Windgrass (A Hunger Games Fan Fiction)

Nine: Cairbre

I suppose I ought to talk about myself a bit, now. More in-depth, I mean.

I’ll start with my appearance:

              1: copperish-blond hair, evenly cut, goes down to my mid-back, almost

              2: hazel eyes (though they can appear green or blue in different lighting and clothing… and out in the fields)

              3: pale skin (runs in the family) that burns easily, so even on the hottest days I have a very thin long-sleeved shirt on.

              4: I’m a bit pudgy, but am losing weight due to the poor nutrition Nine offers

              5: I wear glasses and can’t see more than ten feet in front of me without them (I have contact lenses, but hate having to constantly clean them and worrying if someone’s ripped one if I’ve accidentally dropped one)

              6: my arms and legs are covered with scars from fighting off stray cats from eating our two pathetic chickens (we used to have five, but butcher one occasionally, usually for special occasions)

             7: I’m relatively strong. I can carry two bales of hay at once

             8: I have a poor memory

             9: I don’t talk much

             10"I have a ‘pet’ squirrel named Barley

             11: I have a mean scythe swing and pretend I’m the Grim Reaper during the harvest. No relation to the Reaping for the Games.

             12: I have a rather weak stomach and can’t bear seeing blood (one reason I don’t watch the Games much)

My father is Adair Cairbre.

He has black hair and dark brown eyes and a neatly trimmed beard. He works as a manager in one of the manufacturing factories, overseeing the process of turning grain into useable items like flour. Despite his relatively high position, he doesn’t make much money. Then again, no one does.

My mother is Rosemarie Cairbre.

She also has black hair, but has bright blue eyes. She is very elegant and delicate-looking, with her long wavy hair and slight frame. She hand-makes all the different dresses she wears. She’s a teacher at the elementary school and students of hers visit frequently on our scarce holidays and days off. She’s very pretty, even while working in the field loading bales of wheat and oats and the other grains onto trucks to be, well, trucked to the factories for processing and manufacturing. I think it’s impossible for her to look unattractive, even with no make-up on.

My uncle Rye is like a younger, clean-shaven, better-looking version of my father.

He is his younger brother, after all. He spends most of his time in the treehouse overlooking our fields. I think there’s a secret treehouse guild of watchmen, because every single sector of fields have at lease one treehouse and watchman. He wears a dark red bandana around his head, to keep his outgrown, unruly black hair in check. I like him a lot.

My sister Aisling looked like a miniature version of my… our… mother.

She was four years older than me, meaning she’d be 21 now, if she’d lived. She was killed three years ago in the Games, due to poor health and an infected cut. She had silky black hair and blue eyes exactly like my mother’s. She was outspoken and friendly, despite her poor health. She took care of the house and chickens while the rest of us were out in the fields (or in my case, at school). She was good at photography and creative writing.

Oh, another thing about me:

           13: I’m a somewhat okay artist.

Not that you can see it here as I'm writing, but I tend to exaggerate the people I draw. I try to emphasize something physically flattering, like their eyes or their smile. Obviously, my mother is a very pretty person. My father, kinda gritty. My uncle… kinda good-looking. He’s actually quite popular with the ladies of the District. My sister… lovely. Me… I’m ordinary. I didn’t draw my glasses (not that you can see them here anyway) because I’m not good at drawing them (they’re red-rimmed rectanglular pieces of glass… not the most flattering accessory). I’ve still got a lot to learn, and have only been drawing for the past few years.

I’ll describe my friends and other people in the District that I know later.

Hey… I just noticed that everyone in my immediate family has[had] at least one ‘i’ in their first name. That’s kinda weird, now that I think about it…

I’m also the only person in my family with light-colored hair. Rye has the same color eyes as me, and the same pale-easily-burnt skin we all have, but other than that I look almost nothing like my parents. Wonder what caused that… maybe I’m a muttation or something. Haha, wouldn’t that be a riot?

I’m probably just the black sheep of the family. Most likely.