"Raven Celeste: Better known as the Raven of the Capitol. Youngest victor ever. Think of her as an actual Raven: Intelligent, clever, and resourceful. Add that to her weaponry skills and charm and she's pretty fatal. You want to get out of that aren...
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Thump.
Thump.
Raven quickly halts to a stop and wipes the sweat from her forehead, moving her hair out of the way. After just one moment, she is back to running. She isn't normally late, but today in particular, she had to buy whatever share she could before the reaping. Now she is running late to get ready for the reaping. Her brother is most definitely worried sick.
Finally, she reaches to a stop outside her house door and enters after a few seconds of rest. "Where were you?" Robin frantically asks as soon as she enters.
"Sorry, there's a huge rush in the market," Raven huffs, catching her breath. "I'm gonna-" she points to the door leading to the bathroom rather than finishing her sentence. It's too much effort for her out-of-breath self at the moment.
"Yeah, you do that. And hurry! We'll be late," her older brother nags.
Raven rushes into the bathroom- if you could even call it that, to get ready. She wets her hair and removes the tangles with her fingers before drying herself off with an old bedsheet. When she's all wrapped in the bedsheet, her eyes fall to the hook holding her mother's old dress.
It is an elegant black color, which is quite odd for a reaping where pale blue and monotone colors are considered classic reaping tones. Raven doesn't think about that while slipping into the dress, and instead looks at herself in the mirror and sees the younger version of her mother. Her mother was a brave, intelligent woman who you couldn't help but appreciate for her personality. She was very honest- too honest. It landed her in less-than-ideal situations that has since left Robin and Raven Celeste parentless since last year.
Raven exits the room and smiles at Robin, who looks up from his clasped hands. His eyebrows raise in surprise. "Raven..." he stands up and walks towards his sister while he looks at his mother's dress. "You look beautiful. But are you sure this is what you want to wear for your first reaping? I don't think it will be the most appropriate," he trails off at the end.
"So?" Raven incredulously responds. "I'll be reaped, so who cares about the dress I wore to the reaping when I'll be dead soon anyway?"
Robin's shoulders tense and he releases a big sigh. "Stop saying that, Raven! Look at me." He kneels down to her level and raises his voice slightly when he says, "You will not be reaped. It's your first one. You will go to the reaping and come back home tonight to celebrate with me."
"It's what the Capitol does, Robin. They hurt families that did even the slightest thing wrong to them. With what our parents did, what's wrong with accepting that possibili-"
"Don't," he cuts off. In his mind, he knew she was right. The reapings are always rigged. "You'll get through this."
Raven doesn't want Robin to keep false hope, but knows it is better to not ruin their last few moments of peace. She nods to satisfy him. His shoulders don't relax but he smiles. "I'll be in the back with the rest of the adults. After the reaping, come find me," he instructs. The little girl nods again before jumping at the sound of the reaping whistle. The sureness of her imminent death from before suddenly hits her, and her chest tightens with the familiar feeling of anxiety.
