❝ it is sometimes an
appropriate response to
reality to go insane ❞
──⭒─⭑─⭒──
In which an innocent girl finds herself
trapped in an arena with monsters and
her only hope is to claw her way out.
──...
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𝔅eing inside of the milking parlour had always calmed me ever since I was a young girl. It was something about being surrounded by the cows, all softly mooing, the warmth and even the smell, though others would strongly disagree with me. It kept me at peace, even more so now than ever before. The arena had changed me, causing me to jump at loud noises and wince whenever I heard shouting, but the milking parlour was always my safe place.
The younger heifer mooed softly from up near my head, and I turned to pat the cow on her flank. Her large ears flickered as I smiled and pulled my stool towards me. Setting the bucket down beneath her udders, I began to work as the dun coloured cow chewed on her cud gently. I went through the repetitive motions, not allowing my thoughts to drift back to earlier times, such as the games.
The milking parlour was my home. It was a place for me to escape my thoughts, and it always would be. The games were a dark time, and my stomach still ached at the thought of it all. The wound was still a present issue weighing on my mind, despite it being nonexistent, thanks to the Capitol. The person who caused it was still in my nightmares, and I often pondered the what ifs of how it had happened.
"Good girlie." I muttered, standing up to press a kiss to the cow's large head, rubbing her nose as she attempted to lick the salt off my hand. I grinned, before placing the milk away and shooing her out of the shed. "Go on, out you go."
The dawn light filtered in through the gate as I herded her out and into the fog. The breeze was brisk, reminding me that it was winter as I went inside to grab the milk and tip it into a large pail. Whistling, I called my cattle dogs to my side.
"Come by." My two herding dogs rushed past me, leading the large herd of 300 cows towards the upper field. "Casper, walk up. Walk up! Mick, sit."
Casper was the older of my two dogs, a large black and tan dog that was used for the cattle whilst Mick was still learning the tricks of the trade. The younger dog wasn't going to be used for the more complicated manoeuvres any time soon, but he was a good help.
"Good boys. Mick, away from me." The smaller dog raced around Casper to push the cows back into line and into the top field. "Casper, wait. Mick, walk up!"
I tapped the ground beside me as the remaining cattle went out of the gate and into the field. I would see them later on to do the final milking of the day as I whistled for both dogs to come back. Closing the gate softly, I double checked that it was closed.
"Atta boys!" I reached down, ruffling the two dogs fur as they panted happily and trotted down the path to the milking parlour with me.
You would think, with it having been months since I had left the arena, I would be getting better with loud noises but I didn't think I truly was. I didn't know how to. There wasn't a manual, or someone there to help me with trying to regain my mind once more. Most of the victors shut themselves off as soon as they returned from the Capitol, unwilling to talk to others and dredge up memories of it all.
