//SUNSET//open
Oct 1, 2010 11:27:49 GMT -5
Post by CC is SO Sorry D: on Oct 1, 2010 11:27:49 GMT -5
Airelynn Hathor
The day was cool and breezy, and Airelynn Hathor knew that winter would soon come to District Eight. The thought gave Airelynn mixed feelings. She needed work, to keep her family's home, but in the winter, she had more time to paint and create blankets and other cotton products with dyes. It was something she did to pass her time in the winter. She enjoyed the cold, because it caused a certain amount of discomfort, but her family didn't. Perhaps if she gave Garrett a warm blanket, he would feel more inclined to be pleasant towards her.
Airelynn stood up silently in the golden rows of fields, that seemed to extend forever, stretching out her back. She had been bending over all day, and her muscles felt sore. She reveled in the feeling, but if she let herself become too stiff, she could just collapse, and then the Peacekeepers would beat her.
It was that she was particularly adverse to a whipping (she actually felt a small thrill go down her spine at the thought), but if she was too badly injured, she wouldn't be able to work for days, and her family would lose their house. In that event, her father would most likely walk off, and she would no longer have anyone to hit her. Airelynn knew that should lift her spirits, but she only felt a sense of dread. She deserved the pain. Openly welcomed it, in fact. She couldn't imagine giving it up. It would be like trying to live without air. Impossible.
She went back to her work, mindlessly picking cotton. It didn't require any thought, not after all of these years, but it was still exhausting and somewhat difficult work. Her muscles strained, and sweat formed on her dry skin as she worked. There was still an hour or so until sunset, when she finished working, and she planned on tiring her body out as much as possible today. Perhaps she really would faint today, after work. It depended on whether her father was very drunk today.
She thought about her bruises from last night. He rarely beat her two nights in a row. She loved when he did, because her skin became blotchy and covered with blood and blisters, but there was a chance. She hoped. If she was lucky.
But really, what were the chances of her getting lucky today? She hadn't had the best life, there was no denying that. Her entire family hated her. (Although, that could be considered as more abuse, which Airelynn wasn't entirely opposed to. It was just the fact that it was mental, not physical, so it wasn't as thrilling.) She had almost been found out earlier, too. Another field worker had bumped into her bruises, and Airelynn had let out a gasp (of pain or delight she couldn't tell; they were pretty synonymous these days) and flinched. The lady had looked at her suspiciously before she moved on. Yes, her secret would have to be more carefully watched. She couldn't have it getting out. What if someone tried to stop it? What would she do?
She would deny it, sure, but there was physical evidence, and there wasn't much she could do to conceal it if the Peacekeepers and other officials demanded to know. The Peacekeepers probably didn't even care, but Airelynn knew that it was a part of their job to keep the peace, and her father could be considered a "threat to society". He would be thrown into prison or killed for sure. She couldn't have that happening.
Without her father, her mother would most likely feel more depressed and apathetic. Agalynn wasn't doing any better, and Airelynn knew her little sister needed both her mother and elder brother to assist her. Agalynn's lucid moments were growing fewer and farther between, and she probably needed help. Airelynn wasn't allowed within ten feet of her sister (it caused Agalynn to have nervous breakdowns), but she had heard her sister. She had been muttering about string and boxes again, and she had cried herself to sleep every night.
Airelynn watched the sun sink closer to the horizon as she finished up with her last few minutes of work. The sky was a brilliant mix of oranges, pinks, purples, and blues in the east. As she looked at the Sun, she felt water pricking eyes from staring at the light for too long. She continued for a few more seconds before turning away, stars in her eyes, and a dizzying sensation in her head. She blinked a lot really quickly, turning back to her work until she was told she could leave.
She shuffled out of the fields, and walked into the streets of District Eight. It was true, most of her district was rural and full of fields of cotton and pastures and meadows for the sheep. Still, they had a town full of her district's people selling their wares outside their homes and at the town square. The scent from the baker's shop wafted in her direction, and she walked closer to the baking bread, refusing to buy anything to eat as she tortured herself with the smells. Bliss.
Airelynn had to walk through the square before she got to her home, which was far from the fields, on the opposite side of town, but before she could walk more than a few steps out of the square, she was tripped by a random passerby, who continued on their way, and landed violently on her bruises. A loud, slow groan escaped her mouth as she lay crumpled on the ground, feeling utterly exhausted and strangely delighted.
ooc: Average to advanced roleplayer, please. Airelynn's pretty complex.