[inside] is >not> a HEART; [templar v. snowin]

Crossing through the large rocks and towards the huge mountain was the primary goal of Soren Ryder for his second day in the Arena. He had hoped that Winona followed close behind as he set out, hopefully seeing Snip behind her when he decided to stop. He liked being in the lead, something that wasn't common for him. The mountain looked like the perfect place to stop too. Maybe they could climb up a bit and survey the land. That would give the alliance advantage. An advantage on the one they already had. The armor would boost their chance of survival by a bit, more than the other tributes had. Like the girl, Anastasia. Soren wished that he could've said something or apologized. He felt the guilt after the fact. The guilt for her broken foot.

He started walking upwards now, the mountain right in front of him. But as he climbed higher, he could tell that it was much more than a mountain. The ground seemed to radiate with power and heat. You know that it is a volcano. Feel more afraid? You should. You want to jump in the volcano. Soren clenched his teeth, trying to push away the voice and ignore the desires that it was giving him. Shut up. Leave me alone. He cursed, pressing onwards. He assured that the staff was tied securely to his back, the sword clenched tightly in his hand. Now he would have a bit of power behind the weapon. Now he wouldn't need to worry about his alliance feeling as if he wasn't contributing. Now he could kill.

Sure, the idea was one that he didn't want to encourage. Soren could never imagine sending his blade into the chest of another human being. It sickened him. He definitely didn't want to be the killer of some people that roamed this arena. They were friendly to him in the training center. Anastasia Fortescue, York Mentz, Maia Grayson, Winona Kirby, Snip Bysho and Heron Kimberling. Those were all the people who Soren had grown a liking to. And he already broke the promise he made to himself when he let his staff come down on the foot of Anastasia. The moment pushed him forward, willing him to do more. But he didn't want to.

His altitude was increasing with each step he took. Taking a quick look around, he could identify a few places. The large rocks that he passed by, the golden horn that was just covered with life through items and death of young children. A large lake can be seen in the distance, though its color seemed a bit off to the eyes of Soren. He memorized the layout as much as he could before he progressed higher up the mountain, hoping he could see everything from closer to the top. That was until he felt the blade slash through his hip slightly. He threw his hand to the wound, albeit it wasn't that bad, and looked up to his attacker.

Anastasia stood a bit higher, her switchblade in hand. She was with the boy with the axe and Heron, his District Partner. "Why hello there. Seems like your foot is better. I'm sorry about that. And Heron. Glad to see you are still safe. Wouldn't want to see your face in the sky." The boy began to ramble on, spitting out his words quickly. He couldn't sit around though. His hand clenched tightly around the sword, and then he swung it out, aiming right for Anastasia.

[[Anastasia ; Sword]]
[dice=200+1000]
[[Result; 1097. Stabbed in Back. 9.0 +1 Blades. 10 Damage]]

It felt like he was not moving fast enough, like time did not want to stand still for the eighteen year old boy. And as he fumbled to get a good grip on his battle axe, every second rang in his head as if they all counted. It was true; every second that he spent trying to compose himself was a second he could use to help Ana. He glanced over at Heron to see how she was handling the fight and wondering why she had not attacked Soren. Didn’t she know? Didn’t she see—

Realization dawned on Storm as he remembered that she was from District 12. The same district as Soren. While Storm did not have misfortune of fighting Kaia, he understood why they were keeping their attacks aimed elsewhere; to fight someone from their own district was difficult. There was always that unspoken agreement that one would not attack the other unless absolutely necessary. That left only Storm to take care of Soren. Perhaps Ana could attack as well but that depended on whether she was in the condition to do so or not.

Storm looked at Winona and knew that he would attack Soren, even if he had not hurt Ana multiple times. Just getting to know Winona had made all the difference in his decisions and he began to wonder if the Gamemakers were doing this on purpose. Of course, they were probably thinking about pitting Ana and Soren together especially after what Soren did, but Storm really did question the decisions they made.

And he was apologizing. Storm could not believe that the district twelve boy would stoop as low as to apologize to Ana after all of the strikes that he had inflicted on her. Storm mustered up as much strength as he could, ready to hit the insolent boy, when Soren said something that made Storm pause. Family…he has a family too. While Storm was aware that everyone in the Arena had a family, the boy standing in front of him had a wife, a daughter, two girls waiting for him. Storm liked to believe that he was a family person, a boy who could really treasure the time he spent with his siblings. Yet here he was, ready to strike someone who had someone waiting for him. Someone closer than Storm could claim of his siblings. He and his sisters might have shared the same blood, but Soren’s daughter shared a part of him.

No. You can’t let him do this. Your family wants you back. They depend on you to come back and keep the ranch running. Storm, don’t you dare let him tear you away from your parents. From Io. From Europa. From Sundra. Don’t you even think about giving up.

The boy with the axe came forth. He wanted his shot. Storm Wie swung with it, scratching Soren lightly. And then Anastasia missed. Everything went by so fast. Heron was attacking Winona, Winona missed with her spear. And Soren was confused with what to do next. Heron was doing heavy damage to his new found friend, his District Partner attacking his alliance member. The decision he made to try to keep them both safe was faltering. He would have to end it somehow. Maybe a death would surprise them all.

Suicide. It was never a thought that brushed passed his mind. Well, not really. I mean, there was that small feeling of teenage angst, the one that really means absoloutley nothing. A normal phase even. But this thought that pushed itself into his mind was real and strong and it soon became his desire, even if he did not agree to it. The boy wanted to live, but he knew that if he died or if anybody died, people would be distracted so others could escape. And with Snip gone, Soren and Winona were needing just that. Even with the armor, their one man disadvantage was too much. It was too hard to handle fighting two people. Winona had it luck, yet she was the one that got the heaviest attacks. But Soren was getting tired as he tried to hoist his sword up into a prepared pose.

He eyes the girl through his sweaty hair that had melted out the gel. It now hung over his eyes messily, the helmet making it more of a mess. Wiping it away quickly, he let out his breath. Things seemed to slow down then, adrenaline pumping its way through his veins faster than it ever had. And he watched each facial expression that was made by each person on that volcano. What was he thinking? Death was the farthest thing from what he wanted in those moments. He wanted salvation, freedom and Sammie. And if he let the knife of Anastasia enter his eye or the axe of Storm Wie slashing across his neck, removing the head, he would not be able to achieve his goals. And that meant he would not be successful. If Soren wanted one thing in life, it was to be that way. So he would never stop.

[[Anastasia ; Sword]]
[dice=200+1000]
[[Result; 1131. Shallow Cut on Right Calf. 3.5 + 1 Time Delay. 4.5]]