Do you see with eyes open?-Open

if children
don't grow up
our bodies get bigger
but our hearts get torn up

Tigerius Rex —

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Tiger Rex never felt compelled to pretend that he was a deep, brooding, or introspective guy. Thinking was not his job, and never really had been. He had street smarts — some, anyhow — and didn't entirely lack common sense, but he'd never felt the need to ponder life's mysteries, or even to do his schoolwork. Academics were Leo's area, after all. Between the two oldest Rex boys, Tiger was all brawn, and his little brother was the philosopher, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

The red-haired boy preferred training, anyway. It felt so much better to be outside and actually doing something instead of lounging around with a book in hand. Where was the gratification in that? He would much rather be out for a jog or trade a few punches with his buddies than stress his brain. Besides, with the reaping fast approaching and the weather warming up, it would be foolish to burn daylight doing anything sedentary like reading.

Every grin that ever found its way across Tiger's face had been genuine, but the sort that he wore on his way to the training center was almost child-like in the amount of elation it conveyed. On the stocky eighteen-year-old, it looked goofy, but the Rex boy seldom felt self-conscious and never saw reason to mask his emotions. Some of his brothers liked to — Tyrannus, the brooder, and Tarquin, his twin's shepherd — but Tiger always thought it was ridiculous how people would go out of their way to overcomplicate things as rudimentary as feelings. It just seemed silly to hide simple motives like wanting to go somewhere or get something. He was always much more direct and straightforward; of course, as a six foot tall ginger that was built like a tree trunk, he was never destined for subtlety.

He strolled through the less-industrialized portions of District One, enjoying the fresh air that characterized the back roads, and fiddling with the buckle on his gym bag all the while. It was one of those kind that snapped every time it was fastened and clicked every time it was released, and Tiger could not keep himself from messing with it as he walked. Snap! Click! And then another few steps. Snap! Click! This continued for most of the walk, with Tiger not even realizing that he was doing it for long stretches of time, catching himself, stopping, then starting up again a short while later as his mind wandered.

Halfway through his walk, his attention was grabbed by some movement underneath a large tree. His lack of cunning did not mean that his senses or reflexes were hindered in any manner, and a well-trained eye will always find the hidden silhouette of a would-be assailant. As he neared the girl, who was initially difficult to spot on account of her dark-colored training uniform, he called out to her, curious as to why someone would be playing hooky from his favorite activity.

"Hey," he hollered in greeting, getting right to the point. "What are you doing?" He never claimed to be the mysterious type.


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