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Post by BAY LAUREL SEARS on Jun 16, 2012 2:38:46 GMT -5
 RUN FOR YOUR LIFE MY LOVE, RUN AND YOU DON'T GIVE UP. Bay's footsteps were silent as she crept around a marble wall. Pressing her body close to the cool surface, she poked her head around the corner. It was almost pitch black, but already she could tell that she was in the living room. She spotted a darker area in her vision, most likely a large television, and felt her way around the room. She found the coffee table easily and her fingers grasped around a little monument on its surface. Without thinking twice, Bay snatched it up and stuffed it in her backpack.
This was probably the riskiest raid she'd ever done. She'd been theiving from homes for as long as she could remember, but she'd never stolen from a Victor before. Her mother always told her, "Don't take anything from them, they'll rat you out if you're caught!" Usually Bay listened to her mother, but she had no choice. Her family was desperate. The family business had tanked in the last few weeks (the power was back and no one needed their homemade candles) so they had no money. This was their last option, and since the Victors always had the most expensive stuff, Bay needed to steal their things and sell them at the Hob.
She didn't want to think of what would happen if she was caught.
Only a slight rustling noise from her backpack could be heard when she tiptoed to the kitchen. Her brother Reed had always said that she resembled a sparrow. She was a dainty little thing, often referred to as an angel by most people. But, just like the scavenging sparrow, the residents didn't know that she was the one who was stealing things from their homes.
Bay eyed the pantry and refridgerator, and she instantly imagined all the wonderful food the Victor could be hiding in here. Usually she didn't steal food because it was easier to notice a missing cake than a missing knickknack, but the opportunity was too difficult to pass up. She opened the refridgerator, cursing at it silently when yellow light illuminated the dark room. She looked over her shoulder and paranoia took over her entire body. Surely everyone was asleep. It was three in the morning, and she hadn't done anything to stir anybody from sleep. Or had she?
Bay pressed her mouth into a tight line and forced her hands to stop shaking. With a soft click, she closed the fridge door and started to retreat. Maybe it was silly, but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She couldn't risk getting caught. Pulling her backpack closer to her body, she quickly ran through the few spoils she'd collected tonight - a collection of dove ornaments, a jade ring and the unidentified monument from the coffee table. Her hands trembled on the straps of her backpack, yet again paranoid that someone was watching her.
Suddenly, blinding light was all Bay could see. She blinked against it and covered her face, but she couldn't deny the truth. The little sparrow had been caught.
LEAVE ALL THAT IS BURNED BEHIND, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE--- template by eliza @ shadowplay & rcr |
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Post by SARAN MINNOE on Jun 16, 2012 9:42:28 GMT -5
[STYLE=float: center; background-color: #43425D; color: #D8D8D8; font-size: 9px; font-family: verdana; width: 390px; padding: 5px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase;]a warning, to the people, the good and the evil,[/style] [STYLE=float: center;]  [/style] [STYLE=float: center; background-color: #D8D8D8; color: #43425D; font-size: 30px; font-family: arial narrow; width: 380px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 0px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: right; letter-spacing: -2px;]THIS IS WAR[/style] [STYLE=float: center; background-color: #43425D; color: #D8D8D8; font-size: 9px; font-family: verdana; width: 360px; height: 400px; overflow: auto; padding: 20px; text-align: justify;]Saran knew that it was normal. The insomnia. The forever memory of the games. The nightmares. But for some reason, she felt that the pain would never end. She had heard tales from past victors, who say after many many years, it finally begins to fade. Having to wait so long didn't sound too pleasant for Sara. It had only been two years since the horrifying games. Still, though, every night she ran through her mind again and again, her own dagger thrusting into the other girl's stomach. It was self defense, self defense, her father tried to convince her. But Sara knew, she was there, that is wasn't. She had had the knife hidden purposely so the others wouldn't see it. Even though she couldn't imagine surviving the final showdown at the time, if she had really wanted to get out of it altogether, she would have dropped the knife and surrendered. But no, instead the dagger ended up taking the last opponent's life, at her hand. All of this ran through her thoughts every night, and she lay in her bed, staring up at the tall ceiling and wondered how long it would take for her to forgive herself, although secretly she knew she never would. And neither would the District 2 family that the girl had belonged to. Never forget, never forgive. Tonight, though, she tried her hardest to forget about the games. Instead, she focused on keeping her eyes shut and attempting to relax all the muscles in her body. The more relaxed, the more likely to fall asleep, right? Wrong. Not for this young victor. While trying to sleep, though, she felt like something was wrong. Something was different, off. Then it hit her. Someone was there. Since the games two years ago, her senses had been heightened. Every time there could even possibly be a threat, her muscles tensed and she turned into this... animal who was ready for a fight. And no she found herself creeping past her father's room and down the long staircase toward the kitchen. She knew someone was there. The hair on her arms was standing on end, just as it had when one of the District 6 tributes had been sneaking up behind her. The memory was all to clear, and she hid behind a wall as she spotted her culprit. She was young, probably about her age, and peaking into the refrigerator. Sara recognized her from the Hob back before she had been a tribute, but she couldn't place the girl's name. As the girl moved on to the next room, probably looking for something else to take. It was clear that she had taken the statue from the living room, her bag was taking the shape of it. When she entered the next room, the dining room that had never been used or touched, Sara came from the other entrance and turned on the light. The girl stumbled back in surprise, and Sara sat on top of the dining table, her legs crossed and not touching the ground, waiting to hear the girl's excuse for breaking and entering, although the answer was clear. "You do realize where you are, don't you?"[/color] she asked, her tone flat. It would take more than just a silly thief to find herself breaking into the Victor's Village, unless she was suicidal, which could easily be the case. [/style] darkee @ btn.[/center] |
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Post by BAY LAUREL SEARS on Jun 16, 2012 21:30:56 GMT -5
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE MY LOVE, RUN AND YOU DON'T GIVE UP. When it came to being frightened, Bay had always been the 'baby' of the family. Her skittishness was often entertainment for her brothers. They played pranks on her and, no matter how many times they used the same prank over and over again, it scared Bay as much as it did the first time. Just the other night, Sage terrified her by telling stories about things that went bump in the night. This, however, wasn't a figment of her overactive imagination. A girl seemed to appear out of no where, and Bay couldn't help the shrill scream that clawed up her throat. She clutched her backpack to her chest in an attempt to steady her shaking hands. The other girl watched her from the kitchen table, and at last Bay recognized her.
Bay remembered being cradled to her mother's chest. She was terrified to even look at the screen, but since it was mandatory to watch the final slaughter, she had no choice but to be present. The silence was so loud that Bay had to look up, and she saw two tributes sizing up a fifteen year old girl with dark hair. Bay was so shocked to see that the girl from her district had survived this long. She didn't know her name, but Bay had an instant admiration for her. Tearing her eyes from the screen, she turned back to her mother and covered her ears. She didn't want to watch or hear anybody die. What felt like moments later, Reed shook her shoulder and told her that it was over. Bay looked back at the screen expecting one of the larger tributes to be the Victor, but instead the girl from their district was on screen. Since then Bay had wanted to meet the girl, who she later learned was Saran Minnoe.
How crappy that they'd met like this.
"You do realize where you are, don't you?" Saran said. Bay's mouth hung open in shock at she tried to think of an excuse for breaking into the Victors' Villiage. As it always did when put under pressure, her mind went blank. She couldn't think, couldn't speak. There was only panic and fear. Her wide, green eyes found the open front door and she contemplated making a run for it. She was a fast runner and an agile little thing; she could probably outrun Saran. But what if she couldn't? She would report Bay to the Peacekeepers, and then everyone would realize she was the wretched thief from the Seam. She didn't want to think of how many whippings she would get for that. Plus her family would be in danger. They had encouraged her to steal in the first place.
"I don't... I was just... Sleepwalking," Bay stumbled when she found her voice. Good ideas rarely came to mind, so it wasn't surprising that her made up excuse would be weak. Lying had never been her strongest ability. Well, she couldn't take it back now. She needed to stick to her excuse. How did someone look when they sleepwalked? Trying to look subtle, she rolled her shoulders forward and drooped her eyelids. Oh, her attempt to look tired was laughable. If Reed were here he would be rolling on the floor and telling her that she was the worst liar in the history of bad liars. Bay grimaced and eyed the open door again. Flight was her best option. The backpack fell to the floor and, whatever she snatched from the coffee table, smashed, and the sound echoed in the vast mansion. Hoping that the destruction of one of her possessions would distract Saran for a moment, Bay made a beeline to the front door.
LEAVE ALL THAT IS BURNED BEHIND, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE--- template by eliza @ shadowplay & rcr |
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Post by SARAN MINNOE on Jun 17, 2012 9:13:36 GMT -5
[STYLE=float: center; background-color: #43425D; color: #D8D8D8; font-size: 9px; font-family: verdana; width: 390px; padding: 5px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase;]a warning, to the people, the good and the evil,[/style] [STYLE=float: center;] [/style] [STYLE=float: center; background-color: #D8D8D8; color: #43425D; font-size: 30px; font-family: arial narrow; width: 380px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 0px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: right; letter-spacing: -2px;]THIS IS WAR[/style] [STYLE=float: center; background-color: #43425D; color: #D8D8D8; font-size: 9px; font-family: verdana; width: 360px; height: 400px; overflow: auto; padding: 20px; text-align: justify;]This girl had to be kidding. The only way she could have gotten into the village was if she had snuck in the back way, because there are always people posted on the edge of the land, waiting for idiots like her to show up, ever since someone tried to break in during the tour. It was when she was in District 2, and in her little closed off area of the train, a relative of the girl she had killed – in self-defense, of course – showed up and tried to kill Sara. Obviously it didn’t work. Her mentor was able to stop him. But if he hadn’t been there to step in, Sara might not be alive today. She would always be in debt to him for that. It was clear from the thief’s appearance and clothing that she was from the seam, just like Saran. At one time she had dressed in the same clothes as this young girl. Now, of course, she was always dressed much nice, but only because she might as well. She had all this money now and nothing to do with it, so she might as well dress nicely. All the same, she still missed her life before the games. Before that reaping almost three years ago, her life had been simple. Sad, after her mother passed, but simple. And that was the way she liked it. It was just her and her father, making medicine and helping people. That was the way she loved to live, and that’s the way she would like it still to be. It was a real shame that the world had to ruin that simple, happy life for her. The universe just couldn’t let her be happy, no. First, mother dies from an unknown disease with no cure, and then she’s almost killed for weeks strapped the side of a giant volcano with twenty-three other kids trying to kill her. Nothing about her life was satisfying now, thanks the games. Every day she spent at least a few hours wallowing in her misfortune. In those memories of blood and murder and hatred and fake allies and tricks and traps and volcanoes and explosions and… just everything about those games was slowly destroying her every day of her life. Now, though, she had a distraction from her miserable life. A thief, who actually didn’t look like such a horrible person. Just a starving, jobless teenager who felt like this was the final option. Sara knew this just by the look in her eyes. That’s the look Sara had had four years ago, when her father almost lost his job. They might have turned out homeless, and then she would have turned to thieving, just as this girl was now. But Saran felt no pity for her, not at the moment. She was still too angry at herself and the games to worry about showing sympathy toward others. "I don't... I was just... Sleepwalking," the girl stumbled across her words like the horrible liar she was. It was clear that she was stealing, even if Sara hadn’t seen the obvious shapes in the girl’s satchel. She smirked slightly at her attempt of a lie, though. As terrible as it might be, it was amusing to the former victor. There was nothing in the world that this girl could tell her that would make her believe that she wasn’t there to steal. No one ever showed up at Sara’s doorstep, mostly because everyone in District 12 loathed her and her riches. Even though she almost died every day for weeks during those games, the people of the seam seemed to have forgotten that. Either that, or they just didn’t want to bother her. Before Sara had a chance to reply, the girl suddenly dropped the bag of stolen items, which all shattered across the floor, while she took off for the door. Sara ignored the bag, rolling her eyes, and closed the door before the girl could make it through. “So, you sleepwalked your way out your house, through the town, past the guards and the gate on my front lawn and into my refrigerator?”[/color] she asked in an almost mocking tone, showing the girl that she was definitely not going to fall for any of her tricks. “There’s no point in running now.”[/color][/style] darkee @ btn.[/center] |
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Post by BAY LAUREL SEARS on Jun 20, 2012 0:40:29 GMT -5
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE MY LOVE, RUN AND YOU DON'T GIVE UP. Bay forced her muscles to move. She knew she was pretty fast, but she'd never been in a situation like this. Her first theft was ten years ago, and she had a whole collection of worthless junk that she couldn't bring herself to throw away. She hadn't been caught once. Her old shoes slapped violently against the floor as she ran for the nearest way out. For a moment, Bay thought she would make it and steal away into the night. She almost smiled as she realized she could warn her family and she would be alone in her punishment, but Saran seemed to appear out of no where. The door closed, glaring and final, in Bay's face.
She stumbled back after almost losing her footing on the smooth floor. Regain her balance, she stared up at the Victor through the blonde hair covering her eyes. She almost felt the need to hold up her hands in defeat. Saran was looking at her with an almost amused expression that said she definitely didn't believe her sleepwalking story. Of course she didn't; Bay had the lying capabilities of a rat. With flaming red cheeks, she scanned the many hallways for another door. There had to be another exit. Her legs itched to get the hell out of there, but even if she could find a back door, she couldn't outrun Saran. She was a Victor. Victors were never slow.
“So, you sleepwalked your way out your house, through the town, past the guards and the gate on my front lawn and into my refrigerator?” Saran asked, her eyes mocking Bay's every move. The blonde grimaced, thinking of her family. What punishment would they get for her crimes? They encouraged her to do it for the good of the family; they had no choice after her dad died. It was their last resort. Even though she'd been caught, Bay needed to stick with her story. She nodded, swallowing loudly. "It's a very... ellaborate type of sleepwalking," she mumbled to the ground. Backed into a corner, she felt absolitely hopeless. She couldn't run, she definitely couldn't fight. Silently, she thanked whoever was watching over her. If she were in the Games, she'd be dead.
“There’s no point in running now,” Saran said, and Bay simply nodded. It wasn't fair. Saran got everything. She lived in a vast mansion; Bay shared a room with her two brothers while her mother slept on the couch. She got food every day; Bay had tesserae under her name. She had perfect clothes; Bay had a very limited wardrobe of seven items of clothing, and was wearing almost a third of it now. She had a perfect life, Bay couldn't afford a life. Pulling her mother's black jacket even closer to her body, she forgot every single nice thing she once thought about this Victor. She'd admired the dark haired girl because she'd won without losing herself. She didn't kill anybody, or at least Bay didn't think she did. Bay had always felt jealous of the Victors' fortunes and easy lives, but being face to face with one was different. Saran was probably just like anyone else but with money and a lot of bad memories.
"So what happens now?" she asked, trying to break the tension between them. Whatever happened would happen, and there was nothing Bay could do to change it. She may as well get it over with quickly so her family could have as little involvement as possible.
LEAVE ALL THAT IS BURNED BEHIND, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE--- template by eliza @ shadowplay & rcr |
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Post by SARAN MINNOE on Jun 21, 2012 14:11:50 GMT -5
[STYLE=float: center; background-color: #43425D; color: #D8D8D8; font-size: 9px; font-family: verdana; width: 390px; padding: 5px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase;]a warning, to the people, the good and the evil,[/style] [STYLE=float: center;] [/style] [STYLE=float: center; background-color: #D8D8D8; color: #43425D; font-size: 30px; font-family: arial narrow; width: 380px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 0px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: right; letter-spacing: -2px;]THIS IS WAR[/style] [STYLE=float: center; background-color: #43425D; color: #D8D8D8; font-size: 9px; font-family: verdana; width: 360px; height: 400px; overflow: auto; padding: 20px; text-align: justify;]Sara couldn’t help but be surprised about the intruder. She’d lived in victor’s village for two years now and hardly ever had visitors, and definitely no person has even attempted to break in that she was aware of. The girl was familiar from her time before the games, so she kind of felt bad for her. She didn’t owe anything to the girl. She didn’t have a reason to feel guilty about catching her during her stealing, but she almost pitied her all the same. Maybe because Saran had at one point been in the girl’s shoes. When her mother died when she was young, she had been very poor ever since – until the games, of course. She knew what it was like to have nothing, but that was gone now. Still, Sara wasn’t the type of person to forget where she came from. Her attempt at the sleepwalking excuse was a bit pathetic, but she had been put on the spot so there was no telling all that was running through her mind at the moment. Most of it probably involved peacekeepers and punishment, not to mention what kind of consequences breaking and entering would get her in a normal home. But this was no regular home. This was the Victor’s Village, the richest of the rich, the past victors in all their glory. The penalty was probably awful, if not death. Even though the peacekeepers would never make an exception, Sara knew that she could. Even though the girl had not only tried to steal valuable statuettes and expensive food from her, she had broken them as well. In the capitol’s eyes that was a federal offense probably worthy of death… but not in Sara’s eyes. So, Sara knew what she had to do. She had to let her go. She couldn’t bear to watch a young girl who reminded her so much of herself go through punishment like that just for dropping a fancy statue and trying to steal her food. She never at that food, it was old and too fancy for her old, poisoned stomach. So when the girl asked what happened next, Sara sighed and situated herself on top of the countertop next to the door, looking down at the intruder with weary eyes, “Of all the places in the district to steal from, why did you feel the need to come here?”[/color] It was a question that Sara felt like she had to have answered before she could let her go. She wanted to know the girl’s story. She wanted to get to know her thief before letting her walk away, empty handed but free from punishment. There was something different about this girl that was familiar to her. She definitely recognized her back from when she went to school. Her face… she’d seen in it in the market and around the seam, she knew for sure. She wondered then how long the girl would have lasted in the games, if she was reaped. She seemed stealthy and smart, at least. If Sara hadn’t been so restless, she probably would have gotten away with the robbery here unnoticed. The past victor pulled her dark hair away from her face and watched the thief carefully, making sure she didn’t try to sneak anything else past her. “What’s your name?”[/color][/style] darkee @ btn.[/center] |
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Post by BAY LAUREL SEARS on Jun 24, 2012 4:46:56 GMT -5
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE MY LOVE, RUN AND YOU DON'T GIVE UP. Watching Sara warily, Bay pressed her lips together. Her muscles tensed and she longed to run far, far away from there. Subconsciously her hands balled into fists, and though she knew she wouldn't be a good fighter, she could sense that this wouldn't end well for her. She needed to be prepared for when the time came, but she couldn't quite decide if she should run to warn her family and risk a bigger punishment, or hand herself over now without letting anybody know. Sara was looking down on her, her eyes clearly showing that she was feeling pity for the blonde girl from the Seam. Usually she liked it when people sympathized for her - her innocent appearance made people flock to her side when she was in need - but to have a victor pity her, someone she'd looked up to, it was the ultimate shame. Bay let out a soft sigh as she grimaced at the ground.
Sara moved to the counter top nearest to the front door, and Bay readied herself for interrogation. She fiddled with the frayed ends of her shirt and listened to the Victor's first question. "Of all the places in the district to steal from, why did you feel the need to come here?” The blonde's first instinct was to lie. Give a fake name and make up a story about how she lived alone and was only trying to provide for herself. Protect her family in every way she could. But perhaps Saran recognized her. She might be a Victor now, but she used to be from the Seam, just like Bay. She couldn't lie if Sara knew who she was. Sighing, she slouched her shoulders.
"There are more expensive things here. I figured that if I could take something from the Victors Village I could sell it and the money could get my family by for a bit longer," Bay mumbled, trying to be as vague as she could without Sara noticing she was deliberately withholding information. She mostly stared at her feet because she was too ashamed to look Sara in the eye. "I've never stolen from here before, I swear-" She bit her tongue, realizing in horror that she'd just alluded to the fact that she'd thieved from other places. Shit, she should have been more careful! Now, instead of getting punished for stealing once, she would get punished for the hundreds of times before that. She should have just kept her mouth closed.
“What’s your name?” Sara asked her, and Bay looked away. Her gaze remained transfixed on a painting on the wall, and as she pretended to be interested in art, she tried to make her brain function properly. When she tried to think, all she could see was the white blank canvas of her mind. Her panic was blocking out her capacity to think. It shouldn't really matter at this point if she gave her real name; she was caught and there was no way out. "Bay," she said as she faced Sara again. "I just... I needed money for my family..." Bay's soft voice trailed off and she shrugged indifferently, though a few tears were sparkling in her eyes. She didn't know what would happen next, or if she would be alive in a week, but it would drastically affect how the district saw the family. Bay felt like she should blame herself, but she knew it wasn't her fault. District 12 had always been poor.
LEAVE ALL THAT IS BURNED BEHIND, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE--- template by eliza @ shadowplay & rcr |
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Post by SARAN MINNOE on Jun 24, 2012 19:54:32 GMT -5
[STYLE=float: center; background-color: #43425D; color: #D8D8D8; font-size: 9px; font-family: verdana; width: 390px; padding: 5px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase;]a warning, to the people, the good and the evil,[/style] [STYLE=float: center;] [/style] [STYLE=float: center; background-color: #D8D8D8; color: #43425D; font-size: 30px; font-family: arial narrow; width: 380px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 0px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: right; letter-spacing: -2px;]THIS IS WAR[/style] [STYLE=float: center; background-color: #43425D; color: #D8D8D8; font-size: 9px; font-family: verdana; width: 360px; height: 400px; overflow: auto; padding: 20px; text-align: justify;]Saran was growing tired. She had been awake for almost twenty four straight hours, and her lack of sleep was starting to catch up with her. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t step right into her regular self with just a blink of an eye. Even when she was this tired, her instincts were heightened from spending so many weeks in the volcanic arena. Ever since, even though the Victor’s Village was obvious a safe place for her to live, she was always watching her back, peering over her shoulder and expecting someone to be behind her, ready to attack, thirsty for her blood to win the games. This was also the reason she hadn’t slept a wink the night before. She dreaded trying to sleep tonight, especially after the break in that the little seam girl decided to pull tonight. Honestly, though, Saran couldn’t really blame her. Bay seemed a lot like herself. When she had lived in the seam, she had broken plenty of rules. She might not have stolen from anyone, but she did leave district boundaries a few times in search for food. Fortunately she was never caught, and the one times she was the guy let her off with a warning because she was only eight at the time and very tiny and fragile in appearance. The newbie peacekeeper didn’t want to be the one to beat a little, very poor, eight year old girl. Other than that, and stealing few loaves of bread from the market, she hadn’t really broken too many rules. And the only reason she broke them at all was for her and her dad’s survival. It was clear was the thief was thinking by the look in her eyes. She was the type who loathed the rich, just like Saran had three years ago. She was the type who complained about how lucky victors were, and how much she probably wanted to switch places with them. Saran, even when she was poor in the seam three years ago, never ever wanted to switch places with a tribute. Ever. She knew, from stories and watching it on the television, how god awful it was to fight twenty three other people to the death. It was the last thing she wanted, no matter how rich it made her. Of course, her wish was never granted, and luckily she was able to survive… but only because she was an amazing makeup artist and good at making traps. Bay seemed to panic when she mentioned never stealing from there before. It let Sara know that she had stolen from other places. The last thing the past victor wanted tonight was to have a stranger in her dining room freaking out about punishment, so she decided to go ahead and tell her the good news. “Don’t have that panicky look on your face,”[/color] she said, her tone emotionless and calm, “I’m not going to turn you in. Believe it or not, I was once in your exact position. I went past boundary lines looking for food and stole from the market plenty of times. However I was never stupid enough to rob a past victor…”[/color] It really was a pretty dumb idea, after all. Victor’s Village was the most protected area in all of District 12. “You’re lucky I’m the one that found you and not one of the guards out font.”[/color] At least she answered all her questions. So her name was Bay. It was familiar, Sara surely recognized her from her childhood back in the seam. “I’m Saran, but you probably already knew that.”[/color][/style] darkee @ btn.[/center] |
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