thearena | let the dead bury the dead [closed]

Entry tags:

let the dead bury the dead [closed]

Who| Anna, Elsa, and Dave
What| Elsa's dying. Anna can't deal with this on her own.
Where| the Arendelle shop.
When| Week 3.
Warnings/Notes| Blood, death, the whole deal.

After what seems like an agonizing eternity, she gets Elsa back to their home base. It's torturous in more than one way; Elsa's crying and begging hurt her heart, and her arm feels like hellfire where the gunman's bullet is sunk into her flesh. But she has to get Elsa somewhere safe, and this is the only place she knows of right now, so it has to do. Tears streaming down her face, breathing shaky, Anna crouches down next to her sister.

"Elsa," she says, trying to sound brave, "I'm going to go find Dave. Dave--he'll know what to do. Just stay with me, okay? You'll--you're gonna be just fine." She whimpers, bending to kiss her sister on the forehead, before running off to find him. She doesn't know what he can really do, but he needs to be here. Anna needs him to be. She can't bear to watch Elsa die by herself; she doesn't know what to do, how to cope, and being alone with her thoughts would be unbearable. The slug buried in her arm needs to be dealt with, too, but Elsa is more important. Elsa's her everything, and now she's dying.

She runs, covered in blood. She needs to find him.

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After having witnessed Clem's death, Dave had been sick and shaky and overwhelmingly fucking done with how miserable this place is. You can only stay on top of things for so long before the foundations start crumbling and shit gets real. He's just holding onto the hope that he'll see everyone back in the Capitol, dismissing the idea that things might be worse there. What if they throw him back in jail? What if he never sees anyone beyond being here?

It's heavy thinking, so he tries to pretend he isn't feeling it. He feels compelled to check on Elsa and Anna, given that one of his sisters is down for the count. He'll deny being protective of them for as long as he can, but if he didn't have Elsa he probably would have lost his mind long ago. He might not be quite so close to Anna, but the fact that they clicked so quickly is worth something to him. Like, a hell of a lot.

In an effort to exude a less sullen vibe, he's humming peppy elevator music to himself as he skates in the general direction of the Arendelle store. He stops short both in the song and in motion when Anna runs toward him, it's not hard to see shit is going down and his mind is already asking where Elsa is. He hops off his board and kicks it up to grab it, running the distance between them.

It feels instinctive to try hug her, but something holds him back, so he'll just focus on what's important and handle that later. "What happened?" He's cutting right to the chase.

It's the best possible timing for the situation; she doesn't get far from the storefront when she sees Dave skateboarding toward her. Her eyes are wide and scared, she's got blood on her hands and all down her right arm, smeared across her shirt and pants from Elsa's wound, and even more striking is what lays behind her: a trail of blood that leads all the way from the escalator to inside the Arendelle shop. "Dave!" she calls at the sight of him, rushing forward. At his question, she just shakes her head, frantically. "You need to come over here," is all she says, grabbing him by the hand and tugging him toward the storefront. They need to get back to Elsa, and fast.

It's a lot to take in at once. That is a lot of blood, it's a good thing it doesn't make him so squeamish anymore. That doesn't negate the twisting worry already forming, the fact that she can't stop to answer his question making it all the worse.

"I'm coming." He just nods at the request, letting her grab him without hesitation and running with her. His mind is basically a chorus of whatwhatwhatwhat replacing the elevator music he'd been humming not long ago. He wants to ask, but he's going to see soon now that they're approaching the store. His eyes fall on her wound and he knows something bigger happened if she's ignoring it. Fuck guns.

She's glad that he doesn't need any prodding; it's easy to see that there's something awful going on, and Anna can't do this by herself. She can't watch Elsa--no. Elsa will be fine.

Right?

She skids into the store, leading Dave through the displays until they reach the center. It's a replica of the ice rink Elsa had made in the castle courtyard, the floor painted a shimmering blue-white. Only now, it's smeared with fresh blood, and in the middle, laying on a pile of bloodstained Olafs, is Elsa.

"She got shot," Anna explains, voice warbling as they draw close, falling to her knees next to her sister. "Dave, I don't know what to do--Elsa, can you hear me? Stay with me, please."

When Anna had mentioned going to get Dave, she'd been impossibly relieved. She was going to ask, because she knows what's happening and she truly wants to see Dave one last time before it happens, just in case. So it's nice that Anna is already one step ahead of her.

It's when she's alone that it truly hits her what's happening. With Anna there, it's easier to be calm, despite it all. Like no matter what, she's going to be the rock her sister needs. But alone, she can feel the fear creeping up, the sobs wracking her body as she shivers. It's going to happen, it's happening. Every other time, she hadn't seen it coming, and now she can practically feel it creeping up on her, like the slow crawl of ice when she used to start getting anxious back home. She feels cold, and she doesn't like it.

When she hears movement outside, and voices, she's quick to reign herself in, to stop crying- though, her sobs had died down already. She's starting to feel tired, like she just doesn't have the energy anymore. But seeing the two of them brings some of it back, and she gives Anna a tired nod, wincing as it sends back through her. When she looks from Anna to Dave, a smile spreads across her face.

"I'm so glad she found you," she says, and her voice is so sincere, just the same as her smile. His presence is comforting, it always has been and it always will be. It's why she wanted him here, before Anna even mentioned him. If she's going to die, then she just wants to be surrounded by her family. She reaches out, holding out one hand to Anna and one to Dave, wanting them to take hold of her. To be there with her.

By now he knows it's Elsa. It's got to be Elsa. There's a slim fucking chance she'd need him if Kristoff got hurt, he can't think of anyone else who would think of him as a necessity in a crisis. It's not even a low ego talking, he just knows he isn't a doctor.

He sucks in a breath when he sees the blood, because he knows what he'll see when his eyes follow the trail to the voice will be a lot to handle. It's not hard to see she's been crying, it's not a surprise to know she's been. She's so mellow about it, even though she's covered in blood from a wound he can't see. Medically speaking, she's fucked. All the doctors would use that terminology he's sure.

"Did you see who did it?" It's his first question, because it's the only thing that will make him feel useful. It doesn't take much prompting for him to stoop beside her, even if there's a tiny bit of hesitation to take her hand and accept that this is real. He's so tired of living through nightmares, it makes it hard to believe anything going on around him, but they wanted him here and he needs to suck it up and try to be helpful. "Where's the wound? In your back?"

The signs of dragging aren't good, if she can't walk then whoever shot her probably hit her spine and if she's paralyzed even treating the wound won't help her long.

Edited 2014-09-16 10:18 (UTC)

Anna can tell that Elsa's been crying, but she decides not to draw attention to it, even if it seems so very out of place. She's seen her sister cry before, but this....this is different. It makes her feel even more hopeless about the situation. Elsa's not even fighting--perhaps she's even given up. But Anna can hardly blame her. She'd probably do the same--she basically had, when that mutt had mauled her in the last Arena.

At Dave's question, Anna shakes her head. "I didn't see...Elsa, did you? It--it happened so fast..." She clasps Elsa's hand in her own, rubbing in slow circles, trying to be soothing. It's hard to put on a brave face when she just wants to cry into Elsa's shoulder, to beg her not to go. Truth be told, she's terrified--it's her first Arena with Elsa, and up until now things have been relatively okay, but without her sister, she feels so vulnerable.

But, no. She'll have Dave, and things will be okay, maybe even for a while, if their luck holds out. But for now, she needs to focus on Elsa. She reaches out and smooths her hair back from her forehead, ignoring the pain in her arm.

When both of them take her hand, Elsa gives their hands a squeeze. Her grip, despite the pain she's in and the fact she's starting to feel a little weak, is firm. She's going to hold onto them for as long as possible, both literally and metaphorically. She allows Anna to answer the question about the attacker, giving a small nod of her head in agreement. "I h-have no idea who it was," she says, and she's still a little bitter about that. Not knowing who hurt her sister just bothers her on a deep level, even if she isn't in any position to do anything about it.

"Y-Yeah," she says, in response to his next question. "It it me i-in the back," she continues, "when I p-pushed Anna out of th-the way." It's hard to keep her voice steady, when the pain is as great as it is. Regardless of how comforting their presence is, it doesn't truly dull the pain and thinking about it only brings it to the forefront of her mind. When she goes to tell Dave the next part, he chokes up just a little, letting out a noise of pain that almost sounds suspiciously like a sob. "I ca-can't feel or move my l-legs," she gets out. It's something that still deeply bothers her, because she should be able to move them! Feel them! There's something wrong about not being able to.

It takes her a moment to be able to continue and for a moment she just lets Anna smooth back her hair, falling silent. But after a few moments, she decides to speak up again. "Do you want t-to see it?" she asks, and while she doesn't think there's much she can do, she figures offering is still at least a good idea. "I n-need help turning over, if you do. Just...just b-be careful, it really hurts." Even the thought of moving at all makes her want to cry, but she's going to suck it up and deal with it, because at the very least it probably needs cleaning and bandaged up, considering Anna left her right away to go find him.

As the sole person being brought into this situation, Dave absolutely wants to be helpful. It's just.. He's never done first aid. Injuries back home sort of took care of themselves. He's dealt with stitches and disinfecting after particularly rough strifing with Bro- but a gun shot? To the back? He's basing everything off TV knowledge here. Unfortunately, everything he knows about being paralysed usually comes before a month long story arc that ends in a miracle revival. Without her legs she hasn't really got a chance in the Arena, that's not even counting the pain or the fact that she's lost a lot of blood.

When Elsa answers with a sob, Dave glances toward Anna, though it's barely visible through his shades. He's glad to hide the fact that he looks terrified, but he feels a little selfish for having his emotional armor on when everyone else is vulnerable. He lets out a shuddered breath, dismissing the idea of taking them off for a moment in order to properly handle the situation. He gives her hand a squeeze when she asks about turning over, giving her a grave look before forcing himself to shake his head.

"Just stay still for now." He retorts in a soft voice, forcing himself to keep it level for both of the sisters. He doesn't want to be the one to admit defeat, but he doesn't want her turning over and hurting herself just to pretend to know what he's doing with a bullet wound. "If you can't move your legs it means it hit something even a doctor can't fix." There's a slight strain to his voice, it sounds so uncharacteristically serious coming from him. "I think the best thing we can do right now is.." Let you die. "Chill. Just take a deep breath and relax. We'll stay here."

Edited 2014-09-18 00:54 (UTC)

Anna feels like her heart is being crushed when Elsa tells them that she can't feel her legs. Part of her suspected it, sure, with the way Elsa had been a dead weight as she'd dragged her back, but now it's like she's being crushed by a ship's anchor all over again, the way everything in her drops. She only stares, numbly, until Elsa asks if they want to see her wound.

"No," she protests immediately. "Elsa, no, just--stay still. Dave's right. You need to just relax." She rubs a soothing hand over Elsa's shoulder, trying to be as gentle as possible, but Anna seeks out Dave's eyes over her sister's prostrate form. Her gaze is racing with questions she's too afraid to ask.

"We will," she echoes. She hates that she can't be more assertive, but she's never done this before. Never had to watch someone she loves suffer and die. "We'll be right here." She'll stay by her sister's side forever, if she needs to.

Elsa falls silent immediately, a lump growing in her throat as they both tell her not to turn around. In a small, silly kind of way, it hurts her feelings. But it's not because of what they're saying, it's what it implies. Neither of them think trying to treat it is worth it, because they both don't believe she has a chance of making it, just like she knows in her heart that she doesn't. Elsa reaches up to wipe away a tear, disguising the motion by scratching at her cheek. She knows it's silly to be upset, but there was something comforting in thinking that the two of them- or at least Anna- thought she would make it.

She nods, though, forcing a smile as she gives both of their hands a squeeze again to acknowledge what they're saying. After a while, her mind starts jumping all sorts of places, from memories to things she wants to do with the two of them. The fear of never waking up from this is real, and she can't help but feel afraid as she thinks about how she might never get to do some of the things she wants to do with them. Along with that, one memory from their childhood sticks out in her mind more than anything, and right now the idea of it is so incredibly bittersweet that she feels her lip wibbling a little.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" Her voice is soft, cracking slightly as she sings out the words. Singing has always been somewhat of a comfort to her, and right now she needs to feel comforted more than anything, to ease the fear of never waking up. She turns to look at Anna, wanting to ease her worries too. "Anna, I won't be far away- I'll always be there watching over you, and loving you, no matter what they say."

As she finishes that off, she turns her attention to Dave, giving his hand a squeeze to let him know that it applies to him, too and not just Anna. It's then that she realizes that he's still wearing his shades and in a spur of the moment decision, she reaches up and pushes them up to rest on his head, letting her hand slide down so her palm can run gently down his cheek before it falls away. "I know the end is coming," she continues to sing, her voice shaking just a little, "so stay close by- I-I'll see you both-"

Elsa's song cuts off abruptly as she breaks out into a coughing fit which doesn't seem like it's going to end. It causes pain to explode throughout her, dizzying her and making her feel like she might puke. The pain shooting from her back sends waves of it everywhere and it's unbearable, her eyes squeeze shut and despite that, tears leak out and run down the sides of her face. "I c-can't," she sobs out, "I c-c-can't ta-take it, please." And there's pleading in her voice, more than there ever has been, because she just wants this all to end. This is the worst physical pain she's ever felt in her life, and she just can't deal with it anymore. "S-Someone please make it stop!"

Edited 2014-09-25 03:56 (UTC)

It's never that it isn't worth it to Dave. Not remotely. He's gone to greater risks for less before. He died being hornswoggled before over something that was ultimately pointless back home. He just doesn't have the capability to help. He doesn't think there's anyone in the arena who could perform the kind of surgery she'd need. Any slight chance that she might make it through is rapidly disappearing.

He can feel his mouth starting to dry as he loses any idea of what to say now that he's promised to help her through this. There's an odd, sickly sort of calm and he knows it will end soon. She's in so much pain and he doesn't know how long that will last or how long Anna can even stand to watch her struggle like this.

Then she starts singing and his chest feels even tighter. He doesn't want to cry, the idea of crying almost pains him right now and it makes the ache and the burning in his eyes while she struggles through the song. He barely even notices the hand move to his face until the light changes and his eyes hurt as they adjust. He isn't prepared enough to hide the fact that he looks terrified right now.

"Woah, woah- take it easy." He zeroes in on the distraction, his hand moving to return the favor by cupping her cheek. He barely notices how affectionate it is for how scared he is right now. The pleading is tugging his heartstrings something fierce and he can't imagine what it's doing to Anna. He forces himself to look away from Elsa to the other sister. "I can make it stop." The suggestion is out of his mouth before he even realises he put himself up to do it, his mind is just begging him to stop her from being miserable and to stop Anna from having to watch. "It'll be quicker. I-if I help." He wants to punch himself for stuttering.

Anna almost can't believe her ears when Elsa starts singing. It's not just any song--it's the one she always sang. Even when she thought Elsa wasn't listening. And now, that familiar melody fills her ears and her eyes well up, because she knows now that her sister was listening all along. But the words have changed, and Anna can only sob harder as she hears them, squeezing Elsa's hand and letting the tears pour down her face as she lets her sister's reassurances wash over her. It can't be, this can't be it--she'll see her when she gets back to the Capitol, she's sure, but there's a seed of doubt in her now, and it's enough to make her want to die, too, for the first time in her life--just so she won't be without her sister. But she needs to be brave, so she says nothing, only attempts to regulate her breathing as Elsa has a moment with Dave.

But when Elsa starts to cough, Anna starts, wiping the tears from her face and sliding an arm beneath Elsa's neck to support her head. "Elsa, Elsa, it'll be okay--you're gonna be okay," she stutters, lying through her teeth. It's impossible to watch her sister suffering this way, but even harder to hear her beg for it all to stop. "Dave," she whimpers, covering her mouth with her hand when the reality of what he's saying hits her. She can't believe they're even considering this, but she can't watch Elsa suffer anymore. "Is that--will that be...better?"

Elsa's mind is a whirlwind right now, everything is pain and fear and if she were to have access to her powers, there's no telling the strength of the storm that might be raging. Or would it be a weak snowfall, for how weak she feels right now? But death feels so frustratingly far away. But she hurts so much that when Dave says he can make it stop, she doesn't think twice before she pleads to get him to do it. It's mixed in with sobs and tears that stream down her face, almost unintelligible as her coughing fit doesn't die down.

In the back of her mind, through the flurry of pain and emotion, she knows what he's saying and she knows what she's agreeing to. She knows in the back of her mind that she should feel bad for asking this from Dave of all people, but the part of her that wants it over is overpowering every other sense.

"Pl-please," she manages out, her eyes squeezed shut, her hands squeezing both of theirs to try and cope with the pain, coughing more, a raspy and pained cough that leaves her shaking from head to toe. When she opens her eyes, she's looking right at Dave, a wild and pleading look in her eyes. She knows what she's asking of him and it's obvious she wants him to do it. Please put an end to it, please. Please.

There's a guilty part of Dave that had hoped both sisters would object to the suggestions. He couldn't fathom not putting it out there when Elsa is suffering, but he doesn't imagine he could have fought for it to happen. When they seem open to it, or on Elsa's part, desperate for it to happen it starts to hit him that he'll have to do it.

He meets Elsa's eyes for a long moment and it only solidifies the resolve in him to help her. He nods at Anna's question, dropping his gaze to something that isn't either of them, trying to detach himself at least a little bit from the situation.

"Yeah." He answers curtly, bending back on his feet to draw the knife he has wrapped up and stowed into his pockets. "It'll be easier if you draw a breath, close your eyes and count down from ten." He tells Elsa, glancing back to Anna. "You can either go or you can do the same." He's forcing himself to sound almost robotic about it, but he can feel sadness and fear welling up in him despite himself. It's all he can do to stay stoic about this. No tears, no regrets, just get it over with. He gives Anna the chance to make her decision, but he's pressing forward regardless to get it over with.

He moves a hand up to place it on Elsa's cheek and he just barely shudders when his resolve nearly breaks, so he can't draw it out any longer. "Alright, counting. Ten, nine, eight-" He begins slowly, but he doesn't finish, he cuts the count quickly and plunges the knife into her heart, twisting it so he can be sure it's fatal and removing it so she won't last longer than a minute at best. The action is fast to anyone else, but to him it feels like it's dragged on in slow motion. As soon as he removes the knife, he flings it across the store to get it away from him. He lingers for a moment, just to make sure it all went to plan before he forces himself up on wobbly legs.

Ultimately, she can't look away.

She tries to, turns her head away when Dave tells her she can either stay or go. She'll stay next to her sister till the end, there's no questioning that, her fingers laced tight through Elsa's, giving her something to squeeze as she rides the waves of pain. But when it comes time, she has to watch. She owes her sister that much.

"I love you, Elsa," she whimpers, as Dave begins to count, and her stomach twists hard when she realizes that he's not going to finish the count, when he plunges that knife into Elsa's chest and twists. Anna cries out in shock, tearing her eyes away from Elsa's chest to looking into her face, watch the light fade from her eyes while she still can.

"I'm sorry," she whimpers, when it's all over. "Elsa, Elsa, I'm so sorry."

And suddenly, she feels ill; she can't hold her sister's hand when there's nobody left there to comfort, she can't be next to her sister's dead body, so she staggers upward, toward Dave, tears streaming down her face. Elsa is dead, dead, dead, she chants over and over in her mind, and there's nothing she can do about it but pray that she'll wake up safe in the Capitol.

Without even thinking, she crosses over to close the gap between Dave and herself, leaning her forehead against his shoulder and letting the waves of grief wash over her.

Elsa can barely comprehend much of what's going on now. She knows what's going to happen, what's being asked, but she's too in pain to acknowledge much of anything. When she can manage to open her eyes, all she can really do is glance between Anna and Dave, tears in her eyes as her whole body shivers with the pain of it. When she meets Dave's eyes in particular, she knows that it's going to happen and there's a fear inside of her. It's real, it's going to happen.

If she doesn't come back, more than anything she wants them to know that she loves them. Has she expressed it enough? Do they know? Can they think of her name and feel it, no matter how far away she is?

Dave is looking away then, she can't meet his eyes, can't express it and words are hard to use right now, at least in the deep and meaningful way that she wants to be able to use them. She gives Anna's hand a hard squeeze, turning her attention to her sister. "I-I-" Why won't her voice work? Why does it feel like speaking hurts unbearably so? The lump in her throat only makes it more difficult. "I love you." It's a whisper, it's all she can get out. Dave is turning around, but she's used as much breath as she can muster and all she can do is mouth at at him. I love you.

It's only when his hand is on her cheek that she finally does what he'd said, closing her eyes. She knows it's about to happen, and she's shaking more from fear than pain at this point. In a way, his voice is comforting. She has ten seconds, she can prepare. She can come to terms with it in ten seconds. She doesn't have a ch-

Her eyes fly open, wide and confused. That wasn't ten seconds. Then he twists it, and she lets out a pained grunt, but it's that gesture that really helps to drain the remaining life out of her. Slowly, her eyes become less wide, her body less rigid. Her eyes don't close completely, but she does slump against the Olaf plushes underneath her, as her hand on Anna's goes slack.

In the last moments of life, she comprehends one thing; gratitude, for taking away the few extra seconds that surely would not have been enough to come to terms with this. And a hope, in the back of her mind that... if this is the end, maybe she'll get to meet their mother and father again. They would be proud of her, she thinks. It's that thought she holds onto as she slips into the darkness.

It's very hard to believe that anyone could ever be thankful for this in the very guilty after moments. He feels sick, he wants to heave but he also would really rather not. His ears are ringing for no apparent reason and he can't even stand to think about whether or not she'll come back. It had to happen. She wanted it to happen. Anna needed it to happen. How many times does he need to repeat that before it makes it seem more believable?

He's sort of losing himself in his thoughts now, closing off so it feels less real. Anna is what snaps him out of it when she touches her forehead to his shoulder. Again, it's pretty hard not to do something reactive like barf or cry, so instead he reaches out to grab her arm so he can start to pull her toward the door.

"C'mon. We can't stay here- we should give her some privacy." His voice is hoarse and it wobbles a little, but he's being pretty gentle about trying to guide her out. He just wants to get far away from the blood and the body and basically all of this situation.

It's all too much for Anna to comprehend; her head is spinning, and she doesn't realize she's shivering until Dave grabs for her arm. Her eyes squeeze shut, and she wills herself to maintain her composure.

"R-right," she gasps, voice dangerously close to breaking. "Right." And she forces herself toward the door, stumbling once or twice and finding it dangerously hard to stay upright. Elsa is gone, Elsa is dead, and she's forced to face the possibility of a world without her. It's impossible.

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let the dead bury the dead [closed]

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