when work isn't enough {marr}

Kestrel Elsu

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Early birds rise with the sun, and that was no exception for little Kestrel Elsu of district five. The bright, big eyes of the girl awoke every morning to see the first rays of the sunshine, reveling within the warthm that was surely coat her skin and blanket her eyes with light. She was a vessel of sunshine herself even though the dreary bleakness of her family's wealth was to say otherwise. Hunger raveged her stomach before the sun even wanted to peak over the hills. However, fear kept her feet in bed and the thought of stumbling about in the blackest of night kept her stomach rumbling until the light made an everlasting glow on the window pane beside her bed. Lips raised upward, creasing the sides of her face as she whispered out into the air.

"Good morning, Panem. Please watch over our little family. Help us find food. Keep my brother safe." Her eyes gleamed with delight as the thought came across her mind. Traveling a long distance aggrivated her legs, but it had been almost two weeks since she had last checked on her tiny little plant. It was slowcoming, that she was sure of. Having proper training in growing food was unheard of since having food in the first place was rare. Word of her little secret hadn't been uttered to any of her family until she knew if the tiny seed would produce anything like the man had said months ago. STill yet, today was different. Something she couldn't put her finger on and as she drew her feet out from under the sheets, she let her weight push down on her feet.

Relief weighed on her heavily as she wiggled her toes and arched her feet to stretch them. "Today, I'm going to dance."

Time was nothing as she dressed, and fixed her hair. A dainty little smile crept upon her fae as she twirled one strand into a curl and she shrugged her shoulders. The day had only began and she was more than happy to seek out a way to cure the family of their hunger.

Before she could exit the house while everyone was still sleeping, the door opened and Falcon came in. Immediately, she noticed the tears and she feared the worst. "Did something happen at work? Are you okay, brother?"

Kestrel Elsu

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"No. Nothing happened at work." The relief washed over her like a bucket of cold water, and the fear that was broiling up dissipated almost instantly. He expressed his exhaustion and she quietly nodded a simple 'yeah' to him under her breath as she watched him fiddle with the lunch box. Her eyes tried to steal a glance at it, wondering if he'd found something to eat that he wanted to hide away until later on, afraid that a meal would be consumed before everyone was awake to partake in it.

"I wish I could help you all work." She chirped, but she also knew that what she could do would be minimum. Her legs constantly ached on a daily basis due to the slight deformity that riddled her from birth. Standing for long periods of time would hinder her for a good job even if she was old enough, but two strikes almost put her away until she remembered the reasoning she was up early before the rest.

"Hmm, would you want to come with me to see something special? It's a little bit of a far walk for me, but my legs don't hurt this morning and I don't' want to get your hopes up, but maybe you want to enjoy some Kestrel and Falcon time? I rarely get to hang out with you." She puckered out her lower lip and walked up to him, reaching for his hand.

"It's kinda a secret thing. No one knows about it, but I think I might need some help with it, too." She admitted. Her head tilted to the side as she looked to the coat rack and stepped from Falcon's side to slip it on. It went over her dress nicely, buttoning in the front the four buttons that were originally there, minus the top one that was missing from age.

Kestrel Elsu

---

The coat that extended to her knees was definately not her size, as it was made for a young adult who had already developed or was two times her size but the color made her happy. It was as a picture of a sunflower, yellow, with a hue of blue hemming around the lining. It was warm for her as she always seemed to have a chill upon her body constantly. Just as comforting as the secret she knew her brother would keep and with the lower lip pout to draw him in further, he agreed to do what she wanted. Joy overfilled her heart and the biggest grin pushed her lips far and wide. A tiny squeal of excitment escaped and she covered her mouth almost instantly realizing that anything above a whisper would possibly reveal her secret.

"Sorry." She whispered as easily as a child could knowing that trouble could ensue if she was much louder. Falcon needed to wash his hands and clean up before they left and as he did so, she looked to the door and bounced on the ball of her feet a few times, testing the stiffness and stretching for the walk.

"Okay, let's go. LEad the way and I can always give you a piggyback ride if you want one." She nodded her head in one single forward jerk and then took his hand without haste.

"I have had this secret for a while, but it's been two weeks since I went to check on it. I hope it's still alive." She let her tender voice raise above the whisper when they had left the silence of the house. Her adoring eyes looked up to Falcon ever so much with adoration that she could only keep grinning despite what their lives were like. Such a naive child she was, she knew no different as this was the life that she just grew up with. The finer things in life just wasn't part of the equation. "I'm happy that you want t share this secret with me, Falcon. It means a lot to me. I also find that it's hard for me to come and check on it when I am unwell and it hurts to walk. Maybe, we can find a way to bring it back home?"