the red queen sacrificed to the ocean {mauve/robin day 5}

robin keeni, district 6

Robin was getting pretty good at fighting. After collecting his knives quickly from the corpse of the boy from Eight, he'd slumped off the way Mauve waved. The monsters had all recalled themselves and three cannons shot loudly through the air. They had taken this brief intermission as permission to get the hell out of the fray. If three was enough for the audience, three was more than enough for Robin himself. His calf, after all, was still on fire. It seemed to have stopped seeping blood, but every time he put weight on the leg, he'd clench his teeth to bar a scream from escaping his grizzled lips.

His stomach ached where the boy from Ten had kebab'd Robin with his spear. It was commonplace now to be in a constant state of pain. Every second of the day consisted of a low-vibrating headache from the constant pulses of pain the ran from his injuries. But none of them would heal in here, and should he end up being the victor, maybe these injuries could be relegated. For now? This was the reality of a tribute, the real pain, the strain of battle constantly weighing on your body. Robin had never treated his body as if it were a temple back home, but the saying was starting to make sense. His reckless fighting style had lined his limbs with welts and scrapes. Maybe if he'd learned to fight, trained, maybe he'd be more like Mauve right now.

Over the last couple of days, Robin had grown the respect the huntress in a way he'd never express aloud. From the beginning, Mauve had known the game and played it well. Robin had always understood the premise of course but lacked the fundamentals that would take to succeed. But, as he watched his ally, he noted her ability to survive. He thought, perhaps, that maybe if he tagged along, over time his impact would empathize with her, in a way. If she won, you know, maybe the impact of his camaraderie would light some sort of fire in her. Or perhaps in time she'd forget his name and laugh at the sheep she'd lead to slaughter.

"Thanks." He muttered under his breath as he scrunched up the uniform to reveal the scarring the spear had left. Mauve had promised she was much better at using a needle than Robin had been, and the hack job of stitched across his forearm made him inclined to believe she was correct in saying that. Trying not the scream out, Robin gripped at the soggy grass below, letting the dirt sink in his fingernails. The last thing they needed was for someone to come snipe them while they were treating Robin's wounds. No denying Mauve would leave him for dead at the point. His usefulness was only to a point.

"I'm good.." He promised as she finished up, however true that was, for now, it had the be the reality. "Did you see me get him in the neck?"