[Closed]

[brohoof]

Who| Dirk Strider and Jane Shepard
What| Deathhh
Where| Somewhere in Arena 1
When| Week 2
Warnings/Notes| Death, language, etc.

[Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit is the only way to describe everything that's happened to Dirk thus far. Getting dragged to an unfamiliar world seemed cake compared to actually having to participate in the games. Everything that could've gone wrong did go wrong. As they so much liked to say there, the odds weren't in his favor. From the cornucopia and onward, he'd had shit luck. It had been chaotic at the cornucopia, and he'd come out of it with nothing to show for it except a nasty gash to his side.

That wasn't the worst part, though it was pretty high up there. The worst part was the arena itself. It was goddamn downright deja vu. It seemed like Trickster mode incarnate- his worst goddamn nightmare. And to add insult to injury, he was in the most ridiculous costume imaginable. He might've liked Rainbow Dash, but that didn't mean he had any interest in dressing up as her. Yet there he was, in the most ridiculous costume, hair dyed rainbow. It was fucking awful and he hated it. He hated everything. Most of all, he hated the fact he was injured.

On the bright side, it meant he had to avoid people. He was pretty good at that. It meant he didn't have to kill- not that he wouldn't if he was attacked. But thus far, he'd managed not to for a while now. He'd fashioned a makeshift knife out of a candy cane and spent the rest of his time just. Surviving. Trying not to succumb to the infection that was no doubt going to set in after a while. He'd managed to do pretty well up to now- but then the doki dokis found him. It was a damn tough battle, especially as the effects of the arena were starting to wear on him. But miraculously he'd managed to fight them off.

But now he was pretty sure he would die. He felt exhausted, sweat dripping down his brow as he breathed heavy and collapsed against the closest solid surface, his candy cane dagger clenched in his fist. The wound on his side was oozing blood and was pretty fucking painful right now. In the back of his mind, he knew he was easy picking. It didn't mean he wouldn't at least attempt to put up a fight, though. That's why he clutched his stupid little makeshift weapon so tightly, and forced himself to stay alert.

God, he hated everything. Tick, tock. The seconds felt like hours. He didn't want to die. He knew there was very little chance of surviving- not when he didn't have medicine or anything. Not when anyone could stumble across him and pick him off fairly easily. The only question is how long would it take? Or would the doki dokis come back first? It wasn't a question of if- it was a question of how and how long.

And it was pretty fucking terrifying, if he was perfectly honest with himself.]

Comments

[earthborn]

Well, here was an oppourtunity, if ever she'd seen one. The kid— and there was no other word for it, he couldn't have been more than seventeen at best— was hurt, limping, and weak. Shepard had followed the excitement of the wary little bloodsucking rabbit-bastards that seemed to be the only wildlife in this place, extrapolated and, here he was. Even if that candy cane were a real knife, he'd have been screwed.

Ah well, such was life; it was clear as anything that if anyone was going to win this, it sure as hell wasn't going to be him. But the dead don't have her problems; she's got to eat, and the best traps came with bait. Never one to sit and watch when action would do, Jane scaled a tree just high enough to keep her clear of the eventual carnage, and waited for his limping pace to bring him in range.

"Hey!" she called, when he was close enough to where she sat, for all the world as if it were a comfortable view without chocolate melting into her ass. Oh well, "You look in a bad way. Need some help?"

She only really had to delay him until the dokidoki caught up— and then she could kill herself some dinner and if he wasn't already dead, clean up the mess. Shouldn't take long.

[brohoof]

Of course it would be sooner rather than later. He honestly should have known, and yet he had the idiocy to hope for something more. Some kind of miracle. His body tensed when he heard her voice. But then she continued and- she was offering help? It seemed too good to be true, and it was in Dirk's nature under normal circumstances to not trust people. So the fact he was injured and dying meant he was even further on edge.

Clenching the makeshift weapon tighter in his hand, he forced himself to his feet to look at her, backing away slightly as he felt the world spin. Blood loss was a bitch. "And why the fuck," he said, his voice low, "would you want to help me?" He didn't trust her as far as he could throw her. A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead and he shivered slightly. He felt simultaneously hot and cold, and he knew if it came down to a fight, he'd be hard pressed to win.

[earthborn]

"I'm sure you get this a lot, jackass, but not everybody here is a psychopath that throws children into deathmatches," Not that she was above killing children now that she was in one, temporary as death was, "I'm trying to be polite, but since you'd rather stand down there and bleed to death, I'm sure you know best."

Quiet and stealth were for people who gave a damn— anyone who interfered with this was going to die along with the kid. She wasn't worried.

I'm so sorry this is so late

[brohoof]

Dirk had to bite his tongue in order to stop himself from saying something rude in regards to the jackass comment. If she was seriously trying to be nice or whatever, then obviously he should try and play nice too. But color him skeptical, because anyone playing nice in a place like this was bound to be trouble.

"Fine. If you really want to help, then what've you got to offer?" His tone was still full of skepticism, but he at least wasn't telling her to hit the road. It wasn't like he had much fight in him anyway.

nah, it's fine <3

[earthborn]

"Maybe I got something," good, he was negotiating. That made for a good delay, even if she still couldn't give one good goddamn for his tone, "If you apologize."

Even if she'd been dealing with him honestly, there was no world in which Shepard felt she had to take that much sass, even from a wounded kid. She'd beaten men— hell, she'd shot more than a few, for less.

[brohoof]

Dead, dying or alive, Dirk would go down being sassy. If she couldn't handle that ,then they were going to have a problems. He scoffed at her statement, shaking his head and just kind of letting himself the nearest hard surface, which ends up being the same type of candy cane he used to make his weapon with. He was starting to feel even worse now. "I'm not apologizing for a damn thing," he said with a grimace, gripping his weapon tighter. "Look at me. I'm a fuckin' zombie on my feet, do I look like I care about manners?"

[earthborn]

"Fair enough," and smart-ass down there was out of time— she pointed, "Do you care about them?"

And there they were, in clumps of twos and threes and a slowly deepening carpet, like a pink and pastel rainbow. Bunnies, kittens, little mice, all so round and soft and sweet, with huge limpet eyes. And huge, sharp, teeth.

Someone left a blood trail, and they had come.

[brohoof]

His head snapped in the direction she pointed, and instantly he felt himself grow a little colder. There were too many of them, he knew that. If she didn't help, then he was screwed. Dirk stepped back, watching as they came towards him. "If you're gonna help then now is the time to do it." There was an edge to his voice, because he knew he couldn't rely on her completely. He had no intention of doing so. But without he, he knew he was dead. In a way, it was the voice of someone who had already accepted their fate. Because Dirk didn't rely on anyone.

[earthborn]

Just before this arena had begun, the Capitol had conducted a series of interviews. Using that footage, they'd compiled a sort of smear campaign, all propaganda and misdirection, splicing together bits and pieces from the interviews.

And for Shepard, they'd twisted her words, Should someone ever trust you? You must be joking.

And she'd laughed then, because it was true. She inclined her head now and folded her arms around the candycane branch. No apology? He could rot. Injured so early, he'd never have won, anyways. It was better this way.

[brohoof]

Dirk might've been injured and pretty much cornered, but he was not going to just go down easily. Or at least he would really damn try. He turned toward the candy tree and jumped at it, clinging to it before he began to climb it, just enough so that he was out of reach. He could feel his wound burning, felt like he could vomit, but he was determined.

It was futile though, because he could feel himself slipping slowly.

"Fuck you," he called over his shoulder in her direction. Fuck her so much for getting his hopes up and then not pulling through. His heart was hammering and he was sweating. This was terrifying, worse than the time he sendificated his own head. At least that was for a purpose. At least he knew he'd come back from that. This was different. Maybe he would come back, but it was pointless. All of this was pointless.

It felt like he was starting to slip faster, the little monsters waiting below him for him to fall.