thearena | [open] What the hell...?

Sitting on the battlements made you a target. Well, it would have-- she hadn't had a bath in weeks, and Shepard was glad of it. The dust, the dirt, even the tattere clothes, it turned what should have been obvious into something much harder to see against the mottled, crumbling stone. The flar still burned, of course, high enough above her head that anyone with sense would know where she was, but that didn't mean camouflage was useless. There weren't many Tributes left, but no matter who had picked up the inevitable bow and arrows, they'd still need a more precise target than 'somewhere over there' to get her.

At this point, Shepard would have preferred Reapers. Husks were pretty direct, and she hadn't seen a person in days. Until, coming across the drawbridge...

"Holy shit," she muttered, and shifted for a better angle. No, there was no mistaking it. There was no one else it could be, "Alenko! Hey, Kaidan, up here!"

It's good to see a friendly face.

It took him a few moments to pin down the source of the voice... someone who knew him, but he couldn't place. In this moment though, anyone who knew him was a welcome sight, so he headed to where she was.

As he got close, he moved more warily. He wasn't sure how much he believed about the fight to the death thing, but he wasn't taking any chances. Not until he saw what he was up against. However, when he caught sight of the woman, he wasn't sure what to expect, but the last thing was how like Shepard she actually was. So much so it had him stopping and frowning. Who else would have markings in their face like that? "Shepard!?"

It couldn't be. That was ridiculous.

It would have been foolhardy for someone to jump down from the ledge Shepard had been standing on, a risk no less than that represented by the minefield of collapsed rubble and piled-up boulders that were the remains of the castle wall. But hey, any reward came with a risk, and she made it down alright; That's all that matters, right?

"I can't believe it's you," Look at that smile, huh? Shepard's lost a lot of weight, this arena. She's thin and her cheeks are pinched in, black eyes like the worst night after shore leave, but still she's smiling, despite the malnutrition, "Come on, let's get out of the open."

Standing in doorways, even really big ones, is still a good way to get killed.

What the hell was going on here? Shephard who wasn't his Shepard - wasn't even the same gender? He followed this woman numbly, now utterly lost and confused.

What was more confusing was that she was smiling. Shepard so rarely smiled - at least, rarely on this sort of situation, it was jarring. But then, it was probably the kind of situation that he loved; odds stacked against him.

"What is going on?" he blurted out.

Kaidan was... Well, hey, who could blame him for being a little distant? It wasn't every day that you got dropped into blood sport apropos of nothing. It wasn't every day you were faced with-- hell, now that she's thinking about it, the weight loss, and her injuries, they probably seemed sudden as hell.

God, she was hungry. That gnawing, starving hunger that you only really got when things were starting to get dangerous. It intruded into every third train of thought, and was difficult to- oh. Oh, he was talking.

"What, they didn't tell you?" She doesn't sound surprised, "It's the Hunger Games. Get in there and kill or be killed, and have fun starving to death while you do it."

Shepard wasn't smiling anymore. It was so good to see him, so good to see anyone she could trust. But then you remembered that what he was here for was to starve to death with her. And that Biotic metabolism wasn't going to him any favors.

"Imperialism at its finest, or so I'm told."

"They told me that, but..." He threw his hands up, utterly lost. "How the hell do you comprehend that in few minutes before you are dumped in here?" Yeah, he was pissed off right now. Female Shepard? Fight to the death? Starving to death... well, that likely wouldn't take too long, being a biotic. He was lucky, he supposed, he had some reserves ahead of Shepard, from what he could tell. "Sounds just peachy. What didn't they tell me that I need to know?"

"You'll be assigned a district, and they'll expect you to be loyal to it," The drawbridge went through the guard-towers, one side now ruined, and opened into a courtyard that separated the walls from the garrison. Shepard led him along the side, cautious of open spaces, "They put be in five, if you're curious; it's pretty arbitrary. Schmooze hard enough and they'll send you little presents, help you stay alive."

And it was strange, to her, how many people fell in for the team spirit aspect. Legal technicalities aside, Shepard didn't come from District Five any more than she came from Palaven. She didn't care for Five any more than any of the other districts; demonstrably, they didn't much care for her. Fair enough.

"Unless you're as charming and friendly as I am, in which case you get to suck it up," She glanced back at him and caught his expression. Well, shit, "Any other questions, Major?"

"They told me... three?" Yeah, District Three. It meant nothing to him. He was Kaidan Alenko, Canadian, Earther, biotic. Not some member of a district because someone told him so.

He followed along closely, also keeping away from open spaces. A logical step.

"You, Shepard? Charming? Never doubted it," he barked out a laugh. This felt... disturbingly normal. Questions?" Oh yeah, he had plenty, but was now the time? What good would it do? "No, ma'am. Nothing that would add to what's going on here." She could interpret that as she liked.

"Three? Shit, Kaidan, there is no District Three," Not anymore, at least.

He'd suffer for sponsors, he'd starve to death within the next few days, and he... Shit. One bad migraine would be all it took to take him out. He wasn't a boon, he was a burden, and if she were smart, Shepard would dump him as soon as she could.

If she were smart.

"Excuse you, Alenko, I am a paragon of charisma. Ask anyone. Ask a Krogan, if you can find one on this shit-heap planet."

Well, given her reaction that could not be good. The implications... well he didn't know them yet, but he'd figure it out, he was sure. One way or another. He watcher her carefully, seeing if you would give anything else away. When she didn't he blew out a breath.

"Krogans aren't exactly known for their diplomatic skills, Shepard," he grinned back at her, suddenly heartened by the banter. At least that felt normal.

"As I recall, you were napping while the real Spectres were demonstrating the results of Krogan diplomatic skills."

The smirk, like the riposte, was automatic, easy. Like old times. Not so long before coming here, Shepard and Alenko had parted ways. It'd been a little more than two years since then, for her at least, and suddenly Shepard wondered if she'd made a mistake. What if they really could've gone back to this, this easily?

"Garrus is here too. Or, he was-- somebody got to him before we could rendezvous," Too late now, you could only move forward. The walls of the castle closed around them, decrepit and ominously still, "We'll see him back in the Capitol, eventually. Where were you before they took you?"

"Me?" he laughed, that raspy laugh that hadn't really changed. "It's a skill, napping on your feet. Sometimes you just have to." Krogan diplomacy involved too much head butting for his liking. But it wasn't long before the smile dropped.

"London, just before..." Well. He didn't need to say anything, did he. They knew what was coming, that no one really expected to survive it. Except he got taken from it and brought... who knows where.

Where he wasn't going to survive.

Life sucked sometimes.

"I recall something about a android and a concussion... Or did I imagine that part?" Giving Kaidan shit was an art form, make no mistake.

There was something wrong with that. But it'd been two years, and even Shepard could forget a few things. Had Kaidan been on the group in London? Hell. Most everyone of note was, biotics especially. It wasn't exactly a little skirmish, that push.

The silence between them was just getting oppressive when, "Here's what's gonna happen. Only one person ever won their first Hunger Games, so let's just say that you and I work together. No matter what else happens, they are not going to let you survive for long. You're a priority target."

Which was the truth.

"So. You're probably going to die in this castle. Sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he drawled out, giving one more chuckle before sobering up.

"Way to lay it on the line, Shep." Dying didn't bother him as such, frankly it was a miracle he'd survived so far as a soldier, given what they were up against. "New. Weak. Weaponless. Unknown. I get it." He'd look to pick off a target like that himself if he were in that situation. "Any idea what kind of... person I'm up against?" Just so he knew.

He might be going to die here but there was no way he was going down without some kind of fight.

"All sorts. Some of them are just kids. Almost all of them are... People. Civilians, mostly," What had shocked her, initially, had been just how many weren't. Why bring professionals into this? It didn't make any sense, "You've got a few factions. The Inquisition is big, and they've got... a few special units."

Which, in common parlance, usually translated to a polite term for Biotic units. It would be easier to let Kaidan think that than to try and explain what a Mage was, or why it mattered.

"You got the Trolls, they're aliens, like nothing I've seen before here. Sort of grey with horns, most of 'em are kids but from what I gather they're pretty Krogan about it, so don't let your guard down," She sighed, considering the ceriling, "There's a group I've heard called the Avengers, loosely enough. I've made a few connections with most of these people. You mention my name, might get you a favor."

Might buy him a little time.

"...Or, it might just piss them off. Been doing this for a while now, can't get through it forever, without killing somebody's buddy."

"Kids? They'd bring kids into this?" That was just too far. It was one thing to make adults fight to the death, but another to bring kids, who don't necessarily have the capacity to make their own informed choices into it. That automatically put these unseen people into the 'hate them' catagory in Kaidan's mind.

"Biotics?" he asked, automatically jumping to that idea. The thought of magic hadn't even occured to him yet. Okay, he could deal with that.

He mulled over what Shepard said. "I might get a favour, but from all you've been saying, they're more likely to kill on sight." As long as he knew.

"Kaidan...this used to be all kids," Poor guy didn't know how lucky he was, even on death row, "And...no, not...technically. Technically speaking, it's you and me for Biotics in here."

God. How was she going to get him fed? Kaidan was a fine soldier, and an exemplary spectre, but he was no N7. Did he even know how to hunt? How to tell the poisonous plants from the safe ones?

"It's complicated. They have a variety of weird..." Shit, this sounded stupid, "...magic?"

"I'll stick with what I said; sick bastards." Nothing about this was making him like it anymore.

Vancouver. Canada. He actually liked time outdoors, and could probably do better for himself than most thought, though he was rusty as hell, and no time to catch up.

"Magic?" He drawled the word out, like he didn't quite believe it, but there was something about her tone that was clear to pick up. She believed it, and she may not be the Shepard he knew, but... well, he was somehow brought to a different dimension to fight to the death. Why not magic as well?

"I know how stupid it sounds, but this is what I have to work with," not interested in your sass, Major, "It's magic, we're in an alternate dimension, the whole fucking situation is like two years of a fever dream thought up by a half-finished Reaper."

Shepard was getting into it now. Anger was better than grief, and easier to bear than anxiety. Fuck you, Kaidan. Fuck you, Gamemakers. Fuck you, universe.

Multiverse.

Whatever.

"Hey," Kaidan said, holding his hands up to try and calm her down. "I get that it sounds stupid, but I'm just trying to get my bearings here." Give him a chance, Shep. He's just been landed in this shit. You've had two years to deal with it. "So. Magic. Huh. Sounds like the comics I used to read as a kid."

Arya is tired and pale and ready for this Arena to be over, yet still determined to hang in for as long as she can. Between the amount of Sponsor gifts she'd had, Tom in command of the forest and staying with Tabris' group, she's not too bad off compared to a lot of the Tributes. She watches as Kaidan moves through the forest, heading toward the castle, stepping out from behind a tree as he comes close.

"You won't find much there."

He automatically reached for his barrier as the girl stepped out, frowning a little when nothing happened, before turning to face her, gritting his teeth. What the hell was a girl doing out here anyway, especially if, as he was told, it was a fight to the death? And why were his biotics not working - not that she knew that.

"Oh? Why not?"

"It's as deserted as the village, only bigger." She glances up toward the towers of stone and iron in the distance, glad it doesn't resemble Winterfell any more than both of them being castles. "I'd want somewhere I can keep an eye on who's coming and going. You can't check all the rooms all the time."

Tess was just on her way out; her bag, a raggedy potato sack that she had ripped and tied, secured over her shoulder like a close satchel, was half empty. She had acquired nothing this time. Of course she could've snatched up some rats, broken their necks, and brought them back to the little camp she had to cook over a fire - her broken ankle hindered much of her movement, made it hard for her to walk far for long periods of time.

Hobbling along on her crooked crutch, Tess limps forward. This person, whoever he is, he doesn't... look... dangerous. And she doesn't recognize him.

"You lost?" she calls to him, paused as she leans on the crutch.

Seeing another person in the Arena made Kaidan realize just how lucky he was in some ways to come when he did. Injured, dressed in... god knows what. Yeah, he was lucky. But he also didn't have any food to help her.

Dangerous... well, at the moment, he wasn't hindered as he was by the loss of his biotics. "Could say that," he said, approaching her warily.

She isn't oblivious to the way he's looking at her, watching how he slowly approaches, the caution in his eyes. She doesn't blame him; for new people, no one is safe. For people who've been stuck here for months, they aren't safe either.

The closer she gets the more she's absolutely positive she's never seen him around the Capitol.

"You lose your way from your group? Or did you just show up?" Always good to clarify.

With the arena approaching its climax, their supplies had dwindled down into the red. While Rick and Daryl had long since grown used to pressing their limits and running on fumes, they had more than themselves to consider this time around - Vivi and Phillip were still with them. The two of them had come from very different worlds, ones where fortunately near-starvation wasn't the status quo; where Rick might have scraped by on the meager findings they had left, neither he nor Daryl wanted to see the other two forced to do the same. And, realistically, their physiology hadn't adapted to handle that option either, leaving them all the more vulnerable.

He wasn't half the hunter Daryl was, but with times growing progressively more desperate, they weren't left with many options. Equipped with his makeshift spear, the pair had parted ways into the brush, never going so far as to be out of earshot - but far enough apart to cover ground. Wolves were the most plentiful resource left, but he couldn't deny his own reluctance in hunting them; he still clung to the hope that the smaller, more manageable game might still be left... and not riddled with plague.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on Rick's side. By this point, he'd started to wonder if it ever was.

The crunch of something moving ahead had him dropping to the ground faster than a man shot, weapon gripped and at the ready before he had time to think it through, cursing under his breath. He drew himself back against the nearest tree trunk, straining to listen and pick out some sort of pattern, identify whatever it was that was wandering ahead; it didn't sound like an animal, but it wouldn't have been the first time the Gamemakers had unleashed something less than human on them. But more likely, he'd crossed paths with another tribute.

He waited as the steps grew closer, Rick's hiding place apparently only a few feet off from their current path. For the moment, inaction was the best action; making himself known now would have been a mistake, drawing attention and potentially making himself - or worse, his group - a target. Beyond the fact that this wasn't one of his, he had no idea who this was - It was why he was already poised to strike, prepared to defend if need be. Whistle to his companion, if it took a worse turn.

For both their sakes, hopefully neither would be necessary.

Weaponless, armorless, Kaidan felt utterly vulnerable in this forest, in a way he hadn't done for... years. Since he first joined the Alliance, he supposed. He knew the odds were very much against him surviving, but he had to try.

If only he were more used to forests. They didn't exactly have many that you had to creep around left.

He paused, feeling something, not sure what it was.

The sounds stopped, and Rick barely noticed that he'd started to hold his breath. Going undetected was becoming an unrealistic goal; there was still the slim chance that the stranger would move on, leave the situation be and continue on his way, but the odds of that dwindled with every passing second. Stealth was not his strongest suit, and the longer he lingered, the more likely he was to give away his position.

And in the end, which was the more dangerous option? Making his presence known by choice, setting his own terms for the encounter, or waiting it out, and potentially handing the advantage to a tribute with unknown motives? If they were inexperienced and started crashing around looking for him, then the situation could devolve into something far worse.

His mind cycled through a colourful array of curse words, his more illicit vocabulary having grown significantly in the wake of the end of the world. Bracing his back harder against the tree trunk, getting his feet back under him in case he'd need to move, he made another last ditch attempt to think through his options, teeth clenched as though he might somehow change his mind.

Because this always went so well.

"We don't have to do this," he said at length, southern accent more pronounced in his frustration. "You just keep walking."

Rick was lucky. Of all the tributes, this unknown one had just arrived, and as such was weaponless - he thought. There was the chance his biotics would fire, but he wasn't holding onto that hope. Not when they had failed him so badly so far.

He kept close to the tree he was up against, carefully turning around, trying to locate the voice without exposing himself more than he already was. He was at a disadvantage here, and he hated it.

"Just like that?" he asked, stepping backwards, slowly taking one step at a time away from Rick.

"Just like that."

In that moment, it was for the best that Rick couldn't actually see him - The telltale flame that flickered overhead would only have given renewed edge to his paranoia, his mind working overtime to reassess the threat he posed. They'd already established that it symbolized powers of some kind, though the range and extent of those abilities was yet undefined; truthfully, it was still hard to wrap his head around the whole idea. But, with that unknown element hanging between them like a concealed weapon, negotiations weren't likely to go smoothly.

It wasn't easy to hear over the thundering rhythm of his own pulse, but he kept an ear trained for the sounds of approach, attempting to gauge just how much distance was left between them. Daryl was better at it, but he was fairly sure the steps were moving in the opposite direction - Whether that was comforting or not, he hadn't decided. Without being able to actually see him, there were too many possibilities, too many ways this could go sideways...

What he did know, though, was that dragging out the conversation wasn't going to help either of them. Every word out of his mouth was a blatant giveaway as to his location, and not just to this tribute.

They weren't alone in the arena, after all.

"We've already lost enough people. You go on your way, I go on mine. No harm done."

People like Beth. Nick. Rick wasn't interested in adding another name to anyone's casualty list, unless he was left no choice.

Kaidan had negotiated with enough people, worked with enough groups who resented him being there to hear it in his voice - the fact that he was not wanted around. And given what he'd heard, anything that allowed him to live even an hour longer was an opportunity to take.

He wanted to know more, find out more about just what he was thrown into... but not here.

"This is me, heading out, leaving you alone." He took a step backwards, then another one, not being quiet about it. Hopefully he was heading in the right direction.

"Let me guess: You're a newbie."

The voice came from a woman moving into his line of sight from behind one of the little huts. She was a tiny little thing, underfed like anyone else at this point in the arena, and there was something about the angles on her face, the shape of her eyes that pointed out not quite human, and the long ears would lead the way to figuring out just what she was, if Kaidan had ever gotten up to much fantasy reading.

The elf was also wielding a large war hammer, and she carried it in a way that made it clear that she could use it, if need be. But she didn't seem interested in attacking, and instead just leaned against the hut, studying him.

"They did that to me, too. Threw me in, right in the middle of the arena. No fucking clue where I was, why I was here. What the fuck was going on. It's pretty fucking rude if you ask me--" She stopped, looking up at the sky and squinting. "YOU HEAR ME? PRETTY FUCKING RUDE!" And back down to Kaidan like nothing happened. "--But they don't ask me. Luckily, I give my opinions whether they're wanted or not." She shifts her hammer, and approaches Kaidan, holding out a hand.

"Revas Tabris. Now, you ought to watch out, because plenty of people here are going to try to kill you. But don't worry about me. If I wanted you dead, you'd know. I'm not one of those sneaky people, get close and stab you in the back. And I can explain what's what if you'd like. See if you know anyone here, and if they're still alive, I can try to find 'em." She figures it can't hurt. She was extended an awful lot of kindness when she was in his situation, it made sense to pass the kindness on.

"What gives it away?" Kaidan said, watching her approach warily, automatically dropping into a defensive staff. A tiny little thing she may be, but Kaidan knew from experience that tiny little things could do their damnedest to kill you given half a chance. Especially when he caught sight of the weapon she was carrying. No weakling would carry that through choice.

"Oh, nice to know that they like doing that." Yeah, it was pretty rude. He could agree with that. He gave a flash of a smile. He had a feeling he'd like her, if they weren't stuck in this hellhole.

He hesitated, somewhat understandably he felt, before he shook her hand. "Kaidan Alenko," he said by way of introduction. "And yeah, I got the basic 'here you go, go forth and kill' introduction, but anything actually useful would be good."

"You look really fucking confused, for one." She paused, then shrugged. "And you look...healthy. Like you've been sleeping regularly, been eating regularly. Basically, like you haven't spent six weeks out here." She waved her arm around, gesturing to the arena. "And, you even look like you've had a bath in the last month."

After the firm handshake, she took a step back, looking around, and trying to organize her thoughts. There was a lot of shit to tell him, and it wasn't in a nice fancy coffee shop like the last time she had explained this to someone. And she didn't even have the benefit of knowing this guy from the Maker himself, so she couldn't pull out things she knew about him to prove herself.

Because, sure enough, there's no hint of registration when he says his name. Shepard wasn't real keen on talking about her own Kaidan.

"Well--This is gonna be a lot to take in, so I'll start with the basics. This is the arena, and you're in the Hunger Games. The idea is pretty simple. They throw us all in here, and the last one alive wins. A lot of us aren't real crazy about that whole killing thing, so they usually throw incentives, or ways to kill us. Animals, or take our food away, stuff like that. And this whole thing is getting televised for the country to watch. It's their entertainment." She waved her hand around again, her nose wrinkling. "So they're going to do their best to make sure we put on a good show."

She pauses, and tilting her head, turning to him and looking him over with a cautious eye. "Now, if that sounds pretty depressing to you--It is, it sucks. However, the hook is...It's not permanent. You die, and you get brought back. Just like you were. Not even a scar. I took two bullets to the chest last time, and there isn't even a dent. And when you come back, they stick you in the Capitol--It's this city, this massive city, and it's all fancy and they have future stuff and it's kind of neat, if, you know, you weren't being kidnapped and held against your will, with them constantly monitoring you for any signs of insubordination."

She paused, giving him a minute to let that sink in.

"Then you get to do it again. Over and over. Until you win, or they fuck something up, and you don't come back."

He gave a short bark of laughter. Sleeping regularly was a joke, as far as he was concerned, grabbing what sleep he could in between missions. Eating... well, he'd give her that.

He was silent as he took it all in, his face showing his horror as he realised just what he'd been dropped into. "Sick bastards..." he muttered.

"Great. So I've gone from hell to... Hell." At least at home he knew just what he was up against - the Reapers were predictable, at least. This was a whole different level of chaos. "Wait, we die, then we get brought back? How the hell does that work?" He'd deal with the rest later - one thing at a time here.

She nods as he looks properly horrified by everything. Some parts you got used to. But it always felt like just as she got good and comfy with her current predicament and started working things out, they threw a wrench in it. Shook things up. Made them more awful.

It was probably on purpose.

But she has to shrug when he asks how it works, because she can't even explain how they light up the damn tower without fire, or how the food box works. Electricity. Some weird kind of magic, but it's technology. "I don't have a single clue. None of the tributes do, I think--That's you, by the way. All of the poor sods that are thrown in this shit hole are tributes. But don't feel too bad for all of them, some people are more than willing to kill." She takes a moment, and shrugs again.

"I'm not really much for randomly killing people, myself. I mean--They throw some pretty good incentives out there, though, so watch out. If it comes down to killing you or staying alive, a lot of people who weren't so keen on it will find a way." Including Tabris. Especially when she had the kids to watch over. She had to stay alive as long as she could to protect them, and she'd kill anyone who got in her way to do that.

"There are sponsors and stuff. They'll give you money to spend in the Capitol, and send you gifts to help keep you alive while you're here. You probably won't get too many right now, since you're new, but. Once you get to the Capitol..." She rubbed her chin while she looked him over, analyzing him like a piece of steak up for the cut. "...You're a pretty attractive, strapping kinda guy. I'm sure you won't have too much trouble getting people to pony up gifts."

"Tributes? Makes it sound so much better."

Could he do it? Kill to stay alive? Of course he could, he was a soldier. He'd been doing that for the past twelve years; and most especially as the galaxy went to hell. He knew that if it came to kill or be killed, he'd do his damnedest not to have to, but if it came to it... he'd do it. If they were trying to kill him.

He stared at her. She was really suggesting that he use his looks to curry favor? True, the Alliance had done that in many ways as well, as the most prominent biotic in their service, but even so. This had a different feel to it, and it didn't sit well.

"Yeah, well--" She glances around, wrinkling her nose. "I guess I could wax poetic on how full of bullshit this is, but the thing is that on a whole they're pretty jumpy about people giving their personal opinions, and they're watching you. Constantly. I mean, there's a line, they haven't killed me yet, and I'm a mouthy asshole, but just be careful." She waved her hand around vaguely. It was hard to tell where the line lay, exactly. Not that Tabris didn't spend plenty of time pushing at it.

"Have you ever killed anyone before? You're probably going to have to, at some point. So, just get used to that idea, and hope they don't hold a grudge. Oh--also. There are kids here. Usually, they have groups who take care of them. Most people just leave them alone even more so than the adults." She turned to Kaidan, face suddenly stern. "And we're all a group of assholes, but you kill a kid, you end up on the shitlist of a lot of people." Then it faded, and she shrugged.

"Anyway, if there's anything else I can do, let me know. And hey, you might run into people that you know when you wander around. There's a lot of us that know each other from before this, in one way or another."

Edited (Sorry I keep catching typos) 2015-07-26 10:32 (UTC)

Well that was a load of crap. They were being watched on top of everything else? Of course, if it were a major source of entertainment, it wasn't really surprising. "I'm a soldier, I can keep opinions to myself." Sometimes. He tended to be a bit of a judgmental bastard, and he'd have to watch himself.

Well, hopefully the soldier would cover the part of if he'd killed anyone before. For some reason, an image of Udina lying dead passed before his eyes, and he closed them briefly to get rid of the image. "Don't worry. The thought of killing kids... it's abhorrent anyway. Well, the thought of killing anyone for sport is, but especially kids."

He cocked his head to one side at that. "People who know each other? You mean there's a chance that I might run into someone I know?" Then why the hell hadn't he heard of this before?

"See, that's why I'm glad that I'm the Commander. I'm bad at keeping opinions to myself." She mumbled, nodding along. If being a soldier didn't tell her enough, the way that he reacted when she asked sealed the deal. Probably for the best that he's already had to deal with unfortunate deaths. It gets easier after the first time.

"Good, though. You can try to avoid killing any adults either, if you want. It makes this thing harder, but I've managed so far without it." A casual shrug. She's fought several people, and certainly would've killed them if she had to, but one of them had killed her--The others had been strong enough that she elected to haul ass.

"Yeah, it's possible. Or at least, people from your world. I've got one person who knows me, and a whole lot of people who have heard of me, and it's honestly kinda awkward. Like your friend invited you to a party then didn't bother to show up, so you're surrounded by these people that know a person you know." She waved her hand around. "Anyway, it's hard to track anyone down in the arena, but once everyone dies and gets shuttled back to the Capitol, it'll be easier to look someone up."

"You're a commander?" He would pick up on that, it's the kind of thing he was trained for. That was fair enough. He supposed all kinds of people were here.

"I'll... bear it in mind." He hated killing unless he had to, so it shouldn't be too difficult to avoid for the most part. If he could incapacitate...

He snorted. "Sounds familiar," he said, shaking his head. "Like most of the last couple of years." At least, until he had ended up back on the Normandy. He'd watched what had happened to everyone, but had been so distracted that... well. He didn't want to go there anymore. Maybe he would fit in here then. "I'm having trouble with this whole 'dying and coming back' thing." Only one person he knew had done that, and it had taken Cerberus two years to rebuild him. Here? It seemed like they could do it just like that.

"I'm a Warden-Commander, for what it's worth, so you needn't worry about any protocol, unless you feel like undertaking the Joining." She waved her hand vaguely around. "If you don't know what Wardens are, don't worry about it. I know who I command--Literally, I can feel them. It's handy." Not that the Joining would have much of an effect on anyone who dies and pops back up like how they were before, but whatever.

He got a sympathetic look, and a solid pat on the arm at his complaint that it felt familiar. It was bizarre, all told, and she decided to get into how she wasn't even the Warden in most of their worlds. Worlds within worlds, that was a mess and a half, and had only seemed to happen to Thedas, for some reason. But it was certainly disconcerting. And kind of an ego blow. She'd worked hard to get the damn title of Hero of Ferelden, dammit.

"Ah, well. It's pretty odd, huh? Where I come from, corpses stay corpses. If they start moving, that's because they're possessed by a demon, and now you have to kill them again. But here? You pop right back up, just how you were when you first came. I took two bullets to the chest, and you wouldn't even know now." She gave him a quick eyeballing, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't too bad to look at--Nothing nasty that would be a pain to keep popping back up. "So I hope you like how you look. 'Cause you're stuck like that until...well, you stop participating in arenas."

"Wardens? No, I can't say have heard of them." He frowned, trying to imagine what it would be like to feel someone around about you, especially someone you commanded. Freaky, most likely. He knew when biotics were being used around about him, but that was more a change in the mass effect field round someone rather than 'feeling' it.

"Corpses should be corpses, but if the Reapers convert them to husks..." Yeah it wasn't fun. He had no wish to end up like that. This sounded vaguely better, but only just. What did you lose when you died and were resurrected...?

... and that sounded too close to questions he'd asked about Shepard in the past, so time to move on. "I'm guessing from how you are saying it, we have no choice in whether or not we participate. No simple stopping, then?"

"Most people haven't." She replied, and it surprises her how unsurprised she is. In her world, Wardens are well known, well respected, and she's their leader, the best known and most respected of all. Here...she's just some asshole who can feel a couple other people through some magic blood bullshit. "Don't worry too much about it."

At his next question, she hesitates, rubbing the back of her neck. "There are ways you can get out. They have a petition process, where you can prove that you can be a valuable member of their society and they should please stop sending you into death matches. I know people have done it. But...I don't want to. I got people in here. People I don't think will be petitioning out, either. I have to be where they are." It's one thing she and Shepard have in common, probably because they'd been in the same situation. Leading a rag tag group of assholes on a quest no one believed, running from the law in the pursuit of the greater good.

You got used to building tight bonds, you got used to being protective of the people you perceive as under your command. You have to protect them, even if it means being stuck in this hellhole.

"Besides, what'd I do? All I'm good at is hitting things."

Kaidan got that. The petition process didn't sound like something he could go through - how did you define a valuable member of society? At the moment, in his world, the most valuable members of society were the ones protecting the galaxy - like him.

And building tight bonds with people? It's what he did. So he was more likely not to petition. Enough said.

"Yeah, it seems like that's all I'm good at." He was assuming that there wouldn't exactly be capacity to teach here.

"Well, it's a good skill to have in the arena." She admitted, waving her hand around her. "So...you might stand a chance, here. Not that it matters, really, and that's the frustrating thing. You can be damn good, but die in some freak accident, or just have someone who's that much better. It's a bit like a lottery, really. But hey. If you lose, you get to try again." She shrugged, and then lifted up her hammer, settling it on her shoulder.

"Well--I hope I don't see you again too soon from now, then. But hey, I'll meet you in the Capitol. Either as a winner, or a loser, I suppose. Who knows? I've got a bit of an advantage in this arena, at least. And I can use my powers." She paused, then turned to him. "Oh--Most arenas, we can't use any supernatural powers. Magic and what not. But you can here, but...it might kill you. So. Watch out." And with that, she waved cheerfully, and turned around. He had a good enough idea to take it from here, she felt.

And the rest of what he ought to know...that'd be easier to explain in the Capitol, anyway.

"Oh great, so it's like an all you can eat entertainment buffet," he said, rolling his eyes. "How often are we expected to fight?" Because let's face it, he's come in part way through things. There's no way he's going to get through this and win. Not a chance. That's not to say he won't try, but he's a practical soul.

"Powers?" He tried flaring his biotics, to have his barrier flare up, covering him in blue. "That's something at least." Even if it did try to kill him. Truth was, he was an L2. He half expected his biotics to kill him at any moment. At least it was something.

"Yeah, no offence, but I'd rather not have to kill someone I just got to know."

[open] What the hell...?

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