<Pain> is *Greater* than <fear> [Dee]

[Tsarashi 2.0]

Heron walked down the steep slope of the side of the volcano. Soren and Winona were long gone and she hoped that Storm was still following her. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other since they left Ana’s body to be picked up by the hovercraft that was bound to come. The silence was awkward, but she didn’t care. She had more things on her mind at the moment than her silent companion.

Ana’s death woke her up. There was such a small chance that she was going to win that she figured that she must get ready to face the facts. She had a good chance of dying. She might never see Fletcher again. That though used to fill her with determination to win, but now that Ana was dead she had lost some of the positive energy that that strange boy left with her and Ana kept alive.

The ring was loose around her forefinger, but it was beautiful in its own way. She clutched her fist and felt as the cold metal dug into her palm and every time she moved she could feel the cold steel necklace around her neck. She knew that if she were to lift the pickaxe charm to her nose she would still be able to smell the ash that it had been dropped in at the mine. It still smelt like home. A home she would probably never see again.

Sighing lightly Heron stepped onto the dusty ground that would soon turn into the dark grass she could see in the distance. The trees looked welcoming with their green needles, but first they would have to continue walk down the volcano and past the ash residue left over from the volcano. Looking over her shoulder she tried desperately to find Storm, but the light was too dim. Heron took a step to her right, sending out a loud crack over the area.

Heron’s eyes widened when she looked down at the cracking ground. Read hot lava oozed out of the crevices. ”Storm!” She screamed out, knowing full well what could happen if Storm stepped on the thin ground as well. ”Stay where you are!”

The second she shifted her weight to look over her shoulder desperately searching for her companion, the ground gave way sending the tall girl into a small, hot lake of lava. The burning was so intense that her screams echoed over the arena, ear shattering and toe curling. The scent of burning flesh filled the area. Desperately Heron clutched to the unbroken earth, tears streaming down her face from the pain.

It felt like hours clawing her way out of that pit of fire, and when she could feel the ground beneath her again the pain didn’t stop. Heron continued to scream as the cool evening air scorched her legs with its cold. But only above the knee; she couldn’t feel anything else. She didn’t have to look down to know that her legs were gone. Her screams were only interrupted by her loud sobs of pain. Feeling her hands she made sure that she didn’t lose the two tokens, she needed Fletcher and Ana with her more than ever now. And Storm as well, if he realized that she absolutely needed him by her side now.

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

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But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
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It remained rather quiet as Storm and Heron continued their trek down the volcano. Both of them had their own thoughts mulling around, no doubt about what had happened at a higher elevation. Storm kept his eyes trained on the ground, not sure he wanted to look ahead. Looking ahead meant looking forward and at that moment, looking forward was the last thing he wanted to do. It was not so much that he did not want to understand promises; he was just not ready to accept them.

A loud scream broke the silence as Storm heard his name and a caution to remain where he was. He finally looked up to see his ally standing wide-eyed. He had heard a small crack but what his eyes picked up had nothing small in its description. The moment Heron moved ever so slightly was the moment when the ground below her gave out.

“Heron!” Storm yelled after his ally. It was rather pointless to only shout but he was so stunned that he felt glued to the floor. Heron’s warning had kept him cemented in his place, unable to immediately reach her. Once the shock wore off though, Storm tried his best to make it to her as soon as he could. He made sure to watch where he was stepping, but as every scream from Heron pierced the air, Storm became more desperate and less cautious in his steps. He had to reach her before she left him too.

By the time he made it to her, she was already out of the lava lake. But the pain was probably still there as Heron continued screaming. Storm cringed at the sound she made, wondering how bad the injury must have been for her to continue to—and then he spotted what the problem was. Where her lower legs had once been was…there was nothing. Not knowing what else to do, Storm kneeled down by Heron and gently lifted her up as best he could. They needed to move to a more stable area before he could figure out how to patch her up. “Don’t worry, Heron. I’m right here, okay? I’m right here,” he muttered as he held his ally in his arms. How ironic that he had held both members of his alliance in his arms. He hoped that Heron’s future would not be as bleak as Ana’s, though.

“Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

The only place he could think of was a solitary rock that he had happened upon while the duo had passed through the area. It was not a very comfortable rock but it would support Heron while Storm tried to tend to the wound. It would have been better if he had some herbs to help him out, but as there were hardly any herbs growing around, Storm figured he would have to take care of it in a different manner. God, I wish I had something to clean this wound right now.

Storm reached over to grab 5 ft of bandages from his own pack, using them to wrap around the open part of Heron’s knees. It was a long process but thanks to the first aid station he had taken, he was able to come up with a good bandage for her. He still cringed at the missing parts but knew that he would have to get over that too; it was just another part of the Games. He smoothed Heron’s hair, making calming sounds as he stared at her. “Don’t worry. We’ll make it through this.”

[/b]

Lifting her up gently, Storm made his away from the lava lake in another direction down the volcano. And to think he had been worrying how the alliance would hold up without Ana. Now…there was no way he could leave Heron like this, even if it meant it would slow them both down. [/color]
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