Rooted in blood [Carbon v Luke; Sorrel v Piper]

Tired eyes lock onto the fire before her, and with every breath, Sorrel breathes in the warmth her body desires. Sometimes she can't help but think of her family, and tears leak down the side of her face. Home is where her heart is, it's where she wants to go, but home is where every tribute wants to go. In this moment, right now her mind is focused on her younger sister, and oh how she wants to wrap her arms around her and swing her around as they laugh uncontrollably. It's the little things in life that brings great joy, and it's those small things that keep her going.

Putting the fire out isn't easy because it's simple to rest in front of it all night long, but knowing where others are, and knowing they can find them from the smoke filling the air makes it all easier. At least she can feel her fingers and toes again.

Sorrel finds herself staring at Carbon as she slowly brings herself closer. It's one thing to hold someone close, but knowing that in just a couple days she'll need to break away from him rests heavily on her mind. Running right now is easier than trying to stay with him. Hoping she never sees him again because the idea of killing him isn't one she's ready to face. Yet she pushes those thoughts away.

And soon she finds herself curled up next to him, and the wolves are resting close by, and the warmth from their fur is enough to drift asleep. It isn't the best sleep, and she tosses and turns a lot, and wakes up frightened many times. Nightmares plague her fragile mind, and it takes every ounce of strength not to scream. Death is calling, and it's the only thought locked in place. But soon, she's drifting away again.

She wakes in the morning seeing Carbon is already awake, and after grabbing a few of her items, Sorrel sits on the sled. Masau knows the routine now, and she smiles as he drags her through the arena. Pulling the jacket over her face, trying to shield it from the cold. It's a lot colder than she's used to, and sometimes it's beautiful looking at the trees glistening in the distance. Winter back home is a favorite time of year, and it's so magnificent, and all of this takes away from the most wonderful time of year.

"Sor?" The sled stops moving, and she looks around. Every hair standing on end, and all she hears is the beating of her heart roaring through her ears. Quiet isn't a good thing, and all she wants is to turn around, and run away. Nothing is here. No mutts lingering in the distance. Nothing, yet she climbs out of the sled against her better judgment, and she's unable to move. It's almost like glue has stuck to the bottom of the shoes making it impossible to leave -

"I don't like it here either, Carbon." Her voice is quiet, and she takes a step forward, and the ground starts trembling, and she's trying to run, trying to escape, but before anything can happen, the ground falls from beneath her, and Sorrel crumbles down with it.

"Carbon!" She yells at the top of her lungs as she's falling into the earth. It's hard to hold on, and the impact below sends all the air out of her lungs, and her eyes close. Silence fills the air, and when a cannon doesn't sound, Sorrel opens them and starts looking around. It's hard to move. Hard to think. Hard to do anything, and looking around makes it worse. Lights flicker across what appears to be the root of the trees.

Voices echo, and all she can hear is Carbon off in the distance. Calling his name is something she's afraid of because whatever this mess is, whether it's a trap created by another tribute to capture them at their weakest moments, or something else completely, Sorrel doesn't want to draw the attention to herself. But she looks around, and she's unsure if she sees herself reflecting back at her.

Somewhere she hears Carbon yelling, and she knows something bad is happening.

"I'm okay Carbon. I'm right here." But where is here? Where are they? What has happened? What's going on? Nothing makes sense right now, and directions mean nothing, and even looking for an escape turns things upside down. The gamemakers always have something up their sleeves. "Carbon, I'm okay. I'm right here. Who are you talking to? I can't see anyone." A frantic heart claws at the prison holding it back, and she's trying to remain calm. Trying to figure out where she is. Masau stands at her side growling.

Maybe he's confused too.

Sorrel turns once more, and maybe it's a shadow, or maybe it's something else. Reaching into her bag, she draws out a half dozen axes. Even standing in place and trying to figure out if anyone is there brings answers she's unsure of, and all it takes is a reflection staring back at her, and she's leaping into action. Maybe it's her's. Maybe it's just a mirror before her. But whatever it is, Sorrel knows she can't take any chances.

Lights flicker around bouncing from one side of the cavern to another. Voices echo through the air, and it's hard to pinpoint the direction they come from. Sorrel turns, trying to figure out where everyone is, and what's going on, and right now she doesn't know what's happening. Sometimes her own reflection stares back at her, but it quickly shifts to other people.

Every beat of her heart feels amplified, it's louder than ever before. Maybe it's echoing through a megaphone shouting for all the world to hear.

What's going on?

Frantic eyes bounce around, and in a moment they find Carbon, and as she reaches out for him, to help him, to hold onto him, the image goes away, and she's staring into the reflection of someone else. A girl she's seen before, and the light reflects through the weapon, and she wants to scream when the bone crunches.

She takes a step back, trying to control the tears threatening to flow down the side of her face, and she wants to yell out for Carbon to help her, but this is something she has to do on her own. Right now her life is in her hands.

Only she doesn't say a word. She doesn't do anything, and being silent, and maybe lost within the realm of the lights and reflections drift through the heart of the arena. A sense of calmness sweeps across her, and as long as Carbon's talking she knows he's alive, and she hopes he can hold his own.

Readying another axe, her eyes dart through each reflection, and maybe this time she'll find the right one. Sorrel closes her eyes focusing in on the sounds. She might be in someone's way, but this person is also in hers.

"You say I'm in your way, but the truth is, you're standing in mine, and I need to get to Carbon just like you're trying to get to your friend."

Nothing matters. Caring for people is a curse, and yet Sorrel finds herself unsure of what to do. Hurting others tears at the tiniest shreds of a broken heart. Knowing that she has to kill someone, that she doesn't have a path to victory unless she kills rests on her mind, and maybe that's what's stopping her here.

All she sees is the reflections staring back at her, and the voices grow closer before bouncing away forever. Directions mean nothing right now. Someone's voice bounces from one side of the cavern to the other and back and forth, and all she wants is to find Carbon, to figure out where he's hiding and get out of here.

A crunch, it's all she hears as every ounce of air flies from her lungs again. Tears roll down her face, and no matter how many times she blinks them away, they keep falling, and before she realizes it, she's lying on the ground once more clutching her chest trying to call out for help. Maybe it's just her mind playing tricks on her, but she swears she sees the grim reaper bouncing through the lights and crystals too.

Carbon tells her to focus, and Sorrel tries to hold onto some reality as a pair of broken eyes stagger across the horizon. A hint of blood trickles down the side of her face. Maybe she bit her lip too hard or something? She doesn't know, and quite frankly she doesn't care.

Caring is a curse, and here it'll be her downfall. Pushing it away is so much harder, but in this dog eat dog world she has no other options. She has to. She has to remain strong, and nothing is working. Nothing is helping her.

But she can't die. Not like this. Not lying on the ground begging for the angels to snatch her away before the pain becomes even more. It's hard to breathe, and her lungs are starting to beg her not to. Something is wrapping around her, squeezing the life out of her, and even standing is hard. It's hard to move, yet she finds her way to her feet using the sides of the cavern as a guide.

Side stepping, she wraps her hands around another axe. Spots flash before her eyes, and it's hard to see. It's hard to do anything other than stand here trying to stay alive. She closes her eyes exhaling as much as she can before drawing in another breath;

"You might not care about me, or Carbon, or anyone else in this arena, but I do. I care about you, about your friend, about my friend, about everyone." She pauses watching through the reflections trying to figure out exactly where Piper is standing. "But you will break that promise tonight because I am going to make sure of it." A breath is all she needs, and Sorrel throws again this time hoping she has her eye on the prize.