Arena 15: In The Eye Of The Capitol

[etcircenses]

For the majority of you, this has become a familiar morning routine. Escorts come to pick up their Tributes and Stylists quickly see to setting them up with the bland and thin grey suits, much to most of their dismay. You'll not hear a word said in complaint though. The staff has gotten the threat to them loud and clear. Only the daring will be willing to offer even a mere "good luck". Peacekeepers quickly collect Tributes to send them off into the launch tubes. If you're from the Districts, it may be one of the last things you ever see.

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What everyone rises up to is not much better a sight. It's a war zone out here in every sense. Those native to Panem will recognize the sight before them, having seen it every year in a propaganda tape. The wreckage of District thirteen. The Cornucopia sits at the very center. Offworlders might recognize some of the weapons there, and if not, then they'll certainly be able to spot some familiar scenes far on the outer edges of the arena, perhaps even a beast or two they know well from their worlds.

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It's muddy and damp and there's plenty of wreckage to cut one's self upon no matter where it is Tributes run. The Cornucopia tempts the Tributes in for its bloodbath. Districter and Offworlder alike, there will only be one winner.

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The gong rings out and a voice announces; “The Arena is now open”. The Tributes are free to make their choice; to run or to fight. The Games have begun.

~~~

By the end of the night, one child from each District will have their face shone up into the sky, the first twelve killed at the Cornucopia. Only twelve to go...

Comments

[didnothing]

The instant Luna sees the girl with burns all along her body, she starts running toward Sandy. She doesn't have access to extensive medical databases anymore, but thankfully that still translates to a good understanding of medicine here Those burns look bad, probably more than Luna or anyone can treat without more supplies, but there are things that can be done regardless and so there's no question of what she needs to do. Starting with--

She calls out to the girl as soon as she guesses she's within hearing range. "Please, stop running! You'll make your condition worse." She holds up her hands, weaponless, to show that she means no harm. "I think I can help you. I...I have a medical license."

[justoutrunyou]

Running was being a bit generous given the pain shooting through her and the way her leg wasn't working very well right now. She did however slow in a mix of exhaustion and hope. Maybe this woman really was gonna help her.

Still even if so they'd have to keep moving.

"Please tell me you have medicine to go with that license?" She rasped coughing a bit and guessing she must have sucked in too much smoke while trying to put out the fire, or even worse a bit of the flames. Slowly, with excruciating effort she turned to face the woman and size her up. Absolutely a newbie. She was sure she'd recognize someone like her. This unfortunately gave Luna a good view of the half burnt little girl. The diagnosis was not positive.

[didnothing]

The girl's slowing down, but of course that's not going to do much; it just means that she's stressing her injured body less. Luna's not squeamish when it comes to injuries (it's part of her function, after all) but the damage is clear and she doesn't like that cough either. If this were anywhere else Luna would have immediately taken action to get her to a medical facility with the proper equipment and supplies, but of course that's not going to happen here. It's just her, and right now she has nothing but her memory to work with.

Still, she has an obligation to help in whatever way she can. Luna kneels down once she's gotten close to Sandy to talk comfortably, mouth set in determination. First things first: assess the damage, minimize risk of infection - as much as is possible in these conditions, anyway. "Please, sit down on the ground. Tell me what happened, and if you can feel the pain." Meanwhile Luna's scanning the damage, trying to get a close-up look to gauge the severity of the burn. Depending on that, she may be able to help - but if it's too bad, there will only be so much she can do.

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy stopped once Luna had caught up with her and gave her an exhausted fish eye look out of the good side of her face. "Flamethrowing guitar. I wanted it, another girl wanted it. She got lucky." Hearing herself say it sounded so stupid she could just laugh if everything didn't hurt so bad.

The burns were significant, from the scalp of her skull where whisps of burn hair still clung, all the way down to her knee on her left side. Her arm seemed to have taken the worst of the burns and was barely functional at the moment. Her jumpsuit seemed melted in places and stuck to her skin unpleasantly. Due to her attempt at fleeing some of the jumpsuit had already torn away taking bits of skin with it.

"We can't stop here, we're out in the open." She rasped feeling her throat scratch. Had she inhaled something or was her screaming so bad it had torn something? Either way her eyes wouldn't stop watering.

[didnothing]

The explanations throw Luna for a second - flamethrowing guitar? Who comes up with that kind of thing? - but there are more important things to attend to. The burns haven't penetrated past the deeper layers of skin, and that's good. The rest of the situation isn't, and without supplies they'll need to figure something out. Sandy really shouldn't be moving, but she has a point about being in the open and it would be better to have access to a water source...wherever there is one in the arena, anyway. Luna hasn't seen any yet, but if there weren't any they might all die of thirst before a victor was found.

So Luna tries for something else. She's already kneeling, so all she has to do is turn her back to Sandy and brace herself for someone's weight. "Please don't run, it will only make your wounds worse. I'll try to carry you." She isn't quite so sure of herself this time, and it shows in the way her voice wavers slightly. Luna isn't fully accustomed to her body and she's not exactly sure what to expect from it, but it's the best solution she can think of right now. Hopefully that will be enough.

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy hates this. She hates being in so much pain, hates letting this new girl examine her knowing full well how little there is either of them can do about it. And worst of all she hates standing still.

But then the girl does something that surprises her...she offers her a ride.

Looking surprised and then suspicious Sandy raises the eyebrow she has that didn't get singed half off "Are you serious?"

She gently attempts to take the position but as soon as Luna touches her leg Sandy hisses in pain and her fingers dig into Luna's shoulders sharply.

"Owowowowow!" Trying to keep her voice low and failing.

[didnothing]

Luna winces when Sandy digs into her shoulder, but chooses not to say anything about it. Worse has happened, and right now her focus is more on staying where she is and helping Sandy get on her back without toppling the both of them. She angles her back in a way she hopes makes it easier for Sandy to climb on, trying to stifle any grunts as she does.

"Hold on, okay?" Luna tries to sound gentle and coaxing, but there's a hint of pleading in there too - a remnant of caring after Kyle and his dismissal of so much machinery. "I know it hurts, but just hang in there. When we find a good place, I can treat your injuries better." She just has to hope both of them hold up long enough for that. Maybe it's a lot to ask, with the Hunger Games beginning and neither of them well-accustomed to the Arena's layout, but she can't just give up here.

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy's stonelike grip found purchase and hopefully Luna would be able to run with her pinching tightness in her shoulders.

"If someone throws something at us from behind I'll block it with my back." She muttered in a particularly sour attempt at a joke. Her teeth were grit so firm she was afraid she might crack one if she couldn't relax her jaw.

"I'm Sandy by the way." She grunted as if this was a perfectly normal way to introduce herself while every muscle in the left side of her body was screaming in pain making her eyes water near constantly.

[didnothing]

"I'm--Luna." Luna doesn't say any more than that, focused instead on the strain of carrying the two of them forward. The weight and Sandy's grip hurt, but so far she can bear the pain. She has to angle her head towards the ground to avoid colliding with Sandy's or maintaining an awkward position, though, and after a few steps she comes to the conclusion that it's going to be hard seeking out water at this rate.

She doesn't stop going forward just yet. She does try and lift her back up to raise Sandy up a little higher, gently to minimize pain or shock, and she slows unconsciously as she speaks. "Right now we need to find a source of water, to help with those burns. A-A well somewhere, maybe, or a lake. The cleaner the better, but I don't know if we can be too picky right now either. Can you keep an eye out for anything?"

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy gave a nod, and then realizing it was weird to do that from behind spoke up "I think so."

Straining her neck to twist it one way and the other trying to rise up a little higher on Luna's back made her burns stretch and some of the sealing wounds split open again. But by this point Sandy's body was going into a sort of struggling shock. Each stab of pain felt duller but still kept her from going completely numb. In the back of Sandy's mind she realized this was a bad sign.

"There, I see something shimmery in that direction...it might be water." It was a vague hope but the closer they became the more clear this vast ocean would become.

[didnothing]

"Good. Hang in there." But Luna knows words will only do so much, and right now she's set on getting Sandy to safety. She changes course towards the direction Sandy's indicated, and after a little while more of going forward step by labored step she sees the ocean shimmering in the distance. That's--that's good, and it's not good. There will be plenty of water, of course, and the saltwater might help with cleaning the wounds. But seawater isn't exactly guaranteed to be sterile, and it will be painful. Still, this is the best they've got right now.

She lowers herself when they reach the water's edge, so that Sandy can climb off her back. Luna's not used to such effort in this body so she's already feeling exhaustion from the trip here and from the pain in her shoulders from Sandy's grip...but there's still work to do and the area is exposed even if they seem to be alone at the moment, so she can't stop. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable, as much as you can. I'll try to clean your wounds, but it's going to hurt."

[justoutrunyou]

The relief at having reached the ocean is short lived. Sandy tries to focus on what lays across the water but it's difficult. Her skin feels hot and horrible. A selfish and childish part of her wishes that the girl had finished the job and she could be dead and done with this pain, but the even more selfish brat in her was too stubborn to give the Capitol such an easy victory. She wouldn't be the daughter of Flint Marko if she didn't kick and scream and drag her feet every step of the way. It seemed nothing would come easy for her just like her father.

"Thanks in advance...ya know...in case I'm in too much pain to do it afterwards." She managed a sardonic half smile before bracing herself for the pain. She was good with pain even if she wasn't always good at hiding it.

[didnothing]

Luna smiles weakly in response, but gets to work instead of saying anything. Scooping water out of the ocean's edge with her bare hands is imprecise and inefficient work, much of it spilling out onto the sand before she can do anything with it, but she tries to trickle it onto Sandry's burns.

Handling the melted jumpsuit isn't going to be easy, so she wants to treat uncovered parts first. She makes sure to try and rinse the wounds on Sandy's face first, then what she can reach of her side and all other exposed areas of her injuries. It's going to be a long process, but she's prepared for that and hopefully Sandy will be too. "This is going to take some time, but we've made it this far. Keep holding on."

[justoutrunyou]

Each splash of cold salty water on her skin makes her tense up. Sandy hisses and groans and dig the fingers of her good hand into the mud but she manages to stay still and keep her voice down.

"Y-yeah, we've made it this far." She repeats reflecting on how many other messed up situations she's endured to get to this point. This...this was nothing...this was just a setback right? Commander Shepard wouldn't let this stop her right? Pruna wouldn't let this stop her.

Deep shuddering breaths keep her heartbeat steady. "T-thank you for this. Some tributes aren't as helpful." Maybe if she kept talking it would keep her from thinking about the sensation of red hot needles digging into her leg.

[didnothing]

"It's the least I can do." Luna's concentrating on ferrying the water back and forth between the ocean's edge and Sandy's wounds, but it's a simple enough task (if a slightly frantic one) that she has space to answer. "I'm afraid I'll only be able to help a little bit right now. I'm not equipped to do more than clean your wounds and try to prevent the worst from happening. Even if I'm successful, these burns will take weeks or months to heal, especially in conditions like these."

Truthfully she still isn't sure how much of a difference she can make, limited as she is. But it's not as if she can go without doing what she can, and if she can do something for Sandy it'll be better than her actions in the Nonary Game.

[justoutrunyou]

"That's actually good to know." Sandy grunted between her teeth and managed a quivering half smile.

"If I last more then a week I bet someone will send me a first aid kit...or at least a knife." The ominous meaning behind that left vague.

"But I'm sure I can survive a couple weeks if I find a good hiding place. This isn't as bad as the time I broke my leg on the first day."

This was a lie. This hurt much much more then the leg being mangled by a bear trap, but she was hoping that if she said it with enough energy in her voice she might trick herself into not crying. It wasn't working. Tears were running down her face now.

"O-or having my fingernails ripped off or...or being eaten yeah...yeah not that bad." She continued to lie.

[didnothing]

Luna is more or less able to maintain her composure, but she cringes a little inside with each incident Sandy lists. What a terrible place the Arena is...not that that's surprising. And today is only the first day. How much more of this is going to happen before this one game ends? How many more will follow?

She notices the tears on Sandy's face but opts not to say anything, continuing to rinse the burns. Luna wants to be supportive, but she's less experienced with bedside manner given that it never mattered with Kyle. "I'll hope that somebody sends a first aid kit soon. In the meantime, don't give up before help comes. You're going to get through this." She tries to be firm about that last part, as encouragement.

[justoutrunyou]

She nodded in her usual reaction to hearing that statement, it was really all they could do was be blindly optimistic about these things. Cynicism didn't help much.

"I've come too far to quit now." She confirmed gingerly running her good hand through the sweaty hair left on her head.

"Have you been doing this stuff a long time?" She asked trying to turn the conversation to more pleasant waters while every part of her wanted to scream and cry and curse and pout about how unfortunate she was.

[didnothing]

"Sort of." Giving an exact answer would raise more questions, but it is true that this has been part of Luna's functionality since her creation. "I don't need it that often, but there are times where I need to be able to look after others. Although it's never been like this..." Luna tries to keep the doubt out of her voice, but a little bit remains. Up until now she's had the advantage of better resources and relatively minor issues compared to what Sandy's got now, so this is new territory for her. No orders and no Lagomorph overseeing her decisions, just her.

Luna's not going to let that stop her, though, and she stops to inspect the burn on Sandy's side. It's looking a little better, but there's a long way to recovery and Luna can only help her get partway there.

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy nodded in a distracted sort of way, scanning the horizon for threats. None were coming from the ocean at least though there were some shapes she could almost make out if she squinted. One looked to be a boat.

"I only just learned how to do this stuff from the training center. It's come in handy more times then I would have liked." She confessed "I wish I had something I could give you to thank you for the help."

Even if that help mostly just made her hurt more. She flinched as a twinge of pain shot up her back to remind her.

It would all be worth it though if she avoided infection and stayed alive.

[didnothing]

"You can thank me by staying alive. That will be more than enough." Luna ignores the obvious - that given where they are both of them are likely to die sooner or later - and gets back to splashing water onto Sandy's wounds. A little more of this, and maybe she can move on to something else. "It's good that you've been learning skills like this. They're not always useful for helping yourself, but times like now..."

As much grief as Kyle gave her as a child (or as much care as he didn't) Luna is feeling glad she's actually had practice in caring for people if not burn treatment specifically. Knowledge alone is only so useful without ability. And that gives her another thought: "Actually, if you have a chance to help someone else with what you've learned, you can thank me that way. How about that?"

[justoutrunyou]

"I'd say I'm good at that but...well I don't exactly look like it."

This was not the worst first day in an arena she'd had, but it sure was high on the list.

"I'll definitely do that." Helping someone else was a promise she was much better at keeping then staying alive. A sudden pang of sadness swept over her though. This girl was clearly too nice for a place like this and the more time she spent with her the more it confirmed it.

"We needed someone like you." That much was true. The more healers there were in the arena the better it was for the tributes. The less interesting it was for the viewers though.

[didnothing]

The comment makes Luna stop for a moment, before she realizes what she's doing and gets back to the water. Needed...for all that her life is part of someone else's plan, she's never really been told she's needed before. It's a strange thought, and it leaves her at a loss for a proper response for a while. What does anyone say to something like that?

She definitely doesn't know the answer to that question, but Luna tries anyway. "Well--thank you. I wish that weren't true, but there isn't much we can do about that. Maybe one day..." She has doubts, with the rhetoric she's heard about the Hunger Games, but Luna can wish anyway.

[justoutrunyou]

"There's always gotta be at least one winner." Sandy muses closing her eyes and trying to drown out the sudden whispering that's started in the back of her skull. That's...troublesome. But she can deal with it later.

"Sometimes it's people you'd never expect. Obviously I wanna win after all this time...but it would be nice to see someone who actually deserved to be safe from all this get out even if it wasn't me."

Too many arenas had been won by opportunists and monsters. People who embraced the dark sticky awful parts of humanity.

[didnothing]

"I'm not going to win." That's never really been an option to Luna, and she doesn't seem all that broken up about it. If she's concerned about anything it's the fact that not winning means she's going to die again. That more than anything is the frightening part - that, and knowing it's all going to happen again to everyone who doesn't win. "To be honest I don't know how long I'm going to last. But I want to do something while I'm here, I suppose."

It sounds noble, but mostly she's just had enough of watching people die. The Nonary Game may be gone, but the Hunger Games aren't any better and Luna knows she'll break again if she doesn't do anything. She'll settle for doing what she can instead.