natural selection | {minx v mutts day four}

"The future can't
be real, I
barely know how
long a moment is"

Camouflaged in a patch of foliage, Minx had hoped nature's bed would protect him from unwanted company. He was startled when he awoke to something in his hand - a card signed by Denali, who he had stumbled across the day before. Knowing that someone had been able to find him and sneak up on him made his resting heart rate skyrocket, but he appreciated the gesture. Good luck Minx.

He was going to need it.

Glass clinking together in his bag, he walked further away from what he assumed was the center of the arena. The wind picked up, sweeping bangs out of his face and cooling the warmth of anxiety beneath his skin. The dirt under his feet morphed to jagged rocks, a little too slippery for his comfort. He paused to peer through the layers of silvery fog and beyond the edge of the rocks. He had never seen the ocean before, or anything like it. The air tasted of salt and the water was more of a sapphire blue in person, sunlight reflecting little crystallines across the surface. Nothing shown on television compared to what he was witnessing now.

The way the water crashed and waned like a massive pendulum deterred him from trying to swim in it. He knew he would drown if he tried; luckily there were pools carved into the rocks and he could sample the water there as he pleased. Everything was fine until he accidentally stepped into one. His throat made a gargle of disgust and then surprise as something jumped out of the pool and into his wrist. A snap made him recoil and cry out in pain. Something had definitely broken in his one functioning arm.

The attack startled him badly enough that his tailbone landed against jagged rocks. There was no time to clutch his swelling to his chest as a shadow swooped down upon him, forcing him to raise his arm sling as a shield to protect his face. He didn't see the bird as much as he heard it scraping against the glove on his hand. There was a sting of pain and nothing more - thank god. He wasn't sure why someone had sent him so much armor, almost like a second suit to cushion any blows that came his way. He also wasn't sure why it had been so difficult to put on. An embarrassing spectacle for the Capitol to watch, but he at least had extra protection now.

"You stupid little - that was my good arm!" He whined angrily, nearly slipping as he stood up to grab his spear. Every inch he moved was a terrible ache, but he could see the bird circling above and whatever bug that was rearing for another attack. He knew he could try to run but it was too dangerous. The rocks were bumpy and slippery, and he refused to be the only tribute to die from tripping over a rock and cracking his head open like an egg.

Instead, he had to improvise.

"The future can't
be real, I
barely know how
long a moment is"

Minx didn't understand how something so small had such power. Each time its claw barreled toward him he felt immense pain, and he was too sluggish to avoid it. He had nearly pierced through the damn thing but grazed it instead. It was like trying to swat a fly except he had to use one arm to do so, and that arm's wrist was beginning to swell. It also hurt like hell to hold his spear, let alone thrust it into the rocks. He hated everything about this; would he become the laughing stock of the games because he was getting beaten up by a spider and a bird?

He was on the ground again, pain radiating through his right leg. This isn't fair. Two days ago he had killed a coyote; surely he could defend himself against something under half its size? "I'm sick of this," he hissed, and he heard the creature hiss also. The audacity. Frustrated, he propped himself up on one knee and stared the thing down. He could see the bird's shadow daring across the rocks; when it expanded, he ducked his head. Nose buried in his arm, he waited until he felt the inevitable sting on his arm before he glanced up again. As long as he could protect his eyes, he wouldn't have to worry about the bird.

Once he found the ugly bug again, he seized the chance to smash it.

"The future can't
be real, I
barely know how
long a moment is"

filler bc i wanna know if i make it

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