cerulean castaways | {second star; day two}

[dars]

[presto][/presto]

"my regrets are a shade
around my neck, I know
it's torturous how
some burdens are I can't let go"

It smelled of gunpowder and mold. Quite earthy, this wrecked ship in the sea. Pieces of its wooden frame floated along the waves, never so far away as to ruin the illusion that this ship was there by chance. I was not placed here, it explained, limp jawed as the Capitol puppeteers told the tributes what to think of this massive vessel, just happened to hit the reefs below while passing through.

Mackenzie squinted up, at the sun, yawning its way into the sky at last; he and his allies had left the paradise behind long before morning. You'd think we would have slept better on those feather beds. Those beds were nicer than the one he'd been raised on, springs too far sprung and a frame that groaned with age at the slightest of movements.

He'd been lucky to sleep at all, though.

When his eyes were open, he thought of Zion's face, that terrified expression, as Mackenzie chased him with a spear. When he closed his eyes, though, he could see that terrified expression. He had caused that: had a hand in it, at least, and though part of him knew this was all he could do to survive, there was still a piece of him that desperately clung to the sentimental morality with which he was raised.

He was taught to survive on his own means, not to survive by ensuring no one else did.

"Weather's nice, huh Little Mouse?" he said to Faline, smiling. He knew that if he needed distraction from his thoughts, the others did. Although, it was decidedly easier to speak to Faline than, say, the ever-so-biting Wynter, who made the most mundane of activities seem more violent by nature, or Ike, whom he still was not sure wouldn't happily slit his throat in his sleep for good measure.

Still, they had survived the night. One night, intact and whole. They were lucky and that was such a fleeting thing: he knew that. He knew things would turn, either for the sake of fate, or the sake of entertainment. Though, he knew those two things were crafted into one in a place like this. Fate was entertainment here.

The floorboards creaked against a particularly strong wave, which slapped against the bottom of the ship as a reminder of its presence. "I'm here," it warned, "fear me." Mackenzie braced himself against a door frame as it rocked to and fro, coming to a rest at last.

For a moment, he thought the clicking was just the ship settling still, until he realized they sounded different. It was more of a slide than a click, heavy and slow. Like something was being dragged across the floor.

"Hey, does that sound kind of—" on time as the games always were, from a hole in the floors, a walking nightmare rose. Shark-like, but with all the armored protection of a sea turtle's shell, longer than he could have imagined it would be.

Instinctively, he pushed Faline behind him, skin tingling with a reminder of what had happened last time he'd ventured forward. If he had to be stung by giant wasps, or mauled by monstrous sea creatures, it was okay. He wouldn't let those things happen to someone younger, more innocent than he. Someone who also wanted to survive, and someone who was surely more needed by her family than he.

As if one was not enough, two more clambered aboard behind their friend.

He tutted, huffing out a breath of air through his nose in dissatisfaction.

"Three? Doesn't that seem a little like overkill?"

Pulling his spear from its sheath on his back, he prepared himself for what was to come.

royal blue, here I fall
i'm digging up for the gold
spilled on the floor
there's no solid ground

song: royal blue

[mackenzie attacks maneater #1; spear]
PIoRtbNYspear
[3059 Deep Gash on Right Thigh -- 8.0 damage]

spear

[eulalie blake 1a 🍒 tris]

[presto][/presto]

"The silence is so loud
The lights spark and flicker
With monsters much bigger
Than I can control now"

Morning comes
—— and we go.

I know the sun by name, not by story; and when she rises, I don’t look at her. Golden light kept me company all through the night, enough of it to keep me calm. ( Calm enough. ) Enough that I can’t complain when the shadows spirit us away. My limbs ache, I sleep without dreams, but my cuts are scabbing over and my bones are mending. I’m still alive. And my lungs sting, stretched to their limit, but our destination is just up ahead. Trees give way to sand and then the sea swallows us whole. But we don’t drown, we wade through the water and we find a new home. An impostor. A false place for all our false hope. I see a ghost of myself in the waves, smiling. She’s not me.

“Weather’s nice, huh Little Mouse?”

Maybe she is. I grin, turning away with a shy blush and a weak laugh. “Yeah, it is.” I stare at the sky, feeling the ocean beneath by fingertips, and it’s not real. None of it. But it doesn’t hurt to pretend, to splash Mackenzie and to look over my shoulder at our allies. “What do you guys think? Ike?” I glance at Wynter, too — a gentle smirk and a soft hesitance — but hearing her tell me to ‘Shut up!’ does nothing for me, so I don’t say her name. I don’t speak in her direction. It’s better that way. It’ll make it easier when she pretends to help Mackenzie bury me, or when my glaive slices her throat. Youth is not innocence and innocence is not ignorance. I wish we could be friends.

But I will not beg a monster to leave my closet. “It’s so strange. All of this.” I spin halfway, watching as a rippling effect flows from my body and blurs with a melted sunrise. It’s beautiful — but this isn’t my sky. I’ve never had one of my own. “Six is so… dry. All dark clouds and rain. What about Seven and Two?” We march on through endless blue, over rocky outcrops and floating debris. We find solace in hollow places. A ship greets us, wooden jaws spread wide and just waiting for us to walk inside. To be consumed. It’s a remnant of a fairy-tale that I never read. And I don’t belong in this fable. I’m not royal like Mackenzie, not even a dragon like Wynter. I’m a drawing of a peasant on the first chapter. At the back of the crowd.

The book closes, reality washing over me — and soon I’m standing within the wreckage. “They went all out, yeah?” The vessel seems to lurch forward, the floorboards creaking as I explore. “But what do I know? I’m not a pirate. I’ve never seen the real deal.” Once-glorious, but actually never. It was made shattered and ruined and stranded. It came into this world destroyed. Maybe this is where I belong; maybe I should cut the melodrama. Phantoms lurk here, fingers trailing across petrified wood, but we are not alone. Mackenzie notices them before I do, drawing attention to a dragging sound, and I look just in time to see three gigantic beasts emerging from below us. Hungry and terrifying and just playing their roles.

Hands grab me and I’m shoved behind a towering figure, and I can’t stop myself from clutching to Mackenzie’s shirt and gasping in shock. They have endless teeth and armored flesh. And they didn’t ask to be made that way, to be programmed with their thirst for blood, but I didn’t ask to be reaped. None of us asked to fight for our survival. “Should we— do we—” I try to say, but nothing comes out. I don’t know what to do. Mackenzie charges into battle, keeping his cool and being the protector. Having a purpose. He targets the one at the front of the pack, his spear cutting across a patch of its unshielded skin. I ready my glaive, arms shaking, but I don’t want to be a damsel. I just want to be Faline. And she wants… something. Something I'm still trying to find.

Something more than this.

---

song: panic room - au/ra
table: dars

( faline attacks maneater #1; glaive )
2iQ|GGLxglaive
( Severed Right Calf at Knee -- 9.0 damage )

glaive

[я𝑜𝓈𝑒]

[presto][/presto]

"The future can't
be real, I
barely know how
long a moment is"

She stares at the sky, the floorboards of the ship creaking as she shifts her weight from one leg to the other. Mackenzie talks about the weather, small talk, because what else do they have to talk about? Their impending death? She almost laughed bitterly to herself. Because that would make for great conversation.

"What do you guys think? Ike?" Faline asks, her eyes flickering from Ike to Wynter.

Ike doesn't really think much of it at all. The arena is beautiful, yes, mesmerizing in a fantastical way, but she doesn't marvel in it. Emptiness expands in her chest, as she breathes in cold air and runs her gaze over the sky again, thinking about what it must look like right now in District Seven.

Faline talks about how strange it all is, talks about her home district. She asks about District Seven, and Ike just sighs. Her mind fast forwards, takes her back to the emerald green trees she and Daniel and Blair would play in as children. She remembers running barefoot on mossy ground, giggling as she chased after her siblings.

Ike sighs. "District Seven is pretty, sometimes," she tells the young girl from Six. She pauses, thinking of the bare valleys, stripped of their trees from deforestation. "But most of the time, it's just a shithole."

A noise disturbs them, a rumbling sound at first, and then beasts break through the floors, splinters flying across the ship. They are strange creatures, armored, shark-like monsters. They bare their razor teeth, chilling Ike to the bone.

Her stoic demeanor is wiped right off of her face, giving way to a shocked expression of terror. Ike's heart stops, and then accelerates, pounding against her chest relentlessly, even when she tries to calm herself. She steps back, raising her spear defensively.

“Should we— do we—” Faline begins, startled and stunned. She seems to be at a loss for words, but despite Ike's rising fear, she jumps into action with Mackenzie.

"Whatever you were going to say—yes," Ike replies gruffly.

song: link

[ike attacks maneater #2; spear]
Tc2rZVoTspear
[3150 -- Stabbed in Foot -- 8.0 damage +1 strength]

spear

[✨ zozo.]

[presto][/presto]

what if i'm made of stone?
feeling is not a system
nervous i'm caught in a hold
hoping I'm over thinking
i should be feeling more

They want to make small talk, but I just want to survive.

I wanted to wait this out by myself, selfish in my lust for isolation. I'm selfish but I'm not an idiot - you don't win the Hunger Games by going solo. Nobody does. You make a pact, have each-others backs, watch as tributes get picked off one by one until alliances break apart and you end up fighting each-other -- I wish I could jump straight to that part.

I stood at crossroads, watching them go by. The other careers strode out in front of my hiding place and my head told me to go with them, but I blocked out those whispers. I don't want to die by the blade of another smarter, stronger, faster than me. Foolish, I am not.

Cowardly, I may be. Because I fell asleep beside the bodies of two kids from Seven and a little girl from Six after I snatched the smallest one and held a knife to her throat, threatening her death if they didn't help me. I know you've got to do what you can to survive in this place but there felt something so wrong about grabbing her so suddenly -- 

I'm falling back into memories I don't want to think about. I vomited when the anthem played above our heads and bid my demons goodbye for the night. Now all I can think about is the blank spaces in my memories and the way the ship creaks, like it's tormenting me on purpose. I throw my knife into the wood, target practice, and tell the littlest one to shut up for the third time that morning.

They want to talk about home -- I want to cut their tongues out. 

I'm surrounded by people on this damp, musty ship but all I feel is lonely. Hollow, like the body of this boat, its structure rotten to the core.

Something moves beneath us, I hear the boat aching before anyone else. Bolt upright, I snatch up my knife from where I left it stabbed into the wood and stare, wide-eyed and alert, listening.

"Shhh!" I scold their whispers, a finger in the air. 

Enemies arrive but they're not human - a relief I shouldn't be feeling. 

"Should we-- do we--"

"YES!" I yell, already aiming at the creatures head as I step forward to spill blood. "Kill them, quickly!"

I'm a coward, and I'm rotten, and I'm selfish. But I'm also a survivor.

built out of memory

built out of scenes

structures of whispers

pass through our veins

laid out on screens

song: link

wynter attacks maneater #2 ; knife
JSha1LfKknife
deep gash on left forearm 8 + 1 blades = 9

knife

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

She'll only come out at night
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new, I've seen her here before
Watching and waiting

CHESTER

It was his turn to patrol, but then again, it was sort of always his turn. It wasn't that his siblings were lazy, per se. They just were prone to missing fine details; a tendril of a new current, the scissoring of the waves as a boat passed far overhead. These things would never escape Chester's notice. Thus he took on more than his fair share of shifts, even though nothing interesting had happened in days.

Round and round he circled, staying a good twenty feet below the water line. Fins could get you torpedoed, you know?

Finally, a disturbance. The promise of something delicious - or at least interesting. He circled back to his sister first, rousing her, and then stalked his prey. He had the advantage in the water, but he was far too hungry to wait.

He was not subtle as he rammed his body against the Jolly Roger. The boat lurched satisfactorily. Only then did he wedge himself through the hole, flopping into the belly of the ship, teeth bared.

[Chester aka Maneater #1 attacks Wynter; teeth (knife)]

nAVa6Psiknife

[Deep Gash on Right Calf -- 8.0 damage]

DOROTHY

That Chester, always nosing his way around, pushing instead of asking. Was it really so hard to raise a fin and inquire about she felt? Usually he just wanted to show her an overturned rock or a piece of wreckage, but he seemed more eager today. Excited, even. She smacked her turtle-y lips together, snapping over shark teeth. It took a few more snaps before Daryl roused himself.

Together they following Chester's trail to the Jolly Roger, a relic of their days in captivity. She looked at Daryl again to be sure and then hauled herself after Chester.

Snap, snap.

[Dorothy aka Maneater #2 attacks Mickey; tail (blunt)]

blunt

[Bruised Right Hand -- 2.0 damage]

DARYL

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep -

NO! That stupid should-have-been-dinner-fish got that stupid song stuck in his head. Of course he was going to keep swimming! What choice was there? Ugh. Redundancy. Truly the death of good writing, song lyric or otherwise. He should have swallowed the guppy whole. Just keep -

Tail splashes above. Daryl sighed, exhaling a few bubbles through his gills, and then forced himself to surface. What's the hub bub? He channeled, his stomach rumbling.

Oh.

Lunch.

[Daryl aka Maneater #3 attacks Ike; teeth (knife)]

knife

[Miss -- 0.0 damage]

Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh here she comes)
She's a maneater
(Oh here she comes)


lyrics: maneater by hall & oates

knife�blunt�knife

[dars]

[presto][/presto]

"my regrets are a shade
around my neck, I know
it's torturous how
some burdens are I can't let go"

His head was reeling as the first of the beasts snapped toward Wynter, catching her leg with its strangely turtle-like mouth. It ripped through her pants, leaving a gaping wound in her calf, but she was lucky it didn't rip off the entire limb. She was lucky Mackenzie hadn't ripped off any of her limbs, to be frank.

He studied her when there were quiet moments, watching her like she was some wild animal on the other side of a glass window. The signs all warned of danger, all advised against going inside the enclosure less a person risk their own potential death, but she mostly just looked defeated when she didn't know anyone was looking. Mackenzie got the feeling she was only doing what survivors did best, but her methods were hardly sensible.

Ah, yes, let's give them an ultimatum: let me work with you guys or I'll kill all of you.

Please.

Had he gotten a bow from the bloodbath, he may have shot her eye out the second she pressed that knife to Faline's throat.

Snap back to reality, and Mackenzie still jumped to Wynter's defense. Maybe it would have been smarter to just let it devour her, to run while he had the chance, but he didn't. He stayed, and he was going to make damn sure she remembered it if they both made it out of this alive.

He shoved his spear deep into one of the creature's legs, so deep that the wound made a sickly gurgling sound when he pulled his spear back out.

It seemed to have done the trick, because it wobbled to and fro for a moment, before awkwardly stepping around in a semi-circle and lumbering toward him , no longer interested in the injured snack he could've had, like a child who preferred the whole cookie to the one they'd already taken a bite out of. This one fights back, he must've thought as Mackenzie stepped back, frantic. One of the other creatures nearly swiped him across the face with its tail, but he managed to deflect it with his hand just as it should've made contact with his left cheek.

Still pushing backward, his eyes found Faline, proud little mouse, only seconds before she mimicked his attack, and struck the beast in its leg, only a few inches lower than his own attack had been.

"Damn it!" he called to her, doing his best to get to her, "Don't get yourself hur— " he started, urgency obvious in his tone. Before he could finish, though, the third of the creatures stepped between them, breaking his line of sight.

He cursed under his breath as the creature attempted, and failed, to strike Ike, who parried it easily enough, and stabbed her spear down on one of the creatures' feet. He thought he could hear wood splintering as she pierced its flesh, through-and-through.

"Don't let them get you!" he called, tongue hanging out in concentration. His sister had made fun of him his entire life for that. He bet she was sitting at home right them, rolling her eyes and mentioning to their mother that Mackenzie just had to stick his tongue out on national television.

"Keep going for the feet! They're slow on land!"

Right on cue, Wynter made contact with one of their front legs, and the mutt hissed in anguish; "Yes!"

In a room built for low capacity, the things definitely had trouble moving around. He noticed they kept bumping their tails on walls, breaking holes in the wooden floor under their enormous feet. He readied his spear with plans to take full advantage in any way he could.

"Now, let's kill these fuckers."

royal blue, here I fall
i'm digging up for the gold
spilled on the floor
there's no solid ground

song: royal blue

[mackenzie attacks maneater #1; spear]
TGleaFXxspear
[3050 Shallow Cut on Left Calf -- 3.5 damage]

spear

[eulalie blake 1a 🍒 tris]

[presto][/presto]

"The silence is so loud
The lights spark and flicker
With monsters much bigger
Than I can control now"

A blade against my throat
—— but it's just a ghost.

Phantom memories are on the prowl — but I shrug them away and focus on the living. On the dying. My weapon rips through the creature's flesh and pierces its armor, a red flood beneath my boots, but Mackenzie stays on the defensive. He keeps himself in front of me, always looking over his shoulder to check if I'm still standing; and I know he must be reeling from last night, when Wynter raided our camp and took me hostage.

When she forced herself into our alliance and when she used me as a bargaining chip, her knife to my skin. I saw him reach for his spear, watched as he looked so helpless and so afraid. I didn't deserve that. He shouldn't care so much about me. "Don't," I had whispered, urging him to take the deal. Because I knew who this girl was. She was a reflection of myself. Lonely and desperate and lashing out. Looking for shelter.

( Hurting others to feel safe. )

But now my fists are closed — and I'm ready to change. So can she; but I won't hold her hand through the process. That anger is her demon to kill. I have three of my own to face. "Don't let them get you!" Mackenzie approaches me, his jaw tightly clenched and his expression worried, but one of the beasts slides between us and I follow his advice. I won't let him drag my corpse from this wreckage. He doesn't have to bury me tonight.

I know he and Ike can handle themselves, that Wynter is more fearsome than all those monsters combined, but that doesn't stop one from tearing her leg open with its teeth. It doesn't stop me from shaking and my stomach from lurching; it doesn't stop me from backing up against the wall and feeling panic rise in my chest. "Whatever you were going to say—" and my heart is imploding. "YES! A good ally listens. I can't afford to be weak right now.

"Hold on!" Fuck me for caring, but I'm not ashamed. I don't want to be a coward. And if I have to die, then let it be in the place of my friends. Let me be a hero, like Mackenzie. Set all those old stories on fire, return them to the past and give me a blank page. I get to choose who I am. Just a kid from Six, hungry and lost and uncertain — but also brave; unafraid to love and ready to fight. To survive.

Wynter will learn, one day, that surviving the Games and protecting your alliance are the same. Until you're a killer. Until the blood of someone you care about is on your hands and you can actually call yourself 'survivor.' When you're a victor. But that's not me, not yet. I can still be good and kind and courageous. "They won't get me." I run into the fray, lifting my glaive and positioning myself.

"At your command, Captain Pryce."

---

song: panic room - au/ra
table: dars

( faline attacks maneater #1; glaive )
Xq0IUH8oglaive
( Deep Gash on Cheek -- 8.5 damage )

glaive

[я𝑜𝓈𝑒]

[presto][/presto]

"The future can't
be real, I
barely know how
long a moment is"

The beast lunged at her, but she swerves to the side and then staggers back. Ike steadies herself, hesitating for a moment as she catches her breath, slightly shaken by the sight of the muttation's jaws snapping at her. She narrows her eyes, almost tuning out the conversations between her allies, if they could be called that.

Ike is not fond of Wynter; she is a callous girl, cold like her father. She can see the ice in her eyes, but then again—what do they see in hers? Emptiness, she presumes. She isn't like Wynter; she is not willing to sacrifice everything vying for the crown, but she doubts that she's much more likeable than her.

If she had the confidence and if she cared enough, she would kill Wynter in her sleep. But Ike isn't here to win; whether Wynter lives or dies is of no concern to her.

Blood roars in her ears as her heart throbs wildly in her chest. She almost as if her bones have hardened into stone as she moves forward, spear raised to attack the monsters again.

"At least we're not facing tributes?" she says almost mockingly. Perhaps it would have sounded optimistic if not for her flat tone.

song: link

[ike attacks maneater #2; spear]
z85gpPSdspear
[3103 -- Deep Gash on Stomach -- 9.0 damage +1 strength]

spear

[✨ zozo.]

[presto][/presto]

what if i'm made of stone?
feeling is not a system
nervous i'm caught in a hold
hoping i'm over thinking
i should be feeling more

"Damn it! Don't get yourself hur-"

My arrogance takes over and I hear Mackenzie cursing it -- maybe I should have, too, because the second I raise my blade to sink into the creature's skin I am faced with my own wrath, pain scorching the tops of my thigh as the mutt's teeth sink into my flesh.

"FUCK!" I scream, toppling backwards by the sheer force of my pain. I feel my bones hit the rotting planks of wood and I sink as they buckle underneath my weight, creaking and snapping - I crawl back, kicking with both legs and cursing white-hot words. My rage is scarlet, pooling down the sides of my leg.

"Keep going for the feet!" Mackenzie cries as he sinks his spear into their flesh. "They're slow on land!"

Instinct kicks in and I lash out, blade slicing the air in front of me until I make contact. The knife sinks into its leg and I twist it for good measure, my own teeth bared like the predator I am.

"At least we're not facing tributes?" the girl from Seven states, and her tone screeches in my ears. Sarcasm drips from her words, as if this is all a joke -- but her voice is void of laughter and nobody else is smiling.

She's as pale as a corpse with eyes like the dead that follow me around, waiting for my imminent demise. They all want me dead, I know that. But this one seems to want me dead the most. I get the feeling she wants to die just as much as she wants to kill - someone told me a volunteer came from Seven and Mackenzie's too dumb to do that.

She looks at me again from the corner of her eye and I catch it, glaring back. I think I'll do her a favour and put her out of her misery. Kill her in her sleep - but she makes quick work of the mutt's stomach, scarlet blotches spotting the deck below us. Maybe I'll keep her around for a moment more

"Yeah," I grunt, staggering on one good leg and raising my arms to strike again, "but at least tributes don't have knives for teeth."

I turn to Mackenzie and his tiny friend, who lashes out at the monsters with blind fear and clutches at her captain's clothes -- she reminds me of Summer, terrified. Yet brave.

"Come on" I groan, motioning for her to step out of Mackenzie's shadow. "It's kill or be killed."

Something lurches toward me again and I strike out at its legs, too quick for my own good. My leg aches at the sudden movement and I want to cry out in pain - but you're only as strong as your weakest link and I'm not giving them any chances to exploit mine.

"Don't make me kill you myself."

built out of memory

built out of scenes

structures of whispers

pass through our veins

laid out on screens

song: link

wynter attacks maneater #2 ; knife
mUiBVJZQknife
Shallow Cut on Right Calf -- 3.5 damage

knife

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

She'll only come out at night
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new, I've seen her here before
Watching and waiting

CHESTER

The prey bubbled at each other, flailing their fins, first at Chester, and then to each other. Something was afin - a plan? An attack!? He felt the blows land near his tail. One deft hit from the littlest morsel cleaved a fin from his side.

He struggled to look back at it, with his thick armor and thicker neck. He gnashed his teeth, felt the pooling of his own blood mixing with the slushing sea, and turned to slap her in the face.

[Chester aka Maneater #1 attacks Faline; tail (blunt)]

zdz_iG|Wblunt

[Broken Right Foot -- 6.5 damage]

DOROTHY

They came for her in pieces, bit by bit. First her tail, then her fins, then even her stomach. She'd had naught to eat in days; it wasn't very nice to remind her that it rumbled constantly. Sometimes, even though she knew she it wasn't possible, she wondered if her own stomach would devour her from the inside out.

Would that be a better ending than this one - a death by prey?

Slowly - oh, Dorothy did everything slowly - she peeled back her turtle lips to reveal row upon row of yellow shark teeth.

Snap, snap.

[Dorothy aka Maneater #2 attacks Wynter; teeth (knife)]

knife

[Stabbed in Bicep -- 8.5 damage]

DARYL

Well, this was going swimmingly!

Just keep - NO!

While his brother and sister struggled mightly, Daryl was free to have a taste of this one, a taste of that one. He almost wished he had a napkin to tuck into his gills. So fine a dining establishment such as The Jolly Roger surely had one piece of cloth to spare. He imagined himself swimming up to a tethered table, with a white cloth and china. No need for utensils!

He kept knives in his mouth.

[Daryl aka Maneater #3 attacks Mickey; teeth (knife)]

knife

[Miss -- 0.0 damage]

Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh here she comes)
She's a maneater
(Oh here she comes)


lyrics: maneater by hall & oates

blunt�knife�knife

[dars]

[presto][/presto]

"my regrets are a shade
around my neck, I know
it's torturous how
some burdens are I can't let go"

Mackenzie knew at least one of them would die eventually. Most of them. All of them, even. But when it came to Faline, he found himself skirting around the subject, pushing it as far back in his already crowded mind of thoughts as it would go, because he did not want to see her die. He wanted to take her to the very end with him, but he did not want to kill her himself either. But he also wanted to live. And there were no miracles here, no hope for the lost. One person would leave, and if he wanted it to be him, he was going to have to stop eventually, but he couldn't find it within himself to do that just yet.

As the beast he and Faline had been teaming up on wheeled around to her, his breath caught in his throat. What if it picked her up and dragged her into the sea? What it it just saved face and ripped her in half before she had any opportunity to fight back? Perhaps it saw that fire within Faline that Mackenzie saw, that will to survive, the determination to avoid death at all costs, and perhaps that's what scared it or interested it enough to attack her.

Would Faline mind killing him? Probably not. He could not blame her, his little mouse, for wanting to go home; he wanted that too. For both of them. He just had to wonder if his need to go home was as great as the toll he would take on as a murderer.

The turtle struck toward her and she flung herself back, kicking her feet at the beast in an attempt to ward off its sharp teeth. As a result, it caught her foot and shook its head like a dog. She yelped, and Mackenzie saw red. He hadn't ever felt anger like this, an insatiable beast which hungered for everything in sight.

His anger had always been beneath the surface while Maxine's had always been worn on her skin like prized jewelry. His was out now, coating his throat and his limbs, ruby-red flames glistening like a wildfire. He wondered if she cheered him on or cursed him for not escaping while he had the chance. Garnet-glazed warrior, charging forward into battle; he would not stop until one party was dead: himself or the nightmares come to life.

Big mistake, he thought, eyes growing wide with rage. She was still alive from what he saw. Alive and screaming and breathing and fighting back. Everything he would have expected from her.

"Not that one."

One of the creatures tried attacking him, row upon row of sharp teeth, but he rolled to one side and watched as it crashed into the wall. The ship groaned with complaint, begging them to leave. I did not ask to be put here, you know, the wooden floors groaned.

He hastened pace toward Faline, picking her up. His eyes were on the creatures, clearly upset that Mackenzie had interrupted yet another of its meals.

"You okay?" he asked, never looking away. Ruby-eyed, garnet-glazed. A warrior. He surged forward and hoped to cut the thing's fucking leg off.

royal blue, here I fall
i'm digging up for the gold
spilled on the floor
there's no solid ground

song: royal blue

[mackenzie attacks maneater #1; spear]
5Jx4dCZwspear
[3073 -- Deep Gash on Left Thigh -- 8.0 damage]

spear

[eulalie blake 1a 🍒 tris]

[presto][/presto]

"The silence is so loud
The lights spark and flicker
With monsters much bigger
Than I can control now"

I am bone, shattered marrow
——— but I am not broken.

The beast turns, swinging its tail towards my face before I can even think to lift my weapon in defense — and when I throw myself back, legs kicking at the air, my foot is all that's left to absorb the force of the blow. Snap. I scream, falling against my side with a thud and clutching my ankle. The material of my boot is dented, now causing more pain than protection, but just the thought of removing it makes me wince. I feel vulnerable, pathetic and powerless. A prime target.

Mackenzie isn't going to allow me to die — I realize that when I hear his voice, the sheer rage and fear of it. "Not that one." And I'm grateful, watching with awe as he navigates through the chaos, but part of me wants to tell him to leave me behind. To help Wynter, not me; even if she doesn't deserve it. Even if she's a thorn in my side, putting my life at risk and trying to break me down. 'Good luck with that.' We're similar, but she's not me. And I'm not her. I'm starting to understand why.

( Because I'm not that destructive;
I'm not that insecure. )

A red vial catches my attention, selfish fingers reaching for it — and maybe I'm not without fault, maybe I destroy others and pity myself just as much, but at least I take accountability for my actions. At least I'm loyal and strong and willing to sacrifice myself. Maybe we're all just trying to self-justify. I tuck the strange liquid away, looking up with a smile and with tears streaming down my cheeks. He made it. "Mackenzie—" but I don't know what to say. "I'm okay." And yet I can't promise.

"We're gonna be okay."

He helps me to my feet, hands on my shoulders, and I try not to let him see how much I'm hurting. "Thanks, though. Really." I lean against him as I bend down, grabbing my glaive and matching his gaze. The intensity and the fire. "You can worry about me later. Right after I kill this fucker." I limp away from him, looking over my shoulder and speaking through gritted teeth. "Take your own advice, Wynter. Shut up." I'm tired of the dramatics. Of all this soul-searching.

Mackenzie charges, his spear slicing the creature's tail — and I follow after him. I'm just a girl; just a tribute trying to make it another day. That's enough. I'm ready to stop all the crying, all the self-hatred and all the wondering about who I am. About what I'm worth. Just Faline. And just as much as anyone else in this Hell. Bloodshot eyes, raw skin. Wounded and emotional and so apathetic. But still burning. My flames are on the inside, my ribs are a furnace and my heart is coal. I'm not a machine.

( I'm just trying to survive. )

---

song: panic room - au/ra
table: dars

( faline attacks maneater #1; glaive )
CDK4lVBjglaive
( Deep Gash on Right Forearm -- 8.0 damage )

glaive

[я𝑜𝓈𝑒]

[presto][/presto]

"The future can't
be real, I
barely know how
long a moment is"

Her spear sinks into the stomach of the beast, and blood spews from the opening as Ike detracts it from its now broken flesh.

Catching the conversation between her allies, Ike narrows her eyes at Wynter. "You should watch yourself, Two," she says. At the moment, she's too distracted to think of the Rochelle girl's first name. "None of us want you here—it's a bit foolish of you to be making threats, don't you think?" Ike isn't very threatening, with her wide blue eyes, soft facial features, and short stature. She's no Career, but she's handy enough with a spear and an axe to stand up to Wynter—especially if she had Mackenzie and Faline as backup.

Ike is not so sure about Faline's survival skills compared to Mackenzie's, but she seems competent enough with her glaive for Ike to not completely distrust her. She's a little girl, but she might have what it takes to make it out here. Not that it matters much to Ike; she isn't going to stand in Faline's way.

As the mutt begins to move forward threateningly, recovering from its wound, Ike takes another strike at it, her heart skipping a beat in the intensity of the moment as she does.

song: link

[ike attacks maneater #2; spear]
dYOCRjGtspear
[3085 -- Shallow Cut on Chest -- 4.0 damage]

spear

[✨ zozo.]

[presto][/presto]

what if i'm made of stone?
feeling is not a system
nervous i'm caught in a hold
hoping i'm over thinking
i should be feeling more

"Take your own advice Wynter. Shut up."

The boat creaks underneath our battle, tired and aching - my head screams, full of sounds and echoes.

"No you shut up!" I snap back, trapped in a memory, I'm Wynter and she's Summer. We're fifteen and she's asking me too many questions, I start yelling and she yells back - I punch her in the chest and she falls, crying, but at least she's stopped yelling.

Faline looks at me, irritated and angry - but she's not scared of me. I can see that clearly. Even with my knife at her throat, I don't think she lost a drop of courage. I could snap her spine into tiny pieces and she'd still have more backbone that I ever could.

"You should watch yourself, Two," retorts the sad girl from Seven, her words are like knives scraping across a china plate and I wince. "None of us want you here—it's a bit foolish of you to be making threats, don't you think?"

They're going to kill me, I think. Almost relieved.

Maybe when I'm dead, everything will finally be quiet.

"Get a grip, Seven," I spit gruffly, "this is the Hunger Games. Threats are like small-talk here."

I turn my back on the creatures, one dead at the hands of Faline, and point my knife directly at her, the point glistening between her eyes in my line of vision.

"I'm only foolish for thinking you lot would be able to keep me aliv-"

A weight crunches down on my arm and I fall with it, screams erupting from my splintering throat. The knife that once sat poised in my hand clatters to the floor, sound lost in the waves of my pain, and I shove the mutt off of me with all the strength I can muster.

Shallow breaths fall weak as I clutch at the wound in my arm, waiting for the second to strike - but nothing follows. I squirm in my own blood, dragging my body to the side of the ship - away from the mutts, away from the tributes, away from danger.

I should have just stayed by the fucking lake.

"If you want to kill me," I heave, hand sliding across the sticky skin surrounding my wound "then you can kill me."

I kick my knife towards me, wincing, ripping a slice of my uniform off as a bandage. Blood pours from the hole and I make quick work of it, teeth and one hand fashioning a terrible-looking bandage.

"But if you kill me you've got no chance of surviving these fuckers."

I grab the knife again, take aim, and snarl, cursing my cowardice then and there.

"So I suggest you get stabbing. We can talk about threats later."

My words are hollow, just like me.

built out of memory

built out of scenes

structures of whispers

pass through our veins

laid out on screens

song: link

wynter attacks maneater #2 ; knife
NuLh6EpRknife
miss

accuracy day 2
knife
Shallow Cut on Left Forearm -- 3.5 damage

knife�knife

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

She'll only come out at night
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new, I've seen her here before
Watching and waiting

DOROTHY

And so fell Chester.

Good riddance.

If not for him, they wouldn't be in this rotting ship, flailing about while their prey - sure footed - cut them down. If she wasn't bleeding out herself, she'd had been righteously pissed off. As it were, she felt a little sleepy, a little dizzy. Her snaps sounded more like slurps. It would be so much nicer to just have a nap, don't you think?

[Dorothy aka Maneater #2 attacks Ike; teeth (knife)]

ybKsfjsGknife

[Deep Gash on Right Forearm -- 8.0 damage]

DARYL

CHESTER, YOU IDIOT! SWIM, NOT SINK!

Ugh.

Amateurs.

Dorothy looked about ready to swim with the not-at-all-metaphorical fishies. Why did all the hard work fall to him? Was it his dashing good looks? His ready smile? His eager personality? He might never know.

[Daryl aka Maneater #3 attacks Faline; fin (blunt)]

blunt

[Bruised Head -- 3.5 damage]

Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh here she comes)
She's a maneater
(Oh here she comes)


lyrics: maneater by hall & oates

knife�blunt