Piper Kiehl District 4

With sandy blonde hair, sun tanned skin, and freckles dancing across her button nose, Piper looks like what she is: a child of the sea. The palms of her hands and the soles of her feet are already hard and cracked from her comparitively short years on the fishing boats. The rest of her skin is soft, if slightly sticky, from the salt that saturates her life. Piper's hair is long and thick, but usually wet, tangled, and windblown whipping into her eyes and sticking to her mouth, which is always opened in a warm, carefree smile.

Pipers eyes are a light gray, like a piece of weatherbeaten driftwood or mist along the beach on a hazy morning. Piper's eyes serve her well. She has superb eyesight and a penetrating, sympathetic, gaze. There is something both intelligent and trusting in this young girl's eyes, a rare combination in a world where trust is often synonomous with foolishness.

Like all children her age, Piper is being trained for the games. She is well toned for a girl her age, but she is not particularly skilled with weaponry. Piper is often clumsy on the ground in spite of her natural balance and hard earned muscle. She is most at home in the water and the air where she is graceful as a mermaid and nimble as a monkey. Naturally, Piper is excellent at ropes courses, and while she is competent with a light javelin and net, her real strength is with the bow.

Piper is as depedable as the tides, and as unbreakable as a good sailor's knot. She is intelligent and curious, but unlike the other Careers in her district, she's not much of a fighter. In her heart, she is a lover of knowledge and peace. Her father has carefully preserved a few books; they have become Piper's treasures. She is strongly influenced by these few nuggets from the past. Piper's small library is made up of Esther, Proverbs, and the Old Man and the Sea, all of which strongly influence her. They have fashioned her into a girl both brave and subdued, determined and peaceloving. Her favorite passtime is to drift about in her little sailboat while reading a book.

Piper has a few friends, but she's really a solitary sort of person, and she's certainly not a leader. Most other kids her age find her odd, while adults find her sweet but shy. Piper is exceptionally awkward around boys, she doesn't understand them, and they often make fun of her for her small size and ineptitude with weapons. Piper loves to find the beauty in things, even where it doesn't exist. In another time, Piper might have become a philosopher or a poet. As it is, she's a sea-girl on a fishing boat, and she's more than satified with that.

In fact, Piper's satisfied with almost everything. The exception being the Capitol. Even though Piper is raised by wealthy model citizens, she has private misgivings about the Capitol. But Piper isn't a complainer, as long as the Capitol keeps its nose out of her nearly perfect life, she's happy. Piper doesn't need much. She may be quiet, but she's confident in who she is. She thrives on the affection and approval of those she respects, and needs genuine love from a few close-knit relationships.

Overall, Piper exudes a sunny, silent, satisfied, self confidence.

Piper is being raised by her father and mother, Ray and Pearl. Her parents are wealthy, privelaged, and love the Capitol. She has three older brothers: Pontus (21), Nereus (17), and Triton (14). Piper's brothers are all breathtaking specimens of male strength and beauty. Piper's not ugly, but as far as looks go, she's the dud of the family. Pontus and Triton are fiercely fond of their odd little sister, and are both excellent older brothers. Piper especially enjoys spending time with Pontus, the most intelligent of her brothers and the only one who really shares her love for thought and beauty. Piper's best relationship is with her father, a fisherman notorious for his strength and ability to bring in the most valuable catch. Ray loves his daughter dearly and floods her with love and little gifts. Pearl, Piper's mother, is the sister of a past tribute who made it to the final three. She is a very proud woman who's dearest wish is to see one of her children in the arena. Her greatest hope was Pontus, but he refused to volunteer. She now nurtures a hope that Nereus will volunteer when he turns eighteen. She is a bit ashamed of her less than spectacular daughter, and the abscence of love from her mother can be very hard on Piper. Nereus, Piper's third brother, is much like his mother. With his glory-focused mindset, he could almost be from District 2. Nereus is trying to accomplish great things, and he considers Piper a stain to the family name. He can be very cruel in his treatment of her, but his father and brothers keep him in check.

Piper worked hard at training, like everything else, but she was simply not good at fighting. She had no desire to stick anyone with a spear or cut open an oppenent's heart with a knife. But Piper grew up seeing the games and hearing her mother gush about brutal deaths of the past, and she knew she needed some skill to give her an edge if she was sent to the arena. Knowing she was no good at hand to hand combat because of her size, Piper decided (with the encouragement of her father) to play to her strengths and take up the bow. It was an unusual choice for someone of her district, but it was a defensive skill she could use from a distance. And Piper wasn't bad at it. Not great, but good enough to get to the top of her class in archery.

Piper works on her father's boat. She's the only girl on board, as her father usually only takes on men. A spot on this boat is considered a prime position, and most young people from four would kill to train under Ray Kiehl. Piper scurries around his boat and helps with everything from hauling in the nets to taking bearings, to steering the vessel. Her father trusts her so much, he even allows her to help plan his fishing trips. The other sailors on Ray's crew love Piper like their own daughters or younger sisters, but outside of her family and a few school friends, these sailors are about the only ones who care for her.