Caked in Blood (open)

[~Kayla~]

Listen to this.

I'm gonna burn it all down
I'm gonna rip it out
Well, everything you employ
Was meant for me to destroy
To the ground now

[/color]

Dwyn was in quite the adventurous mood today. She wanted to cause a riot and make some noise. Fuck the PeaceKeepers. They never noticed small things like her causing trouble anyways. Not that Dwyn ever really cared much for authority and today wasn't any different. In fact -and this might have been from the fact that she had a nice buzz going- she planned on blatantly ignoring the PeaceKeepers. It wasn't like they were ever a real problem anyways.

Now, Dwyn wasn't going to go blow up the PeaceKeeper's building or anything slightly as stupid. She wasn't that drunk. No. She just wanted to start a fight, a real kicking and screaming brawl. Was that so hard to accomplish? She thought not. And so she headed to the forest, cracking her knuckles as she went.

Want you to slap me around
Want you to knock me out
Well, you missed me, kissed me
Now you better kick me down

The forest was eerily quiet and there was hardly any animals wandering about. It was like everything was waiting for something... or someone. A smile flickered across Dwyn's face as she walked stealthily forwards. She liked the creepy atmosphere. She felt like it made things easier. Noticing the little things was easier when there wasn't that much to distract her. Her steps were silent and sneaky as only a hunter would walk. Not that she did much hunting these days. She had other, better ways to spend her time.

She stalked through the forest looking for any signs of someone having been this way recently. She was focused on listening for some tell-tale sign like a twig snapping or a quiet cough from behind a bush. At least one unlucky bastard had to be out here hunting for their dinner and for the Capitol. A sneer crossed Dwyn's face at the thought. She didn't give anything to the Capitol, simply because nothing she had was procured legally. Well, that and she hated the Capitol. Why should she work to support them? In what world did that make sense?

So don't fuck me around
Because I'll shoot you down
I'm gonna drink, fight and fuck
And I'm pushing my luck
All the time now

[/color]

A twig snaps somewhere off to Dwyn's left and she quickly turns towards the noise, a blood-thirsty grin on her face. "Finally." She's excited as he climbs a nearby tree, slipping a few times. Being slightly tipsy did have it's drawbacks. Soon she was high enough to peer into the little clearing where the noise had come from.

She perches herself onto a branch, carefully keeping herself concealed by the branches of the tree. Then she draws two daggers and thinks about what to do next. Either she could just sit here, hidden in the tree, and belittle whoever it was in the clearing or she could just hop down and scare the shit out of them. She liked the second option and she slid off the branch, landing on the ground with a quiet thud.

Her head tilts up to look at her chosen victim, the look in her eyes slightly crazy in a violent kind of way. "Hey there." Her voice is soft but there's a strange tone layered in, hinting at sinister thoughts.[/blockquote]

I'm not fucking around
I think I'm coming out
I'm a hater, a traitor,
In a pair of Chuck Taylors right now
I'm not fucking around
G-L-O-R-I-A

[/color]

(ooc- I'm sorry 'bout that up there. It started off O.K and then... it died. And sorry 'bout the language. I was in Dwyn's head for most of the post.)[/size]

[CC is SO Sorry D:]

Rhys Lanoa

Rhys Lanoa was out hunting today. Like almost every day. It had almost become monotonous work, hunting. Going out to take aim and fire, bringing down large prey so he had enough money to keep his family's house. Well, the house they had lived in with their mother. Normally, they would have been reassigned, because their family wasn't quite as large anymore, but Rhys and his father worked hard to retain possession of their home. After all, it was...home.

Rhys pondered what the word "home" even meant for a few moments. It was supposed to be a place that was secure, kind of like a safe haven. A place where you were loved. Rhys hadn't felt like he had a home since his mother had died.

His father and him had drifted farther and farther apart since his mother's death. Rhys realized now that she was the one who had held their family together. She had planned all of their family activities, had made family dinners every night, had loved them both with all of her heart. Without her, they were broken.

Rhys softly ran through the forest. Running, his lifelong passion, was his only escape. It was his way to get out of the mess his life was. The monotonous pounding of his feet against the ground was strangely calming, and it took over Rhys' emotions and thoughts until they were all but erased. It was unbelievably amazing to forget everything that happened in his life.

That wasn't to say that his life was bad. Because that was completely untrue. Rhys' life was fine. Most of the time, he was moderately happy. He laughed and joked and hung out with friends. But there was something missing. Something he never really noticed until he was on his own, away from everyone and everything. Simply hunting in the forest, with the animals and trees and plants.

He loved the forest, he truly did. It was the only place he could be alone and simply remember. But it was also painful, thinking about his mother. He often found himself asking how she would have done something. Would she stalk her prey or shoot immediately? Would she bother even hunting that animal if it looked slightly unhealthy? There were so many things he asked himself every day about his mother.

He hardly even liked hunting. It was something he had been brought up on, but he didn't like killing. He was rather fond of animals. Whenever he saw and stray cat or dog, he would try to give them scraps of food or a bath. Rhys was a caring person, he found joy in helping other creatures. But not everyone could be saved.

That was something he had learned when his mother died.

Rhys continued to run swiftly and silently, keeping a lookout for possible prey. There! he thought to himself, as he spotted a trail. Unfortunately, his focus caused a little clumsiness, and he snapped a twig. Rhys shrugged carelessly. It happened, and it was rare any bad consequences would come from it, especially considering he hadn't even been close to any animals.

But then a girl dropped down from a tree with a thud, and Rhys spun around, shocked to see someone else. She looked slightly deranged as she greeted him, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. But he tried to keep an open mind about her, because he knew what was happening in her life?

"Hey there yourself," he said amiably.

[~Kayla~]

What is the meaning of evil? It was a question Dwyn had been contemplating a lot recently. Ever since that bitch had called her evil, right before Dwyn had snapped and rammed a knife into her throat. The lady had totally deserved it at that point... But seriously, was Dwyn really evil? She honestly didn't think so.

Her definition of evil was someone who did impossibly cruel acts for fun. Dwyn only did what she did to survive. That wasn't evil, just survival of the fittest. PeaceKeepers were evil. Just look at what they'd done to Flight. She'd come back thin as a stick and abused as hell. Panem was evil. Look at what it had turned the country into, look at what it did to 24 kids every year.

And yet the dictionary Dwyn had taken the time to look at had defined evil as something simply being against person's morals. If that was the case then a shit load of people thought she was evil. Yet, under her own morals, she wasn't evil. Oh, how confusing all this was.

But look at what Dwyn was doing now. She was out, on the hunt, about to terrorize some poor, innocent soul. And for what? To satisfy some urge, some whim that had come upon her? Eh, maybe she was evil. What did it matter? She was sure she was going to hell someday anyways.

The boy that appeared surprised her. For one, he was extremely tall. It seemed that almost everyone was taller than Dwyn these days. What was up with that? And he that kind, friendly face that annoyed the hell out of Dwyn. It wasn't because she was averse to kindness. She was just the slightest bit jealous that she'd turned into the cold hearted person she was and yet some people still managed to stay good.

You see, Dwyn didn't think she was evil but she sure as hell knew she wasn't good. Good, in her mind, was boring. Good was a waste of time and energy. Why should she help other people? What have they done for her? Charity wasn't even a word in Dwyn's vocabulary.

So the boy's warm tone threw her off a bit. She was suspecting the slight suspicion on his face. But she was also expecting fear, hesitation. Things to provoke her, make her carry out the misdeed she'd planned on creating. She hadn't planned on having a conversation. Why did people have to ruin the fun? Her brow furrows slightly as she considers her next move. Her voice is still a bit antagonistic as she finally talks. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I thought you were an animal of some sort." And why was she lying to him? Honestly she didn't know. Maybe she'd lead him on and just nab whatever was in his pockets when he wasn't looking.

She straightens up from her crouch and discreetly puts the knives back in their place. No need to be armed when you were trying to charm someone, right? When she next speaks her voice is smoother and more pleasant. "You're from District 9, right? So you know what it's like, being a hunter and all. You never know what's hiding in the bushes." Rambling always made her lies just that bit more believable or so she thought. No one had ever called her out for lying before.

(ooc- It was all over the place again! I'm sorry. I'm working on it.)

[CC is SO Sorry D:]

Her hair was jagged and blonde, her eyes a cold blue. She was an average height, although she seemed even more muscular than some other of the female hunters of his district, of which there were many. Her angular cheeks and full lips were a couple of her prettier features. She also had a scar above her right eyes, which stood in sharp contrast to her otherwise soft-seeming skin.

"Well, I'm a little too clumsy to be an animal, aren't I?" Rhys asked, joking about his fumble in snapping the twig a few moments ago. He still thought the girl looked a little suspicious, so he was trying to be careful and diffuse the tension that he felt in the air, even though he wasn't sure if it even existed. Maybe he was being stupid, but he couldn't trust her.

It was a strange thing, when Rhys didn't place his trust in someone. He was the type of person who truly believed in the goodness of people, because he knew that everyone had an equal potential for being fair and just. Some people had just been corrupted, and they needed help. Like he thought the girl did, which was why he was cautiously being funny and social.

Because something was definitely off about her, he decided. She wasn't like every other person he ran into on a daily basis. He didn't want to believe that she was an evil ax murderer or something like that, but he didn't like the threatening way she held her knives, as if she was going to throw them at him.

To his relief, she put them away. It must just have been self-defense or habit. She heard a noise, and she thought it might have been some type of creature, so she planned on killing it for money. Of course, that made sense as well. In fact, it explained her suspicious behavior entirely.

Her next words confirmed his beliefs, and Rhys smiled easily. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry; it's not a big deal. No harm done, after all. I'm still alive and breathing."

Rhys thought about how some incidents in the forest didn't always have such happy endings. When his father and mother had gone out that day, expecting nothing out of the ordinary, his mother had died. She had been shot in the head, and had died instantly. He still had nightmares sometimes, imagining himself approaching her sleeping body, only to turn it over and find it covered in blood. The forest could be cruel if you didn't exercise proper caution.

In fact, everyone could die. Someone could get spooked and shoot at another person, if they thought it was simply an animal. Hadn't he nearly just died? Anything was possible, but there were ways to be safe. Having a hunting partner always made hunting a little more enjoyable, even if there wasn't much time to talk in between the work. It was nice to know someone had your back.

He actually wouldn't mind hunting with the girl, he didn't think. She seemed like she knew how to handle herself. She actually could make a decent partner, Rhys thought. She was probably attentive and alert, considering the situation they were in.

He impulsively asked the question before he had a chance to think a bit more. "Hey, do you, uh, want to go hunting with me?"

[~Kayla~]

Dwyn knew he didn't trust her. Being able to read people was a skill she'd learned came in handy, no matter what you were doing. It helped her keep herself alive and it also helped her choose those that looked like the easiest prey. He'd looked like easy prey to begin with but she wasn't so sure anymore.

Maybe it was the way he held himself or the mistrustful look in his eye. There was just something that told her he wasn't absolutely sure about her yet. Part of her admired him for it. There was something more exciting about having to deal with someone who didn't feel right around her, who didn't feel safe. It made things more interesting. But part of her was a bit irked by it. She was hoping for someone easy. Well, really, she was hoping for someone who'd throw a fist her way. This guy didn't seem to meet either criteria.

He wanted to believe her, that much was obvious. It was in his voice. He was trying to diffuse the situation, placate the monster. "Good luck." But she was already on the hunt, though for a different prey than the average hunter. If only he knew that. Things could be more interesting, more like what she'd set out to find in the first place. But not yet. She wanted to see if he could, would, believe her.

His next words told her the truth. She'd got him hook, line, and sinker. Oh, this was just too easy sometimes. Inside Dwyn smiled, glad it had been this easy. Two simple statements, that's all it had taken. It was always the real good ones too, the ones that wanted to believe the best in everybody. Didn't they know that was just a vulnerability, a weakness in the eyes of those 'unfortunates,' the ones they most desperately wanted to help?

His next words, however, took her by surprise. She'd really convinced him, if he was asking her to be his hunting partner. She blinked quickly, the only sign of her momentary shock. "What?" That had almost slipped out and she internally cussed at herself for almost losing her self control.

"Hunting partners?!" She'd never hunted with anybody, not a single soul. When she had hunted it was always alone. It was one of the only times when she'd felt some sort of inner peace, some sort of quiet. Hunting with another person hadn't ever occurred to her. She was, however, always up for new things.

A small smile appears as she answers in a friendly tone. "Partners? Sure, why not?" She could do this she was sure. Dwyn would hunt with him, maybe even give him the catch. She'd see how well this system worked. And then, later, she'd just nab whatever happened to be in his pockets at the time. Simple really. And then... she'd go to a bar and satisfy her need for violence.

"What did you have in mind?" The question was innocent enough, especially since Dwyn didn't even know what animals were allowed to be hunted at the moment. The Capitol only allowed the citizens of District 9 to hunt whatever was in surplus at the time. Dwyn never payed attention to what was being allowed and what wasn't. She'd just killed whatever she could. This kid might think differently.

It occurred to her that manners might be needed at this moment. Mainly, names. She didn't know his and she knew he didn't know hers. So she decided to introduce herself. "My name's Flight by the way." She was sure that if Flight found out Dwyn had used her name there would be a problem. But, in this case, real names weren't the best of ideas. Not when Dwyn was intending on stealing from her new hunting partner. The Peacekeepers already had enough excuses to arrest her if they really wanted too.

[CC is SO Sorry D:]

Rhys smiled as the girl agreed to hunt with him, although he was thinking that perhaps it was ridiculously stupid for him to ask at all. For all he knew, she was a murderous back-stabber. But he didn't want to believe that, because it was also ridiculous. He just didn't want to be stupid.

There was a reason he hadn't initially trusted her. By nature, Rhys was an easy-going, friendly guy. The girl has a sly, devious look to her, though, and the circumstances were suspicious. He wanted to like her, to think of her as someone he could depend on, but he was worried that if he did, he would be in trouble.

Hadn't he instinctively asked her to hunt with him, though? That impulse couldn't have been all wrong. He wasn't foolish enough to hunt with someone who was going to screw him over. It would turn out alright, and all of his anxiousness would have been for nothing. He was getting himself worked up over nothing. Of course.

"Well...there's always rabbits. And squirrels. I think that deer are fair game right now too." He was actually positive. Rhys kept careful track of which animals he was allowed to hunt and which ones he couldn't. His father had taught him as a child that he would be in huge trouble if he went against the law. Rhys had always been worried about the consequences of doing something illegal, because he had heard conspiracy theories about kids getting reaped for the Games when they or their parents went against the law.

Rhys smiled once more as she introduced herself. Flight. He didn't think it suited her. He knew all about fight or flight reaction. He thought the girl would be the type to fight. Then again, she was obviously intelligent (he could see it in her eyes), and she would probably be the type to make the best choice for her, whether it be either.

Briefly, he wondered if he would fight or not. He wasn't particularly confrontational, but he wouldn't abandon anyone or anything. It was a curious thought.

He took out his quiver full of arrows, running his hand over the end, inspecting them once more before they went out. He had checked them before he entered the forest initially, but something could have happened since then, and he wanted to be careful. With Flight, he thought they had a chance of bringing down some big animals.

"I'm Rhys," he responded as he ran his hand over his bow as well, checking the wood for splinters. For some reason, he felt anxious, and wanted to keep them in prime condition. He was worried that he might need them for something. He couldn't imagine what, however.

After he looked over all of his supplies and gear, he looked back up at Flight, wondering what to say next. He hadn't picked a location or direction for hunting next. "So...do you want to just run for a while, and see what we can find? There's bound to be something deeper in the woods."

He tilted his head in the direction of one of the darker parts of the forest, where there was plenty of foliage and various plants of a spectrum of colors. Rhys rarely hunted in the section of the woods, because his mother had died deep in the forest, the area he was recommending.

He tried to ignore the thumping in his heart. One Lanoa had died there, who was to say another wouldn't? But why had he suggested it in the first place? He actually kind of had a desire to visit the place of his mother's death. There was no explanation for it, because he normally avoided it like the plague.

Well, he was doing all sorts of crazy things today.

[[ooc: Ugh. Sorry, fail!post.]]