kingdom of isolation { riders vs evergladers vs chatterbox }
Feb 18, 2018 14:50:48 GMT -5
Post by solo on Feb 18, 2018 14:50:48 GMT -5
Mercy didn't sleep well that night. When she closed her eyes, all she could see was the blood-stained snow, spilling out across the drifts like a red lake. All she could feel was the fear clutching at her throat, the pain in her ribs and the blades cutting at her skin. The others had helped her as best they could, and she'd managed to wrap some bandages around her torso. She knew it wouldn't fix her ribs properly, but maybe it would stop them from hurting. It worked, if only a little.
The branches creaked around her, long, black fingers dancing across the snow, all pointing towards her and her allies. Smoke billowed up into the sky and the fire crackled, although it didn't seem like such a happy sound anymore. It was too loud, too obvious, echoing across the flats of snow surrounding them. They were a painfully obvious target to anyone who chose not to sleep that night.
So Mercy kept her eyes open. She avoided the nightmares, at least, the ones that would've plagued her mind. The nightmare glaring her in the face didn't seem to want to go away any time soon. Her gaze flickered back and forth, scanning the area, jumping whenever she thought one of the trees might be another tribute. She counted softly under her breath to a thousand and then backwards to one. Over and over and over again. She was wasting her breath, but she was desperate for something to keep her busy. She had no rope to fiddle with. Nothing but the shiny little climbing peg and her pack of arrows, and those didn't seem like a good idea to get her hands on right now. The last thing she needed was more cuts and scrapes.
It seemed to take forever for the night to end, but somehow it did, and somehow she wished it had lasted longer. But it didn't. The sun peaked over the horizon, the fire went out, and the cold swept in once again. Now Mercy shivers and wraps her arms around herself, rubbing her sides in a desperate attempt to keep herself warm. One thing the Capitol seems to hate doing is giving their dearly loved tributes practical clothes. Every year, they somehow managed to come up with the worst possible scenarios. It was almost bearable when Mercy only saw it on the screen at home.
The four of them pack up in near silence, save for the creaking trees and Gilly's incessant chattering. Mercy shoves a bundle of wood in her pack, despite not wanting to carry it around with her. The fire turned out not to be such a bad idea. At least it managed to keep them warm.
"Are you hurt?"
Mercy jumps, then glances up and squints to see who's speaking to her. It's the tall one. Not Gabriel.
He seems to rethink his words, because the next thing he says is, "I mean, of course you are."
Mercy lets out something between a snort and a laugh. Is she hurt? Her fingers reach to tighten the bandages around her broken ribs. "No Raven, I've actually never been better."
Gabe always told her she had a sick sense of humor, after which he'd fire a joke back at her. It kept her sanity in check.
They set out after the sun rises, but to where, Mercy has no idea. Gilly's complaining rings around them, creating a little dome of sound she's certain everyone can hear. It's cold, my feet hurt, my pack is heavy. She'll go silent for a bit and then start up again. Why do we have to walk so far? Mercy doesn't complain. She's grateful for the little voice.
The ground beneath them starts to slope upwards, and bit by bit their movement begins to slow down. Mercy isn't certain where they're meant to be going, but at least they're not going in circles. It would be a waste of energy. She focuses on her breathing, on putting one foot in front of the other, on forgetting the pain in her side. But then that makes her think of it, and the bits of bone she's certain are splintering through her skin, the ones she knows will spill out of her any second. She's a piece of wood ready to snap in half.
Gilly's tiny head bobs up beside her. "Do you want me to braid your hair?"
Mercy blinks in surprise. "Braid my hair?" it's all she can think to say in response.
One, two, three more steps.
"I mean, I guess so, if you want to." Four more steps. "Maybe next time we stop."
She glances down, and gives the girl her best excuse for a smile. She's never been much good at it. She used to tell Gabe how grateful she was they didn't have a camera, since her unpracticed smile would be on display for all to see. No cameras meant no one telling you to smile. But on rare occasions, she still forced herself to focus on her face muscles and twist them up in the right directions. Sometimes it took a bit of thought before she did it.
Two steps.
Suddenly it sounded like more than four pairs of feet were trudging through the snow. She looked up.
Three figures, a whole lot closer than Mercy had expected. Off to the side. Somehow she hadn't seen them until this point, and now she can make eye contact with them, see the snow swept aside by their steps.
Her fingers twitch and she unwittingly reaches for the climbing peg hooked to her pack.
"Guys..."
They're too close for comfort, and she spots one reaching for their weapon.
"Gilly, move."
Panic causes her voice to shake. In a single movement without much thought, only reaction, she moves to sweep the girl behind her, and at the same time swings her peg at the oncoming threat.
The branches creaked around her, long, black fingers dancing across the snow, all pointing towards her and her allies. Smoke billowed up into the sky and the fire crackled, although it didn't seem like such a happy sound anymore. It was too loud, too obvious, echoing across the flats of snow surrounding them. They were a painfully obvious target to anyone who chose not to sleep that night.
So Mercy kept her eyes open. She avoided the nightmares, at least, the ones that would've plagued her mind. The nightmare glaring her in the face didn't seem to want to go away any time soon. Her gaze flickered back and forth, scanning the area, jumping whenever she thought one of the trees might be another tribute. She counted softly under her breath to a thousand and then backwards to one. Over and over and over again. She was wasting her breath, but she was desperate for something to keep her busy. She had no rope to fiddle with. Nothing but the shiny little climbing peg and her pack of arrows, and those didn't seem like a good idea to get her hands on right now. The last thing she needed was more cuts and scrapes.
It seemed to take forever for the night to end, but somehow it did, and somehow she wished it had lasted longer. But it didn't. The sun peaked over the horizon, the fire went out, and the cold swept in once again. Now Mercy shivers and wraps her arms around herself, rubbing her sides in a desperate attempt to keep herself warm. One thing the Capitol seems to hate doing is giving their dearly loved tributes practical clothes. Every year, they somehow managed to come up with the worst possible scenarios. It was almost bearable when Mercy only saw it on the screen at home.
The four of them pack up in near silence, save for the creaking trees and Gilly's incessant chattering. Mercy shoves a bundle of wood in her pack, despite not wanting to carry it around with her. The fire turned out not to be such a bad idea. At least it managed to keep them warm.
"Are you hurt?"
Mercy jumps, then glances up and squints to see who's speaking to her. It's the tall one. Not Gabriel.
He seems to rethink his words, because the next thing he says is, "I mean, of course you are."
Mercy lets out something between a snort and a laugh. Is she hurt? Her fingers reach to tighten the bandages around her broken ribs. "No Raven, I've actually never been better."
Gabe always told her she had a sick sense of humor, after which he'd fire a joke back at her. It kept her sanity in check.
They set out after the sun rises, but to where, Mercy has no idea. Gilly's complaining rings around them, creating a little dome of sound she's certain everyone can hear. It's cold, my feet hurt, my pack is heavy. She'll go silent for a bit and then start up again. Why do we have to walk so far? Mercy doesn't complain. She's grateful for the little voice.
The ground beneath them starts to slope upwards, and bit by bit their movement begins to slow down. Mercy isn't certain where they're meant to be going, but at least they're not going in circles. It would be a waste of energy. She focuses on her breathing, on putting one foot in front of the other, on forgetting the pain in her side. But then that makes her think of it, and the bits of bone she's certain are splintering through her skin, the ones she knows will spill out of her any second. She's a piece of wood ready to snap in half.
Gilly's tiny head bobs up beside her. "Do you want me to braid your hair?"
Mercy blinks in surprise. "Braid my hair?" it's all she can think to say in response.
One, two, three more steps.
"I mean, I guess so, if you want to." Four more steps. "Maybe next time we stop."
She glances down, and gives the girl her best excuse for a smile. She's never been much good at it. She used to tell Gabe how grateful she was they didn't have a camera, since her unpracticed smile would be on display for all to see. No cameras meant no one telling you to smile. But on rare occasions, she still forced herself to focus on her face muscles and twist them up in the right directions. Sometimes it took a bit of thought before she did it.
Two steps.
Suddenly it sounded like more than four pairs of feet were trudging through the snow. She looked up.
Three figures, a whole lot closer than Mercy had expected. Off to the side. Somehow she hadn't seen them until this point, and now she can make eye contact with them, see the snow swept aside by their steps.
Her fingers twitch and she unwittingly reaches for the climbing peg hooked to her pack.
"Guys..."
They're too close for comfort, and she spots one reaching for their weapon.
"Gilly, move."
Panic causes her voice to shake. In a single movement without much thought, only reaction, she moves to sweep the girl behind her, and at the same time swings her peg at the oncoming threat.
{ mercy attacks eva | knife }
b_KTdH2Dknife
{ 2163 -- Shallow Cut on Chest -- 4.0 }
b_KTdH2Dknife
{ 2163 -- Shallow Cut on Chest -- 4.0 }