Kai Pierce | DISTRICT 4 | fin

    He was like a dirty copper coin in a fountain filled with white pebbles -- something simple but yet extraordinary, standing out from the crowd not with words but with his harshness and the sense of roughness. When one saw him he would first notice the eyes. Amber like the golden jewelry of the Capitol's citizens and the leaves during early Autumn, piercing the mind even if that was not their intention. Many people lost themselves in those eyes, the only thing that was kind and soft about his features. Then followed the dark locks of hair that flew everywhere imaginable. Sea salt, tropical winds and the smell of freedom were roaring through his brunette strands as if they were the ocean incarnate. His lips were full and usually chapped, the words spilling from them not always censored.

    After that, one would see the scars on his jagged features. A knife scar on the brow, a burnt patch of skin on his wrist and a miniature tattoo of a wave on his right shoulder blade which his father never discovered. Cheekbones high, his chest peaking even higher with confidence built up only as a defence mechanism. It would be fair to say that his physique was quite athletic -- all the hours spent in throwing that damn fishing rod and pulling the big catch out of the sea proved to be exhausting but it was the endurance swimming required that made his body look lean.

    Patches of dirt on his hands, legs and cheeks were a usual daily look, fancy clothes left for the other boys and girls his age, the ones he rolled his eyes over.

    A double sided coin, they'd call him. People often said there was something dark to him -- until they took a deep breath and got to know him.

    It took him a single shot of his eyes to make one know what was on his mind. "Blink once and your entire effort of proving a point is gone." his father had been repeating his entire life. Vincent Pierce had given his all in trying to teach him how to be steadfast, impenetrable and strong -- but little Kai was a wildfire. Persuasive, ambitious and a bit of a hot-head, Kai may seem like the usual rebel boy, a total opposite of the teachers' favorite kids but his soul, however, still held the pureness and kindness of his mother. The boy liked to call himself fearless, there was even this kind of an aura around him. Fire, the very core of his being, was the only thing he resented, the scars from the past on this wrist reminding him every day why.

    The heart of the young one however - pure fire. Perhaps he inherited that from his father but he liked to think this was his own unique trait. While Kai's dad liked to show his flames with slammed fists on the table and broken flower vases across their small house, the young man used his inferno to fight back what he felt was wrong. Kai never used words good, his thoughts were often too scrambled and all over the place for him to express them properly. For him, the best way to do that was through actions. It was hard for the boy to show gratitude through words, so instead he would give the favor back to you as if it was a speechless deal; he would not express love and happiness through words but with smiles, hugs and little gestures of kindness; he would not express anger with curse words but with fists. Kai was always the first to intervene bullies and protecting Pierce's little fishing shop in District 4 from thieves was something he felt the need to do.

    Kai never thought how he would react or perform in the Games if he was to be reaped. While it was definitely possible, it has never been a topic to share with other people his age he knew. The boy knew of kids who trained to be careers and bring victory home, but that was not him. Murder was not his favorite way to celebrate anything. However, dreams often occured at night, ones that simulated that faithful event. He dreamed fighting in the games, he dreamed of killing and murdering, he dreamed of being killed. And while beevolent at heart, he had a father who needed him ( however much Vincent Pierce denied it ) and a future to build at his district. If he was to be placed in the arena, nothing would overcome his high survival instincts.

He also liked to smile from time to time. (more than people would expect )

    

    It was a cool autumn day when Kai took his first breath, the 29th of October. Born into the family of Vincent and Ana Pierce, the only child in the house got all the attention he needed and wanted, his mother spoiling him with all she had despite his father's panting and ranting. Ana loved Kai. He was everything she wanted and given the long time the couple tried for a child, it was only normal for her to give the babe her all. Ana Pierce neé Eaves was a simple woman. The woman had this positive energy in her that made veryone feel better once she stepped in the room. She was a cook working under the heavy hands of her bosses in a couple of restaurant-like places around the district. Once Kai was born, however, she began helping her husband in his own fishing shop.

    All was well and happy until one day ( six years after Kai's birth ) she woke up amidst flames, trapped alone with Kai in the house. Her hands were grasping onto her necklace, her nostrils sore from the unpleasant feeling of smoke. There were many distractions that night -- from the heat and smoke to the wooden planks of their poor house slowly crumbling -- yet all she could think about was her boy.

Footsteps. A little boy's scream. A grunt. Two slams on the door and then a tremor.

    With the boy around his neck, Vincent pulled her arm and rushed through the staircase, dropping Kai on the ground and grabbing his hand with his free one. One step, two steps, five steps down the stairs -- and the burning plank falls. A single accident took the life of Kai's maternal figure and his father completely changed.

    From there onwards, the child became a man. Constant pressure from his father to always be on his best game was nothing new to Kai but he never put in the effort to be good at what his father intended. The child loved swimming, playing in the dirt and talking to friends so that's what he did; he rebelled against his father silently, quicky realising that there was much more of Vincent in him that he'd anticipated.

    It took the family an year to collect enough resources in order to get a new place to live. Living among friends and sometimes even being close to hunger became their lifestyle for a while. Almost every day after school, all the anger from the elder's pain went in the teen's face, be it words or actual physical threats. Yet Kai didn't run; he had thought about it many times and despite how he acted in front of his father -- careless, rude and angry -- he loved him and he saw beneath the pain, jagged features showing ignorance but soul paining. It wasn't unusual for them to fight both with verbally and physically, but Kai still stuck around because he understood Vincent's pain.

    After every day of work or school, Kai focused on doing something little for the shop's wellbeing, even if things with his father were tense. That was their only income, it was only in his best interest. He learned how to swim, fish and even how to use a knife and a net in his favor; all by himself. Each time he handled cutlery he wondered what would happen if he was ever reaped -- Kai has never been trained as a career and his passion for the games were not quite as high as

"Breathe in, breathe out." he told himself every morning on Reaping day to tame himself for the things that troubled him most, holding onto the wooden anchor necklace and tracing the initials A.E. with his thumb, gently.