Ilisha Blanchard [District 4]

If Ilisha was a citizen of the Capitol or District 1, his beautiful features would be revered. However in District four where most residents spend the majority of their time working on the beach or on boats, it’s not a quality that takes much prevalence. He is a tall boy, standing at 5’11 and has a thin, yet toned build from all his time spent in the ocean. He has a soft jawline and a pouty bottom lip that give his face a gentle appearance.

His ebony hair is quite long but has been shaved on the sides and the back to give him an odd sort of mohawk inspired by Capitol fashions, and pushed upon him by the eccentric hair dresser he goes to. Ilisha’s most noticeable features however are his stunning blue eyes. The first thing one notes about them is the electrifying shade of the iris, but it’s not only the color that is shocking. Lying behind Ilisha’s gaze is a true wildness and energy that burns bright within him. Those who meet him describe his powerful gaze as both stunning and captivating.

Ilisha’s hair and eyes are not his only distinct features however, in fact, he is by far one of the more physically noticeable citizens of his District. Despite his time working on boats, he has remained one of the thinnest boys of his age. His naturally fair skin doesn’t take to tanning as most of his peers do either, leaving him often with his nose, cheeks, shoulders, chest and back sunburnt and freckly.

Another signature of his appearance would be his sole piercing in his left ear. He permanently wears one small pearl earing that was his late grandmother’s who was once a citizen of District 1. She had moved back to four in the very early days after the rebellion when it was still slightly easier to travel between Districts.

The wild look in Ilisha’s eyes doesn’t stop at his gaze. There is a ferocity that blazes through every pore of his being. He is a very bright and cunning young man, despite his knack for ducking out of school lessons. In fact, that may have been the saving grace for his brain as he was never convinced of the glory of the Capitol. He is so determined to think and choose for himself that it is often the cause of trouble for he and his family. He is stubborn and proud, thus is always in his own silent rebellion against any authoritative figure.

Passion is the word by which Ilisha is determined to live his life. In everything he does and feels, it is all or nothing—do or die. The lack of a strong father figure in his life has left him with an idealized Peter Pan complex that seeks out youthfulness and fun. With so much jua de vivre, Ilisha can also be a bit of a temperamental and emotional bombshell. He silently likes to compare himself to a phoenix attempting to burst out of the cage created for him by the Capitol.

While he is by and large a free spirit however, that doesn’t mean he isn’t still pressed under the thumb of the government in other ways. He has two younger siblings, a brother and a sister each just approaching Reaping age. If there is anyone he truly loves other than himself, it is his brother, Caspian, and sister, Carina, and the only time he is ever truly selfless is in regards to them. With that in mind, Ilisha is the one who signs up for all the extra tesserae and works extra hours on the boat with his mother to help support the broken family.

Shortly after the birth of the now eleven-year old twins, Caspian and Carina, were born, Ilisha’s father, James Blanchard vanished out at sea without a trace. It had been a routine fishing excursion with the usual crew, but the boat never returned. There had been a large investigation as the largest company in the industry owned the boat, and the Fiske’s were certainly not pleased about their lost property. Whether it was a storm at sea, another misfortune, or something else entirely was still unknown. All that seven-year-old Ilisha had grasped was that his already never home father would now truly never be home again.

Already a spirited youth, the abandonment of his father to his family sparked a fire in him that would only continue to grow and rage as he got older. Almost immediately, it was necessary for Ilisha to begin working on ships as a tar boy to help his family to stay afloat, and at the age of twelve he had to purchase tesserae for everyone in his family, including his grandparents. This life was unbearable, and in Ilisha’s opinion, it wasn’t a life at all. It was then that he slowly began to act out against his mother and against every day life in District 4.

For a time, his fury was quelled by his closeness with his grandmother. Other than his siblings, this was the only other person in his life Ilisha truly loved. She was his best friend, his partner in chrime, and he didn’t even fully realize it until she passed away when he was fourteen. The loss of her devastated him in ways deeper than anyone could truly see. She had been the woman who truly raised him, not his mother. She was too busy trying to support the family with his grandfather and take care of the younger children, often leaving Ilisha to fend for himself.

The only thing that keeps Ilisha tied to his family now are his young siblings and his urge to keep them safe and out of the Games. He’s doing all he can to ensure they need not ever register for tesserae, but now that his grandfather has grown too old and sickly to work on the boats, that’s another feat the is becoming unmanageable and another confine on Ilisha’s life. He knows he needs break free soon, and he’s beginning to think that perhaps entering the Games could be his ticket to the freedom he yearns so greatly for.

FC is Ashley Stymest