clara velerosa - d9 - fin

Clara Velerosa is a contradiction.

At first glance, it's hard to pin her down. There's so much innocence swimming in her doe eyes, her brows almost always up in an expression of subtle surprise. Her ears are surprisingly big, covered only by a curtain of tangled, thick brown hair. Small, light freckles pool up on her olive skin, hard to see unless you really look for them. She is the walking entity of harmlessness, with her small stature and willowy frame. But yet, her cheekbones are harsh and sharp, too much definition showing up on her angular face. Her nose is straight and small, her thin lips barely noticeable. She is soft and sharp at the same time.

Despite Clara's short height, everything about her is oddly long and lanky in proportion to the rest of her. Her fingers are spindly, legs taking up much of her body. Her shoulders have a certain broadness; they point out further the shapelessness of her hips and her utter lack of curves. Knobby, freckled knuckles and knees rarely ever show. She's swallowed up in her hand-me-downs, sleeves and shorts always too long for her. Her reaping dress is the only thing that fits her properly.

Clara, although her appearance seems meek, is a very sociable person. She loves to talk to people, and with her passion for small talk, she finds awkward moments few an far between. Her outgoing personality is one of the first things you'll notice about her. She smiles at strangers on the streets, and finds making friends very easy. However, being an extrovert, she constantly finds herself wanting to spend time with other people when they don't want to. She's too dependent on social interaction, and often cares too much about what other people think about her. Her family calls her a pushover, mostly because of how she bends over backwards to keep others happy. She's so afraid of losing her friends, she barely notices losing herself.

Velerosa is a sensitive and caring person. She's very vulnerable to criticism, and worries a lot about her social status. She experiences mood swings constantly; she's never been characterized as a happy or sad person overall. But she also has a high emotional intelligence, and can read people like a book. She often is a shoulder to cry on, and will listen to people rant on and on for hours. She is extremely loyal and quick to forgive, although those qualities make her oblivious to poisonous relationships.

Clara loves schedules. She's a very neat person, and wants everything to be laid out and planned. Improvisation is definitely not one of her personal strengths. However, when something changes, she always tends to roll over and let other people have their way. The most objection she will offer is mild passive aggression. Otherwise, she'll just keep everything to herself, too cautious to go against the grain of the social norm. To her, order takes a close second to keeping her friends.

Clara Mae Velerosa was born on an overcast day. Clouds blocked out the sun, leaving the sky a pale gray abyss. She was born to two very excited parents and one not-so-excited sister. Melinda and Richard Velerosa were 24 when Clara was born, while Gina was 5. Clara grew up being the angel child; she always expressive and cheerful compared to Gina, who was always very quiet and stuck very stiffly in her non-responsive shell. Growing up in a decent sized house in District Nine, her childhood was fairly sleepy and uneventful.

Her family were relatively wealthy, Richard's parents being extremely rich. However, Melinda had always been a penny pincher, and focused on saving as much money as possible. But the Velerosas never went hungry, and always stayed happily comfortable. Clara spent most of her days pestering Gina, filled with mind boggling boredom. As she grew older, she would dedicate her time to exploring the surrounding areas of her house. She did okay in school, never getting terrible or excellent marks. In her 17 short years, nothing much ever happened.

Today, Clara still likes to explore. The district square is a popular destination for her to visit, always keeping the promise of people everyday. Her relationship with her family rarely hits rocky patches, despite Gina being a shut-in and her parents sometimes being just a bit too optimistic. Not too many things trouble her, except when the next social get-together is. But, the possibility of being a tribute in the Hunger Games hangs over her shoulders, although it's drawing to an end. She's on the home stretch though, and can't wait for the dread to stop twisting knots in her stomach.