Henley Martin - District 10 (WIP) | Hunger Games: The RPG

Henley Martin - District 10 (WIP) Jul 4, 2012 1:21:55 GMT -5

Post by Marisa on Jul 4, 2012 1:21:55 GMT -5

Name: Henley Martin
Age: 19
Gender: Female
District/Area: District 10
Appearance:

On the off chance that Henley would ever catch a pair of eyes, it’s always her freckled face that makes most people do a double take. Clusters of tiny freckles cover every inch of Henley’s round face. They find a home on her round cheeks, the bridge of her nose, even her upper lip. And at least a dozen freckles are carried on each of her eyelids. She’s had this mass of freckles from as far back as she can remember and they only became more prominent after hour after hour spent out in the sun with her father and their livestock. Though she has been frequently ridiculed for the dark marks on her face, she likes them. They remind her of the freckles her mother had or, at least, the ones in the few photos of her mother she finds lying around the house.

[/size][/blockquote]Personality:

Henley’s only ties lie with her father. She cares for him and only him. She looks up to him and only him. She would fight for him and only him. And to some that might make her sincere or loyal or loving or something. To others that might make her stubborn or lonely or unwilling to make new friends. She just loves her father. He is her everything. And she really doesn’t care about what other people define that as.

She’s instinctively protective over anyone she cares for (along with her father, this includes the few close friends she’s made at the farm) and will defend them in a heartbeat. Her protective nature also causes her to be highly suspicious of anyone that gets close to these few people. Like Elizabeth, her step-mother. Despite Elizabeth’s attempts, Henley is too stubborn to call her mom or even acknowledge that she is a motherly figure.

Contrary to these personality traits, Henley makes friends quite easily. Well, acquaintances, but that is beside the point. She has a bright and contagious smile. She has a wit and sense of humor that attract others to her. She’s quick with snarky comebacks and that causes her to be labeled as “the funny one.” And she doesn’t mind that title, really. She appreciates being something. She would just appreciate it more if she was the pretty one or the level headed one or the one that’s going places in the future.

Henley isn’t satisfied with her life, that’s for sure (no one living in the lower districts is satisfied, though). She tries her hardest to hide it from her father, so that he can be happy with Elizabeth. So that he can be protected from feeling like a crappy father. But that doesn’t stop her from being jealous of almost every person she knows. Everyone has something that she doesn’t have and that’s not fair. Why did he get to have a mother? Why does she have a slender body and small breasts that don’t cause her back pain? Why is he working at the farm if he is financially stable? He’s taking work that she could do.

Henley’s clearly quite immature. She lets jealousy, stubbornness, and judgment control her emotions. She’s nineteen years old and yet she still acts like she’s in grade school. Yet, at the same time, she was forced to grow up so fast. Forced to mother herself because she didn’t have one. Forced to put on fake smiles. Forced to work at the massive farms of District 10.

Henley is one anomaly after another. She’s currently a child stuck in an adult’s body, but throughout her life she was forced to be an adult in a child’s body. She’s charismatic and funny during the day, but when she falls into the comfort of her own bed she remembers all of her insecurities. She loves those closest to her and loves them more than she can explain, but she feels like she is in a constant state of loneliness. Henley has a hard time making herself grow up once and for all and to make peace with everything life has given her, but she tries to. She really does.

[/size][/blockquote]History:

Let’s get to the point and start with the fact that Henley’s mother died while giving birth. There. It’s out in the open now. Everybody knows. So, let’s not dwell on it.

But it’s not that easy. Henley knows that. It didn’t take her too many years to realize how exactly every person was going to treat her for the rest of her life. “Oh, I wish your mother could have seen you grow up into the beautiful girl.” “You remind me more and more of Silvia each and every day.” “I wish you could have gotten to know your mom; you guys would have been best friends.” Same tone, same concerned smiles, same glossy eyes that betrayed thoughts, same furrowed eyebrows that read I feel so bad for you and I really don’t know what to say in this situation but thank God it didn’t happen to my family. Henley trained herself to be polite (“Thank you so much. My mom would have loved to see you after all these years, I’m sure.”) to the various adults who proclaimed to be her mom’s closest friend in grade school.

But she hates the fake smiles she puts on for these people because it made her no better than them. Fighting false sincerity with false sincerity does nothing for her. She hates that she turned into this cynical being that actually becomes angry at people’s awkward reactions to death. It isn’t their fault. They are just doing what they think is right, saying what they think she wants to hear, doing what they think is respectful to the deceased. And who is Henley to judge them anyway? She doesn’t know what proper etiquette is. She doesn’t know what her mother would have wanted. Hell, she knows her mother just as well as the couple of casseroles she receives from neighbors on the anniversary of her mom’s death.

It’s strange that her neighbors still give her father food and flowers. As if the nineteen years that have gone by without a mother in the house haven’t taught them anything. She couldn’t blame the lonely neighbors, really, who left things on her doorstep; her father was a good looking man. Although, you’d think his new replacement wife would deter them.

His new wife…could be worse and this was a fact that Henley couldn’t disagree with, unfortunately. Elizabeth was kind (known for letting Henley get away with forgetting a chore or two), motherly (“Henley, never forget that you aren’t worth just any old boy. You deserve someone special who wants nothing more in life than to see those hazel eyes light up with happiness”), and a rather good cook. Most importantly, Elizabeth made Henley’s father happy.

They got married when Henley was sixteen. The whole ‘you need a mom in your life’ ship had sailed as far as Henley was concerned, but Arthur continued on with the nuptials anyway. Henley later realized that it was because he had fallen in love with Elizabeth and it really had nothing to do with her growing up without a feminine figure.

The next three years went on blissfully, but Henley couldn’t be bothered to notice it. She still had not made peace with the new addition to her small family. She couldn’t believe that her father remarried, that he would replace her mom. Her mom, who was perfect in every way. Who used to sing songs to her while she was still in the womb. Who was the one to ask her father out instead of waiting for him to do it. Who everyone describes as “brave” and “funny” and “friends with everyone.” Why would Henley need anyone but her image?

Henley tells herself time and time again that she must think of her father and how he is happy with Elizabeth. And she tried, she really did. She loves her father more than anything. He is her world. He is the sun and the moon. He taught her how to milk a cow. He let her do her own thing and gave her responsibilities at a young age. He used to be the father and the mother and now the everything is different and it confuses Henley. And because of this she knew that Arthur deserved this so she kept her mouth shut and her thoughts to herself.

The only reason she ever slipped up was because of Beatrice. Yes, Beatrice, another addition to her home. A beautiful, confident, intelligent addition. In essence she was exactly what Henley wanted to be when she was in her early twenties…except Beatrice was only seventeen. And of course she was, really. Of course she was not even an adult yet but acted more mature than some. Of course she was eloquent and talented and skinny and had straight pearly teeth and clear skin and shiny hair. And, of course now she was Henley’s little sister.

Obviously the girls did their best to get along in front of their parents, but there was only so much Henley could deal with. Like the fact that Beatrice had no idea what it was like to work for her money. She works in a small, air conditioned shop. Whereas Henley has been earning (the key word here) a very small amount of money each week by working on one of District 10’s large farms. Beatrice will never know what it’s like to live life on a weekly basis. Beatrice has never made the mistake of naming a cow while milking it and then watching someone slaughter it the next day. Beatrice has never had to take off her father’s socks and shoes, wash his face, feed him a meal, and make him a bed on the couch because he was so exhausted from a day on the farm. And she never will. And that pisses off Henley.

Even after three years, this new family dynamic is foreign to Henley. But now that she’s nineteen and the fear of the Games is gone, she has to actually deal with it and get used to it. She has to grow up and actually plan things and accept that her stepmom and her stepsister aren’t going anywhere.