thearena | [Open] The journey thus far...

Who| Steve and Anyone!
What| This feels too much like sitting around and waiting to die. Or a catchall for before and during the first Hell-rena.
Where| Everywhere.
When| Weeks 1 & 2 (or the week before and week of the first Hell-rena)
Warnings/Notes| Mild language and violence, update as needed.

Watching videos of past arenas can only make someone so prepared for the real thing, but actually being here is far more chaotic and unpredictable than the videos ever depicted. This place is a veritable wonderland of possibilities. Steve really has no idea what to expect.

But still, he didn't expect it to be this, well, calm. Sure, he got attacked on the first day and he's had to fight off some nasty creatures here and there during the days after, even ran had a few peaceful encounters with people, but the fog acts as a blanket over a birdcage, making everything quiet. Too quiet maybe.

He just didn't know exactly what too quiet would lead to, but he was smart enough to know it would be no good.

When the sirens first blare, Steve immediately goes to find his allies, so he can get them somewhere safe; the noise is an all too familiar sound from his days in the war. But then the fog clears and temperature rises with unnatural speed, the walls dissolving instead of the telling sounds of planes and bombs, well, wasn't hard to catch on.

[ooc: I'm going to comment some prompts below, feel free to use them or, if you rather, you can leave me a prompt! I'm open to anything, including some scuffles. Just make sure to specify when it's for so I know where it fits in. You can use the prompts as an idea for what's going on during those times.

Also, prose or bracket RP is fine by me, I don't have a preference, so do which ever you prefer.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There's a fleeting, apologetic look from Bucky as Steve pulls his arm away. And then it's gone, and he lets the subject fall. His concern for Natasha--that's way more important than a little awkwardness about what he can and can't share with this version of Steve Rogers.

"I'm not sure. It crept up on her slow." He studies her sleeping face for a long moment before glancing back to Steve, his expression suddenly open and vulnerable with worry for the woman next to both of them. "She's the only one of us who's been eating from the orchards, ain't she? Damn it."

Steve gives Bucky a short and small smile at the apologetic look, not letting it linger because of the topic, but trying to communicate he doesn't mind. It's sometimes hard to know what's different for this Bucky without some trial and error.

When Bucky mentions the orchards, it suddenly makes so much sense. Of course the gamemakers would poison the food grown here. Traps and hazards everywhere, he was warned of that.

"Then she's poisoned. Hell," Steve pauses for only a second to think over some ideas. "There's a chance if she stops eating from the orchards that it'll work itself out of her system," he doubts that, but he doesn't say that. "I have more than enough food to share."

"She's not gonna let you share easy." Bucky's gaze shifts from Steve to the sleeping Natasha, and it goes kind of distant. For a moment he's somewhere else, somewhere peaceful, with only her. "She's proud, she don't take help like that."

And even though he speaks of her flaws, the look on his face is soft and fond as he leans forward to rest his cheek against her jaw and gently kiss her chin as she sleeps.

"But we gotta try, Steve. The moment we start to forget that we're in this together, the Gamemakers have got through to us."

Seeing Bucky so head over heels for this woman is very reassuring to Steve. He can't stop the small smile he gets seeing it, even if he wishes he could give them their privacy. This isn't really a moment to be witness to, but there is no privacy here.

"That's something I won't ever lose sight of, I can promise you that," Steve is fighting so hard to survive here for his allies, to help them survive. Sure, he'd fight hard for himself too, but not as hard as he fights for others.

"Will she take your help? I could give you the food, she doesn't have to know it was mine," okay, he figures she would know anyway, but worth a shot.

But he's already shaking his head. "Even if she didn't figure it out anyway? She doesn't want to take food from me, either. I've tried. She'll find some excuse to brush it off."

He readjusts his position a little, pulling back just slightly from Natasha's sleeping form, and lifts his gaze to Steve, serious and worried. "You'll keep trying to help her, though. I know. You're like him that way even though you're from another world."

Steve meets Bucky's gaze effortlessly and he's glad that he has that similarity with his counterpart. It doesn't matter that these two are from a different world than him, there's no reason to try to help them any less than he would his own.

It was a statement, but Steve still gives a short nod, confirming that Bucky isn't wrong about him. "I have no intention of giving up."

After a moment of that steady gaze, though, Bucky lifts his brows. "Keep enough of your food for yourself too. You won't do anyone any damn good if you starve in here, or get sick."

He falls silent, then, looking away and frowning. Because he knows that no matter what he does, Steve is going to suffer and die in here. It may not be the Steve he knows, but the man is similar enough that it hurts to confront the fact.

He watches Bucky for a long moment, wondering and guessing at what the other man is thinking, possibly even internally agonizing over, but he doesn't realize it's about him, instead thinking it's about Natasha. If only they realized and caught on to what was happening sooner, stopped it sooner. Steve wants to do more, find a solution.

Still- "You do know, I'm going to make you eat some of my food too, right?" He gives the man a look that says he's made up his mind on the subject.

At those words, Bucky vanishes the worry from his face and looks back at Steve with a quick grin. "You think I'm stupid enough to resist? I know you--I know any version of you better than she does."

Any Bucky is likely to know him better than anyone else does, but it's sad how true it seems for this Natasha. The one back home would probably surprise these two.

But he doesn't show those thoughts, just returning the grin instead. "Seems you're the only one with enough sense to know I can out stubborn you all."

He tips his head, though, halfway serious again. "I got one demand you're gonna have to give in to, though. Just one. Save enough for yourself. No one's gonna be okay with your starving here."

"That's something you have in common, taking care of me," he says it a little wistfully. "Don't worry, I plan to eat," and he really does. Can't help people if you don't have the strength from starving.

[Open] The journey thus far...

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