[OPEN] i'm on the hunt, i'm after you

[rediscover]

Who| Anna and you!
What| Week 2 catch-all!
Where| All over the Arena--the castle banquet, the village, the forest, etc.
When| week 2 of the arena.
Warnings/Notes| violence, most likely! Anna will be actively seeking out weakened/unsuspecting Tributes and making more of an attempt to do the whole murder game thing. Hit me up if you'd like a prompt!



It had all started with the parachute. Take the hint, Princess, with initials she didn't recognize, accompanied by a knife and a pair of earplugs. Anna isn't sure who these people are, but she can assume that they're Mentors, which means someone is watching. And wanting her to do things a little differently. And considering her past track record...maybe it's time for her to follow along.

It isn't that Anna wants to kill people, or anything like that. That isn't who she is. But she also knows that after a year, after seven Arenas both big and small, after seven painful and often bloody deaths, she's ready for something to change. And maybe that something needs to be her. So she takes the knife from the parachute and tucks it into her boot, along with the earplugs which go in her right pocket. She isn't exactly sure what they're for, but no doubt they'll come in handy sooner or later.

Okay. They want her to take the hint, she can take the hint. She can play their murder game.

Comments

[rediscover]

"That's unfortunate," Anna murmurs. "But it's good to find a bright side! And I've heard that there are extra clothes stored in the castle bedchambers, so you could always try there for something that still covers you up but isn't as heavy and hot!" Ever the optimist, that's Anna.

And she feels better when Rose insists that she's fared just fine without her help. "Oh, good. Me? I've been hanging in there. It's been weird without seeing my sister or my b-boyfriend," she stutters across the word, both out of fear and out of its continued strangeness on her tongue, "but I've been managing. I found plenty of food at the castle, which was pretty useful."

[wickedgoogly]

"Is there?" she asks between things, eyes widening a touch. She may have to check that out later.

(And she would have, too, if her fate weren't told for other things.)

Her look turns sympathetic as Anna continues. "I'll wish plenty of good luck their way, for whatever it might be worth. I'm glad you've done well, though. I was too preoccupied and overwhelmed at the situation to really say it at the time, but I appreciated that you were willing to help me. It's stressful having to worry over every stranger here."

[rediscover]

"Mmhm! A lot of it is big, frilly dresses, but there's also boys' stuff you could fit into, too, and that'd be a lot easier to move around in."

She gives Rose a shy smile. "Thanks. I'm sure they're fine--if they're not here, then they're safe in the Capitol and a whole lot more comfortable than you and I, for sure." Little does she know, neither option is right. She waves away Rose's words of appreciation. "It's nothing. It's not exactly the point of being in here, but I couldn't not help you, you know?"

[wickedgoogly]

Frilly dresses sound cumbersome, but maybe some pants would work out. She nods to her, jotting it down as an idea.

She can't quite return the smile, not knowing what the Capitol is like, but she does nod again. Anna would know better. She doesn't ask; she already decided with someone else that she would leave the experience a surprise for herself.

Her look then turns thoughtful.

"It wouldn't have been wrong to want to act in self-preservation under the circumstances, I think, but it's good to know that altruism still has its place among the charnel. Perhaps easier when revival is assured, but I didn't know that at the time, and I think it has value even then."

[rediscover]

"Yeah," Anna agrees. "I know the feeling. I came in the middle of an Arena, too. It's scary, when you don't know you'll come back. I didn't know, even when I was dying. So waking up was extra disorienting."

She gestures toward Rose. "You're lucky you had friends here to let you know what's up."

[wickedgoogly]

Whichever Gamemaker is prompting the auditory hallucinations takes Anna's words as perfect cue to have them call to Rose once again. It's only the first day, voices still soft and distant, but she winces all the same at the sound of familiar people absent from this place. Better for them that they are, but it's hard not to miss them already.

"Dave's the only one, really." She's frowning, not really looking at her, but out past the branches. "Others are people I've only heard of, or maybe spoken to a grand total of once before coming here. I'm glad enough to be making allies, of course, but this place is very keen on reminding me of which friends aren't here."

[rediscover]

"They're good at doing that," Anna says softly. "But I've found it's helpful if you focus on the people you do have. And, well, I know you don't know me very well, but I'd be glad if you counted me among your friends!"

She swings her feet from the branch she sits on, feeling shy. She's not very good with words, but it's important that Rose knows that she can count on Anna. That she's on her side.

[wickedgoogly]

The smile she turns to her is strained under the circumstances, but she's trying. "I think I'd like that," she says softly.

She does mean it. Stuck here for who knows how long - Dave said he's been around something like a year - she finds herself not wanting to be alone in it. And with Dave she isn't, and others still who knows her, but none of that negates the value in making her own acquaintances. Besides, if she ever does get in a position to do something about this place, it can't hurt to have allies. They surely deserve better, too.

Thinking on Anna's words, she looks at her again. "So long as we're hiding out here, why don't we take the chance to learn about each other? It will pass the time better than sitting around lamenting the heat." She considers then asks, "For starters, where are you from?"

[rediscover]

"Well, good!" Anna's grin is wide and excited. Even in the middle of medieval death hell, she can still manage to be excited about friendship. So when Rose offers to use the opportunity to get to know each other, she practically bounces in her seat, making the branch sway slightly. "Yes! Excellent idea."

Anna shifts in her seat. Her bottom is starting to fall asleep. "I'm from Arendelle," she explains. "It's a country in the North." Super descriptive. "My sister, Elsa, is the queen. Oh, I can't wait until you meet Elsa, she's wonderful!"

[wickedgoogly]

"Careful," she says as the branch sways, a hand held out, but it holds. It wouldn't do to have it break. The movement does waft a little of the hot, stagnant air, but what benefit that gives is meager when it's just as swampy in the next moment.

She goes on to blink, then her eyes widen. "I didn't realize I was speaking to royalty. I don't think I've heard of Arendelle, though." It sounds European, wherever it is, and she wonders if it isn't one of those small ones she can never remember the name of, or maybe someplace long since past into history.

"I don't know how much Dave has told you about where he's from, but I'm from the same country, America, up in the northeastern part. Namely the state of New York. Any interesting titles I have didn't come into play until I left it, and how much attention I paid them was variable at best."

[rediscover]

"I'm good," Anna insists. She's been sitting in this tree for a long time, and she's been lucky in her choice of a good, sturdy branch. At Rose's widened eyes, she flaps a hand. "Oh, don't worry about it. It doesn't much matter here, after all, except as a marketing gimmick. But from what I can tell, Arendelle isn't a part of most peoples' worlds. Some kind of...multidimensional anomaly." Aw yes, using all those big words she's learned in the Capitol.

Anna cocks her head. "New York, huh? I think there's quite a few people from there around here. So maybe you can find some more friends you'll have something in common with!"