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The battle of happiness. (accepting)



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Sun Oct 07, 2012 1:10 am
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Mrs Elizabeth Darcy says...



Hat

Hat scrutinised the girl. She looked as though she'd never been outside in her life, and now that she was standing up he saw she barely came up to his shoulder. She was maybe fifteen, and skinny as a chicken. High class, he figured. He shrugged one shoulder.

"Stupid of you to throw," he commented shortly. "You couldn't see what I was."

"Sorry if I offended you," she snapped.

"No, but you did lose your axe." Hat pointed back into the woods. "Next time, look before you throw. If we're going to win this thing, we don't need pretty little girls throwing weapons too sharp and too big for them. One of your strings is out of tune, by the way."

He slid his knife back into its sheath and started to head off into the woods again.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 1





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Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:56 am
tgirly says...



Clarity-
Dreanic, Low

"If we're going to win, we don't need hulk boys who can't shut up and have to state the obvious!" I returned, my fists clenching. But I needed him to at least tolerate me, so I didn't attack him. Instead I started weaving my way through the woods, looking for my axe.
"I'm Clarity," I said, pulling my axe out of the ground and inspecting it. I'd wielded this for years and by now the hefty weapon felt like an extension of my arm, "any water back thataway?"
"Hat and none," he said as if the lack of water was a personal attack against him by the woods.
I raced to catch up with him, scraping my knee but not stopping. I tuned as we walked, making sure to take as long as possible so he had to deal with the high, out-of-pitch sound for as long as possible.
"Can you cut that out?" he bit finally.
"You said it was out of tune," I said, sounding overly innocent, "so I'm tuning it." He gave me a long glare, but I snickered as soon as he looked away.
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
-Abraham Joshua Heschel





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Sun Oct 07, 2012 5:22 am
megsug says...



Noah Avril

I started with a curse and glanced behind me, unable to make out anything past the grass which was moving too much for my eye to make out any details. Whoever this girl- I assumed by the pitch of her voice- was, she was crafty. I licked my lips and was about to call out, attempting to figure a way to get my ocarina, when I saw a blur jump from the grass. I tried to dodge, but she had me pinned to the ground before I knew what had happened. I thrashed beneath her, hurling curses.

"Who are you and why shouldn't I kill you right now?"

I paused for a moment, allowing that to sink in before attempting to buck her off of me once more. "Let me go!" I snarled.

"Who are you?" she demanded insistently.

I surrendered, seeing no need to continue a pointless endeavor, and glared at her hatefully as I muttered, "Noah Avril. I'm Dreanic."

"Finally we're getting somewhere," she sighed in what could have been sarcasm.

I waited a moment to no avail. "Who are you?" I finally asked slowly.

She thought for a moment, obviously in the position to refuse to answer my question if she so chose. "Amethyst. Rakal."

I blinked, raising my eyebrows.

"What?" she snapped.

I shrugged though it was awkward because she had my arms in a death grip. "Nothing. I've just never seen one before..." I swallowed, unsure if I should say everything that had surprised me. "And... I thought you would look different."

Her grip on my arms loosened fractionally though she continued to sit on my stomach which was beginning to constrict my breathing. "I've never seen one of you either," she murmured, smirking slightly. "With your plant obsession, I thought you guys would be a little wilder, a bit rougher around the edges, if you know what I mean."

I nodded. "I was expecting you to be a bit furrier."

She laughed. "I can be pretty furry."

I could see her relaxing. Soon, she would get off, and I would play a few notes on my ocarina, make her think I was standing right in front of her while in reality I was running for my life.

She touched my ocarina, causing my heart to speed up. "What's this?" she asked, seemingly interested after we had gotten past the threats.

"Just a doodad," I muttered.

She raised an eyebrow in question. "Must be a pretty important doodad if I can't know what it's called."

I glowered at her, remaining silent.

She stood ever so slightly, relieving some of the weight off of my torso, but obviously ready to subdue me again if I rebelled. She tugged on the ocarina and the cord around my neck treacherously gave way.

"Don't-" I started before forcing myself to be silent.

She stood completely and sneered. "Can't have you placing spells on me, Dreanic."
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Sun Oct 07, 2012 11:47 pm
summergrl13 says...



Amethyst

He got to his feet and glared at me. I knew he was mad that I had taken his... flute thing, but I certainly wasn't that stupid. I put my sword back in its sheath and admired the instrument.

"Ya know, back in my home town I could get several talents for this," I teased. "Even though we don't play music as much as you Dreanics, I'm sure it would fetch a hefty sum in the market place."

His fists clenched so hard I could see the knuckles turning white.

I chuckled. "Relax, I'm not going to sell it."

He relaxed a bit. "Then what are you going to do with it?"

"For now I'll keep it," I smiled. "If we part ways, then I'll give it back. But I like you, Noah. We could be a good team."

He looked at me like I was stupid. "I'm Dreanic, you're Rakal. Were supposed to fight, not get along."

I shrugged. "You act like I don't know that. I was just making a suggestion, feel free to turn it down. But with these kinds of things. It's nice to have an ally."

I picked up my backpack from where I'd left it on the ground, watching him stew it over in his mind.

"What if it comes down to the two of us?"

"Then we part ways, I give you this thing back," I held up the flute, "and we'd have to hunt each other down."

He paused to think it over.
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Mon Oct 08, 2012 12:38 am
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megsug says...



Noah Avril

I frowned at her offer. I definitely needed some help out here, I decided with a wry smile as I pulled my trousers up. I really wanted my ocarina back though. I sighed and turned away from her, running a hand through my hair.

She was tough and seemed adept in these situations... unlike me who was clueless, playing with my knives, getting beat by a girl.

I groaned through my teeth and faced her again. I ran my tongue over my lips and shouldered my bag sulkily. "Let's go then." We returned to the stream and decided to go upstream, following the running water.

We spent a long time in silence. I found with a partner I lasted a lot longer, unwilling to admit fatigue before Amethyst did. Finally bored of the quiet, I hummed a few notes and grinned at her suspicious glance. "It doesn't work like that," I told her. It would be nice if it did at this point though...

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye as silence fell again, forced to use my right because of what side of her I was on. She walked confidently as if nothing bothered her in the world. I opened my mouth to ask her if she had any idea what was going on and why in the world we were here when the bushes closest to me began to rustle. I jumped and realized I should probably have put my knives in reaching distance instead of in my bag.

I waved at the bushes. "You took my weapon," I said dryly, not that concerned. What could be out here in the boonies that was worse than cannibalistic politicians, sharp-tongued women, and the harsh environment of high society? I began to question my nonchalance when the bushes began to shake crazily.

This can be whatever. I was just trying to think of something interesting...
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Mon Oct 08, 2012 2:32 am
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DiskElemental says...



Let's make this interesting....

Name: The Warden
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown (aprox. 38)
Class: TBD
Race: Human, no powers.
Weapon of choice: .45 revolver
Personality: Ruthless and overbearing. Willing to go to any lengths to maintain order, but does not take any pleasure in doing so.
Appearance: Tall, slight build with black hair. Always wears a pair of aviator style sunglasses and a cowboy hat. This should give you a good idea.
History(before they got here): TBD (it gives me something to do other than endanger the PCs)
up for love?: Heh.
Theme Song
Other: Think of him as your plot engine, if you focus too much on romance and not enough on killing each other expect him to make an appearance.

The Warden:

Exhausted the girl dropped to her hands and knees. She was faster then most of the Dreanics, after having their instrument shattered most just laid down and died. Not her, maybe it was seeing what I did to her boyfriend, maybe she was just stronger than the others. Not that it mattered.
As I closed the distance between us she fumbled for something in her bag. A swift kick in the ribs put an end to that. Clutching her side she feebly tried to crawl towards the bushes, the click of my revolver being cocked was enough to freeze her in place.

"Turn around and get on your knees," I barked.

"Please, don't do this you don--" she begged, tears in her eyes.

They call me a monster. "Hazel North, for your refusal to participate in the games, in addition to your illicit affair with an enemy of the state, you have been sentenced to death."

I only do what must be done. "Wha--What?" She stammered, between the tears.

I take no pleasure in it. "Since the start of the games you have done nothing to further your people's interests. Your relationship with a Rakal caused the death of another Dreanic representative."

Mercy is admirable. "N-No, it was a mistake he--"

But the law must be upheld. I continued, ignoring her, "For this your leaders have deemed you Is Hostis Reipublicae, and authorized your immediate termination."

She screamed.

No matter the cost.

I pressed a button on my watch, notifying them that the target was eliminated.

Those that falter, those that fall from grace.

They would be calling up her replacement within the hour.

Must pay the price.
Last edited by DiskElemental on Mon Oct 08, 2012 7:49 pm, edited 3 times in total.
A man without a plan, or anything else for that matter. (Except a review thread).





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Mon Oct 08, 2012 5:24 pm
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Mrs Elizabeth Darcy says...



Spoiler! :
DiskElemental, you certainly have made it interesting, and your addition is possibly brilliant, albeit unprecedented. *raises one eyebrow* I understand you will have a consistent character (like the rest of us), and not simply show up when you feel you are needed? Do we have any idea you're there?


Hat

Hat picked up his pace, hoping to lose the tagger-on, but she quickened hers too and to his surprise appeared to be keeping up with him just fine. While tuning her violin, he noticed.
Finally, he stopped and looked her square in the eye. “Look, kid—what did you say your name was?”
“Clarity Opal,” she replied sweetly.
“What a name,” he muttered. “Well, Clarity Opal, I’m not interested in being your traveling buddy. Got throw badly aimed axes at somebody else. And stop squawking that bloody violin!
She stopped, if only out of surprise.
"Thank you. Now, get lost."
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 1





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Mon Oct 08, 2012 5:39 pm
DiskElemental says...



Spoiler! :
Your characters are currently unaware of any outside interference, when and how you encounter The Warden is up to your discretion. If you go looking for him you'll find him, if you break the rules, he'll find you. If you're looking for a place to start, I'd suggest having your characters find the body of Hazel North.

He's going to be both a consistent character and an expository device. When he's not actively doing something I'll be flashing back to before the games, to reveal more about his backstory and who/what is actually in charge of the games.
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Tue Oct 09, 2012 3:10 am
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tgirly says...



Clarity-
Dreanic, Lower
"Thank you, now get lost," he said. I forced myself to be still and silent until he turned away, then I kicked the back of his heel as hard as I could.

"You must think you're still at home with your gaggle of maids to do your bidding," I shrieked at the top of my lungs, "but this is MY territory. You actually have to think here, which is really hard when you don't have a brain. If you don't want my help then fine! I'll let you die!" I moved to rip that stupid hat off his head but self-preservation took over and I yanked my had back, then ran away.

I'd made it a few dozen yards when I had to pull up short suddenly to avoid the blood.

A body, as dead as death, was slumped on the ground. A cry ripped out of my throat, unsettling the birds nearby. My legs gave out under me, my knee caps barely missing the pool of scarlet.
"Notagainnotagainnotagainnot--again-not-" I murmured through sobs.

I wasn't a stranger to death. I'd seen plenty of people die and each one was even more horrible because those blank staring eyes reflected every other pair of sightless eyes that had come before them.

I could almost hear Crazy Lena whispering to herself, "it's not me, it's not me, it's NOT me this time. It won't be me next time," as she did whenever a dead body came into her view. It was the only thing that ever calmed me when death came knocking.

But now I was alone, and It probably would be me next time. I covered my mouth to quiet my gasping sobs and rocked back and forth.
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
-Abraham Joshua Heschel





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Tue Oct 09, 2012 4:17 am
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Mrs Elizabeth Darcy says...



Spoiler! :
Just remember that you have to follow the rules too; e.g., you can’t kill people off without their permission.
Also, this means that it’s possible that dozens of people could have been here before and have been ‘eliminated,’ (since there was no way Hazel could have done all that stuff in the past hour) and that new people can join almost whenever they want, without knowing anything about anything.


Hat

He drew his knife as soon as he heard the girl’s scream. Whatever was attacking her might come after him next. He turned and ran in the direction of the yammering, always preferring to go toward his fight.

She was on her knees, sobbing and screaming something he couldn’t understand because she had her hand pressed to her mouth. He looked at the object next to her.

It was the body of a girl; dead probably less than a day. The grass around her was churned into mud and soaked with crimson blood from a wound on her white sweater. She looked as though she had been kneeling and had fallen over backward.

Hat sheathed his knife again and knelt by the body. It was hard to tell, but the dead girl looked about his age, maybe eighteen or nineteen. She was pretty too, and though her clothes were tattered they were nicely made. But how had she died? It didn’t look like a knife wound, or an arrow, or teeth, or a rock, although if a small rock had been launched at impossible speeds it might have made an impression like that.

Well, he wasn’t in immediate danger. She wasn’t recently dead. Hat stood again, started to turn, and then hesitated.

“Hey, kid,” he said.

Clarity didn’t respond. He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet.

“Look, whatever that thing was that killed her isn’t going to get you anytime soon. But we should move off, just to be safe.”

She raised her head and fixed her eyes on him, the tear tracks still evident on her white face. Poor kid, he thought suddenly. Somehow, he felt that this wasn’t her first dead body. Maybe she’d seen as many as he had. But for her this was lead poisoning, not arsenic. He got stronger and more protected at every dead body; every time she saw a dead body, it just got worse. I wonder what she’s seen...

He let go of her. “Push off,” he said. “Come with me, if you want, or go off by yourself. But get away from here.”
Last edited by Mrs Elizabeth Darcy on Tue Oct 09, 2012 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 1





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Tue Oct 09, 2012 11:58 am
summergrl13 says...



Amethyst

I pulled out my sword and stepped toward the bush. I prodded it with the tip, and a crow flew out, cawing deafeningly.

"False alarm," I muttered.

I was about to put my sword away when a knife whizzed over my head. A young girl stepped out into the clearing. She looked human; no body modifications from what I could see, no instrument, and she definitely was not a Rakal. She smiled devilishly to reveal knives wedged between her fingers.

"Go go go go!" I screamed at Noah, turning on my heels and running.

"Wait, I can stop her!" he shouted, running after me.

Another knife narrowly missed my hand. I shook my head. "No way, if I give you back your instrument then you'll kill me!"

"I won't I swear!"

"How do I know that!" I hissed. I felt one sink into my backpack and I could hear her running after us.

"Just trust me, okay?"

I paused very briefly, but silently handed him his instrument. He turned around and faced her, putting the thing to his lips. The girl stopped too, poised and uncertain what was going on.

"Cover your ears," he murmured. "You may feel dizzy, but you won't pass out."

I jammed my fingers in my ears as he started to play. I watched as the girls eyelids began to droop. She threw a knife at him, but it just clipped him. He gritted his teeth and played louder. She sank to her knees, then fell backwards, out cold. He stopped playing and I uncovered my ears.

"Kill her now before she wakes up," he whispered, looking down at me.

I realized then that I was on my knees. I stood on wobbly legs and made me way towards her. I was feeling really shaky, but I managed to kneel beside her. Taking out my sword, I carefully slit her throat. Oh god, there was so much blood. It was beginning to spill on the ground and I quickly shuffled backwards, feeling ill at the sight of it. I wobbled to the nearby river and washed my hand, shuddering at the feeling of the cold water. I plunged my sword in next, cleaning it quickly before making my way back to Noah.

"God that was awful," I murmured as I plopped down in the grass beside him.

"What race was she? Was she a Rakal?"

I shook my head. "No. She wasn't. She didn't fight like a Rakal at all, and she didn't look like one of us."

"She was an ordinary human then?" he asked.

"Seemed to be. She must've been sent by the people that put us in here. Doesn't surprise me," I sighed.

He touches his arm an let out a light gasp and I saw that his arm was bleeding where her knife got him. More blood. Taking a deep breath through my nose I began to dig through my back pack for bandages. I found a poultice to put on the wound instead.

"Hold still," I said gently, opening the jar and putting some on my fingers.

He winced as I put it on, and I could tell it stung.

"Do you have any bandages?" I asked as I smeared it on. "I didn't have any."

"I think so." He put his bag in front of himself and began dig through it before handing me a long white strip of cloth. I tied it over the wound carefully. It seemed to have stopped bleeding.

"There. It should heal nicely. It was a clean cut," I said.
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Tue Oct 09, 2012 11:07 pm
tgirly says...



Clarity-
Dreanic, Lower

I was yanked up, but I didn't take my eyes from the girl's.

“Look, whatever that thing was that killed her isn’t going to get you anytime soon. But we should move off, just to be safe.” As soon as one word was spoken, the last disappeared from my mind, like snowflakes landing on my hand, but I was aware of someone speaking, so I turned my head towards the person holding me up as a weak attempt to pay attention.

It was a relief to see live eyes, brown and strong and searching. I felt my feet under me again. Hat let go of my arm and I somehow managed to stay standing.

“Push off,” he said. “Come with me, if you want, or go off by yourself. But get away from here.” He turned around with an abruptness and, after a moment's hesitation, I followed him. The girl still held me, even as I moved forward. To distract myself, I tried to chat with Hat.

"Your family," I said, my throat still dry, "tell me about them."
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
-Abraham Joshua Heschel





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Tue Oct 09, 2012 11:39 pm
Nook says...



Spoiler! :
Oh my gawd!! This thing friggin started!?!? I hope it's not too late for me to butt in! Although it'll take me a while to make an SB post. Or...can someone bring me in? *~*
HERE>>OTAKU FOR LIFE<<HERE
"People's feelings are memories that transcend time[that's why they're so hard to forget]." - Steins;Gate(Makise)
"I'm not stupid. I'm just too lazy to show how smart I am." -Hyouka(Oreki)





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Tue Oct 09, 2012 11:52 pm
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megsug says...



Noah Avril

I studied my bandage, deciding it was passable for a Rakal's work, and nodded. Looking out over the water, I sighed. Finally I muttered, "Thanks. It would have been rough to bandage that with one hand."

For a second, I don't think she's going to acknowledge that I even said anything. She's staring off into the trees as I am. "Thank you. I might have been toast without your..." She waved at my ocarina which I was cradling in my hands as if I was going to lose it again, "Toy."

I nodded. "Throwing knives are handy." My hands were still shaking from the close call and killing that girl in cold blood. I cleared my dry throat and glanced at her, realizing I wasn't the only one shaking. "I've seen a lot of hardheartedness, but I've never witnessed or taken part in anything quite like that." I scoffed then. "Of course, this was for our lives, wasn't it?" I was a bit awed, a bit scared at that, but I didn't let it show in my voice. This girl had already seen my in a very exposed light. I didn't need her to think of me as any weaker.

She rolled her eyes and gave me a look that spoke volumes. "Yeah, it kinda was for our lives. The choices were her's or our's."

I ignored her tone this time and slipped off my pack, rooting around for my knives. I took each out of the leather case and tried to mimic the way the girl had held them. I was a little sorry my brain had been on such an adrenaline high that I hadn't noticed her technique.

Amythyst watched me fumble for a time and finally stood. "Let's go. We need to find some shelter before night falls again."

I stood and looked around as she began to move in the direction we had been heading before. I frowned. "Don't you think we should be going away from the girl who tried to kill us?"

She threw a glance over her shoulder with a raised brow. "Are you scared?"

I wrinkled my nose. "No. Just cautious." I waded to the other side of the river. "And I'll laugh if you're the one to get a knife in the chest because you were on the wrong side." Which, of course, was when an arrow flew by my cheek.
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Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:59 am
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Mrs Elizabeth Darcy says...



Hat started to walk away, when he heard her voice, coming out with obvious effort.

“Your family. Tell me about them,” she said.

He stopped and looked at her, surprised. “Why the devil do you want to know about my family?” he asked.

“Please tell me,” she said, taking three more steps toward him. She was even paler than before, but at least she wasn’t actively crying. The front of her shirt was still stained with tears, though, and her eyes were red.

“It’s pretty standard. My dad kills the animals for a big time butcher; it pays about enough for one person to eat on, barely. My mom’s been sick for a long time with some heart thing. My sister’s almost ten and plays the piano and wants to work, but I won’t let her. I’ll see to it she never has to slave like I did, although if I die out here...” He shrugged.

“So,” she said, her voice gaining strength and her step gaining speed, “no gaggles of maids?”

“No. I’ve earned everything in my life, and I’ve never been waited on. I don’t need anyone to protect me.” Something in him shirked away from asking about her past, but he was pretty sure she wasn’t the high-born lady he’d thought she was.

“What’s your...instrument? I haven’t seen you use it,” she went on. “Do you even have one?”

“None of your business what my instrument is,” he snapped immediately, his guard going up.

She quickened her pace and managed to match his, although she was jogging ever so slightly. “I just want to know,” she said.

“Well, you’ll just have to go on wanting to know. Look, I’m willing to keep your company, if you make yourself useful with your weapons; I’ll watch your back and expect you to watch mine. But I’m not interested in swapping tragic histories or becoming friends or any crap like that. I just want to get my knife into all the shifters and beasts I can find and go home. OK?”
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 1








Oh, I'm sorry. My friends are in the popcorn and I have to save them.
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