towered, sporadically (tylerjames)

LUAN BRAITHE

To Luan, the start of the Hunger Games just meant more work. Many farmhands liked to take advantage of the Games holidays to spend time with their families. Parents celebrating in their relief that their children were spared. Large meals of finer foods saved for the get-togethers. When you have to work so hard every day regularly, the holiday gives a chance for rest, safe from Peacekeeper intervention. Not for Luan. He liked to take advantage of the extra work the day off creates. It means he can make slightly more money. Steal slightly more food for the families who are struggling to get by.

There's not much to celebrate when your family has already been shattered.

Today he had taken up some extra work at a neighbouring farm to the one he and his parents usually work at. To Luan, every farm had its own character. Everything in this new place is aged. The floorboards are worn from years of heavy use and blanketed by dust. The wooden frame of the barns creak in the wind, singing of the times that they have survived through. The usual farmyard smells intermixed with the smell of stale air, or dust. Overall, Luan thought it was a pleasant place to be; the buildings gave you a sense of comfort, of coming home after a long day. If it weren't for all the Peacekeepers, of course.

Today Luan was to help feed the cattle. It was probably one of the things about farm work he liked the most. He loved being around large, gentle creatures. He loved their big noses, their soft ears. They were calm so long as you treated them right. And treat them right he did. All of the cattle on his normal farm trusted him, obeyed him when he needed them to move somewhere. These cattle were more cautious, but as he brought them their meal of hay and straw they slowly warmed to him. He had a gift with animals.

Just like his brother. A gift that led him down a path to his death.

Luan picked up the pace of the feeding as he tried to steer his thoughts away from Arno. Distraction was another reason he liked to work during the days off. Watching so much death in the Games stirred up his own dark thoughts. The longer he could hold them at bay, the better.

Soon the last of the hay was met by eager mouths, and Luan made his way into the storage shed to return the sickle he had used to chop down what was now bovine lunch. It was smaller than most of the other sheds in the shed yard; its lack of windows made for poor air circulation so that standing inside with the door closed would overwhelm you with the smell of stale dust and metal. Stood up along the left wall were various pitchforks, garden hoes, rakes, and scythes, all in various states of rusting. Shelves upon shelves of slightly pails lined the back wall. Luan made his way to the right wall to hang his sickle with the others when his foot caught on something.

Ignoring the throbbing of his big toe, Luan leaned down to inspect the culprit. At first it looked like a typical floorboard, warped with age and held in place by rusted nails. But there was something off about it. It looked almost too inconspicuous. Like it had been deliberately made to not attract more than a quick glance.

Like it was there to hide something.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind Luan was certain he was right. Excitement coursed through his veins. What could be hidden here?The farm had clearly been around for a long time. Perhaps it existed even before the Dark Days? Luan let his mind wander onto the possibilities. So much so that at first he didn't notice when someone else entered the shed.

"Excuse me, sorry."

The words stirred Luan away from his thoughts as the girl who now joined him moved to the back wall to place a large pail on one of the shelves. He slowly rose and turned to get a look at her. She was a bit shorter than him, with dark hair and dark eyes. Along one side of her face was a birthmark. He knew she was younger than him, but not by much. The look of concentration that had been on his face turned into his usual friendly smile. "Not a problem!" he told her. Then, as she made for the door again he felt he should say more to this stranger. There was something about her that reminded him of himself, although what that was he couldn't say."They got you working on the day off too?" It was a superficial question to ask. Shows friendliness while letting Luan keep his distance. It helped him put up a wall that, much like his newfound floorboard, kept his secrets safe where nobody could touch them.

Perhaps she'd be the first to tear it down.