boy with bird bones [osiris hg sim]

[Bella]

OSIRIS ZONTINI 

Osiris was brought here by his parents because they thought giving him a shot at the Hunger Games simulation might somehow protect him if his name were ever drawn in the reaping. Otherwise they rarely let him out of the backyard, afraid he would end up injured somehow. The tickets were steep, but their weath opened many doors.

His heart thumped against his protruding ribs as he stepped up to the platform, choosing to run the simulation with the only weapon he had ever actually held, the knife. He was surprised to find the names of his parents among the possible opponents. They were watching in the crowd, and even though it wasn’t real, he was afraid they would punish him later if he chose them. So he picked a name he didn’t recognize.

The blue hologram buzzed to life—he was easily six feet tall, clutching a knife in his fist. Osiris squinted. Maybe he was imagining it, but the man looked like one of the workers he had seen in his parents’ field. He swallowed hard, palms a little sweaty, readying his stance.

He lunged forward, crying out. AAAAAAAAH!”

[osiris attacks field worker: knife]
PtuRKmibrzknife
[damage]

[worker attacks osiris: knife]
knife
[damage]

“knife”·“knife”

[Bella]

OSIRIS ZONTINI

When the hologram slashed at the back of Osiris's head, he yelped with a start, chest tightening, then realized he had really felt nothing. There was that adrenaline rush he was always chasing for as long as he could remember. His lips curled into a wild grin. It was like a game, then.

The first swipe of his knife left a deep gash in the holographic man's shimmering blue body. Maybe he wouldn't be so bad at this in real life. The fighting part, that is--the killing he wasn't so sure about. Hopefully he would never have to find out. Even when tiny mice got their necks snapped in the kitchen trap, he got choked up.

No mercy against the hologram though. He could feel his competitive side coming out.

[osiris attacks field worker: knife]
osZOIwox_Aknife
[3.5]

[worker attacks osiris: knife]
knife
[0.0]

{osiris: 8/20
holo: 8/20}knife·knife

[Bella]

OSIRIS ZONTINI

No luck that time--the knife swiped right through the air without doing any damage. In the corner of his eye, Osiris could see a counter keeping score. They were tied.

He could feel the gaze of his parents in the crowd. Had they recognized the face of his opponent? All his life they'd cautioned him against associating with such laypeople in the fields. Were they proud that he was taking on his supposed enemy, one of the people who supposedly loathed his family?

In the cage of his chest, his heart felt like a bass drum. His hemophilia made any kind of stress both exhilarating and exhausting. Drops of sweat began to form on his forehead. Maybe his parents were worried he would cut himself with his own knife and bleed out on the spot. They thought he was a fragile thing, made of glass and paper.

He would show them. He tightened his grip on the knife and lunged forward again with a growl.

[osiris attacks field worker: knife]
7Xa054Cevoknife
[0.0]

[worker attacks osiris: knife]
knife
[3.5]

{osiris: 11.5/20
holo: 8/20}knife·knife

[Bella]

OSIRIS ZONTINI

Another miss, and once again his arm was clipped by the holographic knife. A sour twinge of embarrassment tugged at his throat. So many eyes were watching him fail when he'd come here to prove he could survive. Midway between frustration and determination, he tried to steady himself. Don't cry, don't cry, not here, don't cry. He took a deep breath and pictured himself in the backyard, running alongside his siblings, who were always there to cheer him on despite their parents' constant fretting over his health.

He would be the one to decide his fate. Not this stupid disease he was born with, not his family, no one but Osiris Zontini.

[osiris attacks worker: knife]
omkVfIyUDMknife
[8.5]

[worker attacks osiris: knife]
knife
[8]

{osiris: 19.5/20
holo: 16/20}knife·knife

[Bella]

OSIRIS ZONTINI

If Osiris lost this thing he would face his parents' disapproval, which was sometimes even worse than being grounded. He had gotten used to spending time alone in his room with the critters he collected, but something about the way they looked at him when they were really disappointed made him feel sick to his stomach. They always looked so smug, like he was proving a point they had been trying to make for years.

He knew his last strike had gained purchase when his opponent lost an ear. That had to count for a lot of points. But in doing so, it was like he'd walked right into the hologram's knife. If this were the real games, he would be dead already, but in the simulation it wasn't clear how much life he had left on his end. Osiris wiped his forehead on his sleeve and gave one last push, hoping to at least not look like a total failure.

[osiris attacks worker: knife]
c44FGr6tYcknife
[3.5]

[worker attacks osiris: knife]
knife
[3.5]

{osiris: 23/20
holo: 19.5/20}knife·knife