back to the trees away from the fire{dan vs iris}

He was alone. Natalie was dead, she sacrificed herself for him. Minos was dead, he sure as hell wanted Daniel to live. They both wanted him to live for some odd reason, they wanted him to escape this hell and return home. But, he was now alone. The male knew that Iris was still alive, and she was from home, but he doubted the idea they'd speak much. If Daniel were to be honest, he believed that she wanted to stay as far away from him as she can. He believed that nobody wanted anything. Hell, he's very comfortable with the idea. He was alone, and nobody wanted to fix that. Even if they wanted to, at what cost? They'd be talking to the dead, whispering to the corpses. It's almost unfortunate that people have to face that. But, that's how this world seems to tell it's tale. With the constant speech to the dead, and they have yet to know where they're going to end up. The night was his only way to think to himself, but now that they're gone, he's left to think for himself.

During the night, a ghost similar to the one he had met on day two had escaped from the walls in its soft and warm demeanor. It bared gifts for him, a stuffed heart and a notebook filled to the brim with music notes and ideas. It was Hypatia’s. Her last story her last legacy in this world she kept. It was then that he knew what he must do. Daniel thumbed through the pages, some of them torn out and left for the wind to carry them away. He had to win. Gain redemption for Natalie, Hypatia and Minos. He had to win for Blanche and Stella and Sue. Daniel had to win for anyone, someone in his life. Daniel had to win for himself, to show that he was someone.

So he went to rest, dusted by the determination that danced him. In the morning he met the sunrise, and gathered his barely audible thoughts in unity. The person who he'd face now was unknown, and his only prayer was that it wasn't Iris.

It's unfortunate that he hadn't learned there is no god after yesterday's events.

There, in the flesh was his district partner. Iris Flower-Oak. His only piece of home, his very last hint of the place he grew up in. Her words were quick, forced almost.

”I’m sorry.”

When he heard her apology, it was neglected by him. "We both want to go back home, you don't need to be sorry."

Daniel's story had come to it's rising action, so let it be heard; let it be told. In the burning passion to stay alive, he swung at her. He was sorry for attacking, but he wasn't sorry for trying to return home.

Besides, they volunteered to go through this pain, and the pain was only one thing of thousands they'll have to break free of.

Iris was broken. He could see that in her eyes, the worried and sad expression that painted upon them. She would slip in and out of the presentation of her emotion for many reasons it seemed, though we both knew why there was little to no emotion being shown. Showing emotion in a fight like this was like a weakness. It wore them down and gave them less of a want or need to keep fighting. It would make the fight slow down and start to drown out, similar like the life that filled the both of them.

Daniel wanted to just drop everything and walk away because of the fact he was fighting her. He didn't want to kill her and she sure as hell probably didn't want to kill him, but she kept fighting. She was a warrior in a sort,never giving up with what they wanted to do until they finished it. It was almost inspiring in a way. That is, it was until he realized that her goal was to kill him. She never spoke, just like him, and had swung at him causing another scarlet red river get torn open and overflowing to whatever end that it seemed to want to.

But, every good soldier never walked away from their fight. No matter how hard it was to fight them in the first place. If it was home, and they were fighting to preserve their own lives, Daniel would think ‘hell, go for it’.

So, he didn't ask away. He wanted to be a soldier, a fighter a warrior. The axe already wasn't going to do that well, so he figured going to the next weapon he found useful. He clasped his hand around the hilt of the spiked blunt and knew that he couldn't give up.

So, in the madness that filled his mind, he swung at her with clouded thoughts of selfishness.

iris was just as broken as he; every breath that people could see escape from the both of them seemed to make the situation worse and worse and he knew that this was his final stand. it was his final moment of pride that he made to this far and his final moment where people thought he should win. daniel doesn't deserve to win. he has a reason to fight to win, but that never means he deserves it. he felt special though. he liked learning all of the things about life that he should enjoy rather than the things he didn't.

These were the few things that he learned about life;
[ one ] life was something people take for granted. someone may think that they'll never die anytime soon or that someone else will never die soon, but they never realize how fast it'll change from that.
[ two ] the sun was something that people often didn't like when it was burning hot and they had no cloud in sight, but without it, life seems almost boring in a way without the light that it gives.
[ three ] everyone's scared to die. it can be blatantly obvious or it can be the slightest of things.
[ four ] family is something you should treasure, because you never know when -if- you're going to see them again.
[ five ] rain is a beautiful piece of art and people often mistake it as something sad or gloomy.
[ six ] love never ends, and love never shows until the other part of that love ends.


[ seven, a personal note ]
sometimes, you need to see the precious things in life like a friend or someone that cares about you.

because you never know when you're going to die.

[ eight ]
you can never try too much.

so, in his fleeting moments of life, he tried to preserve it with one last swing.

blood encrusted hands, tired and worn out eyes, scruffy and ratted hair. eyes filled with the passionate plea for someone to just help.

one last swing, one last plea.

Daniel furrowed his eyebrows at the horrid excuse that Iris had made. "Daniel, you are my one thing from home, and I truly am sorry about what I need to do to get back there, but I need to live for reasons you don't understand." She said it like she was the only person that has a reason to go home that other people didn't understand. She wasn't. It was obvious that a lot of the people in this arena had a reason to go home that others didn't understand. Just like they've been described as, he didn't know what they were. He had a reason of his own that people didn't know; which was having a kid of his own who might not live with a father. It wasn't long before he spoke to her in his irritated and weak voice.

”You say that like you're alone. Like you're the only one who has a reason to fight for home that other people don't understand,” he was obviously flustered by how bad he was losing the fight, but he didn't stop his speech. ”I can assure you on a personal level that you're not alone.”

She wasn't alone in the pitiful of an excuse she had made. But Daniel, not being alone in the misunderstood, was alone. After all, how else did he expect to keep fighting? If he weren't alone, he'd be scared that whoever was alive of his friends was dead at every cannon fire.

He was already prepared for what it would've been like if he survived, but at the current rate of things, he was soon to be wiped away and out of this fight.

Daniel still swung, hoping that there was some guardian angel out there watching over him.