Here is the last page of our posts from the old guild! Posted here for reference, of course! Also note that there is no formatting, as it would've taken entirely too long to throw in all the BBcode for an entire page worth of forum posts D:
Jannah:
"That's what I thought as well. Nixie knows. We suspect that some sort of force field will be used to confine us in the arena. Perhaps if my theory stands true then I can use it to my advantage." Huxley confessed as he gave a slight nod towards Nixie. He knew it was risky to share so much with the other tributes, but what would Harrow do with it? Somehow he began to trust that the boy, a fellow ex-rebel, would not turn against him in the arena. At least not early on. Besides, what did he know about force fields? Being from District 9, it was bound to be very little.
Huxley was a bit startled as he noticed Amber stumble to the ground, but considering the display of knowledge she had shown earlier he was confident she'd be alright when the time came to be thrust into the arena. Medical knowledge of any kind was bound to be especially useful in there, even the most basic stuff. Huxley found himself at a disadvantage there. Despite recognizing different kinds of injuries he knew next to nothing about actually treating them; the task of medic while in hiding in The Wilds had been left up to the more skilled of the group. "Maybe you should stay away from that apparatus for a bit." Huxley commented, as Amber slowly struggled to sit up.
"I'm fine, thanks. Fortunately there's padding here." Amber responded, flattered that the others even bothered caring about her. She took her right hand, formed it into a fist, and punched into the padded portion of the floor. It retracted right back up, Capitol engineered no doubt. So they care about and protect us here... Amber let out a small chuckle, realizing the irony of the situation. It almost made more sense for them to provide no protection or perhaps even training. Wouldn't it make for an exciting show? No, of course not. The Capitol clearly wanted somewhat skilled tributes for maximum entertainment.
Wanting to try her hand at most skills, Coral spent much of her morning moving from station to station. Still she found herself being most skilled at knife throwing, although she knew where her real skills lie. Remembering all advice, she diverted away from what she was good at and tried her hand at other things. However, she had been quickly distracted by the commotion over in the distance. It seemed to be caused by somebody falling. It didn't take Coral long to decipher who it was. Amber. The fall had made the poor girl appear weak, but Coral almost began to feel sorry for her. She never had a chance at actually winning. Her reaping was a death sentence. She never had to rely on survival like the rest of us... Coral thought about all sorts of fates the girl could suffer while realizing her disadvantage. It almost didn't feel right to go after somebody vulnerable so soon. Same applied to the little District 3 girl, Nixie, but she was bound to be a difficult target anyway. She had allies. The strong must be eliminated first... Coral examined the room, focusing particularly on Harrow, Amaranth, and anybody else who appeared like they could hold their own.
Lonesilverwolf:
Harrow watched as Amber ignored his hand and stood to her feet. Lowering it, he found himself relieved she was alright. He watched as the padding raised back into place, and snorted, shaking his head. "Nice..." he muttered. He turned his head when he heard Huxley speak; "That's what I thought as well. Nixie knows. We suspect that some sort of force field will be used to confine us in the arena. Perhaps if my theory stands true then I can use it to my advantage." He arched an eyebrow at his words, leaning back against the climbing apparatus and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I had wondered," he said, "I mean, they'd have to have some way of keeping us in the arena. I was thinking natural boundaries, but the force-field thing...now that's probably what they'd go for...at least you know a lot about them. I've had to deal with them before, but never in a technical manner--that's what people like you were for, Huxley," Harrow smiled as he spoke, giving his fellow rebel a slap on the shoulder. He gazed at Harrow for a few moments, realizing as he did so that he would never attack him. He couldn't. Killing Harrow, even to get back to his sister, to little Micca, was just not something he could do. There was that bond of brotherhood, he was a rebel, he'd fought against the Capitol in his own way. How could he ever turn against him? The truth was, he couldn't. If he was to ensure Anastasia's survival, his best hope was that Huxley would be killed by someone else--because in the end, he could never strike the killing blow.
He turned to gaze to Anastasia to find her walking away from him--and his heart sank. Why was she leaving? He'd thought they were going to train together, and yet there she was, wandering alone over to the knot-tying station. His gaze darkened significantly, his smile turning black and his eyes, windows to his emotions that they were, would betray the hurt in his heart. Had he done or said something that made her want to leave? Had he upset her somehow? He wanted to go after her, but he was here with Huxley, Nixie, and Amber right now--he couldn't just walk off could he? Would she even want his company; if she did, surely she'd have asked him to come along? Confused and left wondering, he tried to mask the stab of pain, but it was futile; he was the sort that could not hide his emotions very easily. Biting his lip, he turned his gaze back to Huxley, but could find no words to say to him.
***********************************
Nixie watched Harrow and Amber interacting--but then she saw Ana release him, and walk away. I wonder... the girl thought. She'd have sword she saw a flash of...pain? Hurt? Jealousy? in the older tribute's eyes when she saw Harrow attempt to help Amber to her feet. She looked up at Huxley, giving a questioning look, but didn't actually say anything. She found herself wondering if there was something going on with those two. They had seemed really close--closer then friends, perhaps? She couldn't venture to guess just yet, and didn't want to jump to conclusions--but she was in a fight for her life--or Huxley's--and she needed to start acting like it. So, with firm resolve in her heart, she knew she would bring up her suspicions to Huxley when she had the chance to do so alone.
Jannah:
"Natural boundaries could be broken through. Trees. Just get one of the District 7 tributes near it and they could hack it away with their axe. The Capitol would need something "unbreakable", like a force field. Even I couldn't dismantle that, at least not without the proper equipment." Huxley continued as he contemplated more about the conclusions he and Harrow had reached. They were right. The only definite way to keep the games going as planned would be to confine them behind a force field of some sort. Huxley himself knew that one of those could only be dismantled through extensive reprogramming, something he had nearly perfected during his time working in District 3 but none of that would be accessible here. The Capitol surely knew better if they knew anything at all about Huxley, which they clearly did to have known he was a rebel. That had removed all doubt from his mind about the nature of these games. It was a fight to the death and neither Huxley nor Harrow were making it out.
Huxley quickly let out a smile as his fellow rebel seemed to accept him as one of his own. That alone left an impression on him. It was a sign of bondage, a sign of trust. Harrow was not going to attack him in the arena. Huxley could sense it. All he could do in exchange is return the favour. Through words unspoken the two were unofficially in an alliance. Perhaps it would even be beneficial to Nixie; would Harrow protect her if she outlived Huxley? It was the least he could hope for.
Wanting to get more training in, Amber set off on her own. She knew that Huxley and Harrow had a bond that she'd never share with anybody and being around almost began to feel intrusive. This was the same boy who had been angry at her just earlier for wanting the rebels in the arena. Besides, she she knew she couldn't stick around. She knew that alliances would not help her here. She was alone and she very much intended to play the game that way, hoping that somebody more deserving would walk out alive. A part of her wanted either Huxley or Harrow to win, or perhaps even Nixie. They had given up so much to prevent these very games from happening as she now knew and Nixie was much too young to even be here. Thank you...for trying to keep us from being here. Amber took one last glance over at the ex-rebel pair before walking off towards the other stations.
The rest of the morning passed rather uneventful for Amber as she moved around trying different things. She had wanted to try trapping again, but began to feel confident enough in it that it could wait. Besides, wouldn't it be best to save it? The mentor had spoken about not explicitly displaying skills you excelled in and it was advice she intended to follow. But realizing she was now famished she took off towards the lunch room, hoping that Snow would not be present again. The man was frightening and now she knew that his presence would make her erupt in rage. She would no longer fall for the Capitol's deceit. At least if she died she'd die knowing the truth, the truth that had been kept from the districts for so long.
Lonesilverwolf:
"Natural boundaries could be broken through. Trees. Just get one of the District 7 tributes near it and they could hack it away with their axe. The Capitol would need something "unbreakable", like a force field. Even I couldn't dismantle that, at least not without the proper equipment." Harrow nodded, as he began to realize just how smart Huxley was. Here he was, already sounding like he was planning a way to either break or use the force-field to his advantage. If anyone could survive these games, Harrow thought Huxley would've stood the best chance...except that he was a rebel. That meant, like him, he was pretty much destined to die unless he had some stroke of luck. And even then, it would need to be luck bordering on a miracle. He watched as Amber separated herself from them, casting one look back before heading away. He sighed, shaking his head. "That girl...I hate to see her become a victim of these games," he said softly.
"We are all victims of these games," Nixie pointed out, following Harrow's gaze. She frowned at him, then peered back towards Ana. "You know, I think you better go over there Harrow...aren't you two in an alliance?" Harrow blinked, staring at Nixie. The girl looked at him with those innocent green eyes of hers--and then winked! Does she know? he wondered. But he was also thankful--because she'd just given him a reason to go to her. On the other hand, why did she feel the need? She almost had to know something and he found himself hoping against hope that she simply realized they were close friends. If he were lucky, she'd attribute their relationship to the sort that she and Huxley shared. "Umm...yeah, I probably should, huh?" Harrow replied. "Hey Huxley...listen, before I leave..." He held out his hand. "Allies? Maybe not the follow eachother type of allies, but the 'I won't kill you and I'll help you if you need it' type?" He offered a half smile as he held out his hand, casting a sidelong glance towards Anastasia, his heart aching once more.
Jannah:
Huxley's suspicions had already been confirmed even before Harrow began speaking. The boy didn't want to harm him. They had both been rebels, after all, thus shared similar goals. Surely the same would stand true while in the arena. "Of course." Huxley shook Harrow's hand before leaning in towards his ear. "If I die please keep her safe." He whispered, pointing to Nixie. It was the least he could ask of the boy who had risked his life before for all of Panem and surely he would agree that one of the youngest tributes deserved to make it home.
Not having much else to say to Harrow, Huxley walked off himself. He had contemplated putting in more training, but then soon followed Amber towards the lunch room. It began to make him nervous, however. What if Snow was present again? After the encounter the previous day he didn't want to see his face. He now knew that the man knew he had been a rebel. He knew that he also likely knew about his activities in the laboratories. “Some of you are here for a… reason.” Snow's words from the previous day still burned into the depths of Huxley's soul. Of course the man knew about his rebel activities. It was foolish to perceive otherwise.
"No sight of Snow? That's a good sign." Huxley commented as he took a seat across from Amber. The lunch room was still very much empty; either they had arrived early or the others just weren't hungry. The former seemed much more likely so they just sat patiently and waited. Perhaps Snow would show up later, but Huxley hoped he wouldn't. If Silverman showed up he was tolerable, and perhaps naive but Snow was on another level; Snow had managed to manipulate his way up into the top rankings of the Capitol. That made him much more dangerous than Silverman who had just been naive enough to fall for Snow's trappings.
"Back in my district we of course were taught he was a protector of Panem. A liberator." Amber responded unexpectedly as Huxley commented about Snow. A liberator? Of course, but a liberator from what? The Capitol actually propagated the rebels as a legitimate threat? It almost seemed odd as somehow it seemed like the Capitol would have perceived such a thing to make them appear weak in the eyes of their most loyal districts. Even with his strong mind he realized there was so much of the Capitol mindset he didn't understand and would never have a chance to understand.
"He was a top general in the war, yes. As I already explained earlier he clearly manipulated his way to the top. Nobody moves through the ranks at such a young age as he did." Huxley commented as food began being brought into the room. Not wanting to place suspicion on himself he quickly went silent. Fortunately nobody he recognized were among the Avoxes. Not this time. I suppose Snow and the others decided they tortured me enough today... He stared straight at the group of Avoxes as they placed dish upon dish on the banquet table. He could sense pain and despair in the eyes of every single one of them. It was confirmed to be a fate worse than death...
Nixie followed Huxley, trailing slightly behind him as they made their way silently into the cafeteria for lunch. These training sessions, she found, were moving by at an alarming rate. Wasn’t tomorrow their last day of training? The thought nearly panicked her on the inside, making her wonder if she’d learned enough, if she’d even be able to keep up with the rest of the tributes. What would her score be? A 2? And then what? She supposed even a low score would be okay, as long as she and Huxley captured the hearts of the capitol.
Shouldn’t be too hard, Nixie thought as they entered the cafeteria,
he’s captured mine…. She blinked the thought away, and nearly collided with a chair, having been so lost in thought she’d been completely oblivious to how close she’d been to the table. Taking her usual spot next to Huxley, Nixie let out the smallest of sighs, pursing her lips together as thoughts continued to fill her mind.
Nixie listened as Huxley and Amber discussed General Snow. Liberator of Panam? She nearly snorted at the title, wondering if Snow had come up with that himself. More capitol propaganda. One had to hand it to them, they were certainly good at what they were doing, alright. Reaching out, Nixie began to pile food on her plate, not really hungry but beyond caring about her lack of appetite at this point. She turned, giving Huxley a wary glance and leaned forward, whispering into his ear,
“It’s...it’s coming too quickly. The arena, I mean...just around the corner….” She bit her lip, shutting up and leaning back into her seat, staring at the food in front of her. How would she handle these next few days? How would Huxley? Her determination to be brave for Huxley was quickly wearing down to her own panic, her fear and worry about the future.
Harrow decided it was time to find Anastasia. He felt bad that she’d wandered off by herself, and was also a little hurt. They had precious little time left together in training. It was quickly running out, and he wanted to enjoy what little time they had left. The feelings in his heart, the stirring in his soul over the girl...she’d managed something he didn’t think possible given the situation; she’d managed to make him happy in some small way. She was the one bright light at the end of this damn tunnel that could only end in his death. He just hoped that he wasn’t going to drag the girl down with him.
Slowly, he made his way towards Ana as she stood by one of the training stations. He swallowed, looking at her back and wondering how best to approach her. She seemed upset. Was he? Or was she just wanting to be alone? Deciding to chance that she was okay with his presence, he moved gently by her side, taking her hand in his for just a second when nobody was looking, then released it quickly hoping nobody noticed.
“Hey Anna,” he said softly,
“You alright? Everything okay?”
