Ayla Stern (District 1)

Ayla is a tall, strong limbed girl. At 5'10" she sticks out from most girls in the district, despite the fact the district is the best fed out there. The years of training as a career have melted away most baby fat and left a sculpted body in its wake. Her youth still preserves some form of softness, and despite having broad shoulders and generally being more roughly built than the preferred standard in the district, she is feminine, though she owes that mostly to her face and narrow waist.

With big, deep set green eyes, a button nose and full lips, Ayla has what many call a doll face. When she was younger, she had chubby cheeks that magnified the effect, but training has shaved that off, making her look slightly older than her actual age. She has slightly wavy, waist long, ashy light brown hair that streaks blonde here and there in the summer, which she usually keeps in a braided bun or a ponytail. You'd expect looks like that would make her appear innocent, but there's always that glint in her swamp green eyes that prevents that.

Ayla's wardobe is very simple. Functionality over looks, to the horror of her parents. Her mom repeatedly tells her about her wish to shop dresses with her, but Ayla ignores the requests. She is most comfortable in baggy cargo pants, a loose blouse or shirt and some boots. She rarely wears jackets as she's never cold, but if she does it's an old leather one Ariane gave her that smells of autumn leaves.

Ayla's personality has shifted quite a lot over the years. As a child she was spoiled and lazy with a big love for food, as a young teen she still tried to get by doing as little as possible, but her love for food was replaced with love for her new friend. Ayla never had that before, someone who knew her through and through, yet is different enough to challenge her. Her friendship with Ariane brought a new side of her, with dark snarky humor but most of all: devotion. If you manage to earn Ayla's trust, she is as loyal as a dog and will not abandon you unless you do something that goes against everything she stands for.

Ayla does not worry, doesn't fuss over small things and will not condemn you if you make a mistake, because she knows all too well she isn't perfect herself. She's indifferent towards many things, which can be frustrating for those who are easily emotionally invested. She does not get upset quickly and her training has taken away any signs of a temper she has, because she feels it is a useless way to spend energy. Not many things impress her or leave a mark on her, except matters of the heart.

With Ayla, when something happens to someone she loves, her feelings bleed off, like pressure on a propane tank. When that happens it's only a matter of time when she explodes, but how or when is anyone's guess. She's an intense friend and even a more intense lover.

When it comes to the latter she honestly doesn't know what to do with herself, as the swirl of feelings makes her insecure and vulnerable, both things she fears greatly. So she simply convinces herself it's not worth the effort and lets go. She hasn't had a real boyfriend yet because of that, one the one hand because she won't let them get close and on the other hand because she does not have the most inviting personality to begin with.

She's a person of few words, and mostly just listens and observes. When she's in a good mood she might throw in some humor, but it's dark and offensive to some. After Ariane's death these comments have become very rare and she almost requires a direct question in order to engage in conversation.

Despite her mostly permanent poker face, she does have her happy moments. Most are with kids. For some reason, small children tend to gravitate towards Ayla and she happily plays with them, one of the rare occasions she actually smiles. It may be their innocent, naïve way of indulging in life, which reminds her a lot of Ariane. One thing is for sure, Ayla is a person with many layers, most which will not be explored by others, except maybe by a few...

Ayla grew up in District 1, considered to be the richest place after the Capitol. Her parents --like so many-- considered her to be a special snowflake and pampered her and her brother Brandon a lot in childhood. Clothes, toys, gadgets, anything they could afford. In return it was expected that once they were old enough to work, she and her brother would do their best to make them proud.

This was easy for Brandon, as he had many apparent talents, though none of them had to do with physical ability. Ayla had never participated in sports and already at 11 she was a bit on the chunky side compared to her often lithe, limber peers. Therefore her parents decided it would be a good idea for her to train to be a career tribute, much to Ayla's dismay. She was not used to doing anything that required the slightest physical exertion. Her strategy for the Hunger Games consisted of enjoying the food, the attention and being the first to die a hopefully clean death in the field. The idea that she might be filthy, having to hunt for her own food and worse, mess with icky animal corpses repulsed her. After fussing and screaming a lot (her usual tactic to get things her way) she reluctantly agreed to do it in order to please her parents.

Entering the program at 12 turned out to be rather late, as most of her fellow trainees had been at it since early childhood. Ayla felt out of place in the midst of these eager teens, who already possessed skills she never deemed possible for herself. As a result, she ended last in every competition. She often got banged up during the many hand-to-hand sparring sessions without being able to land a single blow of her own in return. She was afraid of heights, so much that she would freeze in every climbing session and had to be helped down by a fellow trainee. She routinely landed flat on her face at the first or second jump in the obstacle course. She almost shot off her instructor's ear when in fact she had to be shooting a dummy 3 feet to the right. A few months in, her weight regulated thanks to a strict diet she was put on, but her half hearted efforts during training kept her at the end of the line.

Another girl, dubbed 'lifer' because she'd been in the program since she was barely 4, tried to help her out. Lifer's real name was Ariane, but few knew it and no-one used it, and so Ayla didn't either. With her slim, functionally toned body, fiery copper tail bone length hair, chestnut brown eyes with an Asian hint, Lifer was everything Ayla wanted to be but wasn't. From her unconventional beauty to her skills and infuriatingly nice personality. Lifer taught Ayla the little tricks that made the difference between failure and success. Holding your breath before you shoot, landing a jump on a narrow ledge with your legs shot out in front of you, knees slightly bent, balls of your feet. Walking around squeezing a tennis ball in your hand all day for grip.

Ayla started to improve under Lifer's coaching, but grew increasingly suspicious when she wasn't asked to do anything in return. In Ayla's world, giving and taking went hand in hand. When she asked, she was brushed off. “Maybe later.” But months passed and it was never brought up again.

She started taking notice of Lifer's training sessions. It wasn't hard to be impressed, as the girl was good at every single thing. But after a while a pattern emerged. During hand-to-hand combat, the redhead settled for tackling, throws, parrying blows and redirection of energy. In weapons sparring she ended the fight through disarming. It didn't take long for Ayla to connect the dots. Lifer excelled at everything, except the actual killing. After a particularly vicious sparring session Ayla had with a boy called Flint, in which she proudly knocked one of his teeth out, Lifer turned to her and asked to teach her what no amount of training could: the loss of compassion.

At 14, both Ayla and Lifer still enjoyed the fortune of not being chosen for the games. Ayla revelled at the speed time slipped by, ignoring her friend's comments about dice having no memory. Lifer was still extremely reluctant to harm or kill, and when Ayla's suggestion of using deadly traps so she wouldn't actually have to do it person made her even more upset, Ayla suggested she'd train to kill in a clean, more humane way. Arrow in the eye, punch to the throat to crush the larinx, knife in the solar plexus. Lifer caught on quick, but Ayla always wondered what would happen when push came to shove.

Time went on and Lifer tried to include solitary and gruff Ayla into her social circle. “Try to be charming for once,” her friend chastised her when Ayla showed up for dinner in cargo pants and a boring blouse. “Wouldn't want to steal your spot in the limelight,”Ayla smugly replied, earning an eye roll. With her friends at home, Lifer was Ariane once again and it became apparent to Ayla that this was the way she kept her private life and career separate. She felt strangely hurt by that, but made no comment.

A few months before Ayla's 15th birthday, Lifer was chosen as tribute. Ayla was sure someone would volunteer, but no-one did. Before she could, Lifer accepted and was shipped off. She started out well, using her wits and agility to get around, but she was killed when she befriended an innocent looking boy, who ended up stabbing her to death in her sleep. He went on to become the victor of the games, hiding a ruthless personality behind those puppy dog eyes girls swooned over.

Ayla was devastated by the loss of her best friend. She knew signing up for the games was basically signing your own death certificate, but Ariane (after her death Ayla refused to think about her as Lifer) was so good Ayla had harbored a shred of hope that her friend could win this. Instead, the boy who had her blood on his hands returned and was hailed by all districts.

From then on Ayla threw everything into training. If she had seemed solitary and cold before, she was even more so now. Whereas Ariane had friends and an active social life brought on by her tendency to do things for people-- “the greatest gift is giving,” she'd once said-- Ayla turned into the complete opposite. She became quiet and still, pokerface in place at all times. It unsettled her career peers and her family, but attempts at poking through the big wall she'd built around herself were in vain and so they let it go.

When the victor mysteriously turned up dead outside of an abandoned apartment building, suspicions arose, but no-one was arrested. The death was ruled a suicide and there was talk of him being mentally disturbed.

It should have made her feel better, but it didn't. Now at 17, almost 18, Ayla has about one year to go to be free of the games. She hopes she'll be picked, because right now she honestly doesn't know what to do without it. Ariane's old nickname seems more fitting to Ayla now.

- I hope this isn't too long and boring for you guys. I tend to go overboard on the history descriptions.
- Also, how do others acquire those fancy bio template layouts? Call me vain, but I'd like to have one of those.
- Face claim: Ana Beatriz Barros