Mini Arena 2

[etcircenses]

Tributes are woken early, and the hovercraft ride is a long one. Not the longest some have experienced, but they are clearly going far.

25 - 24 - 23

They land on the deck of the boat, and are ushered underneath, to the lower levels, quickly. Their stylists go from cabin to cabin, decking them out in over the top finery, before loading them into the pods installed into the corners of the rooms.

20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16

The platforms lift them up, and they are all ringed around a grand buffet table, loaded with a grand feast looking ready to sag down from the weight. Among the food are supplies, plenty of them, all for the taking.

11- 10 - 9 - 8

They've all been warned, don't step off your pedestal early. They have also been warned to put on a good show. That's all this is about, a good show. None of them have been told that there can be multiple winners this time around.

5 - 4

3

2

The sound of the gong plays crystal clear across the opening. The games have begun.

Comments

[biomechatronic]

He barely hears the voice over the din, but the thwap of something warm and furry and very much alive on his face? That's a little harder to ignore.

The rat was stunned, too--Dennett might be a soft man, but his head's still pretty hard--so there's a few seconds where he looks down, and the rat looks up, shaking the daze from its eyes, and then there's a moment of recognition.

And then the highly unmanly scream and flailing.

"RATS!"

[ruffntumblenut]

That was enough to double Ruffnut over in laughter, clutching at her sides as she cackled gleefully.

"Did you see his face? Oh I hope someone was watching that!"

Forgetting of course that they were on Television across the entire country.

[biomechatronic]

Dennett is no detective, but even he can spot the suspect by following the laughter. Sorry, it was a bit obvious. And loud.

"Young lady!" He draws himself up in a short tower of trembling outrage. "That was not funny! Do you know the kinds of diseases rats carry?!!"

He's feeling feverish already.

[ruffntumblenut]

"Huh?" She looks puzzled and shrugs "How many diseases can you carry? Can you carry more if you're bigger because he was pretty big."

Clearly she was not in awe of his authoritative trembling.

[biomechatronic]

Oh God don't remind him how big the rat was. He can still remember the little scrabble of tiny rat feet on his face. "It's not funny!" Because of course Dennett is an expert on funny. "Please, I'm trying to make a speech here!"

Not...well, though.

[ruffntumblenut]

"Why?"

Having lost interest in Dennett now that he wasn't screaming like a girl Ruffnut had resumed eating everything in sight and making a horrible mess of her forest green dress.

[biomechatronic]

"Because we don't have to play their game. We can work together and li--"

She may have lost interest, but the rat, dazed from its sudden impact with D
Dennett's face, has shaken it off, and has developed a considerable rat-sized grudge against the face that collided with it. Which is all the way up...there. So it takes the sensible route, up the loose trouser leg of Dennett's tuxedo.

Dennett is not happy. It's fair to say he's setting new records in freaking out as the rat clambers up his leg, swatting at his clothes and screaming.

He's clearly the manliest man here and a natural leader.