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Post by Reileigh Hart on Sept 4, 2010 0:52:49 GMT -5
There was nothing Reileigh loved more then swimming, especially when it was in the ocean. The waves pushed onto the shore, hissing against the sand and just barely touching Reileigh's feet who stood just out of range. She took a single step into the water too shallow to even cover her foot - cool waters that were just the perfect temperature for swimming. Reileigh spent a lot of time in these waters - she wouldn't be altogether surprised if she knew the world beneath these beautiful waters better then she knew the District above. She took another tentative step, then another, and the further she walked, the higher she was submerged by the waves - her ankles, calves, thighs, the swell just barely rising above the hem of her shorts. She stopped, closing her eyes and breathing in the fresh sea air as a light breeze blew by, lifting the ends of her hair. She took an easy, deep breath.
Then she dove forward, arms stretched above her, sliding effortlessly into the sea. She pushed herself deeper, farther away from the surface of this shallow part of the ocean to the bottom. Some of the fishes looked at her curiously, but quickly swam away as she approached, as if they knew that she was a predator. But today, she wasn't looking for fish. At least, not the typical kind. Today, she wanted nothing more then a sand dollar, a present for her brothers who had asked her for one as soon as they'd heard they existed (Plus if she got enough of them, she'd be able to sell them!) Reileigh was sure that these things were around, after all, she'd seen them. But finding them was an entirely different story.
She was underwater for a good few minutes before she felt her lungs starting to burn from lack of oxygen. She tilted her body upward and kicked off of the sand, propelling herself back up to the surface and as soon as she broke through, she gasped for much needed air.
No luck yet. Reileigh thought to herself. She looked around to get a feeling of her surroundings, realizing that she had swam quite a bit away from the shore. "I really need to start paying attention," she said under her breath before making her way back. When she felt her feet touch the sand and she was able to stand in the hip-high water, she stopped, raising her hands to her wet hair and twisting the water out of it before tying it into a messy, but efficient ponytail. Maybe she'd have better luck closer to shore? She looked down at the sand beneath her through the water, searching silently.
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Post by Annie Dobrev on Sept 4, 2010 1:37:29 GMT -5
Annie walked along their beach. The soft cool water hit her foot ever time the waves crashed to shore. She loved the feeling of the ocean. Something that would keep her grounded and near something that she loved. Her district. She would never have to leave it again unless she wanted to. She felt happy just doing what she was doing.
As she began walking diagonally deeper into the water she smiled when she got about chest deep. The cool water always felt good during the day. She hated how some of the guys looked at her because of the fact that they had seen her kill on television. But how were they any better, they would do it too. She didn't get majority of people that discriminated against the winners.
She sighed. She had a nice house, plenty of food, and enough money for a lifetime or two. She was content doing what she loved, fishing and hunting in the water of course. As she was now swimming in water that was around 7 feet deep and over a foot over her head if she was to touch the bottom she looked down into the water and saw a bunch of fish and other sea life swimming around and living their peaceful lives. Sometimes she thought it was better dealing with the fish than her friends.
She noticed someone that was waist deep in water. As she moved to where she could stand and be able to actually see what the other person was doing. As she neared she realized that it was a girl. Great they were obviously old enough to know of her winning. She wondered what she was doing out here. The fishing teams weren't to leave dock for a few more hours. They were busy eating and getting everything ready to leave for the day.
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Post by Reileigh Hart on Sept 4, 2010 1:57:32 GMT -5
The sound of someone approaching brought Reileigh's attention away from the ocean bottom, her entire body freezing as she listened to the uneven sound of moving water that disturbed the steady beat of the waves. Slowly, she raised her eyes, then stood up straight and searched for the source.
Turning around, she spotted the person, a brown haired girl with eyes to match that was no older then herself. Although she'd never really met the girl face to face, Reileigh knew her instantly. Everyone in District 4 knew her. "Annie Dobrev," she said. It wasn't a question of who she was, more like a statement that indicated there was no question. Part of her knew she should be wary of this girl, who the entire country of Panem had watched kill her own male partner in the 72th Hunger Games about five years before, but she couldn't be. After all, Annie had been fighting for her life.
Rather then get as far away as possible, as her father had ordered her to do if she ever came face to face with a Champion, she smiled. "So, you like swimming, huh?" She asked. A completely idiotic question, but at least it was an attempt to initiate some sort of conversation.
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Post by Annie Dobrev on Sept 4, 2010 2:20:03 GMT -5
Annie smiled as the girl realized that there was someone near her. At least she wasn't horribly doomed. So far Annie was the only girl her age still that was a champion. Just by the look the girl had Annie immediately knew that she knew who she was. But who didn't. Everyone watched the Hunger Games, regardless if they wanted to.
Annie always picked the smallest girl to sponsor with her money from winning to try to give them a fair chance. Sometimes it worked, but usually it didn't. Since her parents and siblings hated the way she acted in the Hunger Games, they decided that she could live in the Victors Village, and they were going to stay away from her.
What everyone said about it changing you was true. Nothing would ever be the same. Everyone was always more hesitant around you because they had seen you kill. Regardless if you wanted to, if you won you had to kill at least one person. She had killed 3. That was enough to end her friendships with a lot of people.
She was seeing a guy before she was chosen in the reaping. As he watched her he was happy, she stayed with the careers, never killed with them, but helped them create camp, get food, water, and the other necessities.
Annie smiled as she asked if she liked swimming. "Of course I do! Everyone in this District really does, to an extent that is" she said smiling. Needless to say whenever there was a water part to the Hunger Games her District excelled in getting to the cornucopia and out of the Blood Bath quickly. To the point where they had the advantage and usually killed more people in the Blood Bath than normal.
"But if you don't mind me asking, What are you doing out here so early?" she questioned. It didn't seem like she was out here for a swim. Annie herself was here to get away from people. Usually swimming helped take her mind off of things.
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Post by Reileigh Hart on Sept 4, 2010 2:41:04 GMT -5
Reileigh absently dipped her hands into the water, causing small waves among the gentle swell as she cupped her hands to draw a handful of sea water, then released it and repeated the process. Just to keep her busy. It was a bad habit she had; when she became nervous or embarrassed, she'd fidget with her hands, whether it be full motions as she was doing now or just small fidgets, such as drumming her fingers on a surface or even just against one another. But she wasn't nervous because of Annie - no, she was rarely nervous around people. She was nervous because she realized that her question wasn't exactly the most intelligent conversation starter. But at least it got a conversation going. she thought to herself.
Upon being asked about her business she smiled warmly and took her hands out of the water, letting the liquid she'd held fall in with a somewhat musical series of drops and splatters. Of course, it would be odd for Reileigh to be here alone when even the fisherman weren't out. She pointed down at the water below her with her index finger, "Sand dollars," she said, "I told my little brother's about them and they insisted on having some for themselves... so I came to find some and maybe sell some extras, but they're a lot harder to find then I remember and I'm having a bit of a hard time..." she said. It seemed that she'd spoken entirely in one breath and when she'd finished, she paused, considering her words, and sighed and waded through the water toward Annie.
She stopped a few feet away from Annie, "I suppose before we go any further, seeing as I know your name, I should introduce myself," she said finally. She held out her hand toward Annie with a warm smile, "My name is Reileigh. Reileigh Hart. Nice to finally meet you," she said, waiting patiently for the girl to respond.
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Post by Annie Dobrev on Sept 4, 2010 13:11:19 GMT -5
Annie watched as she played with the water unconsciously. It must be a habit, or perhaps nerves. She didn't know what she would have to be nervous about. It was against the rules for any person to murder another, that lead you right to the capitol to become an avox and wait on the tributes while they awaited their death.
Annie smiled as she said Sand Dollars. When she was little she loved searching for the ocean's jewel. Annie smiled. She remembered when her brother went to school and they told him about sand dollars and he demanded that she go find him some. Although they are difficult to find, They were usually found in the sand. Hence their name.
Annie could tell why she was having issues. She was a little too shallow. She needed to be out near Annie more. As she realized that she watched as she waded through the water closer to her. As Annie shook her hand she realized that she had heard her name somewhere before. She didn't know from where but she had heard it before. "Nice to meet you Reileigh" she said as she released her hand.
"The Sand Dollars will be hidden in the sand, unless they've been washed a shore. Then you have to dig a little to find them." she said as she returned her mind to finding Sand Dollars for a second time in her life.
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Post by Reileigh Hart on Sept 4, 2010 13:30:57 GMT -5
When her hand was released, Reileigh lowered it, pressing both hands against the surface of the water as if it were a solid surface. The fact that she'd accepted the greeting was proof enough for Reileigh that Annie wasn't as bad a person as the Games made her out to be. In the Arena, she had killed to survive, not maliciously. Why Reileigh hadn't made an attempt to talk to her before, she wasn't certain. Perhaps because the opportunity never arose? But now, there was nothing keeping the pair from maybe becoming friends except for each other's views and personalities.
Annie's explanation about the Sand Dollar made Reileigh raise her eyebrows in slight surprise. So that was it! Reileigh had assumed that they remained above the sand, as that where she'd found them when she was young. Then again, she'd always been with her father during that time, chances were, he'd dug them out and put them near the shore himself so she'd 'find them' on her own. She really should have known the information that Annie had just given her, being a fisherman herself, but she never hunted for Sand Dollars. They weren't edible, therefore never a necessity in her household for anything other then decoration.
"I guess that would explain why I haven't found any," she said, "I've always thought that they just hung out above the sand. That's what my dad made it seem like, at least." she paused again, studying Annie's face. The girl knew about the habits of sand dollars, had she possibly gone searching for them before? Reileigh found that she wanted to know more about the girl, more then The Games had said about her, at least. "Do you like sand dollars, then?" she asked.
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Post by Annie Dobrev on Sept 4, 2010 15:32:53 GMT -5
Annie smiled. Obviously Reileigh's dad had showed her or told her otherwise. The females never really left the house when there were kids around. "My parents tried that with me, until I went hunting on my own and couldn't find them and questioned them later." she said smiling. She missed her past before the Hunger Games. Her family was happy for her to go into the Hunger Games knowing that she would help her partner win the games because that's what she was going to be used for.
Her sponsors were all redirected to her partner. That way he was guaranteed to win. Needless to say when she killed him, all of his stuff went to her. Obviously her actions pissed off her mentor. She was fine pissing him off. She had never liked him. She was the only girl from District 4 that had the same mentor as her partner to ensure his winning. Needless to say it backfired and she was stuck living near the person that she hated.
"My brother made me do the same thing before I became a Tribute" she said sadly. She missed her brother. Her parents didn't let her see him anymore because of her time in the arena. It was sad that they were proud of her going to sacrifice her life, but not happy with her winning.
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Post by Reileigh Hart on Sept 4, 2010 16:04:10 GMT -5
Reileigh brought a had to her lips to cover her mouth as she giggled slightly. So Annie had been tricked the same way Reileigh had! It made her feel a bit better about the embarrassing situation to know that she wasn't alone in her beliefs, that at one point someone was also naive enough to think the same. At the mention of a brother, Reileigh appeared surprised. So not only did Annie believe the same as Reileigh, but she had a brother for which she searched for things for as well. A not altogether unusual thought passed through her mind at that moment. We're not that different from each other.
But why did Annie seem so sad as she said it, as if it brought forth a long lost memory or distant idea just out of her reach. Had things changed for her that drastically since her return? Sure, people were unhappy with her victory, after all, it was her partner who was favored, but why would the mention of her brother upset her in any way now that she'd returned? "Why say that with such a sad face?" she asked tentatively, her brow furrowing in confusion. Though Reileigh hadn't gone through the same things as Annie, any mention of her own family was enough to bring a smile to her lips even on her worst days.
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Post by Annie Dobrev on Sept 4, 2010 16:58:14 GMT -5
Annie smiled as she giggled. She loved being treated normal. She found nothing more than to be treated like a normal human. Annie also realized that she was like Reileigh in more ways than she realized. She began to kick up some sand and move it so that when it settled again she could see if she had unearthed any Sand Dollars.
As she heard Reileigh ask why she was sad, it was a rather long story. "Since the 72th Hunger Games, and my winning my family essentially disowned me. I guess me winning wasn't good for them, but me going to die was fine." she said as she moved forward a little farther. Annie was fine not living with her family. Since they didn't want her, she refused to give them anything. They could starve for all she cared at this point, obviously they didn't care if she did either.
Her family had never planned on her coming home. They had already emptied her room and got rid of her stuff so when she came home and went to her house and offered her house in the Victors Village to her family they gave her bad news. Her stuff was gone, and so was the family as she knew it.
Many people never realized how drastically her life changed after the Games. Although Annie still cared for her brother dearly, she hadn't seen him in 4 years. Now that the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games was going to occur soon, Annie was worried for her brother. She hoped that he wouldn't be entered into the games. Hopefully her parents decided that he should be a career and started training him after she had won. She could only hope though.
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Post by Reileigh Hart on Sept 4, 2010 18:09:52 GMT -5
Reiligh felt the disturbance of the sand at her feet and looked down into the now clouded water as the sand drifted upward before beginning to settle. For a moment after Annie's explanation, Reileigh remained quiet, trying to arrange her thoughts. So her parents had willingly allowed her to leave for the Hunger Games, but not as a victor, no. They wanted her dead, so the other could win. What must it have been like for her to return home after such a terrifying time only to be completely disowned by your family, who is supposed to stick with you thick and thin?
She tried to imagine her family being like that, but found that she couldn't. Her father and mother never once thought that Reileigh would ever be in the Hunger Games, not with the population what it was. It wasn't a few for her, not a concern. But if she somehow did become a Tribute, would she be expected to risk her life for that of her partner?
"That's too cruel," Reileigh said gently. Her endless patience and tolerance was limited by the stupidity and completely disregard for life that these Hunger Game fanatics held. Wishing your own daughter's death? What sort of people are they! Looking down at the water, she spotted something moving, trying to burrow back into the sand. She reached down into the water, dipping beneath slightly to grasp the object that she recognized instantly as a sand dollar and when she'd wrapped her hand around it, she straightened. "The people you love should be there for you no matter what the circumstances. If they wanted you to lose, they're obviously no worth your time." She held out the Sand dollar to Annie with a smile, a gift, a sign of friendship.
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Post by Annie Dobrev on Sept 4, 2010 19:22:59 GMT -5
Annie smiled. No one ever though about being a tribute. With the first 4 Districts training to have career tributes, it was nothing but usual for a career to take a workers spot. They went into the arena ready to fight, unless a worker directly told all the careers to never take their place, they were still known as careers but were there to sacrifice their lives for their partner. Hence what everyone thought she was going to do. She was told to, and didn’t listen.
Annie smiled as she went underwater. She guessed that there was a small glimmer of white beneath the light brown sand. ”I’ve tried telling myself that many times, it still hurts all the same.” she didn’t know what Reileigh was thinking right now. Most people don’t know the story of her and her family. Except what was before the Hunger Games. As Annie saw her hold out the sand dollar she smiled. Although she wanted Reileigh to keep it. Something for her brother, like the ones that she had found in her past were for hers. She knew that she possibly just made a friend. Her first since being a Tribute.
Sorry for it being so short... I can't really think of anything else
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Post by Reileigh Hart on Sept 4, 2010 19:49:10 GMT -5
The sight of the smile brought a slight grin of satisfaction to Reileigh's lips. She kept the sand dollar extended toward Annie, waiting for the girl to take it and when she didn't, rather then withdraw, she pushed forward slightly. "If we found this one, I'm sure I'll be able to find my brothers more," Reileigh said easily. "Go on, I want you to have it,"
She took Annie's hand softly in hers, turning it palm up and carefully, she pressed the sand dollar into Annie's hand before closing her palm around the small white creature, holding the hand closed to indicate that any sort of declination would not be allowed. "If you don't accept it, I'll be insulted," she added playfully, her smile indication that she was only partially joking at that final statement.
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Post by Annie Dobrev on Sept 4, 2010 20:55:50 GMT -5
Annie smiled as she told her that she wanted her to keep it. As she took the small white disk she put It in a small bag that was attached to some leather string. She put the small sea creature in the bag and put it back in her pocket. Annie smiled and laughed slightly. She didn’t feel awkward with Reileigh, she was fine being around her, more comfortable.
”Of course I’ll take it, as long as we find at least 3 more” she said smiling as she moved more sand and tried unearthing more sand dollars. They were interesting creatures. That lived under the sand, and when they died, and were washed a shore the sun bleached their shells to the white that everyone is accustomed to, when really they were a light brown, almost white. Annie smiled again, she believed that she finally found a friend.
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Post by Reileigh Hart on Sept 4, 2010 21:13:06 GMT -5
"Oh, I have no doubt that we will!" Reileigh said enthusiastically. She followed Annie's example, pushing the sand aside gently with her feet so as not to cloud the water too much as she stared intently through the surface to the bottom, her eyes narrowing in an attempt to keep her eyes focused on that particular area. "If there's one thing I know about Sand Dollars, it's that if there's one, there's most likely going to be some more around,"
But one thing confused her. Why three more? She only needed two for her brothers... was she referring to her own brother as well? She raised her blue eyes from the water once again, fixing them on Annie's with a calculating gaze. "Why three?" she asked curiously.
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