thearena | i said hey, girl with one eye

Who| Clara Murphy and Dennett Norton, Clara Murphy & OPEN
What| Clara gets help after the fight with Venus. And after that sneaks around the Arena.
Where| All over the mall.
When| The first night of the Arena up through the beginning of week two.
WARNINGS| Mentions of gruesome eye injuries. Various other awful things'll probably happen too.

The Authority
Clara didn't say anything to Alex about it when he took the knife she had grabbed on the first day, but that was really just adding insult to injury. She hadn't just lost an eye, she had, for the time being, also lost the best way she had to protect herself. So Clara's on a mission to find a new weapon.

It may be careless of her, but she's standing in the hunting knife section of the store and is testing them out instead of just grabbing one and running. This time she's going to make sure it feels right and is the best weapon for her, just in case she gets involved in another fight.

OmniStore (aka the Roboverse themed store)
In her continuing exploration of the mall, Clara eventually finds herself on the third floor. After picking up an eyepatch in a store based on Molotov Cocktease, she finds a store with a familiar logo over the door.

The store contains a number of familiar things. Plastic visors and chestplates based off of Alex's in both black and silver. Fake silver wedding bands in twin packs, the smaller of which matches the one she's allowed to wear as a token from home (and, not that anyone here would really know this, but the larger's match is sitting in her jewelry box at home). A number of jackets, ties, and glasses that remind her of Dr. Norton.

Her eye quickly locks onto something against one of the stark, white walls of the store. A mannequin clad in a recreation of her favorite coat from home and a rack of clothes that look like they were pulled from her closet, which she quickly crosses to.

A Touch Of Class - Makeup Counter
To say Clara's time in the Arena has been rough so far would be a massive understatement. And, as such, Clara's of the opinion that she needs a little bit of self-care to make things a little better. Since there don't seem to be an bathtubs and she really doesn't want to have a bubblebath in the fountain, the next best thing is a makeover.

For anyone who may find her, Clara's perched on a tall chair, having already applied some (fairly minimal) eye makeup and trying to figure out the most flattering way to apply blush around the gauze covering her right eye.

Food Court
Clara's a bit wary about returning to the food court, considering that her first night in the Arena, she got into a fight and lost an eye there. But it seems like the only place that actually has food and after a few days without eating, she's ravenous. And this time, she's much more careful, trying to be as silent and cautious as possible.

More than anything, she wants a salad. Of course, beggars can't be choosers so, considering her luck so far, there are no salads. But there is a place that reminds her of the bakery/cafe by the station that she used to pop into when visiting Alex that looks like it has something vaguely healthier than most of the other options, so she grabs herself a sandwich and some soup and grabs a table that she hopes is fairly hidden away.

Threaded | Flat

Despite all the bad blood between them, Clara knows that Dr. Norton's a good doctor. And he's the only medical doctor that she knows of who's in the Arena. It's for these two reasons that she asked Alex to bring her to him after being jumped by Venus. She knows that there isn't anything he can do to save her eye (as much as she'd love to be in denial about that, she can't be. The way the...mush, if that's an appropriate way to put it, feels against her cheek is more than enough for her to know that it's been destroyed). The only comfort is that she's fairly certain she won't survive the Arena and, based on what happened last time she died, she'll wake up in the Capitol completely fine.

She lets Alex explain what happened in an oddly precise, cold, and clinical way that's so alien to hear in his voice. Alex has always been a lot of things, but not cold and clinical. Once he's done, he then puts her down so that she's standing on her own and, despite the burns to his face from the hot oil, leaves to try to track down Clara's assailant.

Clara doesn't know what to say after that. She could try dancing around the issue, or deflect it and grouse about Alex not sticking around, but she doesn't have the energy for that right now. She's hurting and exhausted and just wants to curl up in a ball and cry, but right now isn't the time for that. Instead she gives Dr. Norton a weary look and asks "How much is this going to hurt?"

Right now, it's all about scouting. Finding the places that have useful supplies, finding the danger spots, the places that might make for good hideouts. They've split up to do this - it's a risk, but it lets them cover more ground, at least for a little while.

Joel is poking around the store when he spots movement near a counter. He ducks down until he can circle around and figure out who it is. When he spots Clara, he lets out a breath, standing up.

"Find anything use - Jesus Christ," he says, shocked when he gets a look at her. "What the hell - "

Groot wasn't really one to care about knives or other weapons, not unless Rocket or his other friends needed them, but for once, it was he who needed a blade. The outfit of ribbons he was forcibly wrapped in is so tightly woven around him he can't rip them off. Added to the fact his body isn't functioning properly, he can't expand his body to help in the process. No, the Terrans effectively trapped him.

It was annoying and nothing of the kinds of outfits he'd willingly wear. He was dressed like this for their amusement, which was degrading.

He moved into the store, nearing the knife section when he sees a little Terran over there. This was a death match, or he was told, and it's highly likely that she was alerted to his approach by the heavy fall of his footsteps, so he wonders if she'll attack him. The wondering shifts his annoyed expression into one of curiosity.

Edited 2014-08-25 06:14 (UTC)

"Clara? That you?" Susannah's voice comes from a much lower location than Clara had probably last seen her. But then, she'd still had her prosthetic legs when Clara would have last seen her, unless she was paying particular attention at the cornucopia.

Her hands rest lightly at her side, although they hold the pried-off skate blades from her cappies. She doesn't look inclined to use them right now, though.

It's not her first stop, but Rose had always half planned to find somewhere with make up sooner or later, to find something to replace the lipstick Jolie had so carefully applied to her lips before they sent her in. Her priorities had been order at least, to find needles, as many as she can, and a change of clothes, the black boat neck sweater hiding most of her bruises and the black boots and jeans chosen for practicality but now it's time for some war paint.

She doesn't look to the mirrors as she passes them, not wanting to see again what they've done to her face, not wanting to feel that sickness and anger again. But when she sees Clara she stops, frowning slightly as she studies her and even though she doesn't take a hold of it her hand falls to the needles strapped to her thighs. The woman is already injured though, and maybe that's what keeps her standing there, standing there and not attacking.

"It's Clara, isn't it?" She says carefully, mindful to not be too loud and Rose still keeps her distance.

[Closed to Dennett Norton]

A Touch of Class!

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Touch of Class