Julian doesn’t stop even stop to consider that the birds may be a trick, only considers them as yet another thing the Capitol has sent to torture them. The moment they start to scream, echoing familiar voices, all Julian can think about is how he wants to get away from them. There’s only two dying voices that Julian recognizes from back home. It would only take two people for Julian to have nothing to go back to, and even if he knows it’s not real, that it can’t be, the more he hears the jabberjays the more it feels like it is. The more it feels like the only two people who actually cared about him are going to be taken away. And it’s that fear that gets Julian running, willing to go anywhere to escape it, and he goes exactly where the jabberjays herd him to.
It’s not until he gets deeper into the caves and he can think more clearly that he realizes there has to be something more to this, and it’s then that the Caves shut off, an announcement that he’s been assigned someone to kill. Kill or die. Julian’s not liking his choices here, and he wishes, a new sort of fear settling in his gut, that he had braved the birds instead. It’s not like Julian even knows how to kill someone. He doesn’t even know how to do his own laundry, how is he supposed to kill someone? He desperately tries to remember everything that Sam taught him about self defense, picks up the first two weapons he finds, and wanders around the cave with a machete in one hand and an axe in the other.
Julian doesn’t even know who he’s supposed to be looking out for, has no idea who Initiate even is, but pretty soon he hears his name being called out. The way it’s snarled out isn’t exactly reassuring, but after a moment of deliberation Julian hesitantly follows it until he’s close enough to see Initiate. And of course this is who the gamemakers decided to assign him to, someone with teeth and claws who looks to Julian like he could take him out with one hit. Julian curses under his breath, and instinctively jerks his weapons in front of him like some sort of makeshift shield. The only comfort Julian has is the peg he sees, but even that’s not much.
“You’re Initiate?” It’s more of a rhetorical question. As much as Julian wishes this was some sort of mistake, that there’s maybe another Julian he doesn’t know about, it seems highly unlikely. Julian shuffles a little bit back and then takes a few steps forward, unsure of what to do. Killing someone, even attempting to, is one of the last things Julian wants to do and the idea of it already leaves him feeling sick, but if it’s that or die it may be the only option.
no subject
It’s not until he gets deeper into the caves and he can think more clearly that he realizes there has to be something more to this, and it’s then that the Caves shut off, an announcement that he’s been assigned someone to kill. Kill or die. Julian’s not liking his choices here, and he wishes, a new sort of fear settling in his gut, that he had braved the birds instead. It’s not like Julian even knows how to kill someone. He doesn’t even know how to do his own laundry, how is he supposed to kill someone? He desperately tries to remember everything that Sam taught him about self defense, picks up the first two weapons he finds, and wanders around the cave with a machete in one hand and an axe in the other.
Julian doesn’t even know who he’s supposed to be looking out for, has no idea who Initiate even is, but pretty soon he hears his name being called out. The way it’s snarled out isn’t exactly reassuring, but after a moment of deliberation Julian hesitantly follows it until he’s close enough to see Initiate. And of course this is who the gamemakers decided to assign him to, someone with teeth and claws who looks to Julian like he could take him out with one hit. Julian curses under his breath, and instinctively jerks his weapons in front of him like some sort of makeshift shield. The only comfort Julian has is the peg he sees, but even that’s not much.
“You’re Initiate?” It’s more of a rhetorical question. As much as Julian wishes this was some sort of mistake, that there’s maybe another Julian he doesn’t know about, it seems highly unlikely. Julian shuffles a little bit back and then takes a few steps forward, unsure of what to do. Killing someone, even attempting to, is one of the last things Julian wants to do and the idea of it already leaves him feeling sick, but if it’s that or die it may be the only option.