Whoo! One exam down, two more to go! And I qualify this as studying for my English exam :)
Oh, and if anyone's interested, I just started a new story (I know, another one, I'm awful) about the Hunger Games. It's an AU fic where Katniss, Peeta, Gale and Madge are all from different districts and find themselves all in the 74th Hunger Games. The other main characters of the book (Rue, Thresh, most of the Careers and Foxface) are still present; I just took out the unnamed ones :) If anyone wants to read it I'd be really grateful!
Anyways, enough self-advertising :) Enjoy!
Calican Sareamer, District 10 Male
I'm just attempting to build myself a weak sort of shelter when it happens.
"Come on," I murmur in frustration as the branches collapse yet again; it hadn't even reached the point where it looked anything at all like a lean-to. Should have paid more attention to the shelter station during training, I chide myself. Well, it's not exactly like it would have helped going there anyways. I was always being constantly annoyed and distracted by . . .
I stop short, all thoughts dispersing as they make way for that one name to bounce its way around my head. Devera. My friend's sister, my district partner, my ally. Lying back at the bottom of the tower, limbs splayed in wild directions, blood oozing from-
Stop! I think fiercely, bending down and grabbing a handful of the sticks, trying to put them back into position. Anything to distract myself from those thoughts. I haven't forgotten her, not by a long shot, but what I should do is remember her as someone who's death I should avenge, my reason for opposing the Careers. I'd nearly managed to kill the leader in the Gamemaker trap I'd found earlier, but after hearing no cannon and seeing no face of a certain District 4 female in the sky, I could obviously rule out the fact that she was dead. Injured, maybe. Hopefully.
So concentrate on that; on making more traps, thinking up new strategies. You can do that, Calican; you've got a good brain for that sort of thing. Just don't think about the bloodbath. It's true; I really need to focus more on surviving the Games. Once I'm out of the arena and don't have to worry about watching out for 23 kids intent on murdering me (well, 17 now, I guess), then I can let the thoughts come and hopefully try and find a way to get over them. I can't stop myself from seeing the event over and over when I fall asleep, but I can at least try and stop the images from coming when I'm awake.
Resolving to try and distract myself, I start trying to place the sticks back into the triangle shape I've been trying to make, and it's only when they collapse immediately that I realise the shaking and trembling that's been going on for nearly ten minutes while I've been stuck in my own thoughts. The ground is quaking, almost like when I'd nearly walked into the sink hole and later tried to trap Meredith there. But I'm nowhere near that trap; I'd never let up sprinting away the first night, terrified that since I hadn't heard the cannon, Meredith or whatever other Career she was with might be chasing me, and even after that I'd still kept up a pretty steady pace away from there. So this must be a different thing, though still most likely the work of the Gamemakers. Which means that I should probably run as far away as I possibly can. After all, curiosity killed the cat; or the Calican, in this case. Still, I pause after taking a few steps away from the rumbling and then, ever so slowly, I turn back. If it is some sort of mutt, I don't like the idea of just blindly running away from it; if I catch a glimpse of it, then I can at least start to formulate some sort of plan or strategy. Just one peek, I tell myself, slowly creeping to the top of the hill and towards the source of the rumbling despite the warnings my brain is screaming at me. One tiny peek.
However, one tiny peek turns into a much longer stare as I frown at the new development. What the heck? I think, trying to make some sense of the new development. Well, at the very least, the source of the tremors is now apparent. As I watch, a vast portion of the ground continues sliding back as though it's some sort of giant door, revealing a seemingly infinite, black space beneath.
Weird, yes. Confusing, yes. Menacing, not so much. After all, it's. . . . just a hole.
Which might be the most disconcerting part. In the arena, nothing is just anything. It must serve some sort of function; but what? The other trap I nearly walked into was at least there for a reason. But it's not like I'd be stupid enough to walk into a hole that's already uncovered. I raise my eyebrows, looking up into the air as though the Gamemakers might send me some sort of message to make this all clear. "What, nothing?" I ask, not really talking to anyone in particular. "Just going to . . . leave a giant hole in the ground? Okay then. Well, have fun with that." I shrug, still wondering what the point of that was but nowhere near stupid enough to go near the thing, and, after glancing one last time upwards, where I'm sure a dozen cameras are fixing on my face, I turn away from the hole and take a step.
Out of nowhere a gigantic blast of heat roars into existence, searing my back and causing me to cry out in shock as I trip and tumble to the ground, before whirling around to watch in horror as what seems like a giant pillar of fire continues to erupt from the hole. Even at my distance, the heat sears my face and I have to cover my eyes from the brightness. For another second, the fire continues its cacophonous barrage of heat and sound; then, all at once, it stops. Panting and gasping like crazy, I open my eyes and stare at the hole, now faded into blackness once more. But only for a moment; then, two huge, reptilian eyes seem to blink into existence, glaring with the force of a thousand daggers at me.
I open my mouth to scream, or swear, or something, but I can't make a sound as I stare, paralysed into the great, red eyes, my heart beating so quickly that it feels as though it's going to pound its way out of my chest. Let it go away, I pray, still unable to do anything but shudder, not daring to break the gaze. Let the ground close up again; let it go back into the hole. Just please let it go.
The . . . the thing, whatever it is, its eyes narrow and I can feel the sweat beading at my forehead and then slowly rolling down my paling face. Somehow though, my paralysed brain manages to process one, relatively sane thought. Back away. Back away slowly.
My arms are trembling by my sides at being tensed to the point of snapping from fear, and it feels as though nothing could ever make them move, but I've begun to realise that I can't hold a staring contest with new monstrosity is forever; sooner or later, one of us is going to have to make a move. And if I go second, then I'm as good as dead. So slowly, achingly slowly, my hand begins to inch across the forest floor behind me, shaking so badly that I can barely manage to keep it level as I replace it on the ground. The beast doesn't seem to notice, but its eyes seem to flicker with something, as though it knows what I'm trying to do. Swallowing hard, I try to master my fear – which is pretty difficult considering every single nerve in my body is screaming in terror– and slowly use my arms to push myself less than an inch off the ground.
Immediately, the thing's eyes narrow and a low growling begins to pour from the hole, vibrating the very ground beneath me and causing me to instantly freeze again, suspended in the act of doing an odd sort of crabwalk crawl away from the hole. The only thing trembling worse than the ground is my arms, now from the added stress of supporting me as well as shivering in fear. Sooner or later, they're going to give. No, I think quietly, suddenly terrified of what the monster might do if I try to move again. Just stay frozen, stay frozen. Scratch what I thought earlier; do not move, stay right where you are. Don't-
All at once, my shaking arms collapse and I sit hard back onto the ground, eyes widening as the monster's narrows further. Then, they wink out completely.
I stare at the dark hole, the piercing red eyes still swimming before my vision, until it finally registers that they're gone. The breath I wasn't aware I'd been holding comes out all at once, and I start panting as though I'd just run a marathon, one hand going over my heart, feeling the racing pulse of beats while my other limbs start shaking uncontrollably from the tension they held just moments earlier. Is that really it? Is it . . . is it gone?
WHOOSH!
The flames burst from the hole with alarming ferocity and I gasp, too terrified to even make a sound. It's only when the gigantic claw rises from the darkness and slams to the ground with such force that some of the nearby trees shudder and snap that I snap out of it and scramble backwards, desperately trying to get to my feet. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" The words, previously frozen in my throat, now can't seem to stop coming out, as I say the same word over and over, almost like some sort of cursing mantra as I stare in horror at the being now attempting to claw its way out of the whole. With another ear-shattering roar, a head swings up from the hole, as black as the shadows themselves with sleek, shining scales and two lethal-looking horns protruding from the back. Though the part that draws my attention, even more than the bestial eyes, is the rows and rows of sharp, dagger-like teeth, if daggers came in lengths of over five feet. As I stare, mouth open in horror, the dragon's own mouth opens, letting loose a bellow of rage that petrifies me to the bone. Only the sight of the fiery ball building in the back of its throat seems to snap me out of my frozen straight and with another shout of fear I rake my hands across the ground, feet finally finding traction in the dirt and without pausing I leap to my feet and take off sprinting at full force, just in time to avoid the deadly wave of fire that comes pouring from the dragon's mouth.
It roars in anger at the fact that its prey got away but I'm too busy tearing through the forest to even pay attention to the branches thrashing me in the face, much less worry about pursuit. At least until a gigantic blast of wind surges forth, whipping my brown hair around me while the material of my shirt ripples wildly; the force of the air is so powerful that I nearly go flying. I just manage to regain my balance when another violent blast emits from somewhere behind me, though slightly less overwhelming this time. Risking a glance over my shoulder, I search wildly for the source of this new danger, until my eyes land back on the old danger. Because it is producing the wind.
It's flying.
"Crap!" I shout again, for lack of anything better to say, and my brain goes into overdrive as I pour on the speed, pushing my muscles to their limits. But the aching protests from my legs are easy to ignore in light of the fact that if I stop, I'll be fried or eaten or something even worse. The image of myself getting caught in the wall of fire, skin bubbling and blistering from the heat as I'm literally burned to a crisp flashes before my eyes and I let out another shout of terror before attempting to sprint even faster from the dragon, mind unable to come up with any plans or strategies other than, Run! Run as fast as you can!
Still, despite the panic attack my brain is having, one thought does manage to make itself clear between the whirlwind of other frantic shouts. Shouldn't have gone to look at the hole. Definitely should not have gone to look at the hole.
Malia Endal, District 12 Male
"Pair from Twelve, right?" The girl from Two smirks. "Yes, that's right. The miners. Well, certainly minor players in these Games." She twirls her sword casually. "Should be pretty easy to dispatch of you."
"I wouldn't be so sure," I say, my grip tightening around the hammer's handle. It's all a bluff of course; the hammer is lying with the head on the ground and the shaft sticking straight in the air – as of yet I haven't had to lift it at all. And I'm hoping I won't have too; while I may be physically strong for my size, I in no way have enough muscle to lift the weighty weapon, let alone swing it.
The presence of the weapon causes Rhine to pause slightly, but it's so quick that I begin to doubt she ever hesitated in the first place. "Really? You're going to attack me with that?" She snorts. "I bet it weighs more than you do. Now, you're district partner on the other hand," she adds, her green eyes darting over to my ally, who tries his best to stare her down and seem intimidating; an act that might have worked were he not pale as a sheet and barely suppressing the tremors in his body just from the effort to sit upright. "What's the matter with you, Muscles? Feeling a bit under the weather?"
Noah doesn't bother to dignify her with a response, merely meeting her smirk with a glare. For a second, I allow myself to take my eyes off of our largest threat, and turn instead to the other Career ally with Rhine; the girl from One. She stares straight out over the cliff, not looking at any of us, but I can see she's not feeling entirely well either; she holds herself in a stiff, upright position that I never noticed before, as though all of her muscles have been tensed to breaking point, and she seems to be nearly as pale as my ally. Though why, I can't tell; she doesn't seem to have any noticeable injuries.
"Tell you what," Rhine says, and I pull my gaze away from her ally. "Since I'm an extraordinarily just person, I'll give you a fair fight." My eyes widen and even her district partner seems surprised, flashing her ally a look which she ignores, still keeping her eyes locked on Noah, him trying to figure out what she's planning and her waiting for his answer, keeping a smirk on her face to mask any other sorts of emotions from coming through. It's then that I realise her offer isn't directed to me, and for the briefest second I feel a flash of relief; though it disappears quickly as I become disgusted that I ever thought I could be glad she wanted to fight Noah instead of me."That is, if you're up for it."
"I am." Despite the fact that it's the last thing on Earth I wanted to respond, it comes out in a relatively confident tone. "I'll fight."
Rhine glances at me, amused. "Listen, kid, this isn't like the reapings. You can't "volunteer as tribute." Besides, how fair would it be if I fought someone half my size?"
I glare at her; she might be taller but I'm not half her size. And just as I open my mouth to respond as such, I'm interrupted by my district partner. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Wha-?" I turn to Noah, who's still glaring at Rhine, that determined look in his eyes again, though it's dulled by the pain I know he must be in right now. "No!"
"If this decision-making takes any longer, I'm just going to slice both of your heads off and be done with it," Rhine says, making a big deal of seeming exasperated as she throws her ally an irritated look that seems to say, can you believe them?
I clench my fists and take a step towards her, not really thinking about what I'm doing, and spit out, "If you're going to act this casual about killing, maybe you shouldn't be bothering at all."
She glances at me and I take another step forwards, but my attempted intimidating walk towards her is cut short as she lazily points her sword in my direction. "Can it, kid. It's the Hunger Games; do you really expect words to help you walk away from this fight? I'm offering your district partner a chance most Careers would never give out; you going to take it or leave it?"
"Take it." I turn back to Noah, still watching the sword out of the corner of my eye, but my fear of Rhine quickly takes second place to my worry for my ally, as I watch him brace himself against a rock and slowly push himself into standing position, more blood staining the bandages and making him sway on his feet, barely able to stay up. I want to run to him, but I stop myself as our eyes meet; no words pass between us but I can see the message as clear as day. When they're distracted, get out of here as quickly as possible.
No! I want to shout, but he's already moved on from me, his gaze meeting Rhine's again as she smirks and raises her sword. "Going to grab that hammer of yours or are you planning on just using your bare hands to tear me apart."
His glare hardens and he places a hand on his weapon, but it seems more as though he's using it as a sort of crutch to help stay on his feet rather than as something to defend himself with. He's just going to be a standing target, I think, horror bubbling up inside of me as I begin to get the same feeling I had when I saw him fighting Precious; the need to do something, help him in some way. But as before, I'm paralysed and powerless to stop whatever Rhine has planned. Please, I think frantically as the Career girl raises her sword while Noah doesn't even seem to have the energy left to lift the hammer. Someone, anyone, we need something. Please.
And that's when the fear-crazed, shouting boy from Ten sprints straight out forest, barrelling straight into Rhine and knocking her to the ground.
"What in the-" Rhine starts, rising to grab her sword and whirling around to face the boy. "Running swiftly to death?" she asks, trying to regain some of her former attitude, but the boy doesn't listen, attempting to scramble to his feet in some sort of frantic panic, though his efforts are cut short as the girl stomps her foot down into his stomach, effectively kicking the breath clean out of him and keeping him down. "You have an answer for me, boy?"
"D-d . . ." He coughs, trying to get the air back into his lungs. "Dra-"
But whatever his answer is, she never gets to hear it. Startled that my prayer for some sort of distraction actually worked, I jump forwards without thinking and tackle Rhine back to the ground, trying to wrestle the sword from her grasp. Out of the corner of my eye I see her ally hesitantly string an arrow into her bow, but the two of us are rolling all over the place and there's no way she could get a clear shot. At least until Rhine lands a concussive blow to face, followed swiftly by a kick which sends me rolling off of her. I grit my teeth, feeling the area around my cheek already swelling, but still manage to push myself upright and prepare to lunge at her again only to have the tip of her steel blade dig uncomfortably into my chest. "Don't," she begins, jabbing the sword into my skin and drawing blood, "Try that again."
The pressure increases on the point and I step backwards but really, it's pointless. Noah shouts something unintelligible as Rhine pulls back the sword, ready for the final strike, just as Calican finally seems to manage getting the air back into his lungs. Oddly enough, it's his shout I hear loud and clear, right before the deafening roar booms through the arena and we're covered in shadow as something enormous blots out the sun.
"Dragon!"
Cordelia Schylla, District 1 Female
Every moment since that sixth cannon went off, signaling the death of the girl from Five, I've felt . . . numb. I wouldn't even be able to say what's gone on in the days since then. It's like I retreated into my own little world, filled with swirling emotions that I had neither the courage nor the will to confront. I tried building a sort of veil between me and the sadness and, more importantly, the guilt, hoping that it might help, that I continue without seeming to feel anything. But all it did was mute the pain; and only just. In the end I just sort of accepted the fact that I'm going to be locked in this cage of awfulness for the foreseeable future. Nothing can snap me out of it.
"Cordelia, I've asked you the same thing five times now, if you're not going to answer me then at least come up with some sort of riveting explanation as to why."
But apparently Rhine hasn't gotten the memo.
She turns to me, sword in her belt and hands on her hips, blocking me from continuing down the path we've been forging through the forest. "What is wrong with you anyways? Look at me, I've killed someone and I don't feel bad at all!"
Even just the word 'killed' sends the images flashing before my eyes; the girl from Five, her head twisting at an unnatural angle, the arrow piercing straight through her skull. If it stopped there, I might be able to handle it; I'm a Career after all – I'm supposed to have trained for things like that. No, the image that gets me isn't one in my memories; it's fresh out of my imagination. Myself, face impassive as stone, mercilessly pulling back the arrow and letting it fly into the head of my own friend, my Bree, while Caspian watches from the side, seemingly unable to do anything but sob and scream accusations at me.
" . . . Wow, I don't believe it; you're not even listening to me as I lecture you about paying attention. Do your teachers feel this bad whenever you walk into class? It's like talking to a brick wall. Earth to Cordelia, pick up the phone, turn the lights on, get that brain into action. I know it's hard with your tiny attention span but if you could just focus on me for five minutes we might be able to get something done. You got that? Cordelia? Oh good lord, I think this may be worse than the perkiness; remember me? Rhine Carson, your ally, fellow Career, friend-"
"What?" Even in my dazed stupor, the word still manages to pierce my brain and get me thinking slightly straighter.
Rhine throws up her hands. "Hallelujah, I have made contact with the life form. Hello, Cordelia," she continues, speaking slowly as though I'm an infant. "Are you there?"
"Friend?"
"Well, she appears to be making no sense whatsoever but hey, at least she's talking," Rhine continues to no one in particular.
"You said I was your friend."
"What?" She turns back to me and for the first time in what's felt like a lifetime, I meet someone's eyes as she stares at me. I almost flinch away; each time I've been avoiding gazes, worrying that they'll hold the same looks that both Bree and Caspian have in my nightmare image – accusing, furious glares. But none of that is in Rhine's gaze; granted, she looks irritated – she always is – but not as though she's . . . accusing me of doing anything bad. Because you didn't, part of my brain speaks up, the reasonable part that's been trying to be heard for days. You just did what you're trained to do. Nothing wrong with that.
Still, the voice doesn't do anything to stop the immense amount of guilt weighing down on me, but I do hesitate for slightly longer before sinking back into misery. But before I go back to my own personal world of horrors, and feel the need to set something straight. "You were saying that you were my ally, my fellow Career and my friend."
Rhine pauses, seeming to go over the conversation in her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."
I can feel the clutches of depression wanting to wash over me, but for the first time in four days, I fight it. "Those were your exact words."
"Cordelia, if you're going to talk nonsense like this, please go back to depressed silence. I think I preferred that."
"Then why'd you try so hard to start a conversation?" The question pops out of my mouth without my even thinking about it, but as I remember the past few hours of our trekking through the forest in search of more tributes, I realise that it's true. Rhine, for all her irritation at me on the first night of Career hunting for trying to chat, has been trying to get me to talk for the past two hours. What she had been saying had been completely lost on me while I was immersed in the horrifying images of myself murdering my friends, but I definitely remember her talking.
"I think maybe we should rest; if you're feeling delusional, you probably shouldn't be attempting to hunt tributes. You might accidentally mistake me for an opponent and try to shoot me." She rolls her eyes and continues moving ahead, until she realises that I've stopped, though not to rest from my "delusions." Her words have just brought more pangs and waves of guilt surging through me. "Cordelia?"
"I wouldn't shoot a friend," I murmur, quietly enough that she has to strain to hear it. But it doesn't matter whether she catches the words; they're not meant for her. If anything, they're more meant to try and convince myself, to make those awful images of Bree's death at my hands disappear. "I never would."
For a moment, we stand in silence, Rhine staring at me while I look down at the forest floor, once again trying and failing to block out the unpleasant emotions. "You consider me a friend?"
I glance up at Rhine, whose smirk has for once disappeared, replaced by a look of almost . . . surprise. "We're in an alliance together, aren't we?"
She snorts in derision and immediately her expression changes, turning back to one that much more commonly found on her. "That doesn't mean we have to like each other."
I just shrug in response, but then eye her carefully. "Besides, you did say I was your friend."
Her eyes do their customary roll as she waves her hand. "Slip of the tongue. An absolute mistake; really Cordelia, you should know that I don't-"
"So you admit to saying it then?"
She stops again, realising that she just contradicted her earlier words and glares at me and unconsciously, the corners of my mouth begin to twitch up in a small smile. "Yes, I definitely liked it better when you were silent. Go back to that please." And with that, she whirls around and continues hacking her way through the forest, as though each tree is a personal affront to her. I just shake my head slightly and begin to follow her, realising that it's been ages since I've smiled – my cheek muscles have already gotten out of practice and are complaining of the soreness it costs them. But at the same time, it feels kind of . . . nice. It's funny though, I never thought that Rhine, of all people, would be the one to make me grin.
Soon enough, the forest begins to give way to some sort of barren, rocky terrain, and it's easy to spot the two tributes in the distance. Rhine quickly steps behind one of the larger boulders nearby and I follow suite, watching her quickly wipe off the leaves and tree bark that stained her blade as she used it to get us through the forest. "Ready for this?" she asks, a smirk on her face as she peers over the rock to the two tributes in the distance. "It might be a bit of a chase if they see us too soon, but you can just pick them off with your arrows and . . ." She stops short as I pale slightly, remembering the weapon in my own hand, the quiver full of flying death strapped to my back. I'm going to have to use them again. To kill. But it won't be Bree this time, the reasonable part of my brain says, speaking up again. It's two nameless tributes. Yeah, but what if we find out their names? What if it's Caspian? Or even Michael? Would I be able to kill the person who bears my own father's name?
"Or I could just charge at them with my sword and claim the kills for myself." I blink slowly, the images of my friends and father fading once more as Rhine's face swims back into view. "If you'd prefer that."
I stare at her, uncomprehendingly. Does she really mean it? "Yeah," I say quietly, nodding my head. "That, um, that might be better."
"Two kills for me than. Whoo," Rhine says, twirling her finger in the air. Her grip tightens on her sword and she goes to take a step out from behind the rock, but before she can, she glances back at me first. I'm not trembling or anything, but I'm sure that I'm looking pretty pale. Get a hold of yourself, part of me says. You're a Career! "Cordelia?"
"Mm?" I say, half paying attention to her while the shouted argument rages through my brain.
"Oh good, thought I'd lost you again. You really do have the attention span of a squirrel." She rolls her eyes and I try a half-smile for her sake, tightening my grip on the weapon I really don't want to use. But Rhine's still talking; I guess once I stopped she must have decided to pick up the habit. "You know, if you keep sinking into this weird depression state and acting like killing someone is a terrible thing, I might even start feeling bad soon."
That catches me off guard. "You might feel bad?"
"What? No, of course not." I raise an eyebrow and she continues casually, "What I meant was that I might, er, not enjoy it . . . as much. But only slightly." I just continue to gaze at her, expecting more of an answer, but she just turns around quickly and says, "Oh, look, it's the people we should be killing right now. We should probably be getting to that, shouldn't we?"
What follows is our confrontation with the pair from Twelve, the girl's efforts to make it seem as though she could fight us off, and then Rhine's totally unexpected offer. I glance at her sharply, wondering what she means by it or what she's planning, but she seems determined to not meet my gaze as she holds that of the boy, Noah. He also seems confused, determinedly analysing her as though the answer lies somewhere in her smirking green eyes.
The two allies argue about the deal being given to them and who should fight before Rhine lazily makes a comment about just chopping off both of their heads, sending an amused glance towards me and in the moment we make eye contact I see something that her cocky expression doesn't entirely hide. She quickly breaks the gaze and turns back towards her victims, but it gets me thinking. What was that about? Does she- does she feel bad about killing two defenceless people without giving them a chance? Rhine, the ultimate master of sarcasm, the girl who murdered the boy from Nine without batting an eye, does she actually have a conscience?
Maybe; maybe not. But whatever it is, I guess that you learn something new about your ally every day. I wonder if she would have just killed them with no hesitation anyways. But I never get to find out, because that's when the boy from Ten comes running in, Malia attacks my ally and then, with an earth-shattering roar, the dragon comes into view.
Perrin Bellerose, District 4 Male
"Alright, I'm here. Like I said earlier, I would much prefer to be out there hunting down the tributes, but I guess everyone needs a break from babysitting." Meredith smirks at Rowan but he doesn't even acknowledge it; that finally gives her the hint to analyse the both of us and see something wrong. "What is it?"
"No idea," I murmur, not really paying attention. "But some sort of wall of fire just erupted over there."
Her brow furrows and she looks out towards where both of our gazes are fixed, just in time to see another pillar of flames come bursting forth from somewhere in the forest below. For a moment, even she's startled into silence; then, of course, she laughs. "Really? That's it? Exactly how long of you two been watching that thing?" She rolls her eyes. "It's probably just a Gamemaker trap that some stupid tribute stumbled into. Our only concern should be the fact that someone else is dying and it's not by our hands. Or rather, hand in certain cases." She smirks at Rowan who finally tears his gaze away from the fire and glares at her.
"Trust me, I can kill just as well as you can with only one."
"Really? Because I don't think you've done any killing since your injury."
He grits his teeth. "Unfortunately, you two keep getting in my way."
"Yes, and now we're stuck babysitting you and watching pathetic Gamemaker traps. I've got to hand it to you," she says, grinning maliciously. "You sure know how to spend your time wisely."
Rowan's fist clenches and he stands, halving the distance between Meredith and himself in seconds. "I really don't think you want to keep-"
"Enough," I say firmly, recovering from my shock as I watched the real cause of the fire emerge. "We've got bigger things to worry about."
Meredith smirks. "Like that little Gamemaker's trap?"
"Yes, actually. And if you paid any attention to it, I think you'd see that it could quickly become a problem."
The two of them frown, then slowly turn away from each other and back out towards where the fire used to light up the air. But now it's been replaced by a giant winged creature as dark as night, quickly racing over the forest in pursuit of what I can only imagine is a tribute with the absolute worst luck in the arena. As we watch, the dragon lets out another roar, faint due to the amount of distance between us and it, but loud enough to still chill me to the bone.
Beside me, Meredith lets out what has to be the most arrogantly casual sigh that could be used in this situation. "I knew if we didn't find someone to murder soon they'd push us together. Should have let me kill Rowan when I had the chance." He glares at her and steps forwards again, but I quickly push them both away, sighing slightly on the inside. You'd think that with this new, terrifying development in the arena, they'd at least be able to stop fighting for five minutes. But apparently not.
"Seriously you two; stop. We have bigger problems right now." I eye them both sternly, briefly wondering if this is what parenting feels like. Oh, dear lord; how do the fathers of Meredith and Rowan even manage?
"Fine," Meredith says, grinning evilly at Rowan one last time before stepping down. "So what do you suggest we do, Mr Career Leader?"
The sarcasm dripping from the last two words would be hard for anyone to miss; I bristle slightly, then respond back, trying to keep my tone level. "Well, we are co-leaders. What do you suggest?"
She grins despite my own sarcasm, making me instantly regret offering for her to choose a strategy. "I was so hoping you'd ask," she says, stepping away from Rowan and I and walking to the edge of the tower before turning back. "Well, come on! We're not going to stay up here and miss the party!"
"Party?" Rowan says skeptically, and I have to admit I agree with him on this one.
"Of course," Meredith says, reaching to her belt and grabbing a weapon I'd never seen on her previously. She snaps the whip in the air once, grinning as both of us take an unconscious step back to avoid being hit. "It's going to be fun!"