Blaze Mason ~ District 2

This is a tribute by Sambaroses, please don't use him without prior permission! :3

He is Sambaroses's 8th male tribute, and the boyfriend of Alexis Slate.

Blazes Basics
Name: Blaze Mason

Age: 17

Gender: Male

District: 2

Weapons: Sword, Throwing Knives.

Height: 5'10

Interview Angle: The Strong and Silent type

Appearence
Tall and quite muscular, Blaze has medium length blond hair, chocolate brown eyes, and a pale complexion. He also has a small amount of stubble lining his jawline too, as well as a number of long, thin scars criss-crossed all over his back.

Personality
Friendly and kind, if somewhat quiet, Blaze is a more reserved kind of guy, not shy exactly but definately leaning that way. He's more of a listener than a talker, and generally only speaks when spoken to, years of the orphanage having had an effect on him. Sweet and quite humorous to most people he meets, though that doesn't mean that he wouldn't stand up for himself or what he believes in, something that has earned him many whippings over the years. Though he may appear quite tough and strong, he's scared of letting anyone in, for fear they'll get snatched away from him just like has happened before.

Backstory
Born and raised (to an extent) in district 2, Blaze was born into a loving family all things considered. He had a lovely mother, a kind father, and a nice older brother, who was all ready 4 when he was born. One day, when Blaze was 5 and Jason (his brother) was 9, they hugged their parents and left for the career academy, just like any other day, Except little did either of them know, that would be the last they'd ever see of their parents.

They'd come back that evening after taking a little detour to the district playground, to find peacekeepers inside their house, and a strange woman they'd never seen before sitting at their dining table, drumming her fingers on the wood in an impatient manner, like she'd been waiting a while. She was a stern looking woman, with short brown hair lopped off in a sharp bob, her tall frame making her practically frightening paired with her hardened grey eyes. They'd sat at the table on peacekeeper request, and she'd just come straight out and said it. Their parents were dead, killed in the crossfire of a peacekeeper training accident. Jason - even at such a young age - had a fiery temper on him, and he stood up, yelling curses at her and going on about how training excercises should be contained, not out in the open with the risk of killing innocent bystanders. Blaze on the other hand just sat there and cried, sobs wracking his body.

He knew what this all meant too, and he didn't want to go, not one bit. The orphanage. He'd heard horror stories about it, and he knew for a fact it was dirty, dark, and damp, and the punishments were harsh if you didn't obey orders. He'd seen more than one poor child being whipped in the main square for not doing what they were told, some as young as him.

After that day, the relationship between Blaze and his brother slowly got more and more strained for some reason, to the point where Jason just ignored him all together. Blaze always blamed himself for this, for not being a good enough sibling to even warrant any attention from Jason.

The days wore on, then weeks, rolling into months, and finally years had passed since then, and now Blaze was 14, the scars on his back marking many a time when he'd tried to stick up for himself, his opinions, or another orphan and been on the recieving end of a whipping. The rules were strict, you followed orders or faced the consequinces, the harsh, painful consequinces. His days all started to blur into one after a while, day after day of repeating the same laborious chores and career training taking it's toll. His brother was old enough to leave now, and so he did, not even casting a second thought for poor Blaze, who he left behind like he was nothing. They hadn't even spoken since he was 12 and Jason was 16, that's how bad the relationship between the two brothers had become. So Blaze tried his best to stay out of trouble, and make it through to when he was 18, when he knew he could escape. It wasn't like he could escape any other way, not many people in the district came to adopt as it was, and if they did, who would go for a teenage boy when you could have a gurgling, adorable toddler instead?

When he was 16, he was deemed a reasonable age to 'go out by himself' which he found practically laughable, though he was infinitely happy for the freedom. The rules were still strict, you had to do all your chores and training first, and you had to be back by 10pm at the very latest, any later and you'd be in deep trouble. So every chance he got he'd go out and just aimlessly wander the district, anything to get away from that horrid place.

By the time he was 17 he knew his way around like the back of his hand, with very few places left to explore. One winters evening he came across a secluded little playground during his wandering, and suddenly all the memories came flooding back. He'd used to frequent this place as a small child with his brother, but what with all that had gone on since then, the place had totally slipped his mind. He had opened the creaky gate, and headed straight for the swingset he had loved so much as a young boy. He'd expected this place to be abandoned at this hour, so he was shocked to discover a somewhat familiar looking girl sitting on one of the seats, pushing herself backwards and forwards slowly, looking quite depressed to be honest. He'd walked over silently and sat down on the swing next to hers, rocking back and forth on his heels staring at the ground thoughtfully, enjoying the calmness of the place. Soon enough though he felt eyes on him, and as he looked up he locked eyes with the pretty girl, who quickly turned away again and resumed her swinging.

After that day every chance he got he'd go there, and they'd repeat the same routine, Blaze never quite working up the nerve to talk to her. This happened for around 4 days on and off, before on the 5th day she finally started to talk to him. They started to chat, and he learnt  her name was Alexis Slate, a girl with controlling parents and a rebellious outlook. He learnt all about her past, including where he knew her from too. During one of his many public whippings she'd been watching, and it had caught his eye at the time that she was the only person not jeering or smiling, just standing there blankly, like she was far from enjoying the spectacle. Then again, who honestly would enjoy watching a 15 year old boy getting his back torn to ribbons? Apparently quite a lot of district 2 did, then again they were a career district, what did he honestly expect?

After that day they quickly became friends, each others little piece of comfort in a dark, dulled world. Quite often they wouldn't speak, just sit on those two swings, content in each others company. Sometimes if one of them had had a paticularly rough day, they'd sit there and talk their dreams through, or just hold the other if they were upset.

Blaze couldn't exactly deny the fact that he'd started to fall for her just a little, though he tred his best to block these feelings out. God knows what being accociated with someone from the orphanage would do for her if anyone found out, and quite frankly he didn't want another person that people could take away from him and break his heart, just like that. So he kept quiet about it for the most part, dropping a few hints here and there but not really acting on his feelings.

However one day, much to his surprise, Alexis confessed that she had a crush on him, and despite his better judgement he embarked on a tentative, slow relationship with her. When she put her arms around him he felt like he was finally home after all these years, that she was where his heart was, and always would be.

However, after but a few months fate intervened, as it has a tendancy of doing, and Blaze pushed his luck just that little bit too far. He'd always been marked as a 'troublesome' child at the orphanage, and after he got into a particularly brutal fight with a couple of careers who had tried to beat him up pretty badly, he was selected to volunteer as pennance, since he 'liked fighting so much'. He had thought they were joking originally, he'd never got in any fights before, but he was soon to discover they were very much serious. It seemed they'd just been waiting for an excuse to get rid of him, and he'd served the perfect one up to them on a plate. He knew he had to volunteer, he couldn't refuse, as not only would it have peacekeeper repurcussions on him and a very high chance of ending up being killed, it would also have repurcussions on Alexis if they ever found out about their relationship. So, despite the horrible twisting feeling in his gut he had to volunteer, and Blaze became the new male tribute for district 2.

Strengths
Due in part to his frame he's an excellent hand to hand combat fighter, and is a good runner too. Adept with almost all weapons due to his career training, and is also good at climbing. His kind demeanor means he should have no trouble getting on with other tributes either.

Weaknesses
He's not a very good swimmer, and he also isn't the strongest in mentality either. He also isn't quite like all the other careers, and a lot of them don't like him becuase of his background and the fact that he's too 'soft' and 'nice' for them, apparently. Also, if entered in a games with Alexis, he would do a heck of a lot to make sure she was safe, even if it was at a risk to his own safety.

Token
A black cord necklace with an intricately engraved piece of circular metal attched to it, about the size of a penny, one of the few things left of his fathers.

Alliances
The careers most likely, if they'll have him, otherwise he'll try and join any other alliance with nice tributes. If entered into a games with Alexis he'll ally with her. :3

Bloodbath Strategy
Run in with the rest of the careers (this advice is assuming he's allied with them) and make his way to a weapon. People know he's a career so they are less likely to attack him, though if attacked Blaze isn't afraid to fight back and wound. He'll most probably take hold of a weapon and try to slink back into the shadows unnoticed, hoping to partake as little in this as humanly possible.

(If allied with Alexis he will watch her back and try and pick up supplies for her too. :)