patchwork [fall from grace . day 2]

[cass]

meredith.

Comin' like a hurricane, I take it in real slow
The world is spinning like a weathervane
Fragile and composed
Though I am breaking down again

Meredith bent down picking up her ear. She eyed it, scrunching up her face as she glared at the torn off flesh. The attack had surprised her, she hadn’t expected the beaked monster to go after her. She hadn’t been attacking it and slicing it open, Cyro and Bella had. She shouldn’t have been so naive, it was a mutt after all, it didn’t think the same way humans did. The reward for her naivety had been searing pain as her flesh had been torn from her body. That, followed by an ache that had spread like fire through her entire face.

She knew what poison felt like, Killian’s classes on that matter had been nasty. He had believed that the best way to learn and understand a poison was to suffer through it. He wasn’t needlessly sadistic, he hadn’t given them the ones that had no cure, and he had always kept the antidote nearby. He had been correct, the quickest way to learn what poison tasted like and how the different types affected your body, had been to ingest it and leave through the effect. That month had been an awful one, each week they tried a new poison, and each week they suffered the consequences of it lingering in the blood.

Thankfully, moments after she had begun to try and piece together how to fix this new problem, a sponsorship parachute had arrived carrying antidote and iodine tablets. Meredith wasn’t really sure who had sponsored her. She knew the victors from district two had done nothing, considering neither of them had even said hi to her and Will before they’d been thrown into the Arena. Maybe some sucker just felt like throwing their money at the underdog, or just felt pity for the only career to get a training score of one.

The ear had been cut off cleanly, it looked like it would be easy enough to stitch back on, the flesh wasn’t jagged and revolting. Her head throbbed and she tentatively reached a shaking hand up to the place where her ear had once been. Blood still dripped freely down the side of her face, mingling with her hair and staining her clothes. The pain wasn’t the worst she had ever felt, no that right was reserved entirely for the suffering Victor had caused her.

Sorting through her backpack she grabbed the needle and thread before walking over to wear Lysander was nursing her own wounds. With the way Bella had turned an almost striking shade of green at the sight of Meredith’s ear, she knew that approaching the young girl from district eleven for this problem wasn’t the best idea. She wasn’t sure if she should ask Cyro, but she felt a little embarrassed and wasn’t quite ready to make eye contact or talk to him just quite yet. He had seen a broken part of her that she had tried so hard to keep hidden, he had treated her with a kindness that she hadn’t experienced for a long time and she didn’t know how to react to it.

“Can you sew it back to my head?” Meredith sat herself down beside Lysander, showing her the ear, before pointing at the place it belonged. “I’ve got the needle and thread, and it’s a clean cut. It should go back on nicely.” She raised an eyebrow, offering Lysander the severed ear. “I’d really rather have it back in the place where it belongs.”

She looked over at Bella, who appeared to be unsure of whether she should be horrified by the idea or intrigued. Meredith grinned at her, pointing to the grass beside Lysander, “you can watch Lys sew it back on if you want.”

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[ all actions covered in trib maint ]

[k!ah]

arabella.

"I'm a soldier wounded
So I must give up the fight
There's nothing more for me
Lead me away... or leave me lying here"

Finally the fight had ended. Her body ached with exhaustion, new bruises and cuts and burns littering her body. Cringing she takes a moment to sit down, hugging her knees close to her chest as she tried to will the pain that cursed through her blood to lessen. She had been poisoned, her blood felt thick and hot in her veins. Sweat glistened, a thin sheet over her body. She could feel her muscles twitching beneath the thin layer of her skin. Back home she had not realised just how thin skin was. She had thought that it was thicker, but here in the arena it was sliced like tearing paper. Quickly and easily.

Suddenly a parachute descends beside her. Her eyes follow it as it lands beside her. Reaching out a trembling hand she pulls open the small package. Antidote and iodine tablets. Quickly she pulls off the lid of the liquid, her mouth greedily closing around the rim as she guzzles down the gross tasting liquid. The relief was almost immediate. A sigh escapes her lips, her eyes closing for a moment as she allowed it to curse through her, wrapping her in a loving embrace. "Thank you Katelyn," she mumbles as she places the tablets into her back pack, her eyes spying out Meredith her hands clutching her severed ear.

oh-oh, her stomach clenches but she forces herself to relax. There was no way she was about to throw up the medicine she had just indigested.

She stops in front of Lysander taking a seat as she offered the girl her ear, her fingers pointing at the bloody whole in her head as she dug through her bag pulling out a needle and thread. "oh my," she mumbles, her curiosity out weighing her repulse at the situation. She found herself creeping closer, her head tilted to the side slightly. Mer was asking her to sew the ear back in place. Could she do that? Would it live? Or would the flesh die, decaying as the days went on.

Mer caught her staring, a grin dancing on her lips, "you can watch Lys sew it back on if you want." Arabella cringes at the thought, her nose screwing up slightly. But she settles down to watch, her arms wrapped around her knees. "Will it live?" she asks, "I mean, like, will it somehow reconnected with the broken flesh?" The questions make her stomach squirm and suddenly she is unsure she will be able to sit and watch. Not without the contents of her stomach constantly threatening her to make a reappearance. But it wasn't only that, she still felt the nagging thought that she wasn't goof enough for them tugging at the strings of her conscience.

She was still struggling to look both the girls in the eyes, her mind replaying the battle over and over again. Reminding her that she was the weakness that was feeding on the life source of this group of four.

So instead she climbs to her feet, shrugging off her cloak and long sleeve shirt, her fingers quickly reach down to untie her boots. She kicks them to the side, slipping off her pants as she heads to the pond in nothing but her underwear. Dipping a toe in she sighs in reliefs at the coolness, suddenly her mind clear of anything thoughts of severed body parts. And for a moment she realises that she had been so caught up in the chaos that she had not taken a moment to look around her, at the breathtaking fairy land that surrounded her.

Suddenly mind clear of any negative thoughts, Arabella wades deeper, until the water comes to her waist. The feeling of joy washed over here as she allowed herself to get carried away with the feel of the cold liquid against her skin, of the feeling of a moment of peace, peace that she clung to, desperate to not let slip through her fingers.

elegant

[collects the things, does somethings, see trib maint]

[gamemaker sloane ♕ kaяi ♕]

lysander.

"Irritated by me? Then live like me.
Think you can walk in my shoes?
Look at me now, I’m your complex, bitch"

WAt last, she could have her long awaited nap.

The moment they were clear of their makeshift battlefield Lysander threw herself on the ground. Though normally she would have found a complaint to raise about the cold hard ground, it was surprisingly welcomed for the time being. Exhaustion took over her body. The last of the alcohol seemed to have left her body, but the hangover has not. Her body ached, even more so than before they started the gruesome fight. It seemed to be never ending, but finally they were able to lay their weapons to rest. She closed her eyes tight and begged for sleep.

But it evaded her.

The pain in her side was excruciating. Not only did the gash run deep, but it felt like fire was spreading throughout her entire abdomen. It was hot to the touch and she winced with every breath she took. It felt as if flames were eating her insides, and she could assume this only meant one thing. Poison. Lys had just finished cursing internally when a barrage of beeping parachutes came falling from the sky, including one for her. She had no idea who in their right mind would bother sponsoring her.

They must have been drunk.

She sat up and crossed her legs, delicately opening the only gift she expected to receive for the rest of her life. Inside were two items, some iodine tablets and what appeared to be some type of antidote. Without a second thought she took it, and the searing pain subsided almost immediately. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips. Maybe now she would be able to get some rest. Meredith's voice rang out like nails on a chalk board.

She should have known better.

“Can you sew it back to my head? I’ve got the needle and thread, and it’s a clean cut. It should go back on nicely. I’d really rather have it back in the place where it belongs.”

"What are you going to if I say no? Drive your knife through my pretty little neck?

A laugh escaped her lips. Mer had proven that her 1 was simply a fluke. Lysander knew she was capable of much more than just slitting her throat. In the end, her life would probably be taken by her very hands.

For some reason joking about it made her feel better.

She put her hands out so Meredith could give her the needle and still slightly warm ear.

"I'm warning you, my mother tried to teach me how to sew once. She gave up after two hours."

Regardless, she began to roughly sew the ear back to the side of her head. It was rather difficult because Mer flinched almost every time the needle pierced her skin. She grew tired of asking her to keep still, so she worked to the best of her ability. Eventually she pulled away, looking at her not so handy work.

"Will it live? I mean, like, will it somehow reconnected with the broken flesh?"

Lysander shrugged as she turned towards the other girl in their group.

"Guess we'll find out. Just don't lose anything important next time. My abilities may not be able to promise a functioning limb."

It was ugly and it was crude, but it was effective. Her ear was reattached. She was whole once again.

Now maybe she could finally get some sleep.

elegant

( actions will be listed in maint )

[Tom]

cyro.

"What if I told you
I feel like I know you?
But we never met
It's for the best"

After spending some time catching a word, now clutched under his arm, he comes back to the girls. Eyes glancing over at Lysander as she begins sewing Meredith's ear back to her head and part of him wants to just lean over and puke into the dirt, but he's starting to get used to the sight of blood in his vision. The sight of blood would have made him angry; red blossoming from the skin of a fist thrown at him or someone else. A fire builds in his stomach as the memory of his father throwing a fist after Cyro had called him out for being too drunk to stand. Bloodied lip and venom filled veins mixing together; until he breaks into a run, leaving the past behind.

Cyro Krane had ran that day, but blood still sits in the back of his mouth. A taste of iron to remind him that he's never been able to exist in peace; not until Xander. Xander Krane was the only person in the world he would fight for. Or so he had thought. The memory of Meredith's eyes as the fear bubbled up in her vision. Arabella's anger building around the edges, until he could see a truth behind her imagination and dreamer like attitude. Even Lysander Mae who drank like his father, but seemed to do it for a different reason. Naps being more important that death to a girl like her. Every single one of them was growing on him and he knew in the end, he would have to face them with the same determination as he had with the mutts.

Xander Krane deserved to have a father.

Katelyn Persimmon didn't deserve to have a child left on her doorstep.

He hates the feeling of his own heart in his throat as he shuffles closer, brushing the word gently, hearing the sound of a chiming package landing in front of him. Eleven had sent him something to deal with everything. The first item he noticed was the antidote for the venom. Immediately, he uses it on himself, letting the comfort of knowing he'll survive the venom of the stupid mutt he had killed before. A chill runs down his spine as he notices the tablets and what seems like navy blue paint. Xander's favorite color. It's strange, but he's not surprised. Tributes in the past have gotten some of the strangest items given to them. The last item is a container of 100 water balloons. The name on the containers claimed they're Wilson the coconut water balloons, which he can see based on the balloons looking like bits of a coconut.

A chuckle leaves his throat as he thinks of his own cousin.

Wilson Izar-Krane in the form of a balloon and Xander in the form of paint, the irony was uncanny to something he imagined capitolites must have learned. A shake of his hand as he starts pocketing the items. Carefully, he fills up his urn, which eerily reminds him of the dead. Cannons had gone off, three if he were counting, but he's not sure if they really did. Zenia's had gone off, but her face hadn't been in the sky. A deep breath as he moves softly closer to the girls, letting his eyes scan them. Leaning on his sword once more as he pets the bird in his cloak. Eye's glancing to Arabella as he whispers to her.

"You did well with the mutts."

Turning to Lysander, he can see the ear now sewn in place. Part of him knows the ear probably won't live, but he's not certain of that. Meredith had more knowledge than him anyways. He wants to speak of her look and ask who did that. He wants to ask who hurt her and tear them apart. He wanted whoever did it to end up like his father, tongueless and born to serve others in a way that'll break a human. Cyro's cruel, but he knew what pain they had caused.

"You sure that'll stay, Lysander? Is it even gonna be viable in the next few days?

Worry slips from his lips as he stares at it for a moment before he shakes his head again.

"Should have asked me, my Nana taught me to sew years ago. Xander liked to put holes in his jeans at the knee and I would have to sew them up."

A chuckle leaves his lips as he leans closer to Meredith, eyes staring carefully at her as he gently leans closer to her good ear, whispering under his breath in a serious tone while letting the chuckles break the end of the words when he pulls away once more.

"We'll talk later."

He had to know.

He needed to know who had been the one to hurt someone as strong as Meredith Strauss.

No one messes with them.

Cyro Krane would make sure of it;
Whether he dies or not.

elegant

(collects things, actions will be in tribute maintenance!)