Wits and Twits [Ari]

Another reaping came and passed, and Lyndis was still in the same bloody line of work that she had grew up in... although as it usually did, she wondered if she could butcher another kid her age the way she butchered cattle.
"Blood is blood," she mused, [i]"and with a whack whack here and a whack whack there I could probably finish someone off real good. ah well... if it doesn't happen next year, Lil might have to step in for me."

she shrugged and continued her butchering till her shift ended. deciding against changing out of her bloodstained work clothes, as she so often did, she decided to head back out to the fields where she spent much of her time.
she tiptoed through the shorter grass, staying light on her feet as she usually did. her footfalls were quiet, and because of her own bad hearing, she never heard the pitter-patter of her bare feet in the ground.

this time around, it seemed that she had strayed into the territory of nickname-boy... or perhaps he had strayed into her turf. she didn't ever actually claim any part of the district as hers, though she always referred to whatever place she was going as "her neck of the woods."
maybe it was high time for her to learn his name. she continued approaching him, popping the question once she was in range.
"what brings the legendary nickname-boy out to Lyndis' side of the field?" she quipped. communication wasn't exactly her strong suit, becuase her bad hearing made it hard for her to hear everything 100% accurately. however, she was very confident and brave, and here were only a select few things in life that could make her lose her cool. most of even the worst scathing remarks were not on that list, nor was a person's disapproval. then again, other than her bloodstained clothes and slightly murderous look, Lyndis wasn't exactly as hostile as she appeared, nor did she act it. most of the time, she just stuck to herself; this was one of the few times she decided to branch out.

So he hadn't even fallen for her trick. Ah well. it wasn't like she had been trying too hard on that one anyways. In fact, that was just how she weeded out the stupid from the not-so-stupid. congrats to him. he passed.

"well, luckily this isn't my neck of the woods then." she nodded, "who am I to deny the lovely cattle from adoring their famous face? It's just like the reapings in the end; they get to see a few pretty faces, and then they get butchered. and die."
she shrugged, wiping her cheek off with her sleeve; a fleck or two of blood was still present.

"so how'd you become the lady-killer of the district?" she raised an eyebrow, her expression one of stoic amusement, "surely it wasn't the wit now, was it?"
he didn't seem like the type to get bothered by witty quips, just as she usually didn't. it was actually a trait that she respected, even if this boy was overly arrogant and could do to be knocked down a peg or two.

Lyndis stepped forward when he leaned back, but did this because of her own hearing. mis-hearing him would just have her make a fool out of herself, mostly because that would be a giveaway that she was hard of hearing... not something she liked people knowing.

"this boy's arrogance is so think I could cut it with a knife--it might even take me two swings..." she pondered, "frankly, that kind of confidence deserves respect. he doesn't need to know that though... wouldn't want that getting to his head."
she smiled slightly at her own mental joke.

"I suppose that if either of us were indeed hostile, that one or both of us would be bleeding right now." She nodded, a content smirk upon her visage. "and I do suppose that your wooing me is much kinder than trying to kill me.... perhaps I should have worn my Sunday Best instead, no?"
Fashion was not Lyndis' strong suit, and this was fairly obvious. anyone would be hard-pressed to see her wear anything like that outside of Reaping Day. even getting her to wear shoes was hard. although... perhaps she could have at least worn something not flecked with blood. ah well... she wasn't out for approval, and luckily he didn't seem to mind it either--that, or he just hadn't made a quip about it yet.

Shoes. of all things to mention, it was her bare feet, and not her wild hair, her bloodstained clothes, or the bagginess of said clothes. Then he mentioned her face. Lyndis' mind suddenly went into high gear.
"wait... *my* face? the deaf girl suddenly has a pretty face? when did this happen?"
it wasn't from a lack of self-esteem; nay, Lyndis hardly cared about her appearance. it was just that such a string of words was something Lyndis did not ever hear about herself. fortunately she didn't receive the opposite either--the worst she usually got was "you're a mess", since it was usually true.

"uh... thanks?" she scratched her head, not really sure how to react. more than anything, it caught her by surprise, and her own surprise was the reason for the slight pink that had congregated in her cheeks below her eyes. she looked at him and noticed that he was still looking at her, and this made her look down... and then back up again. "I... uh... don't hear that often."
"stupid, stupid, stupid!" she mentally slapped herself, "you basically asked for it, Lyn... better hope you can recover from it."

she waited to see if he'd respond, still wondering why such a simple phrase had caught her so off-guard.