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]

((ooc: tell me if you need any of this changed))

This had been a horrible arena. First he lost Clem, then he got bit by a shark, and now his arm is wrapped up in his shirt and he's down to just his vest like some male stripper.

He's finally almost on deck, so close to it he can feel the air rushing down the stairs and through the hall. But the ship tilting at a dangerous angle now, it's becoming more an more of a struggle to move down the hall, towards the bow. And then he spots a familiar person.

"Charles!"

looks perfect to me <3

[helpmeguideit]

Charles hears Steve and he turns. Steve looked like he had been through more than enough in this arena. Charles, however, looked relatively unscathed. He had spent his entire time moving, running, and hiding. He avoided fights and consistently made his way towards the part of the ship that wasn't going under. Of course, he sacrificed helping others in order to save himself. It wasn't something he had been proud of, but he needed to do as well as possible. If he made it out of here, then he wouldn't have to do this again.

"Steve," he said. Of course, Steve is one of the people that would get Charles to go back. He was good, and a friend who had helped him before. He moved to keep his feat in beat with his. "What happened to you," he said, "do you...need anything?" he asked, still moving towards where he intended to go.

[aboveangrybees]

Steve keeps on heading towards the bow, even if he gives Charles a quick once over, looking for injuries or worse, but sees none from just the look. The man looks to be in rather good condition. If he'd known why, he wouldn't judge Charles for it. Survival is a strong motivator for even the kindest of people.

"I'm fine, but thanks, just had a run in with a shark is all," he gives Charles a wry smile that's fringing on tired, that's starting to show the fatigue he's so unused to. He knows he's already dead, but he can't stop trying to help until he's actually dead.

[helpmeguideit]

Charles just didn't want any part of it right now. He was already fed up with the arena, and dying here terrified him because it meant he'd have to do it all over again. No, he had to try and win. If it meant going past everyone else to make it to the end, he would unhappily do it.

Though for people like Steve, he'd likely make an exception. He was clearly in better shape than the other, and Steve had helped him the last time they were in arena. He didn't look well, though. The amount of blood he had to have lost from his arm alone.

"Just a shark, then," Charles said, trying to match his tone, but it's difficult. "It looks like you won, though," he said, "I mean, you wouldn't be standing if the shark did."

He's still moving, keeping his pace with Steve's.

[aboveangrybees]

"No, I don't think I would be if I lost," Steve gives a weak chuckle. That shark was either fish food by now or was hurting pretty bad. He won that fight fair and square.

"We need to get you on deck and as close to the bow before this place goes bottoms up," he nods his head towards a staircase up ahead. Time was not their friend right now.

[helpmeguideit]

"You, too," Charles said, looking straight at Steve. He meant what he said, regardless as to the state of his friend. He was going to personally do all that he could to get Steve through this. He turns, though, and starts for the staircase. The best thing he could do to help the both of them was making sure he took care of himself in this arena.

If he could keep Steve from having to stick his neck out for him, then he'd have done his best for him.

[aboveangrybees]

Steve is touched that Charles wants to help him too. It's not surprising, but Steve just never plans to come out of this alive, he plans to help people win. He can take what the arena throws at him, but he knows some people can't.

He's quick to follow Charles, his pace slow for him, but at a perfectly reasonable speed for any other person. It's more he can feel his limbs dragging.

"You know, I knew people who had relatives on the Titantic, I heard the stories, I'm not all that fond of living through it," he felt he should point this out, because seriously.

[helpmeguideit]

"I've heard many stories myself," Charles answers. "Who would have thought we would," he said as he moved. He is sincere about wanting to help Steve. He, himself, knows that it's really unlikely that he will ever win himself, and has accepted it. It doesn't mean that he likes that fact, though.

He's glad Steve is keeping up, Charles didn't know if he could by looking at him (which says something for how he perceives Steve's condition, considering he knows the man is stronger and faster than himself).

"Seems they're drawing from just about anything for these arena," he said. That was unfortunate.

[aboveangrybees]

"Yeah, not really an experience I'd put on the bucket list," Steve decides not to mention that they make a movie of it later too. Well, he might, but for the moment he's deciding not to- aw, what the hell. "It's on my watch list, seeing they made it into a movie in the future, not to ruin the surprise," Steve's tone is a little wry. Really, talking about movies and bucket lists during a time like this begs for wry humor.

Maybe if Charles knew what Steve was, he wouldn't be as surprised, but Steve still doesn't have a lot of intention to tell the man.

"They'll take inspiration where they can, they had one based on Disney Land not too long ago."

[helpmeguideit]

"I'm not going to get past how strange the future is sometimes," Charles answered, chuckling a little. It was hard to say whether these things would be in his future, though. After the events in Cuba with so many Mutants involved, he doubted that it would be the same as the world he sometimes heard Steve describe.

"Seems somewhat...strange to turn something so kid-friendly into this. At least the Titanic wasn't a very friendly incident. Not for any person involved."

Weird.

This place would never stop being weird.