Brea Collins

"When somebody challenges you, fight back. Be brutal, be tough."

- Brea's father's constant advice.

 is a female tribute from District 11. She has volunteered for the Games to bring glory and honor to her parents, especially her father.

Backstory
Brea Willow Collins was born in the heart of District 11 to two Peacekeepers. Her father, Titus, and her mother, Basil, were stationed at the Head Peacekeeping station in District 11. The Peacekeepers here worked mostly guarding the mayor's estate and patrolling the District Square. As with all Districts, Peacekeepers were generally not allowed to wed or have relations of any sort. But in this case, there had been made an exception. Titus had come from District 2, and had been a Peacekeeper since he was 18. He moved to District 11 when he was 21, and had been there since. In his first year there, he met Basil. She was 18, and was working in the fields. The Peacekeeping force in the area was recruiting, trying to build their numbers. If District 11 had revolted at the time, the Peacekeepers would've been outnumbered 4:1. And so, Basil had instantly caught Titus' eye. He would spend most of his day standing on guard in the field watching her work. She never noticed, until one day he approached her.

Titus explained that they needed more Peacekeepers, and that Basil was strong, and seemed to be a hard worker. Basil had no mother, as her mother had died from starvation when she was a child. And her father had since remarried. She had four brothers, all much younger and from her father's second marriage. Thus you can imagine when a strapping young Peacekeeper took off his helmet and sat to have a conversation with her, she listened. And when he offered her the opportunity to train as a Peacekeeper, she gladly accepted.

Titus ended up volunteering to help train the new recruits, and spent a great deal of time with Basil. In time, the two grew close and entered a relationship. Because Basil was not yet a Peacekeeper, nothing was said about it. When she completed her training and began working, it saved the government money to allow them to share a room in the barracks. And the rest was history.

They were wed some time later, and quickly Basil became pregnant with Brea. The couple was excited for the child to arrive, and excited to finally start a family. Basil continued to work as a guard around the mansion, up until she was 7 months pregnant and couldn't bear all of the walking anymore.

It was a cold winter day when Brea was born. But her parents couldn't have felt any warmer about it. They had a beautiful daughter, Brea Willow Collins.

As a toddler, Brea had to grow accustomed to constant change. She always had a different babysitter while her parents worked, and they moved several times in her early years. By the age of five, she had spent more time with sitters than her parents. She was well loved, but they were dedicated to their jobs. The Collins would go on to move around the District 4 times by the time Brea was in grade school. Brea learned to adapt very quickly. Her father, while he loved her, was never easy on her. Even as young as eight he expected great things from Brea. Titus had come from District 2, where the Capitol was greatly respected, and the Hunger Games were revered. He wanted his daughter to be Career worthy, and to one day be a Peacekeeper. And so Brea learned many things from her father, even at a young age.

And once she began grade school, her parents, namely her dad, were not any easier on her. Titus Collins was determined to have the strongest, smartest daughter. She was given a tutor and pushed hard, and make to learn more than any of her classmates. Because of her parents, many kids found reason to poke fun and make jokes. This taught Brea to be quick with a comeback, and if all else failed, quick with a fist. She never fought, as she knew her parents would severely punish her for it. However, she would threaten it. Even at the age of 10, boys learned very quickly not to mess with or even joke around with Brea unless they could take it back in return.

Once in middle school, at 12 years old, her father made sure to hire the best trainers for Brea. Mr. and Mrs. Collins were always busy with their jobs as Peacekeepers, so they needed someone else to teach Brea to fight. And so they would hire out trainers for her. A professional swordsman, a hand-to-hand combat expert, and even a woman who was extremely talented with knives. Each of the trainers would push Brea to her limit, at her father's request. Her father would always tell her, "When somebody challenges you, fight back. Be brutal, be tough." Her father always pushed her to be better, faster, stronger. He wanted her to be smarter than the rest.

Because of these two combined traits, Brea turned into quite the tactician. Even in day-to-day situations, she was always observant of her surroundings. She was always calculating the next move, or the right answer. This distanced her from most of her friends, or rather acquaintances, and set her apart from them. Not many kids, if any, trained for the Hunger Games, or even cared for them. Most of the populace of the District despised them, hence the heavy Peacekeeping force. Brea was still quick with her words though, and would joke around with her classmates at times. She did her best to remain calm and collected, while also being at the top of her game.

And year after year passed, until she was finally 17. Her father insisted she be prepared to volunteer, that way she had two years to be in the Games if something happened the first year. And so Brea, as always, respected her father's wishes and Volunteered for the Games. District 11's first volunteer in years. Titus Collins and his wife were proud. Now only if their daughter could come home.