Night Two, 7:44
Location: Northern Forest
"Do you want some?" Ifer asked, holding the granola bar out to Pluto.
"Of course!" Pluto exclaimed, grinning as he took it from her. He was certainly enthusiastic, Ifer had to give him that. It was nice, though, to have a presence as light as his alongside her. Even the death of Tallin didn't seem to slow him down too much, which somewhat surprised Ifer. Either way, they couldn't spend too much energy lingering on the dead.
After all, they were still living. And if they didn't stay focused, they wouldn't be alive for long.
Ifer sighed, linking her hands together in her lap, her entire body resting for a moment. After walking through the forest all day, they'd agreed to sit and relax for a few minutes at the base of a giant tree, large enough that they could use its roots as seats. The foliage was never-ending, a wall of muted green and brown, and yet it was still enchanting to Ifer. Coming from downtown Eight, she'd never seen anything like it; there was hardly any grass back home, much less an entire forest. Pluto was equally fascinated by it, taking every chance he could to touch the greenery, despite Ifer telling him some of the plants could very well be poisonous.
"Hey, Ifer?" Pluto asked after a few moments of silence.
"Yeah?"
"Can you take a look at my hand?" Pluto asked, extending his hand out to her. "I think there's something um… not super great going on."
Ifer blinked a few times as she took hold of Pluto's hand. There were large red blotches across his palm, extending up his wrist and arm. Ifer's best guess is that he'd touched some kind of plant one was not meant to touch, and this rash was the result.
"Oh dear. Is it… itchy?"
"Yeah," Pluto nodded. "I just can't itch it."
"Itching seems like a bad idea, so don't even try," Ifer sighed. "Hold on, let me see if I have anything for it in my bag."
Ifer turned to her bag, digging through the items contained inside. She had a small medical kit, and as she pulled it out, Pluto's eyes went hopefully wide. But as she cracked it open she quickly realised she didn't have anything for rashes.
"I don't think I have anything," Ifer grimaced. "Sorry, you'll just have to, uh… not touch it, I guess."
"Oh well," Pluto sighed, "It'll be fine! Surely it'll go away on its own."
Ifer shook her head, taking a swig of her water before replying. "I don't know about that. We'll just have to keep an eye on it."
As Ifer finished speaking, a strange high-pitched beeping noise started ringing out. As it grew closer, Ifer and Pluto craned their necks, looking for the source. A few moments later, a small box attached to a silver parachute floated through the branches, landing on the ground in front of Pluto.
"Oh," Pluto said, blinking at the box, completely bewildered by its sudden appearance.
"It must be for you," Ifer replied. "It landed right in front of you. Go on, open it."
Pluto nodded, gingerly pulling the parachute off before removing the lid. Inside was a slip of paper and a small container, the latter of which Pluto handed to Ifer. She cracked it open easily enough, revealing a thick white paste.
"It's from Revan," Pluto laughed as he read the note. "He said it'll help fix this rash… And he also said to be smarter next time."
"Wonderful, it's a given to be smarter isn't it?" Ifer laughed. "Now give me your hand, if you don't mind."
Pluto grinned to himself, stuffing the note in his pocket before handing his arm over to her again. She scooped some of the paste out onto her fingers, wincing at the sudden chill that nipped at her fingertips, and applied it to the Five boy's arm. Pluto hissed sharply as she did so- if the cold was enough to make her wince, Ifer had no idea how Pluto was handling it this well. She spread it across his arm and the back of his hand, eventually flipping his hand over to spread it across his palm.
"Oh, it's so cold!" Pluto exclaimed, shaking his hand as Ifer relinquished her grip on it.
"Cold is better than itchy though, isn't it?" Ifer shot back. Pluto nodded enthusiastically.
"Should we keep going then?" Pluto asked. "I mean, I feel a ton better already. I don't wanna slow us down."
Ifer shook her head. "I think we can afford a few more minutes. After all, where are we really going?"
"Nowhere, I guess," Pluto replied, leaning back against the tree root again. "I just wish it wasn't so damn hot."
"Well you've already taken off most of your layers, so I don't know how else to help with that," Ifer snorted. Pluto had indeed removed most of his layers already, leaving only the thin, sleeveless undershirt on. He seemed quite pleased with his state of shirtlessness.
The little things in this Arena were what mattered, it seemed.
"What, I'm looking my best for the Capitol aren't I?" Pluto laughed, flexing his arm. "And I do look great right? I think this new… rugged look is great for me, dirt and all!"
Ifer laughed, hiding her grin with her hand as Pluto continued making faces at her. And for a moment, it felt as if she was far, far away from the Arena, back home with her sisters who'd do anything to make her laugh.
Ifer would hold onto this for as long as she could manage.
Night Two, 8:03
Location: Northern Park.
Swinging her legs, Ping sailed through the air. Rhythmically she swung, forwards and backwards, her momentum carrying her with ease. These giant swings were a curious find, Ping thought, but they still entertained easily enough.
Swings distracted easily enough, too, but Ping didn't want to linger on that. She didn't want to think about the crimson blood staining her hands.
They would've died either way and they could've dragged Ping down with them. But that didn't mean they deserved to die, Ping knew that much. Bo and Aithne were good enough allies while they'd lasted, but Ping had to make sacrifices.
She'd have to make many more if she wanted to see her family again.
Ping sighed as she continued swinging. At least up in the air like this, everything seemed so much smaller, so much further away. She didn't know what that Two boy had wanted with her, why he'd pursued her so viciously, but Ping was glad she'd been able to escape.
Hopefully, the next time she saw that boy's face, it'd be projected high in the sky.
Hopping off the swing, Ping continued on her way down the path. Broken glass crunched beneath her feet as she passed by the shattered window of what seemed to be a control booth. Gingerly, as to not cut herself on any of the remaining glass in the window, Ping peeked into the building. Inside was what seemed to be a control panel of some kind, reminiscent of an elevator with all its buttons. She was curious enough about the panel, but more importantly, the building could serve as a shelter, which was exactly what Ping was looking for.
Ping stepped back from the small structure and turned towards the door. She pushed on it, but it didn't budge. Instead of bothering with the door, Ping pulled her jacket off, draping it over the bottom of the window frame, and carefully climbed through. She did her best to avoid the jagged pieces of glass, although one nicked her on the arm as she landed on the other side.
Blinking, Ping looked around the small building. It was slightly darker than she was anticipating, and her eyes took a moment to adjust. On the back wall was another door, in addition to the one to her right which she'd attempted to come through. On the floor wedged in front of the door was a long plank of wood, splintered and pushed against the wall, blocking the door from opening. Ping retrieved her jacket, pulling it back over her shoulders; as she did so, she impulsively kicked the annoying piece of wood that blocked the door out of the way. Ping turned her attention now back to the second door, testing the handle. It opened with ease. She stuck her head in.
Blinking, Ping looked around the small space, her eyes taking a moment to adjust. There were two doors, one next to her which she'd tried to come in through and another on the adjacent wall. Wedged between the first door and the wall was a long plank of splintered wood, which had been holding the door closed. Ping kicked the plank of wood down in frustration, stepping over it as it clattered across the floor.
She turned her attention to the second door. Trying the handle, the door opened with ease, and Ping stuck her head in to survey what was inside. It was dark, but she could make out some kind of shelves inside. She stepped in further, navigating towards the shelves to take a look. But as she crouched down in front of the first shelf, Ping heard something that stopped her breath in her throat.
Footsteps, crunching in the glass outside.
And she'd kicked down the wood holding the external door shut.
Ping jerked up, spinning around on her heel to push the door closed. She desperately hoped whoever was out there wouldn't bother to check the room she was hiding in. Even better, maybe they wouldn't come into the building at all. But Ping's luck wasn't looking as good as she'd hoped for.
"Oh, here's another booth!" an unfamiliar, higher voice exclaimed. "Like ours, right?"
"Right," replied a deeper male voice. "Um… let's check it out?"
"Absolutely," the girl said, accompanied by the sounds of the door opening.
"Ver, be careful, there's glass," the boy insisted, his voice wavering slightly as he spoke.
"Of course, let me, uh… let's see if we can move it?" the girl- Ver, her name was Ver. The name sounded familiar, but Ping couldn't manage to place who exactly it belonged to- perhaps one of the outer District kids?
Ping grimaced as the sound of cracking glass echoed throughout the room. She shifted her position slightly, moving backwards away from the door as steadily as she could manage.
But, as she moved, something cracked loudly beneath her feet.
"Who's there?" Ver called. "Hold on."
"Wait-" the boy replied, but before Ping could move, the door swung open. It did so with such vigour that it bounced off the wall behind it. Standing in the door was the figure of a small girl, illuminated by the light behind her.
"You can come out, we won't hurt you," Ver exclaimed, her voice bright.
"Oh, uh… Hello?" Ping took a step forward, nervously holding her hands up. "I don't have any weapons."
"Don't worry about it," Ver grinned.
Ping carefully approached the door, ducking through it and past the girl. Standing in the main room was a giant of a boy, hovering nervously behind Ver. They were both clad in the same greenish-grey colour, large Sixes emblazoned on their arms. He blinked at Ping, although he didn't say anything until he leaned down to whisper in the girl's ear.
"Um… are you sure about this?"
"Of course, Diesel," Ver replied. "Look, she's just trying to survive like us, right? There's no harm in not picking a fight."
"Yeah… you're right," Diesel replied, turning his attention back to Ping. "I'd just, uh… like to get to that panel behind you there, if you don't mind."
"Of course," Ping nodded. "I'll be going now anyway."
Ver smiled warmly at her, waving as Ping awkwardly made her way to the door. She stepped out and, turning away from the small building, immediately began walking towards the nearest cover: the treeline nearby. Ping couldn't help but linger on the interaction- some people were too kind for their own good, and Ping couldn't let herself become that.
The kindest always have the worst of fates.
Night Two, 10:55
Location: West Waterpark.
"Cal?" Carter called, trying to stay calm as he made his way around the balcony. The building was rather eerie during the day, and he certainly didn't like it any more at night. At the very least, he'd managed to get some sleep in before waking up for his watch. Even just a few hours were better than nothing in Carter's books.
Sleep was better than wasting energy on worrying, after all. And Carter figured he could use all the energy he could get.
"Cal? Are ya there?" Carter called again. He once again received no response. Perhaps he'd wandered off to another floor, or somewhere he couldn't hear Carter. But he couldn't shake the feeling something was distinctly wrong.
Carter rounded the corner onto the next long stretch of balcony. As he did, he spotted Calvin sitting with his legs dangling over free the edge, clearly enraptured in his drawings.
"Cal?" Carter asked as he approached. "Whatcha' doin?"
"Oh just… drawing," Calvin replied. "You fell asleep, so I've been sitting out here keeping an eye out."
"Oh. Thanks!" Carter grinned. "Maybe you should, ah… back up from the edge though?"
"I guess, yeah," Calvin replied, shuffling his scraps of paper in his hands. He swung his legs back up onto solid ground, pulling himself to his feet.
But as Calvin stood, the ground beneath his feet started to crumble.
Carter lunged for his ally, but only found open air as Calvin yelped, falling out of sight. Carter quickly backed up, turning frantically to the door which led to the stairs. He yanked it open, rushing down the stairs two at a time. All he could hope for is Calvin would be okay- or at least okay enough to fix. Surely it'd be okay, Carter reasoned with himself- no cannon had fired yet. But the little voice in the back of his head remained, chanting over and over again.
Nothing would ever be okay in the Arena.
Sprinting, Carter flung the door open. It crashed against the wall behind it as Carter found himself on the wide-open part of the first floor that the balcony overlooked. He quickly spotted a heap of rocks, approximately where Calvin had fallen from and ran for it.
What he found, though, made Carter glad the room was dark. As he slid to a stop, he found Calvin's crumpled body, his arm twisted in a way which Carter knew wasn't natural.
"Oh, no- no no, I'm sorry," Carter said softly, cradling Calvin's other hand in his own larger ones. Calvin didn't reply, only shuddering with each pained breath he took. This was not something Carter could fix, no matter how much he wanted to try. Calvin was dying, and Carter had to help as best he could.
Sometimes there was no choice but to let go of hope.
"It'll be okay," Carter continued. "Just let go. It'll be okay."
Calvin sighed another breath out, and one more in. And then...
A single cannon.
Carter felt hot tears trickling down his face as he leaned over Calvin, the boy even smaller in death than in life. He gently closed Calvin's eyes and placed him on solid ground before pushing himself to his feet.
He knew he couldn't stay here. Not any longer.
Carter knew he couldn't face what had happened here come morning.
15th: Calvin Kadkhodaian, District Eight Male. Killed by the Arena.
Kills:
Reign Legatus: IIII
Chiffon Shivaan: II
Dean Karafanda: I
Morrigan Meadowlark: I
Arena: II
Alliances:
Two Bros Chilling In A Fountain: Chiffon, Dean.
Well Fuck: Mystic, Reign.
Gay Peepol: Diesel, Verity.
Vibes x2: Pluto, Ifer.
All my fucking allies died/Loners: Mor, Cecil, Jasper, Nugua, Ping, Carter.
