15th Throw - [ written ]

[shenevermisses]

[It's a question that's been on Clove's mind.

Okay, she's had a lot of questions lately. Valentine's Day and that whole week... It wasn't unkind, but it made her think too much. There were too many uncertainies. The ones with Cato... She didn't feel like thinking about.

But Katniss. She can talk about some of that.]

What do you all do for a living, where you're from? Or what were you going to do? Does everyone in your area do it?

In Panem... your district says a lot about what your job will be. Not always, but probably. Like me... If I hadn't gone to the Games? I'd probably have been the foreman in a factory. Or an overseer of a quarry.

And what you do... When did you learn to do it? And from who?

Comments

[rashness]

Father Fujimoto was an exorcist, but I didnt know til the end. Bons dads also an exorcist, and I guess Izumos from a family of it. So's Shima and Koneko. Not like our parents're teaching us, but it's kinda a [He hesitates to write secret] not normal job. So people learn about it from that.

[Two more taps]

Its neat to do the same thing as family

[shenevermisses]

Is it?

[rashness]

I think so anyway

[Tap, tap] Like family's important, so Im proud to do the same thing as my old man and my brother

[shenevermisses]

I'll take your word for it.

[rashness]

[... Fair enough He glances back up at the post- oh]

Oh right and I was fifteen when I started

[shenevermisses]

Decent age to start. Like I said, we get the lessons at eighteen, not before. Before then, it's all combat training. Or other stuff for the Games, at least.

[rashness]

Well were kinda still in training. Exs Esq Exwires and we didn't graduate the cram school, but we can go on missions

[shenevermisses]

What sort of missions?

[rashness]

Going out to deal with demons! Like my first one was with Yukio and Shiemi, and we had to go deal with a fantom train eating people's souls. Or when we went to Mephyland and kicked out this brat ghost

[shenevermisses]

Sounds exciting.

[rashness]

It is!

[...]

Aside from seeing people getting messed up

[shenevermisses]

Part of the job?

[rashness]

Well, we protect people from demons, but sometimes we cant get there before some people get hurt or messed with or [...well] killed. Dont know about it or dont get there fast enough

[shenevermisses]

Do you get used to it? Personally. Seeing the ones who die or get hurt.

[She has a feeling about what this answer will be. Knowing the people here.]

[rashness]

[....]

I dont, and I dont wanna. I know other people do, and I guess I get that, but--

[This would be easier to voice than write. Tap, tap, tap]

I gotta be professional, but I'm not gonna be "used" to it. I gotta get better to see less've it

[shenevermisses]

Totally different than where I come from.

[rashness]

whys that?

[shenevermisses]

In the Games, last one alive wins. So, our Academy teaches us to kill. Someone injured or dead? Means nothing to me. Killing means nothing to me.

[rashness]

[...

Man this is reminding him of his argument with Silver. And it's perhaps because of that, and the fact it's written, he doesn't immediately write something to the effect of "that's not right." Instead, he waits a while, a little while, and writes his second thought-]

That's messed up. [... And then he crosses that out to-] Sounds messed up

[shenevermisses]

That's how Panem is. Or was, at least.

[rashness]

And that's messed up. [...Was. So someone fixed it] I hope it gets better.

[shenevermisses]

It might. It might not. I won't know unless someone from after the war comes here.

[rashness]

[He almost says "or when you got back"

Failed-- oh wait, now he looks at this picture, in addition to putting two and two together, he's pretty sure he's heard this person's dead. Well, that and she's stuck anyway just like the rest of them. He bites his lip and sighs before he goes back to writing

And he's at a loss for a moment until he lets his mind drift and-]

You figured out some fun stuff to do here, by the way?

[shenevermisses]

Finally figured out how to work the Battledome. [She isn't going to mention her more-than-weekly "raids" on the bakery to try new stuff.] Learning to hunt and fish and gather. Survival skills.

[rashness]

[He nods at the book] I ought to get better at survival skills too, actually. [Just in case? As something to do? He doesn't think he's got the stomach for hunting, but more fishing talent would definitely be a boon. and the Dome's pretty neat]

But that all seems kinda like training