thearena | ota

Who| Max & OTA
What| Hell falls and Max goes scavenging for the good of the group
Where| All around the Arena
When| Backdated to Hell-rena
Warnings/Notes| Killing a few nasties and taking a bit of joy out of it

Max was running. No, Max was flying. Once again she moved with speeds that no human eye could follow. The fence that had once trapped her until De had come to her rescue was now nothing and in a single leap Max flew over the barrier leaving behind the angry pack of dogs that had wanted revenge for their fallen comrades. It was hard to suppress the smile that wanted to break out as she once more felt whole. Ahead a small group of faceless beings turned and their neck fell back to reveal a hungry mouth. Max wasted no time in killing the things, their black blood staining her face as she used a heavy wrench to beat the things until they no longer moved.

She kept moving, her back slung over her back, looking for anything that could be scavenged for food or supplies. The oppressive heat was nearly too much for some of the other Tributes, but it was nothing for her. Not a drop of sweat appeared as she jumped up on the second story of a building that looked like a good breeze could topple it over. Hopefully the dilapidated state meant the others had left it alone. With cat-like graze she moved along the rail, jumping into a broken window. Her search was fast and thorough leaving her with one can of beans and a sheet that had been protected from the elements, a small sewing kit provided a needle and scrap of thread. Max paused in her search as she heard a noise from outside at the door. It seemed as though her time was up in this building. Once again she jumped through the broken window, this time falling to the hard ground below, tumbling and then standing. Behind her the building fell in on itself. This place was gone but even more buildings still stood, including a new one made of ice. Max wasn't sure if the Capitol would let her stay herself or if they would send something after her. She'd seen other Arenas where Tributes were given their powers only long enough to think they would survive better; she had a lot to do before she met whatever end the Capitol had planned.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"The others are still alive." Mostly. They needed food and water more than Max needed even without her body's natural ability to survive without either longer than a normal human.

Max looked at Sandy for a long moment. There wasn't much to say now that she knew her friend was alive. "We should meet regularly. If this place changes back again, you'll be vulnerable. Some of the buildings still have food tins. Old, but filling enough should Sponsors not send anything. You-you could join us in our building." The others might not like a newcomer, but for Sandy, a child, they would certainly make an exception. "Joly talks a lot, but it's not so bad."

"I'd like that." Sandy started but the idea of being absorbed into a larger group made her nervous, especially seeing as she didn't think Shepard was part of that group.

"I've been sticking close to Shepard. I only left her today because her powers are particularly dangerous to me when I have my powers on." She tapped her chest again making the clacking of two rocks hitting each other.

"Those purple blasts of hers would shatter me like those fancy pots they have in the halls back in the tribute tower." She explained referring back to some highly tacky and decorative terra cotta pots that she had more then once almost knocked over while running through the halls.

Max had no idea who Shepard was outside of rewatching the past Arenas. She was a good fighter, ruthless when necessary, and possibly someone Max would eventually have to fight. Max said nothing to Sandy.

"Can you stop being stone?" It was a good defense, but it also limited the girl and Max didn't want to see her friend vulnerable during whatever this was.

"Well yeah." And to prove this she slid back into her soft, fleshy skin. It was like someone had poured something on her head as the stone melted back into messy unwashed hair and dirt covered cheeks. Her clothes became loose again as they changed back into fabric.

"I just keep it up when I'm not around her because it feels...I dunno safer? It's harder for someone to stick a knife in me that way." She explained. But the fact that she kept her powers off for the moment should be proof either she was foolish or she was trusting Max.

Or both.

Max had to admit that she was mildly impressed with Sandy's ability, even though she remained silent as the girl melted back into flesh.

"Yeah. Does it make you stronger or just hard?" There were a lot of questions Max wanted to ask. Questions that would help make her more confident in Sandy's ability to protect herself.

That was something she hadn't considered before. Shifting back into stone again she flexed her fingers studying them carefully.

"I dunno about stronger. I mean if I was that much stronger would you have been able to take my arm off? And if I was stronger I probably would have killed Mindy when I had that mask on. Maybe a little though. I mean like when I was swinging a crowbar like this I barely even noticed the weight...but I was pretty mad too so that might have done it."

It would be more than a little helpful to have Sandy gain a bit of extra strength with her rock form, but at least the form offered safety. "Maybe you'll get stronger as you grow." Abilities changed as they learned to handle their own body and who was to say some new ability would show up once Sandy was no longer a child.

"Do you have enough supplies?" She was suppose to be searching for the precious little that remained in the buildings. Max had seen the orchard and the group had flowing water, but they couldn't depend that whatever food was found in the trees would last, or that it was good for them to eat; everything in this place seemed designed to kill.

"Eh..." Sandy slid a thin, sagging bag from her back and picked through the remains.

"Just some fruit from the Orchard, and I dunno how long that's gonna last. I ate the last of my popcorn this morning." A surprising boon from the short time when the movie theater had been a safe house.

"Do you need anything? I still have rope, some bleach and some candles I haven't figured out how to light." Though with how hot things were right now she wondered if they weren't going to spontaneously burst into flame. She also had a rolled up sleeping bag and her Axe but she wasn't prepared to part with those.

"We have enough." Max had been very good at scrounging around the buildings, finding even the smallest tin of food stuff and adding it to their supplies. She kept her own rations small, one good thing Manticore taught her was to survive near starvation levels.

There were still places to scavenge and Tributes to steal from, but Sandy was not one of those unlucky opponents. She gave her friend a serious look (when wasn't she serious?) and nearly touched a rock-hard arm. "I have to check in, but you-you should be careful out here. Remember what I showed you: be fast and strike hard."

Sandy couldn't help but offer an encouraging smile.

"It's gotten me this far. I took down a giant spider all by myself because of what you taught me."

That was...a small exaggeration. While the spider had been four feet tall it wasn't the largest of it's type in the arena. And Sandy had used the teachings of multiple mentors to beat it without getting hurt. But giving Max the credit might make her feel more comfortable about leaving Sandy to her own devices.

"I'll get back to Shepard as soon as the powers go away. I'm never too far from a friend around here."

It would be normal for a pair of young friends in a battle for their lives to take a moment during their goodbye to maybe hug, or at least offer each other a smile, but Max wasn't raised on hugs and smiles. She offers Sandy a nod before running back towards the building her small group had taken cover within.

ota

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