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Post by Tonks on Jan 13, 2014 19:57:00 GMT
"Now that's a kill!" Howard Rinter's excited expression was priceless. "I want lots and lots of replays of this one. Look at them! Even animals aren't that violent!" He did a small jump in excitement. "Right! I want that whole fight video played in the arena tonight, so no more kills. Keep your eye on 3's girl, she's up to something and I want us to know what it is before it happens." He went and sat back down. "Tomorrow, we'll have fun."
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Post by Tonks on Jan 13, 2014 20:22:11 GMT
June Winterberry from 7 spent the day wandering the rocks and caverns with her axe in her hand. It was like a maze of caverns, tall cuboids of flat stone, wide jagged rocks and nothing other than rock all around. She wondered whether she'd ever get back the greener part of the arena, she was really starting to get hungry. All she had in her pockets were some berries she'd managed to get near the stream and they didn't fill her up much. She thought about her axe, she thought about killing Chyme at the cornucopia. At home she had a lovely red axe, bought for her on her 14th birthday so that she could help out with the family business. She loved it, she spent all day chopping logs, she wasn't very good at first and tired easily, but it was 10 months later now and she was really getting good at it. Here, the axe was a dull silver, and it had killed the district 9 girl who was only a few months older than herself. It was nothing but a weapon.
Maybe her family business was just her training for becoming a killer, like the career tributes. The thought sickened her. How could the people in the Capitol sit and watch this as entertainment? When June and her family had to watch the games, they all felt sick and tearful. She didn't understand how anyone could feel differently when watching them. She wondered if someone was at home watching her now; helplessly walking around a bunch of rocks hoping everyone dies far away from her so then she can be miraculously crowned as the winner. She knew it wouldn't be the case. She'd been counting every night and only 13 tributes had died so far. She leant against a rock and huffed. She thought about the boy across the road that she fancied. He was 16 and he had dark hair that was long for a boy. She wondered if he'd cry when she dies. She knew her mum would. She knew her sister wouldn't. But the boy was a mystery, that's why she liked him. He never spoke, not that she heard anyway. She wondered if he made a noise when he cried. Then she wondered if her thoughts were twisted and weird and whether that was the arena's fault or her own. Then she realised she didn't care, no one could hear her thoughts anyway.
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Post by Light on Jan 13, 2014 21:03:38 GMT
A new day and it wasn't long before the cannon thundered overhead. It was kicking off early today, the question was who had fallen now? Given that there were two careers out there on their own it was anyone's guess who had fallen this time. All would be revealed in the evening sky.
Narrowing her eyes for the briefest of moments, Persephone looked back to the other two, her usual expression of blank indifference once more firmly in place. "I say we skirt around and back to the Cornucopias. See if anyone got brave whilst we were gone." Made sense, check things out and grab new supplies ready for the next set of hunting.
She was already ready to move out for the day regardless of where they were heading, and given that the killing had started things might get interesting sooner rather than later, depending on who was where and to whom that last kill had belonged.
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Post by Tonks on Jan 13, 2014 22:47:02 GMT
Neil looked in the direction of the cannon sound, for some reason it surprised him. He nodded in response to Persephone's suggestion, there wasn't exactly a better plan. Amethyst shrugged. "Fine. I wanna grab some more supplies anyway." They gathered their belongings and headed to the Cornucpias.
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Playle
Talking In Your Sleep
Posts: 441
Deadly Sin: Sloth
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
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Post by Playle on Jan 14, 2014 0:04:58 GMT
The package from his mentor had a note:
”Way to go kid, the Capitol are eating up your brutality and you’ve got sponsors left and right! Here, this should help the pain,
Merlot.”
The morphling tablets kicked in extremely quickly. His missing incisor was numbed, and he kept poking his tongue through the gap in his teeth to see if it had actually happened. He couldn’t feel the pain which was his missing finger and even the bleeding seemed to slow. The other finger was still sore every now and then, but only if it got caught on something or bumped. The chunk of his ear missing and the knife wound in his leg were all but aesthetic to him now as the pain dissipated.
They had an adverse effect though. He felt himself slipping into something not exactly real; he imagined this is what being drunk felt like. The ground was swimming around him, and his depth perception was poor as could be. He’d heard morphling could mess with you, but he didn’t realize like this. Was his mentor trying to kill him? Like this, any tribute could come along and end him and he would be none the wiser!
Sleep. He needed sleep. But at the same time, if the careers knew Chum was missing, they would come looking for him out here. They would find Onyx and kill him when the opportunity was ripe. He had to move.
He grabbed the weapons – the pair of small knives, the axe and the hammer – as well as the tinderbox and his food. As he began a westerly venture, he kept dropping certain items and picking them up again. The morphling made him just want to curl up on the grass and sleep the pain away. He kept going and going. Each step felt slower and harder to do than the last, but he made a great deal of distance. After almost two hours walking without the sound of anybody else around, he found a large bush and decided best to sleep under it. He began placing his things in an order, but he just crashed into the leaves and began snoozing.
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Merlot prepared for an interview with Caesar Flickerman which would be later in the day. He would wear a sharp suit of lavender with a bright orange tie. His cufflinks were of silver, as was his watch. He began to shampoo, condition, comb his beard into its forked shape.
He had a Cheshire cat grin on his face now. In his head he plotted of the items he could get in for Onyx. The boy seemed to be walking in circles around the same area – a compass maybe? As for Amethyst, Merlot could not tell what the other careers were plotting. If he gifted her an item, would they turn on her? He would save the sponsors, helping the tributes when they desperately needed it.
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Post by PenguinNinja on Jan 14, 2014 11:09:37 GMT
Tara grabbed one of he mines and slipped it into her bag. Several of the makeshift bombs were thrown into the side pocket just in case she came across any other tributes. She pulled her bag onto hrr back, tightened the straps and stuck her head outside of her small hidey hole. There was nobody around.
A cannon boomed and sighed with slight relief. That was one less tribute to deal with. She slipped her feet to the ground and kept herself low as she moved towards the tree line. Three feet into the forest she dropped to her knees and put her bag onto the floor. Her knife was pulled out and she started to dig a hole in the ground. It was going to be next to a tree in hopes that if somebody decided to rest here they wouldn't rest at all.
As she dug her eyes constantly moved to her surroundings, wary of any noise that greeted her ears. The knife caught her hand and hissed, wiped the growing blood on her pants before she continued to dig a small six inch hole that was wide enough to fit the mine. Blood dropped into the small pit and she frowned. There was no way sh could patch it up and now she was at a disadvantage to everybody else. With a sigh she grabbed her bag and paused. The careers were likely to follow blood right? She stood, pressed on her hand to draw more blood from her wound and wiped a large smeared handprint on the tree next to her.
Satisfied she dropped to her knees, grabbed he mine and put it into its new home in the ground. She grabbed her knife and fiddled with some of the wires inside until she was satisfied that the pressure system would only pick up heavier creatures, i.e. humans. She pushed a layer of dirt over the mine and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulders with a satisfied smile.
With her job done for now she turned and left, keeping low once more as she hurried back to her small hole in the rocks.
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Post by Tonks on Jan 14, 2014 20:58:37 GMT
It was hours before they reached the Cornucopias, but they managed to find a lot of supplies still intact. Neil and Amethyst both grabbed more weapons and started chomping on food. They also filled bags they could find with bottled water from the lake, rope, bungees, knives and food. Amethyst had put so many apples in one of the bags she wondered if there was anything else in it at all, but they did taste amazing.
"What's with all the weird holes in the ground?" She asked passively as she threw an apple into an open bear trap to set it off.
"I don't know." Neil replied. "But I think we should stay here tonight. No one's going to dare challenge us and it means we will be well rested and fed before tomorrow."
"I agree. We aren't going to be able to carry all of this. We might as well use what we can tonight." Amethyst agreed.
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Post by Light on Jan 14, 2014 21:22:19 GMT
Persephone made sure that no-one was trying to approach as the other two filled up on supplies, then once they were done and could keep an eye out she too restocked on supplies and weapons.
Amethyst wasn't the only one to have noticed the holes by one of the podiums. "The mines." She picked up a nearby loose rock and chucked it over in the direction of a podium far enough away that if it did go off, the blast wouldn't reach them. Nothing. Another couple of rocks said that it was a safe bet that whoever had been back hadn't been reactivating them. So what had they been doing?
Cautiously, she approached the holes and peered inside. Clever rabbit.
"Someone stole some of the mines." She said as she returned to the other two. Someone out there had a brain on them. Someone. Unless there was a hidden talent out there, the only Tributes with any definitive knowledge on things of that nature would be District 3, and there was only one of them left after the boy had blown himself up on day one.
"Staying here discourages further thefts. But we'll set some traps of our own. Anyone gets clever, the audience gets a real show."
__________
Pod had run for hours, though it had seemed like days. He'd only stopped once every muscle in his body felt like it was an inferno and he could run no more. He'd slumped down against a tree and choked back the tears long enough to get his breath back. Then they'd come again, possibly for minutes, possibly for hours. He couldn't say. All he knew was he no longer cared if people saw.
He'd thought of his family back home, how simple things had been. How much he missed them: His father with his good cheer and ever-present tobacco pipe, His mother's reassuring smile, little Allia's laugh like birdsong, Harron's love of the season's changes in the leaves, Simmon and his jokes, Lyssa and the way she scolded him for scaring off every boy she ever brought home. He wished more than anything that he could get back to them, and it was that wish that kept him from giving up entirely.
After all, what could he do? He had a sickle, a knife and some dwindling supplies. A dead set of allies who he'd failed to save and he was out here in the far end of the arena alone and in every sense tired.
How he'd gotten through the night after Hanya and Evelyn had died was a miracle; how he'd managed to catch the squirrel to feed himself an even greater one.
Today had been just as dampening on his spirits. He'd first set out and nearly gotten himself stuck in the claggy mud a short distance from where he had ended up, then it had been hours through trees and tall, almost impenetrable grass before he finally had a sliver of luck again.
He'd arrived at a thin stream, or rather stepped in it. But he had water again. He drank gratefully from the small trickle of water, then filled his canteen as much as he could before sitting down a short distance away and wondering once again what to do next.
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Post by Tonks on Jan 14, 2014 22:36:06 GMT
Finley Thompson watched as he saw a boy in the distance come towards the stream. He sneaked closer to see who it was and was more relieved to see it was Pod Steed and not a career or one of the meaner tributes he'd met in training. He decided to try and speak to him, if he killed him then that was that, but he might as well go out trying to befriend somebody.
"Hey," he said when he was close enough, "don't worry, I'm not trying to kill you." He stood above him, smiling.
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"Agreed." Amethyst replied before getting to work on a trip wire linked to a cross bow. She knew nothing about explosives but she could make this at least. Neil decided he would just keep watch. As hours passed no more cannons sounded, a quiet day just as the gamemakers had planned. The sun set and the arena music began. Terrence Chum from district 4's face filled the sky. Neil laughed. "Dick!" He shouted at the sky. Then the video played, all of the best highlights of the fight condensed into 50 seconds. It was so gruesome and detailed, Amee's mouth was stuck open for pretty much they entire thing. There were only two things she now knew; stay away from the lake and do not go near the district one boy.
Elsewhere the tributes watched, Michael Finch still stuck in his net. June Winterberry threw up and Finley Thompson simply shook his head. Mya Coupler was barely able to focus on the video given that she was so weak. Something in her must have snapped as she watched it because she suddenly started laughing uncontrollably as tears streamed down her face.
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Playle
Talking In Your Sleep
Posts: 441
Deadly Sin: Sloth
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
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Post by Playle on Jan 14, 2014 23:15:54 GMT
Throughout the day he had woke up in intervals, only to move some items out of direct view of those who would pass by. Every time he stirred from his slumber he was simply thankful he hadn’t had his throat slit by some opportunistic tribute.
This time it was the blaring anthem which had woke him up. He grabbed his axe and swung at the air around him, only to realize it was the music. He glanced to the sky to see Terrence’s face projected into the sky. Then the fight was played. Watching it happen from another angle was unusual. Seeing the District Four’s face as he was drowning Onyx was unnerving – there was a sinister thing about Chum that could be seen in that video. Onyx watched the whole fight and realized that the other tributes would now know that the District One boy was weakened.
As the morphling was wearing off, the pain in his injuries was beginning to return. It was not too bad – the sleep throughout the day had been a natural painkiller he could be thankful for. The missing finger was a hindrance he was learning to cope with – gripping certain items was a chore now. He attempted to cook one of the stoats from the day before, but his injured hand meant he dropped it into the flames once or twice. It was burnt in parts now and tasted awful. The tender meat was charred to a crisp. It was after the third mouthful he decided he would throw the stoat away and instead choose to munch on some apples.
The fire died down and Onyx left this site. He wandered for a small amount of time; nothing but woodland creatures and rustling leaves could be heard. He reached a plot of higher ground which gave him a little bit of a geographical advantage. He had required certain branches to access here, so he chopped them off with his axe after he had used them – that way it would be a struggle for anybody to get to him.
It wasn’t as easy to sleep tonight, perhaps because he had spent many hours during the day asleep. His eyes surveyed the wilderness around him. At so many times he believed people were rushing out of the dark to attack, but there would in truth be nothing there. He thought he was losing it. He counted three-hundred and eighty sheep or so before he finally began snoozing.
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The day had been glorious for Merlot. His interview with Caesar had gone swimmingly. The parents from District One had been interviewed by Capitol representatives and they talked about how proud they were of their children. He had sponsors pouring in still, and fans pouring in either quicker.
His only doubts were about the gamemakers. Would they pull any tricks tomorrow to try and help the non-careers? It did seem like the dwindling numbers meant for more arena trickery. That would most certainly explain the fish today which had killed off that Chum – although, Onyx stabbing the boy in the head was the killing blow for sure.
He shrugged off his thoughts and wrapped himself up in his silk blanket. Tomorrow was another day, and he knew his tributes would get through it for sure.
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Post by Light on Jan 15, 2014 21:24:02 GMT
"Shit!" Pod cried out; what ever was playing with him clearly enjoyed toying with him in the cruelest of ways, for Finley's appearance had revealed just how woefully lax he had been in not hearing him coming. If that had been a career he was sure he wouldn't even have had the chance to breathe before they ended him.
"Thank God." He didn't care if he did sound relieved or not. Even if the other boy was playing a part just to kill him, at least he'd die quickly. Not some plaything of the careers.
Pod stood up. He didn't reach for a weapon; he wasn't sure that he could kill the other boy even if he did have to. Maybe in self defense at a pinch. Maybe if the boy had been a career, though what chance did he have there? No he was certain that Timley was genuine and if he was wrong then at least he could rest at last. "I'm not going to kill you either." He assured the other boy. "Why come out though? Some of the others might have."
He directed his eyes skyward as the anthem blared, though he quickly turned them away again in disgust as the carnage of the day began to play out. He only took the briefest of notice at the faces.
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Persephone spent some time setting up traps around the Cornucopias in case any returned for mines or supplies. She memorised the positions of the traps that the careers laid for future reference then looked up at the sky as the anthem played alongside the faces of the fallen.
Terrence. Idiot.
Then the footage played and what a boon it was for everything it revealed: The lake, the mutated fish, the fact that the District 1 boy was wounded, and finally it gave a show of how the tribute fought where they could watch it unlike in the melee of the cornucopia. It made what was already to her at least abundantly clear yet clearer. "We're going to want to be killing that one next."
Though she herself was confident that against any other tribute in the arena she could emerge victorious, but why take unnecessary risks when they still had the numbers on their side?
Now to see where the other two stood on that.
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Post by Tonks on Jan 15, 2014 22:09:21 GMT
Finley shrugged. "I got bored not talking to anyone. Come on you get a really good view from where I was sitting, and I'm pretty sure you can't see us in the tall grass." He began to walk back to his spot, to lie back down with Pod and watch the sky.
_____________________
"He's going down!" Neil exclaimed in response to Persephone. "We'll find him as soon as the sun rises."
...
As time passed tributes began to sleep. Even Michael Finch still stuck in his net could't manage to stay awake. The darkness only lasted a few hours as Howard Rinter wanted his plans to commence as soon as possible. As the sun rose in the sky, Mya Coupler opened her eyes. Her mouth was dry and her lips were cracked. She could now barely move so instead she just lay there as the rain began to pour. A few drops at first but then suddenly the rain grew heavier and heavier until each drop began to hurt. The other tributes woke now and quickly became drenched in the ridiculous rain. Finley stood and within moments most of his feet were covered with water.
"Come on." He said to Pod. "We need to get on higher ground." His voice wasn't panicked as he walked towards the tree line.
Michael Finch wriggled in his net, but the trees mostly sheltered him and as the water level began to rise, he realised maybe being high up in a net would be to his advantage today.
Mya began to laugh as the water rose higher and higher. "So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" she spoke happily and softly, before erupting into laughter again. It wasn't a laughter of happiness but of insanity as the water began to cover her face.
June ran around frantically, water now half way up her shins. The rocks were too steep or too flat to climb. Then she saw one that was jagged enough to climb and ran to it. The water was heavy to push with her feet and she struggled to reach the rock. She took the last step towards it and then - BOOM. Almost as loud as the cannons, the mine under June's foot exploded. Parts of June's body flew off in every direction and began to float on the water.
Two cannons sounded to mark the death of Mya and June.
Shit, was that 2 or 3? Amethyst wasn't sure as she climbed to the top of the cornucopia and helped Neil up with rope. She dangled the rope down for Persephone; "Come on! Quick!"
The water was waist-high as Finley began to climb the tree. "Pod, grab my hand." He said, offering his hand out to the boy beneath him.
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Playle
Talking In Your Sleep
Posts: 441
Deadly Sin: Sloth
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
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Post by Playle on Jan 15, 2014 22:21:39 GMT
He could only be thankful that he slept on higher ground as the forest floor disappeared under the water. The torrential rain consumed the ground he had covered yesterday, and suddenly his plateau was becoming an island. The drops on either side of the elevated ground he was on became worn away by the blasting rain, and the hard ground was turning into mud very close to the water’s edge.
The fish! Clearly the game makers were trying to make the most of their muttations and this would be a quick way to do it. Onyx remembered the monsters as clear as day, and he felt a bit fearful to say the least. Soaking wet, he grabbed his weapons and stood with his axe at the ready. Whatever would come next, he would be prepared.
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Post by Light on Jan 15, 2014 22:28:06 GMT
The morning had dawned early and no sooner had the first few thoughts crossed her mind than the stupendous downpour was lashing from the heavens and thrashing tributes and arena alike.
The cannons boomed overhead as she took hold of the rope Amethyst was holding and using it and the raised facets of the cornucopia she climbed quickly to the top with the other two.
She stood and looked out over the arena from the high ground, rain sheeting down over the whole place was bound to stir things up. There might even be more cannons before the day was out because of this. She turned to the two others up on the cornucopia with her. Well, if anyone was in the area they'd see them easily from up here.
Their plans for hunting were on hold for the time being it seemed.
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After a far more peaceful night than he had expected Pod awoke to the sound of crashing rain and Finley's frantic voice. There was no time to take everything in, nor was there time to do anything much but run for higher ground.
He followed Finley to the trees, fighting through the growing water and churning forest floor to reach the base of the tree the other was climbing. Taking the other boy's hand he at last found use for the sickle as a makeshift support. Digging it deep into the tree he managed between it and Finley's help to join the other tribute in the tree branches. Safe it seemed from the water.
"Thanks." He panted to the other boy. Finley nodded to him, catching his own breath from the exertions.
"F-found a use for this after all." Pod breathed heavily, stowing the sickle on his belt once again.
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Post by PenguinNinja on Jan 15, 2014 22:37:37 GMT
Tara awoke to the sound of two cannons booming. When she let her senses catch up with what was happening she turned her eyes to the outside world. Flooding. The Game makers were going to flood the arena. But why? Why risk killing all of the tributes?
She pulled herself to the edge of her hidey hole and looked down. The water stopped to just below her hidey hole and she turned frowning eyes to the sky, wondering if they were watching her. Was it a hint? Get out and interact? Stop hiding? Her eyes moved to the water again and she sighed, turning back to her small hidey hole.
Part of her wondered if the water was going in any particular direction and grabbed a piece of metal she'd pried off one of the mines from before. She grabbed one of her makeshift bombs and ripped off a small strip of fabric. She moved back to the opening, held the metal sheet by her feet and pulled the matched out of her bag.
She put the spare piece of fabric on the metal, the make shift bomb on top and managed to grab a curved piece of metal to shove over the top. It would protect the flame from the rain at least. The match was struck and the fire was pressed in the gap between the pieces of metal. She teased the bottom fabric with the flame until it took and grabbed the bottom piece of metal. She set it on top of the water and pushed it away from her, in the direction of the forest.
Her eyes trailed after the floating bomb, watching, waiting, to see if it did move in any particular direction and for how long she had between fire and explosion.
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