[OPEN] i'm already fighting me, so what's another one

[69problems]

Who | Signless and Guy, Signless and OPEN (including those I had plans with), and finally Signless and Sabriel
What | A whole lot of murders, including of a fake family member, and a troll who is very much not himself.
Where | In the streets.
When | Right now!
Warning/Notes | Blood, violence, death. Language. Lots of it.

For Guy:

Ever since she had walked out of the fog, the Signless had stayed close to his mother. She was just as he remembered: tall and beautiful and quiet, and he was already having so much trouble telling reality from fiction thanks to the poison eating away at his mind that it was just easier to accept her without question. She wasn't talkative and she wasn't terribly helpful but her presence was comforting all the same, even if the white glow of her skin cut through the fog in a way that made them obvious targets.

That white glow would probably be the first thing Guy noticed, bobbing wildly as though someone was tossing around a jar of fireflies. Then, the shouting and the hissing and the sound of tearing fabric. It had happened so quickly: one moment she'd been trailing behind him quietly like she had for the past few days, and the next she'd been lunging for his neck -- and her fangs were sharper than his ever would be even with Capitol intervention. Luckily he'd been jumpy enough to respond with a good swing of his crowbar. Unfortunately that hadn't been enough to down her, and she had height and weight on her side.

"Fuck, fuck, get back, you crazy bitch!"

For Everyone:

His restlessness had only gotten worse as the arena's gone on, which meant he was back to wandering the streets. He'd started to think of these streets as his, particularly the same general block of houses he tended to keep circling, and every time he found someone wandering into the area his first reaction was outrage that they were stepping into his space. At this point, that outrage was accompanied by a raised crowbar; he'd lost his knife, but he'd found a longer weapon he could use as a bludgeon was more expedient in getting his point across to tributes and monsters alike anyway.

He spotted movement by one of the houses and snarled, showing off that missing tooth.

"Fuck off!"

Hopefully that was all the warning they'd need. Otherwise, he'd have to force them out.

For Sabriel:

The Signless wasn't in good shape by the time Sabriel happened to wander into his little block of houses. Between fights with other tributes and forcing out the occasional arena monster, he was tired and bloody and still somehow gnawingly hungry despite his steady diet of bugs. She didn't even get a warning shout, just a loud insectoid hiss and a crowbar swinging toward her head.

Comments

[carnagecarnival]

Travel has gotten real, real motherfucking slow. He wants to stay up in amusement park, where it all feels right and where Gamzee is safe, but he knows staying in one place too damn long means getting cornered by beasts thanks all to Capitol getting bored. On top of that, he needs to be some place closer in range of the orchard. For Gamzee and his own self.

Carrying Gamzee does no favors for his ribs and especially not his broken leg which drags as he limps, teeth grit. His eyes are just that little bit orange by default, don't touch and f-

Someone beats him to the punch. He reaches to his waist, where he's tied his jacket to keep the pick axe on his hip. He pulls the weapon out, shifting as he tries to also keep his hold on Gamzee.

It's just a second after realising he knows that voice-- he would know it anywhere, in a place of not but screams he could pick that voice out-- that he spots him.

"WRONG MOTHERFUCKER WHAT TO GET YOUR CHALLENGE ON OF," He snarls. "Be of lacerating the blood curtain drop routine, anyone what knows you well would taste the sham of your fucking slam." He hasn't got time for this.

[69problems]

The Signless's ears flatten all the more when he hears the responding call, sees the hulking silhouette in the fog. Of course it would be him.

"I said fuck off," he reiterates, ears flattening back, hand tightening around his crowbar. The Initiate is burdened, and he's holding his leg strange -- he's not in the best of shape. It still wouldn't be a fair fight, but that closes the gap considerably.

"Or I'll break your other leg."

[carnagecarnival]

Were it anyone else, he might roll his eyes. Were it another troll he'd straight up scoff and get on showing how it be done proper. But from the Signless?

He hates this motherfucker. He loathes him to the core of his being. But he knows him-- the whole damn problem really. Signless wielding a weapon like he had any idea how to do so? Getting threat up and on? That isn't right... Is it? How would he really know. The Signless put an act up with everything else maybe this was just one more thing. Just another clean cut through old images abandoned.

"FUCK YOURSELF FIRSTLIKE. You ain't doing shit. GOT PAN TWISTED ALL FUNNEL CLOUD? Finally got it up ins that you were a normal troll all along? OR BE THIS SOME MEANS ANEW WHAT FOR YOUR HEATHEN ASS TO PAINT YOURSELF IN FALSE HOLINESS, JOKEBLOOD?" He growls. "Peel thine ass from his motherfucking sights, Signless."

[69problems]

He lifts himself up to look the largest he possibly can (which is still not terribly large, but it's the thought that counts), hefting his crowbar into a more offensive position. It's not clean. He is deadly fucking serious, Initiate.

"Fuck your false holiness, I have never lied to you, and if I say I'm going to break your fucking kneecap if you don't turn around and get your pestilential lumbering corpse of a body out of my space, I mean it."

[carnagecarnival]

He's all sneers and annoyance (and weariness, he doesn't want this, not now, mirth dammit) at this posturing. All getting an ire up and on. Until he spots that crowbar. And maybe, maybe he really is that out of it not to have noticed before but he's noticing now.

His eyes are wide in lack of understanding. Shock. Those eyes move back to the Signless's face, he searches for the sclera of eyes for what should definitely be a flat gold set off by red, not a pure sea of the latter.

"SIGNLESS," He says. "What the fuck have you done?" An honest question. It may be the most civil thing he's said to him since they got here from Alternia. He doesn't care about culls. He doesn't give a damn. But this is some surreal ass shit what ain't make no kind of sense. Something's sunk into the motherfucker's pan.

He shifts his stance, ignoring the pain in his leg, gripping Gamzee tighter. He brings his own weapon up. It occurs to him in some distant part of his pan, that from his perspective, it's the first time he's wielded a weapon against Signless himself.

"WOULD BE LYING NOW YOU WOULD, PREACHER OF PEACE. Would be uttering falsehoods to say you ain't done such all by that spoken there. YOUR TONGUE IS OF A TAINT. Bane and blight lay of a motherfucker's spew and spit." But he doesn't say that with the same tones he always does. He's searching the Signless over, looking for something, anything what explains. "PUT YOUR MOTHERFUCKING STRIFE PIECE DOWN. Even you ain't so stupid to think as you can beat me. YOU KNOW HOW ALL IT WILL UP AND GO. You really want your horns handed to you over this of all damn things? DON'T PLAY PANDEAD."

This is some sort of cosmic joke. It has to be.

[69problems]

There's no yellow here, not anymore, just a sea of bright bloody red. He doesn't lower the crowbar, not an inch, and though his hands shake a little it's more from poisoned anger than it is from fear. At Fraysong's words he sneers.

"It isn't my fault you threw a wiggler tantrum when I didn't come back. It isn't my fault that you thought so little of me and our friendship that you believed I'd abandon you, you fucking child. I was trying to keep myself alive for you, you were the one who always pissed and moaned that what I was doing was too dangerous, that I should be more careful. Don't put words down my protein chute and actions on my shoulders when you know they're not fucking true just because you have some kind of persecution fetish."

[acroodawakening]

The sad thing about people being relentlessly beaten down in every possible way was that it made broken people, battered people, sad and miserable people.

It also made people stronger or at least let them show the strength that was already there.

Guy hadn't eaten the food here yet. He'd gotten so many sponsor gifts that with rationing, he hadn't needed to and that meant rather than being aggressive and hungry, he'd had the same level of reason as he always did. When Eep had shown up, he'd been equal parts horrified and happy to see her, had tried to reach out to her, to get her to talk, had tried to comfort her.

But she'd stood there pale and silent and filled with none of her usual liveliness or ferocity. At first he'd feared that they had done something to her. She simply followed him around, staring at him with eyes that were lifeless. She didn't look right, act right, didn't even smell right and she barely even blinked. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up around her as if he was picking up on unconscious signs something was terribly wrong.

And that was when he'd realized that Eep hadn't been brought here and had something done to her. They were trying to do something to him. So he'd led her into one of the buildings, into a room that was safe from harm from outside, had sat her down in the center of a room, and told her he was going to sleep. He'd laid down on the floor with his spear, leaving his eyes ever so imperceptibly open.

Waiting.

They made monsters all the time. They could make them look like anything. So maybe that meant they could make them look like anyone if they wanted. Maybe there was a small chance it was really Eep and that they had changed her somehow but that didn't make sense. The real her would've been a glorious addition to the arenas in their eyes. They wouldn't give up that kind of murder entertainment potential to just throw it away on a single moment of horror.

And if that was what they'd done, the utterly unthinkable, he still had to end it anyway. For her.

He'd been ready for things to go horribly wrong and deadly when she'd otten up and lunged, opening his eyes and bringing up his spear to stab her in the heart, rolling with her lunge and kicking her away with his feet. Then he'd stabbed her again and again. The terrible, almost inhuman shrieking as she died made him feel better instead of worse.

"Was that really the best you could do?" he asked the gamemakers aloud, disgusted, as he walked away.

For once his heart was made of a stone and the darkness somehow seemed a little bit less dark because of it.

Then he'd made his way out, to see if anyone else had any of these...things with the faces of their loved ones, that they needed help hunting down. He could tell that some were in trouble - because of the screaming.

Guy was still soaked in "Eep's" blood when he suddenly appeared, spear at the ready, trying to stab Signless' attacker in the chest.

"You look like you could use a hand," he said to Signless, his voice somehow light, as if he was popping by for a friendly visit, even though his face was twisted into a snarl.

[69problems]

She was fast -- not as fast as she should have been, and perhaps if he were more sane he would have noticed. Guy's spear caught her dress and tore it, but she ignored him and swiped at Signless again with her claws. He dodged backward, suddenly very thankful for the time Karkat had spent shrieking at him to get better on his feet.

Through the haze that his mind's become he recognized Guy's voice. 'Friend', his brain supplied. 'Don't hit over the head with your crowbar', it added.

"Fuck yeah I could," is what he said, trying to get in a good swing at her knees.

[acroodawakening]

The hit connected, bones crunching because of the crowbar, causing her to stagger. Guy darted in and stabbed her from behind, the point of the spear erupting through her ribcage.

"Get the head. Just to be sure."

[69problems]

The Signless didn't need to be told twice. This was the woman who taught him how to deal with zombies, who taught him how to make sure they'd stay down permanently instead of just rising up from the sands again at next dawnbreak.

He dropped down next the body, which seemed to be putting all its energy into shrieking, and slammed his knife through one glowing yellow eye and up. It wasn't sharp enough to hack the head completely off, but that would keep her subdued long enough to ensure it wouldn't matter.

He took out the fire-starting kit Karkat had sent him and started work on setting the corpse on fire. The fabric of her dress caught easily and the rest of her followed; soon she'd be completely burned away and no longer a threat. His knife was still stuck through her eye, but it wasn't a huge loss, really. Only then did he stand, automatically retrieving his crowbar.

"Thanks."

[acroodawakening]

"No problem. I figured out what they were the second Eep showed up - that they weren't...right. The one that looked like her waited until I fell asleep but I was just faking to get it to attack. Hopefully they're just like the other monsters." Hopefully. "I figured I should go see who else might need help with them."

He walked over to Signless, holding out his free hand for him.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern. "Are you hurt?"

[bindsthedead]

Even weakened by careful rationing of what food she did have that wasn't quite enough and weeks of looking over her shoulder and never getting as much sleep as she should, Sabriel brought her own crowbar up to parry- then twisted it, trying to use the hooked end to drag her opponent's weapon out of his hands.

"Stop! I mean you no harm!" The words come out in a panic, she did not want to do this, but she kept her guard up. Someone willing to attack her unprovoked probably wouldn't be talked down, but he deserved a warning at least.

[69problems]

If he heard her, it didn't seem to do much at all to deter him. If anything, her parry just made him fight back with renewed ferocity -- not that he could do much with his crowbar hooked, but at least he could keep a solid grip on it rather than letting her get the upper hand.

Chancing losing his balance, he kicked at her to try and knock her away and make her release his weapon, maybe hers too. He wasn't in the best of shape and so taking her down quickly was his highest priority -- drawing out the struggle wouldn't end well for him, most likely.

[bindsthedead]

He wasn't in the best of shape, Sabriel realized as she jumped back, choosing to avoid loosing her own weapon rather than taking a risk.

Then she lunged, aiming a blow at his head this time. Talking was not working, and Sabriel had no intention of dying just yet. Better to get this over with as quickly as she could.

[69problems]

Her crowbar caught one of his horns with a crack and the momentum dragged him downward, throwing him off balance. It hurt enough to make him screech and drop his crowbar entirely, and he instinctively stumbled a few steps backward.

[bindsthedead]

Sabriel advanced again, this time striking at his solar plexus with all the strength she could muster.

"Yield!" It was a command, not a plea. One last chance for him to surrender before she had to kill him- and she realized that she was far more likely to win this fight than he was.

[bloomstwice]

Lee was hidden. Someone was nearby...and they didn't look at that welcoming.

He was finding it hard to fight anymore; he was awake more than he was asleep, and fighting was harder than every because of his legs. There was something wrong on the inside, or else this wouldn't feel so bad. Lee didn't want to fight, he just wanted to make it though this as much as he could. Between the fights and the fog, and having barely any weapon to use...

With a sigh, Lee started to turn the corner. Maybe, if he was quiet enough-

But a voice spoke then, enough to make Lee jump. He turned, and gave the stranger the best glare he could manage. "I do not wish to fight you. I am going my own way."

[69problems]

It didn't register in Signless's mind that this was someone he'd met before; their conversation had been brief, and at this point it took a lot to bypass his aggression blinkers. Instead he started walking forward, trying to look as big as possible, crowbar visible.

"Then get going."

[bloomstwice]

Lee shouldn't be surprised by this. It was what he was basically trained to see, right? A ninja can see through things like this. People claiming to be your friend can always be pretending. Whoever looked nice wasn't necessarily nice. It was all common sense, right?

He didn't get that, though.

Speechless, Lee started to move past the figure. But before, he stopped right beside him. "I do not know what has happened to you, but I do not appreciate your rudeness."

[69problems]

Signless might have even let him go, if he'd kept quiet. He'd have watched him like a hawk until he was out of sight but he wouldn't have done more than that. But Lee just had to open his mouth and be a snotty little shit, and that made his anger flare.

"I told you to fucking leave," he repeated, smacking his crowbar against the back of Lee's shoulders.

[bloomstwice]

Lee hadn't been expecting that.

The inner ninja in him was absolutely screaming as he felt the steel hit against his back. Lee was supposed to watch out for this kind of stuff, not just stand there and ignore it. He was exhausted, but that should be no excuse. Lee had to keep an eye out for this stuff, or...this happened.

He gasped as the pain flashed through his back, and he barely caught himself against the pavement. Lee turned around, and gave the stranger a glare. If this guy wanted a fight, he'd fight. Lee had no problems with this.

Lee brought his leg up to swing at the other. His body hurt, and he could barely stand...but he'd give this a shot.

[letthemburn]

Any other day, Iskierka might have been inclined to stay out of the houses. But then Granby had shown up, right down to the bottle-green coat of the Aerial Corps and staying inside had been the best way to keep him safe. Especially when he'd been less than inclined to to speak or do much at all. She'd deny, of course, having been worried, but she'd hardly left his side all throughout the week, and when he'd turned on her she'd struck him down with her own claws and teeth and hated herself for it.

There's a small part of her that says that it can't have been her Granby, but in the heat and fog of the Arena and having spent so long away from him it's too easy to imagine that he doesn't want her anymore. And in any case, she's not feeling inclined to go anywhere and so the first thing Signless gets in answer is a low hiss.

"I shall not, and certainly not for words."

[69problems]

He hisses right back, fangs bared, though he has a feeling his won't be nearly as impressive as an actual dragon's. It's the gesture that counts, here, the impression that he's stronger and more dangerous than he is, that he's not afraid -- and he's not, he's too far gone to be scared.

"I'll force you out if you don't."

[privilegecheck]

Kankri stopped apologizing to the animal corpses, after a little while. It felt hollow and pointless. They were just going to hurt him anyway. They deserved it.

It feels like his mind itches inside his thinkpan. He's never been so tired, so thirsty, so hungry. He aches all over. He hides in the day, and nights when he thinks he can get away with it, too.

Venus hasn't come. Is she not coming for him? Does she not pity him anymore? Did she never pity him to begin with?

He's bashed in a dog's skull and is clumsily tearing its hide open with his claws, oblivious to the livid bite mark it's torn open in one of his legs. His claws are sharp, now, overgrown from weeks in this, living like an animal. The bugs have kept him going but they're not appetizing, and eating something, anything else is a mouth-watering prospect to him. So he's distracted enough that he doesn't notice that the alley where he's dragged the corpse has someone wandering by until he hears a voice.

He snarls back in challenge. "I was here first. Get out."

He still doesn't want to fight anyone. Doesn't want to hurt anyone. But what if they want to hurt him? And who doesn't want to hurt him, here? They're here to kill each other, that's right. Everyone wants to hurt him. Except Venus. But she isn't here. So if anyone approaches, he'll just have to hurt them first so they'll leave him alone.

[69problems]

"Like hell you were."

The Signless is hungry too, after all, hungrier than he has any right to be when by all accounts he's been eating well. The smell of the corpse really is more appetizing than bugs, even if he'd prefer it cooked. He can't afford to be picky anymore.

He walks toward the other troll and his kill, fangs bared in warning.

"Share."