Aria Whittaker, District 4 (Finished)

Aria is not very tall for someone her age, standing somewhere between 5'4 and 5'5 (Although she insists she is 5'5), and weighs 126 pounds. She is not fat, but not all muscular either, although her legs are pretty strong. Her hands are quick to tie and undo knots, and her feet are somewhat big. While she is a good runner and swimmer, her coordination does not extend any farther than that, and is the worst when it comes to dancing or gymnastics. Her skin is more peach coloured than tanned, compared to the other citizens of District 4.

Aria's face is oval shaped, with a greek nose, flushed cheeks, and dark circles under her eyes. Her eye colour is a mix of green grey blue, like the sea, unsettled and ever changing. She has big ears, which turn bright red along with the rest of her face when she is embarressed. Her hair is cut short and messy, and is a coppery red-brown.

Aria, being relatively lower middle class by District 4 standards, does not dress fashionably, nor in rags. She usually wears long skirts or pants, long sleeve shirts (Navy Blue, Dark Red, Mahogany, or Mauve colours), and sandals. When it is unbearably hot, she wears flowing short sleeve shirts or cut off capris/ shorts.

To say that Aria is quiet would be a huge understatement. She is almost like an Avox, and if she can get away with using hand signals or facial expressions, she will. It is not that she is trying to be rude, she is simply very shy and nervous when it comes to talking to people. Aria likes people, but she doesn't feel comfortable socializing because she is a poor speaker and stutters. As a result, she often ends up alone because people think she is strange.

On the inside, Aria is a very thoughtful person. She is a open minded, and can generally tell what people are thinking based on their behavior. She is an empathetic person, however this allows people to take advantage of her. Aria has many ideas, and gets very frustrated at herself when she does not express them.

Aria has the potential to be a nice person. She is willing to help anyone who needs it, sometimes too much, and is also a trustworhy and trusting person. The only downside is that she has no one to be nice to, as many people either ignore her, or she is too shy to get to know them herself. She wishes she had people to talk to, but rarely sees people unless she is at work or going out on errands.

Aria does not completely mind being alone though. When she is alone and has no work to do, she will go walk around the shore, picking up sea shells, broken bits of glass, and other things. She takes what she finds and hangs them up with bits of net so they resemble mosaics. If she is not beachcombing, you can find her sitting somewhere writing (Who knows what she's writing), doing small errands for whoever needs it, and cooking.

Finally, Aria is a relatively mellow person. Her happiness comes quicker than her melancholy, and very rarely does she come to anger. When she is angry however, she can be a vengeful person who holds her grudges. She is defensive when people judge or criticize others, yet is an empty shell when she is critcized or insulted, being either too hurt or angry to defend herself.

Aria was the only born child of Eileen and Thomas Whittaker, she was born the year of the 43rd Annual Hunger Games. She had always wanted siblings, but her mother had said that she couldn't handle more than one child, so she instead played with all the other children. In her younger years Aria was a lively child who smiled constantly.

Her father, Thomas, had a small problem with liquor though, and was known to go off spending his money getting wasted, and arguments between her parents became frequent. She hated the loud fighting that took place, and would run as far as she could from the house to escape the noise. When Aria was 6, her father left one night after a fight and never returned, although when she was 10 she learned that he had gone and married another woman in a distant fishing village.

As Aria got older, she grew more and more introverted from other people, and it was around this time her stutter started. Some children mocked her for the stutter, which made her anxiety around people worse. Her mother, who worked making nets, started coming home late from work. This usually meant that after school Aria would clean the house, do her homework, cook dinner, and go to bed. Because of the lack of time spent together, the mother and daughter became accustomed to talking only a few times a week.

By the time Aria was 11, she had almost become a mute, as she feared of being teased, and her relationship with her mother was minimal. One day she had been in the market getting groceries when out of the pub walked her father. She literally squeaked in shock at the sight of him, dropping the bag of vegetable and fish, and didn't know what to say. Thomas looked at his daughter, went towards her, and then walked right past her without any acknowledgement. It was like she was invisible to him.

At this point in her life, little has changed. Aria has worked part time fishing and mending nets for 4 years. She never thinks of the terrible Hunger Games unless she has to, although her Mother has been trying to convince her to become a Career for a couple years. Eileen and Aria have a slightly better relationship; they talk to each other twice a day during mealtimes.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thank you, pianoplayer