(no subject)

[doc_holi]

Who| Holiday and everyone
What| Running around the arena, trying to find safety, trying to scavenge, etc.
Where| All over, but ending up in the Northern part, around the caves
When| Week One and into the start of Week Two
Warnings/Notes| The usual


This arena, for all its strange faults, still reminded Holiday of the Zoo in its own odd way. She was just waiting for the 30ft tall monster to come around the next hill and eat her, but she really didn't care. That was familiar. This place was nice.

She stayed away from the obvious lures. Holiday didn't eat anything that looked edible and she didn't hunt, just in case. She had enough food for a little while. Her best bet may be to stay by the Cornucopia, but she wouldn't be the only one with that idea. She left that death trap, finding homes, buildings, wildlife, and people along the way until she made her way north... where things seemed to be less. Up here, it truly did feel away. She would stay here, die here probably, but this is where she was going to be.

((ooc: You can tag in at any point during her journey, from leaving the Cornucopia to ending up North. She would have been predominantly Southwest, then Northeast to end up there, but if you're in the lowest part of the island and want to tag her, go for it. She could have stumbled over there, too.))

Comments

[hit_girl_mindy]

First week. Dealing, but still taking a bit of toll. While Mindy was quick to adjust to what was dealt, there was no denying that she was a city girl, and this place's quiet was hard to stomach. No technology, no way to pass the time other than keeping an eye out and then eventually, exploring. It was escaping death, basically, but the lack of motivation irritated her.

Now, honestly, it was just killing time.

She found her way to these caves, taking a very small sip of the water that she had, wiping her brow and moving on, carefully to mark where she was.

Here, though, was someone she didn't know: older woman, looked reserved to being here. The idea of killing her came casually, far too easily for her taste, and she disregarded it.

"Hey."

[doc_holi]

Holiday had noticed the girl before she spoke up. Not knowing what to expect, the doctor just remained on guard and kept to herself, watching the girl's movements.

Then she spoke, causing Holiday's eyebrow to rise.

"... Hi?" Was she new?

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Hiding out? Can't blame you. You don't look like the type to go out and start killing people."

Far from it, actually.

"Me, I'm sorta just trying to stay alive, adjusting. This was sorta sprung on me, and by that I mean it literally just happened one day to the next."

[doc_holi]

Holiday stays quiet for another moment, debating on what to say in turn...

"Same thing happens to everyone," she finally answered, "One day I was at home, next I was in the middle of an arena getting my face kicked in. Just how it is here."

She decided to not even speak on the killing comment. She hadn't slain anyone yet, but it was just a matter of time.

[hit_girl_mindy]

She sighed, coughing into her hand.

"Shit, that's blood," she said, wiping her hand absentmindedly on her pants leg. "They say you're supposed to have some mentor before you get put into this. That true?"

[doc_holi]

"Usually," Holiday answered, "but you only see them if you arrive in this place before an arena begins, otherwise you just get thrown in the middle of this mess. They aren't exactly experts, though. Just people like you who happened to win the previous arenas. Sometimes by hiding or not freezing to the death like the others in some cases... Were you wounded?"

[hit_girl_mindy]

"So basically, I missed the cut off date," she said, sighing. "Lucky me. Not that a mentor is gonna be much hep to me right now."

She shook her head. "Nah, just slowly starving."

[doc_holi]

"If you're lucky, they'll find you sponsors and send you gifts."

Starving. Of course, it had to be food related. "I wouldn't eat any natural growing food you find around here unless you were desperate. It was poison in the last arena. I haven't seen much wildlife, but that could be questionable, too.

"Near the center of this island is a Cornucopia. I doubt it's picked clean, but it may be guarded by others. There'll be food and weapons there. For the time being... if you stay here, I'll bring you back some potatoes I got from there when I first arrived. I don't have much left, but I never last long in these things anyway."

Well, she lasted awhile in the last one, but it wasn't exactly fun.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy sighed. "I never had to have an audience for the type of shit I do. I mean, I'm young I guess, but what am I supposed to do, act all sweet and nice? That's not what I do when I'm stuck in the wilderness and there's death everywhere. Hell, I'm shocked anyone can be like that."

She shook her head. "Already know about that. Almost made that mistake."

Mindy sighed. "Been there, nearly got my head cut off. Won't do any good to try now, half starved. I wouldn't mind a potato though. Feel like I'd even eat it raw."

[revvinguptheharley]

Harley was fresh from the Cornucopia herself and feeling none too better for it. So to cheer herself up she was trying out an old trope.

Having scurried up a tree and securing the few belongings she had on her person, she found a vine she thought would do the trick and sprang off into empty space.

She felt the familiar pull of her shoulders against gravity and force as physics tried to punish her for her blatant defiance.

And all she could do was cackle.

"George George, George of the Jungle strong as he can beeeee!"

[doc_holi]

She could hear Harley before she could see her. Seemed normal for the woman, honestly.

Still keeping her guard, Holiday smiled and came out of hiding to see the act, watching the blonde swing from tree to tree. After a moment of thought, Holiday followed on foot.

[revvinguptheharley]

Harley continued swinging and singing till the songs died off. As Holiday caught up she would find the bubbly blond hanging from the vines tangled up around her legs. She had her arms folded and was pouting at the vines like it was their fault.

[doc_holi]

... After a moment after coming up on the scene, Holiday grinned. "Problems?

[revvinguptheharley]

Harley looked down to Holiday, grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"It's only a problem if you're not into bondage. How about you Doc? Feeling kinky?" She purred despite how absolutely ridiculous she looked with her hair hanging around her like a blond curtain.

[doc_holi]

Um. Holiday blushed viciously and laughed, shouldering a backpack. "At this particular moment, not really. I am willing to help out, though?"

[revvinguptheharley]

"Oh good!" she wriggled some more. "Yeah I just need maybe something sharp to cut the vines, or a good spin might untangle me...or make it worse." she joked."

[doc_holi]

Holiday pulled out the hunting knife in her belt with a smile. "I think this will work just fine. Stay still while I get up there."

She began to climb the tree nearest to her, thankfully Harley wasn't too far up there, though.

[revvinguptheharley]

It wouldn't take much, the first vine cut sent her swinging and spinning around the clearing as all the others unraveled. Within moments she was dumped in an unceremonious heap on the forest floor.

"Whoooo! I wanna ride again!" She proclaimed in a dizzy haze.

[nunpunching]

Punchy ran.

He never ran before yesterday. He stood and fought, fearless. He threw himself into combat with the recklessness of a bull. He didn't stop to think about things like fear and pain, and he certainly never turned tail or ignored the injury of others near him.

But yesterday, he heard the gong go off, and he ran. The sonic fence stopped him a while, and some part of him that survived the torture found it all fascinating, but he didn't waste too much time determining how it worked. Instead, he walked the perimeter, and when it turned off he went north. He ended up near caves, and crawled into them, covering himself with mud and branches as a sort of camouflage.

Eating is difficult. He can chew, but without his tongue has to keep tilting his head back to try and swallow. He drools a little on himself and has to push berries down his throat with his fingers. In the end it doesn't mean much anyway, because they refuse to stay down, and he spends a night in the cave aching, hungry, mildly feverish, sweat plastering his red hair to his forehead.

When day comes, he's weaker than he's ever been, and he wonders if he should walk into the water he's noticed is acid. Why not, at this point? Because suicide is a sin, his brain says back, and the cloth and wooden puppet in his pocket feels warm for a second, or maybe that's just his fever moving to his hand.

How ironic, that they returned his token but not his identity. He squeezes the puppet's waist, feeling the stuffing give slightly. His fingers leave indents in it that take a while to disappear. He tries not to think of that as a metaphor.

He's staggering along the coastline, hungry and exhausted, when he sees someone else picking their way around the rocks, letting some vigilance go to the sea breeze that smells vaguely of vinegar.

[doc_holi]

Holiday stops pacing around the rocks when she sees a figure and reaches for her knife. However, after a second, she recognizes the figure and her hand drops in surprise.

They put him in the arena? After what they had done?

Holiday begins to slowly approach him, opting to not say anything this time. She notices how bad off he looks...

[nunpunching]

He watches her approach, and for a moment he considers running to her and crying on her shoulder. It's not an impulse he's ever understood, and its unfamiliarity allows it to pass through him like a ghost.

But he does pick his way over the rocks to her, and when she's close enough he reaches for an embrace.

[doc_holi]

She quickly picks her way over to him, especially when he reaches for her, before wrapping him in another hug. After last time, the fact that he was wanting to initiate the contact spoke volumes. Maybe he couldn't handle his own like before, but if she worked with him and allowed him to get his strength back, would the Capitol just take it away from him again?

Holiday will coax him over to her small camp hidden in one of the caves, but she's willing to stay like this for as long as he needs.

[nunpunching]

Somehow, it's easier, out in the Arena. It's not necessarily better, but it's easier. He knows he and Holiday are no safer than they were in the Capitol, but the fact that they put him in the same field as other Tributes makes him feel slightly human again. As if his identity isn't just as an Avox.

He gives her a long hug, and only lets go when he realizes that they're standing in the open.

When he stops, he steps back, feeling smaller than how much taller he is than her. And he waits for her lead.

[doc_holi]

Holiday doesn't say anything. For some reason, she feels that it's not right to talk around him while he can't. He always loved to talk and chatter. A one-sided conversation with Punchy was just impossible.

She holds her hand out, not really expecting him to take it while she slowly leads back to the cave she's been held up in. There's a bit of food left that she'll gladly give to him, but, most of all, shelter.

[nunpunching]

Punchy does take it. Avoxes aren't supposed to touch, and so it's not an easy gesture, but once he has her hand he squeezes and squeezes it. And he takes her direction, finding himself not fit to lead anyone or anything, including himself.