Cornflower Fields

Cornflower Fields is the Victor of the 23rd Hunger Games

## Games Description

Arena: Ice and snow

Cornflower did not participate in the Bloodbath, knowing that she was too small and vulnerable. She grabbed a fanny pack on the outer rim of the circle of platforms and ran down the icy slope surrounding the Cornucopia. Six people died in the Bloodbath as Cornflower ran through waist-deep snow looking for shelter.

The Games started late in the afternoon, and the sun soon began to set. Cornflower knew exposure would swiftly bring death, and she started to search for shelter. She had been fond of making forts before the Games, and she was able to squeeze into a small hollow under a fallen tree. She lined it with pine boughs and pulled her arms inside her shirt to prepare for the coming cold. Eleven people froze to death that first night.

Cornflower hardly moved during the next day. She did not want to waste energy or lose the heat gathered around her. She ate from a jar of peanut butter in her fanny pack and melted snow against her stomach to drink. That night, the Gamemakers sent the temperatures down to -10 Fahrenheit, freezing Cornflower so severely she lost the ability to shiver. She heard a cannon right outside her shelter and poked her numb head out to see a boy had frozen to death mere feet away in the blizzard. She tore his clothes off and barely made it back to her shelter. With the aid of the extra clothes, she survived the night, which left only six Tributes alive.

The Careers killed the only other non-Career the next day. The cannon was far across the Arena, and Cornflower dared to emerge from her shelter in order to gather some inner bark from a pine tree to pad her food supply. Later that day, three clustered cannons indicated the Career breakup. Only two Tributes were left.

At that point, Cornflower knew the final Career's efforts would be devoted to finding her. She knew the Career would be fully supplied and could simply outwait her, so she went out to face what she thought was inevitable death. She walked to the Cornucopia and found it empty, so she ate some of the food and slept in a pile of warm blankets.

The next day, Cornflower met the remaining Tribute. She heard Shale Bloom before she saw her, since it was dark and the girl was calling out. Cornflower went out to meet her and saw Shale stretched out on the snow wearing nothing but her undergarments. She didn't understand the biology of hypothermia, but it was clear the girl was dying. Cornflower attempted to warm her out of plain human decency, and she held Shale's hand as she died.

## Personality

Even among the Victors, Cornflower is eccentric. She exhibits many odd behaviors that stem from her long-undiagnosed autism, such as echolalia, palilalia, repetitive motions, and extreme aversion to contact. She prefers to stay inside her house in the Victor's Village and has closets full of winter gear and blankets she hoards. She rarely speaks unless spoken to or unless she gets started talking about one of her obsessive areas of interest, which include flowers, mountains, and science fiction. She has difficulty with ambiguity in speech and is extremely upset by any changes in routine. She also suffers from flat affect and dampened emotions, which she feels guilt over. She feels she should be more bothered by the deaths she saw and worries that she is cold and heartless.

Cornflower was initially extremely upset by the abrupt changes brought about by her victory, but she has since settled into her new life. When she has enough courage to interact with people, she enjoys spending time with children, whom she finds easier to understand than adults.

## Successful Mentorships

Bambi Kirkland

Calvary Warsaw

## Relationships

Cornflower rarely goes anywhere in the Capitol unaccompanied by her escort, Fluvius. Soon after they met, Fluvius realized something was strange about Cornflower, and he has become her closest friend and her guard when interacting with the world. Despite his Capitol upbringing, he has proven sensitive and tactful, and he and Cornflower consider each other family.

## Trivia

* Cornflower cannot tell her left from her right
* When stressed, Cornflower will recite the poem *Tyger, Tyger* repeatedly, or else an old nursery rhyme telling of the coming of a mythical monster named Freddy.
* Cornflower has a deep aversion to the colors yellow (by nature) and pink (the color of Career Chrysolite's hair during her Games)
* Cornflower experiences synesthesia which constantly affects all her senses. She also possesses the stereotypical autistic heightened memory.
* Cornflower has a tortoiseshell cat named Rose
* The only things Cornflower is able to sculpt are cats and rabbits