Eyal Davids, District 7

Eyal Davids is 6’0” and has been this height for the past three years. Everyone agrees that he has stopped growing. He weighs about 170 lbs. His body is very toned from working with lumber – cutting trees, hauling logs, etc. His jaw is well-defined and ‘strong’ in proportion to his face, which is quite narrow. Following this, his nose is straight and narrow, his lips are thinner, and even his eyes have a narrowing quality about them. Regardless, he is rather handsome. His skin is rough from work, but very pale, taking after his family. He has short, black hair and pale green eyes. Eyal’s cheekbones are high, so that even when a hint of a smile crosses his face, his face lights up and he appears to be very happy.

Over the years, Eyal has noticed that his eyes are slightly asymmetrical but it is not something noticeable to anyone unless he points it out. He is not one to obsess about his appearance, but he rather enjoys noticing this subtle flaw as often as he can (there are no mirrors in his home). This is due to his features being very like those in his father and a variety of others throughout District 7. He prefers the uniqueness.

Eyal is a naturally protective human being and has been for his entire life. He always stands up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, which includes children in particular. He is an extrovert to every extent of the word, but is not obnoxious as some extroverts are. Eyal is good-humoured and quick-witted – good for a laugh. He does not take himself too seriously, so is often making jokes at his own expense. He’s confident enough to keep himself from believing his own self-depreciation for the purpose of laughter.

Eyal has never been close enough to anyone to consider them a ‘best’ friend. He has many friends, yes, but not anyone who he feels comfortable enough with to confess his secrets or personal thoughts about anything. Ever since his mother’s death, when he was seven, he has kept up a wall, guarding himself from ever being susceptible to emotional pain. This not only closes him off from people outside of his household, but it also has weakened the relationship between his father, Noah, and himself. He isn’t too bothered with this situation in life, though.

Eyal is probably best-described by others as being laid back. Although he gets extremely angry sometimes, an outsider would never know due to his excellent poker face. However, most of the time this laid back persona that everyone sees is an accurate account. When he does get angry, he tries to calm himself down by telling himself that his anger only does harm to himself until he mellows. Sometimes a passerby can hear Eyal humming to himself, which is another technique he uses to calm himself. The passersby just see the good-natured and -humoured Eyal enjoying himself and his work.

Eyal Davids was born to Tamal and Noah Davids. After his birth, his mother became pregnant two more times. The first child was another boy who they named Tamesis, but he died early from malnutrition. The second had been stillborn, but would have been a girl. Tamal was no longer able to get pregnant as her health began to deteriorate. This was rumoured to have happened because of her despair for lost children, but it seemed like more to Eyal. Tamal refused to see doctors or healers and she rarely spoke at all. Mere acquaintances to the Davids family, who rarely spoke to any one member, whispered about Tamal’s sanity, or lack thereof, and made jokes at her expense. Eyal could hear the other children in school repeating what they had heard various adults say. He was unsure as to whether he should believe the accusations or not, but they seemed very plausible.

By the time she died – it was summer and he was seven – he had created a barrier between himself and the rest of the world in order to keep the rumours from his own vision of his mother. He loved her so entirely. Tamal would take him on walks and tell him things that he thought, at the time, were secrets; she would play with him and make him smile, even when her health worsened. Eyal had never been very close to his father, so when Tamal finally died on that hot summer’s day, the wall that kept rumours out grew to keep people out. He and his father were very much alike in this way, though neither acknowledged or, perhaps, knew it.

Throughout his adolescence, Eyal was friends with everyone. There was no one person that he confided in completely, but he enjoyed the company of many. He worked in the forests from a young age and was and active and able-bodied employee for the district by the time he was twelve. Of course, school had always been forced to go first, and still did. From 7 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon, Eyal attended school. Afterwards, he would go with the other boys – the cutting and hauling of trees and logs was reserved for males primarily – to the forest and begin his work. His father also worked with this group, but he and Eyal rarely spoke. If one didn’t know the Davids, they would not be able to conclude that the two were even related, although they resembled one another a great deal.

Eyal has thought about his future often, but he rarely sees beyond the forests of District 7. Often, he thinks about the Hunger Games and the possibility of him being reaped. He imagines that most people would be terrified, save for the 'Careers', but Eyal cannot claim the same fear. If anything, he feels indifferent. If a future exists for himself, it can only be outside of the district.