lost before the dawn;; (Cass!)
Dec 3, 2013 9:35:42 GMT -5
Post by Finding Finny on Dec 3, 2013 9:35:42 GMT -5
There was a certain serenity to this kind of travel that Melody enjoyed; the freedom of a moment where your body was completely weightless and, for a second, it seemed that you were no longer human, but a bird. Such a brief moment in time where one soared through the sky, moving against gravity and physics as if though you could defy them. How simple could it be for one to open their arms and let the wind take them up? She had seen birds leap from their nests countless times. Would it be so hard for her to flap a few awkward times until she got the motion?
Breathe in.
The branch that caught her weight creaked under the sudden pressure, a few loose leaves shaken from their place to flutter harmlessly to the grown below. All in all, the leap was almost as silent as a cat's that stalked a barn - calculated and perfect.
Breathe out.
No, they were not birds. The countless flaps? She'd look like she had a crippling disease. The soaring? If she didn't know how to land, she would crash like a piece of overripe fruit in the earth. Melody pressed her dry lips together, her legs crouched and supporting what little weight she had as those dark eyes of her surveyed the branches down below her. She was close to the location she had wanted to seek out; the pond a glistening blue with the occasional mockingjay ducking down to drink. They were one of the few who could fly. The ones that nature deemed worthy. So simple in their brain but complex in their design they likely didn't know how lucky they were.
She did. In many ways, that made it worse. Melody was not so much a dreamer that she would try to replicate what the birds had, but the harsh reality of their differences crashed down like a weight that was so unmovable yet enough to just keep her, that it was agonizing. It pressed on her lungs and her stomach until she felt like she couldn't breathe, and all the noise she could make were small gasps that no one could hear. They were all like that; tiny wisps of air that did little more than blow hair into the eyes of the clockwork robot of the capitol. When the reality of the world got so much they would cease to blow, and not a soul would really miss them. They were cogs - replaceable. Not worth the moment of grief shed for their loss. Who mourns something they consider less than an animal?
Breathe in.
Dangling her legs over the earth below, Melody took hold of the branch that once held her weight and used it to quickly lower herself down to the next. Once she had a secure footing that was close to the ground, she placed one foot on the branch to give her the proper propulsion and pushed herself off the tree and down to the ground. It was why she was considered a monkey - she moved through the foliage like it was her second home. Like today, her family and those around her would trust her with the more fragile fruits and other foods because she could take them quickly and efficiently. She never fell.
Breathe out.
Securing the rucksack around her shoulder, the girl strode quietly to the waters edge, watching the water lilies bob idly in the freezing water. In winter District Eleven could still grow food, but the conditions meant a lot of goods were limited and the people suffered. While a poor substitute, Melody was hoping to gather some of the lilies to boil as a vegetable, while also trying to dig up any roots from the soft soil around it.
"Come to Papa," she mumbled, placing her bag on the shore and removing her shoes and socks. Her pants would become sodden - this she knew - but her mother was ever so pedantic on the dangers of cold feet and she could dry her legs and feet to dampness before making it home. Without hesitation, she pushed herself into the cold.
"Oh sweet merciful - !"
