Goneril Albion (18) - District Two Female
Goneril felt uneasy about how lifeless the Games had seemed over the last couple of days, despite the fact that there had been three cannons. Something just wasn't sitting right with her, and it definitely wasn't the couple pieces of dried fruit that she'd just eaten. Those always sat well in her stomach and nothing felt odd about her body right now.
She knew that Ruga was out there still after watching last night's death projection, and he had to be hunting for her specifically. That boy was out of his mind, and he needed to be put down. If he was to become victor, she and the rest of the Careers would be shamed even in death. It was her mission not to let that happen. Goneril was determined to win the battle against her district partner.
Her supplies were diminishing slowly but surely, but Goneril had specifically trained her mind and body back at the Academy to adapt to circumstances like this in the arena. Just because something looked like one of the safe fruits that the Capitol had shown to them during training. She was a Career, not a fool for goodness sakes.
The fact that Careers were just supposed to trust everything the Capitol said and did was an insulting stereotype (well, at least to her). They could still lie to them and harm them with false information, so why give them something like blind trust. Even if Two was the most adored district by the Capitol, it really didn't mean anything in the long run. They were still seen as beneath them and would still get the same punishment for rebellion as Nine or Twelve would.
So in short, her strategy to conserve what she had would be to reduce portions and increase the time that she fasted between meals. She had enough extra energy stored on her body itself to get herself through the rest of the Games. (And boy did some of the weak little ditzy girls at the Academy like to remind her of that. They were just jealous that they couldn't do half of the things that she could with her strength.)
Standing up, Goneril stretched her arms behind her head and sighed in relief as her back popped. The one thing that she didn't like about staying in one place was how cramped it felt after only a little bit. She loved her own space and that space generally tended to be rather large when Goneril had a say in it (and she usually did).
To her district and the Capitol, it may have seemed like a cowardly move to just sit here and do nothing really that influential on the Games, but Goneril would honestly rather be safe than sorry. She would emerge eventually in perfect time for the finale, wonderfully rested, and it would make all the difference to make her victory even easier.
Whatever slander was being said about her and whatever libel was being written and shared would be neutralized when that happened. They'd be embarrassed to say that they'd ever doubted her in the journey to becoming the victor of the 80th Hunger Games, and Goneril would have the last word with them (only making herself look like the gracious and respectful Career she was, nothing too risky as to be accused of slandering the Capitol of course).
Sublime Winterson (18) - District One Male
The arena seemed to be shifting around somehow. The previously wispy white clouds were turning darker, and seemed to now be forming patterns that almost looked alarming.
Sublime wasn't too concerned; he could always go stay put in one of the buildings on the more stable looking ground, or if it came to it, he could always venture back to where they'd started in the arena, which definitely had a more trustful-looking foundation.
If it came to it, that would be what he did, he decided.
But now that he was thinking of what might happen to this part of the arena, Sublime started to wonder where his former allies had ended up. Not that he cared, he was just curious about how close they might be to him and whether or not he might encounter them in an attempt to flee should the arena turn against all of the tributes.
But did the Gamemakers dare to screw over all of the remaining Careers in favor of even more action? They'd been having at least one death each day since at least two or three days ago. Perhaps they'd been embarrassed about the lack of deaths the few days after the Bloodbath and didn't want to experience anything like that, so they'd cause something bad to happen in order to not have a lull at all.
The fact that they would need to induce something like that meant that nobody was really near enough to another tribute or alliance to merit curiosity whether there'd be an encounter, either with or without another death or two. If not, Sublime had a feeling that several people in the Gamemaking Department would be fired, or just simply not seen again.
Too bad for them. Sublime really couldn't care less, except for the fact that he was now in danger because they simply couldn't do enough to bring tributes to each other. Well, maybe he could get another kill out of it, if he made it out of this weird place first. And then he would hope that someone else decided to stumble back into the middle.
He should have grabbed that key from the boy that he killed in the Bloodbath. Shame he hadn't. At least he'd been one of the smart Careers to have grabbed one of the keys from the Cornucopia before they went off into this part of the arena. There were some that had just been bragging about themselves and more focused on their precious weapon to have done such (cough Ruga cough).
That was the true lesson that watching a lot of the popular kids at the Academy taught people. Bragging and getting caught up in yourself will only hurt you because there are crucial details that are easily forgotten when you're in that position. The Two boy was definitely one of those popular people, or there was just a stick super-glued up his butt permanently. Sublime wouldn't be surprised if the latter was the case.
Several minutes later, Sublime had fully determined what he wanted to do. He was still pretty good on food and water since he'd had his own full canteen and several packs of rations in his pack, and he was only down like two or three arrows. (One from killing that boy and then one or two when the defector had attacked them and he'd grabbed his quiver in a rush kind of sideways.)
He would stay in this little building for a day or two more, and the moment he noticed a more concerning sign, he would be off and down the stairwell to the middle at the very least. Thank goodness he'd ended up going this way because he could see the giant stairwell door from the doorway of the building.
Annette "Anne" Martel (16) - District Six Female
Anne was getting alarmed, and that was odd for her. Normally she was the last to get any sign of things around her, but Zain was giving her some seriously freaky vibes and judging by the look that she'd seen on Reverie's face as Anne had gone to rest, she agreed too.
It was a scary feeling because she'd never really gotten vibes this intense. Generally Anne just got a slight amount of sad vibes from people around her and then she did her thing and tried to cheer them up the best she could, but there was no way that she was about to do that for him.
For now, he was on his own in one little corner of the little garden that they'd been spending their time in, along with the couple little structures around it that they'd been taking turns sleeping in. The girls shared one and their suspicious "ally" had claimed the one across from theirs.
They had mingled with him cautiously ever since they'd found him and accepted their offer. (Anne was getting the feeling that they never should have.) The pair still hadn't left him alone on watch and both slept at the same time because that trust just hadn't been earned.
God she should have maybe said that he could have had other motives to allying with them before Reverie gave him their decision. But anyways, they couldn't rescind that choice, so they were just going to have to live with the ominous feelings for now.
At the moment, Anne had been up for about ten minutes while Reverie and Zain were on watch, still assuming that she was sleeping. She didn't want to make them stay on watch for too much longer. Zain was up next for time to rest, so she would have the time to talk with Reverie without having to sneak around Zain.
Honestly it might be a good move for them to just up and leave him, but it felt wrong to Anne, who'd never even had a thought of being rude or leaving someone in her life. It was one thing to be wary of someone and not just like talk to them all the time, but it was an entirely different thing to leave said person that you were wary of to fend for themselves in the middle of the arena.
She hated to think about it, but Anne was honestly hoping that something miraculous would happen to just, split them up from the older boy. That way she wouldn't have to worry anymore and she wouldn't feel guilty about doing something that she felt was impolite and unfair. She figured Reverie would agree with her on that?
As she was walking to the bench that Reverie was sitting on in the little garden area, Anne passed Zain and nodded at him in order to acknowledge him without being too social with him. At least they could be somewhat cordial.
"Hey Rev," Anne sighed as she sat down next to her ally.
"Hey Anne," the girl responded to her quietly, staring down at her lap, "I'm so ready for this to be over."
Anne let out a small chuckle at this. "Believe me, I am too. Not to mention when we can get away from Zain. He's totally giving me the creeps, and I mean totally."
Reverie Sparks (16) - District Three Female
"Yeah, I don't exactly trust him very much either," Reverie told Anne. "But unless you just want to grab our stuff and leave him for the Careers or God knows who, there isn't much we can do to fix that fact. And I know for a fact that you're against just leaving him because I can see how you feel about it on your face Anne."
Anne smiled a little bit at that. "You just know me so well Rev."
"Well of course, we've been allies for like a whopping two weeks."
Reverie got another chuckle out of her ally for that comment, and she was glad. She just had to keep bubbly Anne positive like she had been before they'd entered the arena. Her not being like that felt weird, and Reverie was fairly sure that if she didn't stay that way, she'd lose hope and that she wouldn't have a female ally for much longer.
The girls chatted about other things, and soon, hours had passed and Zain was up and heading towards them.
"I'm done with sleeping for now if you want to go rest Reverie," he mumbled to them.
"Uh, I'm not too tired, so if you guys want, we can go look for some more food or something," Reverie responded quietly, looking the boy in his eyes as she addressed him and then turning to do the same to Anne.
"That sounds okay with me if it does with you Zain!" the girl sitting next to her replied perkily.
"Okay then, that sounds fine."
It turned awkward after everyone agreed, so Reverie cut in, "Alright! Let's go then. We can head over to that little grove-looking place just a little bit over there."
They stood up and Reverie took the lead, her allies following her closely. The walk to the grove was only a couple of minutes, so they soon arrived to their intended destination.
But, it looked almost desolate now. When the trio had first passed the area, it was full of shiny, luscious fruit that looked like it was about to fall off the branches because it was so plentifully large. Something had to be wrong.
And with a thundering boom, Reverie's stomach dropped as she realized they were more screwed than she originally thought.
Behind her, Anne screeched in fright and Reverie spun around to see the clouds that made up the floor and walls of the arena completely black and pouring rain. No matter how scary that was, it didn't even compare to what was floating at the center of the changed area.
God, it looked almost like a demon, except wrapped in those black clouds with the wings of a dark angel. She'd never seen anything like it in her entire life, but Reverie wasn't averse to not ever having to see something this horrifying.
And then it opened its mouth. Why did it have to talk? She thought its appearance was chilling, not anymore compared to its voice.
"Zain Bhavini-Ekstorm, you are going to die for what you have done. You're lucky that you've made it this far, but you won't make it any farther."
They should have never allied with this awful boy. It was all his fault Reverie was scared out of her wits and that Anne looked as if she was about to pass out. At least this thing could maybe take care of him for them.
Zain Bhavini-Ekstorm (17) - District Five Male
Oh crap. Zain was utterly screwed with this hideous looking demon mutt thing hovering in front of him, basically every word it had said condemning him to a painful death. And it was all because of the fact that he'd allowed himself to get manipulated into doing that stupid revenge plot with Idalion and of course Zain had to be the one to take the full fall for it after not even wanting to do so in the first place.
That's just what he got for trusting a revenge-seeker and being guilted into helping get said revenge. Sure, the Capitol did deserve it, but did he really deserve what they were about to do to him? Were a measly couple deaths really that much when they made a game and entertainment out of killing twenty-three kids from the districts each year. Clearly they couldn't do math very well. Actually, Zain would bet money on the fact that they required a course on Gamemaking or the Hunger Games and then had maybe a small little optional math course that nobody took.
Lord the Capitol was just insufferable with their god complex about thinking that they were the best and how they controlled everything in Panem. Zain hoped that they would soon be shown that they weren't, in fact, all that they thought they were. It would be a shame that he wouldn't be there to witness it, but even if he had passed on, he would still be cursing them until the very day that they fell. And then he would be laughing his afterlife away.
"Pfft, the Capitol is just too afraid of the chance that I could survive all of this, so of course they send the single most overpowered and terrifying mutt that they can come up with after me," he jeered.
That just made said overpowered mutt even more angry and Zain actually laughed at it more. It was honestly kind of funny that it thought it was all that big and bad. Then Zain looked to his side and spotted his "allies".
He'd heard some of their whispers about not being able to trust him and they were right. Of course he couldn't be trusted because the only reason that he'd asked to ally with them was so that he had a safety cushion that he could use in a situation exactly like this.
So, as the mutt was about to reach out and smack him with one of its wings, he darted behind the girls, who were currently frozen in fright and shock. They didn't have enough time to react, and as the rumbling clouds opened up to their left, they were knocked into the hole that the clouds had just receded from. The last thing that Zain saw and heard from them were their frightened faces, shocked screams, and the distant shout of "monster".
Boom!
Boom!
That truly hit something within him. Before, all he'd thought was that he was simply helping himself out, but now that someone had actually called him something like that, Zain kind of felt a sense of responsibility for all of the wrong that he had done.
How many times had he not even blinked about calling the Capitol a community of monsters? But now that he'd been called one, it made him realize that all these attempts at revenge had just made him more like the people he hated. Zain didn't want to be known as a monster.
However, in the time that he'd taken to fully realize what he'd become, the mutt had taken its chance to complete the mission that it was sent to accomplish. It swept him aside just like it had done to Reverie and Anne just moments ago, and as Zain was falling down and down, he closed his eyes and hoped that maybe someone might not remember him as a complete monster.
Vincent "Vince" Wright (18) - District Seven Male
Boom!
That was the third cannon to go off in a matter of minutes and Vince was starting to get curious and worried about what was going on. Three cannons meant that they were at the final eight now, which also meant that the interviews would be conducted soon. And when they reached eight, the Gamemakers did generally try to prevent any more action from occurring that day so that they could have interviews while all of the final eight were still alive.
Even if that little fact that he'd gathered from watching bits and pieces of the Games in previous years brought him a little bit of comfort, it definitely didn't ease his stress or worry any. Anything could still happen, and Vince needed to be ready for it, especially so that he could protect Valerie as much as he possibly could. He knew that she didn't like it, but he hoped that she would one day realize why he had done all of this for her.
Valerie was all that Vince had left. Which would pose a problem when it came time to do the interviews because there was technically nobody related to either of the Sevens that the Capitol could interview. Sure, they could maybe talk to Vince's boss or coworkers, but he really didn't talk with them much as he preferred to work by himself and actually get things done quickly.
It would just have to be a short interview for them then. It would be boring but it wouldn't be anything that affected Vince and his sister too much in the arena. After all, they also shut down sponsor gifts after the interviews, so none of the other tributes that actually were popular because of their interviews would get a big advantage sent to them all of a sudden.
Vince stood back up, done with sitting where he was, away from Valerie so that he could think for a moment without being pestered by her fluctuating emotions. Sometimes even he had to have a break from her, even with how close he was to her. Well, anyone that knew her would have to take a break occasionally from how intense she could get sometimes. It was a lot to handle, and Vince definitely knew that from the many years that he'd spent raising Valerie.
He walked back over to where his sister was sitting, looking bored like she had been when she hadn't been crying over the deaths of her adopted allies. Vince really wouldn't admit it to anyone, especially her, but he kind of missed the two boys too. They were nice to have to keep up a conversation with and not just sit there awkwardly in the dead silence of the arena.
"Hey, did you hear all of those cannons Vince?" Valerie asked him quickly.
"Sure did. I think something may have happened, but that also means we're in the final eight. I wouldn't expect too much more action today since they've got the interviews to do before someone else dies."
"But who do you reckon they'll interview for us then Vince? We don't have anyone left."
Vince honestly didn't know, and he shared this with his sister, "Truthfully, I have no idea."
i'm not gonna lie that was actually kind of fun to write. the very scary mutt, not killing Anne, Reverie, and Zain obviously. and as Vince said, sponsor gifts will be closing once the interviews chapter drops (like, the day after technically because i won't penalize you if you send one in on the day the chapter comes out) and that the interviews chapter will be the next chapter! it's actually so crazy that we only have eight tributes left and i'm super excited to share the interviews with you guys! thank you so much for reading and i'll see you next time with the interviews!
Alliances:
The Gloomy Sunshine Girl and her Protector: Val, Vince
Alone: Sublime, Goneril, Ruga, Zeno, Naymena, Natalia
Kills:
The Arena - IV
Georgette Coiro-Metaxas (DECEASED) - III
Sublime Winterson - II
Goldena Powers (DECEASED) - I
Ruga Palaemor - I
Naymena Lachlock - I
Kasai Westbrook (DECEASED) - I
Natalia Maude - I
Eulogies:
11th: Annette "Anne" Martel, District Six Female - swept into a hole by the dark angel mutt
Anne was such a sweet character and I feel really bad that she had to go this way. It totally wasn't fair for her, and she and Reverie totally could have avoided death entirely if they'd just decided to leave Zain, but she really just is too sweet of a person to do that. I loved getting to write her relationship with Reverie and I really do think that if they met outside of the Games, they would probably become best friends that act like sisters. Thank you so much to Team Shadow for submitting Anne!
10th: Reverie Sparks, District Three Female - swept into a hole by the dark angel mutt
I'm really sad that Reverie had to go this way because I really enjoyed having her as one of my tributes, and I do think that she could have totally avoided death had she just taken the initiative to get Anne and just leave. Her relationship with Anne was so precious and I'm sad that they had to meet this way because they totally could have bonded over many similarities between them. Thank you so much to illuminating-spirit for submitting Reverie!
9th: Zain Bhavini-Ekstorm, District Five Male - swept into a hole by the dark angel mutt
Where can I even get started with Zain. First off, he definitely had a very interesting backstory and I enjoyed getting to explore that and the results of his actions back home in Five. I will say that it's not entirely his fault that this happened to him, but he definitely could have avoided this outcome if he listened to his parents and not Idalion. I've had this end for him planned out for a while, mainly because I thought it was ironic for him to be the last to die before the interviews. Kind of like he was the last person voted off Survivor before the jury was formed (yes, I love Survivor). He didn't go out early in the Bloodbath like the Capitol wanted him to, but he still didn't make it to the point where he would get a lot of attention, like the interviews. I really enjoyed getting to write him and the drama that surrounded him! Thank you so much to ladyqueerfoot for submitting Zain!