reprieve | hal & vali leisure [day 3]

[Kingston Cesaire D3A [Tom]]

❦

The gift comes after they've escaped the mines; almost a twinkling sound across the distance as Vali could feel her feet moving for her. There's a violence in her veins, boiling and hot. She could feel the words of Twelve burned against her skin; as if they'd understand anything about gods in a world where the populace was too scared of belief. Anger builds in her chest, but she lets it simmer. The false gods who ran everything understood what she'd been talking about. Belief is a powerful tool. Holding power in manifestation, Vali had always seen the ways that just having pure faith in things works out in the end.

Carefully, she lets the snow surround her as the melting ice in the distance fills her vision. The gift flutters into her hands, ever so gently. Somewhere, Hal and Marceline were. There's the taste of failure still on her lips, but Twelve should be lucky she didn't react like the false gods wanted. Eleven was trying to be imposing, but he wasn't. Xov's district partner was just running away from the chaos; like they were supposed to. A hum on her lips as she begins to open the package, realizing the contents inside almost immediately.

Onyx. A stone for warriors. A heavy laugh leaves her lips as she pockets the stone, feeling the weight in her pants' pocket. There's a heavy sigh as she turns back to where they'd escaped looking to Hal. Her voice is calm as she speaks. A gentle smile of something softer than herself. "Hal. We made it." It's a brief thing before she looks down at her own feet and back up to him. "Thank you. I'm certain you've got questions, but thank you for guiding me." Patting her arm gently, she looks around for a moment. They had a single moment to rest. For now, she wanted to focus on resting up and collecting supplies.

(Vali collects stuff from melting ice sheet due to RE more stuff in trib maint)

[d9 kristof parks {ems}]

His mind races, everything crashes down around him, and somehow, he's alive. It doesn't make sense, yet it makes perfect sense. They're bored. They want blood. They want to watch people die. To them, this is a comedy, a show, something much more than what it is, and Hal wants to prove them different. Giving them something to root for. Maybe they'll fall in love with him and care for him, or maybe they won't. It doesn't matter anyway because all that matters is how much he cares for himself. Offering a helping hand is important. It gives him the chance to prove he's not selfish, but deep down, he's playing a selfish game he wants to win.

"Hal. We made it."

It's hard to contain the sigh of relief, and in this moment, it doesn't even matter because they're safe. They're free from the madness, but it only seems to be the beginning.

"We did. We're free from the trap the gamemakers set for us."

Everything here is a trap. Everything here is never as it seems, yet right now, he wants to understand the world around him. Perception is everything, but his mind is struggling, racing, unable to stand perfectly still. The world is a nightmare, and he's trapped inside unable to move.

"You're welcome." He nods his head trying to figure out his next words carefully. All of them could destroy everything he's ever worked for. "I'll be honest, Vali, I don't understand your beliefs at all. I'm not going to say whether they're real or not as I feel that's up for every individual to decide."

He pauses and looks at the spear he gathered from reaching the treasure at the end of the tunnel.

"But why hurt yourself to cast a curse?"

Do curses even exist?

Credit to Pogue <3