thearena | Do you even whittle?

Entry tags:

Do you even whittle?

Who| Diana and YOU
What| Diana's sat making sticks into weapons. Talk to her? Attack her?
Where| The labs. The west of the island.
When| Back in Week 4
Warnings/Notes| I'm up for anything but Diana actually dying so go nuts.

It's quiet for now. No panicked runs of tributes, no patrolling trots of angry raptors. Just quiet. Not nice and quiet, but quiet. Makes it easier to listen for trouble when it comes.

She sits up a tree. It's what's in fashion right now. And Diana had to admit, there was a reason some fads caught on.

There's a bundle of long sticks jammed into the misshapen knot of the branch just an arms length from her. Less than a dozen, more than half. All with points cleared of bark and sharpened to a fine point.

Shifting her weight to stop a particularly irritating bump in the bark from making her rear numb, she reaches above her, unfolding a knife from her pocket and carefully cutting a branch from the limb over her head.

Methodically and slowly, she begins working away the outer layer of bark with her blade, being mindful off her thumbs. The last thing she needed was a bloody finger leaving a trail.

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A gentle thump on the tree trunk announced Azula's arrival at Diana's tree of choice.

"You make it too easy to track you." She muttered as she adjusted the fresh bandages wrapped around her head. The mentor had fought hard to prove to herself and others that she was a force to be respected and feared among the tributes. Unfortunately for every crippling wound she inflicted on others she had received her own scars and wounds that slowed her down more and more.

Bandages wrapped up her arms and around her head, a missing eye. She looked like a returning veteran from some great lost battle. The bear trap hanging off her belt was freshly cleaned from any signs of blood and flesh. All that and she was examining her nails casually.

"The first stop I'm making when I get back to the capitol is the spa. So help me."

Diana looked down and gave Azula a very self assured smirk before putting on that fake pout of hers. "But I tried so hard! You're just too good, Azula."

It took a moment for Diana to gather her things and make her way down the tree, but once she did she greeted the older woman with a purr. "How's my favorite mentor doing?"

"The headaches are gone again." She reported looking away as if trying to ignore the purr by looking anywhere else.

"But that stone giant snores so loudly I could here him from the other lab. I considered killing him just for that."

Diana wasn't about to be ignored that easily. Reaching out, she brushed her thumb across Azula's bandaged temple, sweeping aside the dark bang from the womans face as she did. "That's good to hear."

The smirk was back. It was always back. Usually accompanied shortly by a wink. "Well, I slept great. You're very warm and comfortable." And there was the wink.

Diana's brow arched skeptically. "Good luck trying, I'm not sure anything short of a bomb could kill Orc."

"Speaking of killing things, here." She held out half of the sharpened sticks. "Made you some more spears. Think I'm getting good?"

Azula's cheeks burned red at the comment. Despite her protests Diana was a very cuddly sleeper, and shameless about it as well. More then once Azula woke up with the girl wrapped around her and had to keep herself calm.

Taking the sticks she focused on them as best as she could.

"They seem serviceable. If they fly as well as the others they'll work well." She checked the weight of them, and flicked one into a tree where it landed with a near silent thud.

"Well done."

Now Diana looked far too pleased with herself. "Thankyou mentor."

She leaned over and placed a kiss on Azula's cheek. A habit she'd developed after that night of banter and one she'd maintained throughout the weeks despite the mentors disapproval.

Start off small after all.

Azula felt the kiss and her muscles stiffened, feeling the strange jolt of lightning that followed each of these kisses.

"You deserve praise for it. But don't let that go to your head. You've still played it far too safe. It will make the people back in the capitol forget you. Get bored. And that's a death sentence."

She slid the rest of the wooden stakes into her pocket for later.

And now came the eyeroll.

"Yes, Azula. I will, Azula. Next time, Azula, I promise." She ran off the sentence like a protocol feature.

Then quickly moved on. "So." She moved closer. "Any plans of action?"

"If the water keeps rising at it's current rate..." Azula shuddered. Her feelings about water had long since been made clear "We have about a week more in the lab before we have to move. I've been scouting out some potential hiding places and I think inside the corncuopia might be best. It's easy to defend."

Assuming they could still get into it when they got back there. The first time she'd tried the door it wouldn't even budge.

Diana eyed her mentor, gaze lingering on the collection of bandages.

"Think we'll run into many others on the way?"

Azula's eye started darting around, constantly vigilant. Constantly scanning for threats.

"It's likely. If not the other tributes then the local wildlife. We're all being driven towards the center of the island of course."

She almost relished the thought.

"Of course there are less tributes every day. So that helps."

"Gee, that sounds great." If you were looking for the definition of the opposing emotion to excitement it was on Diana's face.

Casually, she began stroking Azula's arm. "Don't you think maybe you should avoid other people for awhile?"

She strokes up the bandages, past her shoulder and touches her head wrappings again. "At least until this one stops bleeding?"

She tensed at the suggestion, which just made her muscles ache more.

She hated to admit it, but Diana was right. She'd damaged her body enough that she couldn't trust in her skills anymore. It would be more about making sure she had the upper hand then being able to aim properly with any weapon.

"We will as best we can. But you understand they're purposefully driving us towards one another don't you? We can only avoid other tributes for so long before we become boring. And if we are boring then they'll find ways to make us more interesting."

Edited 2013-11-17 15:12 (UTC)

"Yeh, but it doesn't mean you have to go looking for a fight."

There go the eyes again.

"I mean, how do you think you ended up using most of our first aid supplies in the first place?"

Azula sneered and looked away.

"Well it's not as if you were using them. One of us had to be proactive in removing the threats from the battle field. The sooner everyone is dead the sooner we can go home." She reasoned.

Diana went back into her auto pilot. "Yes, Azula. I will, Azula. Next time, Azula, I promise."

Then she smirked and leaned in. "But seriously, you are very good at keep us safe."

She tensed at the automated response. Diana knew it annoyed the hell out of her.

But she relaxed when Diana leaned into her. Perhaps if only so she didn't accidentally hit the weaker girl.

"I was keeping myself safe. You were just taking shelter under my protection. A sound tactic though risky gambit when you don't know the person you're entrusting your safety to."

Diana waved her finger, looking confident.

"Ah but you were looking after me too. Remember? You promised." She reached up and patted Azula's cheek.

"Thanks for keeping it."

Azula did not recoil from the touch. And this was a fact that was not lost on her. They had spent far too much time in the tent together for her to be oblivious to the fact that...somehow. This girl had made Azula comfortable with her presence.

A feat in it's own right.

"Yes well...you're my responsibility." She tried to brush it off.

She let her hand fall from the cheek and go back to stroking the bandaged arm in a way that only Diana could make look so casual.

"Does that mean you'll keep looking after me?" Diana was putting the purr back in her voice.

"Assuming we both survive this." the dark haired woman answered blandly.

"I'm your mentor. It's my duty to make sure you have the skills you need to survive and hopefully win the arena." Though after the work ethic Diana had demonstrated, her winning the arena would be nothing short of divine intervention.

"So long as you do what I tell you, I will look out for you."

She allowed the stroking of her arm. It was a tender sensitive area right now but Diana seemed to know just how much pressure it could take.

"Aww, sweetie." She continued patting Azulas arm, voice falsely sweet. "I means alot to me that you think I could win."

Diana sighs and rolls her shoulders a little. "I suppose we should start packing up the camp then soon?"

Azula was not buying her false sweetness for a moment.

"Soon yes. But not just yet. With the ocean to our backs it's harder to sneak up on us. Still we'll have to time our move to happen between the rain storms. We can head further inland. But it's dangerous to sleep on the ground. I've seen tributes nearly die by the vines that squirm along the ground." She explained.

That didn't stop Diana from layering it on. It was a game with her. One she enjoyed far too much.

"Will do, Mentor." She pecked her on the cheek before going about collecting her spears.

Azula watched her collect her items and brought a hand up to her cheek. The act alone was enough to make her shoulder ache from one of her many wounds. But her cheek seemed to tingle where it had been kissed. And that tingling brought warmth.

She may suffer for this. There may be talks of a potential improper relationship. It was likely people would accuse her of favoring Diana. And that was exactly what Diana wanted Azula to do so it worked out in her favor that people would be expecting it.

All Azula could think of though was the loss of respect. Would anyone take her seriously if they saw these videos and believed she was sleeping with her tribute? Would they still fear and respect her?

Only time would tell.

Venus isn't one for trees. She takes the earth, instead.

And currently, she's regretting that choice, as she's sprinting for her life away from what appears to be a fucking dinosaur. She leaps over a log, trips and smears mud onto her knees, then is back up and running again, what little supplies she had left abandoned. Her heart slams against the inside of her skull. Her lips and throat are raw.

And still she hears the whisk through the leaves behind her, indicating that the thing is gaining on her. It's only peripherally that she notices a girl in the trees, not far ahead of her.

"Help! I need help!"

Diana feels her body jump as the noise startles her. She manages to stay up the tree but her arms twinge from being off balance.

There's no time to debate what she's doing. Strategically, she doesn't want to be handing out weapons to others. It's a move that could really come back to haunt her.

But inside her the shouts of another human stirs a physiological need for group formation and protection. She yanks a sharpened stick from its holding place and tosses it down to the jungle floor.

Scarcely believing what she's doing and gripping to the rough bark of the trunk as best she can, Diana stands with her own spear and aims it downwards. Ready to strike at whatever breaks out from the undergrowth.

Venus doesn't have the breath to spare to thank Diana, but she grabs the spear from the ground and whips around, raising it not like a pike but like a staff. Sweat drips down her collarbone as she turns to face her foe.

It's nearly on her, and she only manages to turn and swing the stick like a baseball in time. It makes a sickly wet smack sound as it cuts across the raptor's open maw.

She doesn't leave it time to recover. She hits it again, going for the eyes to blind it.

Pulling her arm back, Diana send her spear zipping down towards the reptile.

The sharpened point sinks into the thick muscle of the creatures shoulder. Not bad for a moving target but no time to feel proud of herself.

Not feeling up to the idea of actually confronting that thing on the ground, Diana grabs for another spear and tries to move to another branch for a better shot.

Venus kicks it in the nose, now that it's injured. And she raises the staff over herself and bashes it down. The stick makes cracking noises and splinters and pieces fly off, but by now the dinosaur is dead.

She stands over it, sweat running down her arms and forehead, breathing heavy. "Thanks."

She kicks the raptor's head. "Dinner."

"For two?" Diana smirked, trying to look for an easy way to get down, glancing at Venus, trying to assess if the other girl would just gut her the moment she hit the ground.

Time to make conversation, hopefully that and providing help should earn her a 'not-get-stabbed' card. She recognized her a little, let's try and work off that.

"I think I've seen you around. Are you in District 5?"

"Yeah." Venus lifts her brow, then tosses her spear aside and tilts her head up. It's not as if she doubts she could take this skinny girl with just her hands, anyway. "I've seen you before. You're the one who hogs everything in the pantry."

Diana gave a sly smile. "I have food issues." Which was probably the most honest thing Diana had ever said apart from 'I'm a bitch'. Not that Venus would care even if she knew that.

"Hope that means we can still split the dino."

"Well, you're a teenage girl. Comes with the territory." Venus brushes it off. She's in the entertainment business - far be it for her to judge people's attitudes about food. And the kid certainly looks like she could stand to put on a few extra pounds.

"You gave me a spear. I'd be an asshole not to at least give you a drumstick."

"You can keep that, by the way. You might need it on the way back." Not that she was actually going to ask it back, there was little doubt in Diana's mind that if she tried to take the spear back it'd probably end up worse for her. And better to make it seem like she was doing the other girl a favor.

"So, how do you want to split it?"

"Thanks." Venus lays the spear on her shoulders, looping her arms over it to rest them a moment. "Well, guess that depends on if it's actually edible. Nothing else here seems to be. I tried boiling some plants and ended up sick for three days."

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Do you even whittle?

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