Hiding Down the Road

..::I'm looking up o I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I've got a crummy job::..
..::It don't pay near enough::..

Stella ran out of her home, and down the road. She sat down on the corner, and pulled her knees up to her chin. She stuck her hand on her face, and her cheek was already swelling from earlier. Her mother had just gone out, so Stella took the chance to check out how she was doing.
"I need to get some ice on this..." She said to herself. Stella stood up, and began walking back to her home, trying to avoid seeing any other people. She didn't want anyone staring at her.

*Can I come in here?*

Tallix walked down the street smiling contently to herself. She'd managed to get out the house without disturbing anyone. That was a first. Normally her parents would try to keep her with her brother, but now she could go where she wanted, not where he did.

Suddenly a door flung open and a girl ran out and away from her. Tallix stopped and watched the girl run. Confused, Tallix took a few tentative steps to follow her. After a few moments, the girl came back towards her, and Tallix stopped and looked at her. There was a swelling on her face.

After a moment's pause, Tallix managed to ask. "Are you alright?" She said, her eyes flickering to the swelling every few seconds.

..::I'm looking up o I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I've got a crummy job::..
..::It don't pay near enough::..

Stella almost made it back to her home.
Almost.
But, someone just had to be there, asking if she was alright. Well, of course she wasn't. But Stella couldn't let her know that.
"Yea, yea. I'm fine." Stella said, trying to avoid looking her in the eyes.


((Yea, sure. It was an open topic, and anyone could join ^U^))

Tallix stood there awkwardly, before saying. "You don't look alright. I can help reduce the swelling if you want. I know which plants will help something like that."
She made the point of not asking how the swelling happened, but many theories entered her mind. She didn't voice them though.

"What's your name?" She asked, trying to change the subject, so not to annoy the other girl. "My name's Tallix, I live just up the road."

..::I'm looking up o I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I've got a crummy job::..
..::It don't pay near enough::..

Was this random stranger that Stella found on the road really willing to help her? She steadily let her hand down off of her face, deciding that it'd be better if she had help with this.
"Ah... okay..." Stella said, slightly unsure of what was going to happen.
"And I'm Stella... Stella Archer." She said to the girl, Tallix. "Where are the plants? Are.... are they outside the district...?" She said quietly, thinking about what her mother would do if she suddenly found out that Stella had made her way outside the district. She shuttered slightly at the though.

"Nice to meet you Stella." Tallix said, smiling. She walked up to the girl and shook her head.
"If you don't want to leave the district you don't have to. I know that there's some plants in the clearing in the trees over there." She said, and pointed now the street towards the trees. She started walking in that direction, slowly, waiting for Stella to follow.

"Have you ever left the district before?" She asked, her voice low. Tallix had left the district many times, and hadn't been caught yet. She doubted her father would be too impressed.

..::I'm looking up o I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I've got a crummy job::..
..::It don't pay near enough::..

Stella shook her head. "No... I-I've never left before. I mean, there's no reason for me to, really..." Stella explained. It was true, she had never actually left District Four before. She was always scared, with the stories that her mother told her about the woods outside. Stella had thought about it once or twice, but was actually never brave enough.
"Have, ah," Stella began saying, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Have you been outside District Four?" Stella whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear.

Tallix looked at Stella as she spoke, but often glanced around, making sure no one was listening in on their conversation.
"I have... A few times. Wild herbs grow there that are good for medicines, and there's more food in the forests. Fruit and animals... it's enough to keep my brother happy, though he doesn't know where they come from." She said, speaking honestly, and trusting that Stella wasn't going to tell on her. She doubted that she would though.
"My father guesses at what I do... but he doesn't complain as he knows he can't stop me. He knows that if I get caught, I'll take the punishment." Punishment wasn't something that Tallix really feared anymore, not as much as she had when she was younger. It could be public whipping or worse if she was caught hunting and taking herbs and fruit from outside.

"Going outside the district, it makes me learn a lot, like how to fix a swelling." She added, smiling.

..::I'm looking up o I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I've got a crummy job::..
..::It don't pay near enough::..

Stella smiled with her swollen cheek. Then, a thought popped into her head.
"Ah, could you teach me about the herbs...? I'm... I'm a little interested in learning about them..." Stella asked the girl, Tallix. She really did want to learn about the herbs. If she got herself into the Hunger Games, knowing about herbs would be good. At least she could feed herself.

Tallix smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Sure! It'll be useful in case..." She trailed off, not sure how the girl would react about the Games. "Either of us were chosen for the games." She finished, watching her reaction. Tallix would probably volunteer for the games if she could. She wanted to go... Prove that she could win the games, and make district 4 look great as well.

Tallix quickly added, "But most herbs will be outside the district. Are you willing to break some rules?" She asked, smiling. Leaving the District was easy, it was the getting caught that most people would be afraid of. Tallix knew an easy way past the electric fence, but it would be hard for someone who's never done it before.

..::I'm looking up o I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I've got a crummy job::..
..::It don't pay near enough::..

Stella nodded, that is the biggest reason she wanted to learn about herbs. The Games. She wouldn't volunteer, because her mother... oh goodness, even if Stella's mother couldn't do anything, she still couldn't risk volunteering. She was simply sitting by, crossing her fingers and praying that she could be picked.
"I... I don't mind...as long as we don't get caught..." Sure, the peacekeepers could whip her a couple of times for going past the boundary, but what could her mother do...? So many more things that were worse...

"Get caught?" Tallix chuckled quietly. "I haven't been caught yet... should we go now? There's enough light for us to see even in the trees..."
She didn't mind sharing what she knew with other girls, as she knew that they could never be in the games at the same time. She'd never teach a boy these things though, as one day he could use them against her, to save himself but not help keep her alive. She hadn't even taught her little brother too much. He wouldn't go outside of the district, so there wasn't much to teach him within the boundries.

..::I'm looking up o I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I'm gonna soak up the sun::..
..::I've got a crummy job::..
..::It don't pay near enough::..

Stella reluctantly nodded. She still wasn't sure about going into the outside of District Four. She had never been out of her home much, and when she was, she was out somewhere near her home. So this was her first time ever being out like this.
"O-okay..." She said, still unsure.

Tallix grinned then quickly looked around, making sure no one was watching them.
"Great! Come on! Before anyone follows." She said, then started to jog down the road. She paused to make sure that Stella was following before turning and going down a narrow side-street.
It led out into another street, which Tallix turned left at and ran down the middle of the road. There were a few more people, but none were really paying much attention. They were talking, or buying bread, or on their way home. No one would really notice two girls going the opposite direction.

She kept going, dodging through the small crowd until the treeline was much closer. Soon, the houses stopped and the trees began. Tallix ducked under a low branch and into the trees. Now at least, no one in the houses could see her. They weren't out of the district yet, the more dangerous part was yet to come.

Soon, the buzz of the electric fence could be heard, from about ten metres away. Tallix slowed down now to take in the fence. One touch could kill them both. She muttered "I hope you can climb." Before walking parallel to the fence, looking for the tree on their side which they could use to jump over.