Instruments of Fate // [Hero vs. Mutts]

This pain felt awfully familiar.

Out of the water flew a creature not unlike the one he’d faced just the other day. It flung itself through the air and tore into the flesh of his thigh, slicing a gash and dripping blood onto the deck. If not for the saltwater splashing over every surface, the blood on the raft would have made it difficult to keep balanced.

Hero would have screamed had the pain been unfamiliar, but this was no longer something new.

They didn’t always teach prospective tributes how to handle pain in District Four. It was just something one was supposed to know from the day-to-day life of the place, every citizen a canvas of scraped knees and bloodied knuckles. Hero hadn’t had the privilege of breaking a bone or tearing open his skin beyond the normal, and the Arena was his first taste of real, honest-to-God pain.

This – the beast tearing into his leg – was annoyingly routine.

He knew this creature enough to know how to kill it. Hero wasn’t made for taking out other tributes, not with the compassion in his heart. But this thing?

The beast in front of him was not human. It moved like the bullet that killed Jacob, lightning-quick and impossible to dodge aboard the raft. Maybe impossible to dodge anyway…

His mind buzzed with ideas to stay alive, and he did the only thing that made sense. He jumped into the sea.

Standing aboard a boat was one thing, but in the water?

Oh, he was a monster of his own.

[Hero attacks the first mutt, spiked blunt]

YXhwZLWwspiked blunt

Block

Accuracy:

spiked blunt

Miss

The water enveloped him, but the beast flew towards his stomach before he was out of the air. He felt it pierce through the skin and gritted his teeth, and he sunk into the depths for a moment, the blood staining the water red. Above him, the boat stood resolute, bobbing gently in the waves. The sun’s rays warmed his cheeks, and Hero decided that it was too pleasant a day for death.

This was all he knew. It was the way he rationalized the reaping – ”They can’t pick us if we’re looking all suave and shit; it’s a damn crime to look so fancy and to have bad luck at the same time.” And oh, they looked so suave.

And today was a beautiful day.

Time seemed to slow, and Hero ducked his head beneath the water and opened his eyes against the stinging saltwater sea. He could see the creature lingering, just barely. Perhaps waiting for the right place and time to strike.

I see you, little fucker.

The pause lasted only a second. Hero hauled himself out of the water and struck, hoping to take the ugly beast by surprise.

[Hero attacks the first mutt, spiked blunt]

KEeCKHP2spiked blunt
Miss - 0.0

I'm running out of meaningful shit to write about a mutt fight, filler

E_9C0a3Ispiked blunt

[damage]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

tZx2FjjBspiked blunt
STABBED IN BICEP

mLSx2a5mspiked blunt

Weakened by the sting of the beast’s attack, Hero did not notice the monster lurking in the depths. He didn’t notice as it surged toward the surface, his vision blurred and drowning in water and blood.

But oh, he heard her roar.

The monster raced from the deep and took the annoying beast into its jaws. Water sprayed as she emerged into the daylight, and a wave from her grand entrance pushed Hero and his boat a distance away. For a moment, he looked on, a spectator to his own fate.

He was left in awe, watching as she made a ruin of the mantis with her blade-like teeth. The world seemed to stand still for Hero Marvray then, his mind awash with the glory of the moment and clouded by the pain of his wounds. This moment passed like a dream, and the glittering of the serpent’s skin all but confirmed his demise. His own words echoed in his head:

“They can’t pick us if we’re looking all suave and shit; it’s a damn crime to look so fancy and to have bad luck at the same time. It just doesn’t happen.”

The Gamemakers would never sacrifice a monster so beautiful.

She would not fail.

This, this was the moment Hero realized that he was going to die. Aside from everything – from the loss of Jacob, to the unrelenting strength of Lux, the kindness of Adelaide, the tributes with friendly faces he would never be able to kill – this was the final realization. It was Sea Monster vs. Sea Monster, and Hero didn’t have the jaws to help him stomach this.

An ominous crunch sounded through the air as the other beast broke between her teeth.

Standing aboard the boat his ally built for him, Hero reached for his bag. He pulled out the plushie of his best friend, holding it to his side for strength.

In his other hand rested his trusty weapon, and he knelt close to the deck to remain balanced.

Any second now –

Before the thought was even complete, the beast lurched at him with her tail. Hero fell back onto the deck, but he held tight to his weapon and the memory of his best friend, the two things that kept him alive.

The scales of her tail passed just above his chest.

Hero took two deep breaths. In, out. In, out.

Then he hauled himself up.

The serpent eyed him with the fury of the sea, and he eyed her straight back.

Steady.

yRjhaNCKspiked blunt
DEEP GASH ON RIGHT FOREARM - 8.0 +1 Strength