Clara Willows

=This tribute belongs to The Wayward Daughter=

"She's so depressing, she makes people drop dead on the floor." - Someone about Clara Basic Information=

Full Name: Clara Amelie Willows

Age: 15

District: 9 (8, 5, 11, 6, 7)

Height: 5'8

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Weapons: Clara's primary weapon to use is a hatchet or axe because she is most proficient with those from her time in District 7. She is also proficient is using a bow and throwing knives.

Appearance: Clara has pale white skin that is framed by dark black hair and night black eyes, which is unusual for a tribute in District 9. She also stands averagely taller for her age at 5'8. Her appearance often gives off an aura of depression because of the contrast between her skin and hair and eyes.

Allies: Clara will usually align herself with the Anti-Careers or be a loner. Under very extremely rare circumstances would Clara think to ally with either Bryony or Hawthorne.

Personal Traits= Personality: Overall, Clara is a nice girl who likely would have remained that way had she never been adopted by the Willows family. It's not her fault that whenever someone sets eyes on her that she causes them to feel depressed. Since everyone around her started to feel more depressed, Clara started to settle into this emotion after Hawthorne left her like cold turkey. Once Clara made her way to District 9, she felt more free and had the determination. But the memory of her brother kept weighing her down.

Strengths: Since she originated from District 7, Clara learned how to proficiently climb trees quickly, stealthily and smoothly. Since all of Clara's signature weapons are projectiles, she has extremely good aiming skills. As well, Clara is an extremely agile runner.

Weaknesses: Clara's main weakness is her inability to swim since she has never touched water in District 7 or 9. As well, Clara's limber build makes her physically weaker than some tributes her age. Another weakness of Clara's is her ability to be trustworthy/

Fears: Clara fears facing her brother again in the games because Clara swore that if she left District 7, she would never forgive Hawthorne for leaving her. This scares her so much because Clara wanted to leave behind her past when she ran away to District 9, not face it again. As well, Clara fears getting lost.

Backstory= Clara was born to a couple in an estranged marriage, and only gave her up for adoption when little Clara was only a month old. She was kept in the district orphanage for almost a year when she was finally adopted by a man who's wife had recently passed away. The adoption workers were glad that the little baby was out of her hands.

It turns out though, that the man who adopted Clara had a son ten months older than her named Hawthorne. The two of them looked extremely alike, with their hair both being black. More than once, the two of them got asked: are the two of you twins? To which they will reply, no, we aren't twins.

Growing up, Hawthorne and Clara had a relationship that everyone dreamed of: the two of them got along like two peas in pod. Where you found Hawthorne, you often found Clara and vice-versa. It seemed like absolutely nothing could break the bond that the two siblings had for each other. But, as everyone knows, fate writes it's own tale.

At the age of 12, Clara started noticing that her father was always angry at Hawthorne and her. for what reason, Clara didn't know at the time, but numerous amounts of times, she could remember the glass from one of her father's beer bottles sticking in her back and having to go to the hospital for stiches and constant removal of glass from her back. But there was one time when Clara's father crossed the line.

When Clara was about 12 and 1/2, she and Hawthorne came home from school to hear the sounds of breaking glass from upstairs. Hawthorne at the time was scared, so Clara gathered as much bravery as she could muster and walked upstairs to a scene of chaos that could have been ripped right out of a book. There was her father and several beer bottles sitting on the dresser of the room she was in. But there was one strange thing in the picture. There was a woman, who was at least 10 years younger than Clara's father. As soon as Clara walked into the room, with Hawthorne waiting quietly outside the stairwell, she could see anger. Not just any anger, but pure anger that no father would ever give their child.

"Clara, what are doing?!" Clara's father replied to her.

"Dad," Clara started, but was cut off by the sound of shattering glass that exploded just below her head.

"YOU DEVIL CHILD!" Clara's father yelled at her. "DO YOU WALK IN ON TWO ADULTS GETTING DOWN? NO! NOW GET BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM."

Clara had to choose her next words carefully. Any wrong slip-up and she would likely be killed. But, Clara was particularly wise and witty for her age. And her response was this:

"Dad! Listen to me! Even though going on with you still upsets me, there are days every now and then that I pretend that I'm okay. But listen! I'll never be okay if you keep deciding to hit on women who are only 10 years older than me and you keep throwing beer bottles at my poor head. I know you don't love me! The only reason I haven't ran away or killed myself is because of Hawthorne. Without him, I would be a goner. Now, when will start loving me?" Clara quickly added "Hawthorne, run!"

What happened next though was unexplainable. Hawthorne was able to make it out of the house in time, but Clara wasn't so lucky. Once Hawthorne was safely out of the house, she made a run for the door, and would have made it if her father wasn't full-our raging at her. Clara's father picked up the little girl and threw her across the living room before pounding the little girl to death. Then, Clara's father brought her back upstairs and was about to continue his "fun" with the woman upstairs when Clara saw her escape through the window of the second floor. She landed hard on the pavement, rolling as she fell. But at least she knew that she was safe, and so was Hawthorne.

One of Clara's neighbors saw the little girl and called an ambulance which went to the hospital where she met up with Hawthorne again. The two of them vowed to never leave each other ever again, and that was a vow that both of them kept for 2 an 1/2 years. Both of the kids eventually got jobs in order to support themselves: Lumberjacks.

When Clara was fourteen, she noticed that her brother wasn't with her one day after work. She checked out all the places he would be until she looked in the hospital where Bryony Mapleblossom, a girl he saved from a fall, was sitting right beside him. Clara at first didn't mind Bryony, since they were about the same age, but one day, she heard that Hawthorne went missing with Bryony.

Since that day had came around, Clara became ever more depressed and eventually was forced to move back in with her father in her house. Eventually, after a month of Hawthorne being gone, Clara had become suicidal. She wondered why Hawthorne chose to be with his girlfriend instead of his own sister since he had known from birth. In the span that Hawthorne was gone, Clara attempted suicide thirteen times, feeling that she no longer had a purpose anymore. Clara had witnessed the scene at the doorstep and tried to prevent her father from harming anyone, costing Clara a very nasty beating.

After a long while, Clara finally decided that enough was enough. She wanted to die so that the pain inflicted on her by her brother would disappear.

Waiting until her father as asleep in the dead of night, Clara snuck out of her bedroom window and left her former left as far behind her as possible.

Clara's ultimate goal was to make her way to District 8. So as she was running on her way to District 8, two thugs kidnapped her, and asking her where she didn't want to go, Clara replied:

"District 7."

So the thugs, mishearing this, took young Clara to District 9. After the two thugs let Clara go, she pulled a hatchet she was secretly hiding and took out both of the thugs, in case they tried to take her back to District 7. No way would she ever return home again, not even if Hawthorne came back. Living in the Willows household was her past; making a new life in District 9 was her future.

Clara landed a job in the wheat industry, where she worked hand in hand with other runaways who had escaped to District 9 out of their parents sight.

One night, Clara noticed that a new runaway joined their party. Introducing herself, the new person joining their company was a boy named Timothy. The two of them became fast friends. Timothy had ran away from District 1 after his parents forced him to get plastic surgery.

Many months had past since Timonthy arrived in District 9, and he and Clara had a fast friendship. One night, Clara opened up to Timonthy on her story and why she ran away. Timothy tried to understand, but he couldn't quite cope with the fact that a seemingly suicidal girl ran away from home.

A few weeks after Timothy heard Clara's story, Clara found Timonthy strung to a tree, beaten and bruised. Screaming, Clara thee herself on the ground and uttered the three words she never figure she could ever find herself speaking ever again.

"I love you."

Waking up the next morning more depressed than ever before, Clara realized she knew what needed to be done; Clara needed to volunteer at the reaping for her district. And she did exactly that the morning of the reaping. Some people were sad, but Clara was ready to win the games, for her newfound friends in District 9. But, in order to claim victory, she needed to get past one person that Clara never figured she would ever notice again.

Hawthorne Willows.

Inspiration=

Song: Heart of Fire

Artist/Band: Black Veil Brides

Album (release year): Black Veil Brides IV (2014)

This song inspired Clara because of how it sounds "emo" and it's lyrics that inspire a comeback after being down to the lowest of lows.

Lines that inspired Clara:

 Driving through this world unknown, I've built my life on broken bones - When Clara is escaping to District 9 in the "unknown" and doesn't know what her new life will be like. "Built my life on broken bones" means that Clara's life in the Willows household was based on her abuse from her father and eventual neglect from Hawthorne.

You want a fight... I'll bring a war! - This line refers to if Hawthorne wants to have a fight with Clara during the games, she's bringing a war against me (and possibly Bryony).

I won't be terrorized - Clara is now stronger than she was back in District 7, meaning that she won't go down easily.

I am every dream you lost and never found - This refers to Clara's ultimatium; since Hawthorne chose to leave her, she decided to make herself "lost" in his life and impossible to find.

This heart of fire is stronger now - Based on the fact that Clara is stronger now than ever before.

Build your walls but you can't keep me out, I'll burn them down. - This refers to no matter how hard Hawthorne tries to drive Clara out of his life, she cannot be kept out of Hawthorne's walls.

I am every vow you broke, they left for dead and turned to smoke - Hawthorne's vow of being with Clara no matter what was broken when he ran away, so it was Clara's job that this vow was turned to smoke and left for dead by getting out of Hawthorne's life.

I'll stand up to the pain - No matter how many shots someone takes at Clara, she'll stand up to them and won't go down without a fight.