Lilith Calloway, to her credit, was a kind girl. One would expect her to be as stuck up as one of her close friends, Maysilee Donner, but it seemed they balanced each other out almost perfectly.

       Most people would perceive her kindness as weakness, as something to take advantage of, but don't be fooled. That girl certainly has a temper on her.

Haymitch remembers the day she showed everyone that very vividly.

       He didn't know much about her before, but he was certainly intrigued. He'd seen Lilith around the Donner's and Asterid March, her cousin, and she'd also been kind enough to offer him some of her food whenever she'd decided that he didn't have nearly enough to last a school day.

         She walked around district 12 with a smile on her face, always ready to brighten up someone's day. It made Haymitch wonder how someone could have that much happiness in their life.

       One day during school, some boys had decided to pick on her. Maysilee Donner had attempted to intervene but was scolded by Lilith, who claimed she could handle it. And handle it she did.

      One of the little punks thought it would be funny to pull on one of her blonde braids, and Lilith socked him in the nose. Not only that, but she'd went off on him— something about 'boundaries and personal space.'

It was safe to say that group of boys never bothered her again.

       Haymitch overhead her talking about it with Asterid as they walked out of school, she'd felt bad about it, apparently.

"I dunno, Asterid," she said. "I don't think he deserved the punch, I think that was a bit much."

Asterid sighed and was about to protest when Haymitch had made his shameless eavesdropping known.

"For what it's worth, Lilith, I think he deserved it," he said.

She turned around and flashed him one of her signature smiles—the ones that seem to light up the entirety of Panem— and said a simple, "Thanks, Haymitch."

       With that, Lilith Calloway walked away, leaving Haymitch's head spinning. He doesn't think it ever will, to be frank.

At the time, the small little crush he'd developed seemed silly to him. There was no way in all of Panem that Lilith Calloway would ever reciprocate any sort of romantic feelings. Town girls don't settle for Seam boys, not unless something really goes haywire. His good friend, Burdock Everdeen, knew this too. Burdock was absolutely nuts for Lilith's cousin, Asterid.

       Haymitch had never planned on talking to her after that, it would be futile in his eyes. Lilith, however, had other plans.

She continuously went up to him, and honestly looked forward to seeing him. She endured the teasing from her friends regarding her 'infatuation' with Itchy Itchy Haymitchy, a nickname coined by Maysilee Donner when they were six.

She didn't mind the teasing all that much. It was annoying, sure, but Haymitch was a nice boy. She enjoyed simply being in his presence, and she sure hoped he enjoyed being in hers.

He really did. Lilith had a way of making anyone around her feel seen and heard, like they were the most importantly in the world. There were loads of times Lilith made him feel this way, but there was a time that really stuck with him.

Haymitch had been sitting alone at lunch, looking rather pitiful. He didn't have much to eat either.

       Lilith frowned at the sight. She turned back to her own friends who didn't seem to pay any mind to him. She glanced back to the brunette boy, and decided that she was going to keep him company. She picked up her lunch and made her way over to where he sat.

She plopped down on the seat in front of him, ignoring the confused gazes of her friends.

She met his confused expression with a grin. "Hi, Haymitch."

He blinked at her, as if he was trying to gauge if she was real. "Hi, Lilith. What're you doing over here?"

"I saw you sitting all alone and figured it wouldn't hurt to keep you some company," she shrugged. She split her sandwich in half and offered the other half to him. Before he could protest, she practically shoved it into his hands. "Eat."

       They sat in silence for a few moments, before Lilith spoke up. "So... where's Burdock? You two are always together. I don't think I've ever seen you two separated."

       Haymitch chuckled at that and her smile grew. "He came down with something, said he wasn't feeling too good."

       Lilith hummed. "What about Lenore Dove and Briar Ochre?"

       Haymitch seemed to think about this for a long moment. Finally, he shrugged. "Dunno. Those two are always off doing something."

        Lilith giggled at that. It was true. Lenore Dove Baird and Briar Ochre Baird were Covey, and from what Lilith had heard, the Covey didn't like to be caged. Her grandma had told her stories about them, specifically about this one girl who no one seemed to know anything about. Supposedly, she'd won the 10th Hunger Games, but didn't stick around. No one knows where she is— or if she's even still alive.

She'd attempted to ask Lenore Dove about the mystery girl, wanting to know more about someone who her grandmother had seemed so fond about, but the Baird girl had shut her down quickly. Lilith never brought it up again. If no one knew anything about her, maybe it was for a reason.

"Well, when you do see them, can you tell 'em I say hello? I haven't had time to stop by and say so myself, my mama's been trying to train me in the apothecary."

       "'Course." Haymitch tilted his head slightly. "Is it any fun? The apothecary, I mean."

      "Very! My favorite part is when we get to pick out the herbs and medicines. I like seeing how it all comes together, you know? It's pretty interesting, seeing how a bunch of seemingly insignificant ingredients can come together to make something that could potentially save a life."

Haymitch nodded, that way of thinking had never crossed his mind. Then again, Lilith Calloway always seemed to look on the sunny side of life. She didn't like looking at things negatively.

       He studied the girl in front of him, the way her dirty blonde hair was tied back lowly, but some strands had managed to escape and frame her face. She kept tucking them back behind her ear, but they didn't seem to want to stay there. Haymitch's gaze moved to behind her, where all her friends were sitting. All but one seemed unbothered. Maysilee Donner was looking at him skeptically.

       "I don't think your friend likes me very much," he said.

       She frowned and looked back at her friends for the first time since she sat down. "Who? Maysilee?"

      Haymitch nodded as she turned her head back around.

      "Don't mind her," she sighed, "she doesn't like any boy who's in a ten foot vicinity of me, let alone talks to me."

Haymitch raised an eyebrow.

"She's like that with Merrilee and Asterid, too." She shrugged. "She just cares about us a lot. We're like sisters, the four of us."

"I guess that makes sense."

Lilith smiled softly as she tried to discreetly give Haymitch another piece of food. An apple, to be exact He pretended not to notice as he ate the apple, desperate to see the smile that worked its way onto her face at the sight.

Lilith took slow bites of her half of the sandwich, savoring every bite. Sure, she was better off than almost all of the population of 12, but that didn't mean she was never hungry.

       They sat in silence after that, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one.

        Once lunch was over, Lilith went back over to her group of friends— but not without giving Haymitch a a rather awkward hug. Haymitch cursed himself later for simply standing there while she hugged him, but he was simply far too starstruck.

Ever since then, Lilith had always found herself overly enthusiastic to see him. Even now, when they are both sixteen and have been dating for about a year, she still finds that her heart is pounding and she cannot contain her bubbling excitement.

July 4th is Haymitch's birthday and, unfortunately, reaping day. A day when kids all over Panem, besides the capitol, are ripped from their families and tossed into an arena for entertainment.

       Lilith tries not to think about that, though. There's one thing to celebrate and be happy about today, and that's what matters.

She practically skips through town. It's still early, so, there's not many people. The only people she can see are those who are preparing for the reaping, and those who are setting up their shops for the day.

       Lilith catches Otho Mellark's eye, and she sends him a quick smile. He waves slightly at her from inside the bakery before continuing whatever sort of pastry he was working on. She makes a mental note to see if she could buy a cake for Haymitch after the reaping.

The farther she ventured into 12, the less regular streets and sturdy structures she sees and the more unmarked lanes and makeshift structures she lays eyes on. It was still gorgeous, though. Lilith didn't think district 12 could ever be ugly. That's thing with her: she always sees the beauty in everything.

       As she turns down a small road, she catches sight of her destination. A cabin sits in the middle of a beautiful meadow, the home of The Covey. She sees her classmate, Lenore Dove, sitting the in the meadow with her geese. She's perched on a rock, the sunlight picking up on the slight hint of red in her brunette hair, and hunched over her piano accordion. How she manages to get a slight tune out of the ancient thing is beyond Lilith.

As she approaches the home, the geese make her presence known to Lenore Dove. She turns around to look at Lilith, her expression of confusions quickly morphing into a smile.

Lenore Dove waves at the blonde, the sunlight making her dark brown eyes sparkle. "Hi, Lilith!"

"Hey, Lenore Dove!" She waves right back. "Do you know if Briar Ochres in?"

"I think she's still inside," Lenore Dove replies, nodding towards the cabin. Suddenly, a huge grin makes it way onto her face. "Are you here for Haymitch's present?"

        "Mhm!"

       "Well, it's gorgeous, I'll tell you that much. Tam Amber really outdid himself this time."

        "I'm sure he did," Lilith said with a chuckle. "It was nice talking to you, Lenore Dove."

         "Likewise," she said happily.

She kept walking, entering the porch of the cabin. Before she can knock on the door, though, the girl she was looking for swung the door open.

       "Lilith!" Briar Ochre squealed as she practically threw herself into an embrace with Lilith.

        "Briar Ochre! How are you?"

"As good as I can be on a day like this," she replied, smile faltering a bit. She clears her throat rather quickly. "Anyways, you're here for the flint striker, right?"

      "Yup!"

"Perfect, because I have it right here in my pocket," Briar Ochre says, pulling out the flint striker in all its glory. It was made by Tam Amber who, besides being a crazily good mandolin player, was the best hand-forger in all of 12. In all of the districts, really. He's the go-to blacksmith for new gadgets or broken parts for old machines.

From what Haymitch had told her, Burdock Everdeen (who Lilith was convinced had something going on with her cousin) has a dozen arrow tips from Tam Amber. Lilith herself has a few pieces of jewelry made from actual gold and silver that were melted down from heirlooms and refashioned. She also knows that Maysilee and Merrilee have matching gold pins: a hummingbird and a mockingjay.

Lilith takes a look at the striker that lays in a pink fabric along with a white piece of ribbon. Her breath catches at how beautiful and colorful it is. She knows the Covey love color, but when looking at it she really sees it translated into their work.

      The striker is a thin strip of metal, shaped like a C. She examines the two colorful animals facing off at the opening. The head of a snake hisses at the long beak of a bird. She quickly recognizes the bird— it's a raven. The enameled scales and feathers travel around the piece until they merge and become indistinguishable. Two small rings are welded on, one behind each head. For a chain or rope, she assumes.

      "Oh, it's gorgeous," Lilith breathes out.

       Briar Ochre chuckles. "Well, you know us Covey. We like our pretty with a purpose. Make sure to tell Haymitch he doesn't just need flint. Any decent sparking rock like quartz will do."

"Will do. Thank you so much, again," she says with a smile. "See you 'round."

She turns around and leaves, and makes it about halfway down the path before she's stopped.

"Oh, wait!" Briar Ochre calls out. "I almost forgot!"

The brunette jogs up to her, carrying something else in her hand.

       "What's up?" Lilith asks as the brunette attempts to catch her breath.

       "Here. Take this," Briar Ochre tells her, placing a pin in her hands. "Tam Amber made it as a little extra gift for you. S'posed to be good luck or something."

      With furrowed brows, Lilith takes a look at the pin. It's gold: a bird in the center of a circle. It takes her a moment to register what the bird is. Again, it's a raven.

       "It's amazing, thank you," Lilith says. Briar Ochre nods.

      "Tell Tam Amber I say thanks, yeah?" She asks before she turns around once more, pocketing the pin and the cloth that holds the flint striker.

        As she starts back down the path, she sees Lenore Dove again. This time, her expression is much more solemn as she sings a song that is sure to get her arrested if she sang it in the town square or the mayors house.

The law demands that we atone
When we take things we do not own,
But leaves the lords and ladies fine
Who take things that are yours and mine.

Her voice is hauntingly beautiful and Lilith debates on staying to listen to her singing, but she quickly realizes that if she wants to see Haymitch before the reaping she's got to get going.

       As she walks through the Seam, she noticed people starting to wake up. There's a blanket of mist wrapped around the worn, gray houses. As she makes her way back into town, she takes note of the appearance of the poorer area of 12. While the Town wasn't the most fancy, it certainly was better off than the Seam.

        She stops at an area nearly in between the two sectors of the district. It's a rather secluded area, covered by trees and small traces of mist. It was close enough to the town that she could walk to the apothecary and her home within a reasonable amount of time.

      This is where her and Haymitch meet up most times. Other times they'll meet up in the Town Square or Haymitch's house. Never Lilith's house, though. Lilith is sure her mom would have an aneurysm if Haymitch were to come and take her daughter out.

      It wasn't the fact that Haymitch was from the Seam, it was more of the fact that the Abernathy's were quite the rebels back in the day. Her Ma had once told her that Haymitch was the type that died young, which was most definitely not a recommendation.

     As she leaned against a tree, she took out the pin that Briar Ochre had given her. She turned it in her hands, inspecting the golden pin. Upon further inspection, she realized it was quite similar to the matching pins the Donner twins had, though Maysilee never wore hers. The day Maysilee had gotten her mockingjay pin, she'd immediately rejected it. The thought of a mockingjay being half mutt didn't sit quite right with her, it seemed unnatural. Most people saw Maysilee as this spoiled, stuck up girl, but in reality she was much more than that.

"Well, that's quite the pin you've got there."

Lilith knew that voice. She would recognize it from a million miles away. She turned to where the voice had come from, and she saw him. Haymitch Abernathy: the only boy who could make her forget about the hell that is Panem. His dark hair is tousled, most likely from walking through the woods. Lilith knows that that's where Hattie's still is, and also where Haymitch works to make a little buck for him and his family.

He leans in to kiss her, and for a moment it's as if nothing else in the world is happening. Then he kisses her again. And again. She, very happily, kisses him right back.

"Happy birthday, Hay," she says as they come up for air. "You're earlier than usual."

"Well, Hattie let me go early," he tells her. "Gave me this, too— a present for my big day."

He pulls out a bottle of white liquor and Lilith suppresses a laugh. Haymitch wasn't a drinker, so he was more likely to trade the gift than use it for himself. Of course, Lilith doesn't doubt that Hattie already knew that.

"I'm sure that'll be an easy trade. 'Specially on a day like today," she says. And just like that the mood drops. "Double the amount of tributes... todays going to be rough for a lot of people."

It was true, really. Four tributes from each district. Four children reaped and taken away from their families, not knowing if they'll ever return. Most of them probably have an idea of where they'll end up: in a box. Lilith doesn't like to think that way, though. Everyone's gotta have a little hope in 'em, right?

"It's gonna be alright," Haymitch attempts to reassure her, but it rings hollow.

"I guess," Lilith says, trying her hardest not to think negatively. It doesn't work however, she's already started spiraling. "But what if it's not? What if one of us gets reaped? I mean, what'll happen then?"

         Before she can continue, Haymitch interrupts her downward spiral. "Lily, it's going to be okay. We're going to be fine."

       Lilith can hear the doubt in his voice. No matter how hard he tries to hide it. "Do you really believe that?"

        "Yes."

       Lilith raises an eyebrow. "Doesn't sound like it."

        "Okay, maybe I don't. Not fully, anyway. But I try to. Because the reaping's going to happen no matter what I believe. Sure as the sun will rise tomorrow."

        Lilith frowns. "Well that's a sad way of putting it. I don't think associating the sun, that's supposed to bring happiness and light into the world, with the reaping makes much sense."

Haymitch shrugs. "Well, there's at least one happy thing on this day. My birthday."

Lilith laughs at that. Then she remembers the present for Haymitch she has in her pocket. She pulls it out and puts it in his hand. "I guess you're right. Happy birthday, Hay!"

        Before he opens it, he leans in for another kiss.

         "Tam Amber made it, Lenore Dove and Briar Ochre helped design it," she says as he unwraps the flint striker.

       She watches as his eyes widen slightly at the sight of the beautifully designed piece. His fingers trace details on it as his eyes scan it. She really hopes he likes it, she saved up quite a bit of money for it.

        "It's beautiful," Haymitch finally says. "It's to wear, right?"

       Lilith nods. "Makes for good jewelry. It's multi purpose, too."

His eyebrows furrow as he studies the flint striker again, trying to figure out what it is exactly.

"It's a flint striker," he finally concludes.

"That it is," Lilith says with a small grin on her face. "Only, you don't need flint. Any decent sparking rock will do. Something like quartz.

Haymitch runs his fingers over the metalwork of the feathered neck. "I wouldn't want to ruin it."

"You won't. It's what it's made for. Besides, you really think Tam Amber would make something so pretty just for it to be ruined to easily?"

"S'pose not," he says softly. He takes his eyes off the flint striker and they land on hers. "I love it. And I love you. So much."

"You too," Lilith practically whispers with a soft smile on her face. She tries to ignore the nagging feeling of impending doom, but she really can't.

They kiss until they taste salt, and neither have to ask.

"Look, it's okay," he says, cradling her head in his hands as he repeats his earlier words of reassurance. "We're going to be fine." She nods, biting her lip to try to keep herself from crying even more. "Lily, we're going to get through today just like we always have since we were twelve."

"Yeah. Yeah, we will."

She doesn't really believe that, but she has too. It's the only way she'll be able to look strong in front of her siblings. They're already scared enough as it is, it being their first reaping and all, so it certainly wouldn't help if their older sister was a nervous mess.

"Well, I better get home. I've got to help Eurydice and Liam get ready, and clean up myself."

Haymitch winces at the mention of her younger siblings. "It's the twins' first reaping, right?"

"Yup. Eurydice was a sobbing mess when I left this morning. God, it was horrible," Lilith says, grimacing as she remembers her sister screaming and crying out of fear of getting picked.

"They're both only in there once, though."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I tried explaining that to her, but I didn't matter what I said. I think the thought of her name being in there at all is what terrifies her. Can't say I blame her, though."

Haymitch nods. He can't blame little Eurydice either. Her and Liam were only twelve, the youngest of the bunch. If they were to go into the games, the chances of them coming back were slim to none. Not that Lilith would ever let them get up on stage in the first place, however.

"I'll see you after, yeah? I'll come to the woods."

"We'll go to the woods," Haymitch confirms it with a small kiss. "Might swing by the apothecary, though. Try to get a deal on the liquor. Maybe I'll see you then?"

       She nods solemnly.

        When she gets home, Asterid is already downstairs prepping for the day. She greets her cousin with a smile. "So, how'd it go with Haymitch?"

       "It went great! He loved the present."

        "Oh, that's just wonderful," Asterid gushed.

       Lilith chuckled at her cousins antics as she leaned on the countertop. "What about you? Has Burdock swung by yet?"

        Asterid's cheeks dusted pink. "Yeah, he brought some chamomile. Said it's good luck."

        Lilith shook her head with a small smile. Burdocks little crush on Asterid hadn't gone unnoticed, nor had Asterid's blushing anytime the boy was brought up.

      She threw her head back and tapped her fingers on the counter. "Well, I better get upstairs and help the kids get ready."

       Asterid hummed, pushing a tendril of hair out of her face. She was already nice and ready for the reaping, her hair in a long blonde braid that falls down her back and a nice pink floral dress.

      Lilith trudged up the stairs, not looking forward to cleaning herself up just incase the occasion where she would be up on stage in front of all of twelve came up.

     As she entered the room she shared with her siblings, she was met with two different sights. Her brother, Liam was already cleaned up and dressed. On the other hand, her sister was still in bed. Her sniffles were loud and saddening to hear.

       She sits down on the bed, careful not to sit on her sister. "Eury, come on. You've got to get up, you know what'll happen if you don't show up."

       "But, I'm scared Lily," she chokes out, covering her face with a blanket.

       Lilith gently pulls the blanket away from her face. "Hey, nothings gonna happen. I'm here remember? Nothings gonna hurt you and you're not going to get reaped. Your names in their once. And even if you somehow manage to get your name called, I'll be there to protect you, okay?"

      "Okay," she says, teary eyed and sniffling.

       "Good. Now let's get you ready."

        Eurydice reluctantly gets out of bed much to Lilith's relief.

       "Hey, Liam," she calls out softly as her sister makes her way to the dresser. "Why don't you go down stairs and help out Asterid while I get Eury ready?"

      Liam simply nods. He isn't much of a talker. Not anymore, at least. He used to be the most chatty kid, but after their grandpa passed he didn't talk much. He hops off the cabinet he was sitting on and shuts the door behind him as he leaves. Lilith can hear his footsteps retreating and going down the stairs.

She puts her hair and her sisters hair in matching styles: two simple braids with a white ribbon running through it, making a little bow at the ends.

Lilith dresses herself in a simple blue dress. It's a pretty little thing, with three white buttons that are simply there for decoration and a ribbon that she ties at her waist.

As for Eurydice, she's dressed in a fairly simple white shirt that's tucked into a grayish white skirt.

She sends Eurydice downstairs to join her brother and cousin as she stays behind in the room. She walks over to the bathroom that they share and splashes some cold water onto her face. She looks at herself in the mirror, willing herself to put on a tough expression. As she walks back into her room, her gaze lands on the raven pin. She picks it up, debating on whether she should wear it or not. The former won.

She walks downstairs and immediately goes to hold her sisters hand. Liam is also holding his sisters hand, but less tightly. As much as he doesn't show it under that stoic expression, Lilith knows he's just as terrified as the rest of them.

The family of blondes make their way to the town square, checking in with the peacekeepers before they're herded off into their respective age groups. Before they can seperate, Eurydice's grip tightens on Lilith's arm.

She crouches down to Eurydice's level, netting her eyes with a certain softness. "Hey, it's all going to be alright. You're going to be fine, you hear me?"

"I hear you," she said. Lilith's starts to get back up, but before she can, Eurydice sticks out her pinky. "Promise you'll come back and find me after this?"

Lilith looks at her sister sadly before interlocking their pinky's. "Promise."

Eurydice noticeably relaxes and allows herself to be escorted to the twelve-to-fourteen year old girls section.

"You think she'll be alright?" Asterid asks.

"God, I hope so," Lilith sighs as she walks to her section.

As she weaves her was through the crowd, hand and hand with her cousin, she looks back and catches Haymitch's eye. She sends him a small but grim smile that he returns.

        Asterid and Lilith finally find the Donner twins, who wore identical dresses. The only difference was color. Merrilee wore a pretty pink color while Maysilee wore a light shade of lavender.

       As Lilith slips in next to her best friend, she immediately links their arms together.

       "You nervous?" Maysilee asks, even though she already knows the answer. She just wants some distracting small talk.

       "Mhm," is all Lilith can muster as she looks at the stage. While her chances aren't very high, her being a Town girl and all, but they were still pretty prominent.

       "Me too," Maysilee whispers to her just before the recording of Panem's anthem starts to play.

       Gem of Panem,
      Mighty city,

       Everybody is supposed to be singing, but no one really does. They simply mumble whatever, making sure their lips are moving at the right times.

       The screens project images of the Capitol's power: armies of marching Peacekeepers, airborne fleets of hovercraft, tanks parading through the wide avenues of the Capitol, up to the presidential mansion. Everything is clean and expensive and deadly.

       When the anthem ends, Mayor Allister takes the podium and reads the Treaty of Treason, which is basically the surrender terms for the war. Most of the people in District 12 weren't even alive then, but they're sure here to pay the price. The mayor tries for a neutral tone, but her voice leaks disapproval in a way that guarantees she'll be replaced soon. The decent mayors always are.

The next person to take the stage is district 12s very own escort, Drusilla Sickle. No one has any clue how old Drusilla is, but she's been showing up since the first quarter quell, so she's probably old. Very old.

It's hard to tell, though, because of the thumbtacks that are pulling her skin back in an effort to make her look younger. Last year, each of them was decorated with a tiny buzz saw blade. That was the theme last year, apparently.

It seems the theme this year was the number 50. As for clothes she clearly struggled to get two different styles to work together: military and sassy.

The result? A lemon yellow officer's jacket with matching thigh high boots and a tall hat with a visor brim. Feathers fan out from the top of her hat, making her look like a deranged daffodil. Bless her soul, it was clear she tried. Boy, was Maysilee about to have a field day with that one.

No one dares to laugh, though. Here, no matter how silly she may look, Drusilla Sickle was the face of evil. And only the stupid laugh in the face of evil.

Two peacekeepers set giant glass balls holding the tribute entries on either side of the podium.

"Ladies first," says Drusilla, dipping her hand into the bowl on the right and extracting a single slip of paper. "And the lucky girl is..." She pauses for dramatic effect, and it works because Lilith finds she sucked in a sharp breath.

Drusilla smirks before reciting two words that elicit a small scream from Asterid March.

"Lilith Calloway!"

No. No, no, no, no, no.

This wasn't happening. Maybe if she closes her eyes and prays hard enough, this'll all just be one sickening bad dream.

But it isn't. This is real. Very real.

The girls surrounding her, excluding Maysilee, Merrilee, and Asterid, all move away from her, giving her a path to start walking up to the stage. As she looks around, she sees Drusilla's 'I don't have all day' expression.

She quickly tries to regain her bearings, closing her mouth which was slightly agape. She unlinks her arm from Maysilee's and starts towards the stage. She feels Asterid and Merrilee grasp her wrist and she, harshly, pulls it away. She swallows as she walks down the center of the aisle, right towards the center of the stage. She tries her hardest to ignore Eurydice's cries and screams. She can't show any emotion, the capitol could use anything against her.

Before she knows it, she already on stage. Right next to the devil incarnate and her lemon yellow outfit. Lilith can hardly breathe, none of this feels real. She looks anywhere but the crowd. She can feel the stares of everyone, but especially Haymitch. Oh, Haymitch. Simply the thought of him made her want to burst into tears right then and there on stage. She didn't know what she would do if she were in his shoes. In a way, she's glad that she's up on this stage and not him. Well, hopefully he won't be up on this stage.

"And this year, ladies second as well! Joining Lilith will be..." Drusilla's annoyingly fake voice snaps her out of her mind. She stirs the slips in the ball and fishes out another name. "Maysilee Donner!"

It was just hit after hit. She feels the air get sucked out of her lungs. Lilith closed her eyes again, hoping that once she opened her eyes it wasn't her bestest and closest friend on the way to the stage and death.

Death. She hadn't even dared think about that. The thought that this time next week she could very well be six feet underground in a suffocating coffin made her want to scream. Instead, she clenched her fists and exhaled shakily. She opened her eyes and looked to her side, where unfortunately Maysilee Donner stood.

She had her head held high, contrasting Lilith's head slightly facing downward as she attempted to calm herself down. Her blonde hair was as it always was for the most part: straight and down, with the exception of two small braids on the sides.

Lilith shakily extends her hand to Maysilee who quickly takes it. The grip that she keeps on Lilith's hand betrays every single act of confidence she has on. She just as scared as she is, she's just better at hiding it.

Now, it's the boys turn. Lilith feels even more dread pile up in her stomach. Drusilla plucks a paper from the ball on the left. Please don't be Haymitch.

"And the first gentleman who gets to accompany the ladies is..."

Please don't be Haymitch.

"Wyatt Callow!"

Lilith lets out a sigh of relief, although that's short lived. There's still one more boy to be reaped. Then she focuses her attention to the newest victim, Wyatt Callow.

She hasn't seen him around school in a while, which probably means he's started in the mines and is about eighteen. She never really knew him, he lives on the opposite side of where Haymitch lives. She feels guilty for the relief she felt the moment she heard his name being called. Wyatt had been closing in on his nineteenth birthday. He was just about to age out. Lilith couldn't imagine being so close to freedom just to be caged.

As Drusilla's hand doves back into the ball, Lilith feels a bit of hope for Haymitch. Maybe he'll get to escape this years death sentence. But then, she doesn't know what he'd do without her. And Haymitch certainly doesn't know that either. Lilith makes a promise to herself: she was going to fight like hell to get out of that arena and get back home to Eurydice, Liam, Asterid, Merrilee, Ma, and Haymitch. Especially Haymitch.

Drusilla peers at the final name. "And boy number two is... Woodbine Chance!"

Fight like hell to get out that arena, Lilith.

She doesn't know Woodbine all that well, but she does know he's the youngest out of those crazy Chance boys. According to Haymitch, they all get so wild when they drink that Hattie refuses to sell them white liquor. They end up buying it anyway from old Bascom Pie. If the Abernathys give off a whiff of rebellion, the Chances reeked of it. They've lost more family to the rope than anyone can keep track of.

She can see Woodbine who starts to approach the stage. He makes as if to follow Wyatt, but then his gray eyes flash defiantly and he whips around. He makes a run for it, heading towards an alley. His kinfolk shout encouragement and bodies start to block the Peacekeepers. Just when Lilith thinks he might make it— those Chance boys can run— a shot rings out from the rooftop of the justice building.

It happens in a flash. One moment Woodbine Chance is so close to freedom. So close to escaping. And the next moment the back of Woodbine Chance's head explodes.

lali yaps

6016 words wow... this might be the longest chapter I've ever written Tbh. This is NOT edited or proofread... I finished writing this at like 3am 💔

Anyways this is so buns I'm sorry I had no clue how to start this and I just suck at first chapters in general tbh.

Anyways... I wanted to explain the whole Raven symbolism!! So in mythology, Lilith is sometimes associated with ravens and ravens are seen as the brink of life and death as well as wisdom and intelligence. So that's the whole thing with the pin and flint striker... hope that made sense.

Also!! Briar Ochre mentions = Evie clarisseapologist mention. Everyone should totally go read wild horses by her it's amazing and I love it!!!

bai for now 😄