She wouldn't have it any other way.
.oOo.
Colleen Tosse, 17
District Five Female
0 Kills
She yawns when she wakes up, looking blearily around the lakeshore to see if anyone's here with her. They aren't - and neither is the mist that once shrouded the arena.
She's not surprised. Yesterday morning, the mist had done the same - disappearing early in the morning, and then re-appearing around noon. It's an obvious sign to the tributes that this is the time that they have to stay hidden, and Colleen had planned to wake up earlier today to position herself in a less visible area of sand before the mist disappeared. She had stayed up too late last night, though, and the plan soon disappeared out of her mind.
A pity, really. Now that it's day three, she wants to start developing some good habits here.
"What could be happening today?" she murmurs herself, looking down at the dark, smooth queen piece in her hand. When her grandma had come to the goodbye rooms, she had given the piece to Colleen - to remind her of the game that she's playing. She knows that she can't let anyone know what she does back at home, where her allegiances lie, that she even has an inkling of a thought to fight against the Capitol.
As far as she knows, the rest of the Capitol believes that she's just a normal girl, a simple girl, a girl who's supposed to die quietly in the Hunger Games and not be thought of again.
She wouldn't have it any other way.
But she knows what she is - her past that, hopefully, no one knows about is just begging to be found out, and she's sure that someone has suspicions about her. Maybe it's paranoia speaking, but she'll have to make it seem like she's loyal to the Capitol - or else she's going to be risking the wrath of the gamemakers.
She'll start with moving her camp.
Once she peers around the small shore of the beach that she decided to sleep on last night - a bad decision, considering that her scalp is now covered with sand and her back is sore beyond belief - and is satisfied that no one else has shown up, she stands up to grab the small pack next to her sleeping spot. It's not filled with much - a water bottle, some iodine to purify the water in the lake, matches, and a pot - but her knife is on the other side of her body, and she still has the sponsor gift.
Yes, she has what she needs to start playing the game.
Pocketing the sponsor gift, she shrugs the pack over her shoulders and begins to walk along the side of the lake. For now, she'd like a quiet place to rest - now that it's the third day and the careers haven't found anyone to kill yet, she's not risking being too close to them when the mist can't protect her. She'll begin her journey to the far side of the arena today. It'll only take half an hour to get there, and the perimeter of the small lake can't be more than a kilometre or so, but she doesn't mind - it's distance between her and everyone else.
It's security. And in the Hunger Games, security is everything. Especially when she's playing the part of the prey.
She'll get to a safer place today.
.oOo.
Then she coughs, and begins to feel miserable yet again.
.oOo.
Desdemona Steen, 15
District Eight Female
0 Kills
"Do you think any of the careers will find us today?" Emma asks the boy from Six - Jackson, Mona remembers with a yawn - while folding her arms over her chest. "I think we should get into the woods or find somewhere safer to stay in - we can't stay at the creek and pretend that we're alright. Sooner or later, they'll find us - and then we'll be sorry."
"We could cross the creek and head into the patch of trees once the mist is gone," Mona offers with a cough. The others look over at her, interested in what she has to say, and Mona blushes. She does like being the centre of attention, but she's never gotten used to it. "I think that we should get over there, especially when they think we'll go to the closer forest. We'll subvert their expectations, and they might not want to deal with the gully in the mist. If we memorize a path to get there and lie low until the mist comes back, it'll be easy to find a place to hide. Right?"
"Sounds like a plan!" Jackson smiles over at Mona, and Aloie gives her arm a squeeze. Mona grins back, happy to be contributing - it's nice to feel part of this alliance, especially since she knows that she's still new to their group.
Then she coughs, and begins to feel miserable yet again.
Is she starting to get sick? She honestly can't tell - she has breathing issues so often that she can't distinguish a normal cough from a wet cough that signals that her lung issues are flaring once more. But she's had a headache throughout the morning, and it feels like she can't think properly - it's so much worse than what it was in the Capitol.
Then again, maybe it's just her beginning to sleep outside for the first time. Maybe she's allergic to something, maybe it's a reaction to not having pollution filling her lungs, or something that wouldn't mean that she'll become useless soon. She heard things outside last night - it rustled in the mist, coming so close that it sounded like it was about to touch her, and even in the darkness she saw something that seemed to be so dark she couldn't tell what it was. Now that it's day, she figures that it was a dream, but she doesn't know yet.
She'll wait and see.
"Well, should we get ready to move?" Callous asks, looking anxiously around the bottom of the creek bed. Last night they elected to sleep on the sides of the creek due to the fact that the mist disappeared during the morning - just in case they were caught off guard in the night, they'd have at least some warning from the splashing that would inevitably follow the careers leaping into the creek. It had caused Mona to wake up with her right arm muddy and left arm soaked, but she doesn't mind too much - it's better than being dead. "We want to be ready, right?"
Jackson yawns, looking up at the clear sky above their heads. "Yeah, let's scout it out. We have to be careful - we don't know where anyone else is, and I don't want to get one of us killed. Stay low, girls, alright?"
Mona is annoyed by the tone he uses, but doesn't bother to speak up. After all, he's keeping them safe from harm. He's making sure that they won't be the ones to die in this arena.
Right?
.oOo.
This is their chance.
.oOo.
Jackson Kennedy, 18
District Six Male
1 Kill
They wait until the mist starts to come back to begin their dangerous move to the forest beyond the creek, nervous that an eager career will find them before they have a chance to make a break for it. But no careers come through the creek as they wait through the morning hours, and they hear nothing from the arena itself. It's still - too still, Jackson thinks. Everything's on edge, just waiting for something, someone to make a move.
And now, against his every instinct, he'll be the one making that first move.
"Here, everyone take a pack - if we get separated, we'll have all of this for ourselves, right?" Aloie says, handing out the bags. She's been protective over the five sacks of cloth, evenly dividing the supplies and calculating numbers in that round little head of hers to make sure that no one goes without, but it'll pay off in the end. He's glad that he scouted her out for the group - her skills are coming in handy here.
"Alright. Callous, you're the last to head out. If the careers come, you yell - run wherever you can." Emma takes a pack and looks over at the boy from Ten, who's sitting on the side of the bank while fiddling with a small, water-worn stone. "Don't think of coming after us, okay? We don't want to kill all of us because one panics. I'd do the same, you know."
Callous sighs, nodding with that world-weary face of his. "I won't kill you. I'll do my best, I promise." Jackson feels sorry for the guy - after all, Emma's prodded him into becoming the sacrificial lamb for the rest of the pack in case they're discovered, but Jackson can't find the words to tell her off. After all, Callous will be fine - it's not like the careers will find them when they're so close to moving through the thick mist. They won't even be able to see him, and he'll hear them long before they do him.
He'll be fine. Jackson certainly hopes so, at least.
Mona coughs haggardly, interrupting the tense gaze between Jackson and the others, and they all look up. The sky's no longer visible, and he can barely see beyond Aloie at the edge of the group - it has to be time to move. This is their chance.
"Alright, I'll go first," he whispers to the others, and slips into the creek. His shoes fill up with the rushing water of the creek and he groans at the thought of walking in soggy shoes for the rest of the day, but he complains no more - it's the only way to the other side. Further he goes in, up to his waist, and suddenly he's on the other side.
He's halfway there.
Now comes the tricky part. He walks slowly to the right, looking for the chipped stone that they marked as the place where they'll walk from to the forest, and nearly slips past it before his mind registers that this is where he has to stop. He breathes a sigh of relief, grips the edges of the stones, and vaults himself up the bank - now, he's finally on the other side.
He calls for the next to come his way, then crawls through the grass. He's found that it's easier to keep in a straight line when crawling, anyhow, and he makes it to the edge of the forest more quickly than he thinks that he will. When he reaches the tall pine that they chose this morning as the place to meet again, he grins. The purple-brown bark's scratchy to the touch, but it feels so right - he's made it, he's free, he's safe!
Aloie comes next, panting as she runs to the pine, then Emma with the bag of weapons, and then Mona, giving a wet cough when she reaches the tree. They grasp each other's hands in affirmation and sit down to wait for their ally - it might take a while, but they're sure he'll get there eventually. He will, right?
But as the seconds turn to minutes, then hours, all Jackson can think of is the fact that they've all made Callous their sacrificial lamb.
And he hasn't escaped his hunters yet.
.oOo.
Now, all that remains is to catch a tribute, and they've just found one.
.oOo.
Duchess Curoscate, 16
District One Male
1 Kill
He's trembling with excitement now, that's how ready he is to find the alliance and start hacking away at their numbers.
They've waited too long to find a tribute, any tribute, to lose these ones now. Yesterday, they had spent their time without the mist looking through the forest and had found nothing, too jittery about being lost in the mist to properly search. Today, they've decided not to make that mistake - Aeson's left a long, long trail of salt behind them in the grass - a part of the mansion's supplies - and they've searched the grounds of the mansion thoroughly. Now, all that remains is to catch a tribute, and they've just found one.
When they had heard the sounds of muttering tributes, Tourmaline had almost cursed in surprise. But they had quieted down enough to listen to their talk and their splashing across whatever creek lies in front of them to realize that they were moving - and before they knew it, there was only one of them left.
And now, it's just him, Aeson, and Tourmaline waiting until the moment is right to catch the last one left.
Aeson and Tourmaline have already promised Duchess the next kill. He claimed it after he had killed the least in the bloodbath - a dragged out fight with the pair from Three and the boy from Twelve had wasted most of his time, and he never got the chance to surprise another tribute. But this is his chance - if he does it right, he'll be able to impress the sponsors. Who knows what they might get if the kill is flashy enough?
"Alright, get ready to jump down and grab him before he can get moving," Tourmaline mumbles to him by his side. Neither of them can see where the last boy is, but they can hear him muttering - something about waiting for the careers to find him. Poor boy, how little he knows about what's about to happen. "We don't want to lose him in the mist."
"Of course." Duchess waits one dreadfully long moment, hoping against hope that the boy doesn't decide to move, then leaps - it's his chance.
It's his time.
He lands nimbly on the balls of his feet in the water, knowing that the sound of splashing will alert the boy to his presence. But Duchess needn't have worried - the boy has been sitting by the side of the bank and only now scrambles to his feet, his eyes practically rolling to the back of his head. Duchess gives him the biggest, fiercest grin that he can muster in the moment, then leaps towards the boy from Ten. "Hello, darling."
The boy yells aloud and tries to dodge Duchess, stumbling further into the creek. But Duchess isn't letting him get away that easily - bracing himself, he leaps at the boy and sends them splashing into the water. They surface quickly, both spitting out water, and Duchess pushes the boy's head under - he's stronger than the outlier, easily overpowering him until the boy goes limp.
Tourmaline and Aeson join him as Duchess brings the boy back up for air, dragging him by his armpits onto the shore. "What are you going to do with him?" Tourmaline asks, a critical gaze examining the boy's prone frame. "He's not dead yet, you know."
Duchess smiles, drawing out his knife. He's been waiting for a moment like this. "I think… I think it's time to show the sponsors that we're playing this game for real."
He slaps the boy until he awakens, then starts this new game of cutting and teasing, poking and prodding, drawing out every last bit of blood he can - with the help of his allies, of course.
After a while, he can barely hear the screams.
.oOo.
Her only job here is to get one person out - herself.
.oOo.
Emma von Hapsburg, 18
District Eight Female
2 Kills
She can't help but wince in sympathy when they hear the cannon.
"Do - do you think that's him?" Aloie whispers from her position in the tree above Emma, the wind slowly rocking them back and forth. "It's been so long - I thought maybe he got away. He could have, right?"
"I think that was him," Emma replies quietly. They share a brief moment of silence out of respect for Callous then look below their feet, where Jackson and Mona are perched on low-hanging branches. "Did you two hear that?"
"Of course," Jackson whispers back. "Well - I guess we're at four now. That's how many, eleven tributes left?"
"Only eleven..." Emma's thoughts trail away into nothing, and she becomes quiet once more. She hadn't thought of what could have happened to him when she told Callous to stay behind - she hadn't thought of anything but getting Mona and Aloie to the forest. Is it on her that he's dead?
No, it isn't. He had every chance to argue against her and still he waited - who knows how long he dawdled at the creek before he was found, if he ever left? No, it's not because of Emma that he's dead.
She's not responsible for him. Her only job here is to get one person out - herself.
That's fine by her.
"Could you pass some of the food?" Aloie asks Emma after a while, pointing at the pack nestled between Emma's legs. "It's far past lunch, and I haven't had anything for a while."
Emma sighs and tosses up a pack of granola to the younger girl, who finishes it quickly and hands the wrapper to be put away in the sack. They've been trying to keep any evidence of them being here out of sight from other tributes - that includes any hints of their existence like wrappers. If the careers were able to find Callous, they'd be able to track them if they're careless.
That's why they're in the trees. Here, at least, they're less visible from the ground when nestled in the leaves that sprout out from every branch and hang over the rest of the forest. It's the perfect hiding spot for them all - if Jackson and Mona are found below, they'll run and distract the careers while Aloie and Emma head in the other direction. No matter what, they'll try to get one of them out.
There's a nagging voice in her head that tells her that they should look for a better place to wait, to find another place to sleep until morning, but Emma ignores it. She's not going to draw attention to herself when they still have each other, not when she's already a target of the careers and the one they'll betray if anything goes wrong. Right now she needs to calm down and make herself seem less aggressive to the group - yeah, that'll help.
She doesn't want to make anyone here angry. She doesn't want to lose access to these supplies, to help such as Aloie's healing skills and Jackson's fighting prowess…
She doesn't want to lose this small sense of friendship that she's found with them. Not yet. Not when they have so much time left here.
She'll stay quiet for now.
.oOo.
And what's more, food would give them the strength and courage to find water - they need to catch a bird.
.oOo.
Antimony Sinebad, 15
District Three Male
0 Kills
"Keep to your side!" he whispers as loudly as he can to Electra, whose legs are sprawled out as she tries to find a more comfortable position to lie in. "Let me have some space, please!"
"I can be comfortable too!" protests Electra, who keeps her legs firmly planted on the ground. "Move if you need to."
Antimony huffs and moves over, burrowing himself deeper into the throng of scratchy bushes. He's hated every moment of sitting and waiting for something to happen here, hoping against hope that they'll get a sponsor gift while knowing that it won't happen. Why would it? They're doing nothing here, just lying and waiting for the end to come unless something forces them to move.
Eventually, they'll have to - the gamemakers will see to that.
He's not sure if he wants to keep working with Electra, though.
"Who do you think died?" Electra asks after another few quiet moments, interrupting Antimony's rambling thoughts on how the careers could find them in the forest. "Not a career - girl from Seven? With the baby."
"I don't think so." Antimony shrugs, still annoyed with Electra. "Why would it? She's probably huddled somewhere like we are, and wouldn't be found in the mist. The cannon was in the mist - I bet someone fell off of the mountain or something. Maybe it was the girl from Five."
"She's too smart to die like that," Electra replies with a definitive tone. "She won't be gone for a while. We might even see her soon, we might. Maybe."
"Eh," Antimony huffs. Electra must think that she's too smart for him, what with her half-shrug whenever she tells him something. It's like she doesn't take him seriously - or maybe it's something else, but he doesn't care any more. Right now, he doesn't like it. He wants her to stop, be quiet, be normal.
He wishes that they didn't drink all of the water yesterday - oh, that was a foolish move on their parts. He could use some right now.
A few birds fly through the mist and above their heads, tweeting a cheerful song as they soar above what must be the top of the trees. He only sees them for a second, but it's something that he takes note of - birds mean that there are other animals in here, and other animals mean that they can hunt for food. They can eat! And what's more, food would give them the strength and courage to find water - they need to catch a bird.
When he tells her of his plan, Electra thinks differently. "How would we catch one?" she asks him after he finishes excitedly ranting, her large, nut brown eyes filled with confusion. "Do we have rope, something, anything? We need supplies to catch birds - knives? We need water first, right?"
"That's not the important part, what matters is that we can," Antimony replies. "And you know that we have nothing - the water bottles are empty and we didn't grab anything else. We'd have to wait for a sponsor gift or something if we're going to catch one - but we need to commit to it. Okay?"
"But there are easier things to eat!" Electra protests, gesturing at the bushes. "There are berries, edible plants - I can forage right now if you want me to forage right now."
"I want protein, not just some berries to starve me to death," he mutters. Then, in a louder tone, he looks up and replies again to Electra. "We can get berries, but we need more sustenance."
"Then we wait until we need it. I'm going to sleep - I need some more energy." Electra closes her eyes, and starts to try to fall back to sleep. But Antimony can't sleep - his temper feels frayed, raw, ready to snap if he doesn't find something to distract him.
Oh, he wishes Hex was still here. It would be so much easier to deal with this if they had someone else to talk to.
No, he'll have to bear it himself. No matter how long it takes.
Even if he wants to strangle his ally to death right now.
Y'all asked for the rundown, you'll get it right here. Ask, and you shall receive.
The arena is roughly the size of a circle, with a diameter of about a mile or less - in the bottom left corner, we have the mansion with its cornucopia and treasure trove of bedrooms, etc. Around the mansion are its ground, well maintained lawn and such. in the upper left corner, we have Lee's mountain and Antimony's and Electra's forest. There's a lake that bridges the two forests together, and a creek that runs between the mansion's grounds and the forest the large alliance is in. I hope that helps!
Careers: Duchess, Tourmaline, Aeson
Threes: Electra, Antimony
Big Group: Jackson, Mona, Emma, Aloie
Loners: Lee, Colleen
And, of course...
12th: Callous Lecket, District Ten Male; Killed by Duchess Curoscate. Created by cornellfann.
Callous was a potential victor for me as I was writing the reapings - he was a good, solid guy who didn't know his own worth and definitely had a chance of learning and maturing through his time in the arena. I did like his personality and character a lot, and planned for him to be a loner before stumbling into the larger alliance - obviously, that didn't happen when I realized he would be dragged in by Ceres and such. He faded into the background next to larger, brighter personalities, and I don't think he got to have the impact he deserved - it was a matter of time before he was found by the careers. I hope that I did him justice if you're still here, cornellfann, and hopefully everyone enjoyed Callous for what he was worth.
Our first official death outside of the bloodbath! Gear up, we're in for many more during our course through the arena - are y'all ready?
Enjoy. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ