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

[shenunigans]

[For all that Dave has been playing along, he isn't taking anything seriously right now. He and Bro made it through what seemed like the hard part and they'd separated for what would hopefully be a quick traipse around the ship to get in the surroundings. Yeah. That was definitely a mistake.

Still, Dave doesn't look like a challenging target as he strides along the deck muttering to himself. He keeps up the act of doing so when it becomes more apparent that he's being approached and his first thoughts are get away from the railings. He twists around fast, aiming a punch at Thane's face in an effort to disorient him quickly. Whether it hits or not, his free hand is weaving to his belt loop to pull out the knife Bro gave him]

[dying]

[ Thane is not looking like much of a challenge right now. That's alright by him. He has absolutely no intention to actually kill Dave, but he doesn't need to know that. The punch landed, but didn't disorient him too much. He stepped back and slowed his pace towards Dave. He didn't carry any weapons (he hadn't even bothered stopping to pick up supplies). Knowing where they were, he knew that he wouldn't last particularly long. He was better with his hands.

He watched him grab a knife. His eyes took in each and every one of the motions and he continued towards him, watching, careful. ]

[shenunigans]

[Alright, well. Dave is confused. Confused and very concerned. He can't imagine why else someone would be angling up behind him on a ship if they weren't looking for a fight.

Dave steadies himself some, giving Thane an appraising look as he tries to circle away from being the one closest to the railing. Quick, say something intimidating. Let him know you're the real deal.]

S'up bitch? [God, what is this? A street fight? That is the opposite of intimidating. Try harder.] Do we have a problem here? [Terrible.]

[dying]

[A teenager...is attempting to goad him. Who did Dave think he was dealing with, exactly? He doesn't respond to it, though. He treats the words as he would any other attempt at intimidation. He takes steps towards him, picking up his feet with grace that only comes with years of practice.

He is curious, though, as he moves in towards Dave, his motion a charge. No more practicing caution. He doesn't need it. He has no intention to win this, really. ]

How old are you?

[He asks it as he gets in close, inviting Dave to attack. ]

[shenunigans]

[At this point, Dave is in well over his head. He has no idea who Thane is or what his intentions are, he just knows that the guy seems to be responding like someone would if they were looking to fight.

He keeps his stance wary, ready to strike, but not looking all that blood thirsty given his smack talk.]

Sixty. [He answers bitterly, swiping his knife threateningly at the stranger, giving him his last chance to back off before he makes this as quick as possible.]

[dying]

Right.

[ He doesn't even question Dave's answer. In reality, it didn't matter all that much how old he is. His behavior, though, was quite young. And then, while he is responding to each of Dave's actions, he does not seem to be backing down.

He charges him again when Dave swipes at him with the knife. ]

[shenunigans]

[Dave never cared much for pretending to be mature, but his frame of reference for maturity was bleak anyway. Bro could be as childish as he was, and he hadn't seen an adult for years before arriving here. He isn't really used to being judged or pitied for his age, he just do what he do.

And what he do now is getting more muddled up, he doesn't feel like this is a friendly spar simply because he doesn't trust Thane at all. He doesn't know him, he doesn't know what he wants, but he needs to act fast. When Thane charges him, he lifts a leg to kick him square and hard in the chest, perhaps with more force than either he or Thane had been expecting. He might be skinny, but he's got a damn powerful kick in him.]

[dying]

[ It was harder than he expected from someone as wiry as Dave is. He was knocked back hard, against the railing on the ship. He takes a moment to regain his composure. Hopefully not too long. He needed to seem like he intended to fight back. As soon as he was able, he swung with his fist to Dave's left cheek.

If it landed, he'd feel bad, but not too bad. He was just doing what he needed to do to get out of here. ]

[shenunigans]

[Dave tries not to look too impressed with himself, nobody would take him seriously if he looked like he didn't expect that to work. Fortunately, Thane's moment for composure gives him an edge and he can bounce away from the fist coming at him.

He's in fight or flight mode, and he doesn't figure running is gonna do him much good. Really, he isn't thinking much at all when he charges forward, but he's going to try his darnedest to knock this guy over and end this now]

[dying]

[ Smart boy, really. Knocking someone over the edge is perfect. The ship itself evened the playing field in so many ways. Not to underestimate anyone, of course, but Thane isn't really up to continue this fight. Dave's body weight knocks into him and it knocks him back and over.

Perfect. It went perfectly.

He felt a little bad for the boy and dropping in on him like that, but it was for the best. He'd have a kill, and Thane would die knowing he'd be back soon. ]

[shenunigans]

[The moment Dave needs to pull back from falling himself, it's like a slap to the face. Sure did knock a guy into the water, though he's pretty sure it was with good reason. He'd made it a whole Arena without killing anything but a zombie, so it was only a matter of time until he had to play the game properly.

He braces his hands on the railing, unsure as to whether he wants to peer over and take a look or not. He decides not to in the end and turns away. Shit got a little too real there, it's probably time to go find Bro so they can watch each other's backs. Like hell is he gonna let some asshole knock him overboard too.]