Like a rolling bolder

[paidinbeer]

Who: Orc and anyone who gets in his way.
What: Aimless drunken wandering with a horde of supplies on his back, looking for Howard
Where: The East side of the arena
When: Week two
Warnings/notes: It's Orc so, Alcoholism, Suicidal musings, and possibly drunken violence.

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Orc had amazing stamina when it came to slow travel.

He couldn't run very far to save his life...or anyone elses. But he could travel at a steady slow plodding pace for hours at a time.

With his bag slung over his back he didn't bother looking for a path through the trees and brush. Instead he simply trampled it all down with big heavy stone feet, hands shoving over the smaller trees cutting a very clear an obvious path through the greenery.

Pausing for the first time in who knows how long he set down his bag and rummaged around in it producing half a bottle of fruit flavored drink and a can of beer. Only practice and patience that Orc normally didn't have allowed for him to work the tab with his thick granite covered fingers. It hissed open with a satisfying fizz and the foam burst forth spilling over the lip of the can and running down his fingers.

Using the fruit drink bottle he caught some of the foam and then mixed the rest of the beer with his drink. It was something he'd been meaning to try and the foaming bubbling mixture looked promising to the simple minded teenager.

Sipping it he glanced around at his surroundings, only noticing just now he was surrounded by some ruins. It reminded him of a movie he'd caught on cable when he was younger and staying up too late.

His size and the noise he caused seemed to keep people from coming after him, but it wasn't getting him any closer to finding Howard either.

Shrugging he took a drink from his concoction, gargled it and swallowed it before bellowing out in a booming voice.

"HOOOOOOWAAAAAARD!"

Comments

[formersurgeon]

Joan had been out scouting the area and scavenging when something huge came crashing through the jungle. She was worried that whatever it was, it was headed straight for her and toward the camp she shared with Sherlock and John. Luckily, the crashing stopped. She debated whether she should find out what it was or just hurry back to warn the others.

Then she heard the bellow.

Howard.

She made her way through the trees, and was both amazed and utterly unsurprised to encounter a rock giant. Doubtless the one Howard had talked about. She cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted up.

"Hey!"

[paidinbeer]

Orc blinked and turned slowly till he saw Joan. His eyes focused slowly trying to remember if he knew who she was. He was struck a moment by remembering when he used to be smaller then grown women. But the mutation had added several inches to his height and now standing at roughly seven feet there weren't many people in the arena he wasn't taller then.

"Oh...hi." He mumbled once he remembered that he had been starring at her without saying anything.

[formersurgeon]

Joan was small even for a woman, especially without her omnipresent heels, so he still towered over her. She wasn't one to be intimidated, though.

"Hi," she answered. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but...you're Howard's friend, right?"

[paidinbeer]

"Oh." That's how everyone knew him even despite how easy it was for him to stand out in a crowd, "Yeah, I'm looking for him. I'm supposed to protect him." And he was pretty awful at doing that really. But he had said he would.

"Have you seen him?"

[formersurgeon]

"Not recently," she admitted. "I met him right after the Cornucopia thing. He mentioned you."

She had to wonder how one goes about killing a giant pile of rocks. She was surprised he hadn't already won this thing a while ago.

"If I see him again, I'll try to send him in your direction." She tilted her head. "Are you doing okay?"

[paidinbeer]

Even Orc was aware enough to know back home Howard was always mentioning Orc as sort of a veiled threat. Everyone knew if you messed with Howard Orc would have to thump you.

But was Howard really threatening this woman? Not likely...Howard knew Orc wouldn't hit her out of no where right? Didn't he?

"Are any of us doing okay?" He reasoned in a depressing sort of logic.

[formersurgeon]

"Mmm. You've got a point."

She debated briefly about whether to offer him her hand to shake. He was made out of stone. The chance that he would hurt her, even inadvertently, was higher than she would like. But he was holding that bottle of...whatever it was. Maybe if he was able to not automatically crush the bottle or the can, he would be able to shake her hand without crushing it as well.

And in Joan's experience, showing people you weren't afraid of them was almost always a good thing, especially when people don't like the fact that they often inspire fear.

So she steps closer, holds out her hand.

"I'm Joan, by the way."

[paidinbeer]

He looked to the hand cautiously, and then slowly brought up one of his shovel sized hands to take hers as gently as he could. There was still a rough discomfort of gravel against her skin but at least he didn't crush it.

"Orc...but you already know that." He mumbled feeling suddenly sheepish and shy.

[formersurgeon]

She didn't, actually. She was pretty sure Howard didn't mention his name. But she didn't tell him that.

"It's nice to meet you, Orc. Despite the circumstances, of course. How many of these things have you done so far?"

It seemed to be the common question.

[paidinbeer]

"These things?" It took him a minute but he realized what she meant.

"Oh the games...uh...just this one and the last one." He paused and added, "I got eaten by a giant sand worm."

It felt embarrassing to have to say but it was conversation and he was currently drowning in his lack of conversational skills.

"You?"

[formersurgeon]

"The same," she said. "Except for the sandworm. I came in mid-Arena last time, and I was bitten by a snake."

It's a very weird way to go about conversations. How many times have you been forced into a death match, and how did you die? At least they had those things in common.

"How long have you and Howard known each other?"

[paidinbeer]

For a moment Orc was glad he was covered in stone and snakes were less of a problem for him...then he remembered the Zekes. Horrible little flesh eating worms that had no concern about his stone skin and would eat right through it given the chance.

"Since grade school." He answered snapping back to the moment. "Howard's alot more popular here. No one really liked him back home." Orc's usual blunt honesty was on display without his intention.

[formersurgeon]

"Seems like back home was a rough place," Joan said. "Howard is a friend of one of my other friends here, John Watson. Do you know John too?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

In looking for Orc, Howard forgot how easy it would be to find him. One of his last memories was of chasing his best friend down through Perdido, losing track of him after burying a dead kid's body - the terrain here makes a stark difference. Orc's footprints don't disappear into the reality of asphalt and dirt - they stand out in the mud and broken branches and the bulldozed path of destruction.

He also forgot how inconvenient it would be to stick around someone who is so easily tracked. He slips through the trees easily, keeping up with Orc and backing around to put himself in his friend's path. He waits. He knows in a few minutes Orc will make it through the next patch of brambles and see him.

See him and the case of beer he sets on a rock, almost as if on a pedestal.

[paidinbeer]

Orc blinked some beams of sunlight out of his eyes and once they focused on Howard and the beer there was a look of satisfaction on his face.

"There you are." He lumbered forward tugging his bag of supplies with him.

"I've been looking for you for days." He added in a slight grumble.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"You wouldn't have found me any faster if I stayed in one place. I was looking for you too." Howard paces around the rock, watching the scenery around them for threats. "Besides, doesn't matter now. We're both okay and I'll take care of you."

[paidinbeer]

Orc nodded but something felt strange about that. Howard had always taken care of him back home...so what was weird about it?

Was it because he had survived so long without Howard's help? In the last arena at least.

Either way he just nodded and took one of the cans from his case of beer to open it as carefully as he could with his thick fingers.

"So what's the plan?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard can't tell Orc he doesn't have a plan yet, so he just brushes that aside. "Plan is to survive, same as always. Other than that, I'm thinking heading to the coast would be good, that way we only have to watch out for ourselves from one way."

[paidinbeer]

"Maybe there will be fish." Orc observed and turned around slowly trying to determine which way the coast would be. He had gotten himself quite lost in the last few days.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"Coast is that way, big guy," Howard says, gesturing with his hand. "Look, Orc, I gotta tell you something."

He looks over his shoulder, perpetually vigilant.

[paidinbeer]

That stopped him short. Even Orc knew what that meant.

"Uh oh." He turned back and waited for the bomb to drop.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"There's a guy in these woods looking for me. He..." Howard looks ill for a moment, and a shudder passes through his whole body so hard it nearly looks like a convulsion. "He killed me a few Arenas back. Reddish hair, acts like he's a real gentleman and shit. You see him, you kill him. No guilt, no anything. He deserves to die. He's bad as Drake."

[paidinbeer]

There was alot of conflicted feelings in that revelation.

First anger at the reminder that Howard had been killed more then once. Then guilt and shame at the idea that he was the go to monster when it came to ruthless murder.

But then a twinge of fear. Someone as bad as Drake? Would Howard exaggerate about something like that? Probably not.

"What's he do."

Orc wasn't as afraid of Drake as others. After all he had made peace with the idea of finally dieing for good. But that didn't mean he wanted someone like Drake wandering around.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"He..." Howard realizes he's breathing faster because he can hear himself. "He tortures people before he kills them."

He held me down and cut me open and told me it was for my own good and left me to choke on my own blood and severed tongue, he means to say, but he can't get those words out.

[paidinbeer]

Howard's scared. It's been awhile since Orc saw Howard scared. It's oddly calming. If Howard is scared then that means things are normal again.

"But what does he do? Does he have powers? Is he a freak?"