You can love, you can hate, you can laugh, you can cry

[purebred]

Who| Lady, Little Rock, & Enjolras
What| Lady is looking for food and stumbles upon a couple of Tributes with bayonets.
Where| Little Rock and Enjolras' hiding place
When| Week Three
Warnings/Notes| Violence and accidental character death.

Lady didn't know much about hunger. It was a sensation she'd never truly experienced before. Back home, when her little stomach would twist, she would bark or beg and soon she would be given something to eat. That uncomfortable feeling never lasted for very long and she never really put much thought into it. That's simply how it was. She was hungry, so she ate.

The deprivation she felt in the arena was entirely foreign to her and it seemed to supersede all other motivation. Of course, she knew better than to present herself as entirely helpless. She'd seen enough of the terror in this place than to welcome weakness. But she was starving, and because she was starving, all other needs were slipping aside.

She needed help. She needed food. And so, she began scrounging, by cover of darkness. She would try to seek out where other Tributes had been earlier in the day, hoping that they'd have moved on and left behind some scrap of something edible. It wasn't a glamorous or even a particularly well thought out plan, but it was instinctive. Humans had food, and humans would throw food away. If she followed the humans, perhaps she wouldn't go hungry.

Comments

[orestes]

The thrill of Little Rock finding weapons for them was diminished slightly by the realization that without cartridges and powder, their, her musket was little more than an over sized prop. He had no doubt that if pushed came to shove, it would provide at least a little intimidation. However, at close range, and most of the incidents he'd face had been close range, it was a rather clunky bludgeoning weapon and nothing more. Moreover, the make of it was awkward and unfamiliar to him. He missed the shorter barrel and lighter feel of his carbine.

The musket did, however, provide them one piece of actually useful equipment. Attached to its barrel was a long bayonet that had yet to be rusted beyond use. It was more intimidating, yes, but also significantly more useful than either of the small folding knives they had. Enjolras' one fear, quite honestly, was that of his companion misusing the blade and somehow injuring herself. Which is what brought them to a clearing in the town directly below the building in which they'd taken up residence. It was dark and while he might normally have been wary of the lack of visibility, they were, after all, swinging around very large weapons. He was relatively confident in his ability to fend off anything that would attack them here.

"Now, you must hold it steady. The top of the knife isn't sharp, but you shouldn't risk touching the blade unless you're cleaning it."

[littlebitrockandroll]

"So don't cut myself."

It was reflex with adults that weren't Wichita, really. Assuming they thought she was just plain dumb. But, really, what was she supposed to think? Don't touch the sharp end? Come on.

She adjusted her grip on the gun slightly, still disappointed it wasn't one that actually worked. Right now it was just a long knife. Kinda useful, but not something she'd want to fight more than one murderer at a time with.

"Sure."

[purebred]

There were voices. Lady could hear them in the dark and her whole body went tense for a moment as she listened closely. The didn't seem threatening, in fact one of them sounded vaguely familiar, and after a moment of standing still as a deer she could remember it. Enjolras. He'd been kind to her and she suspected he might show kindness to her again.

Still, it was dark, and Lady couldn't see very well. She followed the voices, approaching their hiding spot timidly. Her breathing was low and raspy, but she tried her best to not disturb them or anyone else.

[orestes]

"So don't cut yourself," he repeated patiently. She had the attitude of a true Parisian gamin but he couldn't really see that as a negative in this environment. Rather, it actually served her well, even if it meant that conversations were sometimes turbulent between them.

"Usually, these are used for short range defense when one reloads, but as we have no cartridges, and you're rather small," he paused, already preparing a counter argument for any objection she might have to that assessment, "it seems like the added range could be beneficial. Of course, if the weight is too much for you, I believe the blade can be removed from the musket itself."

Enjolras remained blissfully unaware of Lady's presence, intently focused on making sure his companion wouldn't accidentally stab herself. "In fact, may I?" He held out his hand, politely expectant. A demonstration of how one was to hold such a weapon couldn't hurt, could it?

[littlebitrockandroll]

"I'm twelve."

He had been totally right to brace himself for the objection. She'd grow, after all. In theory. Wichita was tall and they had the same genes. She'd so get taller. That whole thought processes added a bit of a glower to her as she handed over the weapon. It had better be a good demonstration, though she couldn't see how hard holding a big stick with a point at the end could be. Which, without bullets or anything, was all that really was.

[purebred]

Her breathing grew more labored as she scrambled through the darkness toward their voices, sinking into a near pant. Her dress, once beautiful and shining in it's pinks and whites now muddied and torn was tangling around her legs, her stilted and lurching movements seeming especially so with each staggering step. One step on something unstable and she started to slip, falling to the ground with a loud 'oof' before dragging herself again to her feet. Lady certainly wasn't a threat, but in the darkness of the arena, how could Little Rock and Enjolras possibly know that?

[orestes]

The weight of the gun is familiar in his arms, and its size rested a little more normally on him than it does on her. He didn't begrudge her being the one to find the weapon, or her ownership of it, but he could acknowledge that Little Rock looks just a bit ridiculous with it, even if she wasn't exactly willing to do the same. He held it, balanced against his arm and breast, gazing over the barrel as if aiming at some unseen point in the distance. "You would hold a musket like this if you were firing it. We lack powder and cartridges, but it's useful information to know, all the same. It's very powerful. When I was young, like you, it used to knock me off my feet sometimes."

It was then that he spotted an indistinct shape moving toward them quickly through the darkness.

"Behind me!" He called to Little Rock, lowering the gun, and stepping in front of her. She was useful in a fight, there was no doubt about that, but only if she could stay mobile. Enjolras readjusted the gun and by default, the bayonet, defensively in front of where they stood.

[littlebitrockandroll]

"I've fire-"

Her protests about having fired a gun before are cut-off by the sudden order. She stumbled back to a defensive position behind him, hand instantly going to the small knife at her side. She's managed to stay out of actually hurting anyone, so far, but luck ran out. It always ran out, and there was always someone waiting to screw you over.

[purebred]

With no sense of the danger to stop her, Lady continued her lurching approach, following the sounds of their voices until she was almost close enough to make out distinct words. "Fire," was the only word she heard clearly, however, and with no context to guide her, she was left feeling rather confused.

She squinted, pausing to look a moment, then continued, making a fair amount of noise on her way toward safety at last.

[orestes]

It was fast and loud, too fast for Enjolras to see clearly what had happened. One minute he'd been guarding Little Rock against the indistinct shape moving toward them, the next the shape, a woman apparently, was practically on top of him.

With the proximity he could more accurately assess her size and determine that there was no real danger posed to them. In fact, he knew her from the Capitol. This was the-- She was, more than likely, an invalid.

"Help me." He ordered Little Rock, tensely. "I know her, she won't hurt you. She's troubled."

Lady was still moving against him, and as he considered her quite insane, Little Rock assisting was a gamble. Nevertheless, the girl had proved she was less fragile than he gave he credit for on multiple occasions. Maybe it was time he actually started treating her that way.

[littlebitrockandroll]

"Help you what?"

Troubled didn't mean good things. Not to Little Rock, not to anyone who knew even a little bit of adult speak. Troubled meant trouble, meant couldn't take care of herself. Not something needed in a desperate fight for survival. Which would explain Little Rock's totally incredulous look as he made the request of her. There were the two of them. That was enough of a liability, in her book. Crazy ladies could go take care of themselves.

"Get rid of her!"

[purebred]

She didn't know what had happened in the commotion, but she knew that she was hurt. There was a sudden intense throbbing in her belly, and every time Lady took a breath, her whole body would ache. Was she even breathing? It didn't feel like she was breathing, even though she knew she was.

"He... help." Her voice was strangled, eyes wide as she started to slump and fall. There was something wet on her body. Lady didn't know what it was.