anemoia | wnn day 5

[pup]

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I leave Pisces' corpse behind as I make my way away from the blood-stained ground and towards safety.

With each step I take, I vow that I'll be the one to kill these monsters. The devil has sent me to collect his souls, and these are clearly souls meant to be sent to hell.

My eyes are set straight ahead as my head fills with thoughts of how best we could enact our revenge on the tributes who murdered me and now Pisces. I'm not flying anymore, instead, I'm just stopping my way through the damp ground, my teeth clenched together. I need to find my way back to the Cornucopia.

That's where Pisces will be tomorrow.

That's where he better be tomorrow.

The wet ground squishes beneath my footfalls as I stomp through the mud. My once-white uniform was now stained red and brown from blood and mud. At least the rain was over.

When we're finally a good distance away from the site where our battle took place, I finally shift my gaze over to my allies. They were less battered than on previous days, their wounds from the past finally beginning to heal.

We had made it out without a scratch.

Well, except for the scar that'll last until Pisces returns to us. I know that my face reflects theirs. Sullen, weary, angry.

"We need to get back to the graveyard," I say, breaking the silence between us.

"Pisces' isn't dead yet," I continue, my voice gaining confidence as I begin to finally explain to them what happens when you die in here.

"When I-" My voice catches for a second, the realization of what happened to me in the dark hitting me once again. Taking a second to clear my throat I continue, a little quieter.

"When I died, I got sent to this place that seemed like it was beneath the arena or something. It was like a huge crypt. It's filled with mutts and a bunch of weird items placed around everywhere."

The image of the weird wagon wheel tickles the back of my brain, a confusing object that must have been placed there for some purpose.

"I was down there for what felt like hours, but when I finally made it out, I was back at the cornucopia. I think we should wait for Pisces there."

I remember the fear, the breath catching in my chest as I sat there, shaking in the darkness. The boys from two and seven just cursed Pisces to that fate too, they sent him into the dark for him to either die again or find some way to live. I don't want Pisces to be like me when he escapes. I don't want him to be alone.

[does stuff in maint]

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[D1f Jade Morin - Alyssaimagine]

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As Jade grabbed Dominic to drag him away from the fight, another canon rang out in the distance. This one didn't belong to Pisces, but it made her flinch all the same. A part of her urged her to run back to the fallen boy, and take him with her, but she couldn't. She wouldn't, because that was merely walking into death. She didn't want to die, and she didn't want Dominic to die, either. Right now, she was aware that he'd need her to be strong. She had to be the leader, the strength her small alliance needed to make it through the night. Responsibility weighed on her shoulders, but she simply moved on, head held high because she would do what was needed.

Zenia's words startled her. Jade hadn't thought much since Pisces had died. She didn't want to think about it too much, not if she was going to be the strong one the alliance needed, but now her heart was racing against her chest. She could feel the sweat gather on her forehead, and for a brief moment she looked at Dominic in alarm. Zenia wanted to pick up another mutt. Of course, she knew that a mutt was being prepared for them. Pisces's body being used, and manipulated by the Capitol, putting false things into his head and sending him off to play with their heads, making them slowly go crazy before placing a dagger at their throat.

For a moment, she considers pulling Dominic away from the Zenia Mutt and running like crazy. Away from all the Mutts, because she was almost as sick of mutts as she was her human enemies in this arena. She didn't, though, because she knew it was useless. If Zenia gave hope to the boy who loved Pisces, there was no chance for them. Dominic would need to head there no matter what, because he believed the tall tales the Mutt weaved for them and the hope of Pisces returning would fuel him, she was sure. There was no use in fighting it. Soon, another Mutt may well join their alliance, sending her on edge.

Causing pain and heartache whenever she looked at them. Remembering the people they were before being slaughtered in the arena, and now turned into Mutts sent to destroy those who sided with them. It was an especially cruel twist, and one she'd have to accept. She would need to keep Dominic safe from two Mutts now, and that meant her task was just getting more and more difficult. So, she merely followed Zenia in silence. There was no need to respond to the Mutt. Besides, she figured the mutt knew they had no choice but to listen.

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maint stuff will be found in maint thread/Receives Antidote from sponsor
Table made by Puppy

[fireflyz]

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Dominic's legs gave out much sooner than he had anticipated, and once they were safe he found himself detaching himself from Jade's grip and sprawling out on the ground. The impact stole what remained of the wind in his chest, and he lay there gasping for air as tears threatened to fall.

He was gone. The one person that he had wanted to protect more than anything else was gone.

Dominic rolled over slightly, looking up at Jade. "Thank you," he said softly. "For getting me out of there." Heaven knows I couldn't do it myself.

The girl from One could certainly fend for herself, even moreso than the rest of them, but Dominic still felt the need to put himself on the frontlines before her. She had taken a pretty bad beating over the past few days, after all. But he should know better than anyone that having the upper hand on one day said nothing about the next. Hell, Zenia was the smallest out of the four three of them and she had spat in the face of death. Where did that leave him?

Dominic hugged his knees to his chest, pressing his nose between them. He shouldn't want the girls to be in danger - and he wasn't sure that that was what he wanted, anyway. It was good that neither of them particularly needed protection. Yet, that feeling of weakness still needled at him, and he closed his eyes.

Zenia's voice made them snap open again. "We need to go back to the graveyard."

He cast a perplexed glance at her. "What?"

"Pisces isn't dead yet," she continued, and Dominic wanted to ask if she was in the same arena he was in because they just watched Pisces die, but then she explained the crypt and everything slowly began to click into place.

He glanced up at the sky, ever the fortune teller, as if it would suddenly dim on cue. That was how this worked, wasn't it? The Gamemakers turned off the lights and all the wild things came out to play, and in this case, tributes became the wilderness. They'd darken the sky, and Pisces wouldn't be there, because he was gone but he was alive.

Would Pisces be a mutt like Jade thought Zenia was? He wasn't sure. But as he fumbled with his backpack and retrieved the bottle of vodka, the seal squeaking as he twisted the cap off, Dominic realized that he'd already encountered a mutt wearing the face of someone he loved and this time wouldn't be much worse.

[stuff in maint]

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table by puppy