the hunter's prize | walter vs noel [day 7]

[d6a georgie cham 🍓🐢 frankel]

He runs until his little heart says no more!. He runs until his lungs beg for stillness as they near the edge of collapsing. Walter does not know where he is running too, if it is as far away from the girl who tore poor Juliet limb from limb. The scene is already scarring him, a memory from just moments ago, still repeating in his mind. For as long as he is alive, the blood, the screams and the pain will forever play and be rewound in his head.

When he finally collapses into the earth, he does not take note of the sight of his surroundings. Its scent is enough to confirm that he his back where the sweet fruit grows. Except its luring aroma does not encourage him to pick its juicy gold from is roots. He doesn’t carry the mood for nice things anymore. He doesn’t deserve such a reward to quench his groaning stomach. Walter deserves nothing. Three allies fallen and all he could do was watch and cry. A useless bug that needs to be squashed.

Walter hugs his knees, his head buried, and the sword disposed besides him. His tears wash away with the rain as the sky suddenly breaks open, soaking the mop of hair on his head and the land around him. ”I am so sorry Juliet.” He repeats it over and over again. Not realising that it is too late. That she is not here anymore. That nobody his listening to his apologies.

He waits maybe an hour in the rain, maybe less. He does not look up at the sky as the anthem plays, instead he picks up his sword and gets up onto his feet. Every single item he carries is soaked through now and these fruit lands carry no shelter for him to hide under during the night.

Sluggishly he just walks, wandering under the downpour; fighting his mind to empty the scene from his head. Instead he thinks about home. What is waiting for him if he does return in his body and not in a box. He wonders if Cassidy is even watching, or if he wrote him off the day he volunteered.

Maybe his Papa is watching. If he is out there, alive, wherever it may be. The story he tells himself is that his Pa hopped the fence long ago, looking for the perfect place to thrive. Maybe he hasn’t found that place yet. Or maybe he has, and he is waiting for Walter to come home and show him…

Or may be his Papa is just simply, dead. Another victim to the opioids in District Six.

Soon his feet begin to sink into the earth, sand replaces the mud of the fruit lands. He has never been here before.

"But I’m not going back to that fucking desert though."

It is the place Juliet planned to never return to. He wonders how bad this place can be, other than the obvious sticky sand that is beginning to travel up his legs with every step he takes. Maybe beasts must lurk around here…as long as they don’t cut off my arms!

Reluctantly retires under a sand tower, just on the outskirts of the landscape. It is enough to avoid some of the weather, but his toes are still attacked by a slight droplet. He does not know if his mind will rest tonight but at least his body will have time to rejuvenate.

---

Comfort and the torrential downpour make him reluctant from getting up from his position in the morning. Maybe Walter can just hide out here for the rest of the week, let everyone else fight amongst themselves.

Though something makes him grab his sword, keeping the blade close to him. There is something here, maybe a beast or a person or a beast person. He purposely does not move, his body frozen with fright. Walter does not know if he is a fight or flight person. All that running yesterday makes his leg muscles moan and the sand looks like it will swallow his feet if he tries to manoeuvre out of here quickly.

He is brave enough to get up onto his feet, scoping out the area and it is not long before his eyes land on her. ”Not you!” His words draw every predator in the area to his location. ”You are the last person I want to see!”

He regrets not watching the anthem, he does not know if Eloise still lives. At this point, will he have to fight them like he has to with this career? He just hopes whoever they are facing is not as cruel as this villain. ”You are not doing the same thing to me…” Walter drags himself across the sand, hoping to get ahead of the girl, the machete feels light in his grip. ”You can’t, I am not letting you near me after what you did to Juliet!”

Walter attacks Noel; sword

4eaDQjfUXrsword

[1181 -- Stabbed in Chest -- 9.5 damage]

sword

[gamemaker sloane ♕ kaяi ♕]

It is coming.

The rainstorm that threatens to unleash as the wind whistles through the trees, as the moisture grows soaking my skin in more than just my sweat. The animals all seem to be hiding too, knowing and waiting.

Waiting for the clouds to erupt.

The end is coming too.

It's so close that I can taste it, bitter sweet on the tip of my tongue.

And it will be just as welcome as the storm.

We wake early the next, and the clouds are ominous and gray. So thick that not even an ounce of sunlight can leak through. It casts a shadow of darkness over the two of us, and for a moment I wonder if it truly is the morning. Neither of us felt like talking, it was as clear as it was obvious that there would be a storm today. So after throwing my bag over my shoulder, I look at Laurent and dare to break it.

"Remember when I said not yet? Well, yet is growing extremely close."

He didn't need more of an explanation, he didn't need for me to spell it out. He knew who would win if it came down to the two of it, no more answers were needed. So instead he nodded, grabbed his things, and walked off in the other direction.

And with something that resembled sadness, maybe regret, plastered across my face I watched him go.

Once I was sure he was far gone I turned and walked the other way, not daring even once to look back. I did not want to come across him for as long as possible, I had another boy on my mind.

He was too quick yesterday, he managed to get away before I could finish the job, but three strikes you're out.

And Walter Blake already has two.

Seconds into my hunt for him the sky opens and the water falls. It doesn't ease into it, the water simply turns on and doesn't stop. If I had to guess it has no plans of it any time soon. I look for every sign possible while trying to track him, but the rain is no help, washing away almost any type of evidence.

That is until I look down.

Footprints lay in front of me, small enough to be a child's. A few more feet forward and I see a figure before me, the voice only confirming exactly who I thought it would be.

"Not you! You are the last person I want to see!”

A ominous laugh escapes my lips as the water pours down around me, a lightening strike erupts and thunder can be heard somewhere in the near distance

"For a little boy you have quite a big mouth,"I snarl. The heavy rain blurs my vision, but I can still seem his figure standing not too far off.

"You can’t, I am not letting you near me after what you did to Juliet!”

But was it really me who did that? How am I supposed to explain to a little boy that my dead sister stood by my side and told me what to do, encouraged me along the way? But then it hits me.Bell never held my hand, she didn't force my weapon through that boy's heart, she simply watched. Her hands weren't bloody.

But mine were.

I was meant to be a light in the darkness, a breath of fresh air when all hope was lost. But now I am nothing. Now I am just a bringer of Death.

"Don't worry, I can kill you from a distance too."

The end is near.

And his was going to be before mine.

( noel attacks walter ; double ended volgue )
KIH05c2mUjglaive
( stabbed in forearm - 8.5 )

glaive

[d6a georgie cham 🍓🐢 frankel]

There is nobody to protect Walter now.

Absalom’s strength has gone. Alfonso’s sword has disintegrated, and Juliet’s flames have burnt out. There has always been someone there besides him, to encourage him. He even misses the little nudges from Eloise, any guidance on what to do next. Except he has all the guidance he needs. Two days ago, he did it, all the beasts fell at the tip of his sword before that. What is so different now, other than being alone?

You know what to do Walter. Just do it!

He is close to re-enacting the strike that ended District Seven, except his sword does not plant far enough. Of course, the girl will get close to him and now is not the time to switch weapons, this blade has taken him this far; surely it must have the energy to take him to another day.

Whatever weapon it is that the girl carries, it makes him stumble back as its edge kisses his forehead. He does not know whether it is the rain or blood that is beginning to wash his eyes. Walter does not waste time trying to wipe it away from his vision, manic blinking does the job but his eyes never dry. Tears now add to the mix as the pain is just simply becoming too unbearable.

There is no one left to comfort him. To kiss away the pain of his boo-boo. Nobody has ever given him such care.

He inhales through his nose, his emotions clearer than anything else around here. There is no point acting tough in front of this hunter, he is her prey and there are only two ways this can end. He just needs to make sure he is the one to decide it.

”I bet you don’t feel pain, do they train you to become numb in the career school?” He keeps his big mouth well trained, at least trying to find out how such a young person is getting a thrill out of hacking down everyone in her sight. ”I bet they don’t teach you how to be a decent human being.”

There can only be one way a monster like this is created. Deprived from love and fed with pain. Then how did Walter turn out to be so soft?

Walter attacks Noel; sword

WycSt9md_hsword

[1170 -- Shallow Cut on Back -- 4.0 damage]

sword

[gamemaker sloane ♕ kaяi ♕]

She is lost.

She can no longer see. And she can almost no longer fly.

The rain weighs heavy on her wings, but no matter how hard it falls the blood still remains. It will not wash away, it is permanently stained.

And it will weigh her down forever.

She used to be a beautiful white dove lost in a sea of crows, but now she blended in with them. Now at first glance you could no longer pick her out of the crowd.

Now she has lost her way.

My blade strikes him fast and hard and his blood becomes added to the pool that surrounds us both. Now a mixture of mine and his, but they blend so seamlessly it can be counted as one. One of us slices and the other retaliates, soon enough we'll be drowning in it. Not sure if it is ours-

Or the blood of our enemy.

He swipes at me again, but this time I'm faster and almost make it out of the way in time. He manages to nick my back, but it's nothing like the gash that is pouring blood from the front of my shirt. What once was neon yellow camouflage is now more of a sickening dull orange. Patches of me still shine.

But a few too many are dark.

I grip my weapon tighter, ready to swing at the boy again, but this time Walter begins to speak.

"I bet you don’t feel pain, do they train you to become numb in the career school?”

I pause for a second and my guard weakens. Don't feel pain? The amount of pain I've felt is enough to last anyone ten lifetimes, enough to put this boy in his grave with a single thought. A mother who throws you to the side to be slaughtered for parts, just for a few spare coins. A mother who teaches you how to steal and lie and cheat, but all at the same time teaches you that it's alright. A mother who never loved you.

A mother who never cared.

"I bet they don’t teach you how to be a decent human being.”

A snort escapes me, which eventually turns into a full blown laugh. For someone so small and so young to make it this far, one would think he would have learned more along the way.

"Who would have thought that you can see Death, but yet be so naive. They didn't need to teach me anything in that hell hole. I had a mother who taught me it all."

Finally, I get my bearings straight and re-grip my weapon, slowly stalking closer to him, preparing to lunge.

"The best part about never feeling pain," A brief pause, he was finally within reach. "Means I've never learned how to hurt."

The dove may be lost.

But she plans on finding her way again.

( noel attacks walter ; double ended volgue )
quSw3OolUQglaive
( sc on right calf - 3.5 )

glaive

[d6a georgie cham 🍓🐢 frankel]

There is not much that Walter can call his own. What will he really lose if he is not to return home? Other than the obvious glory and all the gains that he has never had in his life. He will lose the leaky ceiling and the cold broth and meat that spoiled days ago. He will lose the friends he plays with on the tetanus jungle gym and the odd Cassidy client who slip him a chocolate treat on occasion.

He will lose the chance of ever finding who the anonymous benefactor is who gifted him the book that he has abandoned finishing. A tale of a revolution and now he has no time to flick through its pages. Its ending will be a mystery unless he carries it out with him.

Walter will lose the last chance of ever having a childhood. Well after everything he has witnessed while being in here, maybe that last little piece has finally slipped away. Lost amongst the blood and the pain. Lost amongst the cruel reality of life. Panem has no room for childhood, not when so many children are taken away.

He blames his distraction for the lacklustre strike from his blade. Just a nip at the girl’s back. The girl, he can’t even properly remember the name of. Noel Haysham? Hailcharm? All he knows is that there is another that carries it, but he has not met them either. It feels different hitting Noel than it did the others. There is no guilt with each swing and lunge of his sword. He certainly does not enjoy it but a part of him knows that the pain is deserved. Is this what vengefulness feels like?

She talks about a mother; he is just glad his own did not teach him her own ways. She takes another bite at his skin. Her luck has run out just like his, the little nick on his leg is nothing compared to the aching bones and gaping wound on his cheek.

”Is it your brother in here with you? Is he the same?” Walter asks, certain that this wickedness must run in the bloodlines. ”Your mother must not love you, you are monster. A monster can only do what you did to Juliet!” Walter’s voice raises at the end, his next strike driven by the memory of yesterday. It is his job now, to take down this beast like he did the reptiles and ogres that took away Absalom.

Walter attacks Noel; sword

w4RkP2OsAIsword

[1106 -- Shallow Cut on Back -- 4.0 damage]

sword

[gamemaker sloane ♕ kaяi ♕]

Friends are hard to come by.

Especially at the Mansion.

Especially when Bell was the one who trained you.

Most of the others don't speak, some of them wouldn't even look at me. In a house full of people, a house full of hopefuls, I grew up utterly alone. In the morning when I woke up and at night when I lay my head back down.

There was no one.

All I had for certain were the stars to count at night and the hopes that the sun would rise again in the morning. They've yet to fail me, even here.

Even in a place filled with Death.

I swing again and my weapon barely pierces the boy's skin. Sloppy. Her voice rings through my ears and I know that I must do better, not only for me, but for her. He comes back quick at me in retaliation and I roll out of the way, his sword barely scrapes my back once again. I can feel her smile next to me.

And a smile finds itself onto my lips too.

She had taught me everything before she left. Every trick every move, she was the closest thing that I had to family. I looked up to her, I worshiped her, until the day she looked down at me as she threw her life away at the reaping.

She left me.

Just like they always.

"Is it your brother in here with you? Is he the same? Your mother must not love you, you are monster. A monster can only do what you did to Juliet!”

My hands tighten around my weapon and my knuckles grow white as my eyes narrows, he's starting to ask for all the pain he gets. He's starting to ask to die.

"That's the first thing you've gotten right little boy. She never loved me. Someone who loves you doesn't sell your organs for a sack of coins. So you're only partially right, because I don't have mother." I hope she's watching, I hope she hears this. I hope she saw my face on the screen and recognized all she threw away. I hope she knows the last memory I have is her handing me off to the men in the boat, without even a hug goodbye. I hope she knows how much I despise her.

Because it's written all over my face.

"You can blame Hailsham Academy for the monster that stands before you, for every single one of us. Beck? Deep down he's the same as me. The only thing that keeps us from killing each other is the hopes that one of us might be lucky enough to live."

I have no friends here.

Good thing I've learned to live without them.

( noel attacks walter ; double ended volgue )
UI4Cqbm175glaive
( severed right ear - 8.0 )

glaive

[d6a georgie cham 🍓🐢 frankel]

A canon sounds, the first one of the day. It is an oh so familiar sound to Walter, but his heart still stop whenever he hears it. Soon the banging will stop, six more blasts and it will be over. He hates the sounds but begs to whoever is reading his mind to be the one who hears the very last one.

Maybe this is all selfish of him, Juliet volunteered to save her sister. He guesses others have done the same too. Walter, he volunteered to same himself. Now every day spent in this arena, all he has done is try and save himself. A whole week later and he is still carrying the heavy weight of survival. It has never felt this heavy for him before. Back home he felt a little more relaxed about the possibility of being harmed while working for Cassidy or starving because there wasn’t even a single crumb left in the kitchen cupboards.

He has survived this long. With all the energy that is left within him, he is not letting this almighty villain take it away from him. She talks about an academy and the boy who shares a name with her. So, her family must be rich enough to have its own career school. That is a dream to have. A whole family blessed with richness, a mama who is the breadwinner and the pa who decorates the house in gold. It is more like a tale in one of his story books than a dream that he is worthy enough to carry in his head. A living ma and pa are a big enough dream for Walter.

”Hailsham Academy? So you are from a rich family, a whole building with your name…-“

Walter’s words are quickly cut off by agony. It is taken away so quickly, he never even thinks to protect that part of him. An ear so effortlessly sliced away from the side of his head. His eyes follow it as it drops to the ground, a gush of blood travels through the air as it lands. Walter’s scream is deafening, he hopes it brings the same pain to Noel’s ears. His left-hand touches where it once lived, all he feels is the moisture from the blood.

”Mean!” Sobs mix with his words, the façade of strength slowly vanishing but the grip on his sword quickly tightens. It is not the time to surrender yet. There is still so much left of him. ”I am not letting you take anymore!”

Walter attacks Noel; sword

pRfbkPaHXvsword

[1148 -- Deep Gash on Chest -- 9.5 damage]

sword

[gamemaker sloane ♕ kaяi ♕]

There is almost nothing left.

The moment that Bell left they tore her room apart, every last belonging was ripped from its place and thrown into a box somewhere, to be forgotten about or disposed of I am not sure. I had to sneak around in the middle of the night to find it and take a few of her favorite things back.

Just in case.

It seemed like only hours later there was a no victim in her room, setting up their own things, waiting for nothing to remain, just like the rest of us. Then it looked like she might come back to us, it looked like she might claw her way out. The new kid mysteriously disappeared and I remember peaking into her room was again, they were slowly adding her things back, her room was once again turning into a pool of red.

Then she took her last breath.

And just as quickly as the brought her back to life they killed her again. The next day another kid was there, a bit younger than me, and I had a feeling this one was here to stay. I never talked with him, we never spoke even though we lived a door away. I didn't want to know Bell's replacement.

I wonder if he's liking mine.

I am certain that my room has been wiped clean, any remnants of the girl who once was is gone. I doubt that they become eager this time, replacing my stuff as my chances increase. The thought stings, but I'm never going back there.

Even if I make it out of here alive.

A resonating boom sounds through the Arena, it could only be thunder, but all of us know by now it's the sound of Death. Seven. Seven more.

Almost nothing.

"Hailsham Academy? So you are from a rich family, a whole building with your name…-"

A fire takes over my body in a matter of seconds. It starts at my toes and like a wildfire spreads to the tip of my fingers. How dare he speak like it's a privilege, how dare he talk as if I should be thankful. And in that split second when I lose all focus his sword cuts into me so deep that I grunt. My shirt is torn to shreds, I am covered in my own blood. I am lucky that there is anything left.

My rage subsides and instead I laugh. It is cruel and it is wicked and there is not even the smallest bit of humor to be found. It is cold and it is heartless, just like me.

"Hailsham Academy is the last place that you would want to be, trust me. It is a living hell, worse than your scariest nightmare. Yes, even scarier than this." I bend over at my waist so that I can become eye level with him, so that he can see the pain and suffering that lies within. "Tell me now, do you really want to know what they do to us there?" I hope he doesn't.

Because most of the time, even I try to forget.

I stand up tall again and grip my weapon tighter, because regardless if this boy is sobbing over a lost ear or not I need to kill him if I want to go home.

I need to kill him if I want to be free.

"Mean! I am not letting you take anymore!"

"What's the matter little boy? Mommy never teach you how to share?"

There may be nothing left, but there is just one thing.

One thing, that I can hold on to, something that is just a little bit in the distance.

Hope.

( noel attacks walter ; double ended volgue )
xK2B|adcCiglaive
( miss - 0.0 )


accuracy ; use one


glaive
( sc on back of head - 4.5 )

glaive·glaive

[d6a georgie cham 🍓🐢 frankel]

With each blink there are tears attacking his eyes, they feel warm as they sail down Walter’s cheeks, mixing with the blood of his facial wound as they pass by. There is a battle between his two new flesh wounds now, the podium of his ear and the gash in his arm. Then there is the mental pain. It is all such a big distraction. A battle for focus when a wild villain is trying to strike him down with every breath he takes. How do people even survive this? Walter wonders how the little victors of the past managed to crawl this far. He really is not built for this pain.

Noel gets down to his level, her wicked words are a much of a stinging pain as her attacks. She talks about her home and how much of a nightmare it possibly is. Is it in the same horror category as the rotten drug den that Walter is forced to call home? ”I can tell it is a scary place, it made something like you.” Walter hopes she does not take that as a compliment.

Hs sword does not punch hard enough, another deep wound on the girl’s chest. Retaliation is quick and the bite on the back of Walter’s head knocks him about a bit, dizziness captures his vision for a few seconds before landing back onto Earth. He blames blood loss for the sudden spinning of the world around him, there is a plant to treat this…

”My mommy taught me nothing. But at least I know how to care.” Walter is quick to stop his mouth, she is not the one to share his tragedy too. No compassion will be followed like it did with Juliet. ”The Capitol called me a dark horse. I think it is time you start taking care of yourself…” It is a sudden change of tone for Walter, anything to mask the agony and fear that is seeping through the cracks. He can’t be defeated. Not by this villain. A hero always wins, even in a tragedy…

Walter attacks Noel; sword

f87wbil0bYsword

[1158 -- Stabbed in Eye -- 40 damage]

sword