(no subject)

[etcircenses]

The fog seems especially heavy in the hours before dusk, and night begins it's creep easily enough with the light already so obscured.

But night had not fallen quite yet when the air raid sirens begin their howling, echoing through the fog and filling the streets with their moans.

The sirens last for what seems a long time, but in reality barely fills 5 minutes. Still, 5 minutes is a long time with that noise permeating the air. As the howl, the fog thickens even more, visibility cutting down to mere inches.

Then, suddenly they stop. A moment of silence, which ends with a growing grumble through the whole town, seeming to come from under ground. The fog sucks back, being pulled away towards the crevasses at the end of town. As it goes, the town starts to change.

To rot.

Paint curls up from walls, dry board crumbles away, ceilings sag and in place, collapse. Some buildings retain their structure, but some show their inner skeletons, nearly reduced to beams and columns. The cracks exude heat, shifting and widening, sometimes slowly, sometimes suddenly.

It isn't just the cracks in the ground that heat up. The whole town seems to have a fire under it, hot, wet heat shimmering over the ground. The various monsters idling around are no longer idling, now aggressive and out for blood.

The town is a sight, and not one for sore eyes.

Except, along main street, one building is a beacon of normal. It looks the same, worn down, but whole. An old theater, The Mayan, with peeling and worn looking cravings of creatures and motifs clearly mimicking it's name sake. Inside is an old fashion, two floor theater, complete with a concession stand down stairs.

And anyone who takes shelter here will find the concession stand fully stocked. The soda machine works, the popcorn maker keeps refilling, and every time the hot dog maker is opened it's full of hot dogs and buns. The candy boxes, too, are full and restock themselves.

It would be perfect if it wasn't full of people who want you dead.

OOC|

A map of the theater can be found here.

Throw any questions here.

You can rp in this post like a party post, or use this information to make your own threads.

Hellrena will be in effect until a second post returning things to normal, I am planning a few days currently.

Comments

THEATER

[etcircenses]

Justin Law | OTA

[deafscythe]

It is hot outside, a gross, sticky heat that plasters his too-heavy clothes to his skin, that makes him feel nervous and on-edge. He wants to do something, anything, kill someone or just run for miles, and Justin finds himself pacing the streets after less than an hour of the heat.

The theater is an obvious trap, somewhere to gather and kill off a large group of people, and so he avoids it for a while, searches for shade, sips slowly from the lukewarm bottle of water in his bag. It doesn't work.

Signs of impending heatstroke eventually force him toward the theater, though as he trips over his own feet and scorches his palms on the sidewalk he determines that he might have waited a bit too long to find a cool place to hide.

When Justin actually gets into the theater, he heads straight to the upper floor and claims a corner for himself, rests, and tries to cool off.

Let me know if this is okay :)

[formersurgeon]

Joan knows she can't fight most of the Tributes, so she has been hiding as much as possible. She's in one of her hiding spots when she sees Justin walk by. She doesn't call out right away, not wanting to startle him, not sure if he'll hurt her. But she notices that he doesn't look well. He's unsteady, pale. She watches him pass, then thinks for a moment before deciding to follow.

She eases into the upper floor and listens for a moment before moving forward and looking for him. When she sees him she makes sure no one else is near before calling softly.

"Justin?"

totally okay!

[deafscythe]

He's removed as many layers of clothing as he feels is wise (and gained another sponsor in the process), and is sitting and watching the entryway. Justin still feels terrible, but that should fade if he manages to cool off. As of right now, that still feels like a massive 'if'.

"Ah, Ms. Watson. Hello." His voice is not as soft as it could be, but he's never been any good with volume control.

[formersurgeon]

He doesn't seem to be about to hurt her, so she moves closer and crouches beside him.

"Hey," she says, looking him over. Skin dry and flushed. Not a good sign.

"How are you feeling?"

[deafscythe]

"Like I have heatstroke and a sunburn." Worse than that, really, like he has heatstroke and a sunburn and a massive adrenalin rush that's leaving him completely shaken. But heatstroke and a sunburn are what he's going to pout about now.

"I should have come in here earlier."

[formersurgeon]

"It's just a different kind of danger." Joan is well aware that she's been lucky inside the theater so far. "Can I examine you?"

[deafscythe]

"If you want." He knows he's dehydrated, but it's been hard to find water that's even mostly clean. Joan Watson is a noncombatant, and she is not going to hurt him. Or at least, she won't kill him. Poison is a possibility, but as long as he doesn't accept anything from her, he should be fine.

Sabriel | OTA

[bindsthedead]

The heat was- well, it was frankly ridiculous, but Sabriel was able to stand it.

Still, her stomach was growling, and she was trying to conserve what food she had. Which meant dealing with danger, if neccessary.

She kept one hand on her crowbar and one eye on her surroundings as she stuffed buns and candy boxes into a makeshift bag, and then helped herself to a soda with a great deal of ice and several hotdogs, keeping her eye on any possible exits or threats as she scarfed them down.

Closed to Thor

[smarterthanthem]

It had only taken a second, a split second for everything to go wrong. To get her separated from the group and relative safety she'd enjoyed for the past week.

The world had flipped on it's head and Clementine had watched in horror as it did so. Cold gave way to unbearable heat and everything -- everything just rotted, like time sped up. No one could have expected that, nor the trouble that it would bring with it.

The monsters were far more ferocious now.

Dogs, why'd it have to be dogs?! Clementine thinks as hurtles down the road, dodging the cracks, sweat pouring from her every pore. She's lost her windbreaker and hangs doggedly to the hoodie in one hand, the bag she'd found bouncing against her hip. It couldn't be dropped, without what was in it she was as good as dead anyway.

Her right hand clutches a crowbar, hoping she won't have to use it as the monster hounds bay for blood behind her, hungered by the smell and sight of small and weak prey. They're getting closer by the second. They'll catch her soon unless she can find somewhere they can't follow.

[worldsaway]

In similar seconds, Thor had lamented the heat but quickly discovered the return of his powers. Mildly, anyway. He cannot feel Mjolnir within his reach, but he can channel his power through the wrench he's acquired. Somehow. He cannot begin to understand the way their power seals work, but he would be a lesser man if he didn't use what he had to look out for other people. Thus far, he's been trying to prevent the death part of the Arena as much as possible. He's yet to kill anyone, he's even intervened in fights to prevent death from happening. He's sort of running from the inevitable, but he won't hear that from anyone.

With his other travel companions safely situated in Elsa's ice home, he's taken to briefly prowling the surrounding areas in order to take people into shelter if need be. What he hears first is the sound of feet hitting the pavement hard, the telltale sound of running, it's not long after that he hears the sounds of beasts on the hunt.

Wasting no time, he launches after the source of the sound, Clementine coming into view quickly as he makes his approach. Without hesitation, he's putting himself between her and the dogs. "Scurry." He grunts over his shoulder, giving one approaching dog a swift kick in the chest so that it knocks over a lurker whilst bringing his wrench down on the head of one getting too close to Clem for his liking.

[smarterthanthem]

A crack is before her and she darts left to avoid the broiling heat, under no falsities about what will happen to her should she fall into one of those.

Then she see's if not salvation then hope, "Thor!" Clementine cries, a fresh wave of adrenaline carries her forward, in that moment she doesn't think she's ever been so glad to see anyone in her entire life. Still, she's tired and stumbles after she's passed him, turning to see him intervene with the pack.

No longer alone Clem's hand tightens on the crowbar, her small chest heaving as she looks around. When one dog tries to skirt past Thor she swings for it, clocking a healthy blow in on its muzzle.

[worldsaway]

Thor had hoped beyond hope that he'd find Clementine some time soon. He had made a promise to her, one he had no intention of breaking, but it was more difficult to find people once you're in the Arena than he'd ever realised. He is glad to have good timing, but irritated to know that he might have been too late for her.

A brow raises in surprise at the blow, and he gives her a brief look of surprise before turning back to make quick work of the remaining pack with his wrench and his fists. They were no match for him at his full strength, even if they were bothersome creatures.

He heaves a breath of relief once they're no longer at risk, turning to place a heavy hand on Clem's shoulder. "Are you hurt?" He asks, but he's already checking her over with his eyes for signs of bleeding.

[smarterthanthem]

The girl is breathing heavily, sweat running down her face and back, staining the loose tank top she has on. Clementine leans into Thor's hand, managing a nod as she fights to regain her breath and stop the wheezing that came from exhaustion. It takes a few minutes.

"Just a couple scrapes, nothing serious." she wipes her brow, her hair frizzing in the sweltering heat. "They just... came out of nowhere." She needs water, there's some in her bag but she won't go for it yet, not until she's sure the coast is clear. "You really took care of them."

[worldsaway]

“Good.” He murmurs, letting his hand fall once he’s confident she’s steady and breathing well enough to support herself.

“Something has changed. My powers have almost entirely returned.” He raises his wrench upward and steady for a long moment before a very faint drizzle starts to fall upon them. He doesn’t seem particularly worried about anything returning for them, for the moment.

“They will be looking for those without powers, those they can prey on with ease.” He nods to himself before he realizes that might be a little insulting. “Relative ease.”

[smarterthanthem]

She reaches up and pushes her hair back, "What?" Clementine takes a moment to think that yes, some people here aren't all human, or human with extra abilities. "You seem pretty strong."

Clem snorts softly, daring a smile as she pulls a half full bottle of water from her bag and gulps it down. "Do they think those with powers are more likely to kill now?"

[worldsaway]

"As do you." He returns the compliment, softening his look a little so he can smile at her. "Better to be strong of mind and heart than merely strong of arm." That's a lesson he's learned time and time again, and it doesn't take a genius to see that Clementine is strong willed in ways he may not truly know.

"I am certain there are some who would try. Not everyone can deny the will of the Capitol when presented with a challenge. Some fight in the hopes they will be freed for their compliance."

Closed to Tony and Stebe

[worldsaway]

As if it hadn't been enough already. As if the fog, the beasts and the drained manner in which his strength carried him had not been enough to satisfy them. Now? There's heat. Not merely the blaze of a summer's day, but temperatures that threatened to melt the entire arena to the ground. The house wasn't safe anymore. If they weren't safe, Thor could be certain others were in an even worse state. Their numbers were already thinning with the loss of Natasha, a loss Thor could feel through the remains of their group, their only choice was to move onward in the hopes of finding a shelter immune to the blistering heat.

So here they are, three men looking more bedraggled than the cast of a Hangover movie, trekking through the heat as best they can. Thor eyes Stark and his burdens wearily, but he doesn't want to make it too obvious that he's watching over him, so his gaze occasionally shifts to Steve to make sure he's as reliable as he's proven himself to be. And he is. "I've had baths warmer than this." He mutters, trying to fool his ego into thinking this is nothing. Unfortunately, he can't fool himself into thinking he didn't hear a rustle in the distance, he's sure it was audible enough for the others to hear it too. He pauses, glancing around curiously, his hand gripping that wrench just a little tighter.

[aboveangrybees]

The oppressive heat already had Steve stripped out of the warmest of his clothes, not wanting them to get filthy with sweat and rendering them useless for warmth later. He needed to stay at the top of his game, not to weigh himself down with the heat anymore than he already was. With Natasha dead and Bucky gone in his grief over it, Steve knew he needed to assure his remaining allies' safety before running off to find and help his friend. Especially since every time he looked at Stark and saw the man trying to cover up how much he was struggling, he knew he'd never feel right about leaving them now.

Not that Thor needed the help, the man was as able as ever. Steve just knew it wouldn't be fair to hoist Stark off on to him. "What, do they bathe you in lava back home?" The humor in his voice is definitely wry.

But then his attention is grabbed when Thor pauses and looks around, causing Steve to grip his 'shield' and crowbar more securely, trying to focus his senses on whatever Thor had seen or heard.

[arrogantalloy]

Tony had been in hot before, hot was easy. However the Afghanistan deserts usually like to make themselves a terrible dry heat, not an oppressive humid heat.

It turns out that Tony is not at all a fan of humid heat. His hair was all but clinging to his head from his sweating, when he saw Steve remove his coat he stubbornly tried to hold out in his longer, because in his mind he had to prove to them he could easily keep up even though he's not a superhuman or an alien god-like surf commercial. Though taking off the heavy coat hadn't really made his life easier because he still had to carry it along with his pillow case full of his smoke/fart bombs, and the tools he refused to abandon to the melting house. Those things alone were making life hard enough.

Tony was also refusing to think about Natasha's death, while she wasn't the Natasha he knew, she was close enough so he wasn't taking it all which meant he was looking more quiet and determined. If someone with Natasha's skills could be taken out, then Tony was most certainly on borrowed time. His inner contemplation helped him to ignore Thor and Steve's growing conversation. Until the rustling caught his attention, frowning he reaches into his pillow case cautiously.

"I have a great quote for right now. But it'd be lost on both of you." Is all Tony can bring himself to say.

[worldsaway]

"Of sorts." Thor smirks at Steve, enjoying any distraction he can get from the unpleasantness. He's down to his last layers too, the only thing stopping him from going shirtless is the reasonable concern that the skin of his back will take as well to the sun as the buildings around them. He can't help but notice that Stark seems insistent on wearing his jacket. He's not sure if it's because he's figured out something clever or if he's being a fool, but it's the least of his worries now.

Instinctively, Thor's arm moves to draw Tony back away from the ever increasing scuttles and clicks of familiar beasts. "Spiders." He murmurs, but he hardly needs to, before he can announce them they're swarming toward the group. There's at least five of them, all impressively big and impressively hungry. Thor wastes no time charging forward, getting closer than anyone would like to the monster so he can bring his wrench down on its foul skull... Do spiders have skulls? Who cares. What startles him more than anything is that a wave of electricity seems to exit his wrench and meet the spider, sending it into convulsions before it drops dead.

He lifts the wrench closer for inspection, looking over his shoulder at the other two. "Do they always do that?"

[aboveangrybees]

Steve almost cringes when he see's Thor move to protect Stark like that. The genius was like an indignant toddler, he was most definitely not going to react well, but he doesn't have time to pay attention to that as the spiders swarm forward.

With his makeshift shield raised, Steve moves forward, catching sight of Thor's move before he bashing another the spider with the shield, sending it flying back with much less effort than it's normally taken recently. His eyes widen in surprise at seeing the spider flail around on it's back now. Sure, his strength hadn't really been that compromised, it just took a little more effort to effect the amount of strength he was used to, but that, that was like how it used to be.

"No, they don't," it's a distracted answer to Thor's question as his eyes linger on the new dent in his shield. But he doesn't have time to really think about it as another spider catches him distracted, its acid venom eating into the arm as he shoves his crowbar into it's head with an ease that's comfortably familiar.

[arrogantalloy]

Tony is a very logical man, he's lauded for it in magazines. So logically he knows that Thor is just making sure Tony doesn't get hurt, knowing that he doesn't have the same fighting skills as either blonde does. So it makes sense to keep him safe.

However.

Tony is also highly emotional, a part of him that isn't always covered in magazines unless someone important to him finds themselves in intensive care. His emotional side is really a lot quicker to react when he's under stress like now.

"Do you want to not do that in future, Beach Party?" His voice tense as he scowls, focusing on Thor more than the spiders, until the larger man charges for them which it really dawns on Tony that this maybe isn't the time. So instead he digs into his pillow case. The best thing in the bag that he could actually use is a long screwdriver. Because a smoke bomb wouldn't be at all useful right now and he isn't even sure spiders can smell which also makes it not helpful right now.

Having not moved since Thor moved him he looks up just to see the electricity run through the creepy arachnid.

"No one would make an electrified wrench like that." Tony says somewhere between insulted and confused that it happened.

As Steve ends his own spiders life after it attacked him Tony tightens his grip on his screwdriver as he measures the merits of trying to take on any of the other spiders with just a simple tool and a pillow case. He really wishes he'd taken off his coat. Also.

"I want my suit." he grumbles to himself.

[worldsaway]

Unfortunately, Tony's ego is the last thing he cares to protect. It's an instinctive move, the heat had been weighing on him the hardest and he'd been carrying the heaviest burden. It's no more or less than he'd do for anybody in a similar situation, so Tony's protests fall on deaf ears. They can bicker about it later, for now there is only spiders.

"Then something has changed." He murmurs, taking a quick glance at Steve making his own efforts in battle. It's more apparent than ever just watching him for a brief moment that his abilities have heightened, and to test his theory, Thor kicks an approaching spider square in it's middle. The power behind the kick comes easily, sending the beast flying backward and crashing through the weak remains of a fence.

"A change I can appreciate, at long last."

[aboveangrybees]

Steve is with Thor on this being a change he can appreciate.

There's no time to mind his injury, instead moving to get between Stark and a spider who's got it's eyes on the man. While he doesn't think Stark is entirely helpless, he also knows the man is not equipped to handle one of these spiders bowling him over.

So, he uses his shield to backhand the advancing spider into the side of a nearby car before casting a look over his shoulder at the man.

"Stark, protect the flank while Thor and I weed out the main cluster. These things are aggressive, we need to make sure they don't get the jump on us," yep, that's his Captain voice he's using.