hunger of the pine | {ryan/reese} blitz

dars
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hunger of the pine | {ryan/reese} blitz Oct 6, 2016 23:23:10 GMT -5

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Post by dars on Oct 6, 2016 23:23:10 GMT -5

R E E S E
L A C H A N C E

A million miles and ten feet were what separated Reese LaChance from his District partner, yet he still felt drawn to her in ways he could not explain. She was strong. Stronger than he had ever been. She had been to places and witnessed things and lived so many lives that to be considered anything less than an icon was simply not justified.

Her pale fingers worked away, tapping the surface of the table as they waited for their meal to be served.

One thing he liked about not having a mentor: there were less people to impress, and less people to let down. And more room at the table for dinner.

Their escort could not join them because she was too busy coming up with ideas and approaches for their interviews, and Reese was certain she would make him portray a fragile child with fear in his heart, and make Ryan a femme fatale with revenge on her mind. Those were their archetypes, right? That was what people thought when they sized the two if them up as competitors: as tributes.

He was going to be dead soon, so as the avoxes began to bring them their food, Reese took a sip of his wine and stared Ryan down from the other side of a too-long table.

"I lied to you." He toned. He felt both ice and fire dancing in his throat, and he wondered if his next words would bring the end of his world.

"I do care. And I am afraid."

T H E L I G H T B R I G A D E

Last Edit: Oct 6, 2016 23:25:33 GMT -5 by dars

^{I AM A GARDEN OF BLACK AND RED AGONIES}

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hunger of the pine | {ryan/reese} blitz Oct 7, 2016 13:40:52 GMT -5

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Post by d4 tati pelotte [azalea] on Oct 7, 2016 13:40:52 GMT -5

RYAN SUMMIT

Four walls secure me but still I can feel the chill of the wind on my neck. My hairs stand on end in the whistling silence which encompasses the room, and the only sound I can find comfort in is being safe, for now, at least.

Drumming fingers tap like a stray member of a marching band who has succumb to the darkness and got lost in the night. There's no rhythm; it's sporadic and spontaneous, reflecting my mind which spins with revenge and regret. It spirals, further and further and eventually, the process starts all over again—

revenge, regret, repeat.

And I don't mind it, because I'd choose using weapons against my actions every time over forgiving and forgetting. I'd tried that long ago, when Stella died and it hit like a hurricane. Roses wouldn't last in the storm without their thorns, and so I was forced to grow them prematurely.

Early; like how dawn cracks the night when stars still cling to luminosity.

I didn't give a shit about it then, and I still don't. But opposite me sits Reese LaChance, a boy of few words but many thoughts.

"I lied to you," he says, and I realise I shouldn't have expected any different. "I do care. And I am afraid." Seven's hope wilts like a flower grown in acid.

"No." Fuck, Reese LaChance did not come this far from home to be worth his weight in dust. "Fuck fear, Reese and fuck caring. It's the only way you'll have a chance."

I can see drive in his eyes. "And you want that chance, everyone does but, fuck me Reese, you won't get very far if you can still feel your soul."

Last Edit: Oct 7, 2016 13:47:27 GMT -5 by d4 tati pelotte [azalea]

dars
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hunger of the pine | {ryan/reese} blitz Oct 8, 2016 13:05:41 GMT -5

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Post by dars on Oct 8, 2016 13:05:41 GMT -5

R E E S E
L A C H A N C E

He bit his tongue, and refused to look away from Ryan even though her words were knives in his stomach, even though if what she said was true then Reese would not get out of this arena alive no matter what.

Regardless of what happened, Reese would lose his soul.

No.

Pain was Ryan's only reality because it was all she had ever known. Pessimism and dreamless sleeps and so much anger built up inside that she was as unsteady as she was unwavering. He knew because he felt the very same things inside him. But--

"Maybe. But I won't just give up my humanity, Ryan. Not without trying."

The last thing Reese LaChance needed was to become one of the monsters that haunted him. And he didn't care if the price was his pulse, he would not become an animal. He would fight: of course he would. But Reese had lived in Death's back pocket for a while now and he had accepted that it would be his time eventually. Nothing changed if he died in the games.

If he won, though, there were surgeries and treatments that could have put the pieces of his broken body back together for good. He had seen them turn scarred flesh baby soft and build entire limbs from scratch. They could make his bones stronger.

"And I don't think you should, either. Your soul shouldn't be a bargaining chip."

It didn't seem fair, and he knew none of this was supposed to feel fair, but this was different. Ryan was not here by forces outside of her own. That scared him, as much as he cared for her. That thought was forever in the back of his mind when he was around her:

She wants to be here.

Or maybe she had only wanted to save the girl who was supposed to be sitting across the table from him then, which would have meant Ryan wasn't as ready to sell her soul as she wanted him to believe.

"Just try. Please. Don't lose who you are, Ryan."

T H E L I G H T B R I G A D E

^{I AM A GARDEN OF BLACK AND RED AGONIES}

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hunger of the pine | {ryan/reese} blitz Oct 8, 2016 13:58:23 GMT -5

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Post by d4 tati pelotte [azalea] on Oct 8, 2016 13:58:23 GMT -5

RYAN SUMMIT

Reese's blank eyes are dark, empty. They stare from across the table as if there is something to be found in the extremes we find ourselves in. He's still glass and is easy to smash and break—but I hold back.

Seven is relying on us not to shatter and I refuse to let them down.

"Maybe. But I won't just give up my humanity, Ryan. Not without trying." And then it hits me: Reese doesn't live a balanced life. There is no in between for him, because when he is sad, he pours and when he is happy, he shines.

And when he gets angry, he will burn.

"And I don't think you should, either. Your soul shouldn't be a bargaining chip. Just try. Please." I clench my jaw. I cannot change what has already happened, and I am not going to waste my thinking trying to reverse it.

I've moved on, I've let go and I've got over it.

"Don't lose who you are, Ryan."

"You don't understand." He wants me to stop setting myself on fire for people who will just watch me burn. "I've fought to be the person I am. I've fought to remember, I've fought to forget."

It was a war that was not easily won, but it was worth winning. I am sculpted by my experiences and past; they are my teachers and fuck, they taught me a lot.

"Humanity, souls—they're just walls. You can choose to take them down brick by brick, or to do the job in one fell swoop."

For the first time in forever, I give a sincere smile from across the table because I want to make it perfectly clear that I'm not ashamed of choosing the latter.

Because I am not here to convince the world that I am worth falling in love with. I am here to show the world that knowing yourself is loving yourself, and that is what strength is.

Last Edit: Oct 8, 2016 14:00:09 GMT -5 by d4 tati pelotte [azalea]