July 13th, 71ADD
Mr. Greg, or just Greg as he now demands I call him, was serious about leaving me his shop. I knew he was but there was a small part of me that refused to believe it. It was when he started teaching me how to run the business that really solidified how real this was.
Apparently, his shop hasn't been raking in as much business as it once was. He could still feed himself and supply the shop with the proper materials but there hasn't been much profit for a while now.
When we sat down to talk about the logistics of running the shop, I inquired at how it used to be run. Back when it still made enough money to support his family.
In a perfect world he would have someone manning the front while an apprentice was always working on making nails and kitchen utensils. Meanwhile the smith would work on the kitchen knives, construction/mining tools, and any custom orders that came in.
After brainstorming for a while, we came up with a decent plan for returning the shop to it's former glory.
I approached my mother after she finished cooking our dinner that night and told her about the opportunity. She of course denied it, saying that she wasn't good at that kind of work and doesn't feel ready to go back out again.
It took a lot of convincing, begging, and maybe a little guilt-trip to get her to actually look at this for what it was. A cushion. A financial cushion for our family both now and in the future. That is what actually made her take the chance. Tomorrow, I will come fetch her after school and she'll have her first day being a 'cashier'.
(A/N: God, help her.)
Before school the next day, I told Gale and Katniss about everything. They were both ecstatic for us and promised to help out if we ever needed it. It was then I asked Gale if one of his younger brothers would want to become my first apprentice.
I wasn't a master by any means yet, but Greg had told me that I was proficient enough, and with how fast I learned the basics that I should be quick to learn everything he has left to teach me
After working on what felt like millions of nails, spoons, forks, and the occasional butter knife, I was finally ready to move on to the 'big boy tools'.
Gale almost teared up at the prospect. It may seem like nothing, hell it may seem like a punishment to the kid, but this would ensure he would never be sent into the mines. I would have asked Gale to join as well. I wanted every single male Hawthorne to join. However, that just isn't practical. Gale is already 15, not too far from 16, too old to begin an apprenticeship. That just leaves Rory (9) and Vick (7). Again, I wish we could bring in both of them, but we just don't have enough demand to justify bringing on 2 apprentices. We honestly don't have enough demand to justify bringing 1 on but there was zero chance of me not trying to help his family at least a little.
After a talk with Gale, we decided Rory was the best pick. He was physically bigger than Vick but he had a weak pair of lungs. Basically a death sentence for someone working in the mines, breathing in all that coal dust… all day every day. He'll struggle working in a hot room with the forge, but it is better than near certain death.
Gale didn't even need to ask his mother or brother. Instead he basically dragged me to where Rory, Prim, Lila, and Vick were getting out of their classes.
"You're working with Liam in the forge now. Take this seriously and he might take you on as an apprentice in the future." He said in a no nonsense voice to Rory. He offered no more explanation and just stared at him waiting for his response.
Instead of what one might expect from a 9 year old being told they just got a job, he didn't complain one bit. Instead, he thought about it for a few seconds and nodded his head with a face of full seriousness.
I must have underestimated how observant children could be.
He obviously could tell what this meant and what it would mean in the future. He turned to me and said "I promise to work as hard as I can."
I just ruffled his head and chatted with him as we walked to pick up my mom. Today was their first day, and would signify a slow but gradual sense of comfort and ease settling over our families.
—TIMESKIP 2 YEARS—
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(A/N: I think I fucked up somewhere when I calculated Gale's age. In the first book he was 18, and with how I've been imagining his birthday, he would have been 17 by the time of the first book. I have adjusted that and below is the age and birthday of the '3 musketeers'
Liam: 15 (D.O.B = June 5th, 58ADD)
Katniss: 15 (D.O.B = May 8th, 58ADD)
Gale: 17 (D.O.B = March 31st, 56ADD)
That's all, sorry for the interruption. Now back to your irregularly scheduled programming)
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August 20th, 73ADD (1.5 months after the 73rd Hunger Games reaping)
Life has changed a lot for our 3 families. Where once we nearly starved in the winter and were barely comfortable in the summer, now we are thriving.
Or at least it feels that way.
No one really 'thrives' in District 12. If you can go to bed with a full belly in the winter, you are better off than a large majority. I say we are thriving because the joy that used to inhabit our homes is slowly starting to reappear after so long.
My mother has totally changed, improving so much that you can barely see any depression in her eyes. That's not to say she is 100% better. She wasn't 100% fine even before the accident, but she is improving day by day. The days she can't get out of her bed are getting farther and farther apart.
The same could be said for Mrs. Everdeen. She may not have improved quite as much as my mother, but seeing the improvement in my mom seemed to light a fire under her. She became more present and active in all our lives a year ago and now she seems to be more and more willing to go out and help people rather than just taking the most urgent ones in her house.
Mrs. Hawthorne has always been a trooper, going through everything she has and still managing to raise 4 kids is impressive. Yes, Gale might have to take out a large amount of tesserae every year, but that's not particularly uncommon with such large families. Now though, she seems to be walking on air. Her cleaning and washing 'business' is still going strong, even better now that our names are so prevalent amongst the Seam. I'll touch on that in just a second.
Rory has been great as well. It took him a month or 2 to get adjusted to working in a forge but once he did he took to it quite fast. Not as fast as me (haha get rekt scrub) but impressive nonetheless. When he started bringing in some money for his family I could see the pride shining in his eyes. He was fully committed. Taking every moment on the job as seriously as he could. He'll probably be a master before he turns 18.
On the topic of master, Greg deemed me a fully made 'master' blacksmith. I use 'master' in quotes because I refuse to use such a title if I have never been taught how to make true weapons. The closest I have gotten to making a weapon of war are the kitchen knives or the hammer I use to make everything else.
That being said, I do think I COULD make one if the situation called for it and if the peacekeepers wouldn't string me up from the tallest tree for even attempting so. It probably wouldn't be very good but it would work… I can guarantee that.
When it comes to my 'special abilities', when I turned 14, I went out solo to the forest in the dead of winter. Ensuring total isolation and that the snow was enough to mask most noises, I attempted to set myself a baseline at full effort for the first time ever. I waited so long because I was still growing so much every year that each measurement would be outdated in a month and honestly I didn't really NEED to know then either.
Now, even though yes I'm still a growing boy, I felt like I was ready. I started by sprinting through a prearranged route as fast as I could. I knew this would take me about 20 minutes at a standard jog so when I arrived at the finish point and only counted to just under 4 and a half minutes I was stunned. If I did my math right… and I know I fucking did… then that means I was sprinting at an average speed of 27 miles per hour (1.61 kph)! That's nearly as fast as Usain Bolt! And I was running through a forest, with no real sprint training or form and I was only 14!
Next I set my standard for strength and picked up every big rock I could find. I met my match when I attempted to lift one that was about 3ftx2ft. I know, sounds pathetic right? Well that rock weighed, by my best guess, 400 lbs (181.44 kg)... again at 14.
I'm a fucking BEAST!
Good thing I don't look like I'm on steroids or something. I might have gotten a little more buff in my arms and shoulders but nothing outlandish thankfully.
After setting my baseline at 14 in speed and strength, I intended to tire myself out to check my stamina before quickly realizing how fucking stupid it would be to exhaust myself in the middle of the woods in the winter during a light, but still noticeable, snowfall.
Enough about me though, Lila and Prim are both doing pretty great at the moment. With my mother's permission, Lila began volunteering to help Mrs. Everdeen and Prim in their little 'hospital'. She has been learning a lot from both of the Everdeens and has been helping bring some more life into their house.
On another note, something pretty major happened just 1 week ago. Katniss and I were out for our morning hunt, Gale had to stay home because his 3 year old sister came down with a fever. It wasn't life or death, but any child that age getting sick could be dangerous.
We were quietly walking along, keeping an eye out for any birds, rabbits, or God willing, a deer when we suddenly saw 2 people shambling into a small clearing. We both saw them at the same time and froze in place, not daring to make a noise. It was a young man and woman. Both looked like they came straight from the Capitol. Well… besides the dirt all over them and their starved looking faces.
Katniss and I looked at each other, wondering what to do. Should we help them? Ignore them? I wasn't getting any sense of danger from them like I did from some particularly violent peacekeepers back home but that doesn't really mean anything. Anything from the Capitol carries trouble in one way or another.
It was only a few seconds later that we were broken from our introspections by a loud whirring. We looked up, and saw a hovercraft coming this way. Before we could even attempt to panic, my spine tingled and I noticed the hovercraft shoot something out from the bottom. Faster than most eyes could track, I saw a spear lodge itself into the heart of the young man. He instantly fell dead and the woman cried out something I couldn't understand from our location. It was then that I remembered this event from the books.
In the books, Katniss meets the avox servant assigned to her and has a flashback of this very moment. I don't really remember the event or character being too important, but I do know that Katniss obviously doesn't get caught so I relax a little.
The hovercraft shot another projectile towards the woman, but this time it extended into a net and moved around to capture her as if by magic. As she was being lifted into the air, there was a break in the trees giving her the perfect line of sight to us and us to her.
We made eye contact, she made eye contact with Katniss, and had no reaction.
Without even thinking, I pressed my index, middle, and ring finger to my lips and gave our Districts sign of goodbye and respect. I don't know why I did it, but I saw Katniss glance at me before quickly doing the same.
We waited about 30 minutes after we no longer heard the hovercraft to make our way back. We didn't speak much in those 30 minutes but on the way back we both promised to keep this quiet between us. We settled into a comfortable silence and I reached over to take her hand in mine.
Yeah cringey I know, but I also know how this story goes. I like Katniss. I know Gale also likes Katniss.
I know she has no intention of having a 'boyfriend' at the moment but I wanted to at least subtly make my feelings for her known. That way when I pull a Peeta in the interviews to start the whole 'star-crossed lovers' thing it won't be a lie and she won't be blindsided by it.
I think she harbors some mutual feelings but that might be wishful thinking. I can feel her gaze on me often when I'm not looking and I haven't ever seen her do that with Gale. I can also tell how her public icy demeanour seems to thaw around me and my family.
I must be a little bit right because I feel her shoulders stiffen when I take her hand in mine and she doesn't immediately pull away. Instead, it looks like she is contemplating something before relaxing her shoulders and drifting a little closer to me.
We walked in silence, just enjoying being in each other's company until we reached the hole in the fence. Our hands separate as she puts her bow in its usual hiding spot and we make our way back to the Seam. Neither of us comment on what happened, I don't think we needed to.
Relationships are complicated and when each of you have your name entered 20 times in the bowl for the reaping, entering into one is like asking for heartbreak.
This time, instead of separating on the street to head home, I walked her to her house and popped my head inside to say hello to Prim and Mrs. Everdeen. Before turning to leave, I subtly grip Katniss's hand again and give a slight squeeze.
I walk to the shop, thinking about my interaction with Katniss the entire way.
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Next Chapter: THE 74TH REAPING!!! Leave any questions or critiques you may have and let me know if there is anything you need to see or don't want me to forget about in the future!
Thanks for reading!
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