From the young age of eight, Sage Rowan knew she was destined to spend eternity alone. In a world where children between the ages of 12 and 18 are reaped to participate in what the Capitol views as morbid entertainment, but others just view as a massacre where there is only one survivor, Sage doesn't really think spending the life she is forced to live alone all that depressing, despite the craving of human intimacy she longs for on occasion. She is at the point where if she was reaped, then so be it.
Nothing could be worse than actually witnessing her mother slit her own throat, all while telling her that she was the reason for it. Sage Rowan had built an armor so thick around her heart, that she refused to let anyone in. She took care of herself and that is all she ever needed.
That is until she meets a pushy girl by the name Adrian Pine, daughter of the mayor in District 9, Lennon Pine. After an incident that resulted in Sage protecting Adrian, she can't seem to shake the girl who declared they were now best friends. Sage never took it seriously, but she did take advantage when Adrian offered to buy the squirrels and rabbits she managed to catch and accept small favors the semi-wealthy girl offered. But Sage refuses to open up to the girl, refuses to acknowledge just how much Adrian has worked her way into her guarded heart.
That is, until the 68th Annual Hunger Games, where even the daughter of the mayor was not exempt from the pool of death. So when their extreme escort, Bird Winders, picks Adrian's name out of the hundred names in the bowl, Sage found herself doing something she promised herself she would never do. She found herself actually caring and frightened for someone who she could no longer deny was her friend.
That is how Sage Rowan became the female tribute for District 9, because as soon as Bird asked if anyone would like to volunteer in the young girls stead, Sage's hand never shot up so fast.
