You run cold, you always have, it's just another thing to love as far as Finnick is concerned. He himself emits heat like a furnace on the best of days. He remembers cold hands touching his heated skin, cold toes shocking the skin of his legs whenev...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Past (xi) - You
[21 & 22] - DISTRICT ELEVEN
You tighten your coat around you, burrowing into the warmth as you walk.
To the left of you, dairy cows moo distantly, some grazing the open land while others stay tucked away in their barns. To the right of you, you pass empty victor houses. Once upon a time, District Eleven used to produce an immense number of victors. Certainly not as many as One or Two, but a strong contender right next to Four. It makes sense. Compared to what the citizens here have to face day to day, the arena is a welcome change. And tributes from Eleven develop a skill set that's meant for survival at a very young age—one step away from being careers in your own right.
Eleven has always been incredibly rebellious. But after the Uprising a few decades back, which the citizens refer to as the First Movement, Eleven lost any good standing with the Capitol. In its place came droves of Peacekeepers and more oppressive rules than there were people. With them came the inability to train children, malnourishment, and conformity. They make sure to teach all about it in school, making sure students know just how far their district fell. Once a powerhouse worthy of rubbing shoulders with the best of them stands one of the most 'primitive' and militarized districts in the nation.
The remaining houses are left without any upkeep and are abandoned to fall apart.
As a victor, you're afforded some leniency by the Peacekeepers, but not much. Just enough that they won't find it suspicious that you're carrying a blanket-covered wicker basket. Regardless, you keep it close to your side, and it knocks into your calf with each step.
Winter is the worst time in Eleven, though it doesn't last long. It doesn't snow often since it's so far south, but the ice is just as bad—if not worse. Not many people can survive the subzero temperatures, let alone crops. So, though it seems impossible, what little rations they give the people are shortened even further. The only plus is that it isn't harvest season—there are so many crops to collect that children are pulled out of school for weeks at a time to help.
You remember what it feels like to be hungry. To be forced into the orchards to harvest pears, apricots, and Mandarin oranges—some of the only crops that can weather the cold, small hands stiff and your stomach numb with pain as you endured the freezing winds. You had friends when you were younger, other children that worked alongside you. Very few of them survived through the winter.
They give victors more food and money than they have any right to. So once a month, you pack up food that you, Chaff, and Seeder have gathered and journey to the poorest part of the district. You don't take it all at once. That's far too risky. You spread out the trips over several days at different times so the Peacekeepers on the clock don't notice a pattern.
It's not an easy walk by any means. You reside in the wealthy part of Eleven, and you use wealthy in the loosest sense of the word. The mayor's family, doctors, Peacekeepers, landowners, and victors. Your destination is almost on the complete opposite side of the district from the Victor Village. Far away so the rich don't have to see the harsh reality that the citizens live in.
