CAREER ARENA PLOT Rematch (Marree)

I take refuge under the blankets with him. My blanket now left me to show what I had kept hidden before. I snake my arm across his chest, this feeling so foreign to me, but it's something that's starting to make sense, if only a little. Everything going on right now confuses me. Am I letting this happen cause I want it to or because I need it to? Is this the gentle touch of a man I need? Is this going to make right what has been wronged? To be able to kiss someone without feeling as though it isn't wanted? Matthew... so many things are going on through my mind. If only you could read them. I place my chin against his chest. The blanket covering up most of our bodies. We lay together. Skin on skin. My body presses up against his, but not enough to hurt him. I lay with my torso across his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath the skin. He leans up and kisses the bandage on my shoulder and I close my eyes.
Is this what it feels like to be wanted. To be taken care of. To feel as though I'm not some peice of trash discarded off to the side. I revel in the touches that he gives me. He apologizes but I end up shaking my head.


"It's not your fault... you don't have to do that... I've felt worse. Had worse. This is nothing..." I feel like I tell the truth to him. I've had more emotion pain then ever in the years, but as for physical pain... it tends to vary. This wound though is bringing me less pain the more time goes by with Matthew. I feel him as he runs his finger down my shoulder then my arm. He ends at my finger tips and I swear I feel my whole body shiver just from the touch. Can he feel it too? My cheeks flush a bit as well.

Our lips begin to mingle in a sort of fashion of new. A new touch. A new sensation. All of it saying to me that he's not who I imagined him to be. That he's more than meets the eye. Everything he is, is only an image. An image that I ultimately fell for, but why? Why him? What was it that drew me to him? I join in with the kiss as his tongue and mine connect. I moan into the kiss before it breaks off. I let my fingers trace circles upon his chest as he speaks.

"... So far... I can't think of anything better for me." I say that with so many mixed messages behind it. Better for me. A gentle soul under that badass career facade. Better for me because you allowed me to express something I've never said before. Better for both of us because we seem to be connected in the most awkward way. I feel him as he plays with my hair before his hand pushes me up against him more as if we weren't already close enough. I pull up a bit more, letting my torse rub against his chest till I take his lips once more. I can tell there's this eagerness in me that wants to know more about him. I feed off his touch.

[[Not sure where to go after this... or how far... so - just going with the flow.]]

There's this thing in the back of my mind screaming at me to fully understand what's going to happen as I make this indescribibly hard for the both of us. When I moaned into the kiss just previous, it seemed to have set something off in both of us. Then, as if he wanted to warn me, I gave him an answer that took it even further. I eagerly took his lips again, letting my body touch his in a such a way that he reacted with a pleasant effect. Our new kiss seems so much more deeper. More eager. The hunger for each other in a manner that made me lose all track of my thoughts. Instincts took over as he runs his fingers along the length of my back and to the curves of my butt. I've taken to a new position with him already but the force of the touch he gives me only heightens me more. Then he stops for a brief moment and I don't answer his question as the next little while, we connect in a way that gives me a new outlook on him.
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My eyes seem to become heavy once again, as I lay with Matthew. My eyes slowing opening and closing. My arm draped across his chest, my finger tracing patterns and lines on his bare, naked chest. I mold to him still as I lay beside him, completely in awe of what just happened. I make an audible noise for him though. My mind still buzzing but I don't meet his gaze if he were to looked at me. I take in these deep, slow breaths as I feel like wanting to sleep now, more exhuasted then ever. The blanket around us keeps the cold out but still I cling to it as well, letting it form a tight barrier to my skin. Did that really just happen... all of this... is it worth it now? To be able to go into the pregames... is this going to affect me now? Will it him? Will what happened stay in this cabin just as I had threatened him with my secret. My gracious, what a day! I find myself musing, a hint of a smile appearing on my lips as I lean my head upward, resting my chin on his ribs.

"I never expected this from you..." I say with yet another mixed message behind it. I never expected for any of this to happen between us. Never saw it coming. It has hit me blindsided from the moment I met him. I considered him to be nothing but a simplified jerk with an attitude. Now, as I lay here beside of him, only after trying to kill each other, we are taking care of each other in so many ways that I've lost count of how. I let my face rest against his chest, my breaths coming out in a rythmic pattern. I listen to his rapid heart beat. Listen to the breaths as they enter his body. I'm so warm now as the chill has finally be conquered.

My chin lingers on his heaving chest. Our bodies so tired and exhausted from the physical exersion that we both just dealt with was incredible. I never would have expected that this would have happened between us. The movements. The touches. Everything about it was just simply, amazing. Even though my shoulder pained me throughout the time, it never seemed to hinder me at all. No, the pain was welcoming and kept me alert. Kept me going. Now, we both are forced to rest and take in all that happened.

I stare up at him in awe now as he spoke to me. Complimented me. Us. Our movements together he complimented it all. That was awesome, Ky. I keep the faint smile on my lips. The way he shortened my name makes me feel this chill down my back, making me grip the blanket even harder. I draw my hand back a bit to let it trace his shoulder nearest me. I want to feel his body again, but that time is over, for now. I hope this isn't the only time. I hope that whatever happened just now doesn't effect anything... negitively, between us. The people around us. I breath in and out slowly and let my head rest against his chest as I tell him what I did. That I never expected that of him. It earns me a question back about why. I look up at him, seeing his eyes closed. I feel the same way but he keeps talking without waiting for an answer. Then says something about me showing my true colors.

I did that didn't I? I opened up to someone finally. I conquered the force holding me back, but healing might not be so easy. So many years of torture. But before I find him drifting off to sleep, I reply to him. "... I never expected that the one type of person that remind me of my worse enemy, would be the one to help me overcome it and... take me where I am right now." I state with a yawn and quietly, I slip into a deep slumber. My body fully relaxing and taking advantage of this newfound sleeping position.

Minutes turned into hours before I felt this icy chill on my skin again. Before I began to arouse where I slept only to be fully awoken by the sound of a guy's voice coaxing me awake. Matthew's to be exact. My eyes flitter open as if I've been in a slumber too long and I yawn and stretch. That seemingly harmless motion sends a shockwave through my body when I move my arm, jerking the shoulder back into stillness. I grimace, but bury my face into the covers.

"How long have we been asleep?" I ask and start to get this odd feeling about myself. How everything happened earlier. What events lead up to the kiss that turned into a heated, passionate act. How I was going to deal with this new life now that someone knew something so personal about my life that I dare not let them go to the grave first. I roll over, pulling my now stiff, very sore arm with me. My fingertips feel numb, but they are also cold due to the fire being out. I'm positively chilled once again. I struggle with the blanket as I watch Matthew walk to the window in nothing but his birthday suit. I blush, thinking that only a few hours ago, I was showing him more about me than I could think of. That our bodies danced together like never before. It's all too surreal.

"It's cold once again, Matthew." I state as my bottom lip began to shake just a little. I take the blanket with me as I stand up. My body is stiff. Sore. But so worth it. I carry that faint grin on my face as I wonder over to the window where he stands, and let my fingers graze his back once again. I look out the window, but as to say the time of day is hard. I'd take a guess and say that we have just about a couple of hours left till daylight starts dimming into night.

"Maybe an hour or two. You think?" I state and let my lips touch his back before I move back to find where I had laid my wet clothes. I bend down beside our sleeping spot and find my pants discarded and still somewhat damp. And my shirt? ... where the hell is my shirt? I take my pants with me as I serch for the shirt. I find it under a discarded blanket yet again. The cleaning abilities, that of a man, are all different from that of a woman. I quickly locat my shirt then go on to find my intimate apparrel.

After getting dressed in the mildly dampened cloths, I understand his urgency to get out of here. There's no telling when the hunter will come back. Help or no help. Or when the peacekeepers arrive at the mention of us entering his home. I find Matthew's hoodie and I pick it up and walk it over to him. "Need to find the quickest way to get out of here and back to our crazy training center." I stand just a foot away from him, but I can't help but to think of just that one question. Why did he choose me?

One hour, tops... is what he's saying. In our current conditions, that hour is going to be rough. It's going to test our limits beyond everything that has happened. It's going to test our remaining strength. Our will power. Our ability to work together once again to make it back to safety. A million questions are buzzing around in my head. Mainly ones of our next hour of survival out in the cold with damp clothes and injuries that have causes us to sleep for too many house, not to mention something else. It puts a faint smile on my face again, but as I watch him try to dress, I can't help but wonder what's going to happen after this. Will what happened in the cabin really stay? Once we leave, will the mention of it ever come out again? I pray for my sanity, that this isn't just a one time deal. I don't know how I will cope if he acts as though this never happened. Me and him. I sigh softly.

Matthew opts for a blanket instead of the hoodie I give him and takes the blanket instead. When I begin to search for my intimate apparrel, I hear him hiss with curse. I watch him closely and see that he's opened up the wound on his behind again. Remorse sets in easily for that. I'm just very pleased that I wasn't the one to end up with the knife in my tush. That really would have been awkward around him. I slip my shoes on and when I start to get up, he tells me about his most embarrassing moment and I grin to it. The story sounds funny and I would love to have seen it back then, but I know it would have hurt. Besides, I'm pretty sure we've got enough pain right now that the memory is doing good enough to keep our spirits up.

"Ready, when you are..." I say to him in reguards to him urging me on. The door wavers with the very wind that is threatening us. The wind that prickles my fading warm skin into freezing. I dread this. My body just got used to the heat with Matthew and all it will be for nothing again as we try to make our way back to town and out of these godforsaken woods. He puts his arm around my shoulder and I lean into him. The wind bites through my damp clothes, sending chills instantly through my body again. We venture off into the unknown again.

At first, it seemed easy. We walked far enough that the cabin became a distant memory. I can feel him uneasy in his step, and I can only guess it's because of his lower wound. I hate that he's in this kind of pain now that it's all said and done with. After everything that has happened. I look up to the sky inbetween the tree's broken areas at the light that is diminishing. Colors start to come to the sky and I realize that Matthew was right. We did have less than an hour before the sun would sink low enough and leave us with nothing but darkness and cold.

"I ho...hope we get ba... back in time. I don't li... like being out here when it gets dar.." My voice shivers with the chatter of my teeth and I want to smother myself into the blanket and Matthew again. Instead, I keep my arm around him as we walk and head straight back the way we had came. The only problem with that is the stream that we had to cross in order to get here. Realization begins to hit me that we might have to go back into the water again. I have no other solutions about the situation because of the fact I have never been out this far. We make it back to the water, but as I stand with Matthew, I look up at him.

"Is there no other way across?"

The cabin is but a distance memory as we keep our heading through the woods. His arm is around my shoulder and that ends up being the only source of heat and affection after what happened between us in the cabin. It's a bit daunting now. To have so little, after having so much. Though out here, in the open, I begin to wonder if what happened in the cabin will be reduced into just a memory between Matthew and I. If he will ever mention this to anyone now that it is all over with. Will it ever happen again? Will anything like this happen again between us? I am all too curious if any of this will be played off into just a painful memory by him. If he's anything like the day I met him, would he shrug me off and try to beat me down at the mention of it? Take a cheap shot, at my expense? I can't help but think that I'm over doing it with my anxieties, so it has to be my nerves or the pain kicking in that is starting to get to me. I am thinking of the worst case scenario's but am I merely doing it to protect myself if it happened; to prepare myself?

I shiver once more as he pulls me closer to him. We need to hurry. He urges once again. He's right though. The fading light is so evident now that it is all we see. All we are trying to beat with timing and pace. Though, the pace between the two of us is slower then normal. We've been through so much since our adventure started first thing this morning. So many things had occured and I'd be betting that it wasn't over with yet. Even though, I realize how dangerous it is to be out here, Matthew makes a point to suggest that I keep my remaining knives at the ready. They are ready; tucked away neatly in my pants pocket. It woulnd't take much to reach and grab the handle and throw, but how good would my aim be if I can't keep a steady arm through the shivering?

The stream comes to view and I'm forced to look at Matthew with the hesitation in my voice about going back in the water. Is there no other way across? I study the water again, watching the ripples as it flows steadily down the way. I get a painful reminder of how cold it was this morning when me and him were desperate enough to escape the coach's dog. How desperate he was not to let me get caught by shoving me into the water first to feel the bite of the water. Just being near the stuff has me dreading it until he mentions the possibility of houses down the way; that his uncles place was nearer than imagined. Though, the thought of walking yet another hour had me wishing that we'd stayed at the cabin and waited for the old man to come back and deal with the reprocussions of that. I nodd to Matthew though in agreement.

"I can make. Who... who do you think I am? Not som... some sissy, career girl." I say, my voice coming across tough once again. I'm not weak. I'm not going to give up. I may be sore and freezing, but right now, I"m starting to believe that this is going to be part two of this morning's survival exercise. Everything that has happened today feels like how it would for a day in the games, except that little break that we took. I hide a quick flash of a smile on the left side of my face as he suddenly opens the blanket to let me in. Warmth is all I can crave right now, and for the moment, I indulge myself to have that contact with Matthew again.

I step into the blanket and come close to him. My arms folded up against my body are the first things he feels. I press my cold cheek against his torso and I draw the head away from his skin instantly. I never realized our height different, because we've never been standing next to each other like this before. I feel him shiver the moment my cold body touches him and I feel him wrap the blanket and his arms around me fully. I close my eyes. My bottom lip quivers even though I try to keep it still. Matthew was lucky. He's a guy. Guys are allow to run around shirtless while I had to put my damp tanktop back on.

"You're warm." Is all I say for a few minutes as he gives me a little perk with this heat. It's something that revives me a bit more. My shoulder throbs beneath the bandage and the cold seems to have made the feeling worse. We both are going to be in a lot of trouble if we don't get going, so I speak up.

"We'll freeze if we just stand here trying to warm up. Let's get going... the so... sooner we get going, the sooner we... we will get back." I tell him and on cue the Owl hoots above us and Matthew takes the initiative to start the journey along the stream. His voice comes out with a statement that makes me wonder. A confession of not sleeping around even though I've heard that one. Then again, I've also heard what he's done to that one girl and giving how he had treated me on the first day, I could only imagine that it couldn't have been true. Am I the only one stupid enough to even try to get anywhere close to him like I did in the cabin? Does the girls not understand the way he can turn out under all that badass career front?

Maybe I should. I really liked... what we did. He suddenly comes out with after saying he don't sleep around. I can't help but think about my situation and his. Both have been taunted by the opposite sex. Both of us have bad histories with them, yet here we are confessing that we aren't like that.

"I've never let a guy come that close to me before either... not like that." I tell him, in reguards that he has nothing to fear about me. Playing with guys minds. Acting sexual in references... it's all a ploy to get their minds detached from spars. From their tasks. I use what was given to me, but I have never found anyone I wanted to share anything with until now... and is it all going to be worth it now? With me and Matthew... what will happen?

"That's because, I'm not a chick. I'm a career, and I do." I start to tell him more about myself, but somewhere close to us, something breaks. The echo befells the forest of the broken branch. What was that? A tree falling from the rotten cold? Something out there? Did Matthew hear it too? I wonder about it and stop dead in my tracks, knowing that Matthew will have to stop as well. My fingers grip the blade in my pocket and I pull out of the blanket that he has offered me, regretting it with the chill prickling my skin again. I let my back touch Matthew's arm as my threshold comes up. I'm on edge with the thought that something might be out there that I can't see due to the dimming light. THe forest is outlined with the beginning stages of grey. My breath hitches as this low rumble comes to meet my ears, giving me a cold chill like I couldn't believe.

"Matt..." I whisper, my fingers squeeze the handle of the knife.

The snapping of the branches catches me off guard, instantly sending me into this fierce mode of my training. My left hand instantly grabs for the knife in my pocket and I'm thankful for all that training I did to be able to throw with either hand. It's finally going to come in handy should the need arise, and I feel, with the snapping of more twigs, that will come sooner rather than later. I look to Matthew who readjusts the blanket from where I pulled out of it and almost took it with me unknowingly. The icy weather sends a chill down my back.

"Matt." My voice whispers out to him in the moment that I feel my heartrate suddenly erupt into this fast paced rhythm. My senses are going crazy. My ears trying to pick up the littestly sound. My breathing slowed down to calm myself. My fingers flexing onto the hilt of the knife in my hands. Matthew can hear what's going on now, too. The moment the low rumble comes to meet with my ears, I know what we are in trouble. Is it the coache's dog again? Could he have released the bloodhound to come find the two missing students that left their stuff in the gym? My hopes were high that it was, but as I glance to the bushes where the movement is coming from, I hear myself gasp slightly. Worse than any tribute in teh games would to be faced with a mutt. Right now, I can't think of anything worse right now other than the fact that me and Matthew are playing our own little game and now we are forced to face a beast that is out to get us.

The red furred wolf lowers its head to us. Its teeth bearing right at us with an effort to scare and frighten us. I bring the knife up to my chest, the pointed edge directed right at the wolf should it lunge at me or Matthew, but from one second to the next, I see the yellow eyes afix upon it's two potentinal meals. I already know though, that the predator will go after the smaller or weaker of the two, but with me and Matthew, I'm curious who it will deem that position. While, I may be smaller than Matthew, he seems to be in the worse shape. To protect him is going to be what I may have to do should his leg give out. I just hope and pray that I am strong enough to lay this knife deep within the skull of the wolf if he attacks.

Back away slowly. Matthew says in a whispered form. I nod, but make the movement so subtle so the wolf don't pick up on it. I'm sure the wolf can smell our wounds. Smell where the blood had been. It's probably what drew him to us in the first place. If we had taken the path through the water again, he might have lost the scent. If worse comes to worse... we might have to cross the water again to escape. I don't think even the wolf needs to get wet in this temperature. I have my mind set. As much as I will regret going back into the water, I will. For now, Matthew's advice is strong as I take a few steps back, very slowly. My eyes staring the wolf down in between his eyes. Staring at the notch between them. A good place to dig the knife deep within. A good spot to let my knife fly out. I reach my hand out to touch Matthew to make him back up as well as the wolf starts advancing on us, but he yells out to me.

"Now run!" I turn and dash. My feet move quickly against the ground. My whole body aching as I do. My calves burn and my lungs are set on fire from the quick intakes of the icy air. The breeze cuts through my damp clothes, but the condensation with each exhale of my breath is left in my wake.

"Hurry Matt! Hurry!" I coax him as I hear the wolf growl out. I can almost hear his gnashing teeth wanting to sink into our flesh, but I turn at one moment and see the wolf getting closer to Matthew who is a few steps behind me. The blanket somewhere left in the distance from Matthew trying to buy us a few more seconds to get ahead of the wolf. The knife in my hand leaves it so suddenly, but the moment I release it, I shiver, causing the blade to miss the wolf's head and instead I hear this painful whimper but it doesn't stop. I hit it... but it didn't stop. I hit it... but it keeps coming... where did I hit it? I question my abilities now. This morning my shots were spot on, but now, they were horrible. My hands were so unsteady. I reach into my pocket again and grab the next to last knife.

"Matthew... go!" I tell him as I slow in my pace and launch the next knife at the wolf, only to have it miss him by a mere inch. My knife misses him as the damn wolf lunges out with razor sharp teeth trying to sink into my arm. I move instinctively out of his reach, just to get his huge paws on the outside of my thigh, knocking me off balance enough that I fall head first into the ground. I roll with the force that he pushed against me until I wind up hitting the nearest tree with my back, stopping me suddenly. That's when I hear him growl and keep going. He doesn't seem interested in keeping me down for the kill. It must not be my blood that has him acting this way.

I groan though, as I move to get up, watching in horror as the wolf takes after Matthew again. My hand pushes against the ground and I lift my head up. "RUN!" I scream out to him. I reach a sitting position, snow covering my exposed arms and clinging to my damp clothes. I shake violently and place a hand up to my head when I feel this burning sensation and bring back a bit of blood from the run in with the ground I had, compliments of the wolf. I hiss out. Get up, Kyanite. NOW! Get up, Kyanite. Don't lay down now. DAMN GIRL... I hear my father's voice inside my head and I force myself up and look back to search for my missing knife. I crawl to meet with it, my hand grabbing onto the handle and I scramble back up to my feet as my vision burrs just a moment. I blink and take off running in the direction of where I last saw Matthew and the wolf.

My forehead burns with the cut against my skin. I bring my hand up again, to wipe at the blood that wants to trickle down; to stain my skin with more blood that I don't have to spare. "Damnit..." I hiss out as I hold the knife in my hands and grip it tightly. My feet against the frozen ground is slower than before, but I can't stop now. Not when the wolf took off after Matthew after it took me down with it's power and weight. I can feel the bruise forming on my back from hitting the tree, but that's the least of my worries right now. I'm terrified for Matthew wherever he is. If he was to get away. If he was able to use one of the knives against it and kill it before it killed him.

"Matthew, I swear, if you die because of that damn wolf..." That's the only thing going through my mind the moment I hear my name being screamed out by his voice. This shockwave runs down my back as It makes me run faster. My legs fighting against the throbbing that wants me to just give up and quit. I'm exhausted right now and I've had enough of today's adventures. I've had enough.

"I'M COMING...." I scream out to him to let him know I'm still here. The wolf didn't want me at all. It wanted something more than me. It wanted more of a challenge and a bigger prey. I push myself further with each step and dodge a few more trees when I hear the wolf yelp. Yes! He killed it. He got the wolf. At least I hope... please be alright Matthew. I swear.. you better not get to the grave after everything I've told you today. After everything that's happened for that matter. The way the lights dim even more in the forest, I have a hard time seeing inbetween the trees and only stumble once hitting an uprooted tree trunk. I catch myself by slamming into the tree with my sore shoulder and I scream out in pain. Don't stop... Keep going... Matthew is counting on you.

His scream is the next thing to get me going again and I push off from the tree again and as I round the next set of close trees, the outline of the scene in front of me frightens me to death. The wolf has Matthew on the ground. His form under him, the teeth leaving his arm after gnawing into it like it was a chew toy. "MAtthew!" I shout and take the knife with everything I've got and let it fly the moment that Matthew takes the wolf's head and jerks it to break it. A sudden whimper then silence, tells me that my knife hit the mark into its upper torso and the neck snap was the final blow to the wolf's life. I stand there in front of the scene to see Matthew still alive for the moment, but everything comes flooding to me. My legs feel so much like gel and for once, I give up. I hold my hand up to Matthew to show him that I'm done, like I had done in our last two matches. I give him a half-assed grin; an exhausted grin before I slowly make my way over to him.

I've had it with this damn day. Just let it end, already. Just let this be some horrible dream... I think to myself and the moment I reach Matthew, I slump to the ground letting my good arm catch myself from falling the rest of the way.

"I'm so over this training exercise." I mutter. My breath is ragged and out of control as well as my body shaking, both from fear and cold. If anything else happens tonight, I'll scream.