give it time and you will outlive me [mutts v. UGG]

[WT]

Most of your attention stays on the model, one hand pushing and pulling scaled-down walls of light as the other scrolls through a command history, but you find a moment to offer a reassuring smile to the junior gamemaker hovering at your side. "You did as much as we could have asked," you say, and Pomponia nods, too hesitant to quite relax but at least listening. "Lurkers are difficult to work with. Gorgeous on the screen, but they're stubborn critters." They are at least, you add to yourself wryly, not even intelligent enough to defy commands intentionally; there's something to be said for knowing an unruly creature is simply following its nature, not causing problems on purpose. Which is what you remind yourself when you start feeling like you want to reach into eight months of work and pull it apart by the blood vessels.

The model Lurker in front of you, an image piped in from cameras and rebuilt in light, toes the invisible line you've set for it with one claw. You wrinkle your nose lightly and raise the current traveling underground; it pulls back, but doesn't turn around yet, eyeing the petals still drifting freely over the boundary.

"Time for a force field?" suggests Pomponia.

You wave your head to one side, then the other. "I don't want to spook everything in the area. Give it a little longer."

Pomponia almost holds her breath as you wait. Sure enough, the Lurker tries the line one more time, then huffs heavily and turns. "Yes!" Pomponia says, leaning in over your shoulder to watch—

—as the Lurker ambles a casual four meters in the intended direction, sits, observes its surroundings, and begins to nose in the dirt.

"Stubborn," you repeat, ruefully but not without some humor, keeping your eyes politely on the model while Pomponia puts her face behind her hands to collect herself. "Well, that's alright. Where exactly did the first one settle down?"

Pomponia flips the model to infrared and points out the heat signature of her first target, awake according to its vitals but buried peacefully a short distance from the second. "If they hold their general direction," she says as she zooms out the map and brings up the trajectory of the nearest group of tributes, "they should make it near enough. But if they swerve too hard..."

"That's possible no matter what we do here," you say as you swap back to visuals and study the trio. "Tributes are no more cooperative than muttations. You have nothing to worry about, Pomponia, this was excellent work. If they do swerve, we'll revisit redirecting the Nakom."

"Yes, ma'am," she says, still with a trace of nervousness in her voice but with what looks like a genuine smile as well. "Thank you for taking the time to help."

"Oh," you say fondly as you stand, "you know I'll always make time if someone needs me."

In the model, the Lurker wriggles its last limb into hiding, and the tributes move forward.

---

A considerable distance away, fully unaware that her fate is not her own, Sumac settles in for a quiet few hours of watching petals fly. Restricted to only what she can see through the gaps in the dirt she left herself, she can no longer see her fellow's eyes peering through her own camouflage, but she recognized the distinctive chirp that greeted her steps as Cinnabar; they rest content in one another's unseen but acknowledged company, ready to pass long hours that way until one or the other decides she needs a change of scenery.

They pass some time, at least. Petals pain the air above them, and above those, clouds gather slowly; once in a while a bird passes through overhead, or the steps of some creature rumble through the ground and then retreat. But it isn't nearly as long as Sumac would like before the first set of steps fails to fade into the distance, and she finds herself growing tenser by the moment as they grow closer, then close enough, then too close.

Cinnabar chirps once, muffled but clear enough, and Sumac relaxes as she answers in full agreement. Today has been strange day already, with the ground betraying her at unexpected turns, and she'd prefer to have done with the whole day—but together, yes, they can handle these strangers imposing on their space, and then they can rest at ease.

Cinnabar and then Sumac burst from the ground in quick succession, loose earth pouring from their red scales, and charge the disturbances as one.



Sumac [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D6M Daemon Lazre [knife]
y5w|ZjVwcfknife
[Block - 0.0]

Sumac [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D10M Oberon Fairbairn [blunt]
blunt
[blocked by plushie RE]

Cinnabar [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D10F Kahinta Jones [knife]
knife
[Deep Gash on Back of Head - 9.0]

Cinnabar [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D10M Oberon Fairbairn [blunt]
blunt
[Gash/Bruised Right Arm - 3.0]



title song is "Animal In Your Care" by Wolf Parade, which isn't actually super relevant outside of that line.

knife·blunt·knife·blunt

[Lyn𝛿is]

oberon fairbairn

They leave the girl curled up in pain and sobbing over the body of her dead ally. She was of no concern to him any longer. Maybe she'd bleed out in a few hours; maybe she'd wind up crawling around the arena a few more days before somebody else stumbled across her body and put her out of her misery.

That would've been a kinder course for her, all things considered, than the slow death they were condemning her to by leaving her. He's reminded of the work horses back home, and the fawn-eyed children who'd come crying to their doorstep, refusing to accept that their was nothing to be done for dear old Beauty who'd broken her leg in some gopher-hole but to turn her into steaks for the dinner table and glue to be rendered and shipped off to Nine.

Not that the Capitol viewers ever saw it that way; and in any case their horses were probably closer to some sort of sparkling pink and purple cartoon monstrosities than to the real thing. He'd still been young enough to fit on Pa's lap when they'd condemned Myara Lowe and cheered as Ansgar Todd struck at her, and he had no doubt now that if he drew his sword across the Eight girl's throat they'd start comparing him to that kid who'd gone around digging folks' eyes out.

Well. He wasn't going to lose sleep wondering if Johnwayne or somebody would go and finish the job.

*

The anthem blasts across the sky as usual. No faces, despite the two other cannons they'd heard during the fight. He'd briefly questioned the lack of display last night, at least after the witch girl had woken him up in the middle of the night to ask, but this time... hadn't they seen that Kenji boy die right in front of their eyes?

"I bet that's what this quell's about," he says to his allies, gesturing at the screen. "They take away the anthem so we don't get to know who died and who's still alive." It didn't sound like much of a twist, now that he'd said it out loud, but it made too much sense for him to be wrong. "Last quell nobody got to know folks were still alive, so this quell they're making it so no one gets to know who's dead."

Which meant the three of them had to try extra-hard to stay together. He wouldn't put it past the Gamemakers to throw in some fog to make them get lost, or mutts that herded them apart from each other, or whatever other tricks were hiding up their sleeves.

*

They stay put amidst the swirling petals, giving Daemon some much-needed respite after their clash with the duo the previous day. The fight had been ... closer than he'd like to admit. Iif they'd noticed Kenji earlier, if Kahinta had hesitated less, if they'd been more aggressive in corralling the boy away from Daemon, they'd be in better shape for whoever they might run across today. Well. It was none of his business whether she spent the rest of the games feeling sorry for killing him just because he used his last breaths on some sob story - hell, everyone and their mother in Panem seemed to have one these days - but it would be her business if she wound up being one of those folks who let her emotions get in the way of her survival instincts.

He'd lost, and his boasts had been empty, and that was all there was to it. What use was continuing to think on that matter, except a waste of time and energy?

*

"Ambush!"

The place had looked empty. A good place to set down their packs, light up a fire, and boil the seawater they'd been carrying around for days. Nothing but earth all around them, and nowhere for the others to sneak up on them without bursting from the distance in a cloud of swirling petals. How was he supposed to know that there were creatures hiding right underneath the ground itself?

"Kahinta! Behind you!" he shouts, a second too late. Something rocky smacks him in the arm, and there's blood pouring from the back of her head, and he lashes out at the dangerous nuisance that had suddenly emerged in their midst.

[Oberon attacks Cinnabar (Lurker #2) with sword]

fgsjRlFTS0sword

1011 -- Shallow Cut on Right Bicep -- 3.5 damage
(Sword)

sword

[Kire]

D A E M O N

The anthem brought confusion. For the second night in a row, despite three separate cannon blasts during the day, not a single face showed in the sky. Most notably, the boy he had killed was not shown whatsoever, despite his clear recollection of the moment of death. Shaken, and beginning to mull over how a single cannon fire had also happened on the first day and yet no deaths were shown in the anthem, he sits awake for some time. Oberon's guesses about the quell twist don't settle his mind and he can't help but wondering if perhaps it is something else. Finally, dragged down by wounds and the lack of sleep over the past few nights, he sleeps.

His limbs feel heavy and everything is sore. Each twist as he gets up is painful and he cringes every time he moves. Getting up is slow, but with a little help from his allies he gets standing. Oberon leads the way and Kahinta covers his back. Focusing on keeping himself moving, he lets his allies keep track of what is around them. When Oberon tenses, he grips the hilt of his sword.

"Ambush!"

None of them moved fast enough to completely avoid the mutts that sidled up on them without warning. Somehow, despite the pain and his stiff muscles, he is able to bring his sword up and block the jagged swipe coming at him. The clang and scrape of the stone-like creature against his blade creates a horrible sound which hurts his ears as much as the impact hurts his battered body.

"Kahinta! Behind you!" He turns his head at Oberon's shout just in time to see one of the creatures smack Kahinta in the back of the head, drawing back a bloody fist. Feeling both the need to defend himself and protect Kahinta, he isn't sure what his best move is. As Oberon turns to face the thing that had attacked Kahinta, he turned to face the other one. This was the one that had swung at him.

"What the fuck are these things?"

He wasn't expecting an answer, and he realized he wasn't really showing much concern for his allies. "Kahinta, Oberon, are you alright?"

Not waiting for their replies, he swung at the creature. Once again, he was working to defend them and himself.

[Daemon attacks Sumac (Lurker #1) with Falcata]
6vuru4vp_msword
Shallow Cut on Back of Head -- 4.5 damage

sword

[wimdy]

Cannons, and another night with no bright lights looking down on them from the sky. He should be there, eyes alight, a number emblazoned at his back as a mark to the world that he had existed and then not. Kenji never shows. It sets her on edge, skin crawling and the hair at the back of her neck prickling despite her attempts at calming herself down, fingers skittering over her cloak and pants and boots to assure her that she's all in one piece. Oberon has his theories, but Kahinta's not sure she buys them. "It's too simple... if it was just about keeping us guessing, why keep the cannons at all?" she asks, but she doesn't expect or really receive an answer. She's not sure there is one. Verena and Nilima have their reasons. It's simply not for her to know them. It wouldn't matter anyway. Hours staring into the dark, barely able to hear the sounds of Oberon's and Daemon's breathing above the winds, and she finds nothing beyond the faded echoes that have followed them throughout the day. She digs her fingers in between the crystal ribs that line her bones, fisting the shirt underneath and trying to draw herself closer underneath the gem painting she's been lined in, but it's no use. Kahinta Jones cannot keep being small in the dark, no matter how much she wishes for the comforts of her ignorance. --- "- but One is probably still alive. Jade and... Emery? Em- something. And the girl I hit during the Bloodbath seemed like she was in with the... the boy from Two... Johnwayne. Helle?" Kahinta mumbles to herself half the morning as they move, tries to remember their faces, but they're already fading. Remembering them had never been important to her, but as they continue to walk through the cascade of flowers, she tries to distract herself from the crawling discomfort of feeling like she's being watched, and not by the eyes of the people of Panem so far away. Her cloak billows around her as they go, Oberon and Daemon and then Kahinta round the back, eyes alert. There's nothing for as far as she can see beyond the swirling colors, save the continued presence of the figures in the middle distance. They don't mirror them, not exactly. Three, varying heights, all walking in their own way. She squints, and petals dash her vision, but she swears she sees her own face in the haze for a moment. It never clarifies, and she turns her eyes away instead of staring at something that's made to drive her to paranoia, made to distract her from everything else. Everything else, like Daemon bruised and bleeding on the ground and scared of the stuffed animal of a bird she'd pulled from out of a bush and tossed away. Everything else, like the assured way that Oberon spoke his opinions that was starting to grate against her nerves every time he deemed himself correct. Everything else, like a boy whose name she was never supposed to remember locked on her, words sinking in as Kenji realized he was staring at someone who was watching him die and choosing to do nothing about it. She knows what she'll have to do to get home. In the days to come, Kahinta will have to do whatever she has to to get back to Temple. Knowing and doing are different things, however, and watching a boy bleed out on her boots is different than watching a girl kill her sister on a projection on her living room wall. It burns the same, but this she can touch, can taste, can breathe in and choke on with the colors that paint the landscape every shade alongside the red that sticks under her nails. Her eyes are still fixed on the distance, hand wrapped loosely around the handle of her weapon and attention drifting back to the shades that are haunting them, when Oberon's scream breaks her concentration. "Ambush! Kahinta! Behind you!" Twisting her foot against the ground, Kahinta is only half turned when a sharp blow against the back of her head shatters the stars her stylist had so meticulously woven about her like a crown. She feels some of the beads bounce against her shoulders, hair tumbling along with them and spilling black onto the ground alongside blossoming red. Her neck is wet within a second, hot and sticking to the hood of her cloak as she continues turning, stumbling and trying to blink the spots from her eyes. A mutt, red and glittering in the storm, and nothing to feel sorry about making bleed on her boots. "What the fuck are these things? Kahinta, Oberon, are you alright?" "It got my head- fuck- got my head pretty bad!" she calls out in turn, raising a quick hand to press at the wound and gasping at the burn that shoots through her scalp. "We need to move, fast! We can't take too many hits like that!" Her stumbling has tossed her to the side, and Oberon moves in front of her to slash at the creature that had raked across the back of her head. Tightening her hold on her morning star, she whips her arm behind her as she turns, arcing up and around to strike down hard against the one before Daemon.

[kahinta attacks sumac (#1) w/ morning star]
PAOMyoi|8mspiked blunt
[stabbed in chest 9.5 + 1 strength]

spiked blunt

[WT]

Cinnabar doesn't let just anyone in her space. She would greeted most of their fellows with a snarl, if not outright chased them away, though she doubts Sumac realizes as much; Sumac herself is a silly thing, but silly in a kind way, more prone to walking up and chittering at someone than to defending her chosen territory. Which is, to be fair, exactly why Cinnabar likes her enough to while away an afternoon with her. Acknowledgement is easy enough to return and, given that, she's easy company.

Given a proper lifetime to stew on that, Cinnabar might have concluded that what Sumac is to her, in fact, is a good friend. It might even have occurred to her that this friendliness is not a mysterious quality inherent to Sumac alone, and that it might well prove possible to befriend other Lurkers if she stops assuming that everyone in her space is only there to chase her out of the best digging spots and responding accordingly. But Lurkers move at their own steady, ambling pace, and she's never thought these things through; and all she has time to process now is that, watching the human she clawed drive a spiked stone into Sumac's chest so hard she drops her tail in stunned panic, Cinnabar sees red.

She drew blood from the third before the blow to Sumac, she can handle it, but she needs to get there. The other human Cinnabar hit raked only a glancing blow across her leg; she disregards that one entirely, rushing instead to slam the one standing between her and Sumac with the broad side of one shoulder. Sumac herself chitters high and loud, still reeling, and Cinnabar snaps her teeth at her as gently as she can as she rushes past. She understands, but this is not the time.

That's good enough, fortunately; bleeding from head and chest and tail stump, Sumac nevertheless plants her feet firmly on the ground and turns her chirp into a snarl. Cinnabar thumps her tail approvingly on the ground once before she leaps again toward the human with the raised rock, and Sumac ducks under her arc to catch the two behind her.



Cinnabar [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D6M Daemon Lazre [blunt]
3m_qVl08bvblunt
[Miss - 0.0]

Cinnabar [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D10F Kahinta Jones [knife]
knife
[Shallow Cut on Right Hip - 3.5]

Sumac [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D10M Oberon Fairbairn [knife]
knife
[Severed Finger on Left Hand - 8.5]

Sumac [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D6M Daemon Lazre [blunt]
blunt
[Bruised Left Shin - 2.0]

blunt·knife·knife·blunt

[Lyn𝛿is]

filler bc I'm moving apartments and today's gonna be a giant :flailing:

[Oberon attacks Sumac (Lurker #1) with sword]

cxfDSRtsWjsword

1052 -- Shallow Cut on Forehead -- 4.5 damage
(Sword)sword

[Kire]

D A E M O N

The creature had seemingly turned its head to look at its fellow when he attacked. Despite their stone-like appearance, their scales parted easily enough and his blade drew blood. The wound wasn't very deep, but the sight of it did settle some of the anxiety that had flooded through him.

These were still quite animal-like and he wasn't sure if that made them more or less terrifying. Their ruby-like scales and diamond eyes detracted some from their lizard looks but added a new horrible edge to their already unpleasant aspects. He had hated watching mutt fights because he had always known the types of dreams he would have that night. Now, finally faced with a pair of them, he found he sunk into himself more and it was hard to think of anything but how their teeth could rip through his flesh without issue.

Behind him, Kahinta yelled out. "It got my head- fuck- got my head pretty bad!" Despite the fear in her words he couldn't look away from the creature in front of him. "We need to move, fast! We can't take too many hits like that!" He gulped, nodding but not really knowing what he was agreeing too. The longer he looked at this creature, the more it looked poisonous and deadly.

Kahinta lurched into his view and with a swing that was bigger than she was, slammed her morning star into the thing's chest. The spikes managed to bite deep and he finally let out a breath, not having realized he had been holding it. Perhaps they could kill it after all.

The two creatures circled again and his fear actually saved him as he leapt out of the way of one attack and managed to almost completely avoid another. The brutal tails would have surely broken his bones, but he got away with only a throb in his shin.

To his horror, he watched as the jaws of one of them closed on Oberon's hand. Sure his ally was going to lose the entire hand, he tensed and froze. Oberon, either driven to action by the attack or simply out of instinct, managed to extract himself before the beast completely tore his hand off. Still, a couple of his fingers were deeply mauled and looked like they might not function right after. Trying to steady his mind and stomach, Daemon watched as Oberon went to strike the beast that had bitten him.

Despite all of his terror, he knew that he wouldn't be able to rest until these things were dead. Following Oberon, he went in for another swing.

[Daemon attacks Sumac (Lurker #1) with Falcata]
ecjEp0enh9sword
Shallow Cut on Neck -- 4.0 damage

sword

[wimdy]

Her head is screaming as she whips her face to the side, vision locking on the second lizard that circles back into view. It's crystal eyes stare right back, and Kahinta feels a frission of terror shoot down her spine at the near singular focus it fixes her with as she tries to move to the side. With a yank, she pulls the geode from the writhing, hissing creature she'd swung at, stepping slow and winding around as Oberon and Daemon reposition, and the creatures strike again. This time she's a little more prepared. It's not much, but Kahinta is able to smack her boots together as she leaps backward, letting the momentum carry her a little farther with the help of whatever tech is in the shoes. What should have been a deep rake across her torso instead skims her hip, cutting through the black to graze against her skin. Her feet have barely toed the ground behind her before she's pressing forward again. "I'll keep this one busy," she shouts, arm wheeling back from behind her to try and land an equal blow on the second lizard, and hoping that Oberon and Daemon can act quick enough to level their playing field. Her strike swings wide, slamming against the dirt beside it, and Kahinta gasps at the shock of the blow up her arm, pulling back as quickly as she can to avoid a retaliatory strike. Something, anything, she thinks, sucking in another quick breath and throwing her arm back forward, the accompanying sound of shattered gem and bone a triumph above the wind.

[kahinta attacks cinnabar w/ morning star]
M6s5VEoiLSspiked blunt
[how your backyard barbecue go, the jones'? PRETTY GOOD IT DOESN'T SEEM miss bye]

accuracy (day 3)

[kahinta attacks cinnabar w/ morning star]
spiked blunt
[broken right collar bone 6.5 + 1 strength]

spiked blunt·spiked blunt

[WT]

Cinnabar is wrong about one thing. Had she the words to do so, Sumac would be the first to admit that she is a little silly; on one paw she's distractible by Lurker standards, and on the other she sometimes finds herself so wrapped up in getting from one point to another that she fails to notice anything on the path in between. But she knows perfectly well that not everyone is as sociable as her, and she remembers how Cinnabar hissed when they first met, so angry that under ordinary circumstances Sumac would have let her alone immediately. (Neither holds the meeting against the other, now; they were side-by-side in transport cages then, safe but stressed by constraint. They made their peace by the time they were separated, and when they first crossed paths again in this new home, it was with cheerful chirps of recognition.) She understands the trust extended to her, even if Cinnabar hasn't caught up to thinking of them as friends in the same way Sumac does, and she's touched by it.

All of which means she's heartened by Cinnabar's show of support here, but also more than a little embarrassed. While Cinnabar has gashed open the human who came after Sumac; Sumac has flailed around while the humans swarm her, caught another but clacked her claws uncomfortable on that one's paw covering in the process, and dropped her tail for what in retrospect feels like no good reason—it certainly didn't help, and now she has nothing but a sore tail stump to show for her trouble. She isn't holding up her end of this friendship.

Still, Cinnabar didn't leave her—ran to help her, in fact. She holds her ground even now as the human who slammed a rock into Sumac's chest drives the same weapon down into Cinnabar's, turning to slam her tail into the human instead of running. Maybe they're both doing this friendship thing just fine, after all; maybe it's okay to need a little help sometimes. They'll shake this miserable day off together, and Sumac will make sure to find something nice to do for Cinnabar after this is all over, just to make sure she knows Sumac appreciates her.

For now, confidence renewed even as she continues to bleed, Sumac barks loudly to Cinnabar and does her best to return the support she's been given.



Sumac [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D6M Daemon Lazre [knife]
v02g3XtKTAknife
[Shallow Cut on Chest - 4.0]

Sumac [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D10F Kahinta Jones [blunt]
blunt
[Bruised Left Femur - 3.0]

Cinnabar [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D10M Oberon Fairbairn [knife]
knife
[Shallow Cut on Right Shoulder - 3.5]

Cinnabar [Gemstone Lurker] attacks D10F Kahinta Jones [blunt]
blunt
[Bruised Ribs - 3.0]

knife·blunt·knife·blunt

[Lyn𝛿is]

filler #2

[attacks Sumac with sword]

gDG35cdVevsword

accuracy:

swordsword·sword

[Kire]

D A E M O N

His blade bites into the neck of the thing, but not deep enough. The drips of blood are lost on the red scales, only the shifting glisten from the ruby beads gives away their presence. The hiss from the thing sends his knees shaking but he does his best to hold himself up and still.

Kahinta once more has his back, and the sound of her voice and attack are a small comfort in the wave of worry that was swallowing him. "I'll keep this one busy," she sounds more confident than he feels and only the knowledge that he had a creature in front of him ready to snap at his neck kept him from dreaming up all sorts of horrible outcomes for Kahinta's face-off. He was too busy thinking of terrible ends for himself.

The sound of snapping bone and an inhuman shriek of pain distracted him momentarily from the creature he and Oberon circled, giving it a moment to come at him. Its claws rake across his chest and he withdraws rapidly, shrinking into himself. He can't even bring himself to check on his allies and so only the sound of their reactions to pain told him that they were being attacked, but thankfully still alive.

The shadow of Oberon's figure crosses over his legs as the other boy goes in to attack the creature again. He strains to hear the sound of the attack but there was nothing that reached him. Struggling with himself, he brings his head up to see the thing hissing with a new wound on its leg.

It was beginning to weaken, he could see that now, and only that flicker of hope was enough to make him move to strike again. Maybe they could kill these things after all.

[Daemon attacks Sumac (Lurker #1) with Falcata]
J9Z4dsLYoHsword
Shallow Cut on Left Hip -- 3.5 damage

sword

[wimdy]

fillering bc I'm baby Kahinta is mad about bruises

[kahinta attacks cinnabar w/ morning star]
dgaTPu0Smospiked blunt
[Time for smash pls]

spiked blunt