Arena 12 - The Spaceport

[etcircenses]

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.

Comments

[carnagecarnival]

He'll take that gentleness, that comfort, and wrap it around himself, something he can normally only do with fear. He follows where she leads, blinks at the alcove she shows him, then follows on into there too.

Safe here.

His thoughts don't even making to being voodoo this time. He sighs aloud in relief, and in his head is that humming thank you. He sinks down against the wall all the while, until he's on the floor, eyes closed and preparing right to drifting off.

No hurt. That would be nice. Maybe he would have nice dreams for once. A miracle that would be.

Into unconsciousness, and the world of daymares, he slips.

[reassures]

Nill's not a miracle worker, and there's probably only so much she can do for him when he has the Voodoo, and she knows so little about how it works and what it does when Kurloz isn't awake. But she remains where she is, back to the wall, knife held lightly between her fingers but ready if need be. She tries to keep projecting comfort and peace at him, tries to relieve him of as much of the hurt as she can. That much is easier if he sleeps. His conscious mind won't try to convince him the hurt is still there when she's trying to trick it into not noticing.

She might not be able to give him good dreams, but she tries. Stars. Images of Terezi and Signless, mostly of smiles, never the Signless's face when they watched Kurloz die in the Arena together, never the way Terezi looked just before she blacked out. His paint, his bones. She keeps the illusion up, which should make it so most people wandering past simply don't notice them, seeing an extension of the wall where their hiding spot is.

Nill multitasks as she tries to find the Signless and then Terezi, and she watches over Kurloz as he sleeps, more a bird than any kind of angel that either of them understand.

let me know if this is ok!

[pythianjudgment]

It's been a hectic time, getting the hang of her Seer abilities again. The first few hours is always the most disorienting, while she's still trying to catch up on what's going on around her. There are a lot of people to keep track of, and the timelines shift so quickly.

She's still in the process of trying to find people when she catches a voice in her head. It's not like Kurloz with his voodoo, and it's not the same as Vriska's aggressive rooting around (or her attempts at it, anyway). It feels different, and her shoulders hike defensively in response. Her thoughts spin, trying to figure out who this might be, all while trying to fixate solely on superficial thoughts.

"Who's there?" she says out loud, just in case her mental invader is nearby.

it's good with me! should we thread on our own like this for a bit

[reassures]

Nill tries as much as possible to make sure that the 'voice' in Terezi's head doesn't seem like it might be threatening. She won't do anything about Terezi's natural concerns, no tampering, no making her feel more at ease than she should be, but the voice is a little softer, not gentle exactly but not unkind either.

"Terezi. This is Nill. We spoke once before."

After a slight pause, she continues, "It might be safer for you if you don't speak out loud."

i guess, yeah

[pythianjudgment]

The name surprises Terezi. Nill. The human girl that had helped separate Karkat and Kurloz. Terezi almost goes to respond aloud before she's cut off by the warning. She's no stranger to psychic powers, but normally they don't have the ability to touch her. Maybe this is different somehow. The fact that Nill has psychic powers at all is a surprise in the first place.

Can you hear me, too? Where are you? she thinks to herself, hoping that somehow Nill can hear her thoughts in return. The thought-words are slow and measured, like she's concentrating very hard on the sound of the words in her head to make them clear as possible.

[reassures]

"I can. I'm a little further into the station than you are right now."

The voice goes silent for a few seconds, momentarily distracted by the beginnings of a daymare that she tries as much as she can to ward off. It's a little harder with trolls but she's doing her best - it helps that he trusts her. His subconscious mind won't try to shy away from it as much.

"I'm with Kurloz."