They say it's my birthday

[waterproofed]

It's my birthday today. So if I were back home, I would've already been old enough to vote and I'm one year away from legally drinking alcohol. [let's not point out the fact that he's already had some alcohol here. Paradisa goes by different rules]

I wonder if I'd be in college? Would I even get to go to college?

Comments

[the_effect_she_has]

I think you'd go to college. Mr. Castle says smart kids go there.

[waterproofed]

There's a guy with the last name "Castle"?

[the_effect_she_has]

[At that, she laughs.] Yeah, Richard Castle. He's some kind of ... writer, where he's from. He's a nice man.

[onlyanapple]

Happy birthday, kid. You know, in Britain, you already are legal to drink. You should take advantage of that.

[waterproofed]

Ahh... That change was in Britain, too!

[waterproofed]

Wow. That's an awesome pen name.

[the_effect_she_has]

I never really thought about it -- of course all the books I read were about how to become a better coal miner so ...

[waterproofed]

Wow... I bet even Violet would get bored with books like those.

[the_effect_she_has]

I wouldn't be surprised if she did. I got bored enough with them as is.

[schrodingersghost]

Hey, Happy Birthday! That makes you what, twenty?

[waterproofed]

Yep. Geez, I'm an official adult. Scary.

[waterproofed]

How'd you get into hunting anyway, with all that coal stuff?

[the_effect_she_has]

My father. Hunting was a way to make sure we never went hungry ... not really hungry, anyways. It was also a good way to trade, to get what we needed.

[waterproofed]

That's really cool.

[the_effect_she_has]

[She feels her lips curve up at the corners, faintly embarrassed.] He was a ... pretty cool guy. I miss him.

[waterproofed]

I bet he was. I mean, you got your coolness from somewhere!

[the_effect_she_has]

Well, it certainly wasn't my mother ... [All this time, and she was still bitter. Sigh.] You would have liked him. He was funny, and warm. A good person, through and through. I wish I could have been more like him.

[waterproofed]

[he smiles. Talking about parents is kind of bittersweet. He misses his a lot]

I bet he'd still be proud of you.

[the_effect_she_has]

I don't know ... I didn't keep Prim safe. [She looked down at her feet, before she smiled quietly.] But then again, Prim was his daughter too. He understood about standing up, when you could.

[waterproofed]

[he gets what she means. When he thought he lost Tyson, he was devastated. The big guy seems like such a little kid sometimes and Poseidon did try keeping him out of the fight. But hsometimes you just gotta do what's right anyway]

I wish there was a way we could protect every single person we love. But I learned that sometimes you gotta let them take care of their own lives.

[the_effect_she_has]

[She played with the end of her boot, her grey eyes quiet.]

I wish there was too -- but you're right. There's nothing we can do to protect them all the time. They ... they have to live their own lives.

[waterproofed]

Being the older sibling can be hard. [it's something he's glad he and Katniss have in common. Something he and Violet had in common, too] I got lucky with Tyson. Not all children of Poseidon are that good.

[freeslider]

Why wouldn't you go to college?

[waterproofed]

I might die first.

[the_effect_she_has]

Tell me about it. [She sighed, rubbing her face.] You never know what you're going to get with siblings, and you never know if you can let them go on their own ... or you trust them enough to know their own path.