High Tide

***

It took all Azzurra's strength to hold her tongue as she stared at the fish on the ground, dirt covering the slimy bodies. Great, there goes tonights dinner. Clenching her fists tightly, Azzurra closed her eyes and breathed in slowly, willing her rage to ebb from her body. No, no,she couldn't freak out on the kid just because she'd been have a bad day-- heck, a terrible week. Despite her struggle, a small amount of anger managed to seep through.

"Hey man, what the F-...."

The words died on her lips as Azzurra looked around for the boy. Where'd he go? It was the dark shape in her peripherals that caused Azzurra's eyes to flick down to the ground. The boy was lying there, collapsed in a heap on the dirty path.

What the hell...?

Letting the empty bucket fall from her hands, Azzurra crept hesitantly over to the boy, her hands beginning to shake as an unwanted flashback hit. Whimpering quietly, Azzurra shook her head, a hand to her forehead, as her memory brought forth that day... She had ran and ran and ran, making it down to the beach where her father's boat was moored before collapsing in a messy heap, sobbing, screaming, heart throbbing-- The images of that terrible event flashed before Azzurra's eyes in quick succession before vanishing as quickly as they'd come. With a shaky gasp, Azzurra dropped to her knees, a tear managing to work it's way loose and trail down her cheek.

Pull yourself together, Azure! The guy...

Her gaze fell on where he lay in the dust, a foot in front of her. Cautiously, Azzurra picked herself up and settled into a crouch, reaching out long, trembling fingers. Gently she touched his back.

"Hey, um. Are you okay?"

What a stupid question...

***

Azzurra nearly gasped when he looked up at her. She'd never seen green eyes like his before-- they were beautiful. But hidden beneath this, Azzurra saw the same pain reflected back at her that she knew all to well resided in her own eyes. What had happened to this guy to make him so miserable?

"End it now..."

Azzurra frowned, her ears barely catching the near silent plead. Leaning forward, her eyes never leaving his, she listened intently.

"End my loneliness. My suffering. Make a point to the capitol. Hang me in the city square."

What?! Was this kid crazy? Make a point to the Capitol...? Azzurra brushed a strand of wet, limp hair from her face, her eyes loosing focus. The city square...

Cold, freezing cold. The air damp with the promise of rain. The square packed with people, all villagers, all watching. The whip had flashed, her brother screaming... screaming... Her father crying as he watched. The nooses had been made, tightened snug around their necks. The lever had been pulled--

With a gasp from Azzurra the flashback shattered into fragments, each memory as sharp as broken glass. No. No not again. Gripping the boy's collar tightly in her cold fists, Azzurra shook him non-to-gently, tears barley held back, fighting to spring from her eyes.

"Come with me." She whispered. It took all of her strength to haul him up off the ground, but she managed nonetheless, steadying the boy against her own wet body.

***

Azzurra wasn't surprised when he began to struggle, her grip only tightening on his collar, one had going to grab his arm. Azzurra couldn't help but appreciate how her profession had moulded her body, giving her the strength to keep her grip on the wildly struggling boy. He was strong too though, she noticed with a frown, grunting with effort as she struggled to keep her grip on him. Something told her that if he were to free himself from her grasp, he might do something... reckless.

"Your own rules?!" Azzurra hissed, her eyes narrowing. She knew much, much about the Capitol and their "rules", their "game, and, thanks to her past, how not to play it. "Death... That's your way out?" Her voice was quieter now, so much so that Azzurra wondered if he had heard her. Without even thinking she released her grip on him, though her hand remain on his arm, her eyes finding his. Azzurra willed herself not to be swept up in their vast, green depths as she spoke.

"How are you going to make a difference against the Capitol dead? That's what they want, anyways... Submission, for us to bow down and be weak. Suicide is for weak people; the strong survive, no matter what."

***

Azzurra frowned, her eyes narrowing at the struggling boy. She wanted to let go of him, but feared he would run off if she did. So instead, she grasped his arm with all her strength, squeezing it even harder as a tear rolled down his cheek. There was no way she was letting go of him till she was sure he was stable again.

"No--" She sighed, exasperated. The Games? Was that what this was about? What, was he an ex-Career or something? "That's not what I meant. If you're strong, if you fight, then how can you say that you've lost, that the Capitol has beaten you!?" She shook her head. "Look, no matter how bad things get, you can't just go off trying to kill yourself! That's not the answer to your problems and it never will be!"[/color]

Azzurra had never trained as a Career, her parents had allowed her to chose her own path in life. But she figured that if she had been forced to train, it would just be another burden on her heavily weighed down shoulders. So what was this kids problem? What was making him act like this, like suicide was the only option left?

"Where are you taking me? Why do you even care about my life?"

Azzurra paused. Why did she care about the guy? She didn't even know him! Still, there was something in her gut, a strange feeling, that kept her feet planted firmly, her hand clenched tight around his arm.

"Because no person should be cast aside and ignored, especially in an hour of need... And you obviously are in need of some help."

Relaxing her grip on him, Azzurra attempted to calm the boy. "Look, just, calm down. Come back to my house, rest, cool down a bit..."[/size] Azzurra bit her lip, waiting for his reply.

***

Azzurra let out a silent sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging a bit as she relaxed. She still kept her hand on the Damien's arm, just in case he might try to fake her out or something. Peering over at him, she cocked her head to the side. There was something about his expression... A feeling of uncertainty slowly crept into Azzurra's stomach, though she tried to push it away. Why did he still look so... Like he wanted to still...

Azzurra shook her head, trying to refocus her mind. "I'm Azzurra." She said quietly, blinking slowly, sounding tired. All of a sudden, the weight of the day came crashing down upon her, causing Azzurra to sigh and close her eyes briefly in exhaustion. Overhead, the snow still fell, settling gently into her damp hair, melting as it hit her still-soaked wetsuit. It took all of her strength not to shiver as a cold breeze blew past. Instead, Azzurra merely clenched her teeth against the frigid weather and try and ignore it.

***

Azzurra's eyes opened wide, the question causing her to freeze on the spot. Who was this guy? Never before had anyone caused her emotional past to rear its ugly head as much as he did. She stood there, gazing at the slowly falling snow as night quickly approached. She could see her home now, the tiny house's windows dark. It would be freezing inside; she'd have to get a fire started quickly... Azzurra's bottom lip quivered, her attempt at distracting herself falling through miserably.

"N-no one... should have to go through what they did."[/color] She whispered, almost to herself. Looking up into the sky, Azzurra squeezed her eyes shut as she began, speaking painfully slow. "I... My brother... He and my father were caught fishing in a restricted area and--"[/color]
Killed. Azzurra choked on the word, trying to force it from her lips. In the end, she failed. "--erdadicated."[/color] She substituted lamely. With a shuddering breath, she continued. "They were hung in the square after being flogged. I saw the entire thing... I was eleven."[/b]

A flash of agony lancing through her temple caused Azzurra to gasp and drop Damien's arm as her hand reached up to press against her forehead in an attempt to smother the pulsing pain, the harsh sting of another flashback making her forget why she'd clutched that arm so firmly in the first place.

Her father's voice, so familiar, so loving... Begging them to stop, stop, stop you're killing him! Her elder brother, eyes locking onto hers, face contorting in pain as another lash was brought down across his back, blood staining the wood crimson... Their bodies swinging, swinging back and forth...[/color]

Azzurra heard someone crying. Her first thought was that it was Damien; perhaps he'd finally broken down all the way. But no, whoever was sobbing sounded like a girl... The bottom dropped out of her stomach as she realized that it was her. She was the one crying. Azzurra wiped a tear from her cheek, though more tiny droplets were beginning to form around her eyes as she did so. Realizing suddenly that she'd released Damien's arm, Azzurra spun around, wondering if he'd still be there or if he'd made a run for it.[/size]