thearena | This is My Legacy [Closed]

WHO| AndrAIa, Holiday, Punchy and Jack
WHAT| Time for an Avox to die.
WHEN| Week 3, at night
WHERE| North coast
WARNINGS| Death.

Punchy's not built to stand hunger for too long, and being as demoralized as he is, the only reason he's even bothering to try is because he can be an extra pair of eyes to Holiday and AndrAIa. As resources become increasingly scarce, though, he starts to think that the way he can most effectively help is to stop eating their food, stop drinking their water.

He's on watch now, sitting at the mouth of their little cave, listening to the sound of the ocean. Every once in a while he rolls a pebble off the edge of the cliff they're near, listening to the sizzle is makes so far down below. The acid is eating away at the shore, but it's slow, not a problem. Yet.

He can't say anything if he sees danger, but he can reach over and shake them. He almost doesn't want to, but that's a faint thought, that he can protect them without their knowledge. That he could make it up to AndrAIa for last time. He holds his puppet in his lap and holds silent conversations with it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

At this, Jack shook his head. This was the Games, after all. Even if he didn't look like he was particularly going to enjoy it. And it was clear she wasn't going to make the first move.

So, with a sigh, he quickly lunged forward. He'd be quick, at least. Or try to be. That was all he could promise.

Punchy makes his move then, not even entirely consciously. He throws himself into Holiday, knocking her aside just in time for him to brace against Jack's assault.

Not what an Avox is supposed to do, or even consider doing. And yet it comes as naturally as breathing.

Before she knew, Holiday was being attacked from behind. She's so stunned by the force, that she falls to the ground quickly, barely being able not to cut herself with the knife.

But when she looks up, she realizes it's not an attack. It was so so much worse than that and she didn't have time to fix it.

Everything happened pretty fast, to the point where even Jack is surprised by the sudden change. But, there was no helping it, and his knife suddenly began to hit flesh. Specifically, it was sinking well and deep into Punchy's abdomen.

Damn.

Jack let out a hiss of disapproval at this. He wasn't sure he would actually even be able to get it out, considering how hard he thrust, which would make it much more difficult to do anything to anyone else in the cave, if he'd been inclined to do so.

A sound comes from Punchy's throat that hardly sounds human, and his left fist comes out to slam into Jack's gut. The combat training comes back - maybe it never really left - and his foot slides behind Jack's ankle to try and bring him to the ground.

She's up now, finally and already too late, but she still seems to think that if she does something right now, she can fix it.

But Jack is being attacked now by her Punchy, the one she thought was taken from her, and Holiday already has her knife back in her hand as she waits for the best moment to strike, rather than helping him being the first thing on her mind.

There was a gurgle that came out of Jack from the punch, though unlike Punchy's wound, his isn't quite so serious. Instead, Jack was able to do what Punchy could not, once he recovered his bearings.

He turn and ran, inwardly cursing himself as he did so.

Why did he think this had been a good idea again?

Punchy rushes to the front of the cave like a dog chasing an intruder away from the gate of its master's home. Only when Jack is well out of sight does he rest his hand on the rocks of the cave.

His breathing is labored and he tries to place a hand over the wound so Holiday can't see how it bleeds, dripping down his groin and thigh and down to his ankle.

She rushes after Punchy as he tries to make for Jack, but when he stops, so does she. Holiday looks out for a second, making sure her mentor isn't planning on coming back for another round, before finally getting to Punchy and-

There's way too much blood already.

"Punchy-" She grabs for his hand, wanting to see the wound, as her other arm goes around his back to hold him up or help him down.

He pulls away from her, away from the touch, both the Avox conditioning and his own pride telling him not to take her help. It doesn't matter that blood's dripping all down him now.

He stumbles out of the cave, looking for someplace to curl and die with his ego intact. He doesn't get far.

It was too bad and she knew that he couldn't be saved, but Holiday tried to stay close to him for a moment while he walked away from her.

It was when he fell that she ran tom him, scolding herself for being so... unattached to the situation...

She's kneeling over him in an instant, hand on his arm. She couldn't help with the injury and... it was already too late anyway...

He lays on his hip, eyes focusing on the trail of blood he left on the rocks behind him. He doesn't know what was hit - must have been an artery of some sort - because he remembers gut wounds usually don't kill so quickly.

This isn't how he wanted to go. Maybe the conditioning left some part of him wanting to crawl away like this, unobtrusive, unnoticed. But Punchy always imagined something greater for himself - a breezy smile, a few dramatic last words that can be published in a newspaper. Not scared wordless pants.

He looks up at Holiday.

Hoping he doesn't continue to back away from her, Holiday reached her arms out to him, intending to hold him close until he passed. She didn't want him to be alone or feel as if he was or should be. Even if she had equipment, there wasn't much one could do for this. Besides, there didn't seem a point in this place, even for people she loved.

The last time he died, it was something like this. The feeling is familiar, the way death soaks up like dye in a wet rag. The way his body starts going cold, the strange spasms in his throat that he can't even feel trying to drag in breath. The sky above lilts easy as a song.

But rather than blotting out life, death is wiping out the sort of half-living state he's found himself in since the Avoxing.

He dies with only Holidays embrace warming him, and for that he is grateful.

This is My Legacy [Closed]

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