fire burn and cauldron bubble | umber day 5 post-feast

He stared blankly at the scrap of paper before him. He should've been excited; there was no way of knowing if any of it was true but if it was, there was a chance Umber could stop the spread of this horrifying affliction which was turning them all into stone. He could've prevented it from spreading the rest of the way up his arm, or prevent Noah's from spreading into his chest, maybe even saved what was left of Georgie's brain. Yet he only stared, his eyes swollen and tired, his movement sluggish. Several thin lines of drying blood still sat dripped down his face from the circlet wrapped tightly around his head. He'd tried for forever to get it off, which only ever seemed to make him bleed more, so he'd eventually just given up and sunk to the floor.

It was a lot to take in. He was too afraid. He'd allowed himself to care too much for these people, allowed himself to forget the inevitable. And even when reality tried to show itself to him, Umber was reluctant to look upon its face for fear of what he might see. And now here he was, turning to stone while people he cared too deeply for were worse off than he was, stupidly believing he had magical powers, stupidly believing he could stop whatever horrible events the gamemakers were setting into motion.

It all seemed so obvious now.

How convenient, he considered, that there seemed to be so many accidental copies of this very recipe lying about. Yet never the actual thing- always an impression of the real thing as if it were an accident that this wound up in his hands. As if the gamemakers had no plans for Umber or the other tributes to add the special water to the special goblet, and sprinkle the special flower petals over the top. As if the gamemakers would've been shocked when he brought the mixture to his lips and began to drink.

When he was done, all he felt coming on was a bit of indigestion. He smacked his lips and stood, gathered his things. He needed to go soon; Georgie would be anxious to find Strawberry and he was sure the promise of soon wouldn't hold up much longer.

Soon.

Too much was going to happen soon, and at this point Umber was afraid he couldn't stop it. Not any of it.