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{Warning! Mentions and use of alcohol and substance abuse! Please read with caution!}
𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐓 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒been known for its hot weather. Summers are the most brutal mixed with humidity. Spring and Autumn are just warm and sunny, definitely the much nicer and more bearable seasons. It does experience winter, but mostly at the start of the new year and doesn't last for very long. Not many people are dressed appropriately for when this sudden change in climate strikes, and a lot of people in the Dread can't afford warmer clothing for such occasions.
When Adrian Pine was a little girl, she used to always walk past the Dread and wondered about how people managed to make it by. Her parents, though are good people at heart, always made sure to steer their daughter away from that side of the District as it was not the cleanest and is known for its rougher parts in life. They only wanted to protect her and Adrian completely understood that. But that didn't mean she wasn't curious. She has always been a curious child, it's in her nature.
It is probably why when she witnessed a young girl around her age with fiery red hair sneak through the fences and into the woods, she couldn't stop her curious mind from following her out. Adrian had never been outside of nine before, even past the fences, so she couldn't imagine what Sage Rowan was doing outside the fences illegally.
She had seen the girl in school, but had never spoken to her before. Sage was always very quiet and kept to herself. Adrian had always wanted to talk to her, but her other friends consistently advised her otherwise. They had told her that she is the daughter of the victor everyone hates. Adrian didn't understand, she hadn't been born when Deirdre Rowan won her games, but knew the woman must have done something bad to get the reputation she has. Of course she heard what she had done, but she doesn't like forming opinions by second-hand gossip.
Adrian never regretted following the redhead through the fences, even though it had almost cost her her life. She had gotten distracted and lost sight of Sage, so she immediately started panicking because she did not know her way back. That is when she started calling out for Sage, hoping she would hear her and help her. But unfortunately, it had brought some unwanted attention and as she turned the corner of a bunch of branches, she came face-to-face with a very large wolf.
Adrian had never seen a wolf before, but judging by the blood on its mouth, it was currently hunting. Adrian thought her life was over. Twelve years old and she was going to leave the world without accomplishing anything she wanted to do, and that was to make a difference for those who were worse off than she was.
Thankfully, the wolf was scared off when a large branch was thrown at it and the next thing Adrian knew, someone had gripped her by the wrist and was dragging her back to the fences as quickly as possible. Adrian has never been called an stupid idiot before, but Sage Rowan was not one to mince words and wasn't afraid to call her out on just how stupid she was for going out there unprepared. Adrian had cried like a baby, to which Sage seemed uncomfortable with her hysteria and tried to shake her. Adrian couldn't go back to pretending like they didn't know each other, especially when she discovered Sage lived in the Dread with a sweet old woman named Hyacinth.
