No New Friends (Molly, Gentian, Riven, Leticia)

[Sleepy Fluttershy]

The pain is not drifting away, but I can afford to think more clearly now. I am getting used to the pain, and almost stop paying attention to it. I realise that while I was punching the guy from eight, the Shiny lunged at Riven.

I glance at the shiny girl's face again. It is full of stubbornness, obsession and something else. I can't help but feel sorry for her. I wouldn't say I am perfect, but at least things I love are worth fighting for. Her purpose is like a firework: she will regret what she has done when she finally understands the truth about life or she will die an empty and useless jewelry collector.

“You’re like a stupid selfish child who has a box full of toys and chases her neighbour's old doll just because it doesn’t belong to her. No one will cry when you are gone, because jewels don’t have a heart in them. The real light lives inside a person’s soul, like it does in Riven’s or in my sister’s and that light is something you will never have if you continue attacking people without any reason.”

I feel the bracelet scratch my wrist again and Aileen’s face floats in front of me. If I want to be worthy of her gift, I have to learn to forgive, just like she did her best not to hold a grudge against me. Damn. I wish I realised that earlier. Maybe we wouldn’t have been fighting then.

Sorry, sis. I still love you more than anyone, just like I love Luke. I am sure you will understand. I take the bracelet off my wrist and throw it at the Shiny:

“Come on, take it! Just a bunch of rusty paperclips to you anyway, because my sister wasn't making it for YOU. Happy now?”

I don’t need a bracelet to remember. I don’t need a bracelet to be loved. The bracelet is not all I have left. I have my family and I have my allies. They are all in my heart and they make me strong, they make me who I am, even if I am not the best human-being in the world. Those are the only things that really matter.

The guy hits Riven on the head and I understand that I have to focus on him completely, because if I don’t, my ally will turn into a crippled corpse. I must not let that happen. And I strike again:
“Are you deaf, foolish or both? I think I told you to stop, you idiot!”

[attacks Gentian Hope unarmed]

qNRadzAyunarmed

5083 -- Bruised Left Hand -- 2 damage
(Unarmed)

I hope we will survive this. We must survive. I know that we don’t have much chance to get out of the Arena, but for now, I just want us to live and find our other allies. I can’t let them bring us down. Not today. It would be too stupid.

“Deep breaths, Riv. Just let me deal with that jerk for you and we’ll get you out of here.”unarmed

[MrMista]

Molly Malachite | 14 | D1F

---

Molly swung, hoping for a solid hit. But her injuries were catching up with her, causing the girl's movements to slow. Her target head no such issues. Almost effortlessly, Riven had blocked Molly's attack, sending the girl back to the girl.

On the ground, Leticia’s words filled Molly’s ears. The girl screamed of toys and spoiled brats, of souls and meaningless existences. “No one will cry when you are gone, because jewels don’t have a heart in them,” she spat. “You’re wrong,” retorted Molly. “The darkness inside you just prevents you from seeing the truth. Light surrounds us; it is everywhere. When darkness grows in power, a million voices cry out in unity. The light inside your sister is the same as the light inside my shinies. Perhaps, once you defeat your dark side, you too will see that light.”

Leticia didn’t take to those words kindly. She scowled, and Molly could see the darkness clouding the other girl’s vision. Mouth in an upside-down “U”, Leticia screamed out, “Come on, take it! Just a bunch of rusty paperclips to you anyway, because my sister wasn't making it for YOU. Happy now?”

Arm tilted back, she swung. Molly braced herself for another onslaught of hits. She flinched, but then gasped as she saw a glint of something flying towards her. Reaching her hand out, she grasped the object firmly as she pulled it towards her chest. Leticia had actually thrown Molly her bracelet. Giddy with excitement, "Shiny!" she screamed. "My... Shiny!" It was beautiful, glinting in the light as Molly moved it around her field of vision. She eventually shifted her gaze towards Leticia, surprised at the gesture. "Maybe there's hope for you yet. You're right, people do have light inside them. Even in the darkest of souls, a tiny flame still burns, refusing to give up its light."

Standing up on her good leg, Molly began to hop around. Gesturing at the bracelet, at her necklace, all around them, she spoke. "The light around us is just as important as the light within. Nobody, not you, not me, not Atlas, can keep the darkness at bay alone. That's the shinies' true power. That's why I fight for them so hard."

She drew closer to Leticia, Riven, and Gentian, bringing herself within fighting distance again. "That might not make sense to you right now, for the darkness rests within you too, but clearly you know enough to understand,"

Motioning at Gentian, Molly concluded, "Why I can't let you two hurt him."



[Attacks Riven unarmed]
|7_8oP0munarmed

5164 - Bruised Left Hand -- 2.0 damage
unarmed

[Lyn𝛿is]

gentian hope

Are you deaf, foolish, or both?

Of course he was foolish, it was foolishness to thrust himself into a place where up was down and left was right and right was wrong, but when everyone is foolish, then who is the fool?

It was hard to think, too many people and too much pain stabbing through his foot and all over his body. Everything seemed very far away, as though he was watching himself from a distance as the Seven girl's fists continued, beating new bruises against his skin and demanding that he stop attacking her ally.

At this point, he could do nothing but obey.

Gentian Hope attacks Leticia Wheeler unarmed

BKIjLGKsunarmed

5101 -- Broken Right Foot -- 6.5 damage
(Unarmed)

unarmed

[solo]

Slowly, one by one, words are becoming more solid in my mind.
"Come on, take it!"
"The light around us is just as important as the light within."
"I can't let you two hurt him."
Fists fly and mix with words and I hear more bones crunching. Pain writhes violently across my arm and face and all I wan to do is sit and cry and wait for Mama to come take me home. But I can't. I'm stuck here in this arena, with these idiots screaming about light and dark. It's all complete foolishness, I know it. Light and dark are concepts, not powers fighting some sort of invisible battle amongst us. The very thought is completely ridiculous.
"You're crazy." I mutter, quietly at first. My eyes are on the girl from One, wide, afraid, confused. How can she be so obsessed with something that she's willing to kill us in order to get a bracelet of twisted, rusty paperclips? But I'm not so sure that's what she wants anymore, because now she's coming at me. I look down, wondering if something sparkly has caught her eye, but I don't see anything, and while I'm looking, her fist connects with my wrist. I reel back and swing out instinctively.

{Word Count: 205 || Attacks Molly Malachite || Unarmed}

8vnF4AdBunarmed

5194 -- Tripped -- 0.5 damage

unarmed

[Sleepy Fluttershy]

Leticia Wheeler

I think my words have had some effect on the guy from eight. He doesn't pay attention to Riven anymore, but damn, he attacks me instead. I didn't see it coming, because my anger prevented me from thinking clearly. I don't even have time to protect myself or fight back. In a matter of seconds something crushes in my foot. Dammit. The pain spreads through my body and there is not a single corner of it which doesn't hurt. The scream inside me grows as I try to calm down. I must not look weak, especially in front of someone who wants to hurt me. When I bite my lip, fighting the urge to yell as loud as I can, a new wave of pain floods me. My teeth pierce the skin and a narrow stream of blood runs down my chin. I groan quietly and limp backwards.

Meanwhile, the Shiny blurts out some rubbish about the light around us and hits Riven. I almost believed that by giving her what she wanted I solved her problem. But looks like even when I was trying to speak her damn language to talk some sense into her she didn't hear me. Dammit. I am not negotiating with her anymore. All I care about now is getting myself and my ally out of here safe. If she doesn’t want to understand, I will have to force her to stop attacking us.

“You are damn crazy. Just leave us alone and let us go, both of you.”

I press the words out of my mouth, trying to beat the pain and stop myself from shouting. DAMMIT! Everything becomes blurry again and vomit climbs up my throat. I have to forget about this. There is no pain, just me, Riven and two monsters in our way. The pain doesn’t exist.

Mom, Luke, Aileen, Marcus, my alliance. They are the only ones I should think about. If I want them all to be happy, I must forget it all and just strike. There is no time for talking to crazy shinies, we have to escape as soon as possible. And if I want to stay alive today and keep my memories, I have to fight. Protect myself and Riven.

I hear a bee buzzing near my ear. When I turn my head, there is nothing there. Meanwhile, the sound strengthens and fills my brain. Have to finish this before I faint. Before something happens to my ally.

“Are you okay?”

I ask Riven that question in a worried tone and limp towards Molly as fast as I can. No matter how sorry I feel about doing this, this is what I have to do. I have to attack.


[attacks Molly Malachite unarmed]

RIQPAyehunarmed
5013 -- Bruised Right Knee -- 2.5 damage
(Unarmed)

LYRICS
HERE

Table by the amazing and wonderful Solo:)))

unarmed

[MrMista]

Molly Malachite | 14 | D1F

---

As Molly swung at the raven-haired girl, she hoped for a hit that would send her opponents scurrying. She let her punch fly towards the girl’s face, but did not anticipate the girl’s block. Molly’s fist met the back of Riven’s hand. Looking into Molly’s eyes, the girl muttered, “You’re crazy.” (No, you’re just corrupted by darkness.) The girl’s eyes had a glimmer of light, but it was being squashed out by her deeds, granting darkness more power with every thrown punch.
Before Molly could respond, Riven’s foot found its way behind Molly’s. With a push, Riven sent Molly sprawling onto the ground. (How do I keep ending up in this position?)
Suddenly, another burst of pain shot through Molly’s leg, and she found Leticia standing over her yet again. (Deja-vu)
The light in the girl's eyes was fading. The darkness was taking over. She hissed, "You are damn crazy. Just leave us alone, both of you!"
“I’m not crazy. I just understand the power of the light. You need to fight the darkness, Leticia, and you will understand too!” She hobbled over to the girl and looked her in the eyes. Molly could see the struggle within her going on, like twin waves bursting against one another. Her inner turmoil was breaking the girl from the inside, even if she didn’t know it herself.
Leticia and Riven were falling. Riven may have already succumbed. Words weren’t working. They dripped off the girls as if they were made of Teflon. Unfortunately, there was only one way back to the light for them, only one way to push back the darkness emerging from inside them. She would have to resort to fists and beat it out of them. “I know it’s hard to believe,” she said, “But what I’m about to do is for your own good. Eventually, you’ll understand why.”


[Attacks Leticia unarmed]
_Lvp3UZUunarmed

5043 -- Block -- 0.0 damage

(Unarmed) unarmed

[Lyn𝛿is]

gentian hope

More cannons, entirely too many for comfort. Did the Gamemakers mean for them to brawl each other to death, bored of watching children hacking each others' limbs off with weapons? Or to fall off the edge of the sky in this eerily quiet yet deafeningly loud mansion, surrounded by useless colors?

A part of him still longed to draw something with the single copper crayon he'd snatched from the bloodbath. Something tasteful. Something that reminded him of home, instead of the kind of stuff that Capitolites seemed to think of as art.

Crayons are for children, though. Adults made art with pencils and paints, yarns and colorful fabrics.

But perhaps they were all just children after all.

Gentian Hope attacks Leticia Wheeler unarmed

7FyX6cr7unarmed

5140 -- Bruised Head -- 3.5 damage
(Unarmed)

unarmed

[solo]

BANG.
Cannon fire in the distance and suddenly I realize we're not the only ones fighting to stay alive. There are forty-eight other tributes, desperately battling to get out of this horrendous place. Or are they? I wonder, somewhere in the back of my mind, if some of them would rather be here than back home. If some of them actually used this place as an escape. Is that why these two kids are here? The girl from One, and the boy from Eight? Were their homes so awful that they would rather face their imminent deaths?
BANG.
It rattles around the inside of my skull as if the shot has gone off inside of me, and the ball is bouncing around, destroying me from the inside out. Who was it this time? Wylla? Salome? Sage? A shudder forces my stomach to tighten on itself as I realize they could very well all be dead at this point. I left the Bloodbath so early, and I'm so focused on the world I'm trying to create inside myself, that I haven't seen or noticed any dead bodies. There's been what, five, six cannons so far?
BANG.
Seven?
BANG.
I don't want to count anymore.

{Word Count: 196 || Attacks Gentian Hope || Unarmed}

Wchfpxlgunarmed

5012 -- Crushed Skull -- 40 damage

unarmed

[Deleted]

You had heard the cannon shot from the garden.

The cold brass knobs were heavy to turn, the doors groaned against your effort. They are lazy, and open to expose a world of staircases and a horizon of doors. Sunlight screams over your shoulder and reflects off the black and white tiled floor. The pattern spirals, exploding outward toward the walls in the distance. What fear you had stepping into this world has retreated in favor of your steady heart. If it were reckless for you to go it alone, then reckless you were. Molly and Gentian were here—somewhere—and you had traveled too far not to find them. They were not the faces you’d seen on the backs of mutts after the bloodbath. You prayed to an unnamed god (was there just one in control of your fate?) no harm had come to either of them.

Red curls of fabric drape over the edge of the staircase as you press upward. Your heart beats within your tiny frame, heavy in your ears and into your throat. There’s chatter in the distance, and another shriek from beyond. Your breath is short as you power forward, footsteps faster, eyes darting from doorway to doorway, over the side of railing that leads to nowhere. There’s a set of figures up and over and back again, your figure, the face of Molly and a short haired girl, of a girl that you don’t recognize. And as your armor clinks against your skin, you feel the lump build in your throat. The unimaginable comes into view—a boy, a kind, sweet, chivalrous boy—lay bleeding from his head.

“Molly! Gentian…”

Death was a part of life. Your abuela taught you that there was no stopping death, no matter if you were rich or poor. The kindest and most evil alike could not escape its clutches. Was that not a great equalizer, that none among us would ever escape death (even if you escaped this arena?). But that does not make the pain any less when a good man loses his life, and worse are allowed to walk free. What reason was there to be good, when everyone met the same end?  You had ached when your cousins died; you met grief with tears and anger. How had the same misery not turned you bitter? This would have been forgiven for the pain you endured, and yet.

“Step back from him.”


You are taller than your five feet, two inches, far more than your hundred pounds. Your red chainmail is marked with a star on your chest (for the Izar family) and your dress an explosion of fabric. Over your shoulder, a yellow umbrella, but between your hands a curved blade pointed directly at the girl from ten. The same one that had whispered to you over camouflage paints, Riven stands, a stark reminder that the hunger to return home is real. You are steady and certain. You do not waiver, despite the pain that fills your chest. You hold your blade as though you will slice her in half for what she has done to your ally.

“Leave, the both of you. Before I add your faces to the ones in tonight’s sky.”

But would you do it, Salome? One look at Molly’s bruised body should curl your anger into a heavy flame. Gentian’s bleeding body should have you shrieking at them, tearing them to pieces. But you are as you always have been; you are steady. They cannot break you, not now—not yet. You would hold on as long as you could, to show them what strength and grace truly was. For your heart would not give up on the single truth that in spite of the suffering, there is still good, that this world, much like the flying fish and irregular stairs, is an illusion.

[Sleepy Fluttershy]

Leticia Wheeler

"That is for your own good"... "You'll understand"...
I block Molly's hands instinctively and look her in the eye again. She is killing me. She is killing us. I don't want to believe it, but it is true. My tongue is barely moving and the bee buzzing surrounds me.

 "Dammit. You attacked us, you are trying to kill us. What is for our own good? Death? What is there to understand?"

BANG.

What if I will be the next bang in this hot air?

Someone's hands land on my head, making blood rush down my face. DAMMIT! I can't hear, I can't breathe and I don't want to do this anymore. Damn the Games. Damn the Capitol. Damn this madness.

BANG.

I turn around to face the guy and see him lying on the ground, blood dripping from his head. His face is white, stonelike and motionless. I didn't do this. It wasn't me. Who was it then? I gaze at Riven with disbelief, trying desperately to figure out what has happened. The first kill in this crazy battle. It could have been any of us. It could have been me or her. This was necessary to stop them. But I don't want to believe killing somebody can be the right thing to do.

One limp back. Another one. This body scares me. With how I feel right now, it looks like a nightmare. It looks like he is going to get up and chase us. I have only seen one dead body in my life and I was three. I don't remember a thing. I only know this body is lying deep in the ground with a tombstone above it. This district eight boy is never going to wake up and see his family. Just like dad.

“Step back from him.”

Damn, that is exactly what I am doing right now. Who said that anyway? I don't know. I drop on my knee heavily and can't understand what is going on anymore. I think there is someone else here now. A girl. I don't even remember the district she is from. Too tired to remember.


“Leave, the both of you. Before I add your faces to the ones in tonight’s sky.”

Where was she when we were killing each other a few seconds ago? 

"Finally. Why couldn't you come and let us go when he was still alive?!"

It takes me a lot of effort to say this. I am going into a shock. A deep, deep shock. I think I have forgotten something... Yes, that's right. I should probably apologize, even though I did nothing wrong, didn't I? I imagine what I would feel if it was Riven lying here and not some random person. The image of the girl stands blurry in my eyes as I point at the boy awkwardly and mutter:

 "Really sorry about that." 

What happens next doesn't really matter...

Happy birthday to you...

Happy birthday, dear Tixie, happy birthday to you!



Luke's voice invades my ears and I remember that I am sixteen. I am too young to die. Not today. We must leave before we end up near this white-faced guy.


I grab Riven's healthy arm firmly and say, almost whispering:

"Let's go".

She helps me up and limp, limp, limp, another limp... Off we go. Away from this madness.

[Leticia Wheeler flees current fight with Riven Fowley]


[Leticia Wheeler uses First Aid on self for -3]

After we get away, I sit down and groan desperately, there has to be something I can do. But I can't think of anything with all this pain consuming me. I have to calm down. Suddenly I hear a strange sound and two crayons land near me, just like the one I picked up in the Cornucopia. All right, let us draw a picture. It will help the nerves to settle down.

Here we go: A round face, messy blonde hair and an arrogant smile. Marcus. But the masterpiece lacks something. I go on and draw the legs, the arms and an axe in his hands. Now he looks just like on the first training day.

This birthday is almost perfect. Concentrate on drawing, Tix...

I take another crayon and begin drawing my brother with a huge grin on his face and a birthday cake in his arms. The cake is made of fresh meat and has sixteen apples on the top. Damn, I am really hungry. Should think about something else. 

Suddenly I come up with another idea.

I take the last crayon and a portrait of my sister with a huge medkit appears in front of me on the Mansion floor. Another line and the figure of a girl in her mother's skirt and with a guilty face is finished. But the medkit looks much bigger than Aileen.

Dammit. Why am I so selfish? I shouldn't think about things I can't have.

Suddenly I look at the drawings and open my mouth widely, struck by what I see. Maybe I am hallucinating...

I'm still breathing...

Table by the amazing and wonderful Solo:)))

[solo]

Time speeds ahead of me and suddenly I feel like I'm moving behind it, left in the dust, pulled away from my body for the second time today. I see my hands move, I see myself shove him backward, but I'm not really the one doing it. It's someone else, some girl who's lost her mind. I can see what's happening but I can't stop it. I watch as he tumbles to the ground, the hollow smack resounding inside my head long after the actual event occurs. Something red seeps through his hair and onto the floor
BANG.
My stance wavers and I have to lean on the railing next to me for support. The sound vibrates in the pit of my stomach and causes my entire body to quiver wildly. Sounds fade in and out and I can't focus in on reality. The cannon went off, but he's not dead. It must have been a mistake. He's not supposed to be dead.
I'm not supposed to be a murderer.
"Step back from him."
My eyes barely manage to flicker upwards, and now all I can see is the shock and anger on Salome's face. She was my friend, wasn't she? I couldn't have made that up. Could I? We were painting together. Yes, yes I was showing her how to do it properly. Tips and tricks I'd picked up over the years. She was laughing, smiling, she held my hand in hers. I remember the warmth and I rub my palms together, longing to feel it again. Now all I have is ice against skin and oh it's so, so cold. It hurts the longer I leave it there.
“Leave, the both of you. Before I add your faces to the ones in tonight’s sky.”
No, it's not her. The idea solidifies in my mind and I almost nod in order to validate myself. That is not Salome. It's someone else, someone sent to kill me. Salome was the kind-hearted, smiling child I met in the Training Center. This version of her is some kind of mutt the Capitol created for my undoing.
"Finally. Why couldn't you come and let us go when he was still alive?!" Leticia's speaking but I'm not paying attention, because all I can see is the look on Salome's face and the blood on the floor. I spilled it. My hands are responsible. It's messy, and I wish someone would clean it up. "Really sorry about that." I could punch her, for how loosely she's talking about this. Like the boy was some vase in Salome's house and I shattered it by mistake. He's not a decoration. He's a life, a soul, a heart, and I took all three for myself. "Let's go."
Leticia's hand on my arm wakes me up a little. I look up at her, my gaze blank, my movements stiff and uncoordinated. I look down at my bare feet and wish for Kennedy's shoes. I wish for a home that I know I'll never get back.
For a while, I shuffle alongside my ally. The pain in my jaw and arm has been numbed by the guilt of a killer. It's still there I suppose, but I don't take the time to notice it. I'm too focused on the events that have just unfolded, my own actions, the part I played in a boy's death. It's taking me a while to register that I was the lead actress.
"I have to go." it comes out quietly the first time, and my feet stop. I try helping Leticia into a sitting position so she won't have to do it herself when I'm gone. My eyes are wide, not looking at her, my fingers shaking so I can barely hold her up. I clear my throat. "I have to get out of here. I have to...I have to go home. I want to go home." I turn on my heel. I can't stay here. I have to go. Foot steps obey me, and without thinking much, they carry me as far as I can go.

{Word Count: 672 || Flees current fight || Assists Leticia Wheeler}

{Uses first aid on self for -3}

[MrMista]

Molly Malachite | 14 | D1F

---

Molly. A girl of light, fighting to keep the darkness at bay. Back home, she had all of the shinies she could possible desire to help her. Here and now, in this mysterious place where up was down and living meant dying, all she had was her fists and a vial of glitter. With all that remained in her broken body, she lashed out, hoping to eradicate the darkness festering inside –
Leticia. A conflicted girl, it was clear. Molly could still see the potential for good inside of her, but the girl’s light was clouded by the influence of evil. She had no shinies to help her see the truth, and she walked blindly, swinging at the darkness without knowing where it was. Her blind strikes had helped her repel the darkness in some cases, but at other times they had helped its cause. As she blocked Molly’s hit with a resounding Crunch!, Molly felt sorry for the girl. She – wait? A crunch? Blocks don’t make noises like - Thunk! A noise from behind the two girls caused Molly to turn around, allowing her to look right into the eyes of –
Riven. The girl with eyes as black as her hair stood victoriously, surrounded by darkness. She was the corrupting factor here, a silent warrior spawned from darkness itself. Her quiet nature hid a murderer, a ruthless creature capable of destroying all of the good at around it. And now, at her feet, lay –
Gentian! “No!” Molly screamed, hobbling over. Her ally lay bloodied, now in a far worse state than she. “How could this happen?” she muttered under her breath. “It’s so wrong… all of this is so wrong.” She wanted to do something. Anything. But all she could do was watch the light dim in his eyes. (He doesn’t have much time.) She considered attacking, but she knew that she would have no chance fighting two opponents at once, not in her condition. All she could hope for was that the girls would find their inner light and show the young Career mercy. (Fat chance. That’s not how the darkness operates.) She looked into their eyes, and she could see no hope, just an approaching darkness, ready to take her away. How would Salome feel, knowing her allies had been too weak to make it through one day? She could hear her now, disappointed in the duo, telling them, “Step back from him.” (Wait, what? I swear that wasn't all just in my head.)
(Salome?) “Salome!” She exclaimed weakly. The older girl was back and looking none the worse for wear, basking in the light as she approached the battle scene. Clad in armor, (Why does that look like a drawing?) Molly’s savior approach, brandishing a stylish umbrella with a protruding blade. (We could have used one of those.) “Leave, the both of you. Before I add your faces to the ones in tonight’s sky,” she commanded the other girls, and Molly watched the two assess their situation, quickly deciding that it would be best to flee the scene. And yet, Leticia just couldn’t help but hurl another biting remark at Molly and her allies. "Finally. Why couldn't you come and let us go when he was still alive?!" As if she had wanted so desperately for the fighting to be the over. For all of her words, the girl had fought just as hard as the rest of them. “Sorry about that,” she offered. (No. You’re not.)
Riven, on the other hand, looked mortified. Perhaps even her soul was not so black as to allow her to murder without feeling the consequences. She gazed off into the oblivion, staring in the direction of her hands, and yet, not quite at them. Eventually, Leticia grabbed her, pulling her away, and off they went in a victory marred by darkness.
Molly turned to Salome, tears in her eyes, as the older girl approach. “He’s not going to make it,” She whispered. “And there’s nothing I could do to stop it.” As Salome handed Molly two crayons, one teal and one an intense blend of blue and green, Molly could think of only one proper way to put them to use. Taking the former, Molly began to draw a long base, from which protruded three glowing crystals, one pointing directly outward, with two sticking out on either side. (At least when he goes, he’ll be comforted by a shiny to ward off the darkness).
Tucking the other crayon away, she sat down next to Gentian, clutching his hand tightly. They would have to leave him soon, but Molly would make their alliance’s reunion feel like an eternity. No matter what, one thing was for certain. She would keep his light alive inside her, carrying it around for the rest of her days.
[Molly flees with help from Salome]
[Molly takes Leticia’s tribute token (bracelet)]
[Molly receives croquet mallet from Salome]
[Molly receives teal crayon from Salome and uses it to draw]
[Molly receives maximum blue green crayon from Salome]
[Molly receives first aid from Salome for -3]
[Molly receives 1x med plants from Salome for -2]
[Molly uses first aid for -3]
[Molly takes Leticia’s tribute token (bracelet)]

[Deleted]

You hear words from the other two girls, but they fade. One is biting and bitter—a fighter—the other a girl that knows better. She’s torn, ripped by the games to do the unimaginable. They were compelled to take on Gentian and Molly, and you know that there should have been no faulting them in that. Sooner or later, you would have to raise your blade to defend yourself or Molly. It’s foul bile that lines the back of your throat, and you want to spit (but you are too much of a lady). Instead, you step to Molly, for she is the one that needs tending now.

You can see the tears in her eyes. Now is not the time for you to break, and yet—you let the tears come, too. Strength was not running from the pain, but embracing it. You would live your life without turning away. Others may have seen this as weakness, but you knew no other way. You take a breath as Molly approaches. You look from her to Gentian, the form of a broken boy not far away. Your heart beats into your ears, and it’s hard to hear what Molly says. “Don’t talk now,” You whisper out. They would have to collect themselves, to find a way out of this place. Perhaps they could find a place to hide out the next day, so you could learn just what Molly was truly about. You didn’t want her to disappear without knowing all the little things—her favorite color, her favorite song.

You pull out crayons from your bag as a gift to her. You feel numb, and your limbs heavy. Couldn’t you just sleep? You pass along the croquet mallet, and then start to dig for the plants you’d found. “These should help. You’ll have to grind them a bit, and make sure you eat them all—” It was easier to make the world normal. You were always a gentle bigger sister, ready to take on all the aches and pains of those who needed them. But more than this, every moment you spend doting over Molly, the longer you try to hide the sinking feeling of the boy not far from your feet.

You weren’t fast enough. You had spent so long on the other side, you’d not been able to reach him before he perished. You feel breathless watching him on the ground—a hand on your chest, you swallow. He wasn’t any more worthy than you; if anything, you’d wanted to hold his hand, and ask him about his family. It was part of the reason you’d asked him to join you in the first place, that he knew what it was like to carry a last name so heavy.

“Let’s get him somewhere with more light. Or at least where he can be with the stars.” He deserves that much, at the least.

[Salome Izar does the following:

-Gives crayons to Molly

-Gives her medicinal plans

-Gives her first aid

-Gives her the croquet mallet

-Helps Molly flee]