Forever Unbroken // Arrows!Train

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Katelyn

Persimmon

The chair that once mocked her was now the seat in which she sat. The large array of food was again spread out along the table, but once more she had no taste for it. Though now she wasn’t afraid for herself. She was afraid for the boy sitting across from her. He was three years younger than her, and rather weepy. But that was to be expected.

No one in district eleven was built for violence and fighting, ‘cept for the Izar boys. Finter had prattled on with the same spiel he had given her last year, but changed it up a little as he put Katelyn up on a pedestal that she didn’t want to be on. She was well aware that people in the district looked up to her, but it was humbling to know that her victory would not have been possible without the tributes from six looking out for her early on.

Katelyn forced herself into eating a bowl of lentil soup, which was surprisingly well seasoned as she wanted to keep her strength up. Not eating last time had left her dizzy and feeling faint by the time she had arrived in the Capitol. The silence was broken only by the clink of her spoon on the rim of the bowl, and then she managed to speak. “You need to eat. Keep your strength up for the arena.”

Momentarily, she heard the sound of her ax splitting open the can of tuna in her ears. And that same ax breaking a rib.“Watch out for the careers. Find allies that you can trust.” She stated as she thought about how the careers that hadn’t fallen to Ellexias or mutts had killed each other off. And how allies often turned on each other.

“I’m gonna give it to you straight Kirito. The arena is hell. But the climate will be different from the one I was in, that I can guarantee. No one will know where the food and water will be until someone finds it.” The gamemakers never repeated that feature for consecutive games. Frozen, underground, desert, the four elements, just to name the last four. But the careers would be the same. The dying would be the same, and in the end there would only be one victor.

“At some point, you'll have to kill. I never wanted to kill anyone, but I had to. If I got over it, you can too." she ground out as her mind taunted her with images of Dillon's ravaged body and Chaske's quiet pleading. "When your allies are just faces in the night sky and the tribute across from you has death on their mind, You fight. Or you die.”

Perhaps she was laying it on a little thick but it was the truth. It had taken her eight days to find her inner strength and she just barely managed to outlast Margaret in the end. Kirito needed to find that same strength sooner, especially with nine careers to hide from.

“But that doesn't have to change you. You can stay true to yourself. I had to figure this all out by myself. And I have the scars to prove it. But you've got me. So tell me what your plan for the arena is. I want to help.” she ended with what she hoped was a warm smile in contrast to her chilling words.

made by anzie

[Arrows]

Kirito Miristioma

Kirito's eyes still stun with the persisent pain of the tears he had shed with his brother in the Justice Building. All around him he could feel the eyes of his fellow district citizens baring into his skin. He could even feel his skin prickling with worrisome bumps even though the sun was blazing just as usual. Everything about the situation made Kirito feel wrong. He felt exposed. He had always been the quiet shy healer boy that no one really noticed. However now he was all they noticed.

Being the single tribute in the Quell after Katelyn's victory had made him a celebratory within seconds of his name being called. However this wasn't even a quarter of all the fame he surely had in the Capitol. He was well prepared for the mad raving of him beating the odds for a back to back District Eleven win once he reached the gates of the all mighty Capitol. However, mentally he would cower just as he always had. He wasn't made to live a star life, he was made to be invisible like he had been up to this point.

As Kirito took last longing glance upon the platform of the tribute train he could have sworn he saw several people actually crying for him. Why he had literally no clue. Perhaps they did this for every tribute or maybe because he was the only tribute this year? Oh it didn't matter anyway, the train would leave the station no matter what happened. So with a long sigh Kirito let the silver door of fate slide silently shut behind him.

The moment Kirito entered the train car he was blown away by its overall luxury. Just this single train car was twenty times more luxurious than the justice building from which he had just come. Even the fancy little plates of food set out were fancier than some of the things he had seen in the Justice Building. In fact he was instantly driven towards the food platters as his stomach screamed for the gorgeous looking meals. 

It was just as Kirito was piling his plate high with a whole assortment of foods that he became away of the other presence in the room. Instantly waves of fear rushed through his body like a river as he turned slowly to face the pride and joy of District Eleven. Ms. Katelyn Persimmon in the actually flesh.

Kirito felt his body shaking minutely as her icy blue eyes froze him with a force as chilling as the arena in which she emerged from. However the stern voice that came out of her mouth actually soothed Kirito. Since he could tell she was not in fact as harsh as he thought she might be. Since know one can truly know how victors are unless they meet them.

Nodding to her advice about eating Kirito took a seat and sipped up the glorious nectar of some stew he had gotten. With a long moan of satisfaction the constant war of hunger that gripped his gut ceased. "Rich tastin." He said out loud, not particularly to Katelyn but just as a general sort of statement since he couldn't help himself. 

As Katelyn finished and asked him for his plan he froze. Up until now he didn't have a plan what so ever. He just knew he was going into the arena. Yet there was one thing he wanted to ensure above all other things. "Well, uh, I just wanna stay who I am. I mean I know I gotta fight and maybe even kill but I don' wanna lose who I am in that arena. I am a healer who likes helpin' people an' i don' want that to eva change ya know."

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Katelyn

Persimmon

She listened to his words in silence and ached for the days when she would have agreed whole heartedly. Like her, he wanted to help people; like her he didn’t want to lose himself in the arena. He said he was a healer; which she took to mean that he knew his way around medicinal herbs as there wasn’t a college of medicine like in district six. He wouldn’t be like Ellexias had been, but it could still give him an edge. Why did she feel so old? She’d barely been a victor for a year but she felt like she aged a decade in that same time period.

Katelyn watched him eat and continued to stare at him, wondering how the other mentors with more years of experience handled their tributes. She had opted to tell him nothing but the hard truths that she had learned. Distancing herself had never crossed her mind; Kirito was her responsibility. The first ever tribute in eleven to have a mentor.

The first mentor to ever have a tribute. It was easy to see how victors could make it all about them. If Kirito did poorly in the arena, people would construe it as a reflection on her. Kate the great as the Izar boy had called her. But it wasn’t about her. It was about him. She didn’t care whether people thought she did her best to mentor him. She wanted to do her best and bring him home.

As far as many people were concerned, she was holding his life in her hands. “Like I said. You need to find good allies. People you can trust. If past games are anything to look at, trust is important.” She sighed and forced herself to meet his eyes.“I hope you can trust me. I’m new at this whole mentoring thing.” She remarked lightly.

However her mind was somewhere else entirely. In a very short amount of time, twenty-four tributes would once again be subjected to the arena and all but one of them would die. Would she be able to handle watching people die onscreen? Probably. She had had to do it in person. Would she be able to handle it if Kiri trusted her to get him home and she failed him? She didn’t know.

made by anzie

[Arrows]

Kirito Miristioma

Kirito could feel his insides twist and twinge at the mention of trust. Katelyn was dead on point about the fact that when Kirito eventually chose allies it would have to be people he could trust with his life. Talk about one hell of a hard decision. How would he be sure if he could trust someone without knowing they might stab him the first chance they get. Or maybe that feeling of insecurity would always be there. He supposed only time would tell.

Kirito thought back to the alliances he had seen in past games. Some of them were so close that they even had particularly "disgusting" kinds of interactions with each other. How they could possible due such things knowing they were participating the a game of death utterly blew Kirito's mind. Even Katelyn's alliance was filled with utter respect and what seemed like genuine friendship. They all trusted each other, and as of right now the only person Kirito trusted was Katelyn.

"Of course I trust ya, I trust ya with ma life.  Ya are a great mentor, I don' think I could have a betta one." With that Kirito smiled softly at her. It was so odd that a girl such as Katelyn who in truth wasn't that much older than himself had endured so much. That she had entered an arena and come out alive. She seemed so mature for such a young age, Kirito couldn't help but wonder if that would be his fate as well if he were to win.

The train moved so quietly and softly for the speed in which it was traveling. However it wasn't the movement of the train that was distracted him or even the taste of the delicious food he was ingesting. The sheer beauty he was seeing whip by every passing second. All the green was truly breath taking. It was nothing like the Capitol described the outside world.

Slowly Kirito made his way over to the window and placed his hand softly open the cool glass. "I wonda what's actually out there ya know? If there really is anything else." Off in the distance Kirito could see a river gently sweeping through green lit hills. Even on a raised track Kirito felt as though the tall trees that surrounded them could easily be reached. Maybe one day he would feel these trees for real. Maybe not. "Howeva I probably shouldn' be focusin' on that world when I am about to enta a whole new world of my own in tha arena huh?"

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Katelyn

Persimmon

It did her some good to hear that he trusted her. Over the past year, Katelyn found it harder to trust people herself. It seemed like there was always an angle; that there was a hidden agenda. Whether it was someone trying to get her to do something or people faking their way through a conversation to keep up appearances.

Kirito went on about the world that surrounded them Sometimes, she too wondered what else was out there too; about what could be found in the vast expanses in between the districts and beyond. But not with another games looming overhead; a yearly event that she would never be able to view the same way again. And who was she to tell him what was important?

"Focus on whatever will keep you going. I know I did." she said softly. Having something to hold onto was paramount to avoid losing oneself in the games. She knew that some tributes had in her own games. Worse still, even though the games broke people, sometimes people were broken before ever getting reaped. Kirito didn't strike her as the latter, but who knew if he'd go off the deep end once he was fighting his life.

Not everyone was fortunate enough to find allies they trusted; or that stayed alive long enough to befriend. But maybe that was enough hard truth for the present. Perhaps it was time she let him explore the train and think of comforting things. Katelyn finished her meal and stood."We've got a long ride ahead of us." she said as she headed for the door. "Don't forget to sleep."

made by anzie