thearena | [Open] This Place Isn't Fit For Royalty

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[Open] This Place Isn't Fit For Royalty

Who| Miss Gritta and Sandy, and also OPEN
What| Despite a thorough exploration of the castle, Gritta's luck fails her early. At least there was a nice lunch.
Where| The Bay and various places in the Castle
When| Early-to-mid Week 2
Warnings/Notes| Death, eye injury in the last prompt

[A - Castle halls, Monday night]

If the choices were inside or outside, Gritta would opt for inside. Rats and bats were less horrifying than sunlight and far larger wild animals, and the castle had a certain familiar charm to it. The day was spent sleeping in one of the many rooms, door barred and a stick on hand for rat discouragement. And once the sun began to set she stirred and rose and readied herself for a night of careful exploration.

Though she didn't know if the rattling noises and moans were other kidnapping victims or something more alarming and sinister, she was determined to not be afraid. Ghosts were certainly real, but she could scare them off if worse came to worse, she was sure. A member of the Shadow Line royalty could do no less. But at the far end of the hall, form faint, was someone familiar. "...General Schwarz?" Someone dead. Someone who she missed so very, very much. A tall figure of a man, in a long coat and military cap, clattering chains hanging from his coat and sharp features like finely-polished steel. "General!" Someone who seemed to have paid her no mind, and who was turning the corner and leaving. "Wait! WAIT!"

All caution is thrown to the wind. She breaks into a surprisingly speedy run for someone of her size, chasing after the ghost, rounding the corner with no care for what might actually await around it.

[B - The Bay, Tuesday night]

When she had found her own rose, Gritta was certain to follow the instructions attached to it. They seemed arbitrary, but the most arbitrary things could be the most important. And so she was blessed with both relief from the stench that permeated everything and an evening that was fever free. Zed, on the other hand.... Zed had not been so fortunate. And in an effort to help him, she has gone back out to the bay to try and see if it's not too late to make him better.

It's not going well. She's had to tear some fabric away from her fairy dress to wrap around the stem, for this rose seems determined to prick her fingers at every opportunity. And it might be a lovely night, but there's no cover from the woods to the water and back again. She's wide open to a possible attack from the beasts that she's sure that she has heard roaming about. And between the faint glowing flame above her head and the equally faint glow of her eyes, she surely sticks out like a sore thumb. But what must be done must be done.

...there. One dipped rose. Now to find her way back to the Emperor, hopefully undisturbed. "...ah!" But what's that? Who's that out there? She looks about anxiously, already edging slowly away from the water.

[C - Castle feast, Wednesday afternoon]

What a relief to come across proper food, after days of nibbling at the rations that fell from the sky. The commotion elsewhere in the castle and the smell of delicious things was enough to rouse her from slumber and brave the sunlight shining through the castle windows. The scent is easily followed, and the sight of tables piled with good things to eat is so glorious right now that she doesn't think to question why this is even happening. Questioning can happen on a full stomach. And her stomach very much needs filling.

Contrary to her somewhat grotesque appearance, Miss Gritta has very good table manners. Though she is packing away an almost comical amount of food, she is employing a fork and a knife, dabs daintily at her mouth with a napkin, and is very polite and grateful to the Avoxes refilling her drinks and passing new helpings of roast and buns and sweets as she clears her plate. Dare you approach? It seems unlikely that you'll be devoured, too. You're not nearly as well-prepared as the feast is.

[D - Castle corridor, Wednesday afternoon, Closed to Sandy Marko]

Full to the brim and feeling a bit sleepy for it, Gritta is making her way back to her little room of sanctuary. Something nice has finally happened, her spirits are lifted, but it is still much too bright to be safely out and about. So much sunlight is shining through the windows, here. It's enough to make her feel a little faint. So she needs to hurry, hurry along, no need to check around the corner, she can't hear a thing, after all....

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Sandy was much more cautious about partaking in the food that was being supplied, going as far as to hide under the table and steal what she could stomach before squirreling away extras in her bag and escaping into the dark halls of the castle.

Call her paranoid, but her allies are few and far between and not close enough to keep track of them.

Stalking through the dark halls she can feel a full stomach urging her to sleep. She's been stressed out and anxious for days and even the musty ratty beds of this arena are better then nothing.

Turning a corner where the hall opened itself up to windows and sunlight she felt blinded for a moment and a lumbering mass of purple appeared to fill her vision.

With a startled yelp she stumbled backwards practically ripping her crossboy off her hip and loading a bolt. Squinting into the sun she tries to find her target's shape and is taken aback by...whatever sort of creature she's facing.

So shocked by the mass of flesh and teeth she fires the first bolt on instinct sending it sailing for poor Gritta's face.

The sun is getting in Gritta's eyes, too, making it hard for her to tell precisely what's going on. Did someone shout? Was everything alright? She spins towards the source of the sound, already vocalizing a concerned sound of her own. And then that bolt hits her clear in the eye.

Everything hurts and everything is terrible, and the only thing that she can think to do is let out a piercing scream and clutch at the end of the crossbow bolt that's sticking out of her eye. But trying to pull it out hurts even more. What can she do? What can she possibly do? She staggers out into the open sunlight, wisps of darkness rising from her like smoke.

Her eyes went wider seeing the wisps of smoke coming off her skin. Sunlight was hurting her?!

This was a moment where she could have chosen to run. Sacrifice one of her precious cross bow bolts and bail.

Or...she could try to finish the job and earn the favor of her sponsors.

Swallowing hard she reloaded and took fire again.

The sunlight weakened Gritta, the crossbow bolt harmed her enormously, and the two played off of each other to make her very, very vulnerable to further harm. The next bolt hits her in the chest, sinking in deep and getting another cry of pain and panic out of her. Yet more darkness streams from it.

"H-help! HELP!" It's the only thing that she can think to do, in all her struggling... that is, until her remaining eye sets on the girl with the crossbow. It's her. She's doing this. But why? Why just a child? The ToQGers were one thing, but other young humans weren't supposed to be like this at all. Were they?

She doesn't want to fight back, but she has to. Unsteadily she brings both arms out as far as she can, gathering what darkness remains within her for a desperate counter-attack. Or at least getting into position to.

Zed had lost track of Gritta in the activity of the feast, and he'd been looking for her again. It isn't until he hears that cry for help--such a familiar scream--that he knows where she is. He starts running in that direction, turning a corner to find Gritta on the business end of some human child's crossbow. "Gritta!"

With that, he's rushing over there, glaring at Sandy with murder in his eyes.

Edited 2015-06-17 03:30 (UTC)

Oh...oh no.

In a heartbeat, in the space of that single word Sandy realizes she's made a terrible error. That wasn't just some random monster...that was another tribute.

And while she'd long since accepted that she would have to kill other tributes to win, she told herself she wouldn't go on the offensive unless she had to.

But the time for guilt was somewhere in the distance because now there was someone rushing towards them and Sandy didn't feel like she was going to be able to fight off two at once. Taking another shot with her crossbow this time aiming for Zed Sandy took off running as soon as the bolt was loosed, not bothering to see if it hit.

Of all the skills she had learned or developed since coming to Panem, running was still her strongest talent. She shot down the hall like a bolt from her very own crossbow.

Everything happens so suddenly that it startles Gritta, and she hesitates to try and unleash a blast of darkness into the fray. Zed is there! And the girl is escaping! And.... "Oh...!" And she feels herself weakening far, far too much to stand. Her knees give, and she crumples, collapsing clear into the sun streaming in from the windows.

"Y... Your Majesty...." Is he even still there? Has he given chase? She hopes not. She doesn't want to be alone right now, when she's surely dying.

Edited (wording change) 2015-07-13 05:46 (UTC)

Gritta's calling out for him, and that stops him from chasing after Sandy and killing her outright. Later. That would have to wait for later. "I'm here." He's cautiously crouching down next to her. He is not really sure why he's doing this, because caring is kind of a foreign concept. Surely it's so they'll be even after she whisked him away after that last fight with the ToQGers. Surely.

He stayed. He's staying. There's something about this that feels frighteningly familiar, collapsed on her back and fast fading away. Her hand reaches out for him, but goes wide. She doesn't dare to turn her head and can barely see him at the edge of her vision, which is rapidly fading to white. "I... I don't understand. I'm a Shadow, I..."

A Shadow that's bleeding out, lying in a sunbeam. Her last words cut off in a high, mournful cry, and she explodes into a shower of inky darkness and white feathers.

"Gritta..." Zed seems...startled by this. It was not supposed to end this way, he knows that much for sure. He picks up a handful of those feathers and stares at them for a moment. His grip on the feathers tightens, and he turns away, still clutching the feathers.

Oh, he'll find who did this, all right. He will find her, and he will make her pay.

For the most part, Dave had tried to resist the urge to wander through the castle. Now he sees why logic tried to guide him away from the place, because it's fucking with his head. He keeps hearing voices, seeing flashes of figures and unwelcome faces. He deeply regrets making the choice to come here, but leaving is an increasingly difficult thing to do when everything looks the same in the dim of the halls.

He's trying to knuckle down and ignore the bait of voices or visions, but there's something about the yelling around the corner that seems a whole lot more realistic. Maybe it's because he doesn't know that voice, but they sound distressed anyway. He doesn't want to get himself into more shit, but he's gripping his sword tight and jogging forward warily all the same.

Or at least, he was jogging. Then he was rounding the corner and suddenly his perspective changed and he was hitting the floor with a thud and a clatter of his sword. He can't help lying there for a solid moment, dejected and done before he realises that whatever knocked him over isn't maiming him. He pushes himself upward, just sitting and not standing so he can squint up at... Well. Whatever this is.

"You wanna watch where you're going next time, Barney? Or is your job something to do with rendering Tributes into useless turtles?"

The size difference between them both helps ensure that Gritta does not fall over from the impact. "Oh!" She's more startled by it than anything else. She's a very solid young lady, after all. A hand flies to her chest and an apology is welling up in her, although she still doesn't want to linger long. She's after someone.

"I'm so sorry!" And it does sound like she really, truly is. Enough so that she's facing the young man and bowing as she tries to shuffle her way around him to continue her rush down the hall after Schwarz's ghost. "I'm... I'm in a very big hurry, I... ah, I hope you're alright, but I must...!"

Wait. Wait, where did it go? There's nothing down at the far end of the hallway. Did it just disappear? This is very distressing. Far more distressing than the idea that she barreled over some presumably-innocent young man. "...didn't he go this way? Didn't you see him?"

Any lingering fear that she's a Capitol creation sent to kill him in some horribly ironic fashion is dashed when she starts acting so. Goddamn. Cute. Dave is understandably taken aback, still sitting on his ass as Gritta apologises and starts to shuffle past him like a woman on a mission.

He watches over his shoulder, brow raised in utter confusion before clarity dawns on him. He exhales almost dejectedly, mostly just to make her feel bad for knocking him over, then hauls himself up to his feet with an unattractive grunt.

"It's fine. Really. I should expect seven feet tall purple dinosaurs rounding corners on me." He doesn't sound bitter at all. Nope. Okay, he's still a little bitter, but she's distressed and he knows why and he doesn't want to be a total dick about it. "They're fucking around with you, dude. It's probably just some illusion to freak you out, trust me. I didn't see anything but my untimely demise."

"I'm... I'm not a dinosaur!" This is the first that she has really needed to correct anyone. The people that she has blundered into thus far have been too busy being gobsmacked to make any guesses at what exactly she is. This is enough to stop her retreat, and to distract her from her apparently impossible pursuit. "I am a Shadow Monster of the Shadow Line!" She turns, she draws herself higher and holds herself with all the dignity that she can muster.

And then deflates somewhat a moment afterwards, glancing sadly down the hall. "...just an illusion? That's all? Are... are you certain?" She'd settle for a moment with Schwarz's ghost. Even that was more than she had dared hope for until now.

"Oh, right. Well that's totally different from a dinosaur. My sincere apologies, O' venerable, adorable monster-lady." He had meant to say kawaii for the irony, but sometimes words are automatically translated thanks to the Capitol. Of course it fucks with his irony and he purses his lips as he considers the fact that he just told some random Ghibli character that she's adorable.

Now is, clearly, not the time. Some Knight of Time he is.

"I'm certain. They do this sort of thing frequently." He brushes off his robes as he speaks, enjoying the distraction. "Trust me, this is my seventh Arena. You new? I haven't- uh. Seen you before. I feel like I would recognize you somehow, y'know? Something about your face would clue me in, I think."

Edited 2015-06-17 14:22 (UTC)

"It is. It's absolutely different." She hasn't had very much experience with sarcasm or irony, alas. Or maybe it's to her advantage, because it's making this conversation go a little smoother. She brushes out the frilly skirt of her fairy dress and gives the young man a little nod. "Apology accepted." And now they can get on to the matter of discussing the things that really matter.

"Your seventh arena!" It's not even a question, it's so astonishing. And here is an opportunity to ask a question that's been burning in her mind for days. "How have you done this seven times? Is none of this real? Do we not really die? Oh..." Her words catch as she gives her head a quick shake. "I'm new, yes. And I'm not sure that I understand much of what's happening...."

Dave is more than happy to move the conversation on, but the change of topic is almost worse than his social blunders. It's hard not to be a little sullen, even if he understands the desire to pick his brain over it.

"With great difficulty, I guess?" He shakes his head. "It's real. I don't know how they do it, but they just keep bringing us back over and over. You really do die, it'll suck, but you'll probably come back." He doesn't imagine the entertainment value of a big, purple dinosaur with a dainty personality. "Alright, well, I'm guessing you arrived for the Arena. How much did they tell you? Did they tell you anything?"

"Only probably?" Probably is not a comforting prospect. Both hands raise and are clutched to her chest. "I don't want to die, even if I only might come back!" And she punctuates it with a whimper. None of this is very dignified or brave, but this is frightening! Isn't she entitled to it?

"Very little. They told me I'd be fighting and it would be glorious and it was a great honor, and then expected me to do a little demonstration. And then they threw a costume on me and put me here." She huffs and gives a little wiggle that makes those fairy wings... less flutter, and more wag. They've taken a beating thus far, but they're glued on and she hasn't been able to get them off.

At first, Phil thought he was hallucinating what he was seeing: a big purple monster with a familiar glow to its' eyes...and then he saw her face. Oh wow, well, there's probably a ration explanation for why he was trembling and his brain was kicking into overdrive. Fight or flight?

The sound that came out of the Phone Guy's mouth was more akin to a scream of pure terror that broke into the night. Later commentators can say it was more girlish than what he remembered but the facts were these: Poor Gritta had the unfortunate likeness of one Bonnie the Rabbit.

Edited (i can html...) 2015-06-15 03:21 (UTC)

She notices the scream before she notices the man, and it sets her to screaming, too. There's something behind her! Something that will surely get them! And so she spins around and starts backing away, certain that doom is upon her...

And there's nothing. Nothing at all. Was he mistaken? "Oh...!" The poor man! She needs to correct him. And help him, too. Running screaming through the woods on a night like this, in a place like this, will surely end poorly for him. Her footfalls are heavy and her pace is terribly slow, but she is doggedly in pursuit. "Please! Please, wait! It's dangerous!"

Phillip doesn't stop running, too consumed by the old fears to think for a second. It's not until he trips into a small depression that he has the chance to hide against a nearby. He does his best to make himself small, Bonnie won't find him in time, six am will ring and he'll be allowed to live another day. "J-Just stay back! I'm sorry Bonnie! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't help you!" he pleaded, lost in the imaginary security room, and muttering something about doors.

As ridiculous as it was for everyone in the audience for the District 6 Tribute to be scared of the purple creature, those that know probably saw it coming.

That tripping and falling has spared Phillip for a few moments, for Gritta's footing remains sure and she runs clear on past him. It's only when she hears his desperate begging that she stops and turns back around, listening carefully and holding very still. Bonnie...?

"I'm not Bonnie." The poor man... did he mistake her for someone else? Someone important? She starts to walk back the way she came, very much unsure as to where he is, but wanting to help. Her heartstrings have been tugged at. "I'm not her. It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you! Please, please, calm down...."

In Phil's panic-seized mind, the strange voice slowly but surely takes his hands and gently pull him away from the security room. That wasn't Bonnie's voice, far too sweet in what they said. Bonnie would have ripped the man by the neck and dragged him away into the costume room. This one wanted him to calm down, to help him.

With his eyes still dilated, Gray said in the firmest tone he could muster, "W-Wait there, I-I-I won't hurt you either but give, give me a moment, okay?" And as proof of that, he put his knife away before he peeked again. Well, she didn't have the rabbit ears, and she was dressed in some sort of outfit. But good lord, she was big.

Sweet in content, and sweet in tone, too. An odd thing to be coming from something so large and monstrous-looking. "I'll wait. I won't move. Take your time.... it's alright." She's comfortable in the dark, and it's unlikely that anything will sneak up on her, or so she feels.

She's seven feet tall and in a very battered and dirty fairy costume, and in this light? There is that resemblance to Bonnie, no doubt. But there's a sadness to her eyes, and her mouth's not quite the same.... maybe that's enough of a difference to make a difference.

The moment is well spent as Phil's eyes adjust to the stillness of night, and he can see the differences. This is not the murderous rabbit, this is a rather...big but spooked creature who is patient enough. She's sad...I was an ass to her, he thought before he crawled from his spot. Not part of the hazards either, she's dressed up as a tribute. Huh, today I learned. "Sorry a-about earlier, what's your name?" Gray asks as level a voice he can muster given his previous panic attack.

She can see well enough in the darkness, and though there's quite a bit of shrubbery and foliage between the both of them, this is her first chance to get a good look at him. Humans are so similar, it's strange, their shapes are so uniform and their features are so subtle... so she's looking carefully and striving to remember well.

"Miss Gritta. Of the Shadow Line." And she gives a little curtsy as she says it, though her eyes never leave him. "...I was worried that something was after us both. But I believe we're safe for now."

As soon as Phil was out of his hiding spot, he returns the curtsy with a little bow. What a strange tribue this one was, so proper and apparently of royal lineage. "I'm so sorry about my, uh, my screaming," he quickly stated, grateful the night covered the embarrassment flushed all over his face, "You reminded me of someone I failed to protect." When he talked about the Ghost Children, they were always a person, not a bot or an it.

She was...looking out for both of us? he thought, She's a sweetheart...I hope she wins. "Were you doing something? I-I can help you out, least I could do."

"Oh!" And now she feels even more sympathetic towards him than before. A gasp, and her hands fly up to be clutched emotionally before her. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't my intention to bring back bad memories." This poor man! In this horrible arena, and haunted by failures and the failing of his good intentions. So sad... she already wants to know him better.

"Ah..." But yes, she was doing something, wasn't she? Gritta casts a brief glance back the way she game, and then fumbles for the rose that she had most recently been dipping. "I was finished! The rose... the roses. Do you know about the roses?" Here, she can make up for frightening him. She can give him information.

The rose would earn Gritta a slight stare as Phillip thought about the strangely fresh rose, "Uh, no...heh, I've stayed in the village, kinda hiding from sight, you know? I wanna avoid combat as much as I can." Even if this was his second Arena, this was a weird addition to think of.

Gamemakers are bored and found some really, really flowery literature, he then groaned internally at his own pun, to the point that Jeremy's echo stated Don't you dare say that out loud.

"Oh. That's wise. But... if you do venture out, there's a field of roses. I believe you'd find one with your name on it, if you looked. I found one with mine. And my... my friend's." The words feel funny in her mouth. Referring to Zed as a friend? That's not what they are. Not really. Close, but... it's so complicated.

She shuffles a little closer, holding the rose out for him to look at. "It smells very nice. Nicer than the horrible smell that's everywhere in here. I think that must be the idea."

Phone Guy wasn't always the suspicious sort but when he was, it was because something so pretty like a rose be in a death arena in the first place. It smelled like a flower shop downtown, and by the looks of things, it's pretty harmless. Yeah, it had to be a trap of sorts, or a mechanic he had no intentions of following through. Gray offers Gritta a smile, a sweet one, "You're a really sweet lady, you know that? Helping your friend like this."

He took this little outing to heart, even if it terrified him at first. Kind people still had a place in the Arenas it would seem.

The compliment comes as a surprise, and she'd blush if she were the blushing sort. "Oh, I..." As it stands, she simply retreats a step backwards, head bowing and a hand coming to cover her mouth. She's flustered. "...It's the least that I can do." And he's her Emperor. There's a certain obligation there. "It's... it's important to work together, in a place like this!"

To hear someone talk so headstrong about helping others, even with the fascination the Capitol has with betrayal and drama, it's really refreshing for Phillip to see! He gives Gritta a fair bow of apology and reverence. "I should let you go, your friend will need that floor real soon if this is what will, uh, cure him right?" The night may be young but not every Tribute makes it to the morning.

"Oh!" Gray realizes and rummages some stale bread for her, "Uh, my apology for scaring you t o hell and back."

"Yes, yes, I should go, that's what I've come out this way for.... it needed to be dipped in water. He hadn't done that to his. He's sick now. I hope that it will help...." And she seems ready to retreat and go on her way, but he has more for her.

"Thank you! You're so kind. There's nothing to apologize for." A bit of bread isn't much, but she'll certainly take it. Zed could use something to eat. He'd surely appreciate it. "I... I don't think I caught your name?" She doesn't want to leave without really knowing who he is.

As Phil walked away, he looked back to Gritta with a salute and more so when she was so polite. "My name's Phil Gray, Miss! Take care okay? You and your friend! A-And..." well screw it, it might as well be appropriate, "May the odds be in your favor, yours and your friends!"

As much the forest terrified the Phone Guy, at least he knows not every Tribute is here to destroy the competition. Some just want to help. With that, he sprints towards the Village again, with his faith in humanity somewhat restored.

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[Open] This Place Isn't Fit For Royalty

D

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B, bonnie references in the links

Oh dear

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