The Hunger Games: The Cry of Temperance

[TR] Districts 9 through 12

District 9, Panem

The crowds had been quiet, and there was little to nothing really prominent in these masses. Whether it was fear or disappointment, or even a lack of patience for the reaping itself, there had been evidence of any of these feelings that had become apparent. The masses had just become quiet, all of their heads almost lowered– as the mayor made no effort to hide her despair either.

Her shaky hands were enough for the children to know how cruel, how depraved the children had been to have been placed into a game for an event that happened a decade before they had even been conceived, or when they were still on their brink of their first words, steps– when they were unable to reason as well as adults were.

The Games had proven a cruelty to humanity– but who was she to speak out against it?

"..For our boy," she took in a gulp as she looked up to the sky, "Bartlett Whetherfield."

Almost on cue, there was a boy that had started walking– his head had been kept down as his eyes– which had been almost foggy as he continued to walk despite wobbling side to side as he continued to move through. He could not have been older than thirteen, and the look in his eyes had housed a distance that was indescribable to the mayor.

The mayor kept her hand over her mouth, refusing to say anything further as she watched the boy wobble up the stairs– in an untucked shirt that was dirty from the sweat and the dirt of dealing with the fields of grains they worked in day by day, night by night. In beige pants– one part of the pants was ripped clean, while the other had remained intact– with tattered and ripping along the fabric, it was all loosely put together but it worked for what it was worth. It kept him standing.

He didn't show vindication, contempt, or any sort of resentment– but almost an acceptance, as there was not even an ounce of hope that was seen across his face. He just stood there idly as she got a closer look to see the boy– whose gaze was clouded by a straw hat that shielded the shaven scalp of his head.

As he stood, she turned away as she could see the look of trepidation in his eyes despite what she thought she had seen before– and a tear rolling down his cheek as she looked back at the other bowl, closing her eyes again as she took in another breath.

"..For our.. For our girl," she shook her head. "Kayla Yang."

A girl slipped out from the crowd as she evaded through the masses of people– shaking her head, she didn't want to have to be singled out from the other children involuntarily as she swiftly moved past them.

She looked up at the mayor– and the first thing that was visibly seen was the mossy green lace that had been tied up in her thin hair, divided into two messy tails as it dropped down her shoulders. Her deep eyes as dark as carob complemented her neutral olive tone, and as she walked, her eyes remained straight ahead as her shoes against the ground had only gotten louder as she approached the stage.

She took in a deep breath as she adjusted the thinly cotton jacket– an oak brown that had covered the black blouse she had worn along with the apron that had covered the entirety of her body underneath, its skirt down to her ankles as she dusted it off her body. She looked back and forth at the mayor, a cordial smile seen before looking to the crowds, her eyes rising to the sky as she allowed a breath to escape her lips again, before shaking them.

The both of them stood– while both held their composure on the outside, chaos ensued where eyes could not view.

District 10, Panem

"Another year of this, huh?" A man spoke up, his voice booming against the mic but audible enough as the children all gathered from their daily festivities. Covered in dirt, sweat and musk from being out in the sun all day, they covered their eyes, shielding it from the sunlight that towered over the lot. "All you kiddos look like you're past this already– so let's get this over with, so you can go on about whatever goes on in those noggins of yer's."