thearena | Arena 12 - The Spaceport

As usual the Tributes are woken up early for the start of the arena, leaving the Tribute Centre before dawn. A few hours ride in a hovercraft delivers them to their destination where their excited prep teams will outfit them in skintight suits that are colour coordinated by District (D1 is White, D2 is Red, D3 is Orange, D4 is Aqua, D5 is Purple, D6 is Pink, D7 is Light Green, D8 is Blue, D9 is Yellow, D10 is Dark Green, D11 is Lavender, and D12 is Black) over which they will be put into what is instantly identifiable as a spacesuit, complete with oxygen tank and helmet before being loaded into the tubes.

They rise up into what appears to be outer space and immediately upon emerging from the tubes Tributes will find themselves floating upwards with a length of rope the only thing holding them to their podiums. The countdown crackles out from speakers built into each Tributes helmet.

20

19

18…

The Cornucopia sits in the middle of a dusty crater with buildings surrounding it, made up of a number of chained down cases and cubes in limited numbers. Cubes which sharp-eyed Tributes will note look like they fit into the slots beside the doors that lead into the spaceport.

8

7

6…

The mirrored visors of the uniformly white spacesuits make it impossible to tell friend from foe. Tributes fighting for goods will have to risk harming their friends but the alternative, floating off into space or suffocating when their oxygen runs out, leaves them little choice.

3

2

1…

The gong rings out and the countdown’s voice announces, “the Arena is now open” before the line goes dead. The Games have begun.

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Nill is all ready to ask Gary more about his brother and his world; it must be very difficult if his brother is the only one with telepathy in his existence as far as he knows. But then he suggests hooking them up and Nill very visibly cringes.

"No, thank you."

She hesitates for a moment before gesturing for him to follow her. Staying still in this place is a bad idea, and she doesn't want to actually look at him when she tells him this next part.

"I'm taken."

Gary blinks in some surprise. He's used to being rejected, himself--not so much Clayton. Everyone wanted to hang out with Clayton. But then again, Leroi Lake was a small town, so everyone already knew who he was. Gary is about to suggest that Nill would change her mind if she met him when she actually explains herself.

There's more surprises to be had. "Oh," Gary mouths, trotting alongside Nill as she leads the way. "Who's the lucky guy?" He squints. "Chick?" Hell if he knows what Nill's into. "Are they here?"

Thankfully, though a little rusty, Nill knows how to multitask, and telling when they might run into other tributes is easy enough. The route probably seems strange and erattic to anyone actually following her. She doesn't look back at Gary, though she continues to 'talk' to him.

"They're dead."

This is the part where Gary should put his foot in his mouth, but he doesn't quite understand the implications. Dead here, he thinks. In the Capitol. Death isn't permanent here. He looks a little confused.

"That sucks." Gary bites his lip. "But they'll be waiting when we get back! It's not so bad."

At the obvious assumption of the circumstances regarding her apparent dating life, Nill just lets out a quiet sigh, which... might be kind of audible, actually. She's not terribly concerned with how he takes it, if he takes it to mean much of anything at all.

"Right."

Nill has a very anxious feeling in her gut that pretty much screams this entire conversation is going to come back to bite her at some point, even if it's not right away, and leaving out the fact that the person isn't dead here seems like a wise decision.

That sigh isn't a promising reaction, but the agreement is. Gary is conflicted. What's he supposed to believe? Which signal is the correct one? He does a few quick mental backflips, his brows scrunch and, on a split decision, he chooses to believe that everything is fine. Isn't that always how it goes?

And since everything is fine, then obviously it's okay to keep prying. "What're they like?" he asks brightly. People love talking about their significant others, Gary reasons. This should help her smile a little! "What do they do? Artist? Plumber? Professional juggler?"

She had genuinely hoped that the response would get Gary to stop asking, but it just about does the opposite, because now he probably thinks he can find whoever she means when they get back and he probably wants to meet them.

Nill still does not actually look back at Gary, but she stops walking so that she can lift both hands and press the heel the her palms against her eyelids.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh."

Finally, finally the point sinks in. Gary stops walking and glances over, decidedly worried from the way his brow crinkles and his mouth curls into a confused frown, and for once, he thinks it might be best to wait for Nill to stop trying to rub her eyes out before he presses her again.

"...Are you okay?" he asks, bashfully, scratching his chin like the strain of wondering is causing him physical pain. Amazing that this would do it, and not the broken arm, or the ribs, or the various other blossoming internal injuries he's doing well to ignore. Such is Gary's way.

It doesn't take long, at any rate. Eventually Nill lowers her hands, and she has to blink a few times to rid her vision of the spots dancing in front of her from pressing on her eyes. It's a stupid thing to do in an Arena, but Nill is confident enough in her abilities that she's not worried about anything sneaking up on her. Unfortunately for Nill, in this case the confidence is equally stupid; trying to shove the devastation that has been building inside her since her arrival is enough to take up a good chunk of her attention.

She looks back at him again, looking over his face. At another time she might be impressed he noticed something for once, but right now she's just tired, which is a terrible way to start off an Arena.

"How are you okay?"

Which isn't exactly an answer. Sorry Gary.

Nill is apparently full of these non-answers, which Gary finds equal parts curious and frustrating. He's already not the best at taking hints, and he knows it. Why can't Nill just tell him? Why is this so difficult? Ugh.

At least the question she asks is something else Gary can misinterpret, which means, hey, convenient topic change! Maybe this will make Nill feel better. "Like, physically?" He doesn't wait for Nill to confirm if that's what she means. "It's my powers! Adrenaline and stuff. I barely feel a thing!"

For a moment Nill just stares at Gary, before she barks out a harsh and disbelieving laugh, though he might not recognize it as a laugh. They can sound a little funny coming from her. Nill lifts one of her hands to her face again to wipe at her eyes, where a few errant tears have managed to slip free.

"Don't you understand that we're being tortured?"

Gary has no idea what this has to do with adrenaline. Feeling baffled and more than a little unnerved, he slows, anxiously rubbing his limp arm and trying to force a curious smile. It doesn't work very well.

"I...no," he squints. "That doesn't make any sense. They're not trying to get anything out of us or whatever. It's just a game. Like, yeah, it sucks, but...we'll come back okay."

Arena 12 - The Spaceport

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