blood and unmarked graves (wnn vs ugg vs callum)

Kahinta's jaw set in the same way that Jade's did when she was feeling particularly determined, the same way his own locked into place when he was pretending to be brave. She was the mirror girl of every Career who would grace the Capitol's stage, no matter how much disdain she probably had for them, just as Callum did. It was unnerving and simultaneously difficult to feel fear when looking at something that he'd seen a thousand times. She laughed a bit, and Dominic absently twitched his lip. "Sounds like a stupid choice to me, but if you insist."

He felt the pain radiating up his arm before he even noticed the gems catching on the fabric of his sleeve, tearing the cloth just as vessel and bone burst under the impact. A scream ripped from Dominic's throat as he grabbed at his broken arm, weapon now discarded on the ground. He curled into himself despite the alarm bells ringing in his head, the siren warning him to stand the fuck up before someone takes you out. He let out a pained hiss as he bent to retrieve his mace, imagining the emeralds burying themselves in the side of Kahinta's head.

Then, a familiar silver glint caught his eye, and he snapped his head up just as Callum's sword aimed for Jade. No. Oh, Ripred, no. The world seemed to spin in slow motion as Dominic scrambled to stop the attack, his mace merely grazing the edge of the sword as it plunged into her chest. In that moment, Dominic knew that he couldn't beg her to stand and fight like he had begged Pisces. His breath became shallow as he watched her crumple to the ground, her usual fire diminished to embers.

He dropped to his knees, wincing as he landed on his weak leg. He pushed himself forward with his functional arm, knees sinking into the mud as he hovered over Jade. Shakily, Dominic reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair off her forehead, a gesture that she likely would have rejected if her faculties were in full order. She hadn't even voluntarily offered her own name when they first met, and yet she had still been there to drag him out of battle every time, even as she retreated into whatever dark sanctum she had created for herself afterwards. In her warmer moments, she even reminded him of Madelyn, and the thought made Dominic's heart ache all over again.

"You have to come back," he said softly. "You know that we - I - can't do this without you."

A sudden thought popped into Dominic's head, and he reached for the satchel laid haphazardly across Jade's waist. He pushed back the flap and reached inside, not having to travel far before brushing against the soft fabric he was searching for. He pulled out the dragon plushie and cautiously held it out before her, as if she would suddenly gain enough energy to snatch it from him. "If not for me, then do it for her."

Dominic awkwardly leaned forward as he rose to his feet, his injured arm dangling at his side while the other held the dragon to his chest. This thing had been the bane of his existence for days, and now he cradled it as if it was the last piece of Jade that he would ever see. The thought made him shudder, and he slowly began to back away from the other tributes. He wished he had something to say to them, some armor-piercing retort that would make them regret what they had done, but nothing came. His only words were for Jade's still form.

"If you don't come back, I'll kill you."

He turned to Zenia, the one person he had left, the person who had nearly convinced him that their group would be whole again. Plushie wedged under his elbow, he extended his hand to her. "Come on."

[dominic flees]

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