So alone [Pika, Tori]

Working in the orchards sucks. All you do is climb into the trees, and pick the little fruits, and climb down the ladder, put the little fruits in the basket, climb back up the ladder, and repeat the process. All day, every day. It's so completely tedious that I literally lose brain cells just thinking about it. And the worst part is that you get barely anything out of it. Only a bit of money, but what good does that do you if you have several mouths to feed?

I happened to get one of those rare days off from the orchard, so I decided to take a stroll through the main square of my home, which is unfortunately District Eleven. This dreaded place has been my home for the past sixteen years, and will be for the rest of my days. Never will I get a chance to explore the rest of Panem.

I happen to have an apple in my pocket. I stole it from my basket of fruits that I was supposed to give to the orchard manager at the end of the day. He won't notice if one apple is missing, right? Right. I haven't eaten much these days, and I think that one apple will suffice to fulfill my appetite for today.

And then I see her. Crying on the bench. They're more like sobs; her salty tears leave tracks in her face, which I can see is smeared with grime and dirt. Her hair hangs in front of her face, obscuring my view of it. Her hair is matted with dirt and oils. She seriously needs a place to stay. But I can't offer her that. I know what I can do though.

I slowly make my way over to the girl. Up closer, she appears to be my age. I can hear her sobs now; it pains me to see here like this, even though she's a stranger.

I place my hand gently on her arms, and I know that she hasn't eaten in a while; I can feel her bones easily.

"Um, hello? Are you okay?"

Without hesitation, she accepted the apple from my hands and pressed it to her lips. I was surprised that she took food from a stranger that quickly, but happy she did so all the same. Like I said before, she's probably had a lot less to eat than me. I can hear her teeth gnaw into the juicy, tender skin of the fruit, and I can't help but look away. Yes, I want her to have it, but I want to have a bite of it too. It's been a long time since I've bitten into a nice apple. And one that wasn't rotting or dirty, at that. She soon created a look of displeasure on her face, and I half-wondered if she was going to vomit.

"Thank you. Um, here, I've sure you were saving this or something, you can have the rest," she says suddenly. She offers back to me the half-finished piece of fruit. I grimace for a second, and then I figure that I'm not one to fret about small things like sharing food with someone, considering that food is food.

I smile and take it from her hands, and press it to my teeth. One bite, two, and three. Soon I have it down to the core. It's probably one of the best I've ever had. Which is kind of interesting, seeing as apples are best grown from late summer to early autumn; it's winter now.

She introduces herself as Serenity. Serenity. I've always liked that word. If I recall correctly, it means something along the lines of peacefulness. "You can call me Blaise," I tell her. Saying my name brings me back to the reasoning behind my name. My parents always told me that I was named that for a couple of reasons. One being that I had bright red hair since day one, and Blaise sounds like 'blaze.'

The other reason seems to me kind of corny, but cool none the less. They told me that since I was very young, I had always had a fiery, active personality. It's stuck throughout the next 16 years, and so they tell me (or in my dad's case, told me) that I was perfectly named.

Corny, I know.

"If you don't mind me asking, um, where exactly am I?" Her sudden outburst of speech makes me jump, bringing me back from my daydreams, daydreams of the days when my dad was still walking this earth.

She doesn't know where she is. Oh boy. This makes her either a person with a short-term memory, or a wanderer. I'd put my money on the latter. Either way, it's not good.

"You're in District 11 at the moment. You're a wanderer, aren't you?" I ask her. I just want to make sure I'm not dealing with a person who can't remember who they're talking to after three minutes. "Look, Serenity. You look like you need a place to stay. I can give you that, if you come with me." I rethink what I just spoke in my mind from a girl's point of view, and then add, "I promise that I'm not going to hurt you."

I feel my skin prickle as her gaze wanders to my hair. Sub-consciously, my hand whips up to it and attempts to flatten it's already tame demeanor.

"I don't have much of a choice anyways." a smile made its way onto her face, brightening up her aura. "I'm as good as dead if I stay here. Thank you."

Wow. I was not expecting that. What I expected was for her to decline, or better yet, get up and run away screaming things along the lines of me trying to sexually assault her or something. That would have been fun, actually. I'm like that; I like wreaking havoc among my lovely District Eleven neighbors.

She rises from the bench, and I can see the struggle in her eyes. Her legs are skinny and frail, and I give her props for even trying to stand up. She quickly falls back into the bench, a look of frustration on her face. She switches that to a look of determination, and motions to me that she desires no help. She tries a second time and stands for a moment. Then she puts one foot forward, then another. And then she's walking.

"Lead the way then, no use standing around."

I nod at her, and walk beside her, matching her slow pace. I place my hands in my pockets and soak up the warmth that it brings to my body. I glance towards Serenity, and notice how cold she looks. I quickly zip off my jacket and put it around her shoulders. It's not that far from home, and I can deal with the cold for a few minutes.

We soon arrive at my house. It's nothing. A small, dingy, house enough for four kids and a parent. I don't know where I can let Serenity sleep, but that's not really the problem right now. The problem is getting her cleaned up and a bit more food into her stomach. We come up to the front door. I wave my arm towards the door, as if to say she could enter first.

"Welcome to my humble abode. You may enter." Wow Blaise. You just got ten times cornier.