All Alone... [Snip vs. Siren] [Day 2]

[Jasik]

~ SNIP BYSHO ~

Fear. It clouded his mind, sent waves of trembling throughout his body, caused his heart to pound in his ears. Snip was all alone. His allies had run off somewhere, leaving him abandoned.

It wasn't their fault. Winona had taken off somewhere, and Soren and Snip had followed. If Snip had had more stamina, he could've run faster for a longer period of time and kept up with them. But instead, he fell back, eventually reduced to walking quickly, and could not reach them in time. He had no idea where they had run off to, but he knew what general direction they had moved in. So he'd slipped a compass out of his now-heavy backpack and walked southwest, hoping beyond hope that he'd encounter them somewhere soon and they could continue on together. He'd had no such luck.

He'd been reduced to wandering alone through the darkness, compass in one hand and hatchet in the other, while gazing with terrified eyes at everything around him, trying to discern any actual threats. So far, he hadn't been attacked by a tribute or mutt. But he could feel eyes trained on him from somewhere in the shadows, although he couldn't determine their location or identity. He was scared.

Finally, Snip's feet couldn't take it anymore. He had to rest, but he didn't feel safe. Not yet. He tried to continue his trek through the thin woods, but his feet protested and threatened to give out. So against every animal instinct in his being, Snip lowered himself to the ground and leaned back against a tree trunk. He tucked his compass into his pocket but kept his hatchet close at hand. Something was out there, and Snip needed to defend himself.

The two people who were the closest to friends he'd ever had were gone, probably together. Snip was alone. Something was hunting him. He couldn't walk any farther. As it all crashed upon him, a single tear rolled down his cheek.

[aya]

Slowly, slowly, slowly. That was how the sirens always hunted. They waited. They lurked about. And when their prey was asleep, they struck. It was almost unheard of for them to attack a waking, moving target. Almost. But Sloth was hungry, and the prey was so close… so close…

It was difficult for a giant serpent to camouflage itself in the mostly-barren nothing in the shadow of the great stone Monolith, but Sloth managed to remain largely unseen (or, at least, she believed that she did) up until the point at which she struck, lashing out with the disproportionately small fangs her kind had been given by the Capitol scientists.

[Attacks Snip]
[dice=200+2000]
[Shallow cut on neck; 4.0]

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[Jasik]

~ SNIP BYSHO ~

Something was most definitely stalking him. He heard rustling up above his head that grew progressively louder, but in the darkness his poor albino eyes were practically blind. Anxious, he slipped his backpack off his shoulder and dug around inside until he emerged with a flashlight in his left hand. With shaking fingers he clicked it on. The powerful beam illuminated some monstrous beast lunging out of a tree at him.

If he hadn't flinched, the injury would have been fatal. Letting out a startled yelp, Snip recoiled backwards and the mutt's fangs barely broke the skin on his neck. He leapt up onto his tired feet, dropping the flashlight. Its beam flailed wildly, lighting up various pointless things for a fraction of a second each, before it finally settled on a nearby bush. Great. Now Snip couldn't even see his foe. With nothing else that he could do, Snip blindly swung his hatchet in the general direction of the creature.

{Siren | Axe}
[dice=200+11000]
{Severed Hand at Left Wrist (?) | 9 Damage}

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[aya]

It really shouldn't have surprised Sloth to have the bit of her wing hacked off entirely. After all, Sirens were not known for their speed; rather, they were known for their lack thereof. The winged serpent still recoiled, however, humming in pain.

It was alright, though, because there was a high chance that her prey would still remain her prey. After all, she had managed so slip a bit of her venom into the bizarre creature's neck through the wound she'd inflicted. Within due time, it would paralyze the animal completely, shutting down each body system until the thing couldn't breathe. That was the way Sirens were supposed to hunt. Stealthily. Not by some violent, sudden strike. There was a method to the way Sirens always did it. This foolish strike-in-broad-daylight wasn't the way to be — but for Sloth, it was much too late to change tactics, so instead, she propelled herself forward with what minimal speed she could muster.

[Attacks Snip]
[dice=200+2000]
[Shallow Cut on Right Hip; 3.5]

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[Jasik]

~ SNIP BYSHO ~

Something was wrong. The wound in Snip's neck wasn't severe, but for some reason it was throbbing painfully. Not only that, but he was getting a bit woozy. He had a sudden urge to collapse on the ground and sleep, but adrenaline kept him standing. But something was definitely amiss. Snip gazed blankly at the dark outline of the mutt as it recoiled from his attack. Was it possible... Could it have been venomous?

In his moment of dizziness and confusion, the thing lashed out again, this time striking at his hip; it was a minor abrasion like the first injury was, but if Snip's theory was correct and this thing could send poison into his system, it wasn't good at all. Sightless in the darkness, Snip struck with his hatchet once more. If it was going to poison him, it'd be best to take it out before it could send too much into his body.

{Siren | Axe}
[dice=200+11000]
{Split Skull | Insta}

ooc; Yay, my first insta :D

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[Jasik]

~ SNIP BYSHO ~

ooc; lololol double post

The axe suddenly stopped in its downward swing, embedded in something. Snip tried to yank it free, terrified that the mutt would attack while his weapon was stuck, but it was trapped too deeply. Desperate, he tugged with all his might, and with a strange combination of a crack and a squelch it pulled free with a warm goo that splattered lightly on Snip's face. The night air was now silent. He already knew what had happened, but he had to be sure. Taking slow, careful steps and without putting his back to the creature, Snip retreated to his flashlight that still lay aimed at a bush and picked it up. He aimed it at the beast, but all that was left was a blood-soaked corpse with a gory mass split cleanly in two on top. The thing was dead.

Sighing with relief, Snip clicked off his flashlight and tucked it into his pack. He slipped it onto his shoulder and was reaching blindly into the dark for something to guide him to a hiding spot -- surely all sorts of odd creatures and, of course, tributes would be attracted by the sounds of fighting -- when a wave of dizziness swept over him, causing him to stagger. Suddenly lightheaded, Snip steadied himself on a tree trunk and promptly vomited his stomach's contents onto the ground. He dropped to a crouch and continued to rid his body of whatever food he had managed to consume before being sent into the arena until he was trembling and coated in a sheen of sweat. There was no doubt about it now. That beast had been venomous.

Trembling now not only with weakness but with fear, Snip stumbled sightlessly through the night, desperate to find a hiding spot but discovering no salvation. Finally, after traveling maybe twenty yards on unreliable legs, he collapsed to the ground. At least he managed to land himself in a bush rather than in the open. It offered a bit of concealment.

He lay there shuddering, staring at a leaf that dangled just above his eyes. Although he had planned on dying from the moment he took a step off his plate at the bloodbath, the cold reality of it had finally come to him. He was going to die sick and hidden in a bush, not protecting his allies. Snip had failed them.

A glint appeared in the sky, probably reflecting moonlight, and Snip's eyes snapped to its location in the darkness, confused and scared. It had been directly above him, but it was invisible in the night sky now. What was it? Another mutt? Some kind of Capitol weapon sent to take him out quickly? No, that couldn't be it. The Capitol audience simply adored watching tributes die slow, painful deaths. There was no reason for them to shorten the process, therefore lowering the entertainment factor. But by the time he'd reached that conclusion, the poison in his system had fogged his mind to the point that he could barely think any longer. All he could do was stare with increasingly heavy eyelids.

It seemed like hours, but in reality it was mere seconds before the mysterious object landed gently on Snip's chest. He gazed at it blankly before realizing that it was a package attached to a silver parachute. His weakly thumping heart skipped a beat, and he reached greedily for the gift, ripping the parachute away and revealing a small syringe filled with a minty green liquid. For a few seconds he just stared at it stupidly, smiling faintly as he realized it was his savior, before he reminded himself that he actually had to inject it into a vein before it could take effect. Snip rolled up the sleeve on his left arm up to his shoulder, revealing his thin biceps, and stabbed the needle into his flesh. As he slowly pressed down on the plunger and the medicine seeped into his bloodstream, he was already feeling relief. He just managed to pull the needle out and form a weak, Thank you... before he drifted off into a deep slumber. He did not dream.