thearena | She's trying to grin and bear it.

Entry tags:

She's trying to grin and bear it.

Who: Ruffnut, an angry bear and you.
What: Ruffnut got thrashed by Thor last week and is looking for shelter before the storm hits.
Where: The caves in the south.
When: Tuesday of week one just before the storm.
Warnings: Violence.

It didn't take a genius to see that a storm was brewing in the dark cloudy skies overhead.

Which was good because Ruffnut and just about everyone watching the arena could tell she was far from a genius.

After getting beaten senseless by Thor and only barely escaping with her life the scruffy Viking had managed to avoid every living creature for the next few days. But now she was getting hungry and from the looks of the weather she'd need a better shelter then her previous one which had been a pile of dirt that she buried herself in.

She's holding her arm and wincing every time it gets jostled. Ever since the attack she's barely been able to move it. Last arena she'd had the same arm bitten off. Maybe it was just an unlucky arm? Either way she was pretty sure it was dislocated, this wasn't the first time she'd had that happen to her. It was however the first time she'd never had anyone around to put it back in for her.

Having discovered the caves to the South she was debating on which one to enter as the cloud loomed ominously above. Finally picking at random she moved with confidence and recklessness that she was known for inside.

Do you follow her? Or was this your cave to begin with?

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This particular cave, as it turns out, already has an occupant. Even if Iskierka had missed the gathering clouds overhead, there's no way she's going to fit into a tent proper - if she wants anything like shelter it's going to have to be a cave.

She doesn't recognize that it's Ruffnut at first, mostly on account of the vast majority of the light coming from outside the cave. In fact, all she can really tell is that some other Tribute is stepping inside a space she very much considers hers and that is more than enough to have her distinctly less than pleased. There might be a storm coming in, but she's not about to share her space with a stranger.

Instead, there's a soft rustling sound as she draws herself to her full height and half-spreads her wings (an attempt to look more impressive than she actually is, and a gesture that would probably be more effective if she weren't slightly-less-dark spot in the general darkness of the cave) and hisses. It's a low, menacing sort of sound, too low-pitched to be a snake and too reptilian to be a cat of some sort but clearly some sort of large and less than pleased animal.

Ruffnut froze in place hearing the hiss and her eyes squinted into the darkness trying to make out the shape of who or what she'd just stumbled in on.

Even when she had two arms she determined that fighting a large creature was probably not the best option and in the darkness of the cave she couldn't see exactly how big a beast was hissing at her.

Still...she wanted to see. So she did the most intelligent thing she could think of and hissed back, bracing herself to run if that was all it took to enrage the cave's owner.

It doesn't precisely help matters any, that much is for certain. On the other hand, it's not enough to quite for Iskierka to switch over into an all-out attack. She knows enough about humans to know that they are sometimes inclined to echo things without always know what's behind whatever's been offered.

So she steps forward out of the darkness a little, wings still half spread. It's still not enough to quite make it easy for her to tell that it's Ruffnut hissing back at her, but it should be easier for Ruffnut to make out the terribly distinctive shape of a dragon with it's wings partially spread and there's not exactly very many dragons around.

On the other hand, she's returning the hissing and louder this time as she gives vent to a blast of steam from her carious spikes besides.

Her face fell a bit, almost disappointed to see it wasn't a new dragon but instead one she was already familiar with. Instantly her defensive posture fell into a more casual stance. The steam was enough to make Ruffnut's blond hair start to frizz around the hat she was wearing.

"Oh it's just you. Thor almighty you gave me a scare! I didn't know this was your cave."

While she almost wished it was a new dragon she sounded relieved. After all there was no promise that she'd be able to tame a new dragon the same way they tamed dragons back home. She'd learned that the hard way last arena.

"Oh!" Iskierka comments upon realizing just who it is who's come visiting. "If I had known it was only you I should not have hissed so. You are welcome to stay here, if you like."

It's not like there isn't room, after all, and as long as it's not with some stranger, Iskierka doesn't mind sharing space. Especially not when she's had more than one occasion where she's sharing a comparatively small space not with simply one human but several dragons and various members of their assorted crews. Besides, a bit of company might be nice, and if it decides it wants to get cold she's still relatively useful as something to help keep warm even if she isn't very good at starting actual fires just now.

That was enough to make Ruffnut grin and she moved closer so they could see each other more clearly.

"Thanks, better to share a cave with a friend I guess." Were they friends? Sure why not? Dragons and humans were the best team. She shrugged off her backpack with her one good arm while the other hung limply and she looked to it for a moment.

"Erm...I don't suppose you've ever put an arm bone back in a shoulder have you?" She questioned with a hint of hopefulness. Iskierka had an extra pair of hands...claws...whatever. It would be better then Ruffnut trying to do it herself.

They're not enemies, anyway. Anything else is close enough to friends to be good enough for Iskierka and she's used to company besides. Even if it is only the other dragons in the covert most of the time.

Unfortunately, bone setting isn't in her skill list. While she can tell there's something not at all right with one of Ruffnut's arm fixing it is quite entirely beyond.

"I have certainly never done it before," she answers after a moment of silence. 'And it is not as if anyone has ever told how to fix our captains. There are other people who can take care of that."

"Right." Ruffnut sighed and she gripped the arm hard with her still functioning hand. It made her wince but she kept hold of it and began pulling on it and let out a grunt of pain.

"It's no good." Her hand fell away painting. "I've only ever done this with my brother or the village elder."

Turning her gaze back to Iskierka she studied her for a moment. "I think you can do this...I mean you've got a strong grip right?"

"I suppose I might," Iskierka answers. "It is not as if I have ever tested such a thing, but it is not likely to be a weak one."

There's a pause as she considers what she's getting herself into, but it's more a matter of what might go into it as opposed to anything even remotely related to a lack of confidence in her abilities.

"You shall have to tell what I am to do, though."

"Yeah alright...I think..."

She brought herself down to the ground gently then wincing as her shoulder bumped the floor.

"OK...now if you can grab my wrist with both hands...err...claws...whatever. And then plant a foot in my armpit and pull till you feel it pop back into place...I'm probably gonna scream but keep going."

Vikings did not have a firm grasp of the concept of a safety word.

"Does it need to be both?"

Iskierka's already coming closer as she speaks, but if its one thing that she doesn't handle well, it's anything remotely approximating a bipedal stance. And with her being as unfamiliar as she is with this sort of thing, she's not sure how long it's meant to last. Or what the sign she's supposed to stop at feels like.

But she does plant a foot in Ruffnut's armpit. One of her forefeet, since that's the more convenient and she's not yet heard anything that suggests that it can't work like this.

"Like this?"

"Uh...I dunno can you do it with one?" As if she's not the one who knows what she's doing.

Well if she can keep a strong enough grip with one claw that'll do the trick. Ruffnut grits her teeth and nods already feeling the ache in her shoulder.

"OK, now pull slowly and keep pulling."

Edited 2015-03-07 04:08 (UTC)

From the grip she's got it certainly seems like it's strong enough to do the job. And if it ends up not working out like this, Iskierka sees no reason that they won't be able to try again. But just for the moment, she's content enough to simply focus on the matter at hand - there's a bob of her head at Ruffnut's direction and then she does start pulling.

It's not quite as easy and she'd expected, in retrospect. But she manages to make it work. She even manages to keep things slow, despite not exactly being the most patient at the best of times.

Feeling the arm stretched out sends lightning bolts of paint through her body and it's all she can do not to howl, she knows that if she does though it's likely to draw trouble to them.

Bringing her fist up to her mouth Ruffnut bites down on her glove and growls as the join meets it's socket. Almost...almost...

Pop! A sound like a cracking twig and both of them can feel the arm pop back into place. With tears in her eyes Ruffnut blows air out her nose and lets the gloved hand slip from her teeth.

"Ahhhh that's a million times better!"

If something did happen to attack them, Iskierka's pretty sure she'd be able to handle it. Apart from the fact that she keeps dying, she hasn't exactly had any problems in the Arenas. But even so, it's probably better to keep as silent as possible.

The sound and feeling of Ruffnut's arm popping back into place catches her by surprise. She hadn't known humans could mae that sort of noise, unintentionally or not. It's only the fact that Ruffnut seems to be both not in the least bit surprised and significantly better afterwards that gets her to drop her hold. And just as well really. She'd been at about the limit of her tolerance for a more bipedal stance.

"I am certainly glad to hear it!" There's a brief moment of silence and then she continues on. "Only I do hope that is not something you often have to do. It seems quite entirely inconvenient."

She laughed and continued moving her arm back and forth to make sure it wasn't catching. It ached but she could throw a punch when the time came.

"Nah, this just happened. Someone beat me up good." Her good cheer was shaken a bit because the person who had done this to her was someone she respected and admired.

"Won't happen again if I can help it."

"Oh," Iskierka answers, doing her best to hide the fact that she's not really certain how getting trounced could result in someone's arm not working right. Or rather, not working right in a way that doesn't involve it being broken.

"And I am glad to hear so. It hardly sounds enjoyable, regardless of whether or not it can be fixed."

Ruffnut nodded in agreement "It isn't so bad when it's actually happening. Pain is part of what lets you know you're alive." She reasoned gripping and relaxing her fingers in satisfaction.

"But not being able to use it after was kind of annoying. I don't plan on dying easy around here and that means using both my arms and anything they can reach."

"I am not certain anyone means to die easy," Iskierka comments, with another of her almost-shrugs. "But it is certainly easier to not do so when one isn't injured, regardless of how it should have come to be."

She's not going to ask about the how, either. She's not that interested in the quirks of human biology and she doesn't expect that Ruffnut will be particularly interested in sharing the finer details.

That is a very good assumption.

Rolling her shoulder again Ruffnut gave a nod towards the deeper part of the cave and shuffled towards the shadows.

"There's nothing really cool in here but you're welcome to stay so long as you want. At least it beats being outside where anyone can find you."

This cave certainly isn't Gary's, but he's here and he's made himself comfortable some distance away from the entrance. Well, as comfortable as he can be; getting across the river was no easy task and that water is cold, especially when it's seeped up to the knees of his pants. He was smart enough to cross with his shoes and socks off this time, at least, so he doesn't have to wring those out. Mild improvement.

Gary was not, however, smart enough to realize that he wouldn't be the only one eying these caves for shelter from the oncoming storm. Distracted as he is with awkwardly twisting the water from his cuffs, it's not until Ruffnut is already turning the corner that Gary realizes she's here.

He freezes, eyes wide and expression blank. Gary typically isn't wary of strangers, but he's been given enough warnings about people killing each other to feel instinctively uncomfortable when faced with one in an Arena. She's young, though--probably friendly. Why wouldn't she be? Gary puts on a brave smile to test that theory.

"Hi," he calls, trying to sound cheerful, though his voice betrays him and comes out as a croak. Gotta compensate. "What's a pretty lady like you doing in a nasty-ass place like this?" There, flawless.

She blinked a little surprised by how friendly he was and then squinted at being called pretty. It's not that she didn't like it but it wasn't common.

"I happen to like caves." She explained moving closer fearlessly. Her arm still hangs awkwardly at her side and she grips it a little tighter as she tenses half expecting a fight.

"So either gimmie something or get out of my new cave." Not really in much of a position to be making demands Ruffnut looked like she'd been run over a few times.

Gary's eyes, growing slightly wider with alarm at Ruffnut's forwardness, flickered to her dangling arm. Now Gary isn't the observant sort, but even he would have a difficult time ignoring that kind of injury. Not that he knew what to do with that information--at that point he was mostly concerned with keeping a safe distance away, looking as harmless as possible, and maybe wincing a bit in sympathy.

"Your cave?" That didn't sound friendly. Gary took a step back, his hands raised, though his smile remained twitching at his cheeks. "Hey, we can share, right? Our cave. There's plenty of room!"

"Yeah, there's plenty of room so long as you give me something so I don't throw you out." She was at least half sure she could throw him out with only one good arm. He didn't look that heavy.

"Better safe then sorry. Can't go letting just anyone hang out in my cave. There's a list and you're not on it." She flashed back for a moment to back home when she and her brother had had almost this exact conversation with a friend when he tried to take shelter in their safe house when a horrible dangerous dragon was coming.

Things continued to not go Gary's way and he became increasingly desperate to change that. His eyes flickered to his meager possessions on the floor. Just his winter boots and thick socks--of course he'd left his backpack with all his good shit back at camp, with the rest of District 11. What the hell was he supposed to barter with?

"Uh--" Gary bit his lip and frantically fished around in his jacket pockets. Lint, old wrappers, an interesting pebble...some berries? He pulled those out and offered them in his extended palm. "--How about these? Delicious berries, eh? Perfect blue to match your beautiful eyes."

She reached for the berries till he made the beautiful eyes comment and her hand became a fist, swinging for him if only out of irritation.

"You're making fun of me at a time like this? Seriously? And look who's calling who beautiful you jerk! Your skin looks way smoother then mine!"

Beautiful apparently had a very different meaning to Ruffnut.

Gary had been laughed at, rejected, and even forcibly pushed or slapped away for getting a little too forward with women. He had, however, never been punched, and so did not anticipate such a threat until it had already hit him in the nose. Gary dropped the berries and staggered backwards, clutching his face.

"Augh--christ! What the hell?!" One of his hands snapped out to make sure Ruffnut didn't advance on him again, while the other gingerly pinched and probed the bridge of his aching nose. "I don't...what? I wasn't making fun of you! It was a compliment! You have nice eyes."

If Gary was any good at learning from his mistakes, he might've realized that continuing to praise Ruffnut's appearance was not a wise move. This was not a thought that occurred to him.

"Who goes around calling people beautiful just out of no where?" She ranted swinging a foot for him. Ruffnut has never been above kicking a man when he's down or at least bleeding from the nose.

"What's that even supposed to mean huh? Because I have beautiful eyes I'm not a threat? Is that it jerk? I'll show you what these beautiful eyes can do!" She's not even sure what that threat means but she's steamed now.

Gary remained thoroughly confused, but at least he had the sense to back away from her to avoid receiving more of the same punishment. "No! What does that even have to do with...?" He paused, partially to wipe his nose and check that it wasn't bleeding, partially to actually stop and try to parse what the hell he did wrong. It took him a few seconds to put the pieces together.

"--Look, I-I promise, you're really threatening right now," Gary insisted with a cynical squint. "You've made that very clear. I don't have to say you're beautiful anymore. What should I say?"

Their raised voices echoed in the cave, and from the depths, a low growl answered.

She took a moment to decide if he was being honest, and then determined she didn't really care. The important thing was he'd learned how she felt about being regarded as some kind of delicate flower or Capitol lady.

"Say you're sorry. Then say you'll do anything to make it up to me." She ordered trying to loom over him which was somewhat difficult given she had bruises and swelling from what must have been a recent beatdown.

Well, that's easy enough. "I'm sorry," he said, opened his mouth to continue as requested, but stopped short. Gary is, to put it as bluntly as possible, pretty stupid. He was not stupid enough to miss the implications of that command. An eyebrow was raised. "...What kind of 'anything' are we talking about here?"

Darn, stupid people were more on Ruffnut's level.

She sized him up for a moment longer and then decided she didn't have a choice. "I need someone to fix my arm. It's out of socket so you gotta pull on it till it pops back in." She explained. "Then MAYBE I'll forgive you." Because lets not forget who's supposed to be the one in trouble here. Not her surely.

Oh. "Uh--sure! I can do that," Gary said, a moment before he actually thought about what needed to be done. He winced in sympathy. Did he really have any idea how to do this? Not at all, but it sounded simple enough. Cautiously, Gary started creeping back towards her.

"You could've just asked, you know?"

"Yeah maybe, but since you owe me for being stupid I get to tell you instead of asking." She growled and turned so her bad arm was facing him.

"Ya gotta hold it above the elbow, and pull slowly. It's gotta stretch before it finds the hole to pop into I guess." Because while she had done this before, she was not an expert on why it worked.

When holding the arm it would feel a bit like heavy limp rope, or a warm noodle with bones inside it. The fingers still twitched but they couldn't make a proper fist.

"Yeah, yeah," Gary mutters with a stubborn roll of his eyes, but he shows no signs of backing off. She's not wrong. If anything, Gary's more hesitant about the actual act than what he did to deserve it; he halts awkwardly in reaching out for her arm, anxiously kneading his fingers before he finally has the courage to grab it. Instantly Gary pulls a face of disgust and regret. Gross. How did anyone deal with popping his bones around whenever he needed shit like this done to him? Experience, maybe, or some lack of empathy. Maybe it really wasn't as bad as he thought it was, since his judgement of what things should and should not be painful is a little skewed from years of ability-induced numbness.

Only one way to find out! "Alright, just...hold still," Gary murmurs. His hands tense for a moment but he quickly loses his nerve to follow through. The process repeats a second time. Gary bites his lip and his eyes flicker up to catch Ruffnut's.

"...Promise you won't hit me again for this?"

Ruffnut is doing her best to keep her body relaxed, as that will make the process easier but the second time Gary hesitates her body tightens and she growls like an angry dog.

"JUST DO IT!" She barked loud enough her voice echoed around them. This was possibly not the best way to encourage him.

Gary hops slightly in place. "Ah! Alright, alright!" he hisses, sucking in a breath to force his hands steady. This is a lot of pressure! Anxiously shifting his weight between his feet, flexing his knees like he's planning on just dropping everything and running out of here, the weight of it all finally outstrips Gary's apprehension and he pulls hard on Ruffnut's arm.

Then he immediately drops it and takes a few quick steps back, because she still has one working arm and Gary anticipates it's already on a course for his face.

There's an audible pop that is followed immediately by Ruffnut groaning and slumping against a wall, catching her breath from the gut punch of pain that had been.

Experimentally she brought her arm up, and then gave Gary a thumbs up to indicate it was still functional and he had not failed her. No face punching for Gary.

...not yet anyway.

"That's much better." She sighed happily.

Gary breathes a returned sigh of relief. That went much better than he expected. Now they can get back to negotiating.

"So..." Gary casually threads his hands behind his back. "...That means I can stay, right?"

She paused and gave him a grim appraising look like she was considering beating him senseless.

She let the look linger for a few moments too long before relaxing and offering him a crooked smirk.

"Yeah you can stay. Pull up some rock, make yourself comfortable whatever-your-name-is."

Ruffnut in the meantime was going to continue stretching out her arm to appreciate it not hurting as much now that it was back where it belonged.

That look is not so promising. Gary stares back, keeping a brave face (despite the fact that he's mostly watching to see if she flinches so he knows when to run), until finally, finally the situation seems to resolve itself. The tension is all a bit too much. Gary laughs, hoarsely, out of sheer relief.

"Gary," he answers the implied question, wiping a stray tear from his eye before he resumes squeezing the water from the cuffs of his pants. This is uncomfortable enough to keep him from sitting down just yet. "Who are you supposed to be, huh?"

"Ruffnut Thorston." She introduced herself watching each of her fingers close and open in turn.

"I'm a Viking. I fly dragons, and this is still my cave. But you can stay Gary."

Then...she smiled at him. A slightly malevolent smile perhaps...but she was feeling confident again for the first time in days since Thor had beaten the tar out of her.

And she owed it to this weird guy. Will wonders never cease?

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She's trying to grin and bear it.

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fade out soon, maybe?

sounds good to me <3