yoknapatawpha: (Basic - Out in the Woods)
Bayard Sartoris II ([personal profile] yoknapatawpha) wrote in [community profile] thearena2015-06-11 02:27 am

Cross Through Hell in Snow [Closed]

WHO| Bayard and Cullen, Tabris and Maxwell
WHAT| Bayard meets his Thedosian friends, hears voices, and goes with Tabris and Maxwell to fight behts.
WHEN| Week 3
WHERE| Out in the woods, then towards the belltower.
WARNING| Vampire bats, near-death.

I. Any tag order.

Eventually, Bayard leaves the castle, driven out by the images of ghosts that plague him. He has no one to mourn, only a mother who died before he finished taking his first breath, but the supernatural is too much for him to handle. He packs up his small pack of belongings - one more day's ration of water, a desalination kit and a box of medical supplies - and tucks his knife into the pocket he's cut into his clothing.

He wanders the forest, panting, ears pricked for people's approach. Occasionally he hears someone calling his name, and at first he thinks it's just his mind. Dew collects in the places where his flesh meets itself, the crooks of his elbows and knees. The air seems light and insubstantial, even as he can practically see the humidity hanging in it, and the sun cuts through the canopy of trees in tight spears.

"Is someone there?" He strains and listens. "Father?"

At that, he breaks into a run, crashing through undergrowth, breaking twigs and leaves as he tramples towards the voice with an exhilarated grin on his face. He nearly smacks into a group of people in the woods, having sprinted heedlessly towards them.

"It's me, it's me!" He recognizes the faces.


II. Bayard, Maxwell, Tabris

He knows that Maxwell, Cullen and Tabris are concerned about his well-being, thinking he's been traumatized by the Cornucopia, and so he does his best to act as if it hasn't affected him. That's easy enough to brush aside, but when the voices start up each day something in him changes. All his effort to continue surviving in the Arena as normal seems to evaporate, and he'll go lay down at their camp for the hour or so until the calls stop, eyes shut and arms around his ears, responsive only to the worst prodding.

Other than that, he doesn't seem to act as if they're fighting for their lives. He collects wood, hunts, hides supplies up a tree so it's less likely to be gotten by animals, and ventures into the abandoned buildings to retrieve any item that might be useful. By now they've collected a cache of cured fish and a sizable set of rations that Bayard snuck away from the banquet the night before, banking on his speed and the other Tributes' hesitation to hurt a child.

The bats at night, however, have become a problem. The first night everyone manages to take shelter, but by Thursday it's clear something must be done. They're running through their medical supplies with treating the ugly bites they leave. A bite over Bayard's eyebrow has left part of his forehead swollen and red.

When the bells start tonight, he gets up from where he's making a rope trap and taps at Maxwell's elbow. "We ought to do something about it."
allyorfoe: (uhhh)

[personal profile] allyorfoe 2015-06-14 08:47 am (UTC)(link)
The voice makes Tabris' head whip around, like a hound catching a scent. She slowly walks forward, head tilted. Even a human would be able to hear the crashing and racing through the forest, but Tabris was trying to pick out the voice. This was dangerous, but she started for it anyway, when Bayard appears like a child possessed, bursting in and nearly running into her.

She exercises all her restraint to wait a few minutes, staring at him and trying to make sure it is him. But he doesn't look like a ghost, so she quickly closes the gap between them, grabbing Bayard and pulling him against her, planting a kiss right on the top of his head, giving a relieved sigh.

"Child. You're going to give me a heart attack! That's how I'm going to go this arena, and everyone else is going to laugh at me. What are you doing running around making such a racket? Where were you?" The questions and statements are thrown at him in rapid succession, still keeping a tight grip on him, like she could keep him safe just by keeping him against her. She paused, then added on, "I'm glad you're alright. I was real worried, you know. Looked all over this place for you."
revocation: (004)

[personal profile] revocation 2015-06-14 11:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Cullen scouts. It makes sense, under the circumstances - he's not particularly adept at it, but at the very least he's not a walking beacon like some other members of their group. So he's on the outskirts of their little camp, making sure the coast is clear, when a small ball of energy comes whirling through the forest at him -

"Bayard?" He reaches out to catch the boy by the shoulders. "Maker's breath, are you alright?"
dreadinquisitor: (what)

[personal profile] dreadinquisitor 2015-06-22 11:44 am (UTC)(link)
Maxwell had heard shouts. It was what had called him back, a few beats behind Cullen, the hastily pulled trap dangling from one hand.

"Bayard, thank the Maker..." But the clear relief on his face was short-lived, concern returning in deep furrows along his brow as he looked between the boy and the others.

The only shouts he'd heard where theirs.

Head tipping, he listened again, glancing at Cullen and Tabris once more.

"I don't...."
allyorfoe: (ew)

[personal profile] allyorfoe 2015-06-22 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Tabris nods to Maxwell and Cullen as they also congregate around the youngest member of their little group. At Bayard's protests, she tilts her head, also listening. The idea that his father had been brought in wasn't absurd, all things considered. But she heard no noises, like the ones that were distressing Bayard. She frowned, recalling the mess in the crypt with Arya, and her grip tightens on him.

She gives a final glance to Cullen, to see if maybe he could hear the mysterious noises.

"No. I don't hear anything...Are you feeling okay? Did you eat anything odd while you were away?"