thearena | Do you like crushed ice?

Entry tags:

Do you like crushed ice?

Who| Elsa and Harley
What| Meeting up and things
Where| Somewhere in the maze
When| A little bit after the arena starts
Warnings/Notes| Hand wounds and also death

After the failure at the cornucopia, Elsa was borderline frantic. It hadn't gone how she wanted- she didn't get the weapon she wanted, she'd gotten injured right off the bat and she knew that everyone who had helped her train must have been disappointed in her for that failure. It wasn't a complete waste, though. She'd gotten a knife, at the very least.

But it didn't feel like it would be very helpful in her hands, which were shaking. The one that had been stabbed by the spear during the cornucopia raid was throbbing and bleeding and it was all Elsa could do not to cry from the pain of it. A couple of her fingers felt heavy, as if they didn't want to work and the blood didn't seem to want to stop. Healing wasn't her area of expertise, so she honestly didn't know what to do.

So she ran. She ran as fast as she could and when she saw someone, she would turn and run the opposite direction, looking back only to make sure she wasn't being chased. It was going well, until she turned a corner sharply and barreled straight into someone-

It turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. She had wanted to avoid everyone she knew personally, but given her circumstances, it was hard not to feel relieved at seeing Harley. One bright spot midst all the pain. "Ooph," she let out, backing up slowly, giving Harley an apologetic look. "Sorry, Harley... Are you alright?"

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Harley had been dashing about as well, so the mutual impact had taken her off her feet to land comically on her rump. Joker would have approved.

"Owie I...Elsa?" She blinked and then her eyes went wide and face paled. Oddly enough the white of her face was a reminder of the last crowning and her jester costume.

"Oh blondie, you're bleedin'! Don't you royal types know you're supposed to wear that color on the inside?" She shrugged off her bag and dug inside producing a first aid kit.

"What happened? Who did it? Are they chasing you?" Honestly Harley was surprised that Elsa hadn't stood there to just let them kill her. The urge to survive must have been stronger then she thought.

Despite it all, Elsa couldn't help but laugh at the quip about wearing it on the inside. If only she could, things would be a lot easier. It was a small laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

"I'm alright, I don't think anyone's following me right now," she said, though she threw a look over her shoulder just in case. The coast was clear, at least for the moment. The idea of standing there and letting them kill her hadn't even crossed her mind at the time, which was a clear sign of how strong her natural survival instinct really was. That, and she didn't want to disappoint the people who had helped her.

She held out her hand, though, for Harley to begin her work. "I should probably go soon, though... You and I both know I'm nothing but a liability."

She was already quick at work with antiseptic "This is gonna make sure your wound doesn't get infected but it's gonna sting for a minute so I'll give you till three." She warned. "Ready? One..." And then before Elsa could brace herself she dribbled the stinging medicine onto the cut.

"You may think your a liability. But I'm thinking more like a responsibility. As in...as your friend and therapist I have a responsibility to do all I can to keep you safe." She grinned cheekily picking up the bandages.

"Besides, this is the first arena in a long time where more then one person can win. We gotta take advantage of our lucky break and get you outta here."

Elsa hadn't been prepared for the antiseptic stinging so much, though it also didn't help she was caught off guard because Harley clearly didn't wait until three. She let out a small hiss of pain, cringing but she refrained from yanking her hand back. It hurt a lot, but she knew it would cause even more damage if she didn't let Harley clean it out.

It took a lot of willpower not to argue with Harley, but she reflected back on their conversation after the reaping. Harley wanted company, and she felt like arguing would just be rehashing the same old arguments every time. So all she really could do was sigh. "Alright, alright," she said, her voice defeated. "We can stick together for now, at the very least. But if at any point in time, I become a hindrance, I'm going to leave."

She put as much royal firmness into her voice as she could muster. "Thank you, Harley. You know... for everything."

Harley smirked offering a delighted purr.

"Don't even mention it." She brought the bandaged hand up and kissed it before rising to her feet. "Alright your Majesty. Have you gotten any of the tokens yet? I got turned around in a quick throwdown with that doctor. I swear some boys have no manners."

Even with how stressful things were, Elsa couldn't help note just how strange of a gesture it was, for Harley to kiss her hand that way. So strange that Elsa also didn't know quite what to say about it- though, maybe that was just how things were in Harley's time. Maybe it was just not something she ought to question at all.

She spaced out a moment, before realizing that Harley had spoken. "Oh- er, no. I've been too busy with trying not to let anyone kill me." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Did he hurt you?"

"Pffft, nah. I think I broke his ribs though." She gave Elsa a hearty thumbs up.

"Aw, but I love how concerned you are! You're the sweetest you know that?" She smiled delightedly gesturing that they should start moving again. After all they were on a timer.

Elsa didn't know if she should be relieved or feel sorry for the guy. Maybe a little of both. Though, she didn't give him too much pity considering he had tried hurting Harley, but still. They were all in similar circumstances, after all.

She let out a nervous laugh as she followed after Harley. "I'm not really all that sweet, but thanks..." She cleared her throat. "Do you have any plans, or are we just... winging this?"

"Oh for sure." She grinned cheekily.

"First step, we gotta find the tokens. We're gonna take as many as we can fit in my bag. That way if we run into the other tributes we can trade for their tokens."

Of course the other reason was so that less tributes would be able to win but that was more selfish then Harley figured Elsa would be comfortable with.

"Then we're gonna wing it." She explained "How good are you at making stuff up as you go?" She continued walking as they spoke not wanting to waste anymore time.

"Do you really think anyone would be willing to trade?" Considering the nature of the arena, she didn't think anyone would be quite so willing to part with their tokens, so it was easy to feel pessimistic.

At the question, she hesitated. "... Not very," she admitted. "I told you I would just hold you back." It was hard not to be discouraged. "But I can try, anyway. I'll never learn unless I-"

She stopped, as they rounded a corner. In front of them was a very large and very dangerous looking stack of logs and it appeared that there was nowhere else to go except for forward. "I didn't think I would have to put that into practice so quickly."

"Maybe not, but I can be very persuasive." She shot an impish grin over her shoulder and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Harley too stopped short and looked up at the hazard.

"Hmm...alright." She squinted scanning the ground.

"I'm not seeing any obvious trigger...so I'm thinking if we just bolt for it as fast and hard as we can we might be able to outrun it."

It was foolish, it was dangerous, but how many choices did they have?

"There are too many logs up there. If we try to trigger the trap and then go it'll stuff the hall and we won't be able to cross." she added with a sigh backing up from the hall, likely to build up some steam for running.

"Tell me you're at least fast?"

Was she fast? Elsa thought so. She'd managed to evade several people chasing after her after her powers were revealed to the kingdom. But that was then, this time she had an obstacle directly in front of her that she had to avoid and she had been alone then. Now she had Harley with her and the fear that Harley would get hurt somehow.

"I... I think so," she said, trying not to let her fear consume her. "Maybe you should go first and I'll follow after you."

At least if Harley was first, Elsa couldn't get in her way. She wouldn't be the one to kill her if it came down to one of them dying.

"Uh uh! No way." Harley made a slicing motion with her hand to dismiss the idea.

"If I set off the trap and you're behind me you'll be squished! We do this together. Come on we'll get a running start." She took Elsa's hand and led her back from the hallway ten feet before turning to face the trap.

"Alright so here's what you do. Focus on your target. Think of something you want more then anything in the world and imagine it at the end of that hallway. We can do this! You can do this!" She encouraged trying to get Elsa pumped.

Then and only then...did she take off running, holding Elsa's hand so the girl wouldn't fall too far behind.

Elsa let out a defeated sigh. It seemed she rarely ever won an argument against anyone anymore, and she knew better than to try and argue this. After a moment, she gave Harley a nod. "Alright." It was out of a desire to keep Harley alive that she was going to push herself as hard as she could.

Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest as they prepared to run. No matter how much peptalk Harley gave her, she still felt terrified. She didn't want Harley to get her. But regardless, she prepared to run along with Harley.

And then it happened. The two of them set off, and the rest of it was a blur. She tried to keep up with the other woman, and she nearly succeeded if it wasn't for the fact she saw the bindings on the logs tearing. Harley was a little ahead of her and the only reason she wasn't further ahead was because of the fact they were holding hands. In the panic that hit her, all she could think of was making sure Harley made it. If she didn't, it would be Elsa's fault.

Without really thinking about it, Elsa tugged her hand out of Harley's grip and gave her a hard shove to help her clear the distance. In doing so, she ensured Harley made it- but at her own expense, as seconds later the logs rolled over her and buried her.

Harley let out a yelp and grabbed for the hand as it slipped away. She only got a look of confusion before Elsa shoved her with strength born out of fear.

The leggy blond pitched forward crashing head over heels as the world rumbled and shook around her. She curled up into a ball to continue rolling till the shaking calmed and it all settled in dust and splinters.

Harley sniffled and sat up calling out worriedly "E-elsa? Babe? Your highness?"

The tell tale kaboom of the canons told her that Elsa's time was up, and in her sacrifice an hour had been added to their total time.

Shaking once more, this time with determination Harley dragged herself to her feet. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and she punched the wall.

"There's someone else I owe." She muttered to herself.

Turning on her heel with hell in her eyes the usually cheerful girl was radiating an aura of willpower.

She had gotten enough friends killed in these games. Elsa was probably the most innocent out of all of them. It was time to go big or go home.

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Do you like crushed ice?

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