Cocoon (open)

As I stay still I start to notice that the girl is now looking at me in return. I say nothing but keep my position looking at her and wondering if she will come over and talk to me. Though there are many factors swinging the odds against me. The biggest of those is that many have gotten on my bad side in the past and experienced my temper when it was truly easy to ignite. Since then word has gotten to different people about these times and quite a few don't really like to come near me. Still, inside I would love to get to know more people so I hope that today will lead to a new and exciting encounter with the girl I have been looking at. I see that she has a sketchbook and come to the conclusion she must be taking art in school or be doing drawing as a hobby in her spare time. The truth is appearance wise she reminds me of somebody that I cannot place at this point in time. Trying to think back doesn't work as the memories I need conceal themselves from me. I dismiss this and make a mental note to try and place her later. To my surprise the girl seems to be packing away her items in the string bag she has with her. Now she is moving away from the area she was sat in and my tiny smile immediately fades. She is probably leaving the meadow area. In fact maybe she hadn't even been looking at me at all. The girl could have been looking at someone behind or beside me. This is it. Maybe today will be usual after all, however much it would have been good to have a change. Although I like to be on my own a lot I guess it is good to have someone you can talk to about things.

My heart jumps slightly when I make a new discovery about the girl. It turns out that she isn't heading towards the exit after all. She has turned in another direction and is heading towards where I am sitting, The first thing I notice about her is that she is much taller than me even if her face looks younger. As she comes over I feel slightly nervous. What if something happens while she is near me that ignites my temper again. Then she certainly won't want to talk to me ever again. That is how it happened with the others which is why I am mostly alone. I give her a weak smile as she places her slim frame next to mine. Now is the perfect time to start a conversation and I know it but I can't think of how to start it. What words should I say to her? Now that the girl is closer to me I try to place the memory of who she reminds me of but once again I fail in my mission. There is something in her eyes that gives me strange feeling. I think I might have seen her around school somewhere. It is awkward as I try to think of what to say to her that will spark up a conversation between us. I want it to be something that says that I am friendly and want to befriend her. Although I am usually alone I suppose it would be good to have someone to talk to besides my foster family, as good as they are. My eyes continue to focus on her as my brain contemplates. However this is interrupted when I am tapped on the shoulder by the girl next to me. Now I can see it will be her who starts the conversation.

"I'm Blaire."

It is such a simple sentence that starts this conversation. I really should have thought about something as simple as that myself. Then something happens to me that rarely happens outside. My lips curl into a small but clear smile as I face Blaire. It seems that she is friendly and that brings me relief that quickly runs through my body. I watch with curiosity as she removes her bag from her shoulder. My mouth moves open to form a reply to Blaire without me thinking over the words. "oh...erm...I'm Saryniti. With this out of the way I wait for the girl to respond

Electro just saw Blaire drawing in town and at school. He wasn't in the mood to talk then but now she seems upset about something while talking with another girl from school which he hasn't talked to much either. He runs towards the two girls. "Is everything alright?" He asks as he watches Blaire go pale white.

I watch the girl next to me with boundless curiosity. Someone who is talking to me without getting to know meis a slightly strange sensation to me so I am curious about her. My heart has slowly started to beat lighter, put at ease by the apparant friendliness of my new companion. She seems to be a person of few words but that is of course alright with me since I have always been the same. Well, not always. The girl seems a pretty, happy and cheerful girl at first impression and that is the type of person I really want to make friends with. I am given a smile and I return it to her, though this time whole heartedly instead of out of nervousness. There seems to be more silence between us as I breathe in the sweet-scented fresh air of the meadow patch. It has been a long time since I was last sitting next to anyone in the meadow patch as I usually sit there myself as I take in the beauty of the area. I know there are many others in the area but my ears fail to pick up the sound of their chatter due to my eagerness to converse with Blaire. That is the next thing on my mind. How should this conversation continue? There needs to be something that will give it a spark and help us get to know each other. Blaire must have read my mind as less than a minute later I hear her voice address me once again. My full attention turns to the words that she now utters to me.

"Have we met before?"

My eyes widen in shock when I first hear what she says. Hadn't I just before been trying to place her face? Could she have felt that deep pang of familiarity in her heart the same as I have also just been feeling? There is no way to knwo exactly how to answer her. Really, I should tell her what I felt but there is no way to prove that we have ever met before if I can't place her. I could tell her that she must have just seen me around school but would that be entirely truthful. There is something that tells me there is something other than that wretched school that links the two of us together. Would that be classed as a lie? If I said that then we could get off this awkward subject easily and could direct our conversation somewhere else that would be better for us to talk about. Hopefully we will be able to become friends but I know that will only happen if we talk about other things than this. Finally my brain starts to kick into the gear needed to respond and it decides that the general answer I thought of would be the best option. Before I respond I see her slightly pale and it worries me slightly but I keep this hidden for now while I speak. Hopefully she will buy my response without question.

"I don't believe so. You probably saw me at school or something"

There isn't time to gauge her reaction as I see somebody else coming towards me and my new companion. The guy is running so maybe he is in a hurry or he knows Blaire and wants to talk to her. My attention has now completely turned to following him with me eyes and trying to tell whether it is us he is coming towards or if he is heading somewhere else. After some time of this I can deduce that it is definitely us who he has business with. It is nobody I recognise so Blaire must know him somehow. He has reached us now and seems to be looking at Blaire directly. I opt to stay silent and let them talk to each other. He asks if everything is all right and I swear I see Blaire's face pale even firther before she gives him a response to let him know that everything is ok. I watch as Blaire stands up with her bag back on her shoulders. This I don't understand. Is she planning to leave already after just a few precious minutes? I want more time to get to know her better. My instincts take over and I prise myself to my feet ready to walk with the other two who are by my side. I never thought I would do this so quickly after first meeting someone but my lips open to let the words out without me thinking.

"Are you leaving already? Can I come with you?"

I watch as Blaire starts to walk away from me. To be honest it makes me feel more sad than usual when people walk away. That is probably because the people who walk away from me are usually mean and I don't want them as friends anyway but Blaire is seemingly friendly and someone I want to make friends with. There is something about the girl that makes me want to know more about her but I don't know what it is. Maybe there is just something in her personality that attracts me. Who knows? There has to be something to stop her going away. The major problem is that since I was in the orphanage I have been bad at talking to people even if they do seem friendly. Am I completely powerless here? I would follow her as she walked but I don't think she would like it if it seems like I am stalking her. She might take it the wrong way and I don't want that to happen. My hand slightly stretches out towards her in my way of asking her to stay in the meadow area. Hopefully she can see it and she will realise what I am trying to get across to her. I see now that she has stopped walking and a sense of relief comes over my body almost immediately which feels good after the slight panic. Blaire must have seen my hand go out towards her and decided that she would stop and talk to me more after all. I give an unusual bright smile when I now see her sitting back down in the soft grass of the meadow area. I don't have to give up after all. I can do something that rarely happens to me anymore. I can spend time socialising with someone outside of my house. The bounds I usually place on myself are being utterly shattered today and I am somewhat glad for it which is even more unusual. Now I am directed back towards Blaire as she speaks to me.

"Sorry. He kind-of... freaks me out."

Surprisingly, I find myself letting out a little giggle at her words. I know all about people freaking others out even though it is usually me who seems to freak others out when I get in one of my famous tempers. It does seem to be better to keep away from people who freak you out but sometimes it can be bad as it is what keeps people lonely and stops them making friends. The girl is putting her bag down again, showing me that she is here to stay instead of going back to her home. This makes me happy and I look at her with a happy face to show her that I am grateful to her for staying. There is another awkward silence between the two of us while we sit in the meadow area and I wonder what we could do with it. I try to find something to talk to her about but I don't know what she finds interesting which gives me no ideas of what would hold her attention. The only big thing I know about her is that she probably has an interest in drawing as she had a sketchbook in her hands before she had put it in her bag. Before I know it I am distracted by Blaire once again speaking to me. "So..." It seems by this that she is also having trouble finding a topic for us to talk about. This is not good. If we can't talk then Blaire will get bored and will want to leave again, this time for real. With no other option I launch myself into unchartered waters. I know nothing about art and drawing since it is not a topic that is interesting but if it is what my hopeful friend likes then that will have to be the topic. Now what do I ask about it? I guess I could talk about her sketchbook that I saw. Maybe something in there will keep both out interests and keep the conversation together.

"What is in that sketchbook of yours?"

There I finally go. I am talking to this girl and it makes me happy to be talking to her. I hope that she will talk back to me and tell me what her sketchbook contains. Maybe she will even show me and I can admire whatever handiwork she reveals. My eyes look to her in hope of a positive response.

My eyes wander around the meadow area and I observe the flowers and plants properly for the first time since I arrived here. They are all pretty and picture worthy. This is the kind of scenery rarely seen anywhere, except district 11 so district 3 is lucky to have this small patch. What is even better is that I get to sit and talk with someone for the first time while I see all this. Thinking of her brings my attention back to her figure. I smile as I get a response from the girl sat next to me. She is opening the bag that is by her side and seems to be searching for something in there. Maybe it is the sketchbook I had just enquired about. Maybe she has decided she is actually going to show me what is in the sketchbook, the very thing I hoped would happen as a result. Now there is something being pulled out of the bag and my eyes immediately focus to identify the new mysterious object. As it is brought into a better position for my eyes I see that is in fact the sketchbook that I hoped to see the inside of. I move slightly closer to her as I see the sketchbook being opened. I feel something that is not very familiar to me as I wait for the pages to be revealed to me. That feeling is one of curiosity. Keeping myself away from others all the time doesn't give me much of an opportunity to experience this particular emotion. It feels like it is taking eternity for the book to be shown but being in the orphanage taught me that I have to be patient in life and it is something I try to practice despite my curiosity. I don't think the girl has noticed this but it is not long until I start to feel more impation than usual. Finally now, the first page of her sketchbook is revealed to me.

Instantly when my eyes catch sight of the drawing I am blown away by the incredible detail that has been included in it. Every stroke of the pencil in the book gives a new and intricate detail to the shape that it is part of from the slate lines on the rooftops of the shops to the lighter lines on the ground. I recognise the area that has been depicted here as the centre of the town inside district 3. The buildings are exactly correct to the real life version of the area she has drawn and the colours in the picture seem to have been blended perfectly with what seems like coloured pencils. They are just a perfect match to the colours that can be seen when one walks through that particular area of the district. Also the colours have also been used to shade various areas of the drawing to bring out the light and shadow of the picture that adds a massive amount of realism to the piece. There is also something else there, something that brings the whole drawing to life. It seems to brim with the passion and effort that the artist has put in to drawing it. I am sure that Blaire put all her heart into her drawing and she should be proud of what she has achieved. After all, this one drawing in itself speaks of the amazing talent she has at art. Although I am hit by a small bout of jealousy at her ability I am glad that she is able to enjoy what she is good at. It is like me when I am working with computers. There is something that sparks in me and allows me to bring life to the technology I work with and I hope that people can see that in my computer work like I can now when I look at Blaire's drawing. We all have something that brings us passion and this just proves that. I hate to admit it but I bet even those people who have been warped and twisted by their power and authority over others will have something that brings out a different side to them. It is a pity that those people can't see it. Being able to see your passion is what keeps people away from temptation. I am drawn out of my deep thought now by my companion.

As I am brought back to her I watch her hands as she delicately turns the page in the amazing sketchbook to show me another of her amazing drawings. After the first one I have great expectation and as my eyes scan the page I am not disappointed by the result. This drawing is another landscape from the disrtict but it is of a completely different area. This area is a place I do not recognise. By the small hint of a wire fence that has been drawn I guess that it is somewhere near the district boundaries. I have never explored that much of the disrtict before since I have barely seen much of it since the age of 7 because of all the barriers that me and others have placed around me. It is a forest area that is occupied by different types of trees, on of them I recognise as pine trees. The trees are a perfect swirl of the different shades of green. On the floor of this forest are various flowers of vivid colours that are so detailed that it is almost like I can see the centre of it right next to me even if it just a tiny flower in the picture. There is water nearby that appears to be glistening by the shades Blaire has used in it. I look at the picture more closely to determine the source of this glistening and then I catch sight of the light shades on the treetops. They seem to indicate the rays of the sun beating down on the treetops which will be causing the water to glisten beautifully like it has been depicted here. It is a beautiful place she has chosen and I really want to go there myself. Nobody would mind if I did now. My foster parents are caring and will want me to explore and be free. They adopted me to give me a new life and this could be a part of it. I have made my mind up that I will go there sometime in the near future. It will be a perfect way to pass time. Maybe Blaire will come with me as my friend. That would be fun. Right now she is about to talk to me again.

"I spend most of my time drawing."

The statement she gives doesn't really surprise me. I can telll from her art that she spends a lot of time doing it. There is no over way than time and effort to create pictures like that. I know that even without much knowledge of art. Making anything to a good standard requires time and effort, it is a fact of life. I smile at her warmly and my lips move to respond without me even thinking. "You are very talented at drawing. I can't draw for toffee." I notice her now put the sketchbook down next to her and I look into the meadow while I wait for her to respond. However then I see that she seems to have been hit by inspiration as she picks up her sketchbook again and appears to have started drawing a new picture. This widens the smile on my face. I have a great opportunity to witness this this great artist at work as her pencil creates more and more lines on the page. I position myself better so that my eyes can clearly see what she is drawing. The first thing that catches my eye is a flower that looks a lot like one that is right near us. Wait a minute, could it be that this is the place that she is drawing? Her drawing continues and as more lines are formed there is no doubt that this is the place. My eyes follow her strokes curiously, admiring her drawing technique as she brings the meadow scene to life with her pencil. She is truly a good spirited person and I am drawn to her personality like a fly is drawn to light. Somebody who is so in touch with the gift she has been given and uses it so well will make a brilliant friend and I hope that she will agree to meet me more. It seems that even I am finally starting to emerge from the cocoon that I have sealed myself in and it is thanks to Blaire.

Looking out into the meadow area I try to map out the exact area of it that Blaire is about to preserve inside her lovely sketchbook. The meadow area is wider than I first thought and with the scale she seems to be drawing in there is no way she will be able to include the whole meadow on that one piece of A4 paper. However there is one thing I am sure she will be able to do in this picture of hers and that is to get every little detail of the area she draws into the picture from the stems of the flowers and plants to the fluffy white clouds hanging high above us as we sit. I would never usually be out here for so long but now that I have found Blaire I want to stay here at least until she has finished her drawing and I can see it in all it's splendour. I wonder what the girl beside me would think if I turned around and said that to her right now. Hopefully she will be happy that I appreciate her talent and like watching her at work but I know there are some people around who are fussy about people watching them when they are trying to focus so I hope that Blaire is not one of those people. I see her pencil move fast across the page as she draws and every so often the pencil is turned over for a short amount of time to erase a line in the drawing that didn't go to plan. Her drawing is starting to show the bigger areas of the meadow such as the shapes of the many plants and flowers but also the shapes of the clouds that have formed above our heads. It is truly starting to look like a drawing now and it is getting easier to tell that I am sitting in the same area she is drawing and looking at exactly the same scenery. The shapes of the plants and flowers are starting to become more detailed now that she has finished the general outline of the area. I see the petals start to become distinct and the centre truly come to life and I smile at Blaire as she draws.

The lines of the drawing are now starting to change and become more inticate and focused. She is using her pencil with amazing precision, seeming to know exactly where she wants the pencil strokes to be. She goes into even more detail with her drawing and I swear some of the lighter lines she is drawing are markers for where there is going to be light and shadow when the picture is finally shaded. Already I can see how beautiful this piece is going to look when it is eventually finished. By the amount of changing of the people who are residing in the meadow area I am guessing we have both been here together for quite some time but at this very moment I don't care one bit which is highly unusual for me. Then again, I haven't really been acting like myself at all today. There has been something new inside me that is bringing me more alive than I have felt for many years. I have had a yearning for friends for a long time and now I am starting to make my first true friend since I was seven. I just have to make sure I do absolutely nothing to scare her away. My eyes fade myself back to her drawing and I notice that now she has pulled out some coloured pencils which must have come from inside her bag. It is the background that she has chosen to bring to life first and the sky starts to gain the glow of the sun's rays which is depicted in several different shades of blue. Now it is the turn of the grass in the area which is made into a sea of the shades of green but also brown and yellow are mixed in too. These colours work together to accurately show what the grass is like here. There is only the plants and flowers left now and I see Blaire reach for the purple pencil first and then surprisingly for both the red and blue pencils aswell. I wonder how this is going to work and then I remember how red and blue create purples and I give a subconscious nod at her good idea.

Now I see that her drawing has finally reached it's finish and as soon as I first set eyes on the finished product the only think I can think of is how much of a true masterpiece it is. In the seemingly short time that Blaire has been drawing she has somehow managed to recreate the meadow area on the paper as if it is alive in there and not just a drawing. It is almost like you could jump into the page and straight into the meadow it is that realistic. I see the artist place her sketchbook down with a smile. I'm sure that smile is one of pride at what she has just managed to produce in front of my very eyes. I hope when she looks at this picture again that she will remember the girl who was beside her as she drew it, admiring it each step of the way. I want her to remember me. I have to say something to her to show I like it but there are few words that can describe such a drawing so I opt for a general positive comment so she will know her work was appreciated. "Wow. You are so good." Hopefully she will detect the enthusiasm I tried so hard to put into the comment. It wasn't much considering the drawing I had just seen but I couldn't just say nothing or she might think I don't like it when I absolutely love it. I sit ther still comparing Blaire's picture with the actual meadow and this may sound strange but I would like it much better in her meadow since it looks so much more silent and peaceful and I am not exactly good with people normally. Now I wish I could show her my talents in return but obviously I would have to be somewhere with computers for that and there is none in a short range of this meadow so that idea will have to wait until another day and another meeting between the two of us. I am distracted as Blaire addresses me once again.

"There's another picture in the back if you want to look at it."

Now I see that Blaire has moved her sketchbook to a place where it is easier for me to reach it. Wanting to see this picture she has just mentioned I stretch out my arm and it grasps the book before it prises it from it's position and I place it on my lap. As I open the book I take extra care as I go through the pages as I don't want to ruin the book or any of her amazing and precious artwork. It only takes me a minute to reach the back page of her book and the promised drawing is staring me in the face. I am slightly surprised as it is not a landscape this time but a person. The person has a length of fiery red hair that seems to flow freely and her eyes have been coloured in a striking blue. As I look at Blaire something mentally clicks inside my mind. I know this girl from somewhere. It takes me a minute to realise how I know her. I am sure she was a tribute from our own district in the hunger games. It was years ago now but I still remember her face and the necklace she is wearing. I look at Blaire for a moment and then something even bigger hits me. That girl bears a very big resemblance to Blaire herself. It obviously couldn't be her since I am sure the girl she has drawn died in the games. Now I look at Blaire again and I catch sight of the necklace that is around her own neck and suddenly realise that it the exact same as the one that is in the picture of the tribute. Could this girl have been related to Blaire? Maybe it was her sister. Must have been an older sister as this must have been drawn years ago and she looks a similar age to Blaire now. It just goes to show that every tribute that is reaped for the games is special to people and have a family they have to leave behind. I don't have a birth family anymore but even I would have to leave my foster family behind. I feel sorry for Blaire as the tribute she drew was obviously a very special person to her and it must have devestated her to lose her as much as I was devestated when I lost my mother.

"Was she your...sister? She looked a lot like you do"