Day Five.

12:30 pm, The Cornucopia.

Justus wasn't sure what it meant to be a leader anymore.

Seeing Shai's face on the wall last night had at first filled him with an immense relief, one that he wasn't sure how to express. Justus felt like he was supposed to feel bad, but instead it was as if a weight had lifted off his chest. Shai's presence in the pack had never been comforting, instead filling Justus with the sensation that he was being watched. No, not watched. He was being perceived, down to his core. There were no secrets that Justus could keep from Shai, because somehow Shai knew everything about him without trying.

He tried to pretend like he couldn't still feel the Eleven boy dying by his hands.

He'd been unable to bring himself to wear his jacket after that, preferring to wear just his red shirt despite the shivers that ran through his body at night. The bloodstains on his jacket were a cruel reminder of what he'd done, and Justus wasn't ready to face his actions. Not yet.

But he didn't have much time to run from them, not anymore.

"You okay?" Phaedra asked, settling down next to him.

"More or less," he muttered, digging through a backpack to find something to eat. "Kano hasn't come back yet."

Phaedra shot a look over at where Makani and Alila were sitting, their heads bent together as they discussed something. Justus could already tell that the pack wouldn't last much longer, and he hoped he and Phaedra would be able to get out before it was too late. A clean break would be easiest; Justus wasn't in the mood for a fight.

"Why do you think he hasn't come back?" Phaedra asked, turning back to him. From the look she was giving him, Justus knew she had her own ideas as to what happened, but she wanted to know Justus's opinion first.

"I'm not sure," Justus said slowly. "He's clearly not dead yet. He could be injured somewhere."

He hesitated. Phaedra tilted her head to the side curiously. "Or?"

"He could've killed Shai and now he's hiding somewhere," Justus said slowly, letting out a long sigh as he leaned against the Cornucopia. "That's the possibility that worries me the most."

"Why?"

Justus looked down at the ring on his finger, twisting it as he spoke. "If we split off on our own, we might run into him. I know you could take on anyone we came across, but there's always been something a little… off about him. I'm not sure what to expect anymore."

"I'm sure it's nothing we'll have to worry about," Phaedra insisted, placing a hand on his to stop his fidgeting. She laced her fingers through his, leaning her head on his shoulder. "If anything, I'll be by your side until the end."

Justus smiled and squeezed her hand gently. "I appreciate that more than you'll ever know."

She laughed softly, the sound soothing the restlessness in Justus's heart. "We could both play that game all day and never get anywhere. Just know that I feel the same."

"I love you," he said softly, with all the reverence of someone speaking to the most important person in their life.

"I love you, too."

As he leaned over to kiss her forehead, Justus noticed Makani headed in their direction, a sheepish look on her face as she approached. In her hands was an odd silvery box with a large two on the side, and he sat up a little straighter at the recognizable sight.

"I'm, um, sorry to interrupt, but I spotted this a few minutes ago," Makani said, holding out the box to them.

"Where was it?" Phaedra asked, accepting the box in her hands. She made a slight noise of surprise, her hands dipping under the unexpected weight of whatever was inside. Justus put his hands out to help, supporting the bottom of the box as they lowered it to the ground.

Makani's face twisted into a frown at the question, uneasily shifting her weight between her feet. "That's the weird thing. It was sitting up against the wall, but Alila and I didn't see anyone put it there."

"I guess they had to figure out something different for sponsor gifts this year," Justus mused, watching the box warily. "Thank you, Makani."

"I also wanted to ask… are we doing any kind of patrol today?"

From the look on her face, she didn't particularly want to, and Justus couldn't blame her. He was growing weary of the whole patrolling thing as well, and he figured Makani could use a day where she actually got to spend time with her friend. They could sort out alliance things later.

"With Kano missing, it might be best to hang around here for the day," he said, watching her face carefully. "We'll figure out a plan tomorrow, okay?"

Makani gnawed on her lip before nodding. "That's fine with me."

Phaedra waited until Makani was out of earshot to speak. "She looked worried."

"I don't blame her. Kano always struck me as the type to stick with the pack as long as he could, so it's odd that he hasn't returned. Clearly something went wrong on his patrol with Shai, but there's no telling what exactly happened unless he comes back."

"At least we have this sponsor gift," Phaedra commented, tugging it closer to her. "What do you think it is, anyway? It's heavy."

"It doesn't look long enough to be a weapon that either of us use," Justus said, watching as she tore at the top of the box. "Do we even need anything?"

Phaedra's expression turned puzzled as she lifted a folded cloth out of the box, turning it over in her hands. It was light blue, devoid of any pattern, and soft to the touch. She passed it off to Justus before continuing to dig through the box.

"This looks like a picnic blanket," Justus finally said, beginning to unfold it.

"That would explain the rest of what's in here," Phaedra replied, tilting the box to show him an assortment of food carefully packaged.

"Someone sent us a picnic?" Justus let out a soft laugh and spread the blanket on the ground.

"There's something else in here too," Phaedra said, tugging out a thick manila folder. "Do you think-"

She cut off as she peeked into the folder, letting out a gasp and dumping the contents out in front of her. Justus leaned forward and saw what looked like a small pile of cards. He reached over to pick a piece of paper off the top, reading it to himself.

A gift from home.

The four simple words made something flutter in Justus's chest. He showed the note to Phaedra, watching her eyes light up as she looked back down to the pile of cards in front of her.

"Do you think we got notes from everyone?" Phaedra whispered, already moving to pick up one of the cards.

"There's only one way to find out."

Reading the cards quickly turned into something akin to a game, with each one reading a card aloud and making the other guess who it was from. The food was almost completely forgotten in favor of reading through the bits of home, pretending as best they could that they were in Two once more.

"I can't read half of this one," Phaedra said, squinting at the card. "It's like two people trying to talk over each other."

"Is it Renji and Nevida?" Justus asked with a laugh, able to vividly picture Renji's attempt at giving them advice only for it to be half written over by Nevida's enthusiastic encouragement.

"There's a bit here at the end about how they're grateful for everything we've done for them," Phaedra said with a soft smile. "Renji says we can get home with the strength within and then Nevida cut him off to say that our outer strength is clearly much more important."

"Somehow, I can hear them saying it."

Justus read the first words of the one he was holding before passing it over to Phaedra. "This one is addressed just to you."

"Who's it from?" Phaedra asked, accepting it with a slight frown.

"Wyverna."

"Oh," Phaedra said softly, opening the card. "I hope she's doing well."

Justus couldn't find it in him to be hurt that he didn't get anything from Wyverna. He used to have a desperate crush on the girl, but times had certainly changed. Things were different now. He still held a certain amount of respect for her, but he no longer had the near adoration that he used to possess.

"She still has next year," Justus pointed out. "Who knows how that will turn out."

The corners of Phaedra's mouth turned down at that. "I suppose. It's anyone's game, though."

While she was absorbed in the letter, Justus started setting up the picnic that had been sent for them. It was largely snack type foods, like crackers and cheese, along with some sandwiches. It certainly wasn't the most filling meal, but anything he could share with Phaedra was more than fine in his book. He couldn't imagine the kind of sponsor money it would've taken their mentors to organize something like this, not to mention the time it took to gather all these notes from their friends. The thought of them all waiting for him at home kept him going; it made him feel just a little bit more prepared to face whatever lay ahead.

Justus wanted to make it back to his friends. But as he looked to the girl by his side, he knew things could never be that simple. She was the one he'd support until the end, regardless of what that meant for his own fate.

He hoped the end didn't come anytime soon.

Dear Phaedra,

I hope you don't mind that this letter is addressed solely to you. Tell Justus I wish him the best.

I've always admired you, but you knew this. I was practically an overeager schoolgirl when we met, after all. It's embarrassing to look back on, but I'm glad my childishness still led to us becoming friends.

On a more serious note, I wanted to address your destiny. I know the girl from the bloodbath - Kyra - is still affecting you. It's okay to be cautious going forward, but the only one I believe is truly in control of your destiny is you. You have the agency to choose what it is you really want. I believe you to be fully capable of winning the Games if that's what you so choose, but you need to focus. Don't let yourself get caught off guard.

I support whatever you choose. Don't let anyone cloud your judgement.

Best,

Wyverna Schnall

Phaedra felt relatively at peace for the first time since entering the Arena. She supposed it was because nothing felt real.

Seeing Shai's face last night was a hit she'd been anticipating all evening. After neither of them returned, she'd been overwhelmed by the sinking feeling that something was wrong, but she didn't know what to do with it. The sensation had formed a knot in the pit of her stomach, one that had released when she saw that one of them was truly dead.

After her breakdown following the bloodbath, she hadn't wanted to deal with any kind of death. Nobody she was close to had died yet - she couldn't even say she was close to Shai. It all felt surreal, and Kano's absence only served to put her on edge. She wasn't sure how she'd feel if he turned out to be dead too.

"You've been quiet lately," Justus pointed out, grabbing a sandwich for himself. "Want to talk about it?"

"I'm not sure what to say," Phaedra admitted. "The Games are different than I thought they'd be, that's for sure. It's a completely different world in here."

"This is day five. It feels like hardly any time has passed at all."

"It's like we're frozen while everyone else watches. It makes me wonder what they think of us," Phaedra said softly, playing with the edge of the blanket. "I have to imagine they're bored of us by now, but nothing has come after us yet, so…"

"Do you think that means something will come for us soon?" Justus asked, an odd look crossing his face.

Phaedra let out a weary sigh. "It might mean that something's already headed our way, we just don't know it yet. Or perhaps other parts of the Arena have been keeping the Capitol so busy that they don't mind."

"Maybe a mix of both."

She was growing tired of sitting around and patrolling without finding anything. All it did was put her more and more on edge that there was something she was missing. Phaedra wanted the chance to be able to put all the clues together. She wanted to be able to have agency in the Arena.

"I think we should leave," Phaedra said suddenly, sitting up straight.

Justus looked startled by her movement, mouth half full of sandwich. "Huh?"

"I think we should leave," she repeated. "It was always our plan to leave when things got shaky. We could head out tomorrow morning."

"Why tomorrow?"

"Well… in truth, I don't want to ruin the good day we've been having," she said, letting out a quiet laugh. "That and the fact that we haven't prepared at all. Leaving tomorrow gives us a bit more time."

"Fair point," Justus said, nodding thoughtfully. "What should we do about Alila?"

Phaedra frowned, glancing over at the girl in question. She was still chatting quietly with Makani, though she had started to run through the regimen of dance-like routines she'd been doing every day while she was stuck at the Cornucopia. Ever since getting stuck at the Cornucopia, she'd been doing them every few hours. When Phaedra had asked about it once, she'd sighed before saying that she was just trying to keep moving while stuck under what she had termed "house arrest." Her tone indicated that she clearly wanted to be left alone, so Phaedra had done her best to respect Alila's wishes.

And yet Alila had gone along with her punishment without putting up much of a fight. She was clearly unhappy about it, but some sense of duty had overwhelmed any desire in her to run.

Phaedra could respect that.

"I think she'll be fine with Makani," she settled on. "After tonight, she's not our problem anymore."

"If that's what you think is best."

She wasn't sure that it was the best course of action, but Phaedra didn't want the inevitable fight that would come out of confronting Alila. If she was able to pick herself up after days of being stuck at the Cornucopia, good for her. If not… well, Phaedra wanted her hands to be clean of whatever Alila's fate ended up being.

Sooner or later, her days in the Arena would come to an end. Phaedra just hoped she could be content with her choices.

2:23 pm, Location Unknown.

Crush couldn't stand Imperia.

That sentiment had not changed at all since the second day of training, when she had the misfortune to run into Imperia. Stuck with her now, Crush was once again forced to discover that Imperia loved filling the silence with little remarks that were slowly driving her insane when all she wanted to do was plan the rest of her masterpiece.

And the thing was, Imperia was fully aware of what she was doing. It gave Crush the distinct sensation that she was like some kind of pet project for Imperia - Imperia was just testing her boundaries, and was particularly pleased when Crush could do nothing more than glower.

Imperia's face was horrified as she watched Crush, like it was a disaster she couldn't look away from. Crush couldn't help but revel in it, pleased that she could do something to unsettle the girl.

"Are you… eating that with your hands?"

Crush didn't bother with a response, instead licking her fingers clean and setting the jar of crunchy peanut butter aside. She hadn't expected to get any sponsor gifts, but this was more than enough for her to be content. Imperia had seemed almost interested in sharing before Crush had ignored her entirely and proceeded to unscrew the lid and shove a glob in her mouth, ignoring the pristine spoon that had been set out with the jar.

Imperia's lips twisted into a deeper frown as Crush wiped her hand on her pants, shuddering at the sight. "Can't you go… I don't know, wash your hands at least?"

Could she? Yes. Would she? Certainly not.

"I like the extra crunch."

The baffled look on Imperia's face made her comment worth it. "The extra crunch?"

Crush wiggled her fingers. "Rock dust."

Imperia stared at her for a long moment before saying, "This is the worst idea I've ever had."

"I could still kill you," Crush offered.

A delicate shudder ran through Imperia's frame before she responded. "I'll pass."

"Do you have a plan?" Crush asked, leaning against the wall. She tugged a scrap of paper out of her backpack, intending to recreate Makani's face from memory once more. She had a lot of work to do before her main project was done, but at least her smaller ones were going well.

Not that anything less than perfect was good enough.

Crush supposed that was part of why she decided to spare Imperia. Well, that and her overwhelming desire to have Makani closer to her, no matter the cost. As different as the two girls were, they had a similar drive, a sense of ambition that made Crush and Imperia more alike than either of them wanted to admit.

They were both reaching for something nearly unattainable. Though, of course, Crush's venture was far more worthwhile.

"I don't advise we attack the Careers directly, as we don't have the supplies for that," Imperia said, shooting Crush a pointed look that she chose to ignore. "And besides, as soon as you get Makani away from them, I plan on leaving. I don't want to deal with the fallout."

"Fine by me," Crush responded, flicking rock dust off of her pants in Imperia's direction and smiling as the girl cringed.

"Do these passageways lead all the way up to the Cornucopia?" Imperia asked, waiting for Crush's nod before continuing. "We could try luring her out slowly, and then one of us ambushes her."

Crush frowned darkly at that. "I'm not hurting her."

"But-"

"I'm. Not. Hurting. Her."

"Fine, whatever." Imperia heaved a sigh once it was clear that Crush wouldn't budge on the matter. "You can be the one to trap her, then."

"How are you going to lure her away?" Crush asked, suddenly wary of Imperia's involvement.

Imperia hummed to herself. "Do you have any more of those, er… statues?"

"I could figure something out."

"I'll use that, then. As long as I can get her out of the room, leave it to me."

Imperia seemed all too confident in herself, but Crush wasn't sure if that helped her feel better. It felt like Imperia didn't want to share every step of her plan - Crush was certain that Imperia had everything figured out - and Crush didn't appreciate it.

If desperation wasn't clawing at Crush's ribs, she'd turn on Imperia now. She hated having to rely on someone else for something as crucial as this, but if this was the price she had to pay…

"Fine," she bit out. "Don't fuck it up."

Imperia gave her a sickly sweet smile, the kind that told Crush that if she wasn't careful, she'd let herself play right into Imperia's hands. "Don't worry, Crush. I have everything under control."

"Unfortunately, I believe that," Crush said, getting to her feet. "Now, come on."

"What for?" Imperia wrinkled her nose as Crush picked up her jar of crunchy peanut butter and threw her backpack over her shoulder.

"You wanted me to get something that could lure her out. I'm not letting you out of my sight, so you're coming with me."

"Fine, I'll go back to whatever musty little cave you've been hiding away in," Imperia said, rolling her eyes.

"Just remember that I have two rules," Crush said, suddenly looming over Imperia in a way that made the smaller girl's eyes widen. "First, don't fucking bother me while I'm working. And second, if you even think of touching any of my shit, I'll tear you limb from limb."

Imperia gave her a cool look, seemingly unaffected by Crush's words, but the careful set of her jaw alerted Crush to the fact that she was impacted regardless. "You won't have to worry about it."

"I'd better not."

Her masterpiece was just within reach; Crush could practically feel it. All she had to do was take a few more steps towards the perfection she so desperately craved.

It would all be hers soon.

4:49 pm, Bottom Floor of The North Wing.

"Wow," Merix said, dropping his backpack off just inside the door. "I've never seen a kitchen this big."

Nash certainly hadn't either. The spacious room in front of him was full of more things than he even thought could be in a kitchen. He could see at least two refrigerators, three ovens, and a seemingly endless number of cabinets. It would hopefully be a welcome distraction from the image of Nash's clone that lingered in the back of his head, smiling cruelly as he pressed at wounds that Nash had been wanting to leave alone.

But he didn't want to think about any of that now. Nash wanted today to be a better day than what they'd had yesterday, too stuck in their own minds to do anything besides strike up meaningless conversations when the silence got too damning. He was tired of melancholy. He wanted them to be happy again, even if it was just for a day.

"I bet we could find something to make in here," Nash pointed out, forcing enthusiasm into his voice and hoping it wouldn't ring hollow.

"As in cooking?" Lilith asked, looking unsure of his plan.

He nodded enthusiastically as he headed over to a fridge, wrenching it open and finding it fully stocked with food. "Of course! I mean, I've never really done much cooking, but it can't be that hard!"

Lilith went quiet, her face reddening as she muttered something. Merix, who had been looping around the room, came to stand by her side, offering Nash a smile. "I don't really know how either! But it would probably go better if we did it as a team anyway, right?"

"Right!" Nash cheered, beginning to grab various food items out of the fridge. He had no idea what the hell he was doing yet, but Nash liked to think on his feet and figure things out along the way.

"What are we making?" Merix asked, leaving his position beside Lilith to stand across the counter from where Nash was depositing ingredients.

Nash squinted at the label on a jug of milk before shrugging and putting it down. "I have no clue! Can we figure out how to make cookies or something?"

Merix's eyes went wide at the idea. "I mean… that would be nice, but we don't really have a recipe."

"Eh, surely recipes aren't that important," Nash said, waving a hand in the air. "We're smart, we can sort something out."

It turned out that not using a recipe was not the least intelligent decision Nash would make that day. They hadn't gotten far into the cooking process when he'd grabbed flour off of a shelf and accidentally dumped the bag all over himself, making Merix break into fits of laughter that he was still trying to recover from. Even Lilith kept trying to hide a smile behind her hand.

"What, you think this is funny?" Nash asked, unable to suppress his grin. Without giving Merix a chance to respond, Nash tossed a handful of flour at him, laughing delightedly as it dusted the top of Merix's head. Merix promptly sneezed, the white powder clinging to his long red hair even as he tried to bat it away. There was a moment of silence in which Nash worried that perhaps he'd messed up somehow before Merix broke down into peals of giggles once more, shaking his head to try and get the flour out of his hair. His attempt was futile, however, and only served to shake more on his clothes.

"You're going to make a mess of this place," Lilith said from where she was sifting through cabinets. "What if someone comes across this and knows we were here?"

"Aw, lighten up, Lily bean!" Nash gave her a thumbs up. "We'll clean it up after we're all done if it'll make you feel better. What are you doing, anyway?"

She turned back to them with a triumphant gleam in her eyes, brandishing a sheet of paper as if it was a priceless object. "I was looking for recipes."

"That's great!" Merix bounded over to her, not noticing as Lilith ducked out of the way to avoid getting flour on her. "You're the best!"

Lilith seemed shocked by the praise, but it was enough to make her crack a smile and gingerly pat the top of his head. "Um, thanks."

Merix eagerly accepted the outstretched recipe before frowning at it. "Uh… we still don't actually know how to cook though, right?"

Nodding wisely, Lilith said, "Dumping flour on yourselves did not magically fix that particular issue."

"No, but it was fun," Nash interjected. "I think that should count for something."

He couldn't read the look Lilith shot him, but her voice was a little gentler as she said, "I suppose it does."

"But we'll make sure to clean it up later," Nash said again, wanting to make sure that she didn't needlessly stress over them leaving a trace.

"It's okay, I… trust you," Lilith said slowly, measuring her words as she spoke.

Nash grinned broadly, resisting the urge to show her physical affection that she probably didn't want. "Now, are you gonna help us figure out this recipe?"

"You probably need my help, though I'm not sure how much help I'd actually be," Lilith said, wandering back over to them. "Oh," she muttered, pausing on the other side of the counter. "That's odd."

"What is?" Merix asked.

She disappeared beneath the counter before popping up again, holding a box in her hands. "This was on the floor, addressed to the two of you."

Nash reached over the counter to grab it, puzzled. "Like a sponsor gift?"

"That's what it looks like," Lilith said, a deep frown etched on her face. "But I don't know how it got there."

Nash passed it off to Merix, who quickly ripped open the box. He pulled out a handful of clothes, mouth parting in a surprised gasp. "It looks like… our Arena outfits?"

"Well, you did get them covered in flour," Lilith pointed out.

"I just got a new jacket," Merix said, glancing down almost sadly at Nash's jacket that was hanging loosely off his frame.

"I guess now we have something to change into when we're done," Nash said, shrugging it off. Sure, it was strange, but he wasn't going to reject a sponsor gift.

"I'll start finding the proper ingredients!" Merix said, grabbing the recipe and running to the side to root through cabinets again.

Nash let out a soft sigh, leaning against the counter and trying to avoid getting flour on his new clothes. He watched Merix fondly, letting him crawl up on counters to try and reach some of the cabinets that were over his head. Under normal circumstances, he'd offer to help, but Merix seemed excited enough about finding ingredients that he didn't see the harm in letting the boy do it on his own.

"I'm not sure I've thanked you for it before, so I wanted to do that now," Lilith said from beside Nash, making him jump.

"You're quiet, Lily bean!" he yelped, accidentally drawing Merix's worried attention. "What are you thanking me for, anyway?"

"For dragging me into an alliance," she said lightly, raising an eyebrow when he opened his mouth to argue. "It's been nice to be normal for once."

"I'm really glad you're allied with us!" Merix called from where he was. "And not just because you're kinda scary!"

"Am I?" Lilith asked, seeming almost confused.

Nash nodded sagely, doing his best impression of her as he said, "You look like you could kill a man with just a look."

"I have killed many men," Lilith said, frowning at them. "So I guess you are right."

Merix shook off her words more easily than Nash did, giving her a bright smile, as radiant as any star in the sky. "But you're our friend now! And I'm really glad I got to meet you."

His words finally made Lilith duck her head again, fighting against the flush that was overtaking her face. "I… am also grateful for that."

"And we'll be with you until the end!" Nash said, dramatically clenching his fist in the air.

"Of course!" Merix agreed. "I think we're stronger together, you know?"

"I do now," Lilith said, her voice almost too soft to be heard.

Nash stepped away to let her have her moment, stretching his arms up over his head. After yesterday, he'd been worried that things would start to go south, but it seemed like he had nothing to worry about. His friends were stronger than anyone gave them credit for, after all.

Maybe everything would be okay again.

7:54 pm, The Cornucopia.

The Games were nothing like Alila thought they'd be.

Granted, she hadn't gotten the opportunity to do much beyond sit around the Cornucopia all day, but she supposed that was largely her own fault. Still, it was hard to imagine that one mistake would throw off her plans.

She was lucky to be alive. It felt hard to accept at times when the days dragged on and she had nothing to do but wait for the others to get back, trapped under a rather humiliating house arrest of sorts, but it was still true. She was in limbo, a purgatory designed especially for her. In theory, Alila should've had the whole Games ahead of her, but now she would be lucky to do anything at all.

She scoffed to herself. Labelled a traitor - what a way to go.

"Are you okay?" Makani's voice asked beside her, glancing up from where she was doodling a tiny flower on her wrist.

"More or less," Alila responded, which wasn't necessarily a lie. She wasn't doing terribly, per se, but she could certainly be doing better.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Her tone was so earnest that Alila immediately started trying to think of anything that would make her feel better. "I, uh… could braid your hair?"

Makani immediately slid away from the wall, moving so she was sitting in front of Alila. "What else do you do at home?"

"It's quieter there," Alila answered immediately, falling into the simple rhythm of the task in front of her. She ran her fingers through Makani's hair, separating it into sections as she spoke. "I miss it. I'm not sure if they can still be proud of me after everything."

"I don't see why not," came Makani's response. "I may not understand what you did, but I know you wouldn't have done it without a reason. They probably understand better than I do."

Alila didn't know why Makani's response made her tear up, but she just let out a shuddering breath. "Maybe you're right."

"Either way, I still trust you even if no one else does," Makani said as easily as if she was telling Alila what the weather was like.

Her hands tightened on Makani's hair before she forced herself to release them. "Why?" she asked, keeping her voice as level as she could.

"You're my friend," Makani said, as if that's all it took.

Alila stayed quiet as she continued to braid Makani's hair, her hands moving slower than normal. She wasn't used to the complexities of friendship, so she couldn't fully grasp how Makani was so casual with her trust. They'd only known each other for a short period of time, so why was she so invested in Alila?

Deep down, Alila felt as if she was on the verge of understanding, but the Arena was a terrible time to make those kinds of realizations.

"What else do you do?" Makani asked, picking up the conversation again. "For fun, I mean."

"I've been told I'm not a very fun person," Alila admitted, squinting at her hands as she carefully wove Makani's hair into a braid.

Makani let out a soft giggle. "Then I think you're listening to the wrong people."

"So I should listen to you instead?"

"Of course!" Makani said eagerly, fidgeting in front of Alila. "I think I'm becoming an expert."

Alila let out a soft laugh, the sound escaping her before she could stop it. As she got close to finishing Makani's hair - she'd opted for a loose, simpler braid this time - she was trying to think of something else that could help her calm down, anything at all. It had been a while since she'd felt this carefree.

"I like dancing," she finally settled on.

"Sorry I didn't get to dance with you at the party," Makani muttered, though there was suddenly something off about her voice, something Alila couldn't put her finger on.

"I lost you there for a while," Alila said casually, wondering if she could get Makani to talk about it without pressing.

Makani hummed noncommittally. "I got distracted."

"Happens to the best of us," Alila agreed, mildly put off by Makani's shift in demeanor.

"Why dancing?" Makani tilted her head slightly as Alila tied off the braid.

Alila leaned back against the wall, shrugging quietly. "It's like fighting, in a way. It's all the beauty of perfectly timed actions without the brutality that follows."

"That makes sense," Makani mused, turning back to face Alila. Her braid wasn't as intricate as Alila was used to - some wispy red strands were already escaping to frame her face - but Alila thought it suited Makani better that way. "You should show me."

"Show you?"

"A dance. Any dance. To make up for the party."

Makani was already getting to her feet, throwing the long braid over one shoulder. Her movements were more sure than Alila was used to, so she carefully got up as well, trailing after Makani as she went over towards one of the corners.

"There's no music here," Alila couldn't help but point out.

"Is that really necessary?" Makani asked innocently. "I guess it might help, but…"

"I suppose you're right," Alila admitted, shrugging out of her jacket. "It's okay. I can figure out a beat."

"Is dancing really that much like fighting?" Makani asked curiously, mimicking Alila by taking off her own jacket.

Alila stretched her arms over her head. "For some, maybe. It is for me. It depends on your fighting style. I imagine yours is smooth like water, so it might be similar for you."

Makani nodded, ever the attentive student. "Fluidity is important, then?"

"Depends on the dance," Alila admitted, leaning over to touch her toes. "There's a range to it, just like there's a range to fighting."

"This suddenly sounds very complicated," Makani teased, following Alila's movements. "Is this supposed to be easy?"

"If it was easy, then everyone would do it," Alila said with a laugh. "I wouldn't call it easy, but it's something I understand. I'm sure you have something you feel similarly about."

"Fair point."

Makani placed her hands in Alila's outstretched ones, allowing Alila to place one hand on her shoulder while keeping a hold of the other. "I'm sure you remember how to do this from the party," Alila said, holding them in position for a moment.

"More or less," Makani said, frowning down at her feet. "Though I don't remember the steps."

"We can do a basic box step," Alila said, nudging Makani's foot backwards as she stepped forward with her left. "And then turn like this… good! Keep your weight on the balls of your feet, otherwise you'll fall."

Makani listened to all of her instructions intently, though she kept her eyes fixed on her feet to do that. Alila didn't mind, letting Makani take her time to familiarize herself with the fundamentals.

"This isn't too bad," Makani said, finally glancing up. "I thought it would be a little harder."

"That's why I find it relaxing," Alila said, continuing to lead Makani through the basic steps. "I can lose myself in dancing."

Makani started to hum a soft tune, providing a gentle background to their movements, She was almost unaware of what she was doing, but Alila was more than happy to listen, as it gave her something to base their rhythm off of. "Thanks for sharing this with me," Makani finally said, giving Alila a gentle smile. "You're very good at it."

"Lots of practice," Alila said with a shrug. "And, when you get more comfortable, you can do something like this." Alila let go of one of Makani's hands to spin her in a rather clumsy circle, smiling to herself as Makani laughed.

"Don't surprise me like that!" Makani insisted, nearly breathless as she faced Alila again.

"Maybe you just need to practice more," Alila teased.

"Maybe what I really need is a better teacher," Makani shot back, though her wide grin wasn't helping back up her words.

Alila pretended to swoon, her voice deadpan as she said, "Oh no, whatever shall I do. My beloved student has forsaken me."

Makani's answering laugh lightened the burden of Alila's heart, and she could finally let herself pretend that things were going to be okay. She didn't have to worry about anything that would certainly come in the next few days. She could just focus on how this was the most fun she'd had… in a very, very long time. Maybe ever. Alila wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was happy, and she desperately didn't want anything to ruin that.

But these Games seemed to want everything to go wrong for her.

She saw Makani's face quickly change into a look of concern, her hands quickly dropping from Alila's. She caught a glimpse of Makani's white face before she was gone, running towards one of the doorways, and-

Alila's stomach dropped, and she took a step back, clenching her hands into fists. God, she was such a fool for thinking things could ever be okay.

Kano was covered in blood, leaning against the doorway as if it had taken all of his energy to get him to where he was now. He looked like he'd been through hell and back, one hand pressed against his side. Makani had reached him and looped one arm under his, nearly buckling under his weight.

"What happened?" Alila heard Makani ask as she moved closer, as if in a trancelike state. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Phaedra and Justus stand up as well, though she noticed Phaedra had grabbed her spear. Perhaps Alila should've thought to grab a weapon of her own, but her belongings were closer to Kano than she was comfortable getting.

It took her a moment to register that Kano was glaring daggers at her, seething with that blinding rage that had overwhelmed him when he'd attacked her after the bloodbath. For an instant she could feel his arm against her throat again, choking the air out of her lungs. She couldn't breathe, rooted in place with nothing to do but brace for impact. It was a mistake to think things could ever go well for her.

"It was Thay," he spat, and then, as if he'd used up his last remnants of energy to say that, he slumped in Makani's arms, dragging them both to the floor.

Alila felt the weight of everyone's eyes on her, but she was too shaken to do anything but stare helplessly at Makani, who was trying to adjust Kano's limp body. Her palms stung from how deep she was digging her nails into them, but not even that could stop her hands from trembling.

No matter how hard she tried, Alila couldn't shake the feeling that she was destined to fail.

Kills:

Thay Yukimura: II

Shai Kingston: II

Crush Xing: II

Phaedra Nikostratos: I

Alila Perwane: I

Lilith Beherit: I

Justus Arculeo: I

Kano Arledge: I

Arena: I