King of the Clouds {Volkner, Day 1.5}

v o l k n e r;

The only lone cannon fires in his ears with the first bloodied body on the ground.

Ping was dead. No remorse in his skin as he limps around with his allies in the area. Heavy breaths and a broken freaking foot that throbs with his heartbeat that slows slightly with time. One out of twenty three deaths, just another name that he could cross off. Arms crossed along his chest as his frustration disappears with a sigh. The bow in his hands feels useless, he would have been better off swinging at Lavina than shooting the damn thing. Fucking Lavina attacking him when she had no backup. Hopefully she would know that Ping died because of her. No one attacks him and gets fucking away with it. Like the embers of a flame, he can feel the anger still flickering along his stomach as he ignores it. Andy's squatting next to her body with unreadable emotions. Something in his mind, maybe Flint's voice in his head, is screaming at him to go comfort the pretty boy with make up, but Volkner shoves that back into the depths of his anger and frustration, nodding quietly to Andy, until it happens.

Vomit escapes Andy's body creating some worry in Volkner, but that's not his problem. Andy wasn't his friend. Andy wasn't important. They were on their own and he could shove past that as he rolls his eyes in annoyance, turning away from him. Cussing under his breath at the memory of Lavina Cheyne and her fucking javelins. Letting the bow drop to the ground was his best idea of the day as he kicks it across the ground in annoyance. Skidding away from him, he huffs annoyance as he still bleeds from his wounds. Red blood reminding him that he's still alive, but hurting slightly. Worse thing shave happened to him than this. Traps that have gone wrong breaking bones or cutting deep into his skin. Scars still lingering like memories of the weakness in him.

The past deserved to stay just that.

Weakness doesn't linger in his bones anymore. Strength resides in him. A warrior of a man from One that put fear into too many people and hated all the fucking families that don't deserve the fame of the games unlike himself. Checking out the area, ignoring the other three for a moment, he notices everything that people had left behind, picking up javelins that someone ditched out on. The same weapon that Lavina used on him. Ideas fumbling in his mind as he thinks about shoving one of these javelins through her eyes or neck. A nice image in his mind for sure. Fire in his veins as he melts into the weapons, deciding they'll be what he uses to kill Lavina Cheyne. Whispering to himself, he speaks of what will happen.

"I'll have her fucking head on one of these javelins."

No response as he looks back to his allies and takes in their own wounds. Except, they didn't have any. Jealousy flares to life in his veins as he lets that sink in. Allies were spared, but fuck him right. Lavina was the only one who really wanted him dead anyways. She'll rue the day that she decided to cut into his skin. All he can do is cross his arms and do his best to balance as he lets more words out of his throat in both frustration and a mock joking manner to his allies.

"Nice to see all of you made it unscathed."

An eye roll as he looks towards the cornucopia now. They could get whatever they needed and head out before everyone gets too scattered. Feet moving forward as he ignores the pools of blood from wounded tributes. A shrug in his skin as he ignores everyone else again and begins compiling things that he'll need and dropping things that he won't need. Armor that might make his uniform look less like a joke than before, plus it was functional unlike the dumb winged creature that he was dressed as. A sigh falls from his lips with the lights of the cornucopia. Death's looked him in the eyes already. Day one hasn't even passed, but he's half dead and hurting a lot more than he let on. Fuck Lavina for this.

Golden glimmering around him, just where it belonged. Soon he would have a crown that glitters just like the cornucopia. A trick of lights flickering around him as he feels like he's losing his mind. Beauty in a place where he would make a name for himself. Fingers tense as he hears the ominous ticking of gears and a machine working. All he can think of is the Seventieth Hunger Games where the Cornucopia came back as a killer upon poor people. Weapon already pointed at the source, until he can see that it's just a box full of stuff. Everyone except Andy is there now looking at the thing. A shrug from his shoulders as he picks up one of the things that says Genuine Pixie Dust.

The vial looks like it's glittering with color as he opens it pouring it on his wounds thinking that it might be healing. Stupid decision probably, but he doesn't fucking care. Right now, all he wanted was to numb the throbbing on his skin and move on to the next thing. He does his best to patch himself up on his own, but the pixie dust seems to have worked at healing his wounds. The vial could have been poison, but he does what he wants.

"Fucking Lavina. I hope this shit isn't poison. I hope this shit isn't acid. Fuck it, I am just gonna use it."

A shrug as the throbbing dulls a bit for the moment. With that, he ignores the others and begins walking somewhere else. Anywhere else, but here. Anger still resides in his skin, all he wants now is to just calm down on his own and find his footing once again. A sigh from his lips as the glittering lights of the cornucopia fade into the background. A dreamlike state in his body as if the bloodbath had only been just a dream. The area did look like something that someone would dream up. Pretty, but deadly. Either way, he leaves with mumbled words of curses spewed towards no one else, but Lavina Cheyne herself.

---

"Fuck me. I'm stupid."

Never ever leave an ally's sight. The words have been ingrained in his head since he started training. A sole reason that many tributes die is for thinking they are strong enough to walk away from their allies and run into danger that they can't handle themselves. Another string of curse words and negative comments directed at him come from his lips, but he stops moving for a moment. Eyes glancing to the surroundings he's in. Green fills his vision as he rests gently in the brush of an area nearby the tree closest to him. Pretty greens that fill his senses with adoration for wildlife, but the words of careers fill his ears.

Dangerously pretty things surround him and he's alone. A warning in his head that comes almost immediately at the sight of pretty flowers and a sunlight that barely gets through the canopy. Wildlife that flickers alive around him, but leaving him alone for now. Great, just great, this is not how he expected his day one to be. He expect to run into weaklings and tear them to shreds with his new javelins, but no, he had to get lost going after Andy and his allies. A sigh falls from his lips as a sound catches his ears.

Alone and a strange sound could mean absolute death, but fuck this was all he had at the moment, so he blends into the brush around him. A jingle hits his ears, until the package falls to the ground in front of him. Silver glittering as he can see the armored vest staring back at him. Interesting new thing that he didn't want to touch, so instead he pokes it with the end of the javelin in his hands. No explosion. No arrows. No traps. Seems safe, but was anything safe. A shrug as he grabs it cautiously. Silence in the air as he looks it over for any indication that it could be tampered with, but nothing looks strange or out of place.

"I'm going mad already. Obviously someone out there likes what I am doing."

Mom was watching from somewhere and all he can think is how she raised him to say thank you to gifts. An eye roll as he remembers her cooking in the kitchen before life became too difficult. Before they had nothing to their name when he was too weak to defend himself from the terror of careers in District One. Selfish men don't fight for everyone else. As he puts it on, he feels safer than before. Safer than anywhere else for the moment. A whisper falls from his throats that he's sure the capitol would get.

"Thanks."

Silence as he's alone once again, letting himself stay on guard in the brush. Ripred, he wished that they hadn't disappeared, but they had to be around there somewhere. Either way, he's still on his own, but at least he's got some protection now from whatever decides to come for him. A sigh falls from his lips. The forest is pretty and all he can do is wait until his allies find him. He's never been the type to sit around and do nothing, but right now he is. They'd find one another again and bring havoc to others. Hopefully, they would run into Lavina. Only a Cheyne could get on his nerves like that. Of course it wasn't someone random, but instead someone who has privileges already based on their fucking name.

He'll prove that they are nothing more than a name that deserves nothing.

Soon enough, he'll cut the head of this idea and create a new place. A place where they could all feel comfortable and not be burned down by society's fucking ideals. Weak and selfish men don't deserve that glory. Only the strong and selfless deserve to carry themselves up into the clouds and he'll be the fucking king. Fist tightens around his spear as he looks to the edge of the forest that he can see. Sunlight glittering down like the light that barely touches them. Death would be coming for someone new.

Volkner would be ready for it.

Bring on the assholes.