Food for Captain Kidd!

Fern walked up to her small house. It was dark inside, devoid of it's normal candlelight. No one was home; Dad and Aaron must have been out. Surely they wouldn't have a problem with her feeding the avox. Smiling, she got out a loaf of bread she baked herself. Chopping off a slice for Kidd, she said, "Doesn't it make it harder to eat without your tongue?"

He chopped up Fern's fluffy bread into pieces, and tossed them into his mouthed. That must be how he ate stuff, as an avox; in little pieces. Kidd looked pretty hungry. She chopped a slice for herself, and ate a bit of fluffy bread. Smiling, she asked, "You like the bread? I made it myself!"

Fern read the text. How old are you?. Smiling, she replied, "I'm Fourteen! My 15th birthday is in August, on the 2nd!" Kidd seemed like a trustworthy guy, even though he was an avox. Unsure if it would offend him, she asked cautiously, "So, how did you become an avox?"

He didn't look happy about it, but he wrote it anyways. Poor kid, his entire family died. Always looking on the bright side, Fern said, "You're lucky you survived," with a smile.

He seemed unsure. He was definitely lucky that he was here. He could have dies, been an avox at the Capitol, be tortured, etc. She smiled. "How did you get back to '11?"

The train. Fern had never been on the train, for the only people who went on the train were the tributes for the games. She shuddered, remembering that the games would be soon. Smiling, she asked, "Did you come from another district, originally?"

Fern cocked her head, confused. Unsure, she accepted the offer to hear a riddle, "Sure! I love riddles," she said.

That sounded challenging. Memories? Eating? This wasn't the type of riddle Fern could solve. She shrugged, "That's a hard one."

He smiled. Fern stood there, dumbfounded. What could the answer be? She wasn't one to give up so quickly, but curiosity got the best of her, "I give up; what's the answer?"

She cocked her head. Why couldn't a mind mean something to someone else? I clever person's mind could save lives. Curiously, she asked, "Why does one person's mind mean nothing to others?"

She nodded, still a bit confused, "I guess I see what you mean," adding another slice of bread to her plate, she smiled, "Want some water to drink?"

Fern nodded, and walked over to the counter. She had a bucket of water, still cool from the winter coldness, sitting there. After pouring water into 2, old plastic cups, she brought them to the table, "How were you able to get food if you were on your own?" Fern would make an attempt preserve some fruits and wheat through the winter, but the fruits were pretty hard to preserve...

He stole? That wasn't good, but he had no choice. That was his best option, instead of starving. Smiling, she said, "Don't try stealing from me! If your hungry you can just tell me!"