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Who| Alex Rider and OPEN
What| Alex gets caught in a dust storm
Where| Desert Arena
When| Week 4
Warnings/Notes| n/a

It was the wind picking up slightly that warned Alex. Looking over his shoulder, he swore under his breath then yanked up the makeshift scarf that hung around his neck. A quick glance around revealed no means of shelter nearby, which meant he'd have to use his tent for protection. Slipping his pack from his shoulders, Alex hurried to erect the one-man structure before the dust reached him. By this point, he mostly had the whole tent pitching process down rather well, but having a wall of dust quickly moving his direction was always daunting. After snapping the last clips into place, Alex chucked his pack inside and made one last check that everything was tied down securely.

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Alex looked up as he heard someone calling to him, then gave an internal sigh of annoyance as he saw a girl running his direction. His tent was barely big enough for one person, let alone two, so he was either going to have to get in a fight or spend the duration of the dust storm in very cramped quarters. Neither of which was an appealing prospect. Still, he wasn't about to leave someone out in the middle of a dust storm.

"Hurry!" he yelled back, tightening the last tie. The wind was picking up more and they had only mere minutes before the wall of sand reached them.

Eponine was quite away behind Mona in the storm, doing her best to keep up with her friend. But after Eponine's encounter with Don, her ribs were fractured and she had difficulty moving quickly - and even breathing. Thank goodness for the many layers underneath her skirt; she had torn these and used them to bind her chest as tightly as she could manage. So she chased Mona as best she could, her chest aching with every step, and her makeshift bundle of food begged off Marius and Parker bounced on her back at every step.

"Madame? Madame, wait for me - I am hurrying."

But was Mona talking to someone? She just caught a few gasps from the pair, ripped away by the wind before they could even be registered in her mind.

"Is there someone there, Madame?"

She rolled her eyes where no one could see, then set to worrying her lips in case the cameras could, looking between the tent and the girl straggling behind. She was not getting stuck in a sandstorm because of some little French chick who had it out with a ninja turtle, even if she did have the food.

She smiled apologetically at Alex, before slipping her arm around Eponine to support her and help her hobble along. "Look cute and desperate," she muttered to her.

Eponine nodded - though inwardly, she had her doubts. She had no idea how to look cute - though 'desperate' was an expression which by now came quite naturally to her. And besides, her ribs really did hurt, so it didn't take much effort on her part to look forlorn.

"Monsieur?" She gasped out as soon as she saw Alex. "Please - let us shelter with you. Please. I cannot outrun the storm now. We can give you food - or water. Please, Sir."

There were two of them. Would they even all fit? There wasn't time to even try to calculate though, as Alex waved his arm at the two girls and motioned for them to get inside. He could see that Eponine was having some trouble, and he was loath to leave anyone out in a dust storm, especially if they were injured.

"Just get in! It's almost here."

The tent was only meant for one person, long and narrow rather than round or square. The opening was on the long side, which Alex had oriented perpendicular to the oncoming dust storm in order to reduce the wind drag. His sleeping bag, with assorted gear inside, was stowed at the narrower end where his feet were supposed to go, closest to the storm.

She smiled thankfully (and legitimately) and hurried to help Eponine into the tent. She glanced around quickly as she entered-- if there was anything worth taking, it'd be that sleeping bag, she thought instinctively, even if it hadn't been part of the plan, but it'd also take a beating in the storm-- and so she made a nice show of settling Eponine down there, fluffing the bag as if it's a pillow. "Lean against this nice and easy, and don't fight the support," she directed, voice full of concern like she actually cared. If Eponine didn't figure it out on her own, she's sure she'd get an opportunity to tell her.

She herself sat next to Eponine, legs curled delicately to the side to best sit in her skirt-- still dressed like a Regina George elf, still ready to kill someone for it-- one hand in Eponine's as if she was on her deathbed, her body safely in the middle of the tent to reduce the risk of being hit by something through the sides of the tent.

She looked up at Alex as he entered, face a mask of concern, relief, and gratitude. "Thank you so much," she said, the slight lift of the hopeless popular kid working its way into her voice.

Eponine gasped sharply as she bent to crawl into the tent; her ribs dug into her, but she moved obediently, shifting as far into the tunnel-like tent as she could.
"Thank you, Monsieur - Madame - you are sure you would not like a cushion?" But she sank back into the sleeping bag, grateful even to just stop and sit for an hour or so. She half lay, half sat, uncomfortably squished with her makeshift backpack of cans and Marius' bottle of water sticking into her back at awkward angles. But she didn't complain; there was nowhere else to put them, and Mona was trying to be nice after all. She hunched herself as small as she could, gasping out in pain as she shifted her legs to press them up against her chest so Mona had more room. She was even half-scared that she's be turned out of the tent completely to make room, and that she did not want.

"Monsieur, do you fit? Are you okay?"

Even if Eponine hadn't spotted the position she was in, Alex had as he quickly zipped the entrance of the tent behind him. "I think we'll fit, but both of you need to move to this end where it's wider. I'll sit there." He pointed at the narrow end where Eponine was trying to squish herself. It'd be a tighter fit for him, with his 1.78 meter height, but if she really was injured the battering she might take from the dust storm wouldn't help in the least.

She made a little wince of sympathy as Eponine shifts, leaning forward slightly in a show of comfort. "Honey, are you okay? Try not to move too much."

Which would, of course, involve not moving across the damn tent, but she didn't want to look like she was objecting too hard. "Are you sure? You're a lot bigger." Considering Mona was about 10 inches shorter than he was, this was fairly obvious. Still, she shrugged, and leaned forward to help support Eponine in moving across the tent-- they hadn't been counting on swiping supplies anyway, so by moving they had only lost something they weren't expecting to have in the first place.

Once she was all settled in, she could concentrate on more pressing matters-- like getting in good with her new best British hottie. "Wow, duh, introductions, I'm Mona. Thanks for saving us back there, I thought we were goners."

Eponine bit her lip, hard, as she leaned forward onto her hands and knees to crawl to the other end of the tent. She whined, just a tad, as she squeezed past Alex and Mona, back into the corner, back into the far end of the tent. And once there, she all but collapsed into the side of it, sinking this time, so that she was half sprawled on her back, her backpack of tins once more jamming into her uncomfortably.

She wasn't bothered about how handsome Alex was - barely even registered it. She just tried to screw herself up as small as she could; with her back to the tent mouth, she'd be the first to be shoved out. Ans she concentrated on evening out her breaths, taking small, shallow gasps so her ribs didn't move as much.

"Th - thank you, Monsieur. Madame. We will - I do not know what we can do for you, Sir, to thank you. We'll pay you back."

Alex felt bad about making her move, he really did. But he'd have felt worse if he'd left her sitting there. Once the girls were safely situated at the wider end of the tent, Alex folded himself into the narrow end, placing his back to the storm. So far his tent had proved rather durable and quite flexible, and the additional weight wouldn't hurt in the least.

"I'm Alex," he said, once he'd made himself as comfortable as possible. Which wasn't very, considering he was half hunched over due to the low ceiling of the tent. If he was lucky, the dust storm wouldn't last very long. "And there's no need to do anything for me. I couldn't just leave you out there."

Her brow came together in a perfect play at concern, and she fussed over Eponine before turning back to face Alex. Time to see how much of a gentleman he really was.

“You don’t have a pillow or anything? Her ribs are cracked… Let’s at least get these out of the way, hun, I can sit them on my lap.”

And she gently, slowly moved to adjust the bag of cans as much as she could without causing blatant pain; at least the cramped quarters would be a good excuse to hold onto the supplies, now that she didn’t have to carry them around.

A pillow, huh? So that's how it was. Alex hadn't missed the way Mona had fluffed his sleeping bag earlier, and considering there wasn't anything else in the tent, she could only be referring to one thing. He shuffled to the side slightly so he could push over the rolled sleeping bag.

"She can lean against this if she wants, but with cracked ribs she'll probably be more comfortable simply laying flat."

Alex felt something hit the tent behind him as the wind suddenly howled louder. The dust storm had arrived. The walls of the tent began to tremble violently, but their combined weight kept the wind from being able to shift the tent.

"Madame, there is no need to fuss. I am okay." Eponine groaned again as she shifted to allow Mona access to their bundle of cans, slipping what had once been her underskirt and was now a makeshift bag, off her shoulders.
She gasped too as the storm hit them.

"Is that the sand? It feels like a monster is throwing houses at us." She was exaggerating, of course, but it truly did feel quite dreadful to Eponine; it shook her bones right through. With one hand on her tightly bound chest and breathing as shallowly and as steadily as possible, she closed her eyes, willing now that she was safe, to give in and simply sleep off some pain.

"It is rather noisy, isn't it." Alex bent forward a little more, to avoid having his back slapped by the tent whenever the wind gusted. "Very little dust will get in though. I've sat out a half dozen storms already."

"It's gonna be okay, honey, we can rest now" she murmured, stroking a strand of hair out of her face as if they were just lying on a couch at some party, instead of in the middle of the damn desert with storms raging all around them. "Now that we found shelter, anyway. We've been out on the open sand this whole time."

She smiled at Alex again, legitimately grateful; things were finally looking up. "Great luck grabbing something so useful!"

Eponine smiled gratefully back at Mona and Alex as well.

"I am sorry I kept you slow, Madame. It was the - the monster. He is a turtle, I am told, but so big, you know? He kicked me here - hit me here too, harder than Montparnasse ever dared, and he has broken them. I can feel the bone move under -"

She placed her hands just below her breasts, indicating the soreness.

"I am sorry, Monsieur. Truly I a-" She gasped as the wind blew, buffering both the tent, and her with her meagre weight.

"Sorry, Sir. Shall we - do you want a food, to pay you back? Or Sigma - he gave me lemonade, Sir, if you wish for the end of the bottle?"

This stupid turtle story again. She had no idea what the hell actually went on, but it helped to make pitying noises and agree-- and, playing her part, she winced, looking away as if squeamish, hands up to block her sight as if it'd go away if she didn't see it.

"Ew, sweetie, don't play with it, it'll just make it worse."

No commentary on the offer for food-- as far as Mona was concerned, Alex could go fuck himself, but she'd play it safe until she was sure she wouldn't get herself thrown out; if that meant feeding him, so be it, but until then she wasn't going to insist too hard.

"There is nothing there, Madame, nothing to see, except a bruise." The whole of Eponine's chest was bruised; she was black and blue all over from being thrown about by Don.

"It feels better, sometimes, to press on it, you know? It is as if I push them back together. Perhaps that is what happens?"

But obediently, she removed her hands, and allowed herself to slump into the door of the tent.

Ah, so she'd run into Donatello. Alex still couldn't get a clear read of the human-sized turtle, even after being in the Games together for almost a year. He wondered if Eponine had stumbled across someone Don had been protecting. That was usually how Alex ran afoul of him.

He shook his head in response to the offer of supplies. "No, that's all right. I don't need anything in payment."

Alex winced a little as Eponine described her ribs. Definitely broken. "Try not to push on them. You might end up puncturing a lung."

"If you're sure..." she said doubtfully, though as far as she was concerned it was all right by her if he wanted to just sit there.

But she smiled gratefully at Alex. "See? We'll just take it carefully, so you can keep breathing." The end of the sentence was a little more cheerful, as if she was trying to inject some humor into their situation, but her eyebrows pinched together as if she knew it wasn't working.

"Why? Why don't you want anything? Why do you just help us and expect nothing?"

Eponine looked past Mona to stare at Alex, as if she was trying to weigh him up.

"You are like Monsieur Marius. He just gives food and expects nothing. I don't understand that."

She wasn't sure what a lung was either, but bursting it obviously wasn't a good idea. And judging from Mona's look, Eponine was going to.
"Will it kill me, Sir? If my rib rips it? There is no blood; it might not be broken, just sore. I can breathe. I am not going to die from this. It will be quicker than this. Won't it?"

"A punctured lung is supposed to be the most painful way to die," she said quietly, holding back the morbid fascination from her voice. "Which is why you'll move carefully, okay?" she added, a little more chipper.

"That's true? But, Madame, why did you not tell me sooner? What if I had died when looking for Madame Parker? Or- why did you not tell me that I might die from this?"

Eponine was in complete disbelief for a moment, that Mona had said nothing. But then, reality sunk in. Why should Mona warn her? What did Mona care, truly, if she was in pain? Why should anyone care? What does Eponine matter?
Those thoughts having been thought, Eponine sighed and shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Madame. I should not be cross. I do not mean to complain so much."

She worried her lip, looking concerned-- though more that Eponine seemed to be having some doubts. What a pain.

"That's why I didn't want you playing with it, but-- but it can totally get better, if you're careful! We can make it through this, we just..." and she blinked and looked hard in the other direction, fingers forming a fist against the floor, carefully calculated to look like she was trying to hide it but keeping it in plain sight. "We've got to, it's all we've got."

"We will not, though, Madame. At least two of us sat here will die here."

And that was the bleak fact of it. Eponine knew she wouldn't last till the end - not now. But would Mona? Perhaps... but Eponine didn't think so. Maybe Alex... She sighed.

"I am sorry, Madame, but that is how it is."

Alex was surprised this Marius guy Eponine had mentioned was still out there. There were plenty of Tributes out there who would happy stick a knife in such a charitable back. Alex wasn't about to hand out his supplies so freely though; he intended to make it to the end this time.

Which technically meant that Eponine was right. For him to win, both of them had to die. Just not necessarily by his hand.

"Well, hypothetically more than one person could win, but I don't think that happens often. I've certainly not seen it while I've been here."

Edited 2013-08-13 06:12 (UTC)

She looked between the two of them, face slightly fearful and worried; what she thought about, though, was how easily she could take them. Eponine was no question, of course, but Alex seemed like he would be trickier to lull into complacency, and she didn't want to risk a straight fight. Oh, well; something will turn up, and she'll recognize the moment when she sees it.

But that meant playing along, for now, so she glanced back to Alex, seemingly-guarded, wary hope in her eyes. "But it has happened."

"Once, Madame. Once, with Madame Katniss and Monsieur Peeta."

Eponine twisted her fingers in her palm. Out of those in the tent, she was definitely the easiest target and she knew it. Would they kill her now? Or just open the flap of the tent and shove her out.

"They were in trouble though, I think. I do not know. You are in trouble for everything in the Capitol, even if you try to change it just a little bit."

"No government likes change, unless they're the ones initiating it. And sometimes not even then. If you want to change things, you have to be smart about it, and careful. But sometimes it's better just to leave the changing to someone else."

Alex certainly didn't care about Panem's problems. He just wanted to get out in one piece. And alive.

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Sorry - I was on holiday

it's fine~

hope you had fun!

Thanks!

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