｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ 𝔤𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔳𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔩 huit. — close encounters!
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｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Dusk was beginning to die once more as the shadowy horizon was painstakingly replaced by the light of the sun. The sun's agonising approach, marking a new day, and a new reaping. Crisp sea air invaded the young girl's lungs as she sat staring at the crystalline waves that were slowly transforming from a lilac to the usual cerulean blue.
Her solitude brought her comfort in that moment as she twirled a strand of ginger hair between her nimble fingers, being alone with the waves was not an uncommon occurrence in her life. The ocean had always been such a bittersweet sight for the young girl, it was vast and seemingly endless — often times Elpis imagined walking into the water and allowing it to take her far far away — a hollow dream since everyone knew that once you swam too far out you would be picked up by a hovercraft and never heard from again.
Even the freedom of the ocean was simply an illusion.
They would only return to the sea from which they were made when their time came and their hearts stopped beating. A tradition in District Four for many of the residents, their bodies sent out to sea on rafts that were then set alight — cementing their return home. Elpis could still see the flames flickering in her mind from her parents' funeral.
How high the flames had danced in the sky.
Absentmindedly Elpis wondered if this would be the last time she saw the luscious waves and soft horizon that had greeted her every morning of her life, reaping days often brought out the worst thoughts in her mind and scrambled her brain until they were over.
A crack sounded—
—Elpis shot up from her sleeping back as a crack sounded, her hand immediately tightening around the knife that she had slept with in her hand only to breathe a sigh of relief as she noted the still empty area around her.
Dusk was slowly beginning to die as dawn broke the morning sky, and Elpis was glad to have at least gotten a few restless hours of sleep that night — though she felt refreshed from her sleep she still felt slightly sluggish from the lack of food and water. Packing up her sleeping bag back into her pack, Elpis chose to use her makeshift spear as a sort of walking stick to rest her weight on, groaning in displeasure as she made her way over to her empty traps.
She settled for eating a single dried beef strip for her breakfast before she set off, her already dry mouth shrivelling at the thought of the crackers. Water, food and staying alive were her focal points for the day.
Elpis had only been walking for around half an hour when the sound of a canon broke the tense silence that surrounded her — birds squawking and flying overhead at the sudden noise as Elpis groaned out loud. If only she had a bow, she was sure pigeon wasn't the tastiest of foods but even the array of poisoned berries littering the bushes were starting to look appetising to her.
