A Darker Dawn // {Denali; Hawkeye

life is bigger, it's bigger than you, and you are not me
the lengths that I will go to

So far the day was shaping up well. Well, at least from Maverick's perspective. He'd had a second round interview at the Capitol in the television department. Things were looking promising. He was still a long, long ways off from hosting the games, but any on-air spot would be a great kicking off point. And he could do it. He was definitely the right man for the job, and he got the feeling the crew knew that, too.

He probably wouldn't hear for another handful of days, but that didn't matter much. It was progress. Might as well enjoy having nothing to do all day. It was only just noon, but the day was long and slow and hot. Had been since the first light, actually. It was hard to tell if it was getting any warmer, of it had finally petered off. Regardless, by the time Maverick returned to the residential side of the capitol, he was sweating, despite having ducked in and out of shops on his way home.

Not even the glistening sweat on his brow could dampen his spirits though. He smiled at those he passed, that wide grin that drew people as moths to his flame. His curly hair hid most of the moisture, and he was lucky - he didn't sweat many other places. So despite wearing a formal, flamboyantly purple coat and suit pants, he looked rather dashing.

Outside of town, though, the crowd thinned. People avoided the heat in their air-conditioned homes. He still had several blocks to go when he noticed something very odd. Down the block a child stood, dressed in brown rags. Maverick couldn't quite tell if it was boy or a girl, just that it had light hair and hollow cheeks. It clutched a bag to its chest which was clearly too heavy for it. Maverick frowned. "Hey! Don't move!" He shouted. How dare anyone steal from another house? What was this, an outer district? He took one look around to see if there was anyone to assist him before taking off towards the stricken child.

It took him until he was nearly upon her that he recognized the girl. "Denali?" His voice was full of actual wonder at the sight of her, not two doors down from their - correction his home. "What are you doing out here?" The question came out in shock, before he realized that 'yes' and 'no' are really the only two answers she could give. "Are you on your way to the market?"