{there is no escape // the feast // day 5}

There had been a point in the silence that had wrapped the two figures where it had grown uncomfortable. It had reached the point where Opal had bit her lip hard, breathing ragged as she fought every instinct she had to apologise. She had, choked out a few words to Yaa, her natural feeling of feeling awful for the smallest things begging her to say something. Anything at all. And so she had managed a grumpy, rude little apology in the form of a single word. It had almost dissolved in the tension that grasped her, but Yaa had graciously accepted it. Opal Shore was absolutely certain the two could read every emotion on her face and that meant that they would see and feel exactly what she did. Yet, the idea that Locust could possibly know and understand the meaning behind everything that had occurred was slipping from her mind. With the way the silent girl was acting she could hardly decipher if Locust understood them meaning behind her snarky, sassy attitude. She hoped not, she hoped that Locust was ignorant to those sort of things, she doubted it, but she clung to that hope and it grew with every passing moment as the silence stayed. It made her feel as though Locust had not grabbed the meaning and found some way to use it, but had simply either let it go or not even realised it was there.

They kept walking, the silence between them growing and growing. To Opal it felt as though an elastic band was being pulled and pulled and they were just waiting for the moment where it would snap. The calm before the storm. And where she was supposed to find peace she found nothing. Not even the tiny field of trees around her could stir any happiness within her. She was being a miserable old sod. One, that would have to suck up her pride and apologise. She knew that it was an inevitable task, the guilt was gnawing away at her, but she hated the idea of bringing herself down to that level. She had done it once already, two times was just cruel. But still, the idea of Locust being annoyed at her until one of them died was one she could not handle. She might hate the two together, but she did not and would never hate Locust Lovelace. Well right now the possibility was one that left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. Even the idea of having to go up against her left her scowling, but she could not think of one possible reason why they would end up in a fight together, so that calmed her down. Hell, if she could get this apology out maybe they would never have to fight each other, because that would make them friends again, right?

Sighing deeply she closed her eyes, gathering the words in her mind. She tested them in her mouth, rolling the words around and hating the way they felt bitter and insincere. ”Look, Locust, I am… I’m-er-I’m… I’m-“ By now she had halted, her eyes trained on Locust, the words fumbling over her lips, but unable to come out with any sense attached to them. “-I’m… I’m trying to say I’m sorry.” They tumbled from her lips in a rush, hardly a space between each word, but nevertheless they were out there. That meant that she would no longer have to ever hear those words again, well coming from her lips, that was. Relieved she pursed her lips, awaiting Locust’s reply. Locust looked at her and then simply said, ”you’re forgiven.” The girl turned away and kept walking. Forcing back a scowl of annoyance Opal followed. That was unfair. She got two words! Two bloody words! Both of which were completely and annoyingly formal, they weren’t casual and the formal edge to the way she spoke left Opal prickling with annoyance. Why couldn’t Locust be more relaxed? Calm and nicer? Well saying sorry was nice, but not when you said “forgiven”. It was such a bland, blunt word. Rude, in all honesty.

Biting back a nasty reply she stepped forwards. There was no use in making things worse, and besides she had said what she needed to say. She didn’t need Locust to accept it, or not, or say what she had said. Just as long as she knew she had said it she had no reason whatsoever to feel guilty. And she didn’t, right? She didn’t feel guilty about anything. Apologies make everything better. That was what she had always believed.

It wasn’t until the spiderweb forest came into sight and that night had spilled across the land that they stopped. Bu they did not stop because they were tired or for any other reason than the anthem. The loud music of the Capitol rang throughout the air, and not one single face was shown in the sky. Instead they were hit with a new surprise, with the announcement of a feast. The idea of meeting all the tributes on level playing ground made her stomach churn. But the thought of catching up with Xanthus and Drace made her smile. Surely the both of them would turn up there? They’d be silly not to believe that Locust and Opal would do the same. It was without word that Locust and Opal moved off once more, that was the thing though. Both of them could work together without saying anything. Part of them seemed to understand what they both wanted and they could move to do just that. It was how they had become allies, a silent agreement that they could rely on one another, and that they could and would work together. They were a capable and skilled team of two. And Opal liked that. She loved knowing that she had someone as reliable and trustworthy as Locust; she loved how the two automatically did things together, and she didn’t want to lose her. She didn’t want to be stuck here all by herself facing everything alone.

It wasn’t that she didn’t have the skills to do that, she was more than capable of looking after herself. She could fight, she could kill and she could survive. But there was something about the idea of having to do that all alone that left her scared. Without warning she reached forwards, hands wrapping around Locust’s arm. "Okay, Locust, I am sorry for what I said back there. You are my friend and I trust you and I care about you and the things I said were rude and uncalled for. So I really am sorry." She offered her a small smile, she felt as though this time it felt more real, as though she meant it, as though there was more behind every word. It wasn’t just because she had developed a liking for Locust; it was also because she felt more comfortable, capable and strong with her beside her. And she did not want to lose that over a few heated words. Locust stopped and Opal waited, her heart caught in her throat. She wasn’t sure how Locust would respond, hell she half expected Locust to say nothing at all, but the girl spoke, her words more polite then last time, "as I said before, you're forgiven." This time, however, Locust smiled, it was one of those rare smiles, one of her real ones. And that, honestly, made Opal feel better, as though they were friends again.

They reached the edge of the tar pits. That was when Opal’s smile broadened, standing not too far away was Xanthus Grimm, he didn’t look hurt or injured, but fine. After a quick glance she noticed that Drace was not with him, but she shrugged the thought away before jogging forward and right into Xanthus. Throwing her arms around him she gave him a tight hug. ”Great to see that you are alive!” She exclaimed, her cheerful tone due mainly to the fact that Locust and her were friends once more and she had found another allies. Well, it was mainly because she didn’t feel so guilty and so that made her happy and when she was happy she got over-excited and that lead to her doing things like hugging Xanthus Grimm. Besides, Xanthus was her district partner, he was strong and really really weird, oddly polite and formal, but he had always been nice to Opal. So that meant he deserved a hug. Well according to her logic it did. After embracing him for a few moments she let go, her eyes sparkling cheekily. Then she looked around, facing slowly morphing into a more determined and grim look with the appearance of other tributes. Her hands instinctively went to her sword Pyrite, the glaive was strapped to her bag and she did not touch it, instead she grasped the hilt of Pyrite before drawing it out, the slither of steel causing a smile to tug at her lips.

Then she bent down, placing the blade in the tar that surrounded this entire place. After it was completely coated she removed a match from her backpack. Without flinching she strikes it against stone and it flared, she touched it to her sword and the flames exploded across the blade. They danced before her eyes, a destructive, chaotic mess, but deadly all the same. ”It is time to have some fun, guys.” She said, standing up straight, sword held causally in her hands. She strode forwards, movements calm and relaxed, she could do this.

[Fire explosion]
[dice=12]
[3 damage]

ooc -- [ Opal dips her sword in the tar and uses one match to light it on fire. She enters the feast. She also fills her empty jar with tar. ]

This is the end
Hold your breath and count to ten
Feel the earth move and then
Hear my heart burst again
I've drowned and dreamt this moment