{Melody Finn} / {District 11}

^{baby, we should have left our love in the gutter where we found it}
SINGING HOW THE MIGHTY FALL

"We could get out of this place, you know. It's not hard. District eleven is huge - even the outlying areas to ten or twelve would do. We could escape."

"And what would we do when we did, Seb?"

"Anything we want. We'd be free, Melody! My mother used to tell me stories of abandoned houses in eleven that no one knows about because they're so remote. We find one of those and do it up. We both know what kind of plants we can eat and which ones we can't; you're a good trapper... we'd make it work."

"And if the peacemaker's find us?"

"What if they don't? We can make alarms just in case. If we travel far enough, we might even reach district thirteen or beyond. Imagine a place were Panem isn't even a word; where the capitol is just a center and no one is taken to die!"

"It sounds impossible, I'll give you that. But the last thing we can do is escape the day before the Reaping."

"So you'll consider it?"

"I didn't say that. I'll wait a couple of weeks after the reaping when you're not so worried about being taken."

...

"How many times is your name in for the reaping?"

"...Enough."

APPEARANCE;

There is nothing striking about Melody to think that she had lived in any place other than her district, or even that her ancestors had happened upon somewhere else. She retains the common dark skin and eyes of her people; her body lithe from the time spent in climbing orchid trees and plowing the land. It would be hard to say if she could ever be considered "beautiful", for her hair is far too unkempt, her skin constantly dirty and the untamed body hair that clings to her legs, armpits and other exposed areas of skin all considered ugly. Still, she is at least blessed to not retain any disfigurements either from birth or the manual labour to which she is expected to complete.

The girl stands at a height of 5'8 with very little to her mass. One might mistake her for almost being anorexic if they didn't have a chance to look at the condition of those around her. By comparison, Melody has some condition to her - albeit not much - and the tiny line of fat that clings to her body feeds the more prominent muscle that allows her to climb and leap over distances. In this way, she more resembles a monkey than a human; though she has the ability to walk and act more than such. Her skin is copper in hue, with callouses across her fingers, palms, feet; and faint freckles across her face and shoulders from the constant subjection to the sun.

Her hair is a dark brown and falls midway down her back in wild tangles. Given her work, its almost impossible for it to be kept clean and neat, so Melody rarely bothers with it. It is obvious that she had some attachment to it, however, as she openly resists anyone trying to cut it off and often ties it back when in the fields. When not tied it frames a thin, heart shaped face, and the cleaner strands seem to have the same color consistency as her eyes. Where the rest of body is doused in a dirty brown, her eyes are a more milk chocolate color - rich, and likely her most dominate and lovely feature if she didn't think them to be a mud colour.

Her voice is low pitched, though certainly not masculine, and her most common expression is either neutral or scowling - hardly the kind to inspire people to approach.

~

"- happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

The whoosh of air that exited the girl's lungs seemed as if she had been holding it for years; her cramped fingers loosening and stretching as the crowds around her began to disperse. Melody allowed herself a small smile, a rare expression for anyone in her district, and cast her gaze to the line of boys and young men who had been saved from the reaping, scanning the now relieved faces for her best friend. When she couldn't find him initially, her eyebrows narrowed and she began to stride forward towards them.

'Where is that boy?' She thought irritably. 'He's normally rushing over once the ceremony is done. It's not like he has any siblings -'

"Miss Finn?" The voice that came behind her was soft - so much so the girl might have missed it. Throwing her head back, Melody located the face of Mrs. Wood, the kind, elderly lady that lived next to Sebastian. Beckoning her over, her face held no kindness today. It was a whitewashed shade of horror and grief that would cause the girl to hesitate. "Come quickly, my dear."

...

I can't.

...

"He would rather take his own life than risk having it handed to the capitol."

"STUPID! That's all he is! His name wasn't even picked; HIS NAME WASN'T EVEN PICKED!"

"W-We were talking about leaving the other day. I thought he meant j-just going to a different district or out of here. I didn't think... Not this. He was stupid and selfish - I HATE YOU SEB."

PERSONALITY;

Unlike her best friend Sebastian, Melody is the much more realistic of the two. Any action that she takes in her life is generally based on careful analysis and planning, and she is not one to rush an action without there being some kind of urgency about it. She has a rare amount of patience and passiveness for the world, seeing as she's never had a chance to be anything more than what the capitol - and, effectively, her district - have deemed her to be. Because of this, she has a listlessness in public that makes her less desirable than others, and she is reluctant to break out of her shell and seek company.

Melody is quite intelligent - being able to fashion her own traps to catch wild game for her family. She is also an expert climber; able to quickly dictate which branches can hold her weight with or without cargo and which will break upon contact. Some consider her a wasted talent, seeing her smarts as something that could be better used than her physical labour, despite her laziness with school. What she takes of these rumors and thoughts is unknown, as she rarely comments on it.

Since Sebastian's death, Melody has become increasingly withdrawn - preferring her own company and that of nature to other people. It would seem that he had brought out all of her best traits; a love of the wild, a kindness for others and an imagination and love for adventure that was just as vast and fiery as his when she wasn't embarrassed enough to tap into it. What appeared to be a shell before has become even more so - simply doing her duty and disappearing for hours on end. More a ghost than girl.

~

Could I have saved him? I ask myself that every day. Is it more painful to die by your own hand as he did or to die in the arena? Or is it a message that, in the end, no one can control your destiny but you? Seb had so many tickets - I know that. Was it because he took out so many... was it a message to them all? You don't own me; you can't use my life as a bargaining chip to keep myself and my friend fed. I control my destiny. If I am to die, I will die my way.

Was there something that could have been said? All our talks about escaping - I knew he considered them and I knew he planned. If I had said yes and packed my bags, would we have made it? I think about that little wooden house in the wilderness fashioned by stick and stone all the time. I think about the creeks were we could learn to fish and sitting by a fire at night telling stories and roasting game. We could have children, he told me - children who didn't have to live in fear. "It is possible," he tells me.

"Are you sure?"

"I haven't been more sure about anything else in my life."

HISTORY;

There is something that being brought up in a poor area isn't always elaborated on. It is a very simple and defining fact -most of their stories are dreadfully boring.

Melody Finn was born in a small wooden shack in one of the many orchids dotted across District Eleven. Her parents, Simon and Alice Finn, were older parents - her birth an accident from the start. The two had been unable to conceive since their marriage ten years prior, and it was both a blessing and a curse in their eyes they were unable to have a baby. They were of the belief that if they couldn't have a child it was one less death from the start that the capitol got, despite their grief they couldn't pass on their name and line. Melody was both a wonderful gift and the promise of terror every year from age twelve until adulthood - if she made it that far.

Since the girl was an only child, her upbringing was slightly better off than those who had multiple siblings. While poor, the limited mouths to feed meant that the small family had enough to eat most of the time and, when Melody was old enough, her father took her out to the fields to help heighten their rations allowance. She proved an expert in the trees, bringing down fruit and leaping from tree to tree to get a good look at areas of their farms that could be improved. Many "cheery" days, by their comparison, were spent singing badly along with the mockingjays in the heat of the afternoon sun.

It was on one of these days that Melody met Sebastian, a "wealthy" district eleven member. His father handled the quality control of the product that was sent to the capitol, meaning that he got some form of a higher education and luxury. Despite this, he was quite down to earth when it came to talking to his fellow citizens, though he had a airy head for the land beyond. He and Melody became fast friends, despite his chats that did little more than infuriate her.

This would continue until about a year ago, right before the annual Hunger Games. Sebastian had taken out a number of tickets to help feed his family since his father had become ill and didn't have a wife to help look after him. Despite his best efforts, the man passed away a month before the reaping - leaving Sebastian with a mounting price for his selection in the games and seemingly no options for escape. Despite his requests and dreams of escaping to Melody, these went unfulfilled. Terrified of losing his life in an area, the boy decided to hang himself the night before the reaping and take his fate into his own hands.

Since his death, Melody never really recovered. Always a more reclusive girl due to circumstance, his willing suicide left her in a depression that is hard to break out of. She currently still lives with her parents and waits out her childhood until she is free of the fear of the Hunger Games.

She's lovely, Finny! I especially love her history and the parts with Seb! However, could you please elaborate on why Melody can't read or write? All children end up at school in their lives so the Capitol can explain to them why everything is the way it is.

Thanks and please reply when she's ready for a second check!