Tales the Trees Tell (Sycamore)

Sycamore woke up that morning to powerful rays of sunshine showing through his eyelids. Shielding his eyes from the light with his hand as he opened them, the boy rose from his bed and went to get dressed. He had chosen a rather casual outfit that day. It consisted of jeans and a t-shirt with plain black shoes, not too different than what he would normally wear, as he wasn't one to dress up too much. It was likely that if one looked in his closet they wouldn't be likely to find more nice clothes aside from the outfit he wore to the reaping each year.

Today, when he headed out, he wasn't quite sure where he was headed, but he liked to do a bit of adventuring once in a while. He said goodbye to his parents and sister before he left for the day, and then went out for his walk. He had been deep in thought as he was walking, and eventually snapped out of it when he heard something that was usually not all too common in District Twelve this close to reaping time.

There was someone nearby humming a tune that Sycamore just couldn't quite put his finger on. He hadn't heard it before, but it sounded nice. He looked around, trying to pinpoint who was humming it until his eyes laid upon a girl. She looked like she was about his age or older, and he decided to approach her.

He hoped that she wouldn't think that he was flirting when he said hello as he definitely wasn't, since he had a girlfriend. He wouldn't let anything get between he and his 'sweetheart', Jasmine Link.

Approaching the girl, he gave a kind greeting.

"Hey, I really like that tune. I don't think I've heard it before, but it's really nice." he said, "I'm Sycamore, by the way."

The girl Sycamore had approached seemed intrigued by him. She allowed a smile to show upon her lips as she tilted her head when he spoke to her. She then explained the tune, saying that it was old and that she learned it from her grandmother. Sycamore nodded in reply.

"It's very nice." he told her. Then, the girl seemed to find his name interesting, or she at least wanted to make conversation with him.

She told him that his name was a good name, and seemed to be adding description to his name and it's meaning. This allowed a small smile to appear on his lips, as the girl then continued with an apology. She said there weren't very many songs about sycamores. Sycamore didn't see the need for her to apologize, but didn't argue.

Following that, the girl offered to teach him the song. He nodded.

"That would be nice." he told her. Sycamore loved learning new things. He had a hunger for knowledge.

The girl introduced herself as Penny Thistle. Sycamore nodded once more.

"Nice to meet you." he smiled. He extended his arm and hand out to her for a handshake, hoping she would take the offer. He did, however, hope that she didn't think he was being too friendly.

It seemed that the girl was a bit confused by Sycamore's offering of a handshake, as she had tilted her head. That was when Sycamore realized why. His observation skills were rather good, even if they didn't have to be to notice this. Penny Thistle was blind.

The girl had extended her arm out for a handshake, likely sensing that that was what the pause in conversation meant. She hadn't reached to where Sycamore had extended his own arm, but he instead shook her outstretched hand. There was no reason for him to mention Penny being blind. No, he hadn't met anyone who was before, but it wasn't something that seemed all too unusual. She patted the grass next to her as an offering him for him to sit down, and he did just that.

Penny said that she was able to teach him the tune rather quickly, but that the words would take some time. She then paused momentarily before continuing to say that she would still be there later if he didn't have the time just then. He smiled, although the girl couldn't see it.

"I have the time." he said kindly. "I'd love to learn it."

The boy was actually somewhat excited to learn the new tune. Music was something he didn't spend a lot of time on, so it would be nice to do so for a change.

Penny seemed to be aware that Sycamore had taken a seat in the grass beside her, which likely meant that her lack of sight had given her hearing a boost in how good it was. The girl turned toward Sycamore, which had been what make him assume that she knew he had sat there. He hoped he wasn't a bother by having her teach him the tune. Then again, he assumed that she likely wanted to, as she had offered, after all.

Penny began by humming the tune, and it seemed almost as if she were a music conductor with the way she moved her finger through the air with the music. She hummed through the whole tune once, and then had decided to repeat it. When the humming ceased, he realized it was his turn to give it a try. He hoped that he wouldn't embarrass himself too badly.

Going through the tune the best he could, he only seemed to get a little lost with it towards the end, which made him determined to try again. He didn't get upset or bothered by it, as he knew he simply needed to practice. After trying the tune for the second time, he was rather confident that he had gotten it right, and asked Penny what she thought of his performance.

"How did I do?" he questioned politely. He hoped that he hadn't done so badly that he would make her laugh or something, as he didn't want to embarrass himself. Embarrassment was one of the things that Sycamore feared the most. The boy awaited his response from the sweet, blind girl.

When Sycamore was told he did well, he gave Penny a smile, even though she couldn't see it.

"Thank you." he said to her. She continued with what she was saying, explaining that he could always change it a bit if he wanted to. Giving a smile, she explained that people often sang about what they knew. Asking him what he did, she wondered if he worked in the mines.

That was when Sycamore started to think to himself. He felt that his life was a bit more boring than he had realized. He was a student at school and a bit of an athlete. He loved to go on runs, be he didn't have a job or anything of the sort.

"Erm, well..." he started off his reply. "I don't work in the mines yet. I'm a bit too young. I'm a student and I'm athletic, though. I love to go for runs and be outside with my friends, or by myself, adventuring a bit." the boy explained.

He hoped he didn't seem like he had too boring of a life to make into a song. After all, he was enjoying talking with Penny, and didn't want that to end quite yet because he wasn't interesting enough, or something to that effect.

Looking over at Penny, he awaited her response. What did she think of what Sycamore had said?