"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
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@keely-porter
Did you say something?
You’re plenty o’ tough, Keely. Surviving like you did and then coming here and holding it together, not a lot of people can do that. Your grandpa is right, there’s nothing wrong with crying. It doesn’t make you any weaker.
I don't know about that, but thank you anyway. He's a smart guy. I wish he was here too but he's still back in Six. I want to see him again.
Did you say something?
You’re really tough aren’t you? Miss Porter, right? I’ll let you in on something, I once had a middle aged man whose bandage needed changing and he started crying. I wish there were more people like you in the world.
I'm not very tough. You can call me Keely. Miss Porter sounds funny. I'm not a grownup yet. I bet the man was just in a lot of pain. That's okay too. When something hurts you don't have to pretend that it doesn't. That's what my grandpa always said.
Did you say something?
Almost, I have a few weeks of training left and then I can go out in the field and help people who are hurt. But my dad is a doctor and I have a lot of training, so I think you can count on me. Now let me see… It looks sore. It might not hurt but here — let’s put some of this gooey stuff on it. It’ll help your wrist heal as quickly as possible. It’s kind of cold so don’t jump.
It is sore but it's getting better. Since I got here it's gotten a lot better. I won't jump. I doubt it's as cold as the arena was. I'm okay.
Did you say something?
Well come here and let me have a look at it. Do you mind if I take it off?
Okay. Are you a doctor?
Did you say something?
Yeah, sorry. I just accidentally banged my wrist brace. It didn't hurt but I said ow anyway.
Look alive. Wake up. District Thirteen has very little room for slackers. To keep this place running, everyone’s going to have to pull their weight, whether they like it or not.
I'm...I'm sorry. I was just going to go to my class...I got lost.
first impressions | maylee & keely
'I thought everyone said he was dating that mentor from One.' Maylee bit down on her lower lip instinctively, rather hard actually, but she put forth a smile before her chocolate colored eyes darted to her feet, head bowed. Her hands writhed together, pulling and tugging on fingers as she tried to choose her words carefully.
She didn’t know too much about this little girl, and it seemed Maylee was just as much of a mystery. Brows furrowed together and a hand darted up to pull on her hair, then tuck it behind her ear as she licked her lips, “They’re not. They were just.. Pretending.” Maylee ventured, and pressed her hands together as she watched Keely flop back on the bed. She knew Aston, knew how to calm him down, knew how to explain, but with Keely? She didn’t know, well, anything. There were things she wanted to explain, but she just didn’t know where to start or how the girl would take it.
Why would anyone want to pretend to date that mentor from One? That was the million dollar question in Keely's eyes. The Careers scared her. All of them did. She knew more than people thought she did but that didn't change the fact that they scared her. With her gaze still on the ceiling, Keely sighed. "That's really stupid." Of course she didn't know the workings of the Capitol, nor did she know what it was like to be in love. She was twelve. What would she know about love?
Suddenly, Keely propped herself up on her elbows and watched Maylee curiously. "Do you know when I get to go home? I bet my grandpa is really worried about me." She really missed him and he was the only family that she had. Saying goodbye to him after the reaping was more painful than anything else she'd done in her life and that included seeing Gear push S.D. into the river.
first impressions | maylee & keely
"No?" Maylee’s brows shot up; that didn’t really surprised her, but she feigned the emotion and snapped her feelings, "Oh darn. I would have thought he mentioned me." She then gave Keely a small smile, chin wrinkling up as she did so before wringing her hands together.
"We’re together. Romantically, that is," She uttered, brown eyes rolling up as her hands waved about - she was always one to speak volumes with her gestures, and now was no exception as she tried to word things right, "He’s my.. Boyfriend, of sorts." Maylee concluded, a little awkwardly, and actually winced at the way the word sounded on her voice. They were much more than that, but for the life of her she couldn’t find the word. There was too much on her mind, and this little girl in front of her was taking them all away.
Keely didn’t want to say much. She wanted to see Aston. She wanted him to explain what was going on with District Thirteen. Keely just felt really lost. She had been trapped in the arena and felt lost but now it was a different game and she was just as confused. It annoyed her. Was it too much to ask for to want things to be normal again? Keely didn’t think it was.
The explanation that Maylee gave made her frown. “I thought everyone said he was dating that mentor from One, the one with the sparkly clothes.” She’d even seen them close at the ball. It had bothered Keely a lot at the time. The Careers were the enemy and she thought he understood that. He and Bula both told them to stay away from the Careers but Aston wasn’t listening to that advice. A sigh fell from her lips and she flopped backwards on her bed to stare up at the ceiling.
first impressions | maylee & keely
Maylee had only been in Thirteen for a short while, but the schedules and the way everyone worked wasn’t too difficult to understand. Sure, it was completely off kilter from how things were in Six, but it was fine she supposed. The days were quiet and she kept mostly to herself unless she absolutely had to speak to someone about the way things worked - the only problem, at the moment, were her thoughts on her uniforms. She knew she’s need a new set every so often thanks to her baby (and she supposed her thoughts on where Aston was).
Picking at the fabric on her uniform, Maylee strode back to the building in which everyone else was staying and moved to unlock the door; but it was already unlocked. Brows furrowed, she turned the knob and opened the door, eyes getting used to the sudden flow of light. There was a girl, just a little girl, seated upon the smaller bed, and at first, Maylee was confused, but she took in the girl’s appearance and pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips as she stepped in. With a faint smile, Maylee smoothed her palms over her belly, then inhaled as she tried to come off as non-threatening as possible, “Maylee.” She replied to the question, then let her smile grow, inquiring look on her face, “Are you Keely? Aston’s told me about you.”
Aston knew this woman. Keely still watched her skeptically regardless of that information. Reluctantly she nodded and rested her braced arm on her lap. “I…yeah.” She shrugged a little as she continued to watch the woman. “Aston didn’t mention you.” Aston was the only person Keely felt like she could trust right now and even that trust was slightly stretched after she saw how close he had been with that mentor from One. However, Aston was all she had right now. That thought made tears fill her eyes and she blinked them away in frustration.
A sigh fell from the young girl’s lips as she looked up at the woman standing there. “How do you know Aston?” That was the first question she asked but there were a million questions she wanted to ask. What was she doing here? Where was Bula? Why did Gear get left behind? Why wasn’t District Thirteen gone like she always thought it was? Would she ever see her grandpa again? The questions spun so rapidly in her mind that Keely almost felt sick. She sucked in a breath and forced herself to focus. If Aston knew this woman she had to be okay…but then again Aston knew the stylists and they were the farthest thing from okay.
first impressions | maylee & keely
Everything that happened had Keely’s mind flipped upside down. It was a whirlwind of utter chaos that couldn’t be controlled. When the hovercraft landed in District Thirteen, she saw the Careers from One get arrested. She was half surprised that the mentor, Glitter, hadn’t killed the guards hauling her tributes away. The look on her face had been one she’d seen on tributes in the arena. It had been on S.D.’s face before Gear pushed him in the river. Gear…Gear was gone. Keely didn’t know where he was.
She was taken to the infirmary and tears formed in her eyes as she thought about Gear. They’d left him behind. It wasn’t fair. He protected her and they just left him. The people in the infirmary wrapped her wrist and told her it was severely sprained. They gave her a little medication for the pain and sent her to the room she had been assigned. They told her she was staying with Aston and that made her happy. It was a strange place. She didn’t want to be with strange people.
Slowly she walked down the hall until she found the room that was hers. Keely used her good arm to open the door and looked around. The room wasn’t very big and there were two beds, a big one and a small one. She walked over towards the small one and sat down on it. Her fingers reached up and she grabbed her tribute token where it hung on a chain around her neck. Idly she played with the little nut on the chain and thought about the people left behind. Gear was left in the arena. She hadn’t seen Bula at all. Where was she? A frown formed on her lips as she thought about District Six. Could she ever go home? Would she ever see her grandpa again?
It wasn’t until she heard the door open that she realized she had been crying. Keely lifted her head and wiped her tears away with the back of her uninjured hand. She’d been expecting Aston, but the person standing there was a woman. “Who’re you?”
It stung to hear Keely ask that question with that tone. Aston could feel the confusion and betrayal like a slap to the face. If she wasn’t so young, Aston would have been offended by what she said about Thirteen. “Thirteen does exist Keely. The Capitol was coming, they would have killed all of us on this hovercraft if I had stayed to get Gear. I don’t know why Bula didn’t make it…but Keely I will get them back.” As he looked at her wrist, he was grateful that whenever Bula tried to teach him some basic medical knowledge he could tell her wrist wasn’t broken. “Good thing it’s only severely sprained. They can fix that right up in Thirteen.” At least he hoped they could. And he hoped that Bula and Gear were still alive…
Aston seemed so sure about what he was saying, but Keely didn't know if she could believe him. Thirteen had been gone for a long time. If there were people there wouldn't someone have said something? She thought so. "I was supposed to die in there anyway," the little girl sighed. It was true. She would have died in the arena eventually so she didn't even know what was going on. Was this better? "I hope so. It hurts a lot," Keely murmured as she looked at her wrist. "I don't like it."
The tears in Keely’s eyes were killing Aston. All he wanted to do was make them go away, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to. Her questions made that shaky breath in his lungs dislodge and escape and he looked down at the floor for a moment. “I…had to leave them behind,” he admitted as he looked back up at Keely. It sounded worse saying it out loud and left a bad taste in his mouth as he said the words. “But we’re going to Thirteen now, to the rebellion. We’ll be safe there and then I can go back and get Bula and Gear. Can I look at your wrist?”
"Why would you do that?" She didn't care about a rebellion. She was too young to fully understand the concept. "District Thirteen was destroyed. Everyone knows that," she said as though Aston was stupid for thinking otherwise. Of course she didn't think that, but he left behind Bula and Gear. She wouldn't even be alive right now if it wasn't for gear but he was left behind. She looked down at her wrist then and reluctantly nodded. "It really hurts."
Once Fitz had taken over in talking to Silver, Aston immediately turned back to Keely. He froze not sure if he should approach her or not. After all, he just left the one person in that arena she trusted and hell, he didn’t even have Bula with him. A shaky breath rattled in his lungs begging to escape but he refused. Instead he looked over Keely, took in her wild hair, the scrapes and bruises all over, and finally her swollen wrist. Fuck. Bula should be here. She should be fixing Keely. Instead, he gathered the courage to walk over to Keely and kneel down in front of her, “Keely?” He wanted to ask if she was okay - but that was a stupid question. She wasn’t, and wouldn’t be okay for a very, very long time.
There were tears in her eyes as she tried to comprehend what was happening. She'd been taken from the arena. That much she knew, but where was Gear? When she looked around she saw Aston, the Careers from District One, and their mentors. Keely subconsciously put as much room between her and the Careers as possible. The mentor, the one she'd seen with Aston before, kept looking at her and it made Keely feel anxious. When Aston came before she bit down on her lower lip, still keeping her wrist cradled against her chest. "Where's Gear? Where's Bula? What's going on," she whined. Nothing was making sense and after the hell of the arena, it would take a lot to make less sense than volcanoes and avalanches.
auditory nightmare | selfpara
The avalanche had terrified her but by a stroke of luck she and Gear managed to survive. Keely’s arm still throbbed and she still kept it close to her chest. There wasn’t really anything she could use to keep it bandaged. She just needed to be careful. After all, she was going to die anyway. Why did she need to have a working wrist? Keely sat huddled with tears in her eyes after the avalanche had died down. She heard cannons sound but she didn’t pay any attention. She was alive and Gear was alive. Nothing else mattered. It just hurt knowing that she wouldn’t make it out. It wasn’t fair.
survival of the fittest | gear & keely | day two
"We’ll just keep an extra careful look out." They’ve made it this far, and Gear had some experience with creating shelter, as it was one of the stations he spent the most time at. Keely certainly had some good ideas, and maybe she spent time at the station as well, because their little plan was coming together. They just needed to find a tree. And some branches. One step at a time. Gear spared a quick glance towards the mountain turned volcano. There didn’t seem to be any drastic changes yet… They still had time.
Again, Keely was right. If they were to be attacked while camping near the river, they would be killed before they could so much as fight back. He tried not to think of it, of the fear that begun to grip at his heart. The Careers were probably struggling to survive. They wouldn’t notice two lower district tributes. Right? Gear wanted to say something - encouragement maybe, but his mouth felt dry. There was nothing he could say. "Let’s focus on finding a fallen tree first. We’ll worry about everything else later."
This entire experience seemed like a dream. A very terrible dream, but a dream nonetheless. Keely hated it. Her limbs felt like lead because she’d never had to walk so far or so much in a short amount of time before. Her wrist was throbbing painfully and swelling even as she kept it cradled close to her chest. All she wanted to do was stop, but she couldn’t stop. Aston and Bula were watching her. Her grandpa was watching her. They wouldn’t want her to stop, so begrudgingly Keely put one foot in front of the other.
“Okay,” she softly murmured as they walked. “I don’t think it will be too hard to find a tree. It just might be hard to find a tree that will work for what we need.” Keely was trying to remember the stuff she had learned at the shelter building station. Some things were fuzzy but others were perfectly clear. Once they found the tree and the branches, Keely didn’t know how much help she would be to build the shelter. Not when she only had one hand to use. “I guess we’ve just gotta hope our luck hasn’t run out yet.”
survival of the fittest | gear & keely | day two
"There’s not much coverage by the water," he said, as he came to a stop, taking a moment to take in the landscape, though he’s looked over it what felt like a hundred times now. But Keely was right. They needed to be smart about this, and continuing on the ravine would only waste time at this point. With the earthquake, Gear doubted the cave was still intact, and sure, there could be other caves, but he certainly no longer felt safe there. Not when there were earthquakes in play now. It would be too easy to find themselves trapped in the ravine. "But I’m sure we can figure something out."
Gear pinched the bridge of his nose briefly before adjusting his glasses. “I think you’re right. I don’t get why though. I mean, this is the Quarter Quell. It’s supposed to be more exciting. There’s more hype about it. Why would they be trying to rush through this?” Not that Gear liked thinking of their struggle to survive as entertainment, but wouldn’t the Capitol citizens be upset over the short Game? Gear shook his head, patting Keely on the shoulder. “Let’s look for some shelter by the water. It’s pretty open, but at least then we’ll be able to see if anyone’s coming after us.” -though, they wouldn’t really be able to defend themselves. Was it a risk they should take? No. But what other choices did they have at this point.
Keely nodded. Gear was right that there wasn’t a lot of coverage by the water, but it was also the place they needed to be. They only had two canisters of water. They would constantly have to be hiking back towards the river if they left it. They’d need the water since there wasn’t any water anywhere else. “Yeah we can. The earthquake might have knocked over some trees. We might get lucky and be able to make a little hiding place between downed trees and the branches from them.” Keely didn’t know if they would get that lucky, but she was trying to be optimistic.
“I don’t know,” she admitted after a moment of thought. “Maybe they’re trying to get the sponsors to pay more to send people stuff?” She doubted that Aston and Bula would be able to send them anything more than they already did, but Keely knew the Careers probably had sponsors lining up to help them. It made her mad. It made her mad because she’d seen Aston with that pretty mentor from District One at the ball. How could he be friends with someone like that? Keely took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut briefly. “That sounds like a good idea. We can find somewhere and hide out. Hopefully no one will come this way, but I don’t think we’ll get that lucky. If this is the only water in the arena they are bound to come this way.” She bit down on her lower lip and looked down at the ground as she walked. “If the Careers come we won’t stand a chance.”
survival of the fittest | gear & keely | day two
"Maybe just the side of the river the volcano’s on." Gear glanced back at the river. "I doubt they’d destroy the river though, given how its the one source of clean drinking water." Although, he wouldn’t put it past the Gamemakers. It felt as though they were rushing the events of the Game. Or maybe he only felt that way because he was participating now, as opposed to being made to watch from home.
Once Keely had a cracker, he took one for himself, then put the little package away. Maybe he’ll forgo another one later, whenever it is they open the package again. He’ll save as many as he can. “If you can find some plants, that’d go a long way for us.” It was a little spark of hope, and Gear almost smiled before collapsing into silence brought on by an overwhelming sensation of guilt. He almost tripped it was so powerful. But he kept on walking. Don’t think. Just do.
Keely thought about what he said and nodded. “Maybe we should stay by the river and hide? If it’s the only safe water we are going to need it.” The earthquake probably destroyed their little cave. They were going to need to find somewhere else to go. If she hadn’t hurt her wrist, they could have climbed a tree but Keely doubted she could now, not when it was throbbing with pain and beginning to swell.
“I’ll keep a lookout for some plants, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. I don’t think the Gamemakers are giving us much to work with this year. It seems like they want the games over quickly.” She frowned then and sighed. “I hope that isn’t the case, but it might be.” Keely looked over towards the river again. It terrified her. She saw how easy it had been for the boy from Three to drown. She didn’t want to be next and knew that if she fell in she would be. She nibbled a little more on her cracker, wanting to make it last. She wondered if there were any tributes still alive that would have helped them. Thalia would, Keely thought. She liked Thalia. However, she and Gear were alone. They would have to do things for themselves.
