Til We Lose Control // {Cora}

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there are no raindrops on roses and girls in white dresses
it's sleeping with roaches and taking best guesses
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The majority of District Thirteen never emerged aboveground to see the light of day - or rarely, if ever. Only a select few occupations allowed this; for example, if you worked in the sprawling produce farms, you were permitted to come up to tend the crops. The animal and livestock pens had a few workers that were allowed to, as well. Then, of course, the military training center was located outside, and there were many teenagers and young adults of the district out there daily to bulk up their muscle and pick up on essential military skills in the event that they were needed. Thirteen had an astounding military force rivaled by nothing, not even the Capitol's own. So naturally, they needed plenty of training.

That was about it for the jobs that allowed you to legally be outside; the rest of the district remained completely underground, disturbed by nothing going on outside. Most were quite content with this situation, primarily because everyone in Thirteen seemed to just adore following the rules. They followed their schedules perfectly, did everything they were told, because they were brought up that way. Every child in Thirteen was raised to be perfectly obedient. There were only a select few citizens who dared to toe the line a bit, and those were the few that realized it was actually quite easy to get outside, if you wanted to.

Cora, as a worker in the animal pens, actually had permission to be outside. Presently, she was scattering feed for the hens, who were obnoxiously noisy today. She'd even kicked one that had been clucking incessantly; a lot harder than she'd initially intended, because it went shooting into the thin fence that surrounded the chicken area. Upon an inspection, the redhead decided that it had not been harmed, just startled; pity, she would've liked to see it break its neck. Then she could just blame it on a fox that got into the coop and be done with it.

The sound of footsteps startled her; usually no one came aboveground to the animal pens, save for when she was holding one of her little...events. Cora turned around to see...well, someone familiar, his name was escaping her. But he was a regular, and he was carrying a handful of coins, so she knew exactly what he wanted. Sure enough - "Miss DeWitt! When's yer next cockfight? I gotta nice bunch o' change and I'm ready ter -"

Within a second, Cora was grabbing his arm and dragging him behind the barn, looking around anxiously to make sure they wouldn't be spotted. "Shut up, you idiot! Who do you think you are, shouting about it out in the open!" The twenty-year-old shook her head angrily, and the man looked absolutely petrified. He opened his mouth, probably to stutter out an apology and get the hell out of there, but she cut him off. "It's this Saturday. Spread the word, but only to those who are trustworthy enough!" With that she turned away, indicating that it was time for him to leave. He nodded and sped off, back to one of the secret exits of Thirteen's underground city, and Cora shook her head in disgust. The scum of Thirteen, that was who came to bet on her fights. That man had been no exception.

Her work hours came to a close quickly; she locked up the barn, gave the chickens one last glare, and retreated back below the ground, heading for the compartment she shared with Elvis. There was something about that man; nothing else had ever been able to break through Cora's defense, her strong barrier of refusal to actually have a fondness for any living being. Yet Elvis had. She'd originally only been interested in him because of his position on the disciplinary board, but over time she'd realized she did have a sort of...soft spot for him. Only to an extent, of course, and she would never admit it to anyone else...but it was there.

He was due to return from work soon as well, so Cora settled herself on their bed and waited. An hour passed, which was unusual; Elvis was rarely late, and lights out was swiftly approaching. Irritated, she crossed her arms and sat up, leaning against the wall. Then, finally, the door opened a crack and she saw his head appear from behind the door, peering at her. "Am I too late?" he asked. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Nice of you to finally show up."

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at the shade of the sheets and before all the stains
and a few more of your least favorite things
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