🦋 The 20th Hunger Games ➵ Victor: Penny

[Zyn]

☭ 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚊 𝚂𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚡 ☭
District 2 || Career || Male || Eighteen || The Mad Dog

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☭ Location: North Quadrant
xxxxxxxxxxxCamp
☭ Tags: Caspia, Gloria
☭ Mood: Tired, Worried
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.
Chaska was relived when Gloria agreed and curled up in the spot he had prepared. Settling down in the second spot he watched as Gloria's breathing evened out and it became clear she had fallen asleep. The moment he was sure she was fast asleep he lay down himself, squeezing his tired eyes shut as he struggled to force himself to fall asleep. Unfortunately for him even with exhaustion making his limbs feel heavy and and achy sleep did not come for the District Two career. Instead he lay there waiting for sleep that was never going to come. Maybe it was the nerves or maybe it was the training he had gone through. Regardless of the reason he lay there, eyes closed, pretending to sleep. Not long into their nap the sound of Gloria murmuring his name drew his attention. His eyes slid open and he propped himself up on his elbow to peer at his district partner. Even though it was dark he could still make out her form and it was then he noticed how how sweaty she had become. He started to pushed himself to his knees to make his way over to her when she leaped to his feet and screeched something about the mutts. Lurching to his feet he rushed out after Gloria. He was rushing after Gloria because he was worried about her and not because of what she had said. He had registered that he hadn't heard anything that would imply mutts, no warning shouts from Caspia. As he burst out of the tent he nearly tripped over Gloira who had collapsed in front of the tent. Quickly he waved his hand at Caspia to make her aware that there was no danger and they were okay. Then dropping to his knees next to her and reached out with his left arm and pulled Gloria protectively against his chest, her body was hot to the touch and his theory that she had a fever was confirmed. With that in mind he drew his long sword.. He knew there was no danger but if Gloria saw the weapon then she might feel at ease enough to listen to his next words. "Gloria, there aren't any mutts. I need you to take a deep breath. You have a high fever, the mutts that you hear or see are because of that fever" he murmured as reassuringly as he could. "Just close your eyes and focus on your breathing, ignore everything else and center yourself. Just like how we learned at the academy" he continued softly. His aim was to help her push past whatever she was hearing or seeing or both. Nothing was worse then hearing or seeing something and no being able to do anything about it.

[rose petals.]

GᒪOᖇIᗩ ᒪᗩᑕE
|female|2|career|tags: chaska, caspia|

Gloria's eyes widened as Chaska pulled her against him. Was he trying to restrain her? Was he on the mutts side? Was he trying to KILL HER? Instinctively, she thrashed out, but then heard the soothing resonance of Chaska's voice. "NO! I'm.. I'm FINE! The mutts are coming we HAVE to get out of here!" Gloria gasped, frantically looking around for the mutts. She could've sworn she had just seen one. Chaska's advice to center herself fell on deaf ears as suddenly a 'growling, angry mutt' came into view. "NOOOO!!!" Gloria screeched at it, as that seemed to work when they fought them before. But the hallucinated version didn't react that way. So instead Gloria threw a knife at it, which was really difficult in her state and lodged itself in a tuft of grass. Gloria let out a bloodcurdling scream as the fake mutt sank its teeth into her flesh. "CHASKA WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHY AREN'T YOU HELPING?" Gloria screeched, still barely able to move. WHy was he restraining her? Was he letting the mutt kill her? Suddenly all her fears from earlier came back. Her allies were trying to kill her. It all made sense. Madeline had never liked her from the start. They all knew she would win and were jealous of her. They had been plotting this whole time to get her killed. They had probably set up the mutt attack earlier- but it killed Killick instead! Or were they trying to kill him too? It explained why Eden was always trying to give her food... and make her rest... and why chaska got gifts but SHE didn't. She had to get out of here! She had to save herself. Scrambling to her feet, Gloria held one of her knives out, switching the direction of the blade from Chaska to Caspia. "I KNEW IT!" Gloria shouted. "THIS WAS ALL ONE BIG ELABORATE SCEME TO KILL ME WASN'T IT? YOU KNEW YOU COULDN'T BEAT ME IN THE END SO YOU HAD TO KILL ME NOW!!" Gloria shouted, still breathless and exhausted. "Don't you try anything... I- I- I KNOW YOUR PLAN!"

awww... our poor baby...

[SunnyJustice]

➵ Eden Beauregard • District One • Career
➵ Location: Plains
➵ Tagged: Madeline, Sienna, Sienna's new friends?
It didn't take long for Eden to identify these flowers as chamomile. The wispy, filamented leaves gave them away. As he began to gather bunches of flowers into his hands, some movement across the plain caught his attention. It seemed Sienna had returned to her campsite by the river. Eden's heart warmed at the sight, reminding him she was still alive and well, but... where was Jay?
Eden's heart began to pound as he scanned the grassland for any sign of life. He spotted two other tributes nearby, both of whom appeared peaceful and nonthreatening for now. But neither of them was Jay. At that moment, the memory of several cannons earlier came to mind. That, combined with Jay's sudden disappearance from his guardian's side, could only mean one thing.
"Sorry, Madeline. I'll have to put our insult lesson on hold for now. Could you stay here and keep an eye on those two?" Eden murmured, gesturing to Felix and Penny. "They don't seem hostile, so for now we'll leave them alone if they leave us alone."
This was no time to get into an unnecessary fight. Right now, the Careers' priority was to make sure Chaska and Gloria were okay - their wellbeing was the most important thing. To emphasize his point, Eden laid his swords down next to the flowers.

Eden approached Sienna, little bouquet of chamomile still in hand. To make it clear to both Sienna and Madeline that he didn't intend to attack, he held his arms up in a surrender-like gesture until he reached the riverside camp. The boy then flung his arms around Sienna in a big bear hug, holding her tightly like he wanted to shelter her from the cruel world. She'd just redone her hair braid so he hoped he wasn't messing it up too much. Just a passing thought, and his mind quickly returned to her loss. "Sienna, I'm so sorry."
Out of his peripheral vision, he looked over Penny and Felix for a moment. Those were the tributes who'd helped comfort Rieka back in the cafeteria. They had good hearts, making Eden dread their upcoming fight even more.
The fact that they stayed near, even with the approach of two Careers, suggested maybe there was some kind of bond between them. Hopefully Eden's hunch was correct and these were indeed Sienna's new friends. Heaven knew she needed them.


➵ Icarus Matthias • District Two • Mentor
➵ Location: Mentor's living quarters
➵ Tagged: WHY ARE MY CHILDREN SUFFERING
As Icarus returned to the living room, Licaria perked up from her seat on the couch. "How's Edmund?"
"Not good. I put him to bed, hope he feels better in the morning," Icarus murmured as he took a seat beside her. He noticed Licaria was clutching her clipboard as usual, but no pen was in her hand. She winced in pain as she rotated her wrist. Great, now his other fellow mentor was suffering. Icarus had the urge to put up an angry sign on his wall that declared NO SUFFERING ALLOWED.
"What happened?" Icarus' concern came out as grumpiness instead, his voice a dark grumble. Since he knew Licaria wasn't exactly the best at communicating - even by Career standards - he pointed to her clearly injured wrist.
"This? Oh, it's nothing. Just sore from taking notes for Madeline's insult lesson." Licaria turned her clipboard around to show him. Icarus squinted at the illegible papers, then nodded and pretended to understand. At least she was okay. That was what mattered.

His attention turned to the television screen just as the Careers' camp descended into horror. Gloria staggered out of the tent and collapsed, clutching her knives in desperation. Gone was the dignified knife-wielder from District Two, proud valedictorian of year 20. In her place was this poor, disoriented soul tormented by mutts she couldn't see. Icarus could almost feel the terrified pounding of her heart.
What part of 'no suffering allowed' do you not understand? Was the only coherent thought Icarus could form as he stared in horror. I thought I made myself clear. This is not allowed to happen to my child.
Chaska followed his district partner outside. Icarus could see the dark, sunken circles under his eyes even from this angle, but despite his own exhaustion, he did his best to comfort his panicked ally. The calming steadiness in Chaska's voice held wisdom beyond his years. Even in his grief, Icarus was able to ground himself by thinking of his Career son. I'm so proud of him...
I'm proud of Gloria too. She's grown so much in her short time in the arena, Icarus thought, even as the feverish tribute began to lash out. Sadly, not even the kindest of intentions were able to bring her back from that dark place. But I never got to tell her.
Then it hit him. It wasn't too late yet... Maybe there was still time to tell her before the inevitable farewell.


➵ Sponsor Gift
A soft chime sounded in the eastern quadrant, followed by the appearance of a silver silk parachute. It descended from the still skies and came to a rest near the Careers' camp. Opening the capsule attached would reveal a golden crown, shaped like a Roman laurel wreath to be worn around the head. The flawless craftsmanship of the crown had a signature District Two flair.
One would easily miss this detail in the dark of night, but one of the golden leaves bore an inscription:
VALEDICTORIAN - CLASS OF YEAR 17
Attached was a note from Icarus.
If this reaches you in time, Gloria, I want you to wear it. When I graduated the academy, they crowned me to memorialize the night I became a true Career. It represents all the pride and honor of our district. Now that it's yours, let it speak for all the pride of District Two. We're proud of you, Gloria.
I'm proud of you.
- Dad

[honeybee.]

Caspia Searobin | District 4 | Location: Camp | Tags: Chaska, Gloria |
A little while had passed with Caspia sat by the fire when a screech about mutts came from the tent. Caspia jumped up, snatching her trident from where it had been propped up, to see Gloria leap out of the tent flap and promptly fall to her knees. It took her a long moment to realise there couldn't possible be any mutts. "Gloria.. what?" Chaska emerged out of the tent after his district partner and gave her a quick wave, he could handle this. Still Caspia remained stood by the fire, hovering a little anxiously. In Chaska's murmured words she heard 'fever'. Ah, that would make sense. Poor Gloria was hallucinating, unsurprising from the look of her damaged earlobe.

The screeching began again until finally Gloria scrambled up and pointed her knife at the pair of them, yelling about a scheme. "Gloria," Caspia tried to speak as soothingly as possible, slowly crouching to place her trident on the ground and showing the girl her palms. "You're fine. There's no plan. The mutts aren't real. We're your allies, we wouldn't hurt you, I promise." The low pitch and slow tone of her voice was a stark contrast to Gloria's screeching and would hopefully do something to calm her down. No sooner than the words had left her mouth, a soft chime sounded to signal the descent of a parachute. "I'm sure that's for you."

———

Felix Prestman | District 12 | Location:  Sienna's Campsite | Tags: Penny, Sienna, Eden, Madeline|  
Sienna did not respond in any way Felix was expecting. It seemed that Eden and Sienna had history and though Felix still doubted the District 7 girl's faith that they wouldn't attack them, he nodded. He wanted nothing more than to return to Sienna's campsite and eat, so they would brave the Careers. Besides, the tone of Penny's voice when she brought up the blanket again made him certain he couldn't abandon this place.
Beside him Penny took his hand and Felix gave it a reassuring squeeze, grateful for the reassurance himself. They walked with Sienna to the campsite and he watched as she headed off to fish. She clearly trusted Eden to leave them alone, but still Felix tensed when the District One boy approached her only to give her a hug. "That's not really what I was expecting." He said aloud to Penny, grabbing a stick to poke at the fire. It was still smouldering slightly and with the added exposure to oxygen it started to flame up better. Still, he kept one uneasy eye on the District 1 girl. "But I'm glad we seem to be safe for now. Maybe we could find some of that trail-mix Sienna mentioned earlier?"

[Runnersback]

➵Sienna Mach-North| D7 |17|Tags:Penny,Felix,Eden,Madeline | loc: east

Sienna saw Eden and her dull eyes lit up with pure joy until she realized she was still carrying weapons, so she dropped her axe on the rocks and sat down the bow and arrow she was bound to fish with. She was taken off guard by the beautiful bear hug, her Eden had given her so she gently wrapped her legs around him to give him a even bigger bear hug. It may have been cheesy of her but the surprise visit was all that she need to know that he was safe. “Eden, he’s in a better place now with Rieka. That’s why I had left the tent with my new allies, we killed Darius. There sweet and knowledgeable, and you’d love them if we weren’t under these circumstances.” Sienna said as she rubbed his back a little before realizing she had babbled on.

“How are you,Caspia, and Chaska holding up?” She asked as she looked up while continuing to latch onto him for all of eternity. Sienna genuinely couldn’t help and she did feel slightly guilty with all the eyes. So she gently detached from him to hold his hands before glancing my over to her allies to give them a small smile and mouth her many apologies. Sienna quickly shifted her head back to Eden giving him all her attention. “I’ve missed you Eden Beauregard, I really have.” Sienna stated softly with a small blush fanning her face as she gently ran her fingers over his hands before grinning at the fact he still had her district token with him.

[rose petals.]

GᒪOᖇIᗩ ᒪᗩᑕE
|female|2|career|tags: chaska, caspia|

The soft chime of the silver parachute brought Gloria to her senses a bit, but as soon as it touched the ground she was back to her hallucinated state. It was probably a gift from Licaria or Edmund, something to help kill Gloria. She wouldn't let them have it. She darted towards the gift and opened it, unaware that the others weren't trying to get it. It was clear that the parcel was a parting gift. Inside was a crown, and it made her smile. that's all she ever wanted, was to wear a crown. Of course- the crown the victor wore after the games. Although this one would do. This one would do. Gloria placed the golden ring on top of her blonde head and turned back to the other tributes, Icarus's note in hand. Slowly, she read it, eyes dancing over each words multiple times. After about her fourth time reading the note, Gloria's eyes had watered so much that all the words blurred together. All except the ones that had burned into her brain. I'm proud of you. Standing became to hard for Gloria again, and she fell to her knees, body shaking from either hallucinations, fever, or sobs. Maybe all three.

ᑭEᑎᑎY ᔕYᒪᐯEᔕTEᖇ
|female|8|tribute|tags: felix|

Penny watched the exchange between Eden and Sienna, she didn't seem to be in any danger. The girl sat by the fire next to Felix and watched the yellow and orange flames dance around. "I just want to be out of mortal danger for at least an hour. Is that too much to ask?" Penny said jokingly, although her tone was laced with seriousness. She just needed a rest. "Are you sure?" Penny asked when he mentioned the trail-mix. "Do you think Sienna would mind? Would she think we were stealing it?"

[Zyn]

☭ 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚊 𝚂𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚡 ☭
District 2 || Career || Male || Eighteen || The Mad Dog

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☭ Location: North Quadrant
xxxxxxxxxxxCamp
☭ Tags: Caspia, Gloria
☭ Mood: Tired, Worried
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.
Chaska was a bit taken aback when Gloria started to thrash about, though even if he had been anticipating he wouldn't have been able to do anything. An elbow connected with his injured side causing him take in a sharp breath of pain. Thankfully his words seemed to stop her thrashing and he was able to push the pain aside to speak to her. Unfortunately it seemed like his words fell on deaf words and she screeched at thin air. A blood curdling scream then left her lips causing Chaska to instinctively tighten his hold on her, a bad move in the end. Instead of it being perceived as reassuring it was taken as him restraining her. Unable to summon the words to reassure her, he instead loosened his grip and allowed the frantic career to scramble free. Rocking to his feet he couldn't help the grimace that crossed his face as his movement pulled at his wounds. As he stood he allowed the longsword to slip from his fingers and land on the ground by his feet. In the distance he saw Caspia setting her trident down in a similar fashion. Suddenly the knife that had been pointed at Caspia was rounded on him, though the prospect of being sliced with it wasn't nearly as bad as the words. The accusations of planning to kill her cut deeper than any knife ever could. The only indication that the words stung was a slight flinch. "Caspia is right, we aren't going to hurt you" he murmured in the same soft tone that he had been using before. A chime alerted him to a parachute, however he didn't dare tear his gaze away from his district partner. His gaze followed the frantic movements of Gloria as she rushed to the silver parachute. Silently he watched as she opened it, a golden crown was lifted out of the capsule. Even from where he was standing he could see the flawless craftmanship. As soon as Gloria turned back to them and dropped her gaze to the note he started to move. Slow, silent, deliberate steps towards his district partner. He didn't want to startle her at all. Suddenly she was dropping to her knees and he lurched into a run. Rushing to her side he dropped down sliding to a stop in front of her and flinging his arms around Gloria, careful to allow her to keep her grip on the note. Pulling her as close as he dared he clung to Gloria. "Gloria, I would never hurt you. You are my district partner. We are in this until the end."

[SunnyJustice]

➵ Eden Beauregard • District One • Career
➵ Location: Plains
➵ Tagged: Madeline, Sienna, Felix, Penny
Eden's eyes widened in mild surprise as Sienna wrapped her legs around him, as if he were a sturdy tree trunk perfect for climbing. Thankfully, years of Career training meant he was able to stay upright with her clinging to him. Still, just to be on the safe side, he held onto her tighter to really make sure she wouldn't fall. This was new, but very cute. He could feel something warm and fuzzy in his chest.
Sienna then updated him on what happened, validating Eden's fears that something horrible happened to Jay. Last time they'd met, Jay absolutely despised him, but that didn't change Eden's concern for the small child's well-being. He barely had time to process his grief before it turned to anger though. Darius, of course it was Darius. That lowlife exclusively targeted the small and weak just because he could. "That coward tried to murder Rieka in the bloodbath. I only chased him - I should have killed him when I had the chance!"
He stopped himself to take a few deep breaths. Felix and Penny were the new allies Sienna mentioned, and it wouldn't do to start losing his temper around them. If even Career hugs were scary in the eyes of most tributes, then no doubt a Career's rage would give people nightmares. "Sorry, it's just... you all deserve better. I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you and your friends." He made brief eye contact with Sienna's two allies, letting them know they were included in that statement.

"They're a little tired," Eden admitted when Sienna asked about his alliance. He felt it might be insensitive to tell the full story at the moment - it would just add more grief on her shoulders. Poor Sienna didn't need that. "Madeline and I were gathering chamomile to make tea for them, but we won't take all the flowers. It sounds like you need some chamomile, too."
Sienna detached from the very tight koala hug, now beginning to run her gentle hands over his. She was so warm. For a moment, Eden could close his eyes and imagine they were safe and sound, far away from the arena and their enemies' blades.
"I missed you too." Eden whispered, feeling too choked up to speak any louder. "We have to hurry home now, but I'll stop by later tonight with food. This isn't goodbye, I promise."

It hurt to leave, even though he expected this to be a temporary departure. "It's been a long night. The sun should be coming up in a few hours," Eden said with a small smile. "If I don't come back by the time the birds start singing, it means something happened. In that case, take your alliance and go far away. I recommend the south quadrant since we encountered some mutts in the north."
He leaned down a little to plant a gentle kiss on her cheek, hoping it wouldn't be the last. With that, he left the little camp by the river. Hopefully no further disasters would strike in the time he was away.
"Come on Madeline, let's go home." Referring to the Careers' camp as 'home' had become a habit by this point. Eden picked up the swords and smiled at his district partner. "You can finish the insult lesson, but we'll have to be quiet. Chaska and Gloria must still be sleeping."

[DetectiveLunar]

Madeline Gomez//District 1//Female//A brat//Tagged; Eden

Madeline couldn’t help but grin as Eden threw insults of his own. Gosh, she felt so proud of him. She felt like a mother bird watching her chicks finally learn to fly, except this was more like if a mother bird watched her chicks scream at a mutt but the feeling was still there. He wasn’t perfect but at least his insults were now mediocre instead of painfully horrid.

“You did great! But that’s all, just great. We still have some things to fix up but you did better than I thought you would.” Eden better pat himself on the back, he did well enough for her to say he did “great”. It may be the last time Eden hears that so he better be proud of himself too! Even if she slightly insulted him in the process it was still a compliment and those things were difficult to get from Madeline! She usually likes to compliment herself instead of the dirty peasants below her. They usually never do anything deserving of such a high honor, but Eden did okay.

Madeline’s grin dropped as she caught sight of Eden’s worried look. The idiot really cared for those dumb rats didn’t he? What an idiot. He cared too much about practically everyone!! It was so weird to her. Maybe it was because she had spent her entire life caring for no one but herself. Maybe it was just because she hid all those caring feelings away, thinking they were just dumb and useless, but that didn’t matter this wasn’t about her.

“I guess I’ll let you take a break. You must be exhausted from my homework since you aren’t an amazing experienced insulter like me, so you’re on break now!” She declared, masking her own worry with a prideful tone and her usual egotistical statements. She was worried about how much he cared about these tributes. Who knows what this moron would do because of those dumb emotions he feels 24/7? That’s why Madeline only feels anger, disgust and pride! Those other emotions are idiotic and unnecessary. They’d only hinder her from becoming the best!

She let Eden walk off towards those idiotic rats without saying much, simply watching him leave before shifting her focus to the two tributes he pointed out. Eden might’ve said that they don’t seem hostile but if those moronic and irrelevant mutts even thought about fighting her, she would yell at them until their ears bled!!

She ended up quickly becoming bored, not having anyone to insult. There wasn’t even a squirrel around to insult and she didn’t exactly want to scream over to the dumb rats Eden was with, that would only start a fight. She just wanted to throw some casual insults at something, was that too much to ask? Maybe she should plan out the next lesson Professor Madeline would give. That would entertain her for a bit.

As she waited for Eden to return she began to pace back and forth, thinking of all the new insults she could use as examples. She ended up getting really into it, beginning to shake her fist at the sky as she mentally screamed multiple insults until she came up with the perfect ones. By then Eden had finally returned, telling her that it was time to head back. She smiled back at him, her worry was now forgotten as she now spoke without an attempt to conceal something.

“Of course! Now I’ve planned out the next lesson and some amazing insults you could get some inspiration from-“ She continued on, beginning her newest lesson on insulting 101. Professor Madeline continued to lecture her student as they walked back towards their “home”.

She tried her best to get quieter and quieter as they got closer to their camp, deciding to end her lesson before they entered. She didn’t want to disturb the others, they were probably still asleep. Waking someone up from a well-deserved nap was a type of rude she didn’t strive to be!

“We’ll continue the lesson later but I’m sure you’ve learned enough to be decent, after all I am the best teacher there is!”

[rose petals.]

GᒪOᖇIᗩ ᒪᗩᑕE
|female|2|career|tags: chaska, caspia, eden, madeline|

Gloria relaxed a bit, then slowly nodded. "Yes. With this together." It wasn't soon after that she saw two mutts coming towards her. One had extremely pale fur and large kind eyes, while another had bright red fur with a scowl on it's face. "MUTTS!!!" Gloria screeched at her returning allies. "THE MUTTS ARE HERE!!"