I thought originally one of Ithy's people was in an alliance with them, but it doesn't really count now. So yes, they're both without alliances for all I know.
His eyes burned from staring at the brightly illuminated snow - the sun had just risen and it sparkled dazzlingly on the sheet of white that encompased the barren land. He still held his bow and arrows and had just recently entered the Central Park which now seemed like nothing more than a flat expanse of snow that was broken only by the freckling of small park benches and such.
He had scouted the snowy grounds from a hundred paces to the north and a hundred paces to the south - he was certain that there was no one nearby. His eyes narrowed he turned around and began to step back into the shelter of the forest all the while covering his tracks expertly with his evergreen branch that rested at the base of a tree trunk.
Gabriel's shoulder was stiff and reluctant to move much but he was capable of doing much - even if it pained him. It reminded him of the time he'd fallen down the mine shaft and had atleast two inches of sharp rock embedded in his shoulder - now that had been painful.
He had nearly returned to camp, thirst keeping his mouth dry, before he heard the rustle of leaves. "Gabe!" the distinct cry ran through the forest. His ears rang with it's echo and he felt a sting in his eyes. "Gabe! Help me!" the cry came again but he shook his head as he felt the wetness trail down his cheeks. She was dead. His sister had been killed by a peacekeeper... The cry came again this time a scream but Gabriel, mind focused elsewhere ploughed onwards. Even as he cried in silence.
His bow in one hand he marched on, until he returned to the camp as the sun was beginning to set. It was near that time that the screams began - the screams of his deceased sister. His eyes wide, he turned this way and that, dropping the evergreen branch and twisting to hear where it was the sound originated from.
"Gabe! You told me you'd never let me get hurt!" she screamed, it was her voice - he was sure of it.
Gabriel, panting against the memories ignored the cries. She was dead - nothing could save her now - the only thing left for him now was the vague memory of long ago memories of happiness and even those were fleeting.
He grabbed the evergreen branch once again, but this time he didn't use it as effectively as he marched on ahead at a quicker pace - leaving some footprints behind in the snow.
Very close to the campsite made - sweating from pain of loss - encountered one bird - stiff shoulder.
To fly away on gossamer wings, sheer as night's reflective glow, I would could I cradle child hecate to my breast.
Can I be frozen please? I forgot to notify this SB I am on vacation, and might not be able to post for a while. When I get back I'll post up a storm, I promise.
With friends and courage one can stand against all foes, for neither man nor God can conquer those who are not alone
"109 in the sky but the pigs won't quit"
GLBTit doesn't matterone thing doesn't change who we are
Ara opened her eyes, only to see darkness. There was no more fire, but she had a splitting headache and her vision was blurred. All she could gather was that it was night, and she was freezing.
She sat up and leaned back against a tree, trying to gather herself and get a hold on where she was, not to mention what had happened to her. Somewhere nearby, there was a voice in the forest.
"Pine needles...pine needles..." the voice murmured to itself. "Pine needles for poison." The voice repeated it over and over, in a sort of singsong way.
Poison... Ara's arms burned where she had washed out the butterfly poison. She pulled her her sleeves and squinted at the holes in her skin - they were even bigger than when she had washed them. The poison wasn't gone. Maybe the owner of the voice knew what they were talking about.
Ara crawled to the trunk of a nearby pine and dug through the snow. There were some fallen needles. She crushed them in her hands the best she could and rubbed them on the wounds, praying to whatever god may be watching over her that it would help.
Somewhere in to the opposite side of where the first voice had come were two more voices. They were familiar. Kyran and Aspen. The other voice heard them too, and quieted. Ara's heart thudded. The voice, one of the tributes, would go after her allies.
She pushed herself up from the ground, wobbling for a moment, and crept around the trees as quietly as she could manage. She had to find the owner of the voice, and take care of them before something happened to Kyran.
Ara crept around until she came upon a girl. She walked cautiously through the woods, a dagger in her hand, toward where Kyran and Aspen's voices had been. Ara came up behind her without making a sound. She grabbed the girl around the neck, digging her knuckles into her windpipe. The girl slashed at Ara's wrists with her dagger; she gritted her teeth and did her best to ignore the pain, lest she make her position known.
After a few minutes, the girl's body went limp and Ara let her fall to the ground. She grabbed the girl's dagger, having left her own with Kyran and Aspen, and her other supplies. Altogether she got the dagger, a backpack, a thermal hat, a sweatshirt, and half a sleeping bag. She pulled the sweatshirt over her head and threw everything else into the backpack, slinging it over her shoulder.
Kyran and Aspen passed a few moments later, but didn't see Ara standing in the shadows of the trees. Her head still spun, from passing out in the cold or for making her first cold-blooded kill, she didn't know. But she decided there that she couldn't stay with Kyran and Aspen. She would follow them for a while, making sure nothing happened to Kyran, but she needed to be on her own for a while. Because despite her promise to keep Kyran alive, she was sure as hell she was going to stay alive too.
Ramie Weave is dead. Ara has her supplies and has seperated herself from her alliance, but will continue to watch over Kyran. She's also a little bit out of it right now, so watch out for her.
He paused at the next tree, his arm was extremely swore from maneuvering the branch at every narrow turn to wipe away his tracks and he dropped the evergreen branch to the ground as he gently rotated his stiff arm. His eyes scanned the ever-darkening forest for any sign of life but when he didn't hear anything he realized that he was still shell-shocked from the voice he'd heard earlier that day. He set his bow down, and in turn unhooked the quiver from his back and set it too on the ground. He slid down the tree and sat down in the snow, needing some rest and deciding that it was earned.
Gabriel was just about to set back out to rejoin his alliance when he heard a slow, deliberate crunching of the hard packed snow from behind him. He immediately froze and sought out his dagger. "Damnit." he cursed quietly, realizing that his dagger was in his pack, something he'd dropped about a foot away as he relaxed.
He realized then that his stupidity could very well be his last mistake - meaning his death. The boy reached out and grasped the bow, taking an arrow from the quiver and slowly rising to his feet. The loud crunch of snow made him breath out deeply, and the sound of approaching footsteps haulted abruptly.
He peered around the tree, and spotted her. A young looking girl was walking towards him, a large heavy dagger in her hand and as soon as he spotted her he heard a distinct thud ring right next to his face. He turned his head and gazed in shock at the dagger embedded in the tree.
His eyes darted back to the girl who ran away, realizing her dagger had missed it's mark and that the rule here was kill or be killed.
Gabriel hesitated for a second too long, realizing that she was getting further and he rationalized that he had to kill her for if she hadn't missed then he himself would have been dead. This may also be the very last chance he got to kill another tribute.
He aimed his bow, notching the arrow and pulled back the end until the string was taught with tension. His eyes narrowed and he concentrated, concentrated on the girl who fleed as though her life depended on it - and it did.
The boy closed his eyes and let fly his arrow - letting it seek out it's target even as it moved.
He heard the soft thudding crunch of snow as the girl's body hit the ground - the explosion of sound, a concussion of air as the cannon was sounded to signal her death and he jogged over to the limp carcasse of the now dead girl.
He turned her over and it took him a moment to recall that this was Aushleanna Lamode. He shook his head, he didn't recall her district but it didn't matter now. She was dead.
Gabriel, stood there and stared a moment before turning away from the dead being at his feet and ran for his belongings - now was the perfect time to return to his alliance-mates before they decided he'd turned tail and ran.
Aushleanna Lamode is dead - running back to his alliance - stiff shoulder
To fly away on gossamer wings, sheer as night's reflective glow, I would could I cradle child hecate to my breast.
"Ara!" I called out softly. The hoot of an owl in the distance was my response. I shook my head.
"It's no use Aspen. We're gonna end up attracting some other tribute. I think we should give up." I shook my head again, imagining what could be happening to her. Just then I heard a cannon shot. Aspen and I exchanged glances, and she said what was on my mind.
"It couldn't have been Ara. She's too strong to die this early on." I nodded. We headed back in the opposite direction, towards the store.
"Do you think she'll be okay? I mean, she doesn't have any weapons or anything, and she just has her clothes, nothing extra." Aspen worried.
"She'll be fine. She obviously knows how to make a fire, to keep warm, and she know's which plants are edible. She'll be fine. I'm sure she'll find her way back to us eventually." I said this, mostly to reassure myself that she'd be fine.
Something rustled in the bushes behind us, and Aspen, with her sharp reflexes, swung with her axe. The power was enough for a killing blow, so I hoped she didn't miss and anger a tribute. Instead, I heard the subtle thud of something hitting the ground, and I saw that she had expertly beheaded a rabbit.
"Nice." I grinned.
"Looks like I accidentally got us dinner." She joked. She picked up the fresh kill, leaving the head, and we headed back to the store.
Once we got there, Aspen examined the remains of the fire. There was a small amount of smoke coming from it, so apparently I didn't do a good job of putting it out. Aspen nodded, and walked under a nearby tree. She peeled off the bark, and set it on the coals.
After a few minutes, we had a fire big enough to cook our rabbit, but small enough to not be noticed a few miles away. While she was blowing on the fire, I attempted to skin the rabbit. The skin was in small pieces, so it wouldn't be any use to us now, but I still managed to get it off.
She set up a spit and roasted our rabbit. By the time it was pitch black, the only light coming from our fire, we had a nice rabbit meal.
"Oh!" Aspen said suddenly. She ran inside the store and grabbed her empty water jug. She filled it with snow and set it by the fire, waiting until it melted.
"Cheers." I said happily, as we bumped together our rabbit legs. While I did this, I remember Ara, potentially dead out there. I mentally "took back" my cheers, hoping she was okay.
By the convenience store. With Aspen, Ara apparently watching us from a distance.
Hunter and I walked in the woods until we found an animal. There was nothing for a long time, except a few dead butterflies. I guess they couldn't survive the cold long. My arms started to itch, so I told Hunter to put more snow on his wounds.
"If snow is the cure, then why are the marks still here?" He asked. I glanced at my arm and noticed they hadn't changed at all.
"Maybe snow isn't the cure? Maybe it just helps?" I thought about this.
"I guess. Maybe since they're government mutts, there isn't a cure?" I shrugged. We continued on.
Sorry it was so short, I have to go! Come on guys, let's not let this die!
O.K. guys maybe doing something will make this not die. How about everything warms up. O.K. so the temperature rises to 95 degrees in a matter of minutes. The sun comes out and all that snow starts to melt. But, for some reason the snow isn't soaking into the earth. It stays on the surface. So in the dips you'll be walking through water up to your waists. The ground is still muddy, but all the water doesn't soak in. Remember this wont be good for your butterfly bits.
As the snow melts plants start to grow. Poisons plants, plants that ooze things that look like food or water, mushrooms that grow out from your brain. Everything you can think of guys!
The minutes following Marco's arrival at their little camp had passed by rather quickly. She was about to say something, offer him a piece of rabbit, see what supplies they had, what their plan was. She remembered being cold, taking a sip of water, adding more wood to the fire. Then she heard something she didn't expect - the items that they had each collected being blown by a cool breeze that reminded her of home. For a minute she thought she was being lost in a day dream, until Fern stood up and peeled off her coat like it contained the plague. Erin noticed how red her face looked.
"I'm wet!" She exclaimed. "And is it just me, or is it starting to get really hot?"
Erin hadn't been aware of it until Fern had mentioned her, but now it stung her like a too large bee. The surrounding area was quickly becoming a furnace, and Erin impulsively began taking off every layer of clothing that she could until she was in a pair of shorts and shirt; still, she felt hot.
"They're changing the arena!" Marco exclaimed. "They couldn't make it like spring. They had to go from one extreme to the next."
They had each been somewhat startled, but were especially taken back when they saw and felt what was happening to the ground, what Fern had brought notice to earlier. The snow was melting - except it wasn't absorbing into the dirt and grass, but it was forming a thin pool to their ankles.
"Get the stuff!" Erin said. "We got to move!" She picked up her bag and her gallon of water; whatever thoughts she had about rationing were erased as she, consumed by her thirst, drank the rest of it. Instantly afterward she felt guilty, not only for not saving it, but also not saving any for her allies. They moved as quickly as they could, but the water level only began to rise and rise, and Erin felt a rush of adrenaline. This had to be it. "Can you guys swim?"
"Only a little," said Marco, and Fern nodded in agreement.
"Then grab onto me. We'll move the quickest if we swim."
"We'll have to abandon our stuff, though," Fern said hopelessly.
"Yes, we will," Erin said. "Right now, I think our lives matter more. Let's hope there will be new things waiting for us when this passes." And a few less enemies, she thought to herself.
All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them. -- Walt Disney
Leave the stuff? Were they nuts? Probably. But I couldn't argue; the water was already to our thighs and rising quickly.
"Okay," I agreed, latching onto Erin, "but I'm leaving my sword."
They began to protest - no doubt because swords were heavy and bulky and wouldn't probably make swimming a lot harder - but I cut them off: "Look, after the flood, there's still going to be tributes out there. We need a way to kill them, especially if they have weapons themselves."
There was no time to argue - they knew that.
"Fine," Erin said. "But let's go!"
I wasn't much of a swimmer - out of all the things to train with back in District 1, somehow a large tub with water was never a priority - but I knew one thing: kick your legs and arms and try not to struggle so much you go under. Stay calm. It was harder than it looked, especially with all the un-calming things happening as of late.
I don't know how, but we somehow stayed a little above the rising tides - despite the weight of my sword, which was worth it; I knew we'd need it later. If they couldn't see that, well, they didn't have time to not - and slowly propelled forward too. I could tell without Erin, we'd be floating ducks, at best; her without us, she'd probably be at the top of a building by now. But she'd also be ally-less, and that was something a Career hated to be so early on.
It took forever, but finally reached the top of a building - literally. The water was reaching the roofs of the shorter buildings, some of which were collapsing under the water pressure. Thank goodness the buildings were all so close; once we got our bearings, we came to a silent agreement that this wouldn't work - we started jumping from roof to roof, not knowing if they were going to hold us or not; we couldn't afford the luxury of testing them.
Me and Fern had just sprinted and leaped onto another roof when Erin flew after us, but missed; her foot hit the edge wrong and she fell backwards.
"Erin!" Fern yelled. She looked about to plunge into the water after Fern, but I held her back.
"Wait."
Sure enough, two seconds later Erin was at the surface nearing us; even in the shifting waves she was an amazing swimmer. If she weren't a Career, she'd be owning the arena right now.
Using window ledges and the gutter to pull herself up, Erin starting scaling the building until she reached the roof, where we helped drag her the rest of the way.
We started off again, all unconsciously more cautious, more careful - but also more reckless, as the water rose. Finally, we came across a building that was higher than most of the rest. We landed on the bottom layer of it, which was thicker than the rest. Then we started climbing, story after story, as the tower thinned out. When we got as high as we could get, higher than most of the stable surfaces in the arena, we stopped and rested against a pole that stuck up. I hoped no lightning came.
I looked back over the water - it was way too high to just be the melted snow. The water was coming from somewhere.
I just hoped the Gamemaker stopped it before only Erin had a chance of living long enough to win.
"Blah blah blah. You feel trapped in your life. Here is what I am hearing: happiness isn't worth any inconvenience."
He rushed down to where his allies waited, only just then hearing the splashes at his feet and feeling the intense heat beating down on him from a sun that had once been covered by grey. He slowed, panting already in thirst and he reached for his dagger and sliced through his pantleg, turning it into a short and he in turn cut the sleeves of his shirt. He stuffed the fabric into his pack and hoisted it back up, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Gabriel!" shouted Holly, her eyes wide as she began to notice the water - though they'd already noticed the heat seeing as their outfits were much the same as his.
Cody was glowering at him madly, "Where were you?"
Gabriel ignored him, turning instead to Holly, "I hope you can swim -" he said as he noticed the water level rising - decidedly not soaking into the already water quenched earth.
Cody gaped at him, "We'll have to leave our things if we swim!" he shouted, and Gabriel nodded in affirmative.
"We will, but I'll be keeping my bow and quiver, and I'll also stuff a dagger in the waist of my pants. You two should find something to keep - preferably a weapon of some sorts." He took off his backpack and dropped it into the puddling water, removing a dagger and stuffing it into the waist of his shorts before clipping the quiver back onto his back and hoisting up the large oak bow.
Holly looked at him, and then bit her lip. He tossed her a dagger which she caught daintily in her small hand. "Use that, put it somewhere." he told her, and he was reasonably sure that he wasn't making a mistake - considering he could simple kill her if she somehow decided to turn on him.
Cody, wouldn't be much of a problem - the only thing preventing Gabriel himself from killing him was the alliance he held with Holly. The damned girl couldn't have kept her mouth shut?
Gabriel then reached for the pack, and began to pile mud into it. "What're you doing!" asked Cody with an aire of complete bewilderement.
He didn't answer, instead he concentrated on filling the pack with much until he finally swung the pack up and threw it into a shallow trench filled with snow-melt. The pack bobbed a moment before completely sinking to the bottom of the water.
Holly nodded in understanding before Gabriel noticed something creeping up behind her, he took an instant and reached and gripped her hand. He pulled her forward where she tumbled hard into him, nearly knocking him to the ground before he raised his eyes from Holly's head to the plant that wove steadily up the tree trunk.
He glanced at it with narrowed eyes only to watch it open it's petals and eject a small seed with a razzor like tip. Gabriel spun away watching as the seed embedded itself into an oposite tree and worm it's way all the way through the bark to disapear.
With wide-eyed horror he turned to his alliance-mates. "Watch for those things." and he turned, "We'd better get moving."
Gabriel is now with alliance-mates, has effectively lost his pack, is now moving on towards the north, water steadily rising, and has just discovered a strange plant that ejects projectile seeds that embed themselves in the flesh
To fly away on gossamer wings, sheer as night's reflective glow, I would could I cradle child hecate to my breast.
