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

[aboveangrybees]

From the direction, I'd say that's a fair guess. Hopefully, the hull breach is small.

[A smaller hole means more time afloat. The Titanic took less than three hours, he expects that the Gamemakers will want more footage than that would allow.

He readjusts the rope on his shoulder as they come to a cross section, pausing to look down both corridors, but nods for them to continue straight.]

Well, they'll draw this out, so my guess is four to seven hours.

[smarterthanthem]

[Clementine bites her lip as they hurry.]

Great.

[But that's a lot of time to find the deck and possibly lifeboats like these big ships are supposed to have. She couldn't spot any from the air when the hovercrafts brought them in, not that she was able to get a good look before they were taken below deck.

Steve taking the lead is something Clementine is happy to let happen, not strictly because she thinks he probably has a better idea of what he's doing (though that's likely true) but because she trusts him.]

Um, just so you know, I haven't gone swimming for a while.

[A while being years and her last dip in water had ended up with her unconscious, only surviving by the miracle of being washed up on the riverbank.]

[aboveangrybees]

[Well, why that might not be something anyone would want to hear while on a sinking boat, it's better than her saying she doesn't know how to swim. That'd be much worse.]

Don't sweat it, kiddo, I'll be there. [He verbally pauses, though his body keeps it's pace, before he adds:] And if I'm not, the life vest and doggy paddling will do the trick.

[He needs to be real with her. There's a chance they could get separated or he could get killed, he can't ignore that possibility just because he plans to prevent both of them to the best of his ability. He'll everything he can to get her out of here alive, but so many things are out of their control.

He slows as he comes to a crossroads, pausing to look both directions, check if they're clear, and sees that one leads to a staircase. Good. They need to start heading up.]

Alright, up there we can find a cabin and situate ourselves.

[Get that vest on her and figure out what all they have.]

[smarterthanthem]

Doggy paddle, got it.

[That she can remember how to do and Clem would nod to his reassurance -- and it does reassure her -- if they weren't so busy running.

When they slow she takes the opportunity to check behind them that they're not being followed and agrees.]

Good plan. Maybe there's map of the ship somewhere.

[Clementine moves to start climbing the stairs hurriedly, urgency gripping her tight.]

[aboveangrybees]

Hopefully, though not sure they'll be that nice.

[Steve leads the way, up the stairs, but he continues to monitor his speed to not outdistance her. It would be far too easy to do that. Still, he stops at the top, looking for any signs of life, sees none, but plenty of doors.]

Clear. [With that, he moves in less of a hurry, not feeling they need to run again just yet. He opens the first cabin door he finds, checking it for people and working lights, both of which have good results. It's middle class quarters, nothing to write home about.]

Alright, we should be good for the moment. [They have time before things get worse ad they need to head up another floor. Enough time to situate, give Clem a moment to rest if she needs it.]

[smarterthanthem]

They never are.

[Clementine keeps up with him easy enough for now and follows him inside the cabin, looking around curiously for a moment. Her conclusion ends up being the same as his. Nothing in here looks useful but it does for the moment looks safe.

She approaches the bed and dumps her armful of supplies on it, taking the time to appraise what she'd blindly grabbed now.]

I got a knife, some rope, a lifejacket and a bottle of water. What did you get?

[aboveangrybees]

[Steve moves over to remove and lay down the items he scored on the bed along side her's. He'd been so focused on getting to Clem that he'd not been fully aware of everything he grabbed. Turned out well if you ask him.]

Knife, goggles, rope, med kit, and water. Not bad. [He holds the bottle of water for a second longer before he laid it down. Albert had taken the moment to stop and give him that. He really was in the man's debt even more than before.]

Between the two of us, we're pretty set if you ask me.

[smarterthanthem]

I think so too. Though I wish we had another lifejacket.

We just need to make it up to the deck.

[And from there... she doesn't know, can't think about it right now. One thing at a time.]

[aboveangrybees]

I'm buoyant, these arms have to be good for something. [It's some mild humor, enough to show he's not worried about it. Although, he doesn't mention it's all muscle which actually makes him sink like a rock.]

The best thing to do once you're on deck is head to the end that's not going under and stay out of the water for as long as you can. You'll be fine if you do that.

[Steve needs her to survive, so he needs to tell her now, so she can if something bad happens.]

[smarterthanthem]

[Clementine snorts.]

So that's what muscles are made of.

[She plays along with his joke. Clementine could have believed it when she was younger, Steve's arms are ridiculously big and make her own look like twigs in comparison.]

Yeah, it didn't look very warm from the plane.

[aboveangrybees]

[He gives a slight smile to see her snort and play along. It's definitely a bit of a mood lifter. The danger is still there, but it's good to not have the stress of it weighting you down the whole time.]

I'd hope so. That or I'll have to rely on swimming. [He really doesn't have the best luck with water too.]

It'll be like ice water down there. So, better to avoid it as long as we can.

[smarterthanthem]

Maybe we can find something else that floats? Like... a door, or a table, something made of wood.

[She almost shivers at the thought of it. Clem's not used to really cold weather, despite the last arena, so the prospect of going into icy water doesn't thrill her.]

[aboveangrybees]

[The mention of the door makes it click, what's so familiar about this other than real life events. That Titantic movie. Steve almost wants to groan now, but he doesn't.]

Both of those work. Maybe when we're closer to the deck we can grab something, we have enough rope to tether it. [Steve could remove one of these wooden doors pretty easy.]

[smarterthanthem]

Okay, that's the plan then.

[While they've stopped she takes the opportunity and has a sip from one of the bottles of water, she hasn't had anything to drink since they left the Capitol and getting dehydrated won't help any.]

We'll be fine if we stick together.

[She says as much to reassure him as herself.]

[aboveangrybees]

[He gives a smile at her trying to reassure them both, but he needs to be real with her. While he doesn't think it would be the case with her, he still can't risk her faltering because they get split up and she feels her chances drop.]

Sticking together will help, but if we get split up, just stay smart and fast on your feet and you'll be fine, kiddo. I'll do the same and we'll meet up again after, okay?

[He plans to stick to her like glue, but if things go bad and they get split up, that's the best he can offer.]

[smarterthanthem]

[She screws the lid back on the bottle and looks up at him when he says that.

Honestly, Clementine doesn't want to think about getting split up, she knows there's a chance of it happening but she she doesn't want to... but Steve's right in saying it, she has to consider it. This is an arena, it won't be so simple as just the ship sinking.

But he's encouraging at the same time.]

Yeah... I can do that.

[It's how she made it this far in her own world. That and a lot of help.]

If it happens we'll find each other on deck.

[aboveangrybees]

[Alright, he'll give her that much, nodding when she says they'll meet on the deck.]

Deal, we're headed the same direction, we're bound to meet up again. If it happens.

[He gives her a smile before grabbing the life vest from the bed. They needed to get her in this. They had time, but if anything happened and the water rushed in- He just doesn't trust the Gamemakers, okay? They give him good reason to be paranoid.]

How about we get you suited up?

[smarterthanthem]

Okay.

I really wish we had one for you too.

[But she knows she's not a good swimmer and Steve said he was. She had to trust him on that.

Clementine picks up the lifejacket and tries to puzzle out how it goes on. Slipping it over her shoulders before moving to fasten the buckles. It's big on her but if it's done up tight enough it should be okay.]