lead a tribute to water but can't make it drink | SLAY [D1]

[d7m fraser birk ♚ frankel]

Everyone but me seems to know what they are doing, the savior in the form of my brains, Svetlana takes charge with a roll of bandages. All I can do is just stand and watch, the provisions of useless junk thrown at my feet though maybe some paper and backpack will prove its worth as a treasure later. ”I am going to try and find something more useful than the shit I am carrying. Lets just try and get away from where the bloodbath happened.” I have found my worth in throwing out orders, someone has to keep us moving and if my barking voice has some uses then I guess that is where I take the lead.

Maybe having the one with the lightest steps in front is the most intelligible idea I have, anywhere but this sand trodden place. Time to put my private training simulation to the test, I am sure there is a golden route of traps just waiting for an ankle to snap at.

Nope. There are just freaky, hairy, eight-legged ahh uhh. Oversized-SPIDERS??? ”NO, lets not go that way!” Just a glimpse of the beast’s legs pivots me to the left rather than the right. This measly little knife is not going to crush a critter like that. Instead, the coarse land washes away, a welcoming stream to rinse the sand from the crevices of my fingers.

”Look, I lead us to water. At least I have my uses! This could be a place to rest.” Once again I volley the backpack onto the floor, setting up my camp and claiming a space to plant my ass. If I can just spend the next week wandering, dodging ferocious beasts and crazy tributes then that is my fairytale escape home. Except I guess the three clingons will have to depart at some point. Hopefully they will just disappear in the night, without a thought of leaving a gift in the back of my neck. Seriously do I really think I can just skip my way out of here? Yes, it is certainly the way.

Pogue

Actions in maint.

[ryan]

she had left karl behind back there. she did not care if he was continuing to follow her, because someone like svet did not have time to think about that. she was concerned with surviving, and trying to make sure that she put enough space between herself and the other tributes.

she had finally caught back up with the rest of them, dorothy had been leading the pack, which mostly made sense because besides svet, she was the least banged up from the bloodbath. svet had a whole internal monologue about how careless they all had been. svet had done just enough to survive and stay under the radar, but theo and elm were still in bad shape.

maybe they would find something of use wherever dorothy was leading them.

dorothy had exclaimed something rather weird, something about being useful to them. there was nothing that the little girl had to prove to any of them, and svet did have half a mind to say that. svet at the least, was confident in their abilities, she wouldnt have stuck with them if she wasnt. it was better for her to observe right now.

that much she knew.

"they look like the size of a small bear cub." svet commented as she heard dorothy comment on the mutts that had been lingering just past the stream. svet was a little more surprised that they werent swarmed by them. she held the kanabo in her hand before following dorothy just out of harms way.

"we can use the water to at least wash the wounds." svet had said softly as dorothy praised herself for being useful. "dorothy, you dont have to prove anything to us yknow?" svet had given her a small smile as she had noticed that there had been various items, including something that looked like a canteen. she grabbed it and began to open up the top of it. "we trust you." she proceeded to inspect other things that had been strewn about, placing some of them in her bag. "the bushes over there look like they have enough cover, that might be the best place to rest for the night." svet pointed, trying to let theo and elm know that was the best place to go. "i can take the first watch if necessary."

she had to tell stories to the moon anyway.

[actions in maint!]

[jackson thomas [d6m] arc]

”I am going to try and find something more useful than the shit I am carrying. Lets just try and get away from where the bloodbath happened.” Dorothy was ready to go, once again, and she was smart for it. We can’t just sit around. As much as I’d like to, we’re damn stupid to stay still. No cannons have fired. If nobody dies by the end of today we are fucked tomorrow. We should keep moving to avoid punishment for a boring show. Dorothy picks a direction and sticks with it. I’m near to following her lead until she gets blocked by a spider spotting. The girl shrieks. Spiders are clearly not Dorothy’s favorite thing. ”NO, lets not go that way!”Immediately shaken, and not ready to fight just yet, she pivots to the left. We’ll face that eight legged beast another time.

We’re soon met by a small stream. Dorothy finds herself exclaiming her ability to lead us here, which starts to annoy me, but I’m thinkin’ its whatever. She don’t need to impress us, she just needs to be there for us. "we trust you." Svetlana speaks and I don’t say nothin to that. Hard to fully trust anyone here. I’m just workin with ‘em. Just because I was on the Exy team didn’t mean I’d give ‘em my housekey.

The stream gives a chance to get some of this damn sand off of my wounds, thank fuck. I’ve heard that it could get infected if I didn’t try to clean it out decently. The light trickling of water is soft, though, and feels too peaceful for a place like this. Given my damages, I could only really use one hand to scrub away the grime. There wasn’t much other sound, which felt odd. IT was like the pause of silence before the killer jumps out. Your heart drops, you don’t know what’s gonna happen, but quiet in a murder film ain’t a good thing. ”I don’t trust it here.” Serenity should be horrifying in this chaotic shitshow.

Svetlana places a submission for my new home, and for now, it’s all I can take. "Alright. Wake me up if shit hits the fan."

[kaitlin]

[Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy]]

e l m  -  e r r i n g t o n

As we get further and further away from the chaos of the Cornucopia and its sandy garden, I feel my body coming down from the sheer adrenaline of the moment. I feel tired, like I’ve stayed up all night, but I think I can get my mouth to form words again. Even with the pain in my chest, I sense an improvement – however minor that improvement might be.

Still, I’m lagging a tad behind the others. Dorothy is up front, with Svet just behind. Theo and I are slower because of our injuries, but we’re still moving, still powering through.

”We’ve got this,” I say to him, probably to convince myself.

Then I see Dorothy startle ahead. I’m not paying attention well enough to see what spooks her, but when Svet says, ”They look like the size of a small bear cub," I think: what’s did Dorothy see? and how big is a bear cub?

By the stream, we find containers for water, and I struggle to open mine with a broken wrist. I wonder what else I’ll struggle to do while I’m in this place, now that I’m so injured. Will I be able to defend myself? Help my allies? Stay alive?

I open the container eventually, but it feels like it takes a stupidly long time. I gather water from the stream, and for a moment I want to sit in the water and let myself rest. Or are there monsters in the deep, waiting to drag us below to our deaths?

Needless to say, I don’t linger. I follow Svet’s lead to the secluded spot she mentions, and I let my body rest fully on the ground, using my bag for a pillow. It’s not time for sleep yet, but it is time for me to catch a break.

”This sucks,” I say, to nobody in particular.

Duh.