ive tried everything to fill the void [svet+karl]

[ryan]

﹙   s v e t l a n a   f o r r e r s t e r   ﹚

svet had waited to for a while before she decided to try the whip station. to be quite honest, svet never really saw the point of using something like that in the games. there were too many variables that could go wrong. it was all about focus and the ability to extend your wrist in the right way. svet wasnt sure if she could control something like that.

she listened to the trainer as they explained how to use the weapon in question. svet watched as they flicked their wrist and then threw their whole body into the mix. it was a very active weapon to use, and not one that left room for user error. the trainer made it look effortless, and svet thought to herself that she probably wouldnt get the hang of something like that.

however, she gave it a chance, and the trainer had challenged her to try to hit the can that had been about ten feet away from her. she took a deep breath and extended her arm quickly. she watched as the whip had unfurled in front of eyes. however, when it landed, it hit the post instead. she did however, leave an indent in the wood that was below it. "concentrate seven." the trainer told her, again, demonstrating the technique that she needed.

go fuck yourself. she thought to herself as she focused on the can again, this time though, she was frustrated. she took a deep breath, and then huffed her way through the extension of her arm. she heard the clang of the can hitting the ground, her aim still not spot on, but the feeling at least felt through her arm.

it felt like her arm was going to fly out of her socket.

she looked at the trainer and simply shook her head. sure, she could probably learn this skill, but she had a feeling that it wouldnt be too useful in the arena. however, more tributes had started to come over to the station. this was probably her cue to leave, but instead she stood back and watched for a moment as a couple of people had listened to the same trainer that she wished she could have slapped in the face.

she watched as one of the boys from eleven had done exactly what she had done when she had tried to hit the can off the post. she smirked for a moment, realizing that maybe this trainer did know what they were talking about. "aims just as good as mine it looks like." she said to the boy as she stood back on the floor next to him. the trainers had set up rows of cans on the post before them. "first to five?" she smirked, readying the whip again.

nothing like a competition to pique her interest.

[calla]

k a r l .

"sunset smudged across your brow
the guilt of your innocence
a toast to the nosebleeds"

"It's pretty marketable."

"Okay."

"The fans usually go nuts for it."

"...Okay."

He doesn't really get what's so appealing about him standing there holding a whip, but the trainer seems to think it's a good thing. He adjusts his shoulder, pushing it back and out, and the guy looks like he's just been told he's getting a promotion.

Then attention makes Karl uncomfortable. He's used to just. Fading away. Staying in the background. He's always been the shadow, not the sun. And the whip makes his arm hurt. He doesn't like the way it reverberates and worms its way into his chest.

"First to five?" The girl beside him suddenly asks, goading.

Karl stares at her, dull and slightly glazed. The look lasts just a touch too long, lingers, he forgets to blink at the right times. Something about her voice feels like a trap. It makes the back of his neck prickle like there's a hawk circling above him.

He blinks once, hard, then brushes her off - "...No." and turns away.

He watches the others for a moment, trying to delay cracking the whip again, before his gaze ultimately falls back on his would-be competitor. Her hair turns flaxen under the fluorescents. There's a 7 on the cuff of her uniform. She looks more suited to violence than he ever has.

"Forrester." He muses quietly, turning it over and over in his head. It picks at something in his brain.

"Aren't you supposed to be-" He wiggles his fingers at her, "mystical?"