Gortoz A Ran [Day 3]

[semper]

Semper Capone

Their original plan had failed, to land on one of the islands. Before he knew it, the island beneath their feet had sunk, and there was nothing he could've done to have predicted it. It was a shame, really. The Capitol must have wanted to do something to Ree and he simply because all they had done on day two was kill the muttation; and even though it helped them, it hadn't pleased the Capitol, apparently.

Lying in his corner of the raft, looking up at the sky, Semper watched the faces flash across. Sul Tervish. He had hardly known the District 1 male Tribute. Of course he had seen him at the training stations, but he never had spoke to him. Autumn Radiata. He didn't know her, either. Garrett Vanderbilt. Mark Kane. Kale. Kale. Semper recalled the name, matching a face to it. He had seen him in the bloodbath, though he was surprised he had died; Semper had believed he had been in a good alliance, but two of them were already dead.

As the Anthem played again, the sky drew dark. Semper shivered -- not because of the nightly temperature, but because of the thoughts running rampant through his mind. The images of the dead, how they may have died -- it wasn't doing any good to his sanity. Shutting his eyes tightly, he turned onto his side in the raft, taking a few breaths to calm himself down, and soon he fell into a very troubled sleep.



The boy woke up early as a result of habit; before the sun was up, as usual. Feeling more groggy than usual, he used his hands to rub his face, trying to wake up from the lack of decent sleep and dehydration. His throat burned every time he tried to swallow, so he made a mental note to himself to not swallow. Shifting quietly -- he wasn't sure if Ree was still sleeping -- he rose to his bare feet, stepping out onto the warm sand.

Even though it was dark outside, his eyes were still adjusted to the lack of light, so he scanned the island. The grass was nearly as tall as he was, and he could only imagine how fast Ree and he could lose each other in it. Reaching down, he searched his pockets, finding a length of rope. A small smile tugged at his lips -- they wouldn't get lost after all.

Wrapping the rope in loose coils around his hand and elbow, he ventured closer to the grass, catching the scent of silt, mud, and basically anything associated to mucky water other than fish. Semper glanced back at the horizon, noticing the sun just starting to peak. The meat, though raw, had certainly given him more energy, though he was still exhausted of thirst. They would have to search the island soon, though he hadn't the slightest idea what would be hidden in the grass and muck.

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[[Ree]craft]

Reeallia Thorne

I was so exhausted I almost forgot my thirst. But I keep myself awake for the anthem. I need to know who died. It's important to my survival. Sul Tervish from district 1 shows first. Funny, he was a favorite. Then Autumn Radiata from District 2. That funny ruthless girl from 1, Drusilla, or Dru, survived. She was part of that career pack, wasn't she? The boy from 2 is skipped also. He was also part of the careers. Then Garrett Vanderbilt. I didn't even know he was in the games. He has made absolutely no impression on my, I guess. No one from district 4. I can't remember anyone from there anyway. No one from five or six. The boy Jango, another career is okay. It seems as if the careers have survived in tact. My stupid betraying idiotic partner from District 7 has survived to. I remember him from district 7. He caught me feeding my tiger. I'm so mad at him betraying me, I don't think I'd care to much if his face had appeared in the sky. Next Mark Kane, District 9. No idea who he is. Kale, district 12. I don't remember him either. The anthem ends, the seal appears and now I can go to sleep.

It seems to happen immediately. I'm dimly aware of snuggling right up next to Semper, sharing his body heat, but I was already half asleep.

I was woken next morning by Semper as he got up, but still I lay in our raft, not willing to get up and face another day. I could die today, I think miserably. But I have to get up. If I don't, I'll definitely die. I push myself to my feet and walk over to where Semper is gazing into the marshes ahead of us. He's tied a rope around his wrist.

"I bet there's water here," I say, trying to sound confident. Honestly, I doubt there's water here. It's a marsh, but all the water will be murky and undrinkable. I take his rope and tie it to my wrist. "We won't lose each other now. Now, lets get going."

[semper]

With his mind running rampant with imagining whatever could be in the tall grass, he was spooked when he suddenly heard Ree's voice.

"Y' spooked m' there for a second..."

He said, giving a weak and forced chuckle. The boy knew that the arena was no place for laughter, and he also knew that one of these islands was going to be his grave; however, he didn't like to think about it, so he figured it was better to try to lighten the mood while they were both still alive.

"There ain't nothin' but muck ever'where. We'd have t' boil the water, or somethin', but we ain't got any matches...."

His words were more directed towards himself as he mused out loud, though he shrugged it off. Even if all the water wasn't drinkable, it was still worth exploring -- there could be something valuable hidden deeper in the swamp-like area.

Making sure the rope was tight around his hand, he started into the muck, moving the grass aside as he did so. The shoulder-high grass made the half-blind boy feel terribly vulnerable despite how easy it would be to spot another Tribute. His bare feet seemed to be sucked into the muck with each step, which made him glad he wasn't wearing his shoes, or else he figured he would've lost them by now. The water level was rising, slowly but steadily, which concerned him. How high would the water get? There was no telling what was swimming in the water, ready to strike at their legs and feet. He shook his head slightly, putting the thought aside has he ventured further into the marsh, scanning the grass and water as he did so.

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[[Ree]craft]

Reeallia Thorne
Our feet our three quarter up in mud when I realize the material around me. Grass! Dried grass on the floor, live grass surrounding my shoulders. I take out the dried grass I saved from yesterday.

"I can make a bowl," I explain to Semper. I bend down, tugging Semper with me a bit, and collect all the plentiful, but muddy twigs and grasses on the ground. I show Semper how to weave them in and out of each other. "But make sure it's tight so we can pick up liquids, if need be."

I don't want to waste time so I tug Semper along, while I weave the bowl together.[/blockquote][/size]

(i have to cut off here because my mom is kicking me off)

[semper]

Semper was still headed into the swamp until the rope drew tight, pulling his wrist back. Thinking something had got her, his breath caught in his throat and his heart rate picked up, though he calmed back down as he heard her voice.

"I can make a bowl,"

Going back through the grass, he found where she was, noticing that she was weaving some sort of basket. 'Strange....' He thought as he watched, being shown the ropes of weaving. Narrowing his eyes in a thoughtful manner, he reached out and took a handful of grass nearby, trying to mimic Ree's actions, though he was having difficulty.

"Do y' weave stuff often back in District 7?"

Semper asked, glancing up at Ree for a moment before returning his attention to his makeshift basket. So far the blades of grass were not cooperating with him; the gaps between the blades were too large. He tried pulling the blades of grass tighter, only to have them tear apart.

"Darn it...."

He muttered, and though he was frustrated, he just replaced the broken blade with a new one, weaving it in and out, trying to make the gaps smaller this time around.

Before he knew it, he was already being tugged along, slightly disrupting his weaving. He couldn't help but give a half-hearted chuckle at his bad weaving, especially since he was fallowing Ree at the same time.

"I ain't too good at this."

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[[Ree]craft]

Reeallia Thorne

I laugh at Semper and his hopeless bowl. "You'll get better," I promise, "Just keep practicing." That's what my mother always told me when I was trying to learn. However, I never had a great nack for it, and I hated trying it complaining and having tantrums every time my mother said I should learn. Now I regret that, when it matters most, my small childhood pet peeves are getting in the way. The bowl is probably not tight enough to hold water and it's clumsy. One side higher than the other side and a small tear on the rim. However, it's better than Semper's slow progress, and though I'm conscious that I'm not being very nice, that makes me feel slightly better.

I'm about to show Semper the bowl when my body goes straight down several inches. I've stepped into a bog. The bog extends from where I'm standing to some less murky water in the middle. Plants surround it. Honestly, I'm fully fed and we have meat to spare so I don't pay any attention to the plants. It's my throat that's in want of a liquid.

"You reckon it's not poisoned?" I ask Semper.

[semper]

"You'll get better. Just keep practicing."

Semper did as she said, continuing at a slow, yet thorough, pace. It was still slow going, however, because with each step he took he sank further into the muck at the bottom; and the mud seemed to suck his feet in whenever he tried to take another step.

Sighing at his miserable looking bowl, he looked back up at Ree's own bowl, noticing a great difference in how they had been done. Hers was neatly and snuggly weaved, and his looked like it had been stomped on. He couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

"I reckon I'll just use m' hands t' scoop up water,"

He said, setting his mess of grass blades on the water's surface, watching it float. He then turned to fallow Ree, stepping down into the bog just moments after she had. The water had been warmed by the sun, no doubt, and in no way did it feel refreshing. The muck at the bottom, however, was still cool.

"You reckon it's not poisoned?"

Semper looked down at the murky water, taking a sharp intake of air. It certainly smelled like a marsh, but he couldn't smell anything wrong with it. Then again, he highly doubted he would've been able to smell the poison if it was. 'If it was poisoned, wouldn't I already b' havin' some sort of reaction 'cause of the gash on m' leg 'n' arm? It would've already gotten into m' bloodstream, I think....' The boy tilted his head slightly as he thought.

"I'll drink a little of it. It don't seem t' be poisonous, only 'cause I ain't felt nothin' on m' cuts, but jus' t' b' safe, I'll try some. That way we'll know if it's poisoned...."

Semper knew that if the water was tainted, drinking it would seal his fate; however, he knew deep inside him that he most certainly didn't want Ree to be the tester. He wasn't sure if it was just a District 5 thing, but where he came from, ladies were lionized. He had been taught to respect ladies; pretty much summed up to a "ladies first" rule. But to let Ree test the water to see if it was poisonous? It didn't make sense in his head.

Cupping his hands together, Semper lowered them into the water, pulling up a small pool of murky water. He knew that one sip -- just one sip -- could be the end of him. But they were in dire need of water.... if it was drinkable, they couldn't afford to miss this opportunity. Steeled by this thought, he brought his hands to his mouth, drinking the handful of murky water.


[Semper: Drinks water]

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