as it crumbles and breaks // tlb vs 2 gemstone lurkers

She does her best to forget about Myara as they travel, steeling herself against her thoughts

— but it's hard to erase the memory of a dead girl who had been smiling up in the stars just the night before.

---

Sunlight hits the mountain that morning, and she pauses just long enough to bask in the pale light. They've been walking for what must be hours, leaving the winding cracks of the stone labyrinth and seeking new shelter on higher ground. She turns her head to glance at her allies; Samira trails behind, still bruised and caked in dried blood from the night before, and Reese walks by her side in a protective stance, as if a gust of wind could come and snatch her away from him at any second. She smiles at the thought, flips a coin and debates whether he's stupid or brave, and she watches as it lands on its side and rolls away. Stupidly brave, she thinks with a small laugh. Yeah, that suits him.

She continues on her path in search of game to hunt, adjusting the strap of the satchel across her shoulder. Hands graze over the armor that she had been sponsored that morning, checking to make sure that she has everything adjusted properly to her form. And although her face remains indifferent once she finishes her appraisal, she's grateful for those who believe in her enough to send new supplies each day. She's not sure if it's the Fray name or some sort of untapped potential that has the Capitol on her side, but she doesn't linger on it. She's alive and she's managed to get through the last few days unscathed, and that's proof enough of her worth for her. Surnames don't matter in the arena, she realizes — and Lowe starts to taste bitter on her tongue, but she doesn't dare spit it out.

Sam and Reese speak shortly, but the most that her ears can register is the shuffling of footsteps that follow behind her. She doesn't stop to check if the conversation involves her, knowing full well that Reese would scream out her name if they needed her attention. Her eyes remain on the search for anything edible and crucial to their survival, though a growl that rises up from the pit of her stomach causes her to stop in her tracks. She hasn't eaten in days, and for a girl that's never gone hungry thanks to her upbringing, it's a difficult feeling to cope with. She licks chapped licks, sighing and peering over her shoulder to check back in with her allies. Reese is closer than before, and she sends him a comforting nod when they catch sight of each other

— but then she hears Samira grunt, spinning on her heels and readying her sword at the sound. Two creatures stand before them, glittering and ferocious, and she's proud to see Sam taking action despite her current state of health. She opens her lips to address Reese, taking steps forward to join in the fight, but then the rumbling starts. It's a noise that vibrates the air, though the ground remains still. A black cloud of tracker jackers rises up from near Sam's position, disturbed by her presence. She has no time to react before they come down in a swarm on the girl from Five, and she cringes at the screams. She's only able to bolt forward in time to catch Reese's arm, looking at him in confusion as he tries to run to Samira's rescue.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" she questions him, taking the route of logic. "You can't do anything for her, Reese. She's—" but he shrugs her off before she can finish, charging into the storm and tossing himself on top of Sam's shaking body. Pillar hides an agape mouth behind her hand, looking on in conflict as her allies are repeatedly stung. As much as the screams bother her, she doesn't attempt to save her friends by running into the onslaught — she stays frozen in her stance until the swarm eventually subsides, watching with a quivering lip as Reese and Sam rise up on swollen and twitching limbs. There's a part of her that feels guilty for staying behind, but she assures herself that there's no such thing as cowardice when it comes to surviving. 

"Are you guys okay?" she calls out, but they don't respond. "Guys, can you hear me? Can you see me?" She knows that they can't; they're looking at empty spaces with confused and vacant expressions, gripping onto their weapons and preparing to fight off the hallucinations that have been caused by the venom that is coursing through their bodies. She inhales a breath that burns her chest, looking back to the two creatures from earlier for the first time since the tracker jackers had swarmed. Reese manages to land a hit on one of them during his panic, but there's something about his face that makes Pillar think that the beast hadn't been what he was aiming for. 

"Guys, I'm coming!" she shouts, running to them with her sword at the ready, deciding to take the risk to close the distance between herself and her allies. It's dangerous to be around them when they're in this state, but saving herself from the tracker jackers had been different — she refuses to watch two mutts rip her allies to shreds without doing anything to help them. "It'll be okay," she says to those that cannot hear her.

"We'll be fine, I promise. It's alright."

— or maybe she's just talking to herself.

---

[ pillar attacks gemstone lurker #2 with her sword ]
PoxoYl2msword
[ Stabbed in Foot -- 8.0 damage ]

I am falling, flying, falling flying. The sky rains down on me and I laugh, twinkling stars tickling the back of my neck and the hairs on my arms and the world shines, I with it. Light, everywhere, like snowflakes. Three little girls dance, hands held together, bows in their hair. Everything is good.

And then it's not.

"Paisley don't-"

She wanders to the edge of the mountain, arms stretched out - static - back to her little frame teetering. All dressed in white, porcelain girl - glitch - she turns around and smiles, "It's okay."

I scream as she falls.

Poppy - dressed in black, a hand pointed to me in penance. "She's just like you." Her voice is dull - glitch, glitch - it's not her speaking. Death on her tongue. "You did this." Career Boy cackles, crumpled body of my sister in his arms - I scream, blood pours from my mouth in the place of pain. "The world wants you dead, Samira!" A knife in the back of Poppy's head, she caves toward the ground - vanishes - screams.

We are fragments.

Hailstorm of light, it scorches. Reese against my lips and I can't stop screaming. His eyes caved out, black pools of darkness, swallows me whole. No light, no light, no family, no sisters, no friends, no life. The stars explode again and there's fire alight my hair. And then Death, holding their hands, walks toward me, knife in Poppy's head, Paisley and her broken bones, blood pooling all around them.

"Come join us, Sam."

I stop screaming.

"Everyone wants you dead."

Death only laughs.

"Give them back," I beg.

He doesn't. So I lunge.

She pulls her sword out of the mutt's bleeding foot with a huff, watching as red liquid trickles down its crystallized skin. She's panting due to the wave of adrenaline that's rushing through her entirety, and she shivers as her fingers start to twitch. When she turns to check on her allies with flushed cheeks, she finds herself taken aback by the sight. They stand before her only a short distance away, swollen and stumbling, but they're lost — and she parts her lips to call out to them, but she knows that it's hopeless. Her lips close and a selfish mind thinks

— or am I the one who's wandering alone?

They shout muffled words at the air, but none of it is directed towards her. She doesn't waste the time needed to try and decipher what they're seeing, turning her eyes back to the mutts. In their hysteria, Sam and Reese somehow manage to land hits on one of them, and Pillar makes sure to keep her distance away from their frantic swings and thrusts. She corners the same beast that she  had targeted earlier, readying her sword before a sharp pain flashes through her arm. Blood runs out from a tear in the sleeve of Sardonyx's jacket, and she winces at the wound.

"Fuck," she whispers to herself, dealing with the shock of being on the receiving end of an attack for the first time. It's a spoiled and pitiful way of thinking, but for a girl that has only ever known privilege throughout her life, it's enough to cause her to breathe in sharply. It's not until she hears Reese's voice that she's brought back to reality, turning on her heels and watching as he looks around with more fear than before. He calls Sam's name, then hers — asks where they are and she's not sure what to say.

"I'm here," she calls out weakly and panicked, before licking chapped lips and running a hand through her hair. "Reese, I'm here!" she shouts with a stronger voice, running forward to stand by his side, but she pauses before reaching him out of fear. She doesn't trust his state enough to be near him, not with the knives clutched in his hand. "Reese, can you hear me? Listen to my voice, Reese. I promise you I'm here. Sam's here, too. We're here." The look in his eyes is vacant and searching, and she's worried. "Reese, what do you see? Can you see? Reese?" She turns to look at Sam, watching the older girl beg with some invisible monster. "I-... I don't know what to do. Just-... Just stay still, Reese. Okay? Please, just calm down."

She turns away to locate the second mutt, legs shaking as she does. She readies her sword, breathing in and feeling her chest burn from anxiety. A plea lodges itself in her throat, and part of her wants to ask the mutts to leave them alone — wants to convince them that they've already taken more than enough damage and that all she wants is a second to collect her thoughts. But the beast doesn't understand the strained look of her expression, and she realizes that words are pointless now. Nothing she says will fix what's happened; they won't calm Sam down, nor will they help Reese to see.

All that she has left in that moment is her sword and her resolve

— and she wields them both when she lunges forward.

---

[ pillar attacks gemstone lurker #2 with her sword ]
|be7Rdz2sword
[ Deep Gash on Back of Head -- 9.0 damage ]

FILLER bc i have work and uni tomorrow let me try and filler it tonight maybe ahhhhh

Filler.

---

[ pillar attacks gemstone lurker #1 with her sword ]
VutO0x5usword
[ Shallow Cut on Neck -- 4.0 ]

The sky cracks-

Sh-sh-sh-sh-shatter-

I crack. People laugh.

Reese - I'm dancing.

White d-d-d-d-ress, stop, oh, pause, rewind, white d-d-d-d-dress, stop, oh, pause, rewind, white d-d-d-d-dress and I

hurt.

Bones breaksnap! under my forceful hand I don't want to do this, oh.

The world turns red black red black maroon red red red black.

Conundrum, I laugh.

Scream.

I am swallowed whole - "consume me."

Paisley in the sky like diamonds, Poppy the night sky, my children flung in to the depths of the universe I follow them blindly I-

trip fall laugh oh.

Sh-sh-sh-sh-shatter-

Stupid girl.

His eyes, he can't

they're gone.

Oh.

Sh-sh-sh-sh-shatter-

Heartbeat.

"Help."

Hart. Beat.

Not yet.