The Haunting Birds

"Run, run, run away
Buy yourself another day
A cold wind's whispering secrets in your ear
So low only you can hear
Run, run, run, and hide
Somewhere no one else can find
Tall trees bend and lean, pointing where to go"
- Kingdom Come, The Civil Wars
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"Ma! Pa! I don't know what's goin' to happen to me in there. I-I don't know if they'll even let me into the arena. But I-" JC's Ma looks at her with her warm brown eyes. "Oh, bebe, I understand." She drops down to hold Jackaroe Citrine, and Ma gives her a hug.

"Just remember-", she says, whispering into JC's ear. "Nothing you can take is ever worth keeping." They whisper at the same time. She grips the back of her neck for what can be the last time in this lifetime.

"Just don't let them change you too much," she begs. "Of course, Mama."
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Or The Hunger Games, but Covey-centric as we add more lore and ocs to the D12 flock with the plot being about family, culture, lessons, loved ones, and survival.