The ashtray's full and I'm spillin' my guts

[not_cocked]

Who| De and prompts for Max, Black Widow and Hawkeye.
What| Various goings on towards the start of the arena.
Where| Down main street
When| First week of the arena
Warnings/Notes| none atm.



This place had her on edge.

Which was really probably a good way to be, in here, all things considered. But the sensory deprivation the fog caused, the way the whole world became so small...she was going to die of a heart attack long before anyone could shank her.

Deanna Winchester, Arena two, death by loud noise induced cardiovascular failure. Beautiful. She snorted, shaking her head. Creeping out along the side of the road so at least one side of her felt covered by the buildings looming out of the fog, she found an alley and started down it.

The whining of one of the dogs she'd had only caught glimpses of brought her up short. Especially when it was followed by a yip and deep growl. A territorial one.

Shit. What the hell had she jut strolled into?



They needed water, and she wasn't sure where to get it. Water and, soon enough, food.

De had her supplies with her, but she knew they were not going to last the arena, and she wanted to be sure Max had enough to go around, too.

After a quick talk with the girl, she peeled off, going to move quietly through the buildings near them to look for supplies. The fog was thankfully locked out, but the building was dusty, the floor boards protesting greatly under her weight.

The ground floor gave up nothing of use, and she had to pull her self up to the second floor through a hole where a stair case was suppose to be. The rooms seemed barren, and she was about to give up, when she found what appeared to be the office kitchen for this floor.

"10 points to Winchester." She muttered with relish as she started to bang quickly through the cabinets.



She hurt.

Nothing was punctured, she was fairly certain. Not anything inside where a band-aid wasn't going to do jackshit. But she wasn't so sure about anything being broken.

All she knew for sure was she hurt like hell. And the chance of her getting the beam that had crashed down on her off was...not much of one.

The day stretched on, and her consciousness flickered in and out. The idea to callfor help crept up slowly, and by the time nightfall came she had decided even if the wrong help came, she'd rather die quickly than slowly starve. Her supplies were trapped under her, and no matter how much she twisted and wiggled, she couldn't touch them.

"HELP! HEY! Can anyone hear me?"

Comments

[designatedfreak]

Dogs. She hated dogs and in general the dogs at Manticore had hated the X5s too, but they had been too well trained (both the X5s and the dogs) to actually do anything about that hate.

In the Capitol, Max had come across people who used their dogs like fashion accessories. And Chris who used his broken dog like a friend. She didn't hate these dogs, but there was no love lost for the creatures. She should have known the Capitol would use their mutts for an Arena as they had many times in the past. She should have known that the minute the dogs (where they really dogs?) caught her scent they would be on top of her.

Max managed to kill one and injure another, but it seemed that for every one she killed two more popped out of hiding. The pack was on her and she didn't have the ability to kill them the way she was, nothing but a well trained child. She could still run. Hard and fast, longer than someone her age should before getting tired. Adrenaline and training pushed her on, but it did nothing to remove the obstacle of a wooden fence separating two run down buildings. Normally she could have jumped the fence with no worry, but without her abilities she was stuck fighting off a hungry pack with just a rust crowbar.

[not_cocked]

Helping others was still a strange thing here. De was not really an out for herself kind of person, but each interaction became some kind of weird math equation of weighing the risks.

But when she caught sight of Max, there was no hesitation. This was her racing buddy. And she needed help.

Grabbing her wrench, she ran towards Max, yelling obscenities at the dogs at the top of her lungs. Swinging hard and wide, she hoped vaguely no one was close enough to hear her.

[designatedfreak]

Max would never admit the slight relief she felt at the sight (and sound) of De. Two against the pack? Yeah, that was more the sort of odds Max liked.

A dog lunged at her and Max moved so that she would clothesline the beast. A small arm wrapped around the neck, keeping the muzzle lifted so that she could use her knife to cut deep into its neck. As the hot blood ran over her arm she was grateful to confirm that unlike the spiders the dogs simply had normal blood.

[not_cocked]

There was a sickening thud as her wrench came into contact with the skull of one of the mutts. She felt a twist of guilt as she heard it yelp, the forms disappearing into the fog at their feet.

Looking over, she arched a brow, impressed. Granted it was pretty obvious that Max wasn't your average middle schooler, but seeing her in action was something else.

"Dog eat dog world out here, huh?" Another swing, another crack, another dog down.

[designatedfreak]

Max could only look at De. "I'm not a dog." She didn't respond as though the woman had insulted her, Max was simply stating a fact.

There was no guilt in having killed the rabid creatures, if anything there was a slight satisfaction as the hunter in her was let free to enjoy the killing. She knelt down and looked the dead dog over. It was like no dog she'd ever seen before, but it did provide something the giant spiders with their venomous bodies did not - meat.

Without saying a word, Max took out her small knife and began to expertly skin the creature. After a moment she looked up at De. "There's enough to share."

[not_cocked]

"I've been called worse."

She shrugged, leaning down to help where she could. Dog wasn't anything she'd ever wanted to try, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let this go to waste.

"How has your arena been so far?" She asked, holding out one of the mutts limbs so Max could skin it better.

[designatedfreak]

"I'm alive." So were the others. Max didn't know how long that would remain true, but she was determined to do better this time around than her first time. Now she understood the real usefulness of allies and the importance of making an impression on the people in the Capitol. It was part of the reason her treatment of the mutts had been so bloody.

The skin and offal of the creature was tossed to the side for whatever scavenger might be hungry. "It would probably be better in we cook the meat." Hopefully it would make the mutt a bit more palatable.

[dotsanddashes]

All of this was just...insane.

Rosalind was still getting used to it, conceptually. Running through the night and the fog, looking for anything she could use, and generally avoiding people as best she could while she got her footing. Presently she had a piece of wooden board with nails in the end hoisted over one shoulder, jaw set, and feet moving at a fast clip -

And then she heard the voice.

Listening to it for a moment to gauge the distance, she headed for it, steps slowing to a cautious pace. To be calling for help when people were out to kill you? Either desperation...or a trap.

"I can hear you - who are you, and why should I trust this isn't an ambush?

[not_cocked]

"Got me." De called back up. "But I'm gonna die if no one helps me, so I would appreciate if you suspended all common sense for a few minutes."

She paused, realizing that sounded pathetic. She was feeling pretty pathetic.

"I'll share my beef jerky."

Oh yeah. That sweetened the pot.

[dotsanddashes]

...Hm. Well, that certainly didn't SOUND like a lie.

After a moment of thought, there was suddenly a stern-looking redhead standing over De, a slightly judgmental frown on her lips and an eyebrow quirked. She didn't look like much...but she didn't look like someone who had been sitting around this whole time, either.

"...Quite the predicament you've found yourself in." Stooping down, she inspected the beam, looking for where she could get a good grip on it. "Are you injured?"

[not_cocked]

"Yeah. It's not good, but I'm hoping I won't die."

She laughed, and the breathy laugh turned into a grimace of pain as it jarred something painful inside.

"It just seems pretty shameful to die like this in the first week. How am I suppose to brag about that at the bar?"

[dotsanddashes]

"Mm. Quite disappointing."

It was flat, but not bad-natured in tone - deft, work-worn hands found purchase on the wood, and she looked to the stranger with a businesslike expression. "I'm going to pull up on this. When you have wiggle room and leverage, help me lift it and slide out backward. Do you understand?"

It wasn't patronizing, as authoritative as it was. It was clear that she wanted to help, and she was rolling up her sleeves to do so.

[not_cocked]

De certainly didn't mind getting to the point. Especially when she was slowly being crushed.

"Let's do this."

She wasn't sure is she could push herself out from under this, but she wouldn't rather rupture something trying than die trapped under that. As soon as the other woman started lifting up, she did everything she could, grunting and groaning as she inched out.

[dotsanddashes]

Rosalind was a slight woman, but years of lifting parts for heavy machines by herself had made her very strong. The beam slowly came up in her arms, her jaw set as she put everything she had into getting De out of there.

Perhaps the effort would be returned later, after all.

sorry it took me so long!

[assassinat]

"A points system, is it?"

Wryly spoken as she stepped out from the shadows. Natasha didn't appear all that threatening at least with her DISTRICT 8 jacket on and her hands resting in the pocket.

When it came to the concept of a death arena, she didn't seem all that bothered by it. A reminder of the past meant she just had to get it all out in a single night with a fragment of that same past; beyond that, there's no emotion left within her to feel anything towards it.

"So Winchester... that an alias or a name?"

[not_cocked]

"Isn't that what they're going for around here."

She stands up straight, cautiously. The woman seemed about the same size as her, a bit taller, but De was pretty sure if they fought, she could stand her own.

Would this woman fight her for what she'd just found? That all depended on how desperate she was.

Which given the situation, could be a whole lot.

"Name, born and raised. I just lucked out with the bad ass action star names. Though I guess that'd be pretty lazy writing."

[assassinat]

Desperation hardly ever showed itself in her face or actions, yet there were weeks to come. Weeks full of uncertainty and the unknown plagued her, haunted her along with the images of seeing her allies fall in previous arenas. Not knowing what to expect made her more cautious, but she didn't circle her prey like a predator.

No, she only cataloged the way she changed her posture upon being discovered and everything else. Information was key--always had been, always will.

"Your parents must have loved you. Beats Sunflower or Grace at any rate, does it not?"

[not_cocked]

"I dunno, Grace has a certain charm to it. What about you?"

She smiled, tight, but not entirely unfriendly. But she also doesn't move away. This isn't something she'd about to just roll over and walk away from.

"This is you first game?" It's a question, but only a question to be polite. De wouldn't have missed this woman in her research.