Arena 15: In The Eye Of The Capitol

[etcircenses]

For the majority of you, this has become a familiar morning routine. Escorts come to pick up their Tributes and Stylists quickly see to setting them up with the bland and thin grey suits, much to most of their dismay. You'll not hear a word said in complaint though. The staff has gotten the threat to them loud and clear. Only the daring will be willing to offer even a mere "good luck". Peacekeepers quickly collect Tributes to send them off into the launch tubes. If you're from the Districts, it may be one of the last things you ever see.

20

19

18

What everyone rises up to is not much better a sight. It's a war zone out here in every sense. Those native to Panem will recognize the sight before them, having seen it every year in a propaganda tape. The wreckage of District thirteen. The Cornucopia sits at the very center. Offworlders might recognize some of the weapons there, and if not, then they'll certainly be able to spot some familiar scenes far on the outer edges of the arena, perhaps even a beast or two they know well from their worlds.

8

7

6

It's muddy and damp and there's plenty of wreckage to cut one's self upon no matter where it is Tributes run. The Cornucopia tempts the Tributes in for its bloodbath. Districter and Offworlder alike, there will only be one winner.

3

2

1

The gong rings out and a voice announces; “The Arena is now open”. The Tributes are free to make their choice; to run or to fight. The Games have begun.

~~~

By the end of the night, one child from each District will have their face shone up into the sky, the first twelve killed at the Cornucopia. Only twelve to go...

Comments

[didnothing]

Luna tries to be relatively quick about things and although it's only so easy with just her sleeve she does her best to be careful even more, trying to minimize the exposure of raw skin. All her work goes on without a word, Luna putting all her attention into her work, until eventually she comes to a point where she thinks (hopes) Sandy will be safe...if her wounds don't get infected, of course. It's far from a perfect job, really rather messy compared to the ideal, but under the circumstances it's the most she can do.

Finally she sits back and gives Sandy some room to breathe. There's one more thing they probably ought to do, but that's not going to be pleasant either and she doesn't want to overwhelm the girl any more than everything else already has. "I've managed to scrape off the melted parts of your clothing now." She tries to sound comforting and peaceful, although her nerves still show through. "Unfortunately some of your skin came off with it. It would be best to use more saltwater to rinse the exposed areas and hope that helps. But I think we're through for the worst part! That's good, isn't it?" She smiles, and it's weak and tired but it is meant genuinely.

[justoutrunyou]

With great effort and red tear stained eyes Sandy manages a smile back.

"Y-yeah, that wasn't so bad." She lies. She feels like she's on fire again. The exposed nerves where her skin was peeled away are red and raw and glistening with blood and who knows what else.

"B-bet you've never had t-to do that before." Her words catch in her throat as she's torn between sobbing and throwing up. She bites her lip to try and smother both down and turns her eye to the water again.

"Not my best first day...but not my worst."

[didnothing]

Right now Luna wants nothing more than to get rid of those raw areas and make everything better, but she can't. It's still just the two of them here by this sea, and right now they've got nothing but the hope that the water is clean enough that it won't harm Sandy more than the burns were doing. All she can do is squeeze Sandy's arm again and hope that doesn't hurt, and try and make this as quick as possible. Once again she tries to keep encouraging Sandy. "If we're both lucky, this won't have to happen again. I'm, um, going to start now. If it gets too bad, let me know and I can stop for a while."

In lieu of any requests, though, she's going to start ferrying water between the shore and Sandy's new wounds again and try not to let on how helpless she really feels. That can wait until she's made an effort, at least.

And we can fade to black here I think. This was fantastic! :D

[justoutrunyou]