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Post by Aeon The Phoenix on Jan 3, 2013 18:03:38 GMT -5
With the fire out and her presence either unnoticed or ineffectual on the proceedings at hand, Lily headed back up the stairs, but not to join Felix or the others. Instead, she knelt in front of the last remaining door - Plant Research - and pulled out her lock picks, curiosity having gotten the best of her. It was probably her last chance to do this anyway as it seemed clear abandoning the Factory was an action fast approaching on everyone's agenda. Lily Zelle rolled 8 dice to "Lockpicking" 3,10,8,2,10,3,8,3,2,10,3 (5 successes) As a click signaled her success, Lily pushed the door open slowly with one hand, sure that the light from her headlamp would cut through the darkness as she peered into the contents of the Plant Research room to see what lay within...
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Post by Kulvar on Jan 3, 2013 18:47:53 GMT -5
Boomer District 5 Male[/u] Boomer nodded to Felix's orders. He swallowed hard, hoping that the cannon didn't signal Lily's death. If it had, he'd not forgive himself for letting her go alone. If it hadn't, well... There was still time to bugger out, but for now. He had a task, and he set to it. He glanced up as Lily dashed down the hall, and let out a relieved breath, all without giving a second thought to who had actually died downstairs. If they were lucky, it wasn't a friendly who'd bitten the dust. He took his work out into the hall, fingers working as quick as they could, almost automatically even. "What happened? How can I help?" he asked, approaching Lily as she got the door opened. Boomer rolled 7 dice to "Crafting...escape...stuff...." 7,5,6,5,6,3,10,5 (1 successes) Brass Power, District 2 Male[/u][/color] Brass rode on Glory's shoulder. As she focused on getting them out of there, he focused on developing a plan to eliminate the competition. It wasn't exactly his forte, and he'd have to rely on others, Glory, for details of the surroundings, but they were far from out of this. Just time to put his mind to the task and figure it out, and talk it out once they hit the city.
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Post by Seryna on Jan 5, 2013 23:35:08 GMT -5
As Jan moved across the doorway, a shadow flush with the wall moved. Bogart, for all of his limitations, had placed himself in a position to attack whoever had moved through the door. Now Jan felt a punishing blow to his sternum. The second blow was a firm fist to his ribs; causing the air to rush out of Jan's lungs. Bogart now stood in the doorway; prey to Ember's ranged attack. His eye turned towards the second gate; perhaps Bogart was considering fleeing.
Upstairs
"Oh no."[/color] Sassinak hissed forcefully as the cannon sounded. She rubbed her shoulder worriedly; frowning heavily. As Felix made his announcement, the girl from seven nodded.
"Yes, that sounds good. We can head out the window. I've secured the rope to the door." She leaned out over the ledge. "I don't want to split up on the rope... but I only have one arm. I can go down with you and you can lower us down; or you can go down after Boomer and help me get down off of the rope. No ones' down there. There is an orange glow by the back door. The fire down there must still be going."
These were distractions; but they failed to occupy Sassinak's mind for long. She looked back to the door; biting her lip. Her bow and arrow remained in her hands; prepared to shoot any interloper who made it up the stairs. In the hall, Lily discovered a wondrous sight in the Plant Research room. Boomer could also peek at the sight from the hall. The room was lined with glass 3 ft by 3 foot cases; each containing a plant. Some were beautiful flowers in bloom; in colors from the deepest crimson to the sweetest lilac. A handful were sprouting fruit - bright red strawberries, sweet blueberries and one had a hard, round brown nut nearly the size of ones' head. Each case had a plaque with a name, such as 'Strawberry', "Blueberry', 'Coconut'.
The plants on the fair wall were divided into two rows of three. One had a green stripe on the lids and one had a red stripe on the lids. These looked like no plants in nature - the ones with the green stripe was a fern, a blossoming aspirin tree in fantastic miniature size and a pink flower that was putting of a pink haze in the air of its container. The second row of plants marked with the red stripe was a black spiky plant with deep blue fruit; a green vine that twitched, smacking against the sides of the case. The third was a red flower that was putting out pink spurts of liquid that coated the flower.
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CuteLikeMurder
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Jan 6, 2013 2:42:39 GMT -5
Ember Clay: District Twelve Female Tribute, “The Girl Who Loved to Play with Fire” Her hands were bloody.
So red.
She never knew that blood could be so red.
Her eyes were just has red. She had been crying the whole way back up. The full 10 miles. By the time the little girl with the chubby cheeks and the pig tail made it home her face and hands were caked with dirt and dried blood. Cradled in her arms was a dead wolf cub with the arrow that killed him still lodged in his tiny throat.
She was standing just outside her home. Terrified. She couldn't face her mother.
She had committed two cardinal sins.
One: She went out past the barrier.
Two: She was crying for all of Seam to see.
The latter could be punishable by a fate worse than death.
“Why are you crying?”
The voice made her jump right out of her skin. Even the voice of her guardian angel scared her down to her bones.
Big grey eyes looked up at her. It was before the darkness took her fully. When she was still pure. When she still had something to lose.
“I wanna take it back sis'ser... I didn't mean... I wanna take it back...” Her words were so hollow. “Please... I jus' wanna him to wake up and be better... Please... I'll do anything... Please...”
Cinder's eyes welled. And over the next 20 minutes the eldest sister explained to her youngest about death. And the finality of it all.
“Death is natural. It's the next stage. He's with the One now. And he's with his family. And he's loved and he'll never know pain again. And one day, you, me, Daddy... even Mommy will go to that place too.”
The little girl's eyes lit up in surprise. “Even Mommy?”
Cinder nodded as she cleaned her face. “Even people like Mommy deserve peace. Death isn't always a bad thing, little one. Sometimes it's a blessed mercy.” ... Not this time... Ember had Bogart dead-to-rights. He exposed himself with his attack on Jan. Sloppy. But what do would one expect from someone like Bogart? The only question now was to give him a quick death or to make him suffer? No quick death for you. Not after what he had done to Kingston. Not after what he had done to Jasper. Bogart wasn't leaving this place alive. But there was no reason she couldn't have her vengence. And all of Panem would get a taste of what happened when someone came against hers... When someone came against the Wolf Pack. For Grumpy, you son of a b****.... Ember zeroed in on his throat and said a quick prayer. Not to the One. Not to her sister. But to Jasper. This was his kill too. And if he was dead or dying. He wasn't going to the Great Beyond alone. Ember would make sure of it. Ember Clay rolled 9 dice to "shot throat (Ath 4 + Dex 4 + Bow 3 + WP 3 - Def (2) - Called Shot to Neck (3)" 1,3,10,8,10,8,7,4,7,5,2 (4 successes) Hit Points: 19/21 Willpower: 3/6
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Jan 6, 2013 13:27:25 GMT -5
Jan Colton; District 9's Volunteer: The Boy Who Would Watch the World Burn[/u][/color] He hadn't stolen it.
In fact, he'd been walking down from putting in tesserae today, and one of the drunks sitting in the square and waiting for the Victors of the Quarter Quell handed him a bottle.
"For your brother. Good boy...like my boy..good boy..."
Jan had just looked at it for a moment. Just stood and stared before he thanked the man and headed in the opposite direction from everyone else.
Toward the Barley Field.
"I'd rather spend today with you." By the time he was sitting in the dirt where his father had buried his brother, he was half-drunk. Fingers wrapped around the bottle, and he poured a little on the still somewhat bare plot of dirt.
"I hate them. All of them. And I don't know what to do..." He was sobbing by now. Apparently he was an emotional drunk. Not too shocking as that lately, he'd been frigidly cold. Everything he felt was tamped down and held in. "You're the only person I could be myself with...."
It wasn't until later that he learned his father found him passed out and drunk. Just before the Victors had been brought to Jace's resting place. Thankfully, he hadn't been seen like that, but he never saw that bottle of moonshine again.
And apparently his father had a talk with that drunk down at the square. The world hadn't been in anything but shades of gray since Jace died. There was no brightness and nothing worth really fighting for. He'd originally come to this place to learn what Jace had been feeling, to rip the Capitol's hearts to shreds, and to die, alone, and meet his brother in the Beyond where he surely waited. Things had changed. The Wolf-Pack had given him something worth fighting for, and for the first time since that fateful day a year ago, the world was in full color and full detail again. Only one thing mattered. Revenge for Jaspar. Revenge for Jace. And Jan, having see the arrow lodge itself in Jaspar's throat growled something inhuman before throwing himself at the other boy, shoving his knife into his throat. Someone needed to die. Needed to die slow. Jan had his Wolf-Pack at his back. And Bogart had killed one of theirs'. (3 successes); I"ll find the roll later?
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Post by Lite on Jan 7, 2013 11:56:28 GMT -5
Felix couldn’t take it anymore. He heard someone rush past, and then another rush out of the room and after them. He heard Sassinak speak, so it was Boomer. Putting two and two together wasn’t difficult; Lily must have run past and Boomer had to make sure she was okay. That meant it wasn’t Lily who had died. A sigh of relief escaped Felix’s lips, and he smiled over at Sassinak. It was amazing to be able to know where she was. Earpiece chirping descriptions, Felix nodded. Fire. Sassinak’s wound. He realised that they hadn’t cauterised her wound; something that should have been done. The thought was nauseating, and he didn’t want to mention it now, while they were planning an escape. It could wait just a little while longer; she didn’t seem to be in pain. “We’ll go down together.” He said, “No way am I leaving you alone at any point.” He lowered his voice, “If it was one of their’s that just dropped... I don’t know if we’ll get the blame for not helping. After all, they’re doing this for us. Kind of.” He moved slowly, hobbling across the room and towards where he had heard Boomer rush out. “Lily!?” He called out, not too loudly, “Boomer!?”What were they doing? He relied on his new helmet to chirp in information about their whereabouts. Felix Grayling rolled 6 dice to "Perception" 7,1,4,8,7,2 (1 successes)
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Post by Seryna on Jan 7, 2013 15:06:56 GMT -5
As the three tributes collided in the doorway of the factory, hot blood spurted in the cool twilight. It was Ember's arrow that first found purchase in Bogart's throat. A blade sank into tender flesh, parting the bevor that Bogart had donned at the Blood Bath. There's a wordless gurgle; a noise that makes one swallow. Bogart loses his footing and tumbles down onto the wooden porch. Hot blood begins to pool from his wound as the dying boy twitches. The light here is poor; but his arms are clutched to his neck. Soon they begin to relax in a position that must be uncomfortable; but the tribute from eleven is fading into a realm of not caring.
The night is coming now; clearly the Game Makers had been waiting for this confrontation. The sky above reveals the Capitol emblem; but the anthem does not play yet. The light in the sky give enough light to carefully move about the factory floor. The shadows are long; but one can clearly see the form of Jasper's body now. As one stared down at the corpse of someone who had been a friend or at least an ally to oneself; one was reminded of his personality. His words at the Blood Bath at being commanded in battle...
A glance out of the doorway proves that no more combatants lie in wait. Coral has reached the two of the wolf pack; chakram in hand. She looks down at Bogart's body, unflinching. The girl leans over Bogart's stilling form; her knuckles white around her chakram. Isolde picks her way closer; still pausing by the stair case. She can not see out of the doorway and remains with an arrow at the ready; watching Jan and Ember.
The confident Coral steps past the soon to be coprse; loping into a run. She circles the porch; her footsteps sounding in quick movements on the porch. Reaching the burning door; the viewers on television watch as she kicks the burning torch aside. The girl from district four moves down the three short steps to the yard, digging in the dirt with her hands. Loading the bottom of her shirt with dirt; she climbs onto the porch and flings the dirt onto the flames; smothering them while conserving her water.
She turns and picks up the smoldering torch from the ground, turning to evaluate the yard. She walks out to the fence, walking the perimeter with a frown. The second gate is still locked and she tugs on it; ensuring it. She returns to the split in the fence where the careers had cut through, frowning out into the night. Coral spends a few moments using the end of the torch to dig a hole; then buries the end of the torch beside the fence. Now the group can watch the opening in the fence in the flickering torch light. Coral still holds her chakram and backs away from the torch; letting the darkness envelop her. She watches the fence quietly; perhaps holding sentry. One would be hard pressed to see her without flashlight or goggles.
Upstairs
Sassinak listens for a reply from Boomer or Lily; but states. " I don't hear them, Felix. They might be standing guard on the stair way."
Yet they had ran down the hall; away from the stair way. Sassinak moves to the door; glancing out into the hall.
"The last door is open." She shares. "Here they are. Lily; Boomer; whats happening? Are the others all right? Did you see them coming up, Lily?"
No canons had sounded..
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CuteLikeMurder
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Jan 7, 2013 15:49:37 GMT -5
Ember Clay: District Twelve Female Tribute, “The Girl Who Loved to Play with Fire” There wasn’t any time for a second thought. Bogey went down and all Ember could think was, Confirm the kill. It was the cold truth. Something that quelled the fires that raged within her. Something that kept Ember’s mind focused. Because Bogart didn’t matter. Bogart was dead. He was still breathing… Barely… That heart was still pumping. But he was still dead. So that didn’t matter. Only the mission mattered. And it was time, Panem got a taste of what their money had brought them. Oh, no… That’s was too easy…The bow fell to the ground, as Ember shrugged off the quiver or arrows, jumping over the bench she had been kneeling behind. The backpack came off second. Then the helmet. He needed to see her eyes. She needed to look into his. “Get Felix and the others.” Ember told Jan, looking down at Bogart’s corpse. She had her hanging carelessly at her side. She didn’t care if anyone else was out there. Let them come. She’d kill them too. She’d kill everyone if it meant Jasper could breathe again. If her sister could… Or Jace… She’d kill Bogart if it meant Felix would be able to see again, and Sass could grow a new hand. She’d kill all of the careers or anyone who came to her people harm if it meant she could have 10 minutes alone with Bogart. She looked at Jan. “I need to borrow his axe.”Sis, your eyes better still be closed. It's going to get ugly. She glanced down at Bogart. “Bogey, you stupid bastard.”Ember dragged him out away from the porch, putting her knife away and began to remove Bogart’s armor. As she did, Ember took his right hand from him. “You choked him.” Ember said, taking out one of the throwing knives on her chest. She held his arm there for a moment and then drove a knife into his wrist. She moved to the left arm. “Then you killed him.” She staked his wrist to the ground. And stood up, unclipping her waterskin and draining it completely before she threw it away from her and challenged the darkness that lay before. When she called out to the jungle her voice was calm, almost neutral. “You still out there you ****ing cowards! I hope you’re watching because if you try this sideways sh** again, it’ll be your heads hanging from my belt.” Hit Points: 19/21 Willpower: 3/6
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Jan 7, 2013 20:03:14 GMT -5
Jan Colton; District 9's Volunteer: The Boy Who Would Watch the World Burn
At least now, the blood on his face and neck wasn't his own anymore. It was Bogart's--the bastard--and he yanked the knife out of the bigger boy's throat and dried it on his pants.
Love me, Panem...and choke on it.
He was staring down at the other boy when Ember stepped over Jaspar--poor Jaspar--and grabbed the dying Tribute and gave her order. If it were Isolde, he was sure she'd give him this. When it was Isolde...
...He was sure she'd give him this.
"I'll go get him." Gored up and all. With everyone coming down the stairs, it was nothing to go up and find Felix.
"Let's get going, Felix." The other boy was still looking rough, unable to really walk down the stairs on his own. This wasn't going to go well. He wouldn't be able to move fast enough. Jace had been hurt pretty badly. May have lost his leg had he survived last year, all the knives and arrows going into it the way it had.
Pa said that, after they'd cleaned him up and buried him in the Barley Field. That there was a good chance Jace would have lost his leg.
No one can hurt him anymore. No one ever can ever again...
"Come on, kid. Ember needs your axe." He wasn't going to ask why. Instead, he just picked up the District 7 Tribute and took him down the stairs.
"Bogart killed Jaspar, and is about to get killed for his trouble. Thought you might want to see it..or at the very least bear witness."
After all, Jaspar hadn't been one of Felix's.
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Post by Lite on Jan 7, 2013 20:14:58 GMT -5
Felix heard Sassinak as she spoke to Lily and Boomer, telling him that they had managed to get the last door open. He nodded, pushing forward out of the room and towards his two alliance mates.
Then his earpiece chirped something as he walked past the stairs. It described a boy coming up, and by its description of him Felix assumed it was Jan. Did the machine actually sound breathless, like it couldn’t believe his looks? Felix shook his head; he was going mad.
Before he knew it, Jan had picked Felix up, something about Ember needing his axe was said, and immediately Felix felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. The earpiece described the surroundings. No fire. Two on the ground, a girl over one of them. Jan’s explanation told him everything he needed to know.
Any kind of sympathy for Bogart left Felix. He had had hope for him; hope that Bogart would be like them, would realise that the Careers were the wrong side in all of this. But he’d killed Jasper. He’d killed Ember’s district partner. He wasn’t part of his alliance, no, but Jasper shouldn’t have gone out so early.
It should have been me.
Better him than you. Stay strong brother, don’t waver. I’m seeing you again.[/b][/color]
Alder again. Felix was shocked, every time the voice seemed louder. He swore that his brother was right there in the room with them. With a shake of his head, Felix looked at Jan.
“Thank you... For getting me down here.” Felix said, feeling slightly awkward. He shuffled forward to where Bogart was on the ground, Ember over him, and placed it on the ground next to him,
“For Jasper. For Kingston.” Felix said, anger and sadness and regret in his voice. He stood and backed away from Ember. He waited for his earpiece to describe the horrific scene that he knew would follow.
The horrific scene that, now, Felix wanted to endure.
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Post by Seryna on Jan 7, 2013 21:58:29 GMT -5
"That was Jasper." Shock bloomed on Sassinak's face; for the quiet archer had seemed very collected; very calm. As though he had not been terrified at every waking moment in the Games. Sassinak followed Jan as he carried Felix down the stairs; walking close behind the two boys. She still had her bow terminal attached and eyed the factory warily as they walked through.
"Brass was carried away by Glory." She noted. She knew Isolde had shared that over the earpiece; but it hadn't sounded like the girl had received a response. As Jasper's body came in sight; Sassinak exhaled audibly. The Blood bath had been madness and blood; but this was a shock. The plan had seemed so perfect. Sassinak peeked out of the door where Ember was holding court with Bogart and grimaced. The girl stayed a step behind Jan as they moved out.
"I'm sorry, Ember." The brunette from district seven expressed somberly to Ember as they neared the surviving district 12 girl. Coral and Isolde followed on Sassinak's heels. Isolde looked somber and solemn; her eyes down cast. Coral was agitated; shifting from foot to foot and gesturing with her chakram towards the fence.
"Damn coward." She spat at Bogart. "Where are the other dogs?"
"They left before Bogart's attack." Isolde shared. "He may have split with them. Victoria and Eclypse left right after the fire."
"What are we going to do for Jasper?" Sassinak wondered; looking back at the factory where Jasper lay. The hovercraft would be coming...
"What are you going to do to him?" Coral wanted to know; poking Bogart aggressively in the side with her chakram. Blood seeped through his shirt. She looked at the elaborate set up Ember was going about.
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CuteLikeMurder
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Jan 7, 2013 22:06:52 GMT -5
Ember Clay: District Twelve Female Tribute, “The Girl Who Loved to Play with Fire” At Felix and Sassinak’s words Ember just nods. But she doesn’t look at anyone. Not Jan. Not Felix. Not Lily. Not Coral. Not Sassinak. She just stared daggers into Bogart. Her fingers wrapped around the handle of Felix’s axe. The one that she had gotten for him. That her and Jasper bled to get for him. Grumpy is gone… She looked down at Bogart. She needed to know why he sold out Kingston… Jasper… But then again, she didn’t want to hear him speak. Panem, I hope this makes you sick. “Bogey… Look at me… I want to be the last thing you see. Grumpy was mine! Mine! Mine to protect. Mine to bleed for. Mine to kill if the time came. He was mine… And you took from me… ME!” Ember voice was eerily low. There was no flare to her words, no showmanship. “When you meet the Gatekeeper tell them that Ember Clay is the one that sent you.”She looked at Bogart and then Coral. “I’m going hack off his head with this axe.” she looked at Sassinak. “They can’t have him. I’m putting him to rest for good.”She brought Felix’s axe up and then down, severing Bogart’s head from his neck. When he was done, she looked at Jan. Her grey eyes blazed in the twilight. Brass, Glory, and the others were gone. Her words had fallen upon a deaf jungle. A pity. She rather liked her little speech. “Help me with Grumpy, Charming. We’ll have a funeral for him. District 12 style. Like I said, Bogey they can have. I almost want them to bring him back as Avenged so I can kill him again… But they can’t have Grumpy. Grumpy is mine.” Hit Points: 19/21 Willpower:3/6
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Jan 7, 2013 22:32:17 GMT -5
Jan Colton; District 9's Volunteer: The Boy Who Would Watch the World BurnAt some other time, he'd joke that doing it 'District 9 Style' wasn't going to happen, but then again he'd want that for Isolde. To bury her in the ground someplace beautiful, or someplace she loved, so that she could be one with the world again. Like Jace was. He was one with the fields he so loved. His 'Fields of Gold', as he called them. "It's not just barley, Jan. It's life, given to us by The One. That's what makes it beautiful." It was morbid, what Ember did to Bogart, but what he would have done had it been Isolde wouldn't have been much better, and he offered his District Partner a half-hug of support before he moved to Ember to help her with Jaspar. They were all each other's. Their Alliance would go out that way. Kill anything that came at them, and then kill each other. That was just how it was going to be. The ear-piece he'd given Jaspar is taken out of the other boy's ear, and he looked down into his face. Death... "Take care of this one, Little Brother. He was mine." He then leaned down to whisper. "He'll be there waiting for you, Jazz. In fields of gold. Tell him I love him."With that, he moved to help Ember. Because that was just the way this would get done. They would see that the Districts had their Humanity.... ...In the same breath they saw their true anger with their lot.
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Post by Kulvar on Jan 8, 2013 7:25:02 GMT -5
Boomer, District 5 Male[/u] Boomer drifted in through the door way. He'd woven about a foot of rope, and not very good rope at that, in his jaunt down the hall. He twisted his head at Felix's shout, but didn't answer, instead moving to look over Lily's shoulder. "Food," he said, even before reading the labels below. "And I could make those coconuts, as they're hollow, into a nasty bomb... With something explosive..." he murmurred a little lower. Boomer rolled 5 dice to "Encyclopedic Knowledge" 10,6,4,10,4,6,4 (2 successes)
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Post by Lite on Jan 8, 2013 7:50:25 GMT -5
Felix had known what Ember was going to do with his axe. Why else would she want it? But hearing her say it, say that she was going to decapitate him, it made Felix take a sharp breath before he turned to ‘look’ for Sassinak. He shuffled to where his helmet told him she was and then he took a hold of her good hand.
His blind eyes took in everything that happened. He heard the familiar sound of an axe swinging through the air, and then the sickening sound as it collided with Bogart’s neck. He hadn’t heard Brass’ sword as it had sliced through Sassinak’s arm, but this sound was horrifying, sickening. His grip tightened on Sassinak’s hand and he made a quiet choking noise.
It was the Capitol’s fault. They were to blame for Kingston, for Felix’s eyes, for Sassinak’s arm, for Brass’ eyes, for Jasper, for Bogart. It made him sick. The Games had forced children to become what they were in the Games and Felix despised them for it. His jaw clenched tight in frustration.
A funeral, District 12 style, was something Felix wanted to be a part of. Not only would it mean Jasper would receive a sendoff that he deserved, but also it would make the Capitol mad. And it would make Panem cry for what they had done, he hoped.
Anyone watching him would see a single tear roll down his cheek as he stands with Sassinak. That one tear expressed his anger, frustration and despair in a greater way than any words could.
“I’m sorry... For trying to defend that...” He hesitated, “That miserable coward. He deserved what he got.”
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CuteLikeMurder
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Jan 8, 2013 11:35:42 GMT -5
Ember Clay: District Twelve Female Tribute, “The Girl Who Loved to Play with Fire” Ember stared at Felix when he spoke. He couldn't see the anguish in her eyes. This wasn't Ember's first kill. The wolf cub whom she had laid to rest almost 13 years ago; that had been her first. And Roger and Ford she had helped to the grave. Roger had been her kill, Victoria and Glory had just stolen it. However, Bogart's death was different. She had tainted her soul... What was left of her soul. She could feel the darkness fighting to regain control. The darkness protected her from the drawbacks of still having a conscious. She still had Felix's axe in her hands when she hacked off Bogey's hands. The hovercrafts would be here soon to reclaim the bodies. But like she had said before: Bogart they could have. But Grumpy... He belongs to D12. To his brothers and sisters. He belongs to me. She nudged Bogart's body with her foot. Dead. Way dead. Looking up, she meets Felix's gaze. “Broody... What I did... What I will do before this is all over... No one deserves this.” She handed him back his axe. “What happened to your eyes, to Butterfly's hand, these f***ing games... We don't deserve it... None of us do.”I should be at home, playing auntie to Cinder's small army of children… But instead I'm here... She glanced down at Bogart's body again. “His name was Bogart. And I killed him.” She looked at Felix and then Sassinak. “The careers are next.”A promise. Not a threat. Ember didn't make threats. For one, no one takes my threats seriously. She didn't look like a fighter. She didn't look intimating. But looks can be deceiving. Just take a glance at anyone of them. There was more to these tributes than meets the eye. If Jan looked up at Ember, he would see her eyes well up. But Ember hadn't cried in years. She wasn't about to lose face in front of anyone. Maybe later. Maybe when her and Jan were along. Along she could think of better ways they could fill their downtime here than slipping their metaphorical guts. “Thank you...”Ember nodded to Jan and they lifted Jasper's body out into the open. She laid him down in the clearing and began to collect anything flammable, placing the items under and around Jasper's cooling body. When that was done she crafted some torches. One for each other them alive. And one more for Jasper which she stuck in the ground near Jasper's body. “Everyone gather around... It's time.” she said passing out the torches. Her upper lip twitched with want of a cigar. That would come later, of course. When this was all done. Hit Points: 19/21 Willpower:3/6
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Post by Seryna on Jan 8, 2013 15:02:14 GMT -5
"Shouldn't Lily and Boomer be here?" Sassinak asked quietly. "They were working on that last room, weren't they?" Isolde posed. "Maybe they found something. " Maybe they simply didn't want to be present at the funeral...
Coral sheathed her chakram and stepped up beside Sassinak and Isolde. The girls looked down somberly at the body of their deceased ally. Coral sighed sadly, shaking her head. Her face is conflicted with sorrow and anger. Sassinak is quiet; simply staring at the form of their deceased. Isolde stands beside Jan; quiet as the grave. She places a hand on his shoulder for a moment before letting it drop.
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Post by Aeon The Phoenix on Jan 8, 2013 17:10:51 GMT -5
With the last door unlocked, Lily had left Boomer to his plans and silently rejoined the others downstairs. Though not in time to see Bogart dispatched by Ember's hand, she at least took a moment to kneel by Jasper's side silently, respectfully.
I didn't know you at all. Didn't get the chance. You defended me from Careers, a complete stranger, and I thank you for that.
One less person between her and being Victor. It would be so easy now, to lean in and kiss Jasper on the forehead respectfully, rake in more Panem sponsors for the "Sweet Girl from Five." Lily just couldn't bring herself to cheapen his sacrifice...
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QuinnTalon
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For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the sheltered will never know.
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Post by QuinnTalon on Jan 8, 2013 21:57:03 GMT -5
Jan Colton; District 9's Volunteer: The Boy Who Would Watch the World Burn
They'd seen Jace's 'humanity' last year. When he hadn't run from those Tributes. When he hadn't left Lallek to die alone in that awful Arena. When he'd stood between them and Micha's path, and had killed two of them in two strokes.
When they'd found the spot, Jan had asked them exactly where it had happened, and then he'd lay down. Right there. Right in that place where his brother had taken his last breaths.
The sky had been so, so blue between the trees, and that had been the last thing he'd seen. How blue the sky was. How beautiful the world could be.
It had firmed Jan's resolve all the more.
"In District 9, we bury you. In the fields with nothing between you and The One's Earth. No caskets. Just...you, and the world, and from your death comes new life." There's a sidelong look to Ember. "Jace sleeps in his Fields of Gold. In his favorite place under his favorite tree. In the Beyond, he waits for me. He can go nowhere until I join him. It's just The Way of a Shared Soul, or so he Believed."
He wasn't sure this was supposed to go, but it felt right, to say something. "He's meeting Jaspar there. Right now. He'll meet him and send him on his way. This world...no one can hurt Jaspar anymore. No one will ever hurt him again.
"We take comfort in knowing that." Isolde's hand is squeezed before he releases her.
"Good-bye, Jaspar. Maybe if the world were different...if the world were better, we might have truly been friends."
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Post by Lite on Jan 8, 2013 22:17:02 GMT -5
“Felix?”
Felix’s eyes opened with a start. He moved over to the side of the bed, the bed that his brother was lying in. The boy looked terribly pale, especially under the moonlight. Felix took a hold of Marc’s cold hand, and he felt the young boy shiver. “What’s wrong?”
“I think tonight might be it.” Tears welled in the child’s eyes as he spoke. He had been having nightmares of the night that The One would come to take him away. He looked into his brother’s eyes, looking for the comfort that they always brought him.
Felix couldn’t give him that comfort tonight.
“Don’t say that, Marc.” Felix’s voice cracked. Marc had never said it before, he’d always said that tomorrow he’d get better, he’d seemed to be dealing with it well. Too well. Every day, Felix woke up to smiles from his baby brother. Every day he looked into those clearly dying eyes and see life looking straight back at him.
“It’s okay,” He was only eight, eight years old, yet he was the oldest person in the house. He had an old soul. “I know it’s going to be tonight. And I’m ready. I’m ready to get better.” Felix looked into his brother’s eyes and saw a single tear roll down his cheek.
“You can be scared, Marc. You can be scared, you can tell me how scared you are.” Felix said anxiously, but he knew that the only one who was scared was himself.
“I’m not afraid. I just worry. I don’t want you to come with me any time soon.” Felix knew what his brother meant. The Games. “I’ll see you again, big brother.”
“Of course.” Felix said, tears running from his own eyes, “You’ll see me tomorrow. When you wake up. When you tell me that tomorrow you’ll be better.”
“Tomorrow I’ll be better. I love you.” Marc closed his tired eyes. He fell asleep with Felix’s hand locked around his.
“I love you too. I love you too. I... I love you, Marc.” Felix slept, knelt on the ground and his head on the bed. When he woke up, Marc had already been gone for hours.
He got better. Felix took the axe back from Ember as she handed it to him, and for the first time since coming to the Capitol, Felix felt human. And so did everyone else to him. Jasper’s death, Bogart’s death... They both meant something to them all, and Felix suddenly felt wracked with guilt. He looked towards where he assumed Ember’s eyes were, and he nodded. He understood her. And he understood himself; they had to split up. Ember’s group and his, tonight would mark the end of their union. The end of the safety sought in each other. Lily joined them, he realised as his earpiece chirped. He squeezed Sassinak’s hand and walked out into the open with her. Toward Jasper’s dead body, lying down in what was described as flammable objects. He felt the heat of fire, and took a torch with his free hand. Felix stood by Ember, why he didn’t know, but he just did. He released Sassinak’s, only so she would be able to use her own hand to hold the torch that was passed to her. The heat of the fire, it felt real. Because it was real. He wasn’t going to wake up and this would all be a terrible nightmare. He was in the Games, they all were and they were all going to die. All but one. He swallowed as Jan made his speech about the customs of District Nine, and about his brother, and about Jasper. His eyes closed, he let the fire’s warmth touch him as a shiver of cold ran down his spine. “Rory told everyone at the Feast... But, in District Seven, at home, we also burn our bodies. We keep the ashes, and then we scatter them in the forest. It’s a beautiful and dark ceremony. There’s a large feast, everyone has a seat. But we leave one empty, one right at the head of the table, for the person that passed away.”Felix stepped aside, leaving a space between Ember and himself. It was large enough for Jasper to stand in, and Felix’s blind eyes saw the boy standing there with a torch, honouring his memory. He stepped aside again. For Bogart. Bogart was there too, holding a torch. Felix held his torch tightly. “Jasper was brave, he risked his life for everyone here, and for that I am truly grateful. For that, he deserves the peace that we all will eventually find.” Felix’s free hand moved to his heart. He made a fist, and held that position. He was honouring Jasper’s memory, and acknowledging the fact that the boy would forever be in his heart.
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CuteLikeMurder
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Jan 9, 2013 1:28:54 GMT -5
Ember Clay: District Twelve Female Tribute, “The Girl Who Loved to Play with Fire” Ember took a deep breath and let it out. She didn't cry at sister's funeral and there would be no tears shed for Jasper tonight. The people of district 12 were a hard people; forged in the mines, they were simple made of stern stuff. Jan's words were beautiful. Lily's gesture of kindness was touching. And for once since this all started Felix had finally come to understand the simple truth. None of us here are monsters. Just products of a system that was stacked against us to begin with. Bogart's death. Well, blood needed to be repaid with blood. Broody was gone. So was his killer. It was done. The debt was repaid. All they needed to do was put Jasper to rest. With a flourish, Ember sparked her fancy lighter and lit the first torch. And she spoke she lit the one by Jasper's body and the kindling he laid under. “I used to be religious. Every Sunday, the sis would wake me up early. And we'd go to the worship house and pray. After she was -- after we put her to rest, I stopped going. So my understanding of Scripture is a touch rusty. Cindy, is was the true believer. She called me, a Doubting Thomas. I was always looking for it to all make since. If the One was good... just... then why all of this?” She walked around the circle and lit everyone's torch with hers. “Anyway... It's said in District 12 that the One forged us in fire. And when we die we commit ourselves back to the fire so our souls can be free to join the One. Death is a private affair. To be shared with family only. When my sister died, it was just me and my dad... my mom...”Ember took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She'd keep it together for her sister's memory. For Jasper's. “Grumpy had a big family. But he didn't feel like he belonged. When your pops is a peacekeeper who had to punish you for trying to feed his siblings... that happens. He didn't stop to talk to his folks. Neither did I. So in a way we were both orphans... didn't have families anymore. But in this place, he was the closest thing I had to a brother. The only kin I had left.
“I can't do this alone. So everyone gather around and at the same time lit the brush underneath him.”When they do so, Ember lower her torch to the kindling, holding it there until it caught fire. “Jasper Thorne, Son of Fenwick and Lavender, we commit your body to the cleansing fires of the One. As your body burns away so too will your sins, and you will know peace in the One's light. Ashes to ashes, brother.”Her stomach growled but she stood her ground. The others could eat while she kept watch. She'd stay with Jasper until the end. Hit Points: 19/21 Willpower:3/6
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Post by Kulvar on Jan 10, 2013 7:40:48 GMT -5
Boomer, District 2 Male[/u]
Boomer watched Lily leave. One cannon meant there was still danger, but... He looked back to the fruit and set to gathering it all up. He'd add it to his bag in the security room. And the coconuts, he'd drill a hole in those later. All in preparation for making a handy explosive. He knew last year the tributes, at least in the end game, had gotten explosive gear... He looked up, hoping a camera might be trained on him, and his mentors would see and or hear him. "Some gunpowder, or other explosive material would be wonderful... even the base components I could work with..." he said to no one in the arena, before rising and leaving the plant room to go stash the new acquisitions.
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Post by Seryna on Jan 10, 2013 17:13:20 GMT -5
One by one, torches lowered to the brush underneath Jasper. Sassinak's one good arm pulled from Felix to tend her portion of Jasper's pyre; her pale skin giving a haunted cast to her eyes as the fire leaps up. As soon as the pyre is lit; Sassinak carefully struggles to set her torch upon the ground and slip her arm through Felix's. Coral's face was a mask; not overly emotional. She avoids making eye contact with any one as she lowers her torch to the tinder. Isolde stands beside Jan; her face somber. She has already offered silent comfort with a hand; now she watches as one of their allies is conveyed to the One. No hovercraft nears; allowing the tributes this bit of solidarity and grieving.
As the flames rise up and the smoke rises towards the rising moon; envious eyes in other places begin to turn towards that little factory. As the moment passes; a stealthy hovercraft sneaks in low; stealing Bogart's body and all that was on him. The craft steals away; any one who notices the theft of the murderer is once again reminded of how alone you are in this arena; accompanied only by these people around you now, and Boomer. Would any one be stolen away from you tonight? Who would depart in death tomorrow?
The emblem that has been hanging in the sky holds it breath until Jasper's body is consumed in fire. The hovercrafts hold their distance as faces begin to play on the screen - Ember's two rightful kills at the Blood Bath; Kingston. Somebody named Marsh. Then the two that hit hard to home; one for mourning and one for despising; Jasper and Bogart. You now know exactly who is out there; how many stand between you and a life back home.
As the anthem fades away on its last bar; a prick of hunger grows. The wolf pack had fruit this afternoon; while Sassinak, Felix and Coral's last meals were many hours ago. Fatigue comes at hungers heels, a distracting blanket to the knife in the belly. Yet one remembers that the careers had cut through the fence - some sentry was surely needed unless someone could fashion the fence closed...
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QuinnTalon
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Post by QuinnTalon on Jan 11, 2013 16:11:03 GMT -5
Jan Colton; District 9's Volunteer: The Boy Who Would Watch the World Burn[/i][/u][/b] [/color] All three families had been waiting on the platform for the delivery of District 9’s Tributes, but nothing had prepared Jan for any of it. For when they unceremoniously put those pineboxes on the ground. For when the man from the Capitol offered the clipboard to his father. To sign.
To sign for the body of his dead son.
Josiah Colton had just glared at it until Katie took the clipboard in his stead. Kal had come to help them carry the box, but as he started toward it, his father blocked him with one arm.
The Capitol’s flag lay over the box like a brand, the insignia of the Capitol staring at them as if gloating and taking pleasure in their loss.. Jace had been a Tribute. A glorified human sacrifice, and they were owning him even in death. Treating him like a thing, and not as if he’d once been a person. It was enough to turn Jan’s stomach.
Abigail and Micha’s families were in the process of getting things together to take their loved one’s home...
...The collective gasps as Josiah stripped the flag off of the casket, and unceremoniously tore the lid off of the box.
Jace looked pale, and with his dark coloring, he looked yellowish-gray. Or at least he would have, had he not been ‘prettied up’ by Capitol Stylists to look alive even in death. He was wrapped in the jacket he’d died in, along with the rest of his Tribute Arena uniform, complete with the District 9 patch on the arm, the hard-won, ill-used hand-scythe grasped in his hands.. There were even light touch-up’s to his face where there had been scratches and such.
Jan swallowed, hands shaking. That thing wasn’t his brother. Jace was safely away from this place. Safe in the arms of The One, but for them to do this...to make a mockery of who he was....
...He wasn’t just a Tribute. He was Jace Colton, son of Josiah and Katie Colton. The Boy with the Angel’s Voice. The boy who wanted a simple life, and who wanted nothing more than a long life with a woman who loved him, and a house full of children. The boy who wanted to be a farmer. The boy who loved his ‘Fields of Gold’.
It was no secret to anyone that Jace had been Pa’s favorite. He was the one who was the most simple and elegant and at peace. He was a rare person. An Old Soul.
The Capitol had murdered that simple boy on screen for their viewing pleasure. For their entertainment. He had been popular, but that had only made his death more celebrated. ‘The Tragic, Noble Jace Colton’. That was who he’d be to those people. A boy who sacrificed himself for others.
To them, that was all he’d be, but everyone standing here--related to each other in some small way--knew that he was so much more.
But Jan had never seen his father like this. Had never seen him so...careful, as he lifted Jace out of that box, pressing his face into his shoulder as if shielding him from anymore pain and dropping that hand-scythe back into the box with little ceremony. That scythe could have bought them food for half a year, but Jan knew that was unimportant right now. His father’s face was a stone mask, but anyone who knew Josiah Colton knew he was a hare’s breath away from tearing that little, pathetic messenger from the Capitol to pieces.
No one dared stop him.
The messenger swallowed. “Mister Colton, the Capitol has generously donated this...”
“My son will not sleep in a dead tree, and he will not sleep in...this [/b].”[/color] He gestured to the Capitol frippery Jace was wearing on his body and on his skin. “ He’ll sleep in the living Earth, cleaned up and himself, as he would have wanted.”
There was a deadliness to Jan’s father’s face that had the man from the Capitol take a step back, and the station and the somber people there had gone deadly silent. The Peacekeepers’ demeanor had changed just a touch. Watching. Waiting. Josiah had made his point, and as such hefted Jace closer, eyes never leaving that man’s face. “We don’t need anything from those people, least of all a box branding him as a piece of Capitol property.
“We are the Coltons, and we take care of our own.”[/i][/blockquote] The Hovercraft is ignored. Jan stayed, watching. Until the last ember burned low, and Jaspar was gone, he stayed. Because while he didn't expect it of anyone else--especially seeing as most of them hadn't eaten much lately--Jan expected it of himself. To watch Jaspar leave them completely. To watch him be committed to The One. "Everyone eat something. Drink something. Get some sleep. Then we'll decide Watches." Though he was sure Ember would want First Watch. Jan would likely take second. Isolde likely third. They weren't leaving each other helpless. Did he think Felix and Sassy were capable of betrayal? Not at all. It was the rest he really wasn't sure about. Lily might be the same age as his brother Sam, but where there was the slow-burning fire of Rebellion in Sammy Colton, there was something downright predatory about Little Bit. He could respect that. Just meant he wasn't going to trust it. "Ember. Isolde. Let's cook up that Lamb Stew. Ember and I will hunt in the morning."
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CuteLikeMurder
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Jan 13, 2013 15:08:33 GMT -5
Ember Clay: District Twelve Female Tribute, “The Girl Who Loved to Play with Fire”
Ember watched Jasper until he was no more. Bogart's head and body were gone. But his hands were on the ground at her feet. So was a good portion of his gear. The knife he used to killed Jasper with, and his armor. There had been something in his pockets. Something that was in crumpled in her hand.
As Jasper's body turned to smoldering embers, she took the take to unfold it. And what she almost bad her curse.
"It's time to put down the wounded lion. - Jasmine." Mentor note. Interesting... Bogey, you were dumber than I thought if that was possible. Stupid ****. Well, Jasmine. You'll get your wish. It just won't be Bogey that does the killing.
If she had her way, they'd put down Victoria first. Then Glory. Then Eclypse. If she had her way, she'd bring Brass before Felix and Sassinak like Bogart had done with Kingston. That would be poetic justice. And a plan she could certainly get behind.
When Jasper's body was ash, Ember spoke but her voice sounded hollow.
“Charming, I'm going to walk the perimeter.” She picked up Jasper's Bow and Quiver. “You and Sweetpea eat up. You've earned it. I've gotta put tie a hand at each whole the careers came through. They need to know what happens when they come against us. I'll eat when one of you can relieve me.”
Ember didn't know why she added at bit about eating. Normally, she'd have barked at someone and told them what she was going to do. But this... It was almost as if Ember was trying to find a friendly compromise with Jan. She needed to eat. But someone needed to watch their backs.
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