Aether Elek, District 3

Ark is a moody 22 year old, and his looks match his personality. He has thick, wavy, dark mahogany hair down to just below his cleft chin. His eyes are almond-shaped, almost catlike in their tilt upwards at the ends, and colored like his hair. He has an angular yet round face, with high cheekbones and a snub nose. When he is stoic his lips arch downward, but typically they are on the edge of a smirk.

He is 6'1" and 130 pounds. He's wiry but muscled, and is getting stronger the more he works with his father. He is, however, slightly underweight--due to his substituting some meals for a drink. He has slight bags under his eyes, as he's beginning to take on more responsibility as his father gets older. He's very pale and spends most of his free time wishing he was an airplane flying far away from Panem, wherever that would be.

Ark finds himself ugly. Not because he's disgusting or gross, but because he's uncomfortable with seeing himself. He doesn't like who he is or where he is or what he's done or doing, and when he has to look at himself he feels that. But, he does know a thing or two about getting girls, and distracts himself from misery when need be by seducing one.

Like the famous quote from a fearsome ogre, onions have many layers. So does Ark. His outermost layer is a playboy, carefree, ready for a good time. But most anyone can see right through to his second layer, a working stiff. He's following in his father's footsteps and growing up a bit. The seriousness that he tries so hard to hide rides off him in waves, and though some may find it not so bad, he thinks it's just one step closer to his innermost layer. Raw hurt.

His siblings may not remember what happened when they were younger, but as the oldest, he does. He remembers his mother and father fighting, he remembers their divorce. He remembers her death before his eyes, while giving birth to his younger brother. He was eight, but he remembers. His childhood left him hurting, but as he was the oldest, he was expected to suck it up and help out. He has an odd mix of resentment for their need for him, and guilt that he doesn't do more.

Ark is willing to just go with things, and doesn't feel the need to question them. He does, though, have his limits. He keeps, usually, to his responsibilities, and doesn't do anything too rash unless he's provoked. He's superficially happiest when drunk or with a lady friend, but raw happiness he feels only in certain moments with his siblings. He's quick on his feet when he needs to be, and strong enough to help with the machinery.

As a child, Ark was very sensitive. And since his father was almost always away working, he went to his mother for attention and nurture. Unfortunately, those two words were not in his mother's vocabulary. He never understood why he never got the kisses his playground friends were so quick to shove away. Ara, his younger sister, was never very sensitive--especially to her mother, whom she felt a strong resentment for, so Ark was the only one who ever had a connection with her. When she died, it haunted him. In his dreams, even in waking moments, the scene would replay itself before his eyes. His yellow-tinted mother, wretched in pain, her watery eyes losing focus… He remembers his own body, dry heaving, the feeling of an earthquake under his skin.

As a teenager, Ark was disgusted with his own sensitivity, pain, and victimization. He became happy on the surface, going out drinking with his "cool" friends, nailing girls, not having a single responsibility. But as he grew older he was forced to change that, working more to support his family. He hated that he had to give up on some of his persona, but it also forced him to feel the guilt of not doing enough for a long time. He works overtime, and he puts a lot into it, but he still feels both guilt and resentment.

As he turned nineteen, Ark decided to stay at home. He could help the family more and save money as well. His need to make sure Ara, his sister, didn't overwork herself was also a big part of his decision. At least, that's what he told her. Deep down, he worries about his sister, because she's so disliked by almost all the kids in their age group in the district. He wonders what will happen when time passes and all their dad's friends pass away and she's left to deal with them. He also cares a lot for his younger brother, and wants to make sure he doesn't have the emotional incapabilities that him and Ara do.

The family name, Elek, comes from the greek word "Elektron"--fitting because of where they live. Aether is the greek personification of the clean upper air breathed by the Olympians, because of his dream of flying away from the polluted town and "breathing clean air". His middle name comes from the family tradition of having the middle name after an animal that resounds with your soul. In Ark's case, horses.