Work Text:
The summer had started early, and the sun was baking the black streets of the Seam, as it had been for weeks. Most folks who were not working the mines, the elderly and the children and the women caring for them, were seeking respite anyway they could.
An arduous challenge considering no one was going to use water for that, and the water itself was lukewarm anyways, so everyone was attempting improvised fans and finding shade wherever they could.
Grian had seen some of the braver teens venturing out to the forest, no doubt in search of fresh water to cool off, and he’d have joined them if it weren’t that he’d gotten himself stuck between all sorts of projects and chores that he had procrastinated on way too long.
While everyone just survived the heatwave, Grian had been running all around the Seam and the town to do errands.
First he had some beautifully embroidered napkins that Matilda had been commissioned to make for the baker's daughter who was to get married in a few weeks. It was decent work for his landlords, since Matilda had been trained by the town seamstress almost half a century prior, before moving to the Seam out of love.
After that he wandered over to the Hob, District’s 12 black market, to spend a fair amount of the coin just earned on everyday items that were hard to come by in the town center; string, buttons, soap and all sorts of useful household stuff that for some reason were not sent out to the districts, because poor people apparently don’t need shoelaces.
Even the Hob had a sort of languid feel about it, the usual chatter and bartering was mellow.
The old lady, always selling warm soup, even on the hottest days, was sitting beside her pot wondering why she was there. The answer of course, was Pearl, who loved the mushy stuff no matter the weather. She craved the soup so much that as a kid she’d wished to become the soup lady herself, and even convinced the old lady to give her lessons in soup making, whatever those were.
When Grian spotted her, even beneath the burgundy shawl she was using to conceal herself, he couldn’t not recognize his twin sister.
Of course she would be there, if there was a day she’d need her comfort meal it would be the day before the Reaping.
Grian froze mid-step, as he tried to decide if approaching her would be worth a try, after all they hadn’t spoken in so long, when she stuffed her container full of soup and quickly walked off.
He didn’t know why he was so shook, she hadn’t even seen him, but he left the Hob without finishing his shopping, got back home where Evelyn and Matilda figured better than to ask any question and went to bed early, it was no use staying up to be hungry and sad anyway, he’d have all the time for that on Reaping day.