All of my plans, compromised. [OPEN]

[futilecycle]

Who | Sigma and you!
What | Sigma escapes from the Cornucopia and gets spooked by an Antlered Rabbit.
Where | The Group 2 Desert Arena, not far from 13G
When | The beginning of Week 2, at nightfall.
Warnings/Notes | Both allies and attackers are welcome! No fatal injuries unless discussed first, though, please!


After sprinting to safety from the fauna that chased him from the Cornucopia, Sigma settled on a rock some mile away to catch his breath. He'd come away with a fair bit of treasure to show for his efforts, and hugged a black chador to his chest. He wondered where Ian was, knowing the almost naked Tribute could use it.

It wasn't long until the sun went down, and Sigma watched the pale moon rise with slight nostalgia. Before he arrived, he hadn't seen the moon in Earth's sky in nearly fifty years, and it would normally have been a welcoming, reassuring sight. A sign, to him, that all was well, that its pure-white surface unpocked by buildings and construction meant he was in a time where humans could comfortably inhabit the earth. But he knew this moon was an illusion produced by the Arena's sky dome. It would bring him no comfort here.

The Doctor was tired, yet still unwilling to sleep. Instead he waited and kept his guard. Sometime into the night, Dr. Klim began to hear something quite... peculiar. Something impossible.

Drawn from the rock he'd been seated on, Sigma frantically began to search the area. He could swear on his life he could hear a baby's cry. He panicked for a moment, wondering if the Capitol would be so cruel as to throw babies into the Arena as fodder Tributes, food for their muttations. He panicked further when he wondered what he would do if he actually found it in time. But suddenly the crying stopped as Sigma met the eyes of a horned rabbit, its eyes reflecting yellow in the moonlight.

And then it screamed! Not a child's scream, this time, but with Sigma's own voice, though slightly higher pitched. Though Dr. Klim's stomach twisted, he knew it had to be a trick... he'd seen the sort of genetic manipulation the Capitol was capable of. Mimicking voices was not outside of their ability. But now he knew, for certain, his act had been seen through. Before he could draw his throwing knife out of irritation it was gone, darting ahead and leaving a cloud of dust in its wake, shouting as it went. Sigma covered his ears, gathered his resolve, and started in the other direction. Though he was considerably shaken, he knew if he wanted to survive without causing violence, keeping a level head was key...

Comments

[futilecycle]

"Ah..." So he was wrong? Sigma's initial impression of a wise and weathered creature decades, perhaps centuries old was beginning to crumble. But perhaps golems existed that knew nothing of their true nature. Sigma was puzzled, and still expected an attack. "Golems are creatures granted life from inanimate matter to serve a purpose. They are usually made out of clay or rock, though some exist from my world whom are made from metal."

Unwilling to leave until he'd seen for himself what was shown on the screens, Sigma instead pleaded with the other Tribute to describe it to him. "What is going on? The broadcast is of the rest of us, is it not?" The colours he could see in his peripheral vision were certainly vivid enough.

[paidinbeer]

This man talked like a teacher. It was a surreal experience for someone who had lived months without any adult interaction. It seemed almost...normal. Especially how he didn't actually understand whatever it was that Sigma had said about...whatever he thought Orc was.

So instead he stood aside and allowed Sigma to look at the horrors displayed on screen. Howard, a very obvious head injury. In the backround there were bodies.

[futilecycle]

Relieved, Sigma turns his gaze to the screen. Immediately his expression twists from comfort to fear. "Howard," he finds himself muttering under his breath, without thinking. Would he die? Did he kill those people? It was hard to tell without knowing the circumstances.

Then there was another image - a flash of some black-haired boy from District 7, sleeping and looking dead - but Sigma decides he doesn't care to see more and turns. "They might be doctored," he says quickly, in disbelief. "Emotional manipulation is one of their strong suits."

[paidinbeer]

"Doctored?" Like with a computer? He didn't ask the second part because he already felt stupid enough. He'd heard of photo's being faked with computers but he'd never been able to tell unless it was something obvious like a dog head on a human body.

"So like...special effects?" He decided to go with a movie metaphor. He liked going to movies back when that was still an option.

[futilecycle]

"In a sense... they might use cuts or add things into the picture to make things seem different than they actually are." Sigma was intrigued, as it seemed this man was from a time similar to his youth. Films, special effects... But he did not ask, not yet.

Sigma buried his fear for his 'boys' and, though he still looked grim, turned away from the screen. "So take everything you see with a grain of salt..." He trailed off, thinking this might be a good opportunity to get introduced. It would certainly decrease his chances of dying. "Can I ask for your name?"

[paidinbeer]

Orc was about to ask what that expression meant. He'd heard it before but no adult ever explained it. Instead he caught onto the second part and that was something he could answer at least.

"They call me Orc." He answered plainly. Because really he had long sense abandoned the other name. Orc was who and what he was now.

[futilecycle]

"Orc? My name is Dr. Sigma Klim," it was said without an air of superiority or pride, indicating the other could call him whatever he wished. Sigma held out his hand for a handshake. Perhaps a normal human would fear his bones being crushed, but titanium bones were significantly harder to break.

[paidinbeer]

Orc looked at the hand as if he was suspicious of the open and friendly offering. Still he took the hand, his own thick gravel coated fist covering Sigma's and shaking it gently before letting go.

"You're a doctor?" He asked thinking about how important an ally he would be for others.

[futilecycle]

Sigma suspected his answer would be a disappointment. He knew that a doctorate in anything other than medicine failed to impress most, though his trade was infinitesimally more difficult. "A Doctor of Genetics, actually, among other things. But I suppose none of that is important here." This, of course, was a lie, having created death games of his own with this knowledge - but this was something Sigma would not tell even the closest of his friends here. The Doctor tilted his head curiously. "What about you, Orc? What did you do prior to coming here?" Perhaps his reply would finally satisfy his curiosity.

[paidinbeer]

Orc seemed to consider how best to answer this question. While it shouldn't have been a hard one it still felt...difficult.

"I went to school." He started. "Then things got...weird." Which was the understatement of a life time. "Very weird." Where to go next?

"I hurt people. Failed people which got more of them hurt. People died. I should be..." But he wasn't as much as he wished otherwise.

"And now...this." He gestured at the world, there was so little that needed to be said, which was good because he had no idea how to explain the rest of the world outside of this desert.