd be escorted to the train pronto, but to his surprise the door opened once more to reveal a familiar face.

She wasn't really looking at him, but she looked just as upset as she did the last time they had seen each other. That being the time he had tried to explain why he wanted to go into the games and she had freaked out and run away. She congratulated him though, guessing that he'd finally gotten what he had always wanted. It made him feel awkward, knowing that this went against everything she believed; compounded with the fact that they hardly knew each other. "Yeah, it's great. I'll be remembered. And don't worry, next time we see each other, lemonade's on me." He managed a small smile and offered her his hand to shake without meeting her eyes. She may not have agreed with him, but she was the only person he knew that had at least tried to understand him.

Her voice cracked. That's how Erik knew that the closest thing he had to a friend was genuinely sad. She had seemed rather emotional when they had talked about tributes and reapings that night, and he knew that she always tried to talk to the families directly affected by all this. Only now, -he suspected- she was being affected more than she thought she'd be. How many people did she listen to he wondered, and how many of them had ever taken the time to listen to her? And of course, there was the hug he was currently taking part in. That had caught him by surprise, and so he had let his arms hang awkwardly in the air for a moment before returning the gesture.

A uncomfortable look crossed his features as he searched for the right thing to say. "I... I know how you feel about this sort of thing. So...thanks for stopping by." He paused, pulling back to end the hug and holding his token betwixt his thumb and forefinger. " Um. I have this sister... Sarah. She's kind of...not easy to talk to. But if you could...keep an eye on her until I come back I'd really appreciate it." Erik let the pendant fall flat against his chest and let out a sigh, chewing at his lower lip as he did so. He wasn't sure what Sarah would think about someone like Dandy, ut he was reasonably sure that his sister sucked at making friends. This could help her. "I.. guess this means goodbye? Until the next time we meet."