thearena | (no subject)

WHO| Alpha, Grey, CLOSED
WHAT| Alpha's gotta die
WHEN| Midway through fourth week.
WHERE| In the trees, fairly near the ruins.
WARNING/NOTES| Rambling/Glitching, death, sadism (I dunno if this'll come up but it's Alpha so...), radiation sickness, inaccurate television-based portrayal of something like multiple personalities.

Alpha was not happy.

I'm pretty happy

All that research, planning, starting out with a bag and a weapon (a spear that by this point had seen more use as a walking stick), the fact that was Alpha all completely pointless in the end. He'd wasted the first few days setting up a home base.

You mean lair, right?

He twitched at that, the word choice reminding him of yet another failure and that just led to a feeling of glee from the newest, most hated voice in his head. That the voice stayed in his head and hadn't yet managed to take over his vocal cords despite Alpha's current state spoke more to experience at this point than skill.

Before he had a chance to actually get out and accomplish anything, he found himself feeling...sick. Exposure, he'd assumed at first, just a slight hindrance if that, but it quickly grew worse and, well. He knew radiation sickness when he saw it. Felt it.

"It's the government, always the government, they've never treated the people as more than guinea pigs anyway, any government, this one's just more honest about it."

"Oh shut it it always a conspiracy theory isn't it--"

"You don't think this screams conspiracy theory?"

"I wish she was here."

"What conspiracy, everybody knows they make people kill each other, it's all televised, they don't need to conspire, nobody cares!"

"I'm glad she's not here."

"That's enough," said Alpha suddenly, and it was definitely Alpha, the cumulative of all of him. Everything he'd let slip out loud had been in soft, barely audible mutter. He was alone, sure, but that was no reason to be stupid and draw people in, even if he was relatively sure he could still put up a decent fight.

Not that he was looking for trouble. For now, unhappy or not, he was taking a break from his attempt to find food, sitting with his back against a tree, spear resting on his knees. The fish hooks were on hand as well, some vague hope of fishing his plan, but that relied on him actually reaching the ocean in the first place.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Upon realizing what was likely within the dilapidated building he'd been exploring, Grey had retreated quickly back to the forest, where he's been surviving, if not exactly thriving, these past few weeks.

He's stopped bothering to cover the reflective lining of his jacket, too sick to care any longer. The folding knife tucked away in a pocket, he makes his way through the forest slowly, using the piece of re-bar as a walking stick.

Alpha is slowly clambering to his feet, forcing himself upright partially out of sheer stubborness, when he hears the faint sounds of movement. Could be an animal, which meant food, or another Tribute, which meant he could be one step closer to leaving. Also, in a pinch, food.

He straightened so he wasn't leaning so obviously on the spear to keep him standing and squinted at the trees, easing himself backwards so he wasn't so out in the open himself. Was that a shiny glint he saw in the distance? Probably not wildlife, if so.

Though he attempts to remain alert, he finds himself drifting in and out of thought.

Coming back to reality once more, he stops. How long was he lost in his own mind this time? His eyes rise to look at the sky, then his immediate surroundings. It's impossible to tell. Quickly, suddenly, he looks behind himself. No one. At least, no one he can see.

Cursing his negligence, he continues on again, eyes and ears trained. Several yards off from the other tribute, he hasn't realized that he isn't quite alone yet.

Alpha scowled, squinting even harder. His vision was getting blurry, restricting him to close-range fighting even more than every other handicap he was currently suffering from.

He watched carefully as someone emerged into his line of sight -- he couldn't tell who, though it certainly wasn't anyone smart enough to keep hidden with that ridiculous coat -- but he can see enough to realize the other Tribute has their back mostly to Alpha. He could always just wait them out, of course, but that's not how you win and Alpha was sick of this place.

He inched forward, moving as silently as he could manage, but holding the spear as a weapon instead of a crutch proved a mistake and he stumbled, biting back a curse but unable to keep from making noise.

That 'ridiculous coat' is the only reason Grey hasn't absorbed more radiation than he has.

His ears trained for any unusual sounds, he hears Alpha's stumble even over the cries of the mockingjays and jerks around to face the direction the other tribute was sneaking up from.

The scientist looks Alpha up and down, noting the spear.

"...Hello." He grins.

Alpha recovers quickly enough, regaining his balance -- almost more difficult while standing still -- and returning Grey's observant gaze. "Hello," he returned, grinning back, as sincere as he ever was. "Out for a picnic? I'd offer to share my spot, but I'm not exactly in the best shape to entertain company just now."

Not that Alpha was one to broadcast his weakness, but anyone with eyes could see that he was sick, and Gray appeared in a similar condition anyway. He twirled the spear idly, his motor skills thankfully not too affected by the illness.

The scientist's eyes watched the spear's movement. "Clumsier on your feet than you are with a weapon." He observed. For himself, he carried a long piece of re-bar in his cybernetic left hand. He had the distinct disadvantage of his weapon not having a pointy end.

Of course, it wasn't his only weapon. But Alpha didn't need to know that just yet.

Alpha shrugged. His balance was off, and he wasn't too secure in his aim, but he could still baton twirl with the best of them. "Everybody's got their special skills. I was quite the cheerleader back in college." Because it was Alpha, that wasn't a lie, but nor was it entirely true. "Some things just never leave you."

As he chattered on, he moved, inching sideways to the nearest, sturdy-looking tree. It would hopefully double as cover if he needed it and a crutch to keep him from falling on his face during the conversation. It also meant he was moving ever so slightly closer to Grey himself. There was no pretense here, far as Alpha was concerned, they were just waiting for someone to make the first move.

This earned Alpha a raised eyebrow. Was this the other man's attempt at humor? Not that it mattered. No, there was certainly no pretense here. But Grey was loathe to be the one to make that first move. It would be foolish, considering Alpha had the superior weapon at the moment. And he wasn't ready to reveal his other. Not yet. The element of surprise was important.

"...Are you going to chatter on like an imbecile or attempt to kill me?" He asked bluntly.

"Oh," said Alpha, straightening slightly, "I think you'll find I'm quite skilled at multitasking--"

He twitched, suddenly, and then began to speak faster and lower, barely a breath between sentences, no longer apparently directing his words towards Grey.

"Understatement--"

"He's right, you know, stop wasting time--"

"You can take him--"

"You couldn't take a butterfly right now--"

"See, now we're being rude--"

Alpha slammed his palm into the tree trunk, focusing on the pain as the rough bark shredded the skin, and the chattering cut off instantly. He breathed heavily, suddenly overwhelmingly tired and furious.

Edited 2012-12-23 03:56 (UTC)

At first, the scientist watched the unexpected outburst with a sort of bewilderment. It sounded like a conversation between multiple people. Yet, it was all coming out of Alpha.

He grinned suddenly. "...Problem?"

"Several," he bit out. He forced himself away from the tree, so he was standing on his own power, no longer in the mood for games. He gripped the spear, deciding he would do more damage using it as a blunt instrument than trying to aim the sharp end.

"Mostly overcrowding issues, I'm feeling a little claustrophobic." He focused blearily on the other Tribute. He wasn't so sure he was really up for a fight, but he couldn't let that show. "I'm sure you understand."