misfits reunited {Four Horsemen vs. Pygmy cattle, day 2}
Feb 23, 2014 4:04:32 GMT -5
Post by Python on Feb 23, 2014 4:04:32 GMT -5
This story’s missing a wishing well
no mirror to show and tell
L A I L A S Y C A M O R E
DISTRICT5 | THIRTEEN
no mirror to show and tell
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L A I L A S Y C A M O R E
DISTRICT5 | THIRTEEN
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Laila felt everything at once; aches of hunger in the empty pits of her stomach, thirst lingering in the depths of her itchy throat and fatigue settling into her bones. Among those burdens was the terror behind Eye’s absence and the uncertainty of her own demise. She had always known that she didn’t stand a chance against a bunch of hulking teenagers, but how long would she last now without Eye by her side? He had been her only hope for longevity, and the water had swept him away. It would either haul him off to the unknown or swallow him whole. Either way, he was lost to them, perhaps dead thanks to his snapped leg bone. She didn’t know what to do anymore. Willis and Claire were her only means of returning to the mainland, and after that? Well, wandering off on her own would be suicidal, yet she also didn’t trust these two. They weren’t like Eye.
A blaring chorus of music made her flinch in the bed of sand. They were all lounging atop of this small island, coated in sand and salt, water and blood, and shivering as the wind sighed against their skin. Laila wrapped her arms around herself, shoving away the stomach cramps as an image appeared among the stars. Her view of these stars had been unimaginable, and unlike anything she’d ever seen in district five. But now? Now it was all so evident that it was fake. False stars, false hope, and now false glory as Hannah McEwen’s visage was broadcast to the nation. Laila swallowed a knot in her throat, dreading the moment they were all anticipating. Keanu Frost, district three. I don’t care. Mizar Roxen, district four. Please, no. Luke Davis, district eight. She sat up.
Eye is alive!
She stared in awe at the sky, a warmth welling up inside of her chest. Her aches were temporarily forgotten because Eye was alive! Willis hadn’t failed, Eye wasn’t drowning, he was alive somewhere. Everything would be okay, they could find him tomorrow. She almost smiled at the thought.
Then Thistle Cardo appeared, and nothing could be forgotten. The pain returned as nausea in her abdomen, threatening to launch bile past her lungs. The stains on her gi would not wash out – the blood from his neck was still on her, a constant reminder of the gore. Her blade licking his neck without a sound, the blood spattering in her direction, the thump of his head against her shoe, the empty eyes staring idly ahead. She had seen what was inside the wound, and it made her sick. But that’s all she could feel – disgust. When his face vanished, there was nothing she could think about other than how she wished she could’ve kicked the head away instead of squealing like a frightened child. She didn’t know if that was a good sign, or bad.
”I killed him.” She didn’t look at Willis, but from her peripheral vision she could detect the movement of his head and feel his gaze creeping along her skin. Did he know, or was Claire her only witness to the gruesome deed? His answer made it clear enough that he was still in the dark. ”Y-You did?” She refused to look at him, hands moving to her lap. She twiddled her thumbs and focused on a twig half-buried in the sand next to her toes. ”Yeah. At the Cornucopia he ran into me and hit me with this,” it was evidence, it was an excuse, but it was there. She had not imagined it. She withdrew a pair of nunchucks from her backpack and held them up for Willis to examine. ”So I swung my sword at him, and…” There was more bile, more revulsion, but it was easier to hide than feelings like guilt or anguish. She felt neither of those. ”..chopped his head off.”
Once the words were out she realized how easy they were to say. ”Uh…wow.” she heard Willis murmur. ”What’s that feel like?” And she knew, she knew the answer to that now and blurted her response without hesitation. ”Nothing.” Half of a lie, half of a truth. She felt disgust. Severed heads were nasty and she couldn’t believe she had executed someone like that with her tiny arms. What about everything else, though? There was always the possibility of guilt, of regret, of mourning, of sympathy for the dead’s family. She didn’t know what those felt like, but she knew it would be more painful than what she felt now. Did that make her hollow? ”It was gross, but I don’t feel anything. Is that bad?” For the first time in hours she looked up at him, eyes pleading for the answer she wanted. She didn’t receive it.
”I think that might be bad,” he said. ”But hey, I’m not one to judge.”
Damn right he wasn’t.
She let the silence soak in, and then she spoke up with venom between her teeth. ”I bet Eye would know what to say if he was here.” And then she turned her back on him to lie on her side and curl herself up into a ball of salt and sand. Tomorrow they would find him, she just knew it.
And when tomorrow came she vowed to make it her goal. Get off this stupid island, then find Eye. This time she wouldn’t be clinging to scrawny Claire like an infant, though – this time Willis was her victim. He was taller, stronger, more competent, and it was his turn to suffer for losing Eye the way he did yesterday. As soon as the sun started to scorch the sands with its hot blanket of rays they slid into the water and returned to solid land with heavy breaths and hammering hearts. They were soaked once again from head to toe, her hair a hopeless mess tied back in a ponytail and her clothes dripping with cold, salty water that made her taste buds shrivel. Now that they were back here they would have to be on guard more so than usual. The rest of the tributes would be here with their bloody weapons and determined gazes. Laila wanted to cut them all down, but what she wanted most was to find Eye.
They headed for a patch of green. The grass was almost as tall as she was, and the trees like leafless towers bent at abnormal angles and mangled almost beyond recognition. She stared at the bald trees and maneuvered through the grasses with her katana at the ready. The blades tickled her skin until a violent gust of wind turned them to whips. Her skin itched and her ponytail was lifted above her shoulders by a gust that howled and nearly knocked her off of her feet. What the hell kind of place is this? And then her foot caught on something and she nearly tumbled face first into the grass. When she glanced down the sight of a miniature cow nearly startled her into dropping her sword. ”Is that a cow?” she said to neither Willis nor Claire in particular. The little thing was staring at her, and she didn’t know what to make of it. Mutts were supposed to be dangerous, right? And this was surely a mutt. All animals in the arena were freakish mutations, and cows were not supposed to be this small.
”Cows make beef, right?” Her katana was a streak of glimmering silver beneath the sun. She could see the little creature’s beady eyes in its reflection if she held it sideways. ”I like beef.” A second one appeared, body slipping through blades of grass to join its companion. What could a few tiny cows do to her? She shrugged and aimed her katana carefully. Predator and prey.
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template by chelsey
[attacks pygmy cattle #1 with katana]
RU6R6CoOsword
Shallow Cut on Right Forearm -- 3.5 damage
RU6R6CoOsword
Shallow Cut on Right Forearm -- 3.5 damage
