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Post by Fox Noble on Sept 2, 2010 18:18:33 GMT -5
Fox walked swiftly but quietly through the fenced in forest. A knife was placed in plain eyesight on his hip, another one hidden in his boot. He was just checking the traps and snares before he had to set off for school. He held a whip wrapped around his waist like belt. The whip made him feel more secure than his two knifes did for some reason unknown to him. The small sonic boom of a whip could scare off most predators and even most people. He had only had to use the whip once in combat and that was with a wolf that had dug under the chain link and tried to attack him in it's confusion. One smack across the nose however ended that fight quickly. Very few messed with the business end of a whip when it was held in Fox's grip.
Something didn't feel right though, and Fox knelt as if he had found tracks, closing his eyes to listen. There it was again... a soft rustling of leaves. Looking up Fox saw that the trees weren't moving and there was no breeze today. Might I ask why you are tracking a human instead of game so early in the morning? Fox stood slowly and turned to look behind him.
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Post by Alexis Perry on Sept 2, 2010 18:30:18 GMT -5
Alexis smiled as she saw her older brother comment to the other boy. It was his usual comment. Cocky and proud described her brother, and the exact opposite was herself. As she moved a little farther away from them and checked a few of her traps and putting a rabbit in the bag before resetting them, she heard the boys talking more. Since her younger brother had died her whole family listened to the rules more now.
Along with having to visit the capitol and being the only one in her family to do so, and she hoped that it stayed that way. Her brother was 17, almost out of the reaping. She had a year left, and was going to be entered quite a lot in it. Although she hoped that since she was an Avox she would get out of it. There had never been an Avox competitor. Let alone an Avox as young as herself. As she walked past the boys and towards the market to give her goods to the peacekeepers, they always checked her better than everyone else.
Something about past repeats itself. Alexis moved her head towards the market signaling to her brother to go to the market with her, because they would check him as well, before they head to school. Although she was old to be in school, she missed a year of it at the capitol they had let her stay in it another year being in her brothers class helped a lot. She was able to communicate with the others in the class through him. She smiled to the other boy as she waited for her brother to be done.
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Post by William Scratch on Sept 2, 2010 19:02:37 GMT -5
The end of the snare had been broken, tread on by somthing far too large to be one of the rabbits that usually crept through the fence to find it's way into someone's stew. William sighed and dropped it away, unhoooking the peg and pocketing the length of wire. As a hunter dissapointment was part of the life. A man has to bare the dissapintment for days, somtimes weeks untill a meal crept into sight. No matter how many advantages the predator had, if he did not have patience he was doomed.
After checking the rest of his empty snares William thrust his hands into the pockets of the dark brown leather jacket he was so fond of. While ie he was caught wearing it he would receive a hell of a beating, or worse he thought it was worth the risk. He loved the smell of old leather, the comforting warmth of that snug jacket on his shoulders. Added to that it offered him a certian degree of protection. William was like most of the district armed. A hunting knife made out of stone and wood hung by his side, the flint blade apparently home made and in an odd, distorted triangle shape quite unseen in conventional knives. Added to this he had a straight razor stuffed into his boot. For killing or defending himself he needed little else. With a good sharp knife, some raw materials, enough time and plenty of imagination the human hunter could overcome any foe.
Speaking of which, two figures crept onto the path ahead of him and he eased out of sight, pressing his shoulder against a tree and sitting squat as he watched them pick at snares. How easy it would be to just creep up behind them as a man does his pey and snuff out their lives. Nothing more than a couple of quick stabs. He eased forward, brushing aside a branch with the toe of his boot and easing forward, he was quite close when the wind picked up, making his open jacket brush against some leaves and create the rustling whichgave him away. He held an curse inwardly just as the male voiced a comment. " There's no difference." William replied rather casually, as if it didn't strike him the wods might be chilling or morbid. He flicked his sharp gaze to either of the pair, noting them to be young. "Out for a stroll?"
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Post by Fox Noble on Sept 2, 2010 19:15:36 GMT -5
Fox huffed out what could have been a chuckle and turned to the girl and narrowed his eyes then shrugged. She was weirdly quiet for having been the one addressed, then returned his gaze to the man. This guy looked familiar, but then everyone did when you lived in a district such as 9. I'm checking my traps, can't let meat spoil between morning and afternoon if you know what I mean. He turned back towards the forest and looked up to the sky. It would be another half hour before he had to return to his home and pick up Missy. He shrugged and looked back to the group. And you, I assume you are all working your traps before school same as myself?
Fox reached up and flicked a lock of hair from his eyes, watching the others. He had a phesent in his bag, but he had a few more traps to check, and he was hoping to catch a rabbit or two if he could. Havinga steady income of meat to the peacekeepers kept them happy enough to look the other way when one needed them too. A rabbit for the peacekeeper's selves clould buy you out of allot of trouble when the rabbits stacked up over time. Wolves often stole meat from snares if they aren't checked enough. He itched to disapear into the shadows, but something told him to stay, something wasn't quite right.
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Post by Alexis Perry on Sept 2, 2010 20:06:00 GMT -5
Alexis looked at the newcomer. Needless to say it wasn't good. She had heard of him from school. He was cold hearted and didn't care. He broke the rules on a regular basis. Alexis looked at her brother. She knew that she couldn't tell him what she wanted to anymore, but it was possible that he could tell what she meant by her eyes. As her brother, Nikolas, heard the other boy talk, he smiled. They all were doing the same thing, checking their traps and trying to keep the peacekeepers off of their asses.
Alexis nodded when the other one asked if they were checking traps before school. As Alexis moved towards Nikolas to be near him more in case Scratch tried anything, she heard Nikolas introducing themselves. "I'm Nikolas Perry, and this is my older sister Alexis" she heard him say as she smiled at the boys. Hopefully they wouldn't suspect anything was up. I mean its not everyday that a person is basically quiet in a conversation unless something is up.
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Post by Evie Parr on Sept 4, 2010 13:45:27 GMT -5
As usual, she'd been up at the crack of dawn to go out and check the traps she'd set the night before. Not wanting to wake her mother, or her two younger sisters, Evie had carefully dressed and left the house. She'd learned how to be stealthy, it was a mandatory while living in District 9, where all one did was either hunt for the food or process it. Evie preferred the former, knowing that her mother took care of the processing. As she'd wandered the forest, checking the snares, Evie knew that if her father was still alive, she would be right beside her mother. Evie shook her head, that would've been awful, she definitely preferred being out in the woods, even if they did end at a certain point.
Evie was clothed in her usual hunting attire, worn out pants, old boots, and a thin jacket that looked much to small for her. She'd had the thing for a while and it was just starting to feel snug meaning that she'd have to get another one soon. How she would afford one was beyond her, between her mother and her they made enough to barely feed four people, let alone buying clothes. It mattered not to Evie, the small jacket was out of the way, especially if she were pursuing the bigger game. The boots had once belonged to her father, when he was younger, and she still had room to grow into them.
Her light blonde hair had been pulled away from her face, allowing her the best possible vision while she hunted. She paused at one of the other snares, her eyes lighting up when she noticed a rabbit inside. She'd been checking this snare for weeks without any success and her patience had paid off. Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, Evie retrieved the rabbit and set the snare up again. She tied the animal to her belt and was about to move on when she heard voices nearby.
Of course there would be others out at this time. Usually, she stayed away from them, keeping on her trail of traps and snares. Wondering what was going on, there seemed to be more than one voice, she slowly approached them. She kept low to the ground, covering herself behind the vegetation and trees. Sure enough, there were four others standing ahead, talking. She recognized them, how could she not, they were all from the same District. However, they were older than she was, and Evie had few friends in the higher age groups.
Glancing up at the sky, Evie knew that her mother would be leaving for work soon. Her sisters would be fine by themselves for a while, Mina was twelve afterall. Still, Deanna, who was only seven, could be a bit of a handful and she didn't want Mina there with her alone. She turned to leave, when her foot snapped on a branch.
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Post by William Scratch on Sept 4, 2010 20:16:25 GMT -5
How uneasy everyone in District nine was but then getting up extremely early in the morning, every morning did that to people. He mused how many of them had the guts to ignore the rules and enjoy the simple pleasure of sleeping in. How many of them had watched a day drift by from the comfort of their bed? Not many he bet, not many at all.
He flicked his gaze between the gathered companions, fingers lightly drumming against his belt. There was a distinct tension in the air that was rather predatory, it was the tension of a lion guarding it's kill from jackals and in this particular case he had been relegated to the role of jackal. Then again it wasn't the first time a District 9 resident had to go hungry and it wouldn't be the last. William lowered his gaze to the snares with a smile somewhere between old friend and big bad wolf. " Strange how what you call spoiled I call aged... Regardless I was just out checking my traps as you but it seems while your snares are intact and bountiful my own seem to have been trampled by quarry too large to snare, quarry which wears boots and favors the right leg if I'm not mistaken. I wonder...How is this possible? For your snare is set less than a hundred yards from mine and in the same direction as the tracks, surely a clumsy person tramping through the woods in this direction would have ruined both our traps? So... I wonder if it was by accident or by design I shall have no breakfast this morning." As usual his overly long manner of speech contained a somwhat threatening, almost bullying tone while not being directed to any of them.
Naturally their would be icebreakers, But William seemed for the moment more interested in the whip wrapped around Fox Noble's belt, his eyes studying the weapon before he replied rather absently. " William Scratch. Pleasant to meet you Nikolas and your...charming sister." The air changed slightly, nothing much, just a slight shifti n wind direction but it was enough to bring William a hint of leather from boots. " It's rude to linger on the edge of a conversation." He called out, glancing around for the eavesdropper and soon setting eyes on poor little Evie when she snapped the branch underfoot. " Another friend of yours?" He asked to those closer companions, eyes set on the little girl. It still struck him as unusual to see such a young girl out hunting. What a wonderful world they lived in.
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Post by Fox Noble on Sept 6, 2010 14:03:47 GMT -5
Fox looked at the ground where the man had indicated his snares. It is no concern of mine as long as they have not touched my traps, but you will notice, I walk just fine on my right leg. An injured hunter is a dead hunter. Fox flashed a threatening grin at William, that of a predator hinting at what would happen if the jackal touched their prey. He had noticed William's interest in his whip but ignored it, it was fox's buisness and fox's buisness alone what he chose to cary for protection other than his knives. Fox's head turned and focused intently on the girl. His look was intense, but is softened slightly when he measured up the girl. She was probably about a year older than his sister... Fox shifted realising how many people were in the clearing. No animal in their right mind would come near them, and that worried Fox. I donb't know her but my sister might, she looks the same age. Fox watched the girl before turning to the scilent girl that her brother had called 'Alexis'. It is good to meet you both Fox replied with a nod in their direction. Fox's mind wandered to his sister at home. She would be up and cooking by now, miraculously giving taste to the tasteless food they were given to keep them going.
The unease that had made him stay was burning into teh back of his mind, kkeeping him light on his toes as he shifted from one foot to the other. the tension felt thick enough you cut it with a knife. This only added to Fox's unease. he would have to remind himself to move his traps out of this area, it was becoming too crouded with trappers. Their scent would scare away the animals for the next week.
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Post by Alexis Perry on Sept 6, 2010 14:25:03 GMT -5
Alexis could tell that she wasn't going to like William. It seemed like he was trying to stir up trouble. She also heard the twig snap, there was another lingering on the edge eavesdropping in on their conversation. Alexis shook her head to Nikolas signaling that she didn't know the girl either.
"Neither me nor my sister know her either." Nikolas said while he turned towards Alexis. He could tell something was bothering her but he couldn't figure it out. It was times like this Alexis wished that she wasn't an avox. Things would be so much easier. Alexis nodded to Fox as he said that it was good to meet them. She believed the same. Fox seemed genuine and rather nice.
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Post by Evie Parr on Sept 6, 2010 19:18:03 GMT -5
They had been walking for a long time, Evie could tell by the way the sun was rising into the sky. Her father was leading the way, pausing every so often to check some tracks on the forest floor. A yawn had escaped her, causing her father to turn around with a sympathetic gaze. "I can take you home, Evie. You don't have to learn how to hunt now, there's plenty of time for that." Her father said softly, his voice lowered as to not scare away any nearby prey.
Evie had shook her head, tired, but eager to see how hunting was done. Her father had been doing it since he was a young boy and it had been his way of providing income for their family. While her mother worked at the food processing plant, their combined incomes had been a way for their family to get by. Her mother had been a little reluctant, especially since Evie was only eleven, but she and her father had insisted upon it. It was a good opportunity for them to bond and Evie was curious about her father's job.
She attempted an eager smile. "Go ahead, Dad. I want to learn." Her father had simply smiled, noticing that his little daughter looked strange holding a pack of arrows and a bow...
The memory faded from Evie's mind as quickly as it had come. How could she have been so careless, to give herself away by backtracking onto a stick? She'd never been so clumsy. It didn't matter now anyway, she'd been discovered eavesdropping and she wasn't sure what was more embarrassing. Her eyes flew to the older kids, all watching her as she rose to her feet. They looked vaguely familiar, but Evie was having trouble placing names with faces. She'd only seen them a few times back in town, or at the Reapings. They usually kept to the kids their age, as well as Evie did.
Hoisting her pack of arrows farther onto her shoulder, Evie stepped over the undergrowth she'd been hiding behind, and joined them in the clearing. She could see some of the snares that they'd been checking. The thought reminded her of the others she had to look at before heading home and she sighed, wishing she'd kept going. Her sister would be wondering what had happened to her. Evie's bright, blue eyes turned to William and they narrowed slightly. "I wasn't lingering on your conversation," she mumbled. "I was just wondering why you all were having this little hunter's pow wow..." Her eyes flew from one person to the next as she folded her arms across her chest.
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