"Pick up your weapon and face it
There's blood on the crown
Go and take it
You get one shot to make it out alive…"
~Rise (League of Legends, ft. The Glitch Mob)
o0o
Athena Shier (18) District Two Tribute
5:15 pm
The wound on my arm throbs in time with my heartbeat, the gash deep enough to make my entire arm ache and prevent me from drawing my bow. Thames, quick as an asp, draws back and flits back to Aegis' side. The District 2 boy had acquired a shield, sometime between the time he and Halliday faced off and this brief halt in the fight.
Thames is by Aegis' side, and I can't help but worry about Halliday as she puts her chin up, green eyes flaring in defiance, nostrils flared. She's a good fighter- she's better than good, she's spectacular- but facing off against not just Aegis, but Thames…
"Help… her…" I hiss at Sash, and he whips his head around to stare at me. He apparently scrambled down from the Cornucopia the moment after Thames slashed my arm into nearly two different pieces.
"Me?!"
"Yes, you!" I snap back, snarling through the pain in my head. "Who else would I be talking to?"
"I can't do anything!" Sash's eyes are wide, the dark brown oddly reflective in the Arena light. "I can barely even shoot, Athena, let alone hold a weapon!"
"You threw a knife just fine in the training center!"
"That was different!"
I let out a groan at the pounding of my head, the pain making it hard for me to think. Sash is fast to catch me as I stumble, a solid weight for me to fall against.
"Thanks," I mutter.
"Not a problem," he answers, dark eyes moving fast, tracking the fight between Halliday and our two former allies. She is little more than a blur of silver and emerald green as she brings up both blades to block Aegis' strike, twisting aside to simultaneously disengage and dodge Thames' spear. She's doing extraordinarily well as of now, but once the two of them actually decide to go in for the kill… the odds are already not in her favor, and once Aegis gets that glint in his eyes, the killing calm sweeping through him and turning his veins to hoarfrost, then she's dead. She's so, so dead.
I open my mouth to demand once again that Sash help her, but he's already one step ahead of me.
"Get down!" Sash snarls in my ear, moving so fast that I nearly lose my balance for a second time, and I barely have time to duck before his arrow goes sailing over my head.
It's a well-aimed shot, swift and lethally aimed, but Aegis is faster, bringing up his shield, and takes the blow with maddening ease.
The shot, however, gives Halliday an opening, but she is currently unable to take it, busy warding off Thames' spear, him using it's retractable feature to full advantage. We have yet to see that whip of hers come out and into play, but there's no time for her to retrieve it from where it's coiled at her belt.
"Come on, Halliday," I whisper, not dating to raise my voice for fear of distracting her.
Sash has vanished from beside me, into the Cornucopia, and he emerges a few moments later, a med kit gripped in his hand and two newly filled quivers, one slung across his back and the other at his hip. "Show me your arm," he says, setting the bag down and rumaging through it. "We need to get something on it and stop the bleeding." He stands up with a roll of bandages and a pot of… something.
I eye it. "What's that?"
"Ointment." He reaches for my arm. With some reluctance, I hold it out, and he soothes the mixture of medicine along my arm. Initially I hiss at the sting and pain, but it gradually soothes away under his touch. I let out a breathy sigh of relief, and Sash chuckles, beginning to unravel the bandages. "Better?"
"Much."
"Glad to hear it," Sash smiles, pressing down on my arm. I wince on instinct, but there isn't any real flare of pain as he begins wrapping the bandage around my forearm. While his focus appears to be completely honed in on my arm, I know better. His head is inclined towards the fight, and his eyes are flitting back and forth as if he's watching it playing out right in front of him. I myself turn to take in the goings on, and can't stop the sharp inhale that catches in my throat.
Halliday's been driven back, almost against the Cornucopia, and she's breathing hard. Her blades are steady, but she has the look of a cornered predator in her eyes. We need to help her.
Sash finishes with my arm, standing and brushing his hands off brusquely. "Can you hold a knife?"
I nod, and wordlessly hold out my uninjured hand. It may be foolish of me to leap into the fray so soon after being injured, but I'm not going to watch Halliday die. Sash presses one into my palm, before his fingers are gentle on my chin, tilting my head up to look at him. His brows are furrowed with concern. "Don't die, alright? I'll be doing what I can from here," he gestures at his weapons, "But you're the one who's gonna be in the thick of it. Be careful."
I square my jaw, and flick my eyes towards the battle. The three of them have split apart for a spare second, all three panting, but Halliday is clearly winded, while Thames and Aegis seem to be regaining strength and regrouping. To my pleasure, I notice that Thames has a gash along his midsection and is fairly scratched up on his arms. While none of the wounds are bleeding, already clotting, it means Halliday has gotten some hits in, and that's impressive in and of itself. Hang on, Halliday, I'll be right there.
Focussing back on Sash, I nod decisively, muscles bunching and ready to spring into the fight. "Yeah. I'll be okay."
o0o
Jordan Wheaton (16) District Nine Tribute
5:30 pm
There's barely any lull in the fight after Athena gets her arm sliced open. Halliday is facing off against both Thames and Aegis and she's holding her own, even if her moves and parries are defense-oriented, and she is no longer making any real effort to attack. Sash is tending to Athena, ducking inside the Cornucopia to try and find first-aid supplies. There's a long, trailing fuse-looking thing leading out of the horn's mouth, snaking across the ground and the end of which is lying not too far off from where Halliday and Aegis and Thames are fighting. Sash doesn't seem to notice it, though, as he rushes back out to Athena's side, wrapping her arm after applying some sort of cream and ointment that makes some of the tension leave her face. He asks her a question, she gesturing with her other arm, and he nods as if in understanding.
I shouldn't be here. It only spells danger- not just for one of them, who will inevitably die tonight, but for me as well. Because if I stick around and am spotted. I could be ripped to shreds. Whether it's over who wants the glory of the kill, or perhaps they all come together one final time to land one last kill, I don't know, and I have no intention of finding out.
And yet… this is my chance. This is a chance to take out one of the Careers- maybe Halliday or Aegis- and escape in the ensuing chaos. I don't want to kill Thames, becuase then Aegis would probably murder the other three and then hunt me down as well, and he's well-trained and fitter than an apex predator in the prime of hunting season. Hallliday though… or Aegis himself… the whole of the Arena would benefit from their deaths. Except perhaps Thames, and even if the he is a cold-blooded killer with a heart seemingly made of steel, he seems to genuinely care for the District 2 boy. With all that I've been through, all that could be in my future… I find that I don't really have the heart to take someone away from another person. To take their world away from them, even if that world might be a temporary escape from reality.
But I need to take one of them out. I'm here, and I have a weapon, and I need to do something instead of just running away like a coward.
I thumb my hatchet free from the belt at my side- a Sponsor gift- one given to me almost immediately after the Bloodbath. There's a longsword that hangs by my side as well, but that involves getting close enough to one of them to use it. That's not happening. Not if I have any sense of self-preservation left in me.
I exhale, blowing air out of my nostrils, staring down at the hatchet in my hands. If I do this, if my arm moves and I let this weapon fly, I will be marked as a killer, a murderer, no matter who's skull this axe cleaves apart. Whether they're a Career or a tribute or even a random townsperson, my reception and District 9 will be the same.
And it's not as if I don't have any other choice. I could just leave and let this fight play out, for better or worse. But at the same time, I don't know if I can let that happen. Either the Careers will all kill each other, or the weakest of the five will be eliminated, leaving the deadlier, more threatening ones to still roam free. I would like to increase my chances of survival, if at all possible, and that means I have to be the one to take out one of the powerhouses. Ideally, I'd hit Aegis with this hatchet, or Halliday. Thames on his own doesn't seem to terribly dangerous, aside from the fact that he killed two people during the Bloodbath without seemingly a second thought and first blood has gone to him both times I've seen him in action. But with Aegis at his side, I can only imagine the hell the two of them could unleash.
Halliday is a force of nature in her own right, no matter who stands with or behind or against her. She needs to be dealt with, and fast, but in my current position, I don't have a clear shot that I know will hit.
Then again, I don't know if when I do throw the hatchet that it'll actually hit any of them, even if I did train in the art during the last week. It's a risk I have to take. There's a good hundred meters between me and them, so I can get a head start.
That leaves Sash and Athena, and out of the two, although she may be injured, Athena is a trained Career. I'm sure she can fight one-handed with some sort of melee weapon, and she's still quick, light on her feet. Not to mention her mind. From what I saw of her during training, she's smart; remembers everything.
And killing Sash… I'll be hated by everyone, from this point onwards. There's no way I can risk that, not with so few Sponsors in my corner already, and prices for everything is already going up.
Athena it is.
In the end, there is no real finesse to my movements as I bring the hatchet up over my head, a death-grip on the handle right up to the moment when I release it. It spins through the air, end over end over end, the honed edge sparkling in the blue light, and makes a sickening crunch as it sinks into Athena's skull from where she has her back turned to the treeline, talking to Sash, a knife in her unbandaged hand.
Or… where she was talking to Sash.
Her scream is cut terrifyingly short, and Athena's body crumples to the ground, the lights on her suit dimming and dulling into oblivion. Her blood is a sanguine pool beneath her head.
The fight halts for a second time. Sash has a hand over his mouth, stumbling away from Athena's corpse and the ever-spreading pool of blood that's forming around her. When I glance over at the rest of them- Thames, Aegis, Halliday- I swallow. Hard. Thames is bleeding- heavily, it seems, from a deep gash down his ribs, and his hand is pressed to his side, trying to staunch the blood flow. I don't know if that's going to be a fatal wound, but I can hope. Aegis isn't by his lover's side, however. He's standing by the fuse attached to… something within the Cornucopia, a match in his hand, and when he drops it, the fuse begins to burn. Fast.
He steps away, stomps out the match, and smirks darkly. He clearly hasn't seen Thames' condition, or he'd have a very different expression on his face.
I look back towards Thames and Halliday, and instantly regret it, because the girl from 1 is staring straight at the treeline. Straight at me.
Her eyes meet mine. Only for a split second, but I can see the fury and grief roiling in those green depths. Shit.
I need to get out of here.
Fast.
The girl from District 1 steps towards me, daggers raised and angled, fatal wrath in every move as she advances.
And that's when the Cornucopia explodes, going up in a great ball of fire.
o0o
Thames Venturi (18) District One Tribute
6:00 pm
"Aegis, move!" I throw myself at him, my momentum and weight bearing him to the ground. He's bigger than I am, with more muscle and broader shoulders, but I cover his body with mine the best I can. Better me than him, I repeat, over and over. He has more of a chance of winning this whole thing than I do, loathe as I am to admit it, even with what he means to me.
Which is probably more than he should.
But there's only one thought in my mind as I dive for him, angle him away from the blast and putting myself straight in its path, bracing myself for the pain. Protect, protect, protect. The word echoes with every frantic beat of my heart, and time seems to slow, and I'm painfully aware of every breath the both of us take, and my stomach churns at the thought that each one could be the last. I can't let that happen. I can't, I won't, not to him, I'll accept it if my life ends here, but his won't!
Whatever comes next is going to be painful. It's going to make me scream and howl and I know that I'm very well living out the last few moments of my life. Yet… there is no doubt in my mind. I don't know why the Cornucopia is exploding or what caused it, and somewhere, some part of me is worried about the supplies, but fuck that because it's Aegis.
He matters more to me than I ever thought something in this world could. More than family, more than anything. Then again, my family isn't exactly the best, but I have Bastion and Valiance, and they are my real family, the people I chose to surround myself with. And Aegis means more to be than I think they ever could, in a way. Being put in a life and death scenario does that to a person, I suppose. Makes you look back on your life, and take a closer look at the relationships you have with… with, well everyone, and consider who it really is that you're fighting for. And sure, I'm fighting to get back home for Valiance and Bastion, and there's history there, between the three of us, the profound bond that we share that words can't even describe, but when it comes right down to it, I know they can help each other. We always have, we stuck together, and I don't think it'll make all that much of a difference if I'm not there on the day Bastion quits drinking, or the day that Valiance brings a girl on one of our wild club nights. I know I would like to be, but I'm not going to get everything I want in life. Learned that the hard way.
But here, in this Arena, I'm fighting for Aegis. For the boy who's found my heart and touched it in the most intimate of ways and seen my shattered pieces and put me back together. Taken the raw piece of clay and marble that was me, took his tools, and refined me into something I can maybe, one day, if we ever get out of this, be proud of. And I owe him for that. I owe him more than human nature will lead you to believe.
For him, I might just do anything. Anything… such as throwing myself in front of him to protect him from an exploding horn of plenty that rains down fire and bits of… Cornucopia material, sharp and deadly. Smoke fills the air, the sound of the explosion echoing in my ears, making my head positively ring, and then there comes the heat.
The heat that sucks all the oxygen from the air and straight out of my lungs as I twist away from the blast, Aegis' body hard and solid against my own as I look to protect every part of him that I can. Something sears along my calf, and only a lifetime of training and discipline keep me from roaring the pain to the Arena sky. I cannot show any signs of weakness. Sponsors are going to be few are far between as it is, now what Aegis and I have broken off, and God only knows which side any of them will choose. The thoughts are flash fire through my head before they are burned away in a wall of heat and constant agony. Shit, shit shit shit, something's on fire, that something could be my leg, oh Jesus fuck.
There's a sharp, stinging pain as I try to readjust myself atop Aegis, move my hand to a more comfortable position, if anything about this can be considered comfortable, and I recoil. Shit, what was that? My eyes are burning as I try to keep them open, to check on Aegis, to make sure he's alright, and then a strong arm wraps around my waist, a voice talking in my ear, words that I can barely make out. Alive. He's alive, he's alive, he's alive, and that's all that matters.
"Nobody panic," I whisper, my voice barely a rasp in my throat, right before consciousness slips through my fingers, elusive as a fox. "Nobody… panic… but I think I've been set on fire."
o0o
Ambrose Volta (14) District Five Tribute
6:30 pm
"So," Lauren says. Her voice is hushed- she hasn't raised it above anything other than a soft, rueful laugh as she recounted her tale of how the Wolfchild and the Careers had tracked and killed the majority of her alliance. "That's how you've been surviving this long. There are edible plants in that forest. I had been wondering."
I shrug, and kick at the ground. We've been wandering the streets of the city for sometime now, taking the time to take in the grandeur of the architecture and the sheer splendour of the Capitol as we walk. It might not be the best option, but it's certainly better than sitting around in some building and moping in a puddle of self-pity. "I spent most of my time at the edible plants station and focussed mainly on survival. I'm not all that noticeable, and I needed all the knowledge I could squirrel away before the Games began."
"You're noticeable now," Lauren points out. "You're in the top ten."
That makes me pause, tilting my head back to stare up at one of the towering buildings, lit up like what was once called a 'Christmas tree' in one of our storybooks back home. "I suppose I am, aren't I. Both of us are." The cannon had taken both of us by surprise as we pooled supplies as went over strategy, defensive tactics and what we would need to get us through the next day. Planning much farther ahead of tomorrow does us no good- we could die at any given moment, what with Mikail, who's known as the Eel on the streets back in his home of District 4, and Phoenix, who drew a training score of 8. "Do you think we'll get more Sponsors now?"
A shrug at that, and I have to scramble to keep up with her as Lauren begins walking again, long legs eating up the ground. "I don't know. Possibly. Hopefully."
Casting my gaze towards the dark, swirling vortex that makes up the sky of the Arena, I open my mouth. "Hey, Capitol people watching this, give us food! And weapons! And any other shit you think we might need, because chances are we do!"
"Language," Lauren scolds, but her mouth is turning up at the corners.
A pang of sadness hits me as I watch the smile slowly dissolve from her face and her eyes go meditative and withdrawn once again, a brilliant flower curling colorful petals inwards. In the training center, Lauren Silver had been a vibrant, calm presence, always there to diffuse what fights she could, lending a helping hand to anyone in need. Brimming with life and vitality, she reminded me of a hummingbird, in a way. Flitting around, colorful and one of the people who you couldn't resist wanting to be around.
Now, though… now, her eyes have dimmed, and she's shrunk in on herself, shoulders curved inwards to make herself as small as possible, and she rarely speaks. It's only been a few hours, and the signs of grief are already weighing heavily on her. It's as if the deaths of her three former allies are physical weights resting on her shoulders, and she's slowly crumpling beneath their burden.
Hesitantly, I reach out, and place a hand on her arm. She pauses, midway through a step, putting her foot down, turning to look at me. Her hair is coming loose from the fishtail braid she's keeping it in, strands hanging down and framing her pale face, still spattered with traces of blood. She's gaunt, and bounces on her toes, eyes never quite staying still as they flit from one area to the next. Always alert, always watching. This is what the Hunger Games does to people. Even someone as resilient as Lauren, these catastrophic, monstrous events have the power to break her.
I want to comfort her in some way. Tell her that it's not her fault that her allies died, that there wasn't anything she could have done to stop someone of the likes of Asher or any of the Careers, even Sash.
I don't think there's anything I could say of any real meaning, though. Me, a 14-year-old girl who spends her days on the streets, chasing the shadows of a girl I'll never really have. No one can have Kaede. Wild and fierce as an uncaged animal, with all the spirit of a spitfire, mythical beast, beautiful beyond reckoning with the strength to match.
"... Take care of yourself, Lauren," I finally say. "Your personal health is important, even more so here. Don't let their deaths be in vain. You can't change what's happened, you can't rewrite history, so there's no point moping about and not trying. We need to keep our chins up and keep going." My mother always used to tell me that there's no use rereading a chapter of our lives, because it prevents us from writing a new one. "Don't stumble over something behind you. Keep your eyes on the horizon, and there's going to come a point in these Games where you're going to reach it."
Lauren eyes me. The blue in her eyes has faded to a sort of aonibi shade, and her expression is carefully neutral as she watches me. She doesn't say anything though, but I know I need to tread carefully, pick and navigate my way around shards of sapphire glass without getting cut.
"I'm rooting for you to win, Lauren. Because there's no way that I'm making it out of here alive. But you have a chance, because you're kind and smart and bold, and you can get through something like this if you put your mind to it. But it has to come from inside you, Lauren. I can't will you to stay alive, no matter how hard I try. I can't wish away your grief. That's an obstacle you're going to have to overcome on your own, and it doesn't matter whether you think you can't, because I know you can." I force my shoulders to lift in a nonchalant shrug, blink away the tears that threaten to slip from my eyes. "Your choice, Lauren. Live or die. I can't make it for you."
Lauren's next inhale is shaky. Her throat bobs, and something gleams in those aegean eyes, a spark behind relit, a fire being rekindled. She nods, slowly, lips parting as if to say something.
A voice interrupts whatever she was going to say. Low and melodic, carrying ripples of crimson and promises of darkness. "You might not be able to make the choice for her, Ambrose Volta, but I certainly can."
We whirl around, and see Phoenix Doppelman leaning against the side of the next building over, face half obscured in shadow. The knife in his hand, however, is sharp, and it glitters in the blue lights of the city as he steps into full view. A slow smile spreads across his face, and it's not a nice smile. Not a nice smile at all, as he flips the dagger over and steps forward. "Hello, Lauren. Ambrose. Welcome to the metropolis."
o0o
Thames Venturi (18) District One Tribute
7:30 pm
"Shit, Age, that hurts." I hiss a harsh breath out from between my gritted teeth. "Can't you be a bit gentler?"
"No," Aegis says flatly. His fingers are cool on my skin as he soothes the burns with the ointment I'd received not 24 hours earlier. "Now shut up and eat your crackers."
I go to do as he says, but as I sit back again, a flash of paleness against tan skin draws my attention. It's a scar, I realize after a moment, and I normally wouldn't think anything of it, except there's another one, a verticle line connected to the horizontal one, making a T shape. And beside that is what looks to be an H. "Aegis," I say sharply.
"Thames?" He doesn't look up, only presses down hard enough on my arm to make a jolt ride up my spine. I let out a sharp hiss.
Ignoring the flare of pain in my side, I reach up to tap his forearm. "What's this?"
He pulls back, then. Stares down with me those gorgeous, unfathomable eyes of his for a few heartbeats. His voice comes out hoarse as he asks, "Do you really want to know?"
There are so many cliche lines that I could use to answer that question. So many words to say that would give me an out, to take this down a different road.
I push them away, and instead say, "Yes."
He inhales deeply, sitting back on his heels. A few quick slashes of a knife and the material of his suit slides away, cut at the elbow. Blood tricks down the tan skin, but Aegis barely even notices, unflinching as he shows me his inner forearm.
It takes all my willpower not to recoil from the vicious scarring on that pale, tender flesh. YOU ARE IN THE CAGE.
I stare at the scars for a few minutes. My heartbeat rages in my ears and the world fades in and out of existence around me. Pain, disbelief, horror, and the overwhelming need to draw the dark, wounded creature before me into my arms go to war within my mind.
I finally find my voice. "What does it mean?" I reach out one finger- it's trembling, I distantly note- and trace the O in YOU.
Aegis' other hand, strong and calloused, lands on my own, gently removing my own from his scar. He doesn't let go, though, as he says, "When I was young, my mother became a trainer and District 2's main academy. I was eight, at the time, and when my mother came home one night, ecstatic and proclaiming that she'd found a potential Victor, I found myself wanting nothing more than to be the one to put that same glow on my mother's face." His grip on my hand tightens, almost imperceptibly. "I began training by myself, with whatever was on hand- and by the age of twelve, maybe thirteen, I was using sticks against a tree- and every time I trained, there would be some sort of anger or rage or power that would fill me up. I'd end up breaking the stick into multiple pieces and absolutely shred the side of the tree.
"My mother found the trees I'd been using for practice a few days later and officially brought me into the academy and took me under her wing as her personal student. It was there that-" his throat bobs, "-that I found this… thing inside me."
The thing. The destructive animal that he'd become during the Bloodbath. That he'd told me about… last night. I manage a small nod to show that I'm following the story. My head is starting to feel too heavy, and it's getting hard to think past the pain that scorches up through my body, starting at my calf.
"I did everything I could to get rid of it." Aegis gives a little, helpless shake of his head. "But it stayed with me. A bit like a parasite. And that's when I did this to myself. It meant…"
His words trail off above me. I can still see his lips moving, but I can't hear him all that well. Like my head is underwater, and I'm drowning. I'm drowning in a pool of acid, and it eats away at my skin, a constant, unwavering pulse of pain that throbs in time with my heartbeat.
Oh, god…
"Thames?" His voice brings me back. Aegis sounds near-frantic above me. His fingers have stilled from where they were smoothing away the pain that now burns across my calf. I manage a whine of protest, but he still doesn't move. "Thames, come on, stay with me! You're going into shock, just a little while longer, okay?" We need to get you somewhere safe! Get up!"
This is the Arena, I think hazily. Nowhere is safe.
"Come on, Thames, up!" He grips me under my arms and hauls me upright. I stumble, the world greying in and out, in and out as I sway against him. "Let's go! Move!"
We stumble through the forest- more like Aegis stumbles, and I'm being dragged- for the next god-knows how long.
I'm delirious from the pain by the time we stagger into a relatively sheltered clearing, and Aegis lays me down against the cool floor of the Arena.
"Thames?" He leans over me, inkwell eyes swimming with concern. He presses a hand to the side of my face, and his white scar flashes into view again.
The scar.
Wasn't I going to say something about the scar?
What had he said? The words flit away as I try to grab at them, but I rally my will and send out a net, ensnaring them and pulling them close to study. Ah, yes. It meant that I could not let my emotions control me. That I was locked in a cage, as long as the gorgon was still inside me.
He needs to know. Needs to know that emotions are okay. That they're part of human nature. I need to get my point across. It's important.
YOU ARE IN THE CAGE.
Feeling as if he's locked inside, away from all emotion and feeling and humanity.
It is what I have to remind myself from here on out, he said. That I cannot be slowed down, that I cannot let anything get in the way of us and our survival.
But that's not what I want. I want the Aegis I know and love- the Aegis who held me to sleep, rocking us back and forth and whispering sweet nothings in my ears. I want the Aegis who can laugh and smile and crack the worst jokes in the world and still bring a grin to my face.
Not whatever shell of the person I love that he is suggesting that he become.
I open my mouth. "You might be in the cage, Aegis." My vision continues to blur and fade, but I will strength into my fingers, ignoring the burn and throb in my shoulder, and grip his wrist until my knuckles turn white. "But as long as you are like this, I am in the cage with you."
His eyes widen. And that's when the world fades to black.
o0o
11th: Athena Shier (18) District Two Tribute (Submitted by TeamShadow) Athena, your form came in and I instantly knew you would go far. Smart, level-headed, and a calm voice of reason, I loved your journey and can only hope that you're in a better place now, wherever you are. Rest in peace, Athena Shier. May you fear no evil. Feel no pain. [KDA: 1/0/1]
o0o
Alliances:
Angels and Demons: Thames Venturi (D1M) and Aegis Harlow (D2M)
An Ultimatum: Halliday Frost (D1F) and Sash Radcliffe (D8M)
Stronger Together: Lauren Silver (D3F) and Ambrose Volta (D5F)
Among The Hidden (Loners, for now): Mikail Drakil (D4M), Asher Foster (D5M), Phoenix/Killian Doppelmen (D6M), and Jordan Wheaton (D9M)
o0o
A/N: Pfft, no, Thames isn't dead, stop that. Stop that. I didn't write his eulogy and his picture isn't black and white on the website.
We have made it to the top 10, everyone! Welcome to the Hunger Games! There's nothing much I have to say here, other than the usual status update on your Tributes, my outro, and a thank you:
Thank you for sticking with this story throughout its many twists and turns, for reviewing with your kind words and inspiring suggestions. You all know who you are. *winks*
For reference on where everyone is: the Careers have split, and Thames and Aegis are in the woods, alongside Asher and Ambrose. Killian/Phoenix, Mikail, Lauren, and now Ambrose are in the city part of the map, and Jordan is hanging around the remnants of the Cornucopia, which Aegis blew to smithereens (you go, Age! No worries that you almost blew Thames up with it!) along with Halliday, Sash, and Athena's corpse, which hasn't been picked up yet, unfortunately. Asher is still hanging around the woods, but Thames and Aegis are in there too… Wolfchild beware.
As for the Cornucopia explosion, it didn't kill anyone, (Jordan's hatchet did though… poor Athena) there wasn't enough dynamite in there for that. However, the fallout of the blast severely burned Thames, and Halliday and Sash haven't escaped unscathed. Aegis has escaped with minimal damage, thanks to Thames and his body shield.
We've come so far, everyone, and I've finally determined the plot for this- unless one of you throws an idea at me and I shove everything out the window. There will be 12 more chapters of Locked and Loaded after this one, as things stand right now, I hope to publish the last chapter on October 31st, a few hours before the first chapter of A Court of Mist and Ruin. If I don't get it published, well, shame on me. You're getting the first chapter of ACOMAR no matter what, though, because I'm damn well sticking to this one thing in writing, if I can't keep up with an update schedule, lmao. A note, if you are planning on being involved with the rest of the Fyreverse, please read the epilogues when the Hunger Games come to a close. I didn't have a lot of sub-plot in this story, but rest assured that there will be quite a lot of, erm, plotting going on in future stories and I've put a lot of effort into designing the Capitol and Outside Forces cast.
If you haven't already, please go vote in the poll on my bio! If you're on FFN mobile, then you'll have to switch over to desktop mode to vote OR log on on your computer, so it's fairly easy and not a whole lot of effort. Do me a favor and fill it out? Thank you!
I'll see you all again in hopefully the next week, maybe sooner, with the next chapter, Arena day 3! I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day/night, stay safe out there, and all my love goes with you!
Over, out, and may the odds be ever in your favor,
~SetFires (Vixen)