baby come home//open

[red]

Calvin flexed his shoulders, twisted his neck, trying to shake off the tense, brittle feeling that had been sparking through him for the past few days. It was to no avail; he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that something was wrong. It was similar to the feeling he got on particularly grey, heavy days, when the air was tense and threatened a storm; he felt dissatisfied and restless. Today was bright and cold and crisp; the ground had no fresh snow, but a damp layer of well-trodden slush that squelched under his boots as he made his way to the Hob.

The Hob itself was of a sparser population than usual. Only a few merchants hung around their stalls, looking bored and eyeing him hopefully. He wasn't sure why he was here; he had little to trade but a rabbit and a few bunches of likely-looking herbs he had stumbled upon during his illicit wanderings in the land outside of District 12.

He was a little disappointed with his offerings. It was a little embarrassing considering the fact that he had had much opportunity to hunt over the past couple of days.

It had been two days to date since he had encountered the elusive Allison, of District 13, and since then he had spent as much time as he could possibly manage outside of the District's boundaries, hoping to run into her once again. He had to hear some news of the secret District. There was no way he could accept that his only link to this secret world was not coming back. She had to come back. He had kept his word, and told no-one, but it was a dreadful feeling to know something so huge and have no-one to share with. He needed her to come back or his brain might explode.

Besides, it wasn't just news of the supposedly forthcoming rebellion that he wanted. Since he had watched her dash away from him, he hadn't been able to stop thinking of her. Not in a romantic way; obviously that was a ridiculous concept...but on occaision, she would spring to mind and he would remember her tale of woe, and the anger he had felt for her sake. He remembered how he had admired her courage and her strength. He couldn't help but wonder how she was. What was she doing as he was wandering through the Hob? He frowned. What did people even do in District 13? He supposed they prepared for rebellion.

As he neared a trader, he felt a pang of jealousy. Here he was, trading illegal goods, while Allison contributed to a rebellion which reflected the core beliefs which made up his very being..

He gave a little sigh; there was nothing he could do. He'd just keep waiting.

Words//462
OOC Comments//So...I had plans to make this shorter than usual...which it kind of is, but not as short as I'd pictured XD It's not really my best either, kind of ramble-y. Oh well. Feel free to reply with short posts.

[Alyssa :)]

Rebecca walked slowly through the illegal place of trading that District 12 members knew as the Hob. She visited quite often to trade herself but most of the time just came to look or pick up liquor for her drunken father. Though today was different. She needed to get out of the house. No. She didn't need to, she had to. Slowly she came to a stop after walking with her head down for so long. Her ginger hair fell away from her face to frame it. The left half of her face bore multi-shades and phases of bruises, some of which were as old as two weeks while others were more recent.

Her hazel eyes scanned the people in the hob. Most of which were typical members or merchants, there on a regular basis. With a shaky hand she pushed her bangs over her face just to hide the bruises. Then she spotted Calvin, trading illegal herbs or what he had from his forest outing. He was so brave and everyone adored him. Of course there was a small part of her heart that she admired about him. Timidly she stood in one spot waiting for someone to finish trading. After all she didn't just come to the Hob to admire the stench or pain strewn faces.

Stiffly she put her hands in her pants pockets trying to keep warm. All of her cloths were either to big or to small, this was almost aways the case. She needed knew cloths but she had no money. Most of her fathers income went to liquor although she did manage to steal enough gold weekly to buy food. Her stealing from her father was the reason she was beaten half the time though. Sometimes she prayed he would finally come to his senses and realize if it wasn't for her, he would be dead or at least starving on the streets.

[red]

His strange-looking, herb-like plants were received with enthusiasm, and several bushels of them changed hands, bartered for two decent-sized loaves of bread and a carefully packaged, tiny punnet of little, sweet-smelling pine strawberries. He had swooped down on them like an eagle; such luxuries were not easy to come by. He wondered where they had come from at this time of year; they were uncommon even when in season, and would not grow inside the district. During this cold season, it was nigh impossible that they could have grown even out in the wilderness. He wondered if they had been stolen, perhaps from a Peacekeeper, and felt a little regret at having bought them. If they were stolen goods, it was't exactly prudent to be carrying them around.

Then he realised that no idiot would be stupid enough to steal from the home of a Peacekeeper, and neither would anyone be skilled enough in the art of theft to get away with such a crime. The little berries must simply have been a happy miracle.

He turned away from the stall and caught sight of a familiar face; Rebecca. He did not know her particularly well, but being of the same age and in the same district, he had of course encountered her. She was a year or so younger than him, a pretty brown-haired thing with a nice complexion, aside from the fact that her face was blemished with brutal-looking bruises. He stared for a moment, wondering what on earth had happened to her. He would have suspected the Peacekeepers, except had it been them they would most likely have made a spectacle of it, for everyone to see. No, whatever had happened to her had clearly happened behind closed doors, perhaps even in her own home.

Realising he was being rude, he allowed his eyes to drop to the floor, before wandering over to her. He tried not to allow his tone to be anything but casual as he spoke to her.

"Rebecca, hello. What are you trading today?" He smiled, trying to be as polite as possible. He was pleased to have someone to talk to; he couldn't stand thinking about Allison any longer.

Words//364
OOC Comments//Hmm. I seem to be cutting down on words, yay!

[Alyssa :)]

Rebecca caught him staring at her when she glanced up to see if he was almost done trading. Calvin appeared to be done as he popped some berries in his mouth, but then again appearances weren't everything. Some people learned that the hard way and she was still one who believed appearances were what her class mates judged by. She also thought that was how some people with high positions gained their power. With a gentle hand she rubbed her left eye as an eyelash fell inside and looked back at the ground.

Startled she looked back up to see Calvin standing next to her. She hadn't expected the rebellious teen to walk over to her, let alone acknowledge her existence. Nobody else did so why would he. Once more she let her gaze wander to the ground. "Hi Calvin." She replied to his greeting. His question caused her heart to flutter and beat rapidly. She couldn't remember what she was trading anymore or why she had come here.

Trying to turn her attention away, Rebecca touched her messenger bag. Nobody realized that she, the quiet girl who was abused by her father, snuck out of the district to pick herbs and other type of edible foliage. With nimble figures she pulled out a small bundle of rosemary. "Herbs mostly. I started to grow some at home in the house just so I could trade things during the winter." She replied to his question finally. Slowly she stepped away from Calvin so she could go trade. After trading several herbs used for cooking she tucked a small, stale loaf of bread in her bag.

Lightly she placed her feet on the ground while walking back toward the districts rebel. "How have you been Calvin?" She asked trying to avoid an awkward silence. She liked when things were silent just not when she was with people. That was one of the reasons she disappeared under the electric fence was for the natural silence. She loved the sounds of singing birds and howls of the wolves but she didn't leave the safety of the Seam much.

[red]

Rebecca seemed a little startled by his attention, Calvin mused. Her eyes flicked down to the ground, as thought she were unaccustomed to being spoken to. Perhaps she was, although it seemed more likely that he'd simply caught her off guard.

"Hi, Calvin. She replied to his greeting, and he smiled at her.

Normally, he wouldn't have approached anyone of his own accord to strike up a conversation, but over the past few days he had been so engaged in his thoughts and longings and fantasies that he had had practically no human contact, save for with his family. Even words passed between he and his mother had been sparse, he realised. He had once heard a rather terrifying story regarding a man who the Capitol had tortured, simply by putting him in isolation for several days. That was all it had taken to send the poor soul over the edge; a few days with no-one to talk to. That showed just what social creatures human beings really were.

Anyway, Calvin had remembered the man's story after having woken up this morning, and it had been enough to scare him in to endeavouring to go out and have at least one, proper conversation, lest he go mad from the isolation he had been putting himself in, as it couldn't possibly be healthy.

He'd always thought that deep down, he was a solitary creature anyway. But, that couldn't be true, given that he was extremely charismatic; a natural leader, and people seemed to be drawn to him like moths were to a bright light in the darkness. It seemed that he was adapted to the needs of another, more socially-oriented person, as to be honest the fact that he seemed to be loved by many was relatively irritating, to him at least.

Rebecca seemingly took a little while to think, before saying; "Herbs mostly. I started to grow some at home in the house just so I could trade things during the winter."

His eyes widened. Now there was some initiative. "That' actually...a pretty amazing idea. Might try that. S'always a good idea to have a little extra in the winter."

He surveyed her for a moment. Clearly she had more brains than she was given credit for. Of course, he hadn't thought her empty-headed; he had specifically chosen to talk to her over the others trading at the Hob. Admittedly, the main reason for this was that she had not approached him first, nor had he ever known her to. She was not like the many of District 12 who fawned on him, despite the fact that the majority of the population of Calvin Kane's entourage were girls of around her age. She was not the type to dander up to him and begin forcing her attentions on him, whilst fantasising that he might actually have an interest in her. No, she was simply pleasant, easy to talk to.

As well as this, she was a very good distraction. He knew he needed to stop dwelling, but that, of course, was unlikely to happen soon. He could at least to this; provide himself with a temporary distraction, allowing his mind to wander from the thoughts that were insistently buzzing inside it.

"How have you been Calvin?"

He paused, momentarily unsure of how to answer. How had he been, indeed? "Tired." He answered honestly, after a moment's pause. This was true; he had recently not slept as well as usual, given his busy mind. Losing sleep was something he was very much a stranger to; he had always found that instead of losing sleep he slept better, as though his mind were trying to protect him from his concerns and worries. However, the thoughts which currently took up space in his head were not worries. There were contemplations and musings and convictions and longings, and his mind clearly did not want to let go of them.

He glanced up at her, taking in her bruised appearance. He raised a hand, as though to touch her face, but merely indicated the damage. "What about you?" He paused. "Are you alright? Um, if you don't mind me saying...you look as thought you've been in a fight, or something."

Words//698
OOC Comments//Long again ^^ my muse is back xD

[Alyssa :)]

Someone liked her idea which was odd. Rebecca wasn't used to people actually acknowledging what she says much less her ideas. Nervously she tugged at her shoulder bag. Why was he talking to her? "Thanks. I needed some way to help bring food home since I'm not allowed to work." She replied softly with her eyes focusing on the ground. Her fingers twisted around the strap of her should bag while questions ran wildly across her mind. Honestly she was confused and she didn't like being confused. Slowly she was piecing things together but not fast enough because his next question caught her off guard.

What about me? Well that was a good question. She looked up at him as he asked his next strand of words. Clearly like everyone else he'd seen the bruises but had no idea about the stories which lied beneath them. Just like everyone else in the district. Her life at home was something she never spoke about because nobody needed to know. Certainly there were people who went through much worse than. No point in anyone hearing her sad woes. Though now she had no idea on how to explain her vast colored bruises that lined her cheek bone and eye socket.

She continued to mess with her shoulder bag. What was she suppose to answer with? Oh yes I'm fine but my father beats me because he's a drunk and I don't have the courage to fight back or tell the peacekeepers let alone any friends I wish I had. This was certainly something she wanted to speak of but there was no courage behind her wandering mind. Silently she kicked at the ground trying to find enough courage to say that she was even fine which was a total lie. "Yeah I got into a fight with some girl from school. She was picking on me and I just got so mad. I'm fine though thanks for asking." She commented backing away a few steps.

- Sorry if it repeats my muse is just shot and I tried to post in a hurry v.v -

[red]

"Thanks. I needed some way to help bring food home since I'm not allowed to work."

Calvin wondered what she meant. Did her family not allow her to work, or did she feel she was too young? Again, he eyed her bruises, wondering about her and her home life. To him, those bruises didn't look like the result of a mere fight; it looked more like she had been beaten than anything else. He felt, however, that is would be a little rude to point this out.

He was glad he had chosen Rebecca to converse with, of all the people in the Hob. She seemed intelligent enough, at the very least, and she had not forced her attentions on him, like many of the girls of the District took it upon themselves to do. Being strong and charismatic and handsome could be very tiresome, thought Calvin with a wry little smile, especially for one who, deep down, was in fact a being who very much craved the solitude of their own thoughts, and the space to be alone with only themselves.

But talking to this particular girl was not tiresome, and the distraction from his loudly buzzing thoughts was more than welcome. He didn't think he could stand another entire day of just wondering and worrying. Of course, like he had done every day for the past few days, he would still go out of the District later. He would still wait for his one-time District thirteen informant, as fruitlessly as ever. But he needed to think about something else, that was very clear.

She took a while to answer his query, which, to some extent, confirmed his concerns about her home life. Of course, he realised, he may have just been seeing drama where there was none. There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"Yeah I got into a fight with some girl from school. She was picking on me and I just got so mad. I'm fine though thanks for asking."

She moved away from him a little, and Calvin had a sudden urge to reach out and pull her back, and make her tell the whole story truthfully, for that version of the tale was clearly a lie. The bruises on her face were both old and new, and besides; girls did not fight by beating one another viciously around the face. There would have been scratching and hair-pulled and perhaps even biting, but not heavy, repetitive blows to the face. No, those blows had been inflicted by someone much stronger and more violent than she.

He nodded, making it relatively clear that he was unconvinced. "I see. And she did that to you?"

Words//444
OOC Comments//No sweat xD it's fine ^^ sorry for the late reply...have been feeling lazy recently xD