Davidson Zinaro, 16, District 6
Kikimora - Island A - 2305
Darkness.
That's the first thing that Davidson can focus on. The overwhelming excess of darkness surrounds him, making him feel like he's being transported to another world. He knows how illogical that sounds, but he can't help it. The whole thing feels illogical, the engulfing fog, the strange sounds, the fact he can't find his allies. Are they still nearby? Are they hurt? Are they scared?
"Roman? Tamin!" Davidson calls out. He jerks his head around, looking for something, anything.
All he sees is darkness. He doesn't know how long he's been wandering around. Ever since the fog settled and thickened, he hasn't had eyes on either of his allies. He hasn't strayed far from where they set up for the night, at least, he doesn't think he's strayed far. The reality is that Davidson doesn't know. He doesn't know where he is. He doesn't know where his allies are. He doesn't know what's coming next.
It terrifies him.
Get a grip, he reminds himself. If he can't see, that means any other tributes shouldn't be able to see either. They put so much distance between themselves and the cornucopia, that the odds of other tributes being near them are low, and even if they were near, the odds of finding him are even lower. The fog isn't deadly - or he would be dead already.
It doesn't mean he's comforted, but it does just enough to calm him, he thinks.
(He's wrong.)
"Roman!" He grips the handle of the knife tighter, his eyes searching for something, anything familiar through the darkness. He ignores the survival instinct pounding in the back of his head yelling at him to stop screaming. People can't see him, sure, but can they hear? If they could hear, shouldn't he be able to hear Tamin or Roman?
Shouldn't any of this make sense?
He doesn't want to be swallowed by the darkness. He needs to escape. He needs-
"Davidson…" her voice cuts deep, sending Davidson further into a spiral he so desperately wants to escape from. He looks around, trying to find the source of the new voice. He needs to find it, he needs to see her.
He shouldn't see her because she's not here, that would be impossible.
His brain grasps at rationalities yet falls short of anything. Because despite not having heard that voice in over a year, he knows it can only belong to one person.
Someone he never thought he'd hear again.
That means none of this can be real. She's dead and gone and he's in the arena and the Gamemakers are playing a trick on him and he'd be stupid to fall for it.
She calls his name again, louder this time. It can't be her. It can't and Davidson knows that to be true but he can't help but latch on.
"Harleigh?" he says with disbelief. She's here in front of him and it's all he's ever wanted, seeing her again, speaking to her again. She looks the same as he remembers. Her dark hair lays past her shoulders. Her face, which so carefully resembles his own, shifts to a smile.
(Except the Harleigh that stares back at him doesn't have the same warmth in her eyes doesn't exist because she's dead and this is a sick trick.)
"You killed me." Her voice is still her voice but it isn't the one Davidson remembers. The softer tone she always had with him, the little nuances in the way she would speak that Davidson holds so close to his heart, it's all missing.
(It's gone and yet she's here in front of him and yet it's not her, it can't be her.)
Davidson closes his eyes but her image still pierces through.
"I'm dead and you don't care!" her voice isn't hers and Davidson knows that but the words are harsh and he covers his ears but as soon as his arms move he feels pain.
He opens his eyes and sees blood coming from his arm he initially thinks it's another trick but the pain is real.
He sees blood dripping from the knife Harleigh holds. He doesn't know how he didn't see it before.
She raises the knife again and all Davidson can focus on is how it matches his own knife. He dodges the next swing, stepping back into the darkness that does nothing to pull 'her' away from him.
"Stop!" he screams, even though he knows it won't accomplish anything. He fumbles for his own knife, continuing to barely avoid her vicious strikes.
She screams out at him, and it takes Davidson a moment to hear the syllables behind the scream. It makes sense why he wouldn't recognize the word - a name. It's not one he's ever heard. It's not one Harleigh would know.
So that leaves Davidson wondering, who Bly is.
Tamin Sirket, 18, District 5
Kikimora - Island A - 2310
The world around him has turned into a nightmare, and Tamin would do anything to escape it. He lets out a scream when he realizes which setting has fallen upon him. He releases another, directly at the factory workers who move around him so robotically. Except, they continue moving around him, paying him no mind.
He tries to scream again but his body has frozen as he watches two familiar figures enter the factory. The first, so young and full of life. The second, who is almost as identical to Tamin's last memory of him.
Tamin wants to run to them and shove them away from the place that will become his tomb but he's frozen. He's helpless, cursed to watch the scene play out in front of him.
He's cursed to watch his father die again, knowing there is something he could do to stop it.
He spent four years cursed by those same thoughts, doing whatever he could to escape them, to bury them alongside his father. It wasn't easy. There were hard days. And yet, there were beautiful days. His mother, his siblings, and his neighbor who took him under her wing; they were all worth it.
He found a way to cope and he's doomed to lose it all if he doesn't do something.
He can't scream, but he can move. He reaches for the knife attached to his belt and he forces his way through the crowd of factory workers.
He will not lose his father again.
"Dad!"
His father doesn't hear him Tamin deduces, if he did he wouldn't still be by the machine that will explode. Tamin doesn't know how much longer he has until that happens.
He won't let anyone stand in his way.
Bodies continue to block his way and Tamin screams at them to move and they don't listen. He's running out of time!
He grips the handle of his knife tighter. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, he just needs to get through. He needs to get through. So he doesn't feel bad when his knife comes in contact with his skin. He doesn't feel bad when the blood starts to fall because the workers move out of the way and they'll be grateful later when they survive the blast.
All but one move. One whom Tamin doesn't recognize as a factory worker or even a factory supervisor. Through the fog and the blurry movements, he can barely distinguish the face of the strange person who continues to block his path forward.
Tamin doesn't want to hurt him, but he needs to get through. He needs to get to his father. He needs to save him. He can't fail again. He raises the knife, bringing it down on the person again and again. Tamin thinks he sees blood flowing. He can't be certain.
His movements become so natural to him that he doesn't realize when the stranger bears his own knife, not until the skin on his arm breaks and the wound starts to sting.
Tamin doesn't want to fight. He doesn't want to kill. He just wants to save.
"Dad!" Tamin's screams are left unheard by Bly Sirket, who continues his motions near the machine that will take his life.
At some point in the attack, Tamin loses control of his own knife and it clatters against the concrete ground. In a fight of desperation, Tamin reaches forward to shove the person out of the way.
I just need to save my father.
She reaches for his neck and squeezes. She's strong, stronger than he remembers. Her face scowls, her eyes empty of all emotion.
It's not her it's not her it's not-
It looks like her.
It's not her it's a trick this is a trap-
Davidson gasps for breath as her fingers tighten around his neck. He claws at her hand, desperate for air.
Her words circle in the air around him. Continuing blame for her death rattle in his ears. He tries to defend himself. He has to preserve air.
Her words are nasty. They're nastier than anything his mind has ever conjured up. Not even the kids at school, the ones that actively avoided the Zinaros would ever say anything that cruel.
(That's how Davidson stays grounded in reality, in his reality. Not the Gamemaker's version of…whatever this nightmare is.)
He can't hold out much longer. She's going to kill him.
He has to win, for her. She fought like hell to return to him, and she would want him to fight like hell to return to their mother. And that's what he's going to do.
Using all the strength left, he manages to leverage his foot off the ground and send it straight into, he assumes the mutt's, leg. The grip on his neck is released just enough for him to pick up the knife and send it straight into the mutt's side.
In complete contrast to the cold hands that now release from Davidson's skin, the blood is warm. The coughing and gasping are loud, and real.
Another hand grabs the back of his arm, and if he weren't stunned by the thought of stabbing his own sister, he would do the same to the new assailant. Yet the boy behind him is no assailant, he recognizes this boy.
He's relieved to see the face of his ally.
He's not relieved to see his other ally take the place where his sister once stood, grabbing at the bloodied wound gaping from where the knife struck.
"We have to go," Roman says, trying to pull Davidson away.
Nothing could pull Davidson away. Tamin, falling to his knees, blood staining his clothes, the dirt, the leaves. His pale skin is even paler as blood leaves his body. All while muttering the same thing.
"I'm sorry Dad, I'm sorry." The boy falls forward, blood continuing to pour out of the wound. The wound that Davidson created.
"What did I do, what did I do-" Davidson gasps for air, struggling to discern the visions from the reality. In an ideal world, this whole thing is still a figment of the Gamemaker's sick imagination. He's still stuck in a vision, and he'll get out, and Tamin won't be dying-
BOOM.
"We have to go, Davidson, we have to get out of the fog," Roman says softly, gently tugging the boy along. Davidson reluctantly allows him, as he too wants to escape the fog.
(He hopes the events he witnessed stay behind in the fog. Even though he knows that's a hopeless desire, he has to try.
He won't be able to live with himself if he murdered his friend.)
Choux Macbeth, 18, District 1
Kikimora - Island A - 2350
A cannon fires and wakes up the Careers who were sleeping. Choux is one of the two who were not, along with Cali. Despite Ronan suggesting she sleep, she remains adamant she couldn't sleep even if she tried.
Choux could sleep if she tried, but she must stay alert. She slowly paces around the circle of the cornucopia while Cali stays closer to the center, where the rest have settled into sleeping spots.
She was surprised to see Astel return so soon, but the sight pleased her. The girl has an understanding of the complexity of the game Choux is playing. Choux is pleased, it seems her planning and hard work are all starting to pay off.
If she can get past the disarray of the Careers, she will see One again.
"Do you see that?" Cali walks up to Choux and points into the forest. At first, Choux thinks it might be a sighting of Astel, or even Eleanora. She begins to devise a distraction method, but quickly realizes that's unnecessary.
She sees what Cali is referring to.
"Is it approaching?" Choux asks. The fog is certainly…unexpected. She tries to recall what she knows about shifts in the arena. She knows the Gamemakers are no strangers to induced natural disasters, yet those are typically reserved for when the fight slows down. With it barely the end of the first day, Choux can't imagine the Capitol is bored already.
Maybe with the disappointing bloodbath display… She pushes the thought out of her mind.
Cali and Choux stand together and watch the fog, trying to discern it's purpose. It moves faster than Choux anticipated. Cali suggests it could be poisonous, but Choux knew if that were the case, more cannons would have fired. She can't imagine Astel nor Eleanora strayed far. They're likely in the fog now. Alive, at least, one is.
"What's happening?" Ronan's voice pulls Cali's attention, and seemingly the rest of the Careers as well as they all flock around the center while the fog continues to roll in.
Choux hears additional muttering and questioning, but she can't focus on it. Not with the darkness growing around her. And certainly not with the loud mechanical noises echoing from the metal structure.
"What the hell is happening?" Dahlia asks. No one answers. How could they? Instead, they watch as the metal structure appears to….grow. Metal beams surrounding a television screen extend up, rising above the Cornucopia and facing the direction of the seven Careers.
Choux racks her brain for an explanation, for anything that could justify what the Gamemakers are doing.
(She can't, and that terrifies her.)
The metal clicks into place and the screen lights up. Strangely, Choux's view isn't hindered by the fog at all. In fact, the fog seems to only block Choux's view into the forest.
A picture comes into view and it Choux a moment to recognize what she's seeing: a security camera feed.
(And she recognizes the Capitol training center instantly.)
She quickly scans her allies' faces, trying to determine if any of them have an understanding of what's happening. Each of them projects the same amount of confusion as herself.
She hates being in the same boat as them.
Her eyes fall back to the screen. The scene is indistinguishable at first. The twenty-four tributes flock around the training grounds as the scene cuts to various camera feeds. Time seems to move faster on the screen, as the tributes gather towards the private sessions.
Choux clenches her fists and her eyes fall to Amatus. His demeanor is the same as her own, red flushes his face, and the veins threaten to jump out of his skin.
Choux wants to take the bow and shoot arrows at the screen, or at the cables that must snake from the back of it somehow. Whatever it takes to stop what's coming.
(Whatever it takes to stop the images from revealing what she did to Eleanora. How she damaged all the weapons she anticipated the girl to use.)
Of course, that's impossible. Choux is helpless as the images play by, displaying her full private session for all to watch. She can't stop what's coming. She can only prepare for her defense.
(Or maybe shift the blame entirely to the outsider standing amongst their ranks.)
Choux finds herself trying to gauge the reactions of those surrounding her, expecting them to look at her with… disgust, hatred, or at least disbelief. Instead, Choux can only describe the reactions of those around her to be…distressed.
(Certainly, her own actions wouldn't warrant a reaction like this?)
"TRAITOR!" Amatus screams and throws the first thing he can get his hands on up at the monitor. Choux watches as the bag launches into the air, falling short of the monitor by a dozen or so feet and landing in the middle of the metal structure.
Everyone's eyes jump from Amatus to the screen as the video feed seems to fall to a conclusion. The fog seems to dissipate slightly around them as the large monitor descends back into the cornucopia.
All while Amatus continues to rage.
His eyes jerk around, his head moving in every direction as if he's looking for something. Choux can't deduce what that could possibly be-
Until his eyes land on her. Her, who stands alone in a crowd of nobodies.
(Her, who fought so hard to get here, and won't let anyone ruin that.)
He charges at her, his fist ready to strike. Choux's instincts kick in. She's close enough to reach for a spear or a rapier.
She's just about to reach for it when Amatus yells out again. She expects it to be another false accusation, another foul word directed at herself, or even her own name.
She didn't expect to hear a name she doesn't recognize.
It takes her off guard long enough for her to no longer be able to reach for a weapon, so she does the next best thing: she contemplates.
If his mind is on someone else…someone that Choux doesn't recognize…what if he saw something else on that screen?
He continues to barrel at her yet at the last minute, she's able to shift her body to the side, leaving her foot stuck out in front of her. As she anticipates, Amatus tumbles over her leg and flails into the ground.
A scream echoes around the area, but Choux can tell it doesn't belong to the boy she just tripped. Her eyes move from Career to Career, she's surprised most of their attentions are still locked elsewhere. Some stare into the woods, some stare at their hands or their feet.
Except Cali, whom Choux watches as she collapses to the ground with a shriek.
Chaffinch Canasto, 13, District 11
Kikimora - Island - 0010
Chaffinch fell asleep in a tree not far from where Vetiver fell asleep. He secured himself by tying his jacket around his body and settled in for the night. His dreams are uneventful, and for the first time since being taken out of his home, he sleeps well. No uncomfortable mattresses, no city noises, nothing but the sounds of birds and the wind in his hair.
When he opens his eyes, he doesn't expect to be back in District Eleven.
He lays in a tree near the barn he calls home, overlooking the large house that sits on his land. The noises that surround him, from the chattering people to the birds, even to the smell in the air, are all a perfect replication of Eleven.
How is it possible? Chaffinch removes his jacket and slowly climbs down the tree. Even the bark of the tree feels like home, not like the arena.
Where is the arena? Where is he? Questions rattle in his brain but he can't focus on them when home is right there.
And then he sees her staring at him. She's older than he remembers, or maybe it's just been so long since he last saw her. He wants to run towards her, to pull her into a giant hug and let her tell him where she's been all these years, but his feet feel heavy and he's unable to tell his legs to move.
"Don't follow me," she says. Despite her dress and her face and her appearance matching what he remembers of his former caretaker, her voice is the first thing not to have that same recognition to Chaffinch.
He hates it.
As he stands, unable to move, he is helpless as she turns her back to him and increases the distance between them. He wants to scream, he wants to run at her and stop her. He wants to feel safe with her again. He wants to be held and he wants everything to be okay.
He cries and still, she walks away from him.
She left me, the thought poisons him and shrinks him down to the child he really is.
Soon, she once again becomes just a memory.
(Except, it's much worse than just a memory because now Chaffinch knows the truth. He knows she left her, and everything he is afraid of has come true.)
It's only when many minutes have passed, and the maid is long gone, does Chaffinch regain control of his legs. Even if he knew where she went, he wouldn't follow.
She's made her wishes clear, and he won't disappoint her again.
With his newfound movement, he flees back into the forest. The forest that was once so familiar to him has shifted into a nightmare. Bird chirps turn into screams, the bright sun feels cold on his skin, and he's alone.
(Chaffinch will always be alone. Who would want to be around him? The maid leaving, twice now, has shown him that.)
He runs until he comes across a tall tree with a sturdy base and he does the only thing he knows how to do.
He climbs.
Within seconds he's scaled halfway up the tree, despite a few missteps and clumsy moves. He climbs and climbs, shifting his weight up the branches until-
Until a crack underneath him sends him falling. It's a sensation he's unfamiliar with, having learned to climb before he could run set him up for success in trees. So when he's falling, he doesn't know how to stop it.
It turns out, Chaffinco Canasto doesn't know how to stop a lot of things from happening to him.
His body tumbles through the branches, pain hitting him from all sides. He tries to reach out to stop himself from falling, or at least slow the fall, but nothing he does works.
He's just about to come in contact with the ground below when a branch catches in his shirt. It slows his fall, then releases him to the ground.
When he lands, he expects to be alone. When he sees another person, he wants to run again.
"Chaffinch!" the familiar voice does little to keep him from wanting to run, but the boy puts his hands on Chaffinch's shoulders and he stays put.
It's Vetiver.
"Are you okay?" Chaffinch doesn't know how to answer, so he doesn't. Physically, he feels fine.
(Then he remembers what he saw and he doesn't want to remember.)
"Did…you see things too?" he asks. Chaffinch manages to nod. "I don't think it was real. Come on…let's go." He holds out his hand for Chaffinch to take.
(He took the maid's hand time and time again, and yet that still ended with him alone.)
So when he takes Vetiver's hand, he blocks any sense of attachment from the boy. Chaffinch has been hurt before, and he refuses to be hurt again.
He refuses.
tw: mild references to ab*se
Ronan Nieimi, 18, District 4
Kikimora - Island A - 0030
Ronan can't believe what he just saw. His hands grip his hair, the physical pain doing nothing to lessen the fear, and anxiety, and anger that engulf him.
He saw his mother. He saw his youngest brother. He saw them watching his interview.
Why did he have to give that stupid interview?
He saw her turn off the TV. She's never looked so lifeless.
He saw her take him away. He heard him scream.
The screams are so familiar they continue to echo throughout Ronan's mind. His hands move from his hair to his ears, trying to block out the screams.
He hesitates, just for a moment, and he's glad he does because a moment is all he needs to identify the actual source of the scream.
(It breaks him out of his own personal hell and reminds him what his priorities are.)
He searches the clearing for her, yet the darkness heavily obscures him from everything. He panics, his voice calls out for her but no one answers him back.
He's lost his oldest brother and he might lose his younger brother and he can't lose Cali-
She screams again and he doesn't even think before he sprints towards her. He moves so fast, he's surrounded by so much darkness he almost doesn't see her curled up on the ground.
He slides and lands beside her, his hands gently touching her arms. She's shaking, she's screaming, and she's freezing, despite the moderate temperature the arena has given them.
"GET AWAY!" she screams, pushing away from him and crawling backward. Ronan can see the tears streaming down her face.
It breaks his heart.
"Cali, Cali it's me," he says as he reaches his arm out closer to her.
She screams again, this one dissolving into tears. She closes her eyes and puts her hands to her ears.
"Ronan…" he hears her whisper.
"I'm here! Cali, it's me," Ronan crawls closer to her and this time, she doesn't push him away.
(He sees someone behind her. He wants to jump at them, to strike them down to protect her, but he hesitates when he sees his mother.)
"Get away…" Cali's voice pulls his attention back towards her. He can still see the figure behind her of course, but, he doesn't care.
She can't hurt him. She's not really here. Cali is here, and she's in pain.
"You're safe. I'm here. I won't ever leave you." Not until you tell me too, are the words he doesn't say.
Her breathing starts to slow as her pupils shift. Are his words getting through to her? He inches closer, expecting her to hit him or kick him or yell at him again.
Nothing of the sort happens. Moments pass as her eyes focus on him.
(While his mother continues to loom in the shadows.)
She's on the TV, she's in his face. He can't escape her.
He can help Cali escape her demons.
"Ronan?" He's never been happier to hear her voice.
"I'm here, I'm here. You're safe. You're with me," he says, knowing the prospect of true safety is only a fever dream for them both. What he does know is that, no matter what happens, he's protecting her.
He can't imagine anything else.
"I…I saw them," she whispers, her eyes never staying on Ronan long.
"I know. I saw…I saw people too. They're not real, Cali. They're not here," he tries to rationalize. Despite the figure continuing to loom over Cali, he knows she's not real.
When her figure starts to fade, Ronan doesn't bother to hide his relief. The darkness also subsides slightly, and he's able to start to make out members of his alliance.
"You're safe with me," he says softly. He offers his hand out. He wants nothing more than for her to take it.
She does, and despite the unsteadiness in her legs, he's able to help her up. They stand face to face for the first time in days.
Ronan wishes he could stay with her forever. He wishes he could protect her forever. He knows it's not possible. He knows only one will get out of this arena alive. And he knows who it has to be.
A scream and a loud thud grab their attention. Ronan turns to see Amatus flailing on the ground near Choux. He sees Dahlia a dozen feet away, murder in her eyes. He sees Klara and Vitali near the center of the structure, Vitali with a mortified expression and Klara beaming with anger.
"TRAITOR!" Amatus screams as he regains his bearings. He seems to notice the darkness receding, and like Ronan's own visions, whoever Amatus saw must have vanished.
As the area around them seemingly reverts to normal, it leaves behind a strain in the air. Despite the Careers trying to deduce what happened, despite them all coming to some kind of conclusion that it was all in their heads, it left behind real damage. It showed their real fears. It showed the power that their pasts hold over them, and in turn, the power the Gamemakers hold.
As much as he hates to admit it, he knows it won't end there.
Aizen Miura, 12, District 12
Azhdar - Island B - 0200
Aizen's life has been a rollercoaster of emotions lately, and he's not sure how much more he can take.
Hours ago, the sky showed Exa was alive, and it released a lot of the tension that had been building up in his tiny body. He imagines landing on the island and immediately finding her. He imagines the relief that would come with it, knowing he has someone else to help watch over Mori.
Then a cannon fired and all that tension returned.
"It could be anyone," Mori tells him repeatedly. He knows it's true, yet that doesn't help him ignore the fears and worries that continue to compound.
She could have died because we weren't there to help her. What if Mori dies because I'm not there to help her? What if when I die, she dies trying to save me? Aizen's thoughts run wild with possibilities like these and he would do anything to stop his brain from thinking.
The boat settles on the adjacent island's harbor. Aizen isn't calmed by the fact that it looks similar to the previous harbor, with four spots for boats and a rocky beach lining the way between the harbor and the trees.
And a giant sign that reads "Azhdar".
"What does it mean?" Aizen whispers, not anticipating an answer from Mori. Aizen is about to disembark when Mori pulls him back. He falls on his back hard, a tiny whimper escaping from his mouth. All while Mori crouches, looking over the edge of the boat.
"What?" he asks, rubbing the spot on his back that took the brunt of the impact. She slowly points into the distance, and that's when Aizen sees movement. Two tributes, he presumes, departing the only other boat set on that island. Aizen wondered why it followed their own boat. Now he knows.
He moves closer, hoping to see Exa in the duo, and tries to hide his disappointment when he doesn't. He doesn't recognize either tribute. He knows they're not Careers, they're too young to be, yet he wouldn't dare reveal himself to them. They might attack, and try to kill Mori.
He refuses to lose another ally.
"We wait. Then, we go," she says quietly. Aizen has no choice but to agree. Besides, he doesn't exactly have a better solution.
"What's over here?" he asks, looking out into the woods that line the island. The main difference, Aizen notices, is how dead the trees look here. Dead leaves line the area underneath the trees. Where the first island had thick brush covering most of it, this one has anything but.
He can't decide if he feels safer here. He certainly feels guilty, knowing Exa is alone on an island full of angry Careers. At least, it should only be these other two tributes on the island with them.
Right? His mind rattles with other possibilities. Maybe there's another passageway connecting the islands. Aizen knows very little about islands, he's never been on one before yesterday.
"Don't worry. We're okay," Mori says, bringing Aizen back to the present. He's not sure how much time has passed, lost in his own world. He feels guilty, again. If those tributes came back and attacked, how long would it take him to get up and fight?
(He's kidding himself if he thinks he could fight off anyone.)
"Okay," he says with a weak smile to his friend. His friend who has done so much for him since they stood on that stage together. His friend who, despite all odds, has stuck with him through everything. Anyone else would have abandoned him the second they could, but not her.
She's different than the rest. She deserves to win. Aizen isn't certain of a lot in his life. He's made a lot of mistakes, and a lot of bad calls. He's seen people die, and he did nothing to save his father on his last day.
Yet he can still change things for Mori. He can be strong for her. He can protect her. Even though she's protecting him, which she shouldn't be. He lets her protect him. He needs to stop hiding.
That day she found him in the woods, he thought it would be his last. The bullies surrounded him, and he would never have had the strength to fight them all off. She did. She saved him then and saved him again when people continued to harass him. She's given and given and he's taken and never returned the favor.
Aizen Miura doesn't have a long life left in this world, yet what he does have left needs to finally be used for good.
When Mori deems the coast to be clear, he's the one who takes the lead off the boat. He's the one, for the first time in his life, who stands up tall and brave.
(He ignores the thought of those two tributes returning. He ignores the prospect of a mutt attack. He ignores everything except his friend.)
He can save her.
He must.
;-; another chapter...second island reveal teehee!
20th: Tamin Sirket, D5, killed by Davidson Zinaro, D6
Tamin was one of the first subs I received and I loved him immediately. I loved his internal turmoil. I loved pairing him with Roman, and I was incredibly sad writing his death. Arryn, thank you so much for trusting me with your boy. I hope I did him justice in the end. And I'm so sorry it was Davidson that dealt the final blow ;-;
Careers: Val, Choux, Amatus, Klara, Cali, Ronan, Dahlia
Not careers: Eleanora, Astel
Bro alliance: Roman, Davidson
Reunited!: Vetiver, Chaffinch
The healer and the healed: Owain, Exa
We're off the boat!: Ozzy, Reagan
sad kids: Mori, Aizen
yippee end of day 1!