the queen's gambit // lgg v. p v. mcf
Nov 16, 2020 1:23:51 GMT -5
Post by lance on Nov 16, 2020 1:23:51 GMT -5
i r i s .
"you are weak
but not foolish
you have learned
how to die."
There's a shift in the dynamics of the alliance in the aftermath of the bloody battle to the death. Subtle, yes, but there nonetheless.
Before, there'd been a balance. Mona and Vervain on one side, with you and Charlie as counterweights. It was a carefully curated balance, stronger, more outspoken personalities on one side with quieter, more contemplative on the other. Each pair within the alliance had their dynamic; each their counterbalance. There was a reason you'd handpicked each and every one, as well. With no one force more dominant than the rest, it was a perfect dynamic to work in unison - to win the wealth, to kill encroaching mutts, and, you had thought, to fight.
But there was a discrepancy. Latent skill, present in Mona and Charlie but not so much in you and Vervain. An inner fire in the girl from Twelve, strong enough to burn through a Career girl before abruptly being snuffed out by her ally. Two major pieces on the chessboard snuffed out, at the cost of one cog in your carefully crafted alliance.
It's a mixed blessing. Of all your allies, Mona had by far been the one that had worried you the most when it came to your future prospects - a fighter from the poorest part of Twelve, she had everything you did not but did not lack in your own advantages the same way you did in hers. Having her gone this early was a relief, and trading her out for a Career a net positive, but the fact remained that the arena still housed two-thirds of her children, and your greatest asset had already been knocked out of play.
Seven faces had shown in the sky last night. Some, like the pair of Ones and the girl from Two, were a blessing. Others, like the boys from Five and Six, barely registered in your mind. Two, in the form of Mona herself and Rene, the fighter boy from your home, threatened to crack your porcelain psyche.
But they didn't. You were far too practiced for that.
But the fact remains; there's a shift in the dynamic when you set out in the morning, followed by Charlie and Vervain and your respective wolves. Once, it had been equality. Now?
Now, it felt like you were a leader, without Mona's earnest stubbornness to keep you down. And that's not something you were sure you felt about. On the one hand, authority was great. On the other hand, it was always the public leaders that faced the brunt of the retaliation - hence why you'd much preferred to play the part of the shadow council instead, manipulating things from behind the scenes.
But then the girl from Four appears, and everything changes.
For a moment, you regard each other - the other's beauty not dulled by the fact that she looks like she'd just been through the ringer twice over - and then Charlie's rushing forward with nothing more than her bare hands.
For one wild second, you wonder if the blunt, hardass girl you'd grown to admire over the past four days is actually going in for a hug of all things.
And then her hands wrap around Four's - Jacynth, if you recall correctly - throat, and you think Ah, that's more like it.
For a moment, you're content to watch as the two girls grapple in place. And then, a single word comes out of Jacynth's mouth that freezes every blood cell within your veins.
"Rene."
Not because you cared for your district partner in any way - his face flashing on the sky had stirred you about as much as his presence on the train had once you'd realized his true occupation, which was to say some but not enough to crack your perfect mask - but because you wondered why his name was in this girl's - this Career girl's, at that - mouth.
So you step into action. "Hold on for a second, Charlie," you say firmly but almost distractedly, your attention already focused on the Four girl. Once the conflict has been broken, you tilt your head towards the Career, eyes wide, before jutting out your chin in a clear indication to continue.
"I watched him die." There's a hollowness to the girl's voice, and on cue, the cogs in your brain already processing the new information and putting it to use. "I tried to save him."
Masks are easy. It's easy to let just a bit of feigned sadness flash over your visage at the mention of Rene's death. That was something the crowd would eat up, would it not? The ice queen moved at the mention of the death of the boy from her home.
"Fuck, I even killed Five for him."
Ah. So that explained that. Another battle in the war with casualties on both sides.
And right in front of you stood another powerful killer with another kid's blood on her hands. Another warrior, ruled by her emotions instead of ruling herself.
You're too professional to allow a smile to cross over your face. But the spark of elation burns brighter within your chest, regardless.
The next wave of enemies appears when the sun shines bright overhead, an aftermath to the startling display of green and purple lights that had criss-crossed its pattern the night before.
The next wave of tributes are not ambushers sending weapons towards your stalwart ally, but sitting ducks on a targeting range of ice.
The next wave of tributes do not see you coming until you're already well within range of what you do best.
Murder.
Your gaze flits from one potential target to the next. Boy from Four - pass, for while a Career is a tempting target, Jacynth clearly believes in the bonds of home, and might not take kindly to that. Girl from Ten and Seven? Irrelevant, in the grand scheme of things.
Boy from Twelve? The last connection to Mona left in the arena? A perfect opportunity to cut the bonds dragging open the cracks in your stone-encased heart.
And, perhaps, a chance to test how far you could push dear, sweet Vervain before she cracks.
"C'mon, girls," you say, a javelin already in your hand and the smile on your face only half-forced. "Let's fight for the dream of home."
You heave your spear towards the boy from Mona's home, the first shot in a renewed conflict of war.
iris attacks carbon; javelin
fI6VS1Fx6yjavelin
15041 -- MISS -- 0.0 damage
accuracy, day five
javelin
gee i have no idea, it's not like i just rolled this or anything LOL
javelin·javelinfI6VS1Fx6yjavelin
15041 -- MISS -- 0.0 damage
accuracy, day five
javelin
gee i have no idea, it's not like i just rolled this or anything LOL
