Tributes Of District 2- Cato and Clove

Ceremonial Day

Heyy!! I'm so sorry I haven't written a chapter in a while, I have a lot of tests, and all that stuff that everyone hates :P Unless you like tests, in which case, you can take mine, win-win! Jokes, no. I know this chapter skips a lot around in time, but this is necessary; you'll understand when you read it, and if not, leave a comment asking me about it and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Anyway, to the story: 

***Clove's POV***

One Month Later....

The sun glares at me.

"Gah!" I scream, and somehow manage to fall out of bed, entangled in sheets. Oh yeah, that's me- Clove Ashworth, graceful as a dancer. 

"So elegant," a voice mocks.

In response, I stick my middle finger out in the direction of the speaker.

"So, Clove, tell me: what's today?"

"Wha...? Mmm...I dunnojustgoaway," I mumble, my words mashing together.

"Ceremionial Day," comes the prompt answer.

I jump up, fully awake now. "Holy hell!"

Enobaria nods, and I race into my closet, throwing around clothes frantically. "Am I late?" I ask quickly.

Enobaria shakes her head. "But you will be if you don't hurry up!" She leaves, and I scramble through my closet, looking for...

"Found it! What now, you stupid closet?" Then I realise I'm talking to a closet. Some might interpret that as insanity.

Quickly, I brush my dark hair out and braid the front bits so it looks like a crown of my own hair. I leave the rest of it down since it's brushed, then throw the dress on and double-check my reflection in the mirror.

I wear a dark green sun dress that falls to my knees, lace-up boots that covers my calves, and my purple anklet [a/n: outfit in the slide-show], the only piece of jewelry I ever bother with. I chose the dress deliberately, however. Ceremonial Day is the day, a week or two after the annual Hunger Games finishes, when the Victor returns home to their families...and also the day the losers come home- in body bags.

This year, it is my brother Brutus coming home, but he is alive and well. Ecstatic, even. As he should be. But I can't forget that boy in my District clinging on to his sister as she volunteered, even after a month. With a sigh, I close my eyes, and the gruesome images of her death flash. The saddest part is that I can't even remember her name. I know her story in the arena, I know how she met her end. But I can't call her name to mind.

I open my eyes quickly and double-check that I'm wearing the right dress- dark green is Brutus's favorite color.

I dash out the door and Enobaria waits for me. 

"No offence, but why are you coming with me?"

She shrugs. "Why not? I might have to mentor with him one day. Might as well know him now. Besides, he'll be my neighbor, so..."

"That's just awkward," I mutter.

"I agree."

We set off jogging to the Center, and arrive just as the train pulls in. The rest of the District crowds around the train as it pulls in. 

The doors open with a swhish, and my brother steps out.

"Oi! Make way for the family," I yell, and somehow, they listen to me. The crowd parts, and I grin at the same time as Brutus. He gives me a big hug and buries his face into my long hair. His own hair has been hacked at, pulled, slices, and even burned, so, needless to say, it's all misshapen, and my stomach plunges. He used to have the prettiest golden brown hair. He looks nothing like he used to, either. His eyes are now narrowed without him knowing it, and he has a lean look about him that marks him as once-starved. It's how he won, ingeniously. On the screens, he had appeared to have aged years, but now, after all that surgery, he looks different. My heart sinks as I realise I feel like a stranger to him. After a month of seeing him kill, seeing him be the target of weapons, seeing him starve, I feel estranged from Brutus, my brother, who certainly lived up to his name in the arena. I feel like I don't know him any more.