appalachian witchcraft · hunger games · district 12 · lucy gray baird · resilient · quiet · musician · herbal magic · rebel · survivor
The town had marked the Covey as witches long before Lenore knew the meaning of the word. They arrived in District 12 when she was just a girl, their wagons groaning down the mountain pass like echoes from a hundred other places. Nomadic singers and healers, they carried their entire lives in instrument cases and mended trunks, settling only where music was desired and the forest felt welcoming. This mining district was all three. At first, a fragile tolerance held. The Covey sang at weddings and wakes; Lenore’s uncles repaired fences for a few eggs; her aunt steeped herbs into teas for children with racking coughs. Lenore learned harmonies before she could write her own name. But the air turned. Milk wouldn’t sour near their land. Crops grew unnaturally verdant. Storms seemed to bend…