APHRODITE.

22. D5. REALIST. GAUDIA CERTAMINIS.

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

Cosima pursed her lips to keep herself from huffing in exasperation, just barely placated from the kiss to the forehead. While her annoyance wasn’t necessarily at Aphrodite, it was baffling how Aphrodite could seemingly walk forever.

As they trudged along, she thought back to a girl she had worked with on the factory floor who, as far as Cosima was concerned, would feign fainting spells to get out of working. Would Aphrodite be able to tell if Cosima tried? The break wasn’t worth the risk, she decided, though she felt sure she would be able to pull the trick off.

Cosima was also apprehensive about finding a new cave to shelter in given how poorly things had gone for them that morning in the last cave. It was probably the best protection from the elements that they could find, but the single exit point now made her extremely nervous. There was also a higher chance of other tributes already knowing about any shelter they found the longer they were in the arena.

“How’s your throat feeling?” Cosima asked on a whim, her fingers thoughtlessly fiddling with the fabric of her sleeve. “Or your neck, I guess.”

They passed another outcropping of rocks that was almost suitable, if not for how obvious the entryway was. They might as well sleep in the open to be that visible to the rest of the world. She hoped Cosima wasn’t quite as aware of their environment as she was, wanting to avoid having to explain why it was so important to get this right.

“Hm?” She said, her mind taking a second longer than her mouth to process the question. 

“Oh, it’s not too bad, really. Nothing I can’t handle.” She said with a smirk. It wasn’t far from the truth - she had suffered worse from training. Pain was something all the District Five careers knew intimately. 

That being said, she had never sustained an injury to her throat like this that she hadn’t immediately had healed. She was acutely aware of how it made her breath come slightly harsher than it would’ve, how every now and then she could hear herself expelling breath at moments she usually would’ve been silent. 

She frowned a little, turning to look at Cosima more fully.

“Why?” She asked carefully, “is it obvious?”

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

While Cosima wanted to believe Aphrodite, they had been found twice already. Three times if Tai and Thera were counted separately -  she would, considering that she couldn’t see the pair striking up a partnership. That meant that they had both individually stumbled upon Aphrodite. Or worse, either of them had been stalking her.

If the island with the volcano was now uninhabitable, that meant that the arena was closing in on them, if only by a piece for the time being. It wasn’t an uncommon strategy for the gamemakers to, in some way or another, push the tributes inward. Apart from the threat of their competition, it begged the question of what other hazards the islands could be concealing.

The burn in Cosima’s ankle ebbed and flowed with each step forward, like she was re-inflicting the injury each time she put her weight back down on her foot. Though she hoped the pain would lessen with persistence, any potential relief was just as stubborn.

Cosima stopped suddenly, her hand resting on her hip as she glanced around the jungle before looking to Aphrodite. “If they could be anywhere then we don’t need to go that far. Right?”

Her mind was too preoccupied with her surroundings to offer Cosima more than a slight murmur of agreement. What they needed was shelter, preferably close to the ground so Cosima didn’t have to scale another tree, and somewhere sheltered enough that nobody would stumble upon them while they rested. The cave on the island they had left would be ideal, but the volcano stopped them from returning there - and even if they could, Aphrodite wasn’t convinced it would be safe.

The thick, densely packed jungle offered them more protection, she could see that now, and with her current injuries she didn’t fancy facing the likes of Lanthan the next time she closed her eyes to rest. 

She stopped to inspect an outcropping of rocks, hoping to find a cave but instead being met with solid stone, and it was at that moment she realised Cosima had come to a stop a few metres behind her.

“We don’t need to go far - we just need shelter.” Aphrodite said, thankful that her legs had been spared any significant injury so she could make her way back to Cosima with ease.

“I’ve seen caves on this island. We’ll stay close to the treeline and the first one we find we’ll claim.”

She considered asking Cosima about her ankle, but bit back the remark before it escaped her lips - she already knew Cosima would insist she was fine.

Her free hand moved up to cup Cosima’s cheek, the cast that protected it allowing her just enough freedom of movement to get there, and then her lips brushed her partner’s forehead.

“It won’t be long.” She murmured, lingering for a moment before readjusting their course so they moved parallel to the edge of the island, her hand flexing around the hilt of her sword in what was either anticipation or fear. 

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

Shade did sound nice. Even though they had only just left the shade of the treetops, the afternoon sun pierced through Cosima’s wetsuit, baking her as the mass of black tar only seemed to multiply the heat.

Cosima took Aphrodite’s outstretched hand, placated by the small gesture like an impatient child offered a distraction. The act of affection was soothing. Despite the events of the day so far, she was still there with her and they remained tied to each other. Aphrodite wouldn’t hurt her.

“I’ll never say no to shade. You lead the way.” She made the initiative to push herself off the sand to her feet, pulling Aphrodite’s arm with her. Spent as she was, the risk of being spotted by another tribute was far more troubling. She would quickly agree to never face another person if the possibility was offered.

“Where do you think everyone is?”

Her face broke into an easy smile as Cosima took her hand. bowing her head sheepishly as thought she were trying to hide it. It was almost alarming how easy it was for Cosima to disarm her completely, taking her out of the arena with something as simple as taking her hand.

Aphrodite took her to the nearest outcropping of trees, casting a quick glance around them at Cosima’s question. The foliage was so dense and the sounds of movement so constant that there could be someone mere metres from them and they wouldn’t know it - not that she was going to tell Cosima that.

She wondered if Thera was still on the island - and then felt a sudden lurch as she realised that Thera might have been a casualty of the volcano. And Thera wasn’t the only one she had to be worried about; there were too many people Aphrodite didn’t want to see up in the sky tonight. Thera. Fenn. V. Rowan. And that wasn’t the exhaustive list.

Clearing her throat - an action that caused her some degree of pain - she pushed the thoughts out of her mind and turned her attention to Cosima once more.

“They could be anywhere.” She answered truthfully, using the hand she held her sword in to push away a branch that was in their path. “I reckon there’s a handful of us on this island - but it’s big enough that we shouldn’t run into anyone if we keep to ourselves.”

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

“You think it’s going to cool down?” 

The volcano explanation seemed reasonable enough, but volcanoes might as well have been mythical to Cosima with how familiar she was of them. She wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea of swimming through the sludge even if it did cool down enough.

Cosima huffed. Her annoyance wasn’t directed towards Aphrodite, but she fretted that it might come across that way. Shoulders slumped, Cosima plopped down further back from the sludge than Aphrodite onto the warmed ground.

“Maybe there’s water on this island that we just haven’t found yet.” 

Not that the thought of seeking out water sounded especially appealing to her. Despite the discomfort in her throat each time she tried to swallow, doing much more on her feet seemed worse. Aphrodite had already put the water canteens away or she would have reached for one.

Cosima pouted pitifully over at her partner. “How far away is out of the open?”

“Oh, yeah,” Aphrodite said with some degree of confidence before realising that the Capitol might have different plans. “It should cool down. By nightfall we should be able to walk across it.”

She paused.

“Hopefully.” She added. From what she could remember, lava cools down fairly quickly - at least in terms of the outer layer, which is the part they needed to be worried about. As long as it was solid enough for them to walk across, it didn’t matter how long the rest of it would take.

She nodded at Cosima’s suggestion despite having her doubts. She had seen pools of water, but there was a fragrant mist coming from them that she didn’t entirely trust. They would need some kind of filter before she’d be willing to try out any of the water she had seen on this island so far, but she doubted they’d need to as long as the lava cooled quickly enough.

“We’ll wait it out for now.” Aphrodite decided, seeing the expression on Cosima’s face. “We can just stay in the tree line, find somewhere with a bit of shade.”

She let out a soft sigh and held out a hand to Cosima.

“How does that sound?”

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

Having fallen behind, she trotted back to Aphrodite’s side at her call, ignoring the stress it put on her nearly numb ankle. It was a relief to hear that they’d be out of the jungle for even a brief period of time. She was sure the air was getting hotter the further they went on, and she would reluctantly admit that she looked forward to swimming.

Cosima’s chest burned and her stomach was raw as they climbed the small hill that bordered this side of the beach. Her body might kill her before anyone one else would have the chance to, she worried. It was merciful that Aphrodite pretended not to notice–her struggle would be obvious to anyone watching them. 

The sight of the beach distracted her from her own embarrassment as it came into view.

A new type of heat hit them as they as they rose over the hill, heat that Cosima could only compare to standing too close to a flame. Moisture-less heat. Heat that felt more dangerous than what they had been subjected to in the past day.

More concerning was the absence of water. Replacing the expected ocean was a sea of black sludge, cherry red and deep orange streaks travelling throughout like veins. The texture was reminiscent of the burnt caramel she and her cousins had accidentally ruined a pan with when they were younger.

She turned her head to Aphrodite uneasily while she kept her sight on the black sea. “What happened?” Cosima asked over the thick bubbling that came from the sludge. “It must have to do with the earthquakes, right? I’ve never seen anything like it.” She rested her hands on her hips, still trying to catch her breath as she processed this new barrier.

“What are we supposed to do?”

Rather than the coolness of the ocean air, the oppressive humidity was replaced by a dry, almost scalding kind of heat. Aphrodite recognised the molten rock immediately, but the way it had distributed itself was new to her.

“Volcanic eruption.” Aphrodite answered, the earthquakes now starting to make sense. They had a volcano in District Five which was used as a power source; learning about them was mandatory.

She raised her head, looking around and seeing a big plume of smoke coming from the the opposite side of the island they were on. 

“I think we have something other than the earthquakes to worry about now.” She murmured, turning her attention back to the brimstone in front of her and kneeling down, holding her hand over the area where the ocean used to begin. The heat of it was so intense that she could only stand to hold her hand there for a couple of seconds before pulling it away, looking up at Cosima with a grim expression.

“We’re not going to be able to cross this for a while.”

Swinging the bag off her shoulder, Aphrodite began to look through their supplies, pulling out the water canteens to assess the situation. They had enough to last them the night if they were careful, but water fasting had never been Aphrodite’s strong point during her training.

Trying not to make it obvious, Aphrodite switched their canteens so Cosima had the one with the most water, aware while she had some experience of going without water, Cosima had none, so the water would be more useful to her. She stuffed the canteens back into their backpacks and threw it back over her shoulder, looking at Cosima once more.

“There’s no point in staying in the open,” she said decisively, “we’ll stay close to the edge, but it’s better to be under cover right now.”

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

“It’s too much walking,” she huffed as she carefully lifting one leg after another over the tree. So many fallen trees on this island. She had to wonder if it was by design to spite her.

Brushing herself off before continuing, Cosima furrowed her brows. “I’m not sure what I was expecting.” 

It seemed like longer, but only a month ago she had never even fathomed being a tribute. Back then, the games hadn’t felt real when she was in her living room or at a work station watching them on television. It was just another scary story if she didn’t let herself think about it too hard, and scary stories couldn’t hurt her the ways it turned out the games could.

Cosima glanced at Aphrodite, failing to find the proper words to describe the horror that she wasn’t sure how to think through and instead defaulting to something in her sightline. “I wouldn’t have bet on the floating islands.”

Aphrodite made a murmur of agreement, looking up towards the islands.

“Yeah, I wonder how they did that.”

There was a part of it that fascinated her, but she didn’t want the gamemakers to know that she was quietly impressed, so she moved on without further comment, continuing towards the edge of the island.

By her estimates, they weren’t far off, and with every step she took she could have sworn the smell of salt became more and more visceral. Entering the arena yesterday was the first and only time she had experienced the ocean, albeit a Gamemaker produced one, and she already understood why Fenn spoke of it so fondly. 

It was only when the trees were beginning to thin out that she called out to Cosima, not wanting to get her hopes up until she was absolutely sure they were about to reach the edge of the island.

“We’re close.”

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

The tears in her eyes only continued build at Aphrodite’s unexpected embrace. As comforting as her partner’s unwavering support was, Cosima found herself flustered and overwhelmed by her current personal state. Was her constitution really so poor? Hardly a full day in the arena and she was moments from falling apart without anything truly horrific happening to her.

She was grateful for the mercy that Aphrodite showed her by moving on without further spectacle, though Cosima was deliberate to avoid eye contact as they separated. It wouldn’t do to make any more of a scene over such a small affair. Her lips upturned at Aphrodite’s comment as she returned towards their previous trajectory, sensing that her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

As she continued forward silently, conscious of each calculated step she took, her thoughts returned to the injuries that Aphrodite was suffering from. She was troubled. Troubled at how many injuries Aphrodite had already suffered, troubled at how easily Aphrodite seemed to discreetly suffer, and troubled by the unexpected guilt that she felt over Aphrodite’s suffering. How much of it had been Cosima’s own fault, from her own inexperience? 

“Are the games like you thought they’d be?” she asked after a period of silent hiking, her tone even.

As she took the lead, she paid careful attention to navigating through the easiest path available to them. While she was typically light on her feet, she made an effort to apply move pressure to each step, flattening the terrain wherever possible to make it easier for Cosima to follow her. Her hands were encumbered by weapons, but whenever they reach a point that required more adept footing, she would raise her arm for Cosima to grab and guide her across until they were safely on even ground again.

The walk was almost relaxing for her now she was no longer convinced they were in immediate danger, and she could feel the tension in her body ease with every step they took towards the shoreline. The humidity of the arena ensured that her body was consistently covered in a thin layer of sweat that was almost a part of her at this point, but for perhaps the first time in the arena, the effort the hike took came with a familiar feeling of satisfaction.

Aphrodite didn’t answer Cosima’s question immediately. She wasn’t sure how to - she didn’t have the option to tell the truth while the Capitol were watching their every move. What good would it do to detail to the sponsors the amount of pain she was in, the way she would feel a sharp pain somewhere close to her heart every time she thought of her friends faces up in the sky, the hands of her district partner that she could still feel around her throat? She doubted even Cosima wanted to hear about that.

Instead, she turned to Cosima with a wry smile and adopted an air of casualness she hoped was at least somewhat believable.

“It’s different.” She started, and then faltered, unsure of where to go from there. There were very few things about the arena that she felt safe enough to discuss while they were still inside it.

“Lots more walking than they show you on TV.” She said eventually, climbing over a fallen tree trunk and then pausing to help Cosima over it.

“What about you?”

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

Finally stopping to face Aphrodite, Cosima crossed her arms in front of herself, unconsciously shifting her weight to her better foot.

“It’s really not that bad,” she insisted. “I’m sure you’re in more pain that I am, anyway.”

In truth, Cosima was in pain. Not nearly as much as she assumed for Aphrodite, but pain plagued her every muscle since the first hour they were in the arena. Her arms were sore from hanging onto the vine for dear life the afternoon before; her legs protested each time they started walking again through the unforgiving undergrowth; the balls of her feet were nearly numb, yet not numb enough to provide her any relief in each step taken. District Eight had done little to prepare her for the physical challenges of simply existing in the wilderness. Her ankle was only an additional element of her misery. 

The sudden conscious acknowledge of all this brought the familiar sting of frustration back to her eyes, and she quickly looked away from Aphrodite, instead focusing her gaze through the trees.

Her voice was softer this time. “I’m fine.”

Her eyes tracked Cosima’s movements as she tried to keep her expression impassive. Only Cosima knew if she could carry on, and Aphrodite knew better than to keep on asking. She was worried that once they stopped for the night and the pain settled in that Cosima would struggle more tomorrow, but she held her tongue and wondered if the salve she had been sent for her neck could also work on Cosima’s ankle.

She didn’t acknowledge Cosima’s mention of her own pain, feeling it secondary to her list of priorities. She had expected the pain, had experienced a fair amount of it before even setting foot in the arena, but she was still set on getting Cosima out of the arena as unscathed as possible.

The impassive façade Aphrodite had tried to keep up evaporated immediately the second Cosima turned her head, and she hesitated just long enough to hear Cosima’s whisper before stepping towards her and pulling her into a gentle hug. Her hands were too full to allow her to do anything reassuring with them, but she made up for this by pressing her head gently on top of Cosima’s for a moment, and then stooping slightly to press her forehead to the side of Cosima’s, all the wile keeping a weary eye on their surroundings in case of any unwelcome guests.

“Come on,” she murmured as she eventually pulled away from the hug, making a show of pretending everything was fine for Cosima’s benefit. 

“If it gets any worse, I’ll just have to carry you.” She quipped.

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

Startled by the distance of Aphrodite’s voice, Cosima twisted her head back, crinkling her nose as she realized that had been walking alone for the last fifty feet. She turned back around in a huff, continuing to walk with her gaze forward as Aphrodite rejoined her.

“Hm.” It must have been more than ten minutes; she was fairly certain of that.

“My foot is fine. It’s not broken or anything.” Her foot didn’t seem broken, at least. The pain in her ankle was more of a dull burn than how she’d except a broken bone to feel. An annoyance more than anything else.

Cosima exhaled before looking over to Aphrodite. “I’m really fine, it’s not a big deal,” she insisted.

She cocked her head to one side and let out a sigh of concern.

“Are you positive?” She asked again, despite being almost positive herself on what the answer would be. “It might make it worse if you don’t rest it for a bit.” Another passive lesson she had learned from years of training.

The benefit of all of Cosima’s fussing was that she had managed to successfully distract Aphrodite from the impending doom of the explosion, albeit only to replace it with concern for Cosima, who couldn’t exactly be described as stealthy at the best of times, let alone with an injury that affected her ability to walk. It meant that hiding and running weren’t options they had until Cosima recovered, but Aphrodite shrugged off that fear with the knowledge that with the tribute count as low as it now was, they most likely wouldn’t be running from anyone that crossed their paths.

She wondered about the other couples, Fenn and Lia, Jade and Onyx, and if anybody had made any temporary alliances in the arena. Her first thought was that if any of the partners had been split up, it would make their lives easier, but it was undercut immediately by the thought of Fenn already being dead, so she pushed the thought out of her mind quickly.

“We can rest for half an hour or so if you need it.” She said, turning her focus back to Cosima. “But be honest with yourself.”

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

Cosima swallowed, pressing her lips together as she looked over at Aphrodite. The expression on her partner’s face was annoyingly one of concern. 

“Walking like what?” she asked quickly, eyebrows raised as she shook her head. “I always walk like this.”

Dipping her head as she continued forward, Cosima focused on each step she took while also trying to look like she wasn’t focusing on each step she took. It couldn’t be that noticeable. Now that she was conscious of it, though, she couldn’t remember how she usually walked. 

“We’ve been walking for at least an hour. Probably hours.”

Aphrodite arched an eyebrow.

“You really wanna claim you walk like that?” She asked, knowing what the answer would be if Cosima could see herself.

She watched Cosima continue walking and hung back, shaking her head at Cosima’s defiance and wondering how long it would take for her to realise Aphrodite was no longer with her.

It was a testament to Cosima’s volume that her voice carried far enough that it wasn’t difficult for Aphrodite to hear her, despite the sounds of the jungle and the increasing distance between them.

“It’s been ten minutes.” She called back, beginning to make her way over to Cosima. She didn’t speak again until she reached Cosima’s side.

“Have you hurt your foot?” She asked, no longer teasing.

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

Cosima gave up the weapons easily, glad to be rid of them and pleased to have evaded the idea of her being stranded on the ground while her partner potentially hurt herself in a tree. So be it if Aphrodite thought she was funny for that.

“There’s a first time for everything,” she teased before turning back in the direction they had been travelling. 

The first few steps brought back the sting in her ankle, but she thought better than to bother Aphrodite with it. Instead she found that she could manage by keeping her foot fairly flat as she walked, though she had to stop herself from pouting as she went.

“Have you climbed a lot of trees in Five?” she asked after a few moments, anxious to get her mind off the boom and the earthquakes and the hour walk ahead and her foot.

Aphrodite shook her head and laughed, shouldering the javelin and letting Cosima set the pace as they started to walk towards the beach. She was pretty confident she had judged the direction right, even with the difficult terrain. And the more she thought about the explosion, the more she was convinced that it hadn’t even happened on the same island they were on.

She looked towards Cosima to mention this, but stopped short of speaking, distracted by Cosima’s gait. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked Cosima up and down, pressing her lips together in confusion.

Aphrodite was surprised, when Cosima spoke, that Cosima hadn’t seemed to notice Aphrodite staring, and the question only added to her confusion.

“Sure,” she said slowly in response, dragging out the word as she thought of how best to approach Cosima’s obvious problem. 

“Why are you walking like that?”

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

“It’s not funny. It wouldn’t be any good if you did fall out of a tree. I only know so much first aid.” Though there were only so many ways Aphrodite could hurt her arm, Cosima supposed.

Her forehead wrinkled as she considered how long they had already been walking, and she still wanted to put more distance between them and the origin of the explosion. 

“We need more water and it’s going to get dark. And more food, maybe.” They still had a bit of bread left in her bag, but she was hesitant to get through it too quickly if they could help it. They needed something more substantial, anyhow. “We can’t be that far from the beach.”

Aphrodite chuckled, shaking her head and biting her lip to stem the laughter. Of all the things that could happen to her in this arena - all the things that had already happened to her - she couldn’t believe Cosima expressed the most worry at the thought of her falling out of a tree.

She pressed her lips together and composed herself.

“The lake is less than an hour out if I’ve judged the direction right.” She offered. It would be easy enough to catch food along the way, and once they had found a place to take shelter for the night they were free to spend their time worrying about something other than death by lack of resource.

She stepped towards Cosima, taking her weapons back and brushing her arm softly.

“And for the record, I would never fall out of a tree.” She said with a grin.

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

Cosima looked back to Aphrodite, raising her bottom lip as she shook her head. “Hm? I’m fine. Peachy, even.”

Her shoulders relaxed the weapons as she resolved to leave it at that, turning her eyes down. A brief moment passed.

“I just don’t know how safe climbing a tree would be if there’s another earthquake or something.”

Aphrodite’s mouth twitched slightly as she fought the urge to laugh at Cosima’s defiance, but there was no hiding the grin that spread across her face at Cosima’s next remark.

She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head slightly to one side.

“You’re worried I’m going to fall out of a tree?”

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

The acknowledgment of her stumble was embarrassing, but she was charmed by the concern all the same. As Aphrodite turned away, Cosima flexed her foot and winced at a new pain in her ankle.

The shot of the first cannon startled Cosima, her heartrate yet again spiking as she huffed, one hand going to her chest and the other to her lower back. She wondered if a heart attack might kill her before anyone else got the chance to. But now they were three more tributes down. Seven* tributes were left besides the pair of them, and that felt improbably promising.

It was darker now, she noticed as she looked up with Aphrodite, more akin to a cloud passing under the sun on a previously bright day than the sun making its gradual descent, though they were still too deep in the cover of the jungle treetops to really make out the current composition of the sky. 

Cosima took Aphrodite’s weapons and held them both out stiffly in front of her, her mouth held slightly ajar as she stared incredulously at the other girl.

“But-.” She hesitated before saying more, but between Aphrodite’s arm and everything happening in the arena, she hated the idea. Cosima hmphed, pursing her lips as she gazed back to the treetops.

Aphrodite turned to look at Cosima again, her musing disrupted by her partner’s protest. She had limited ideas for their next move, but she knew she wouldn’t feel at ease again until she had figured out the source of the explosion and confirmed they were no longer in danger.

The best way to do that was the part she was struggling with. She had accepted that perhaps the danger wasn’t as imminent as she initially thought, but Gamemaker intervention was the one thing she had no control over, which agitated her more than she’d be willing to express to Cosima.

“You sure you’re okay?” She murmured, her body still tense from the adrenaline that rushed through it.

[aphroditecirrelo]

cosima-silamide​:

Cosima’s stomach turned as she gazed up at the floating island in the distance peaking though the branches, deciding then that they should avoid being in their vicinities if they could help it. How Aphrodite had managed to get herself atop one of them was far beyond her. The extra supplies had made the trip worth it, she begrudgingly accepted, but she was intent on neither of them pressing their luck with the floating islands another time.

The sudden boom pulled Cosima from her concentrated train of thought, evoking a loud squeak from her. Her hand automatically gripped onto Aphrodite’s good arm to keep herself balanced as the ground shook again beneath them. It was almost certainly more than an earthquake.

Following Aphrodite’s lead, she glanced back towards the sound of the explosion before continuing forward, her heartbeat hammering her eardrums as she tried to catch a steady breath. It was clear that Aphrodite was anxious to move faster away from the sound, which was entirely reasonable in the circumstances, but a difficult request for Cosima who struggled to keep pace at her partner’s usual speed. Still, she tried.

“But what was that?” A low continuous rumble followed the initial noise. “What do you think it is?”

Looking backwards again in search of an answer as they trudged on, Cosima stumbled over a raised root in the ground, only just catching herself from falling entirely. 

Despite her injury, Aphrodite reached out automatically to steady Cosima, stopping her forwards trajectory in search of a better response to the predicament. The islands had continue to float, and it was apparent now that they weren’t in any immediate danger. 

“You okay?” She asked, brow furrowed with concern. She checked over Cosima, placed a hand on her cheek, let out a soft sigh of relief, then turned to survey the arena once more.

From here, it seemed nothing was amiss, but that almost made her more alert of any potential danger. She was just about to suggest continuing on, at a slower pace for her partners sake, when the cannons sounded.

“Three more.” She murmured, surprised by the sense of dread that washed over her. Whoever the Capitol had been targeting, they had been successful.

She looked at Cosima, and then looked skywards, curiousity winning out over any sense of caution she might’ve felt.

“Wait here. I’m going to see if I can see anything from up there.” She nodded towards the base of a particularly tall tree before handing her javelin and sword to Cosima, biting her lip as she considered the best way up while factoring in her injured arm.

[ariadnegaul]

aphroditecirrelo​:

The party was too loud and too bright for Aphrodite’s tired eyes. She had spent the past seven hours being preened and gawked at by all manner of Capitol citizens, as was always the case when they ventured into the Capitol, and her patience was beginning to wear thin. 

Luckily, Cosima was the life of the party in moments such as these, able to find commonalities with these people in a way Aphrodite never could. It made it easy for Aphrodite to divert attention away from herself so that she could slink off relatively unnoticed by anyone except Cosima, who was more than happy to accommodate for Aphrodite‘s absence.

She used this to her advantage whenever possible, familiar enough with the President’s Mansion at this point to know the best route to take to avoid the worst of the crowds. With people as drunk as they were, it was easy enough for Aphrodite to slip past them before they realised who she was, heading for the doors without paying much attention to the world around her.

But her escape route was intercepted by someone attempting to pass her and almost colliding with her in the process. Aphrodite’s hand automatically came to the woman’s arm, resting there for a moment to make sure she was steady on her feet before Aphrodite caught a glimpse of her face and realised who it was.

She had been hoping she would be able to avoid the newly elected President and her wife.

She let her hand drop and took a polite step back before she spoke, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before Aphrodite looked down, pretending to be very interested in her own nails.

“No, it was my fault.” She said, shaking her head and letting out a nervous laugh. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

She glanced in the direction she had come from, wondering if she could excuse herself under the guise of not wanting to leave Cosima alone for too long, but decided it would probably be worth humouring the new First Lady, especially given who her wife was.

“I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you yet.” She said quickly, making an effort to meet Ariadne’s gaze. “It must be pretty exciting.” 

Truth be told, she’d spent far too many hours in places such as this. She knew all of the unspoken rules, the ones that governed each and every person’s words and actions. Smile. Nod. Wave. Crack a joke as to entertain – but not be too developed as to say anything of substance. Look pretty. Toss her hair. And then, smile some more. It was a routine that had grown stale since the days of her youth. Never challenged, never bothered was Ariadne Gaul. Even so, she still admired the air. The liveliness that seemed to course throughout each person, like vesicles carrying lifeblood to the heart of the party. So many parties, so many words, so little said.

Perhaps tonight would be different.

It was this particular breed of extravagant monotony that drove Aria away from her table and out towards the night. And then, inertia collided with inertia. The briefest of contact was made followed by a laugh that was foreign yet somewhat musical all the same. The being known as Aphrodite was not wholly unfamiliar to Aria, but novel enough that she found herself immediately correcting her posture and standing at attention like the soldier of poise and etiquette that she was.

“Please, Mrs. Cirrelo,” Aria shook her head congenially. “That was entirely my fault. I think I might actually have two left feet.”

She took a moment to slide her hands down the uppermost contours of her skirt, glad that her misstep didn’t end more disastrously for the cleanliness of her dress. Aria then gave a quick scan of the area, finding herself glad that, for once, nobody else’s eyes seemed to be on her.

“Thank you! It’s certainly been a bit of an…” A brief pause, Aria’s mind attempting to find the correct words. “Uphill battle, to say the least. We’re all so very proud of Helena. Although, I don’t think I’ll ever quite get used to saying ‘President Gaul.’”

Aria grinned politely as she tucked her hair behind her ear. This short exchange had, thus far, been the longest she’d spoken to Aphrodite. She had watched her Games with eager eyes. Spellbound by the story woven by Aphrodite and Cosima, simultaneously a bundle of nerves as it was her then-girlfriend’s first year in the Gamemaker Room. It wasn’t until this moment that Aria had fully comprehended the implications of such a circumstance.

“I hope Cosima and the children are doing well,” she spoke as she imperceptibly shifted her weight on her feet. Tonight’s shoes were particularly unbearable. “Are they here tonight?”

[aphroditecirrelo]

Her accent was charming, for a Capitol citizen. It wasn’t quite as affected as was typical for the people in the Capitol, and it made it easier to tolerate polite conversation.

Aphrodite let out a small laugh. “Yeah, that’ll take some getting used to.” She knew they didn’t mean it in quite the same way, but she supposed Ariadne - like most in the Capitol - would be as conversationally unaware as her counterparts. Everyone here believed everyone to be sincere with a kind of naivety which was hard to believe without experiencing it first hand. She couldn’t complain, though. Their naivety was probably the only reason she was still welcome in the Capitol.

Her train of thought was interruption by a particularly large man with a bouffant of electric blue hair gasping at the sight of them, to which Aphrodite gave him a begrudging smile back, turning slightly to block him from sidling up to them. She had left Cosima to get away from all of these people, not to attract more of them.

“Cosima is here.” She said in response to Ariadne’s question, an easy smile finding its way to her lips as she said her name. “Not the kids, though. They’re at home.”

Another person began to approach, this time screeching Aphrodite’s name so loudly than several others began to turn their heads. She had been at the party for too long, endured the same conversation too many times, to hide the look of discomfort on her face. She looked at Ariadne with a mixture of perplexity and weariness, and shook her head in defeat, letting out a nervous laugh.

“I’m so sorry, I was just about to head to the courtyard for a bit of fresh air.” She paused for a second, debating whether or not to extend the invitation before deciding she would. It was best to be at least amicable with the President and her wife, after all. “Would you like to join me?”

[cosima-silamide]

aphroditecirrelo​:

Aphrodite leaned forwards slightly to help Cosima with her zip, her playful expression replaced with a hardness as she considered their situation. Cosima had voiced exactly the same thing Aphrodite had been wondering herself.

“I’m not sure.” She responded slowly, her eyebrows furrowing. This was the only part of the arena she couldn’t feasibly prepare for. Gamemaker interference meant that no matter how prepared you were, you could still die at any time. They could be readying their cannons right this second for all Aphrodite knew. Or not.

Aphrodite motioned for Cosima to let her stand up, her legs protesting with exhaustion as she rose. She helped Cosima to her feet and began gathering their supplies together as she spoke.

“There was one yesterday, - a tremor - and another earlier today.” She said, voicing her thoughts as she pulled one of the backpacks on to her shoulder. “Could be… building up to a bigger earthquake?”

She stopped in her tracks. She couldn’t remember the last time the Capitol manufactured something so unpredictable. They were usually much more controlled with their interference.

“We should head towards the shore.” She decided, turning to look at Cosima. “Probably better to be in the open.”

It was a better plan than Cosima might have come up with, though she was clueless as to how they should possibly react in a situation like this. A tribute was theoretically easy to respond to - run, fight, or just maybe strike up a deal. The arena itself was an entirely different beast.

She nodded. “We can do that. We need water anyway.”

Cosima picked up her backpack and wove her arms through the straps before joining Aphrodite’s side to start towards the trees, making the assumption that her partner actually knew how to make her way to the shore.

As they hiked, Cosima surveyed the forest around them, trying to distract herself from the way her feet protested the forward movement. Nature was sparse in her district, at least in the main city. Any disasters they experienced all had advice related to infrastructure; in a tornado go down, in a flood go up, in a fire get out. What were they supposed to do without the shelter?

“Are earthquakes dangerous outside?” she asked suddenly, breaking their silence as they walked. “I mean, aren’t buildings the problem? Because they fall down?”

[aphroditecirrelo]

Aphrodite gave a slight shrug.

“Could be.” She said, considering it. “The trees could fall— and this arena isn’t exactly natural, is it? Who knows how much it takes to make those floating islands stop floating.”

She took Cosima’s hand in hers as she spoke.

“Best to be in the open so we can see what’s happening.”

There were earthquakes in District Five, but they were small enough that the damage was minimal. Here in the arena, it was hard to predict what an earthquake might be like— no doubt it would be strong if the Capitol had anything to do with it.

By her own estimations, they had made it about half way to the shoreline when she heard the explosion. It sounded far enough away that they weren’t in immediate danger, but the way the sound seemed to ricochet and the way the ground shook violently did not bode well for their long term survival chances. Everyone in the arena would’ve that - if they were close enough, they might even have hearing damage.

Aphrodite looked in the direction the explosion had come from, and then back at Cosima, only a second passing between the explosion and her speaking.

“We might want to move more quickly,” she suggested, glad at least that the direction they had been going in was away from the explosion. “A lot more quickly.”