Writer's Games Entries

Tribute Form for Ax Nairn ("Bloodbound")

Name: Ax Nairn

Nickname: 'Splinter'

Age: 21

Sex: Male

District: 7

Physical description: Male tributes from District 7 usually have a physique similar to the Careers, muscular and with brute force due to most of them coming from a lumberjack-family. Ax started out that way when he was younger, but deviated from the Nairn-tradition when he finished school. Although Ax may not look like the typical, dirty male tribute, he is stronger than he looks, which can come as a surprise for many. He is about 5'5 ft. tall, with hazel-brown eyes and rather dark-brown, almost black hair. He has many of the typical traits of the former Nairn male family-members, but he sticks out with his rather skinnier appearance.

Personality: Ax is the kind of person that can stumble on almost anything and still let his charm shine through. He is a likable soul in many ways. To the people closest to him, mainly his brothers and the people he works with in District 7, he is nicknamed 'Splinter' due to the many times he has caught tiny splinters in his fingers due to his job working with furniture.

Ax is also not commonly the loud type of person. He considers himself to be more of a follower than a leader...mostly because that has been the norm within the family. He has however formed a path of his own by breaking out of the Nairn-tradition, which partly has given him an uncomfortable look whenever he brings it up. This is mostly because of his father's disapproval. No matter what Ax does, his father does not do much to encourage or engage with him.

Background: The Nairn-family's history as lumberjacks go back many generations. It has always been what the family has been known for. It has not given them the biggest wealth, but they have managed to survive on it, as it is the main industry of the District. It was always his father's intent that Ax and his brothers would carry on that proud tradition. When Ax proved to be more skilled for other professions, like working with furniture and making more money for the family, the relationship between him and his father derailed a little bit.

Ax' new position in society, as a furniture décor-artist earned him more money than the father, and the father struggled to cope with that fact at the same time, his father was ashamed that he did not manage to bring all of his three sons into the Nairn lumberjack-history. Ax' mother on the other hand is more delighted for Ax. She is happy that Ax is not prone to losing a limb at work, even though she has seen a fair share of splinters in his fingers. And Ax' brothers support him in what he is doing, noticing how the financial gain helps the family of five. Ax still tries to gain his father's approval without much success. Everything he has tried, has failed. He even considered volunteering for the Games just to make his father proud...

Family:
- Jack Nairn (46), father
- Rowan Nairn (43), mother
- Aspen Nairn (26), older brother
- Leaf Nairn (18), younger brother

Reaped/Reaction: Desperate to win back his father's approval, Ax did let the thought of volunteering for the Games sink in before having second thoughts. Despite of how much his mother and two brothers encouraged his work and choice of profession, Ax wanted his father's blessing. When he was reaped instead, he ended up vomiting on live television as he walked towards the stage. Second thoughts or not, he was now a tribute.

Strengths: He is stronger and smarter than his appearances may indicate. He can look skinny, but has the basic strength of a lumberjack considering he started out as one. He has a very keen eye for detail, even though that does not prevent him from tripping from time to time, he can tell preferences of weapons, preferences of company among the tributes, or whether they are right- or left-handed. Noticing details have been a huge factor to his success at the furniture-factory. It might very well save his life.

Weaknesses: His clumsiness could definitely be fatal (stumbling onto something sharp, or causing him unwanted attention), and his lack of brute strength makes him vulnerable up close.

Weapon: He is familiar with the good old axes, though not so much with the throwing axes, only the bigger ones that he must strain to get a good swing on. He is more familiar with small, sharp objects like knives. He and his older brother Aspen would practice knife throwing...in case he had to be part of the Games.

Token: A small pocketknife, like a Swiss-Army knife that Ax made all by himself, using his skills from the furniture-factory along with some clever tricks he adopted. He intentionally made it for his father, but in fear of his father rejecting it, Ax never showed it to him.