upside down | raven vs. crowned cassoture | day two

I should have slept.

Part of me begged for rest, my limbs aching, my nose throbbing. I was tired. Exhausted. But I also wasn't. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the girl, Elvaina, according to the anthem. Or I saw Lazarus. Or I saw Gavin, or Rowan, or my Dad or my Mom and I just--

Those images reminded me that thee were worse things than fatigue. So I didn't sleep.

I made it out of the castle sometime just after sunset, which was definitely a feat, all things considered. Part of me wondered if finding Scarlett and Shelby would make things easier or harder on me. Would Scarlett blame me for her brother's unplanned demise, or would she thank me for killing to protect him? Would she say I had done too much, or would she say I had not done enough? And Shelby, who would probably still be drunk or, worse, not drunk, was not dead. Which meant that she either been very lucky, or she had been keeping secrets.

I couldn't help wondering how long my faith would survive after being placed in the hands of a murderer and a mystery.

---

When the sky became land, I almost didn't believe it. Stars below me, so close I could reach out and touch them. In fact, I thought I might try, but the second my finger made contact, the galaxy rippled and I realized I was standing in shallow water. I found a spot of sand, and decided to rest my feet. By the time the sun started to rise, my mind was somewhere between dreamland and consciousness, and I didn't know which I preferred. Birds began to circle, both overhead and below, exact replicas singing the same songs, going to the same places. I used my own reflection to braid my hair so that, at the very least, I wouldn't have helmet hair when I died.

In the daylight, I realized that the reflective water was more like glass than a mirror, though. While I could see myself staring back at me, while I saw the birds and the clouds in the sky, there was something there, something on the other side. It was like I was peering into a secret world that was never supposed to be found. I wasn't sure at first but, yes, there! A murder of crows that were not in my sky. I checked three times to be sure and then I was certain.

There were two arenas.

That would have explained where the other tributes were during the bloodbath, and why I couldn't find my damn allies. I cursed under my breath, because what would happen when there was only one person left on each side of this thing? Would it just be a waiting game, or would one of us be expected to cross over somehow?

Thorn felt heavy at my hip, so I patted her on the hilt.

"We've got this, girl." I said, right before noticing an odd shade of green among the sea of blue behind me. It was like a smear of the wrong colored paint, as if the artist had dipped her brush into the wrong shade without paying attention, only the smudge was moving. Growing. Getting closer.

I ducked just in time to avoid its claws snatching at my head. I toppled onto my knees, rolling around in the water trying to regain my composure.

"The fuck was that?" A crowned cassoture stood about fifteen yards away, honking at me with that obnoxious noise I heard every great once in a while back in Seven. We were a moderately clean district, but trust and believe, if there was any kind of trash to be picked up or taken out, these creatures would find it. It was quite literally the only reason they were created.

I gasped.

If cassotures were designed to pick up trash, then why was it--

"I am not trash, you--" I yanked Thorn free from her holster, "You scavenger!" I waited for the thing to honk at me again, then another three or four seconds. It stared at me, beady eyes and bright feathers that actually would have made a nice collar for my coat. A stand off, both of us daring the other to attack. I narrowed my eyes.

No one called me trash and lived to tell the tale.

{ raven attacks cassoture, sword }
isw8CwuVsword
{ Miss -- 0.0 damage }

rolling for accuracy; day 2

{ raven attacks cassoture, sword }
sword
{ Shallow Cut on Right Shoulder -- 3.5 damage }