Ayla Florentine Augusta. Age 16. District Three. The daughter of a factory chief and certified genius. Factory girl, only child, narcissist. This is a dependent roleplay blog for Call of the Capitol. Faceclaim: Birdy................. STATUS: Victor of the 26th Hunger Games
As I shifted back into my human form, I jumped down to the bottom platform, taking in my surroundings. Was that it? Was I truly the last one? I scanned the arena around me, hearing the ear shattering screams and cheers coming from the audience, the members of which were now beginning to stand up with applause. I assumed this indicated that yes, I had indeed just won the Hunger Games, and I let the shadow of a smile come across my face as I lifted a single hand to wave at the Capitol citizens.
I felt a rolling sickness at the bottom of my stomach as I took in the sights of the dead tributes around me. Zale, Anatolia, Maxwell. I didn't want to think about poor Gabriella lying on the bottom of the arena, back down in the nightmarish maze. The booming congratulations from the announcer was only a buzzing in my ears as I suddenly felt the nausea rise. I collapsed to my knees on the edge of the platform, letting all the beef stew and carrots from the past few days out of my system and feeling weak from the wound in my side.
A mechanical device was reaching around my torso, beginning to pick me up. Feeling exhausted and injured, I let it carry me up towards the hovercraft waiting above. And as I reached the door, a figure appeared from the side and pricked me with what I could only assume was a syringe. I willingly let my eyes flutter shut as I got the best sleep I'd had in weeks- and probably would ever have again.
I awoke in a soft bed in the Capitol, a gentle hand holding mine. As my vision cleared and the blur receded, I recognized my mother sitting on the side of my bed, smiling a little as she brushed a lock of hair back from my eyes.
"I knew you would do it," she told me. "The smartest goddamn girl here. Now I know you want time to rest, but we have to get moving. Your victory interview is tonight, and you're due to thank Elda, who was your sponsor. The Capitol is keeping you on close watch from now on, seeing as you are still my daughter, Victor or not. Be prepared for a lot of questions about you and that boy- good thinking splitting up from him in the arena, he would have slowed you down."
"Wait," I let the word escape my lips before even knowing where I was going with it. "I can't... I don't want to..."
Lucia pursed her lips as she gave me a sad look. "I'm sorry, but what you want doesn't matter anymore, Ayla. It hasn't mattered since the night you were taken from your room."
That night. A rush of memories- from my father getting kicked on the ground to my own tazing to Leo holding my hands as he kept me warm- flooded my head, and a single tear escaped down my face. It had been so long ago. I had not seen my father in almost a month, most likely, and the last time I had was when he was being beaten to the ground.
"How is my father?" I asked. "Did they do anything to him? Is he alright?"
Lucia assured me my father was doing well and that he was incredibly proud of me, but that I needed to get up and put on the red dress my stylist had provided me. Robotically, I obeyed as I stood up and slipped on the tea-length gown, disliking how loose it was on me now. I didn't want to think, didn't want to put in the effort of resisting or talking. I simply let my team do my hair, allowed Mafalda to pinch my cheeks and tell me how proud she was of me, held Lucia's hand as she took the form she used in public and led me out to the stage.
The replay of the Games was boring for me, mostly. Much of what happened was what I had seen the night in the lotus grove. I had to turn away at Leo's death, seeing the fiery explosion that had happened between him and Gabriella. I had to muster up the energy to continue smiling when the attention suddenly turned from the screen to me. Zenovia asked me questions about the arena, how I survived, what my plan was with Leo, and I responded politely, telling her that some plans hadn't worked out but that it was, obviously, all for the better. I slipped a little when she asked about Marlee- how it was by far the most heartbreaking moment of the Games.
"Yes, and I'm sure all the more heartbreaking for those who didn't have to commit the atrocious act," I snipped at her. How dare she say that she was heartbroken for Marlee, when she was one of those who deliberately contributed to her death? Lucia pinched me in the back and I put on my facade again, though the rest of my interview continued sardonically and forcefully.
It was only upon my return home to District Three that I felt I could genuinely smile once more. Last years's victor, Wistar, who also hailed from Three, shook my hand as he led me out to the waiting crowd. Before I could send out another shallow wave to the audience, my body was enveloped by someone hugging me tighter than I'd been hugged in my whole life. As I was released, I looked into my father's tearstained face and smiled as I told him how much I loved him and missed him and would never leave him again.
And as my father took my hand, the images of Marlee and Gabriella, Anatolia and Maxwell, the children I had killed, came rushing into my head. It was at this moment that I realized they would never leave, I would never be able to stop feeling Marlee take her last breath in my arms or Anatolia's neck snapping under my palm. They were always there, occupying my head.
"Go home, silly," Marlee told me. "You won and you get all these cool prizes! And you never have to go back. Just say hi to my family for me when you go to District Six."
I nodded as my father looked at me, wondering what I was thinking, as if my brain was being occupied by my own thoughts. I simply shook my head at him as he continued leading me towards our house. Out of nowhere, though, I felt Leo put his hand on mine, and I turned around to smile at him and hold his hand back, but nobody was there.
Nobody would ever be there, I realized. And as my father opened the doors to our house I stepped through the threshold, welcoming the ghosts in my head to our new future.
Kill Story: Marlee Whittaker
Thoughts: Perhaps the most heartbreaking moment of the Games, and perhaps my life, was being faced with the task of killing Marlee. It was the only way for me to survive, and I didn't want her to be subjected to the horror that would most likely be the final battle. So I killed her as quickly and softly as I could, by shifting into a snake and sending deadly venom through her system so that she would die as painlessly as possible. I had no choice, but she was the one I didn't want to face out of all the tributes in the arena. Too heartbreaking. Hoping to see Leo in the final battle, but then again I don't know what I will do if I do see him. Only one of us can make it out.
Items: Marlee's replenishing crossbow, electrical generator with wires attached, shield
Injuries: Fresh bolt wound in side, healing cut in thigh, various other shallow cuts and bruises
Solo Para: Mirages/This is Not What I Paid For
Thoughts: I was led away and inevitably trapped by an empousa, an evil creature designed to either kill me or hurt me as much as possible. She and her two sisters hit me with everything they had, but in the end I made it out alive, though not unscathed. Also, I discovered my power gets much stronger when I'm angry, which is an interesting development. I'm never angry.
Solo Para: One Thing On Top of the Other
Thoughts: After napping, I winded through the maze a little more before coming upon a clearing filled with edible lotus flowers, clean drinking water, screens showing the other tributes, and books on fighting strategies. I received another sponsor gift today, this one warning me against eating the flowers and containing a pot of delicious beef stew. I rehydrated and ate, regaining my energy from the morning, and watched the other tributes on the screen, paying close attention to what everyone else was doing. After which I read through the books and settled down in the hammock for some well-earned rest.
Overall Thoughts: I must admit I'm feeling guilty for not thinking about meeting up with Leo. As much as I want to and as much as it pains me to not be with him right now, it just seems impossible to be able to find him in this labyrinth. Plus, I don't doubt that the walls will move again, finding us even further apart than we are. I'm glad he's with someone else- it's probably safer that way- though I've never met his district partner and don't know if I can trust her with Leo. Other than my father, I've never cared this much about anyone. I watched him the most on the screens tonight. I miss him.
The red button glared towards me, but if there was anything I'd learned in the past twelve hours, it was not to stretch my luck. The empousa had all but killed my curiosity that morning. I slowly sipped from the water, relieved with refreshment, trying not to upset my bodily functions, and walked around a bit, opening a book and glancing through the fighting strategies quickly.
A soft beeping sounded, and I could feel a weight lift off my shoulders. Another sponsor gift. I smiled and picked up the package, reading the note from my sponsor.
"Thank you," I said with a smile before opening the package.
I'd never been so happy to see a huge serving of beef stew in my life. Tears almost escaped down my face as I dipped my fingers in and pulled a chunk of beef, ignoring how hot it was, and placed it into my mouth. I chewed slowly, simply enjoying the nourishment of real food before swallowing. If I portioned correctly, I could probably garner three or four small servings from this supply. Combined with the carrots I could probably last off of this for a few hungry days. Hopefully by then I'd have come across another food source. I cut up some of the carrots and dropped them into the stew, filling up the pot a pit more.
I drained several juice boxes to rehydrate myself, then refilled them all with the water from the fountain. The rest of the night was spent pacing throughout the area, watching the television sets closely and evaluating the other tributes, flipping through a few books to learn some new strategies, and eating as little of my stew as I could bear. By nightfall I repeated my electric spiderweb wire routine from the night before, then settled down in the hammock. This might have been my last comfortable night for a long time... if not the rest of my life.
You find a path with many edible lotus flowers, vines wrap as hammock, a fountain of fresh water, many books on combats and a set of tvs showing where the other in the labyrinth and what they are doing. What is your move?
The path was lush, much moreso than any I had seen previously. It worried me, of course, but I couldn't help but feel a slight tingle of relief at the sight of the water. I approached the fountain and first unwrapped my bandages, dipping them in to clean them, and then rinsed out my wounds. Dirt and grime had collected in the orifices and I needed to do whatever I could to avoid infection. I laid out the bandages to dry and rewrapped my arm and thigh with new dry ones, feeling that the wounds in my scalp had congealed while I'd napped.
The lotus flowers were almost too obvious. I'd read enough of my father's copy of an old greek book to recognize them. Eating them would make me forget my purpose, my home. And though my stomach rumbled heavily I turned away from them towards the television, filling up my empty juicebox with water.
I glanced towards the first television and raised an eyebrow. There was Leo with his district partner. I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as I realized I'd barely thought about him all day, but I focused a little more as I tore my eyes away from his screen and focused on the other Careers, who were busy fighting what looked like the Minotaur.
One Thing On Top of the Other || Arena Day 2 || Solo Para
After napping for several hours from my encounter with the empousai, I awoke some time in the mid to late afternoon. The cuts and scratches I'd obtained still hurt, but when I unwrapped the bandages I was happy to see they'd stopped bleeding for the time being. I would just need to avoid too much physical output and they'd be healed in no time. Of course, this was the Hunger Games, and that was very unlikely.
Obeying my rumbling stomach, I ate a few more handfuls of carrots from my pack, then set off on my way, afraid that another mythical beast would sneak up on me this time around while I was stuck in a dead end. Before anything, though, I did the same as yesterday, hiding my belongings, then transforming into my familiar crow form and flying up to the top with my pad of paper and crayon. The maze would shift every night most likely, so I would have to repeat my ritual every day. Trying to take notice of the sun position and where I'd walked today, I mapped out north, south, east, west, as best as I could in my immediate surroundings, then flew back down.
I would head south. This would be safest, I decided, because as tributes moved they would most likely venture towards the middle to get these Games over with.
As I travelled, though, I came upon an etch on the wall. A large letter D faced me as I stopped for a second before continuing on.
I hadn't had time to react when the girl pushed me through the door. This was the last place I wanted to be; I had been about to turn to run away when she grabbed my arm with a vice-like grip and pulled me through. And now I could be dead.
The room wasn't altogether that dark, but approaching me were three tall women who walked with a slight limp but had bright flaming red hair. And then I remembered my studies, kicking myself internally for not seeing what exactly that girl was.
Empousa.
For a few seconds I had to wonder why they had targeted me specifically; empousas were known to hunt down men and suck their blood. Travelers, too, were fair game, which I supposed they must have counted me as. I was safer than if I were a man, but that didn't mean much. They were most likely programmed by the Capitol, anyway, so gender didn't exactly matter here.
I took a deep breath as I reached into my pack to crank the generator once more. The empousas were walking towards me now, and I had to make a move, so I took the knife back out of my pocket, cranking rapidly with my other hand.
As the first one lashed out, I depended on my training and aimed with the knife. Hoping to Athena that it really was her precision and war tactics I inherited instead of having just had loads of luck that day, I flicked the knife towards the creature. I held my breath as it sailed through the air, then a scream pierced the room. The empousa now lay on the ground, jerking violently with electricity from the knife embedded into her cranium. I pulled on one of my leather gloves, quickly remembering my token, and pulled the wire and dagger back towards me, avoiding electrocution.
Two left.
I backed up a bit, shoving the glove back into my backpack. Before I could think of another strategy, a second empousa lashed out, attacking me and screaming at me for killing her sister. I screamed back as she embedded her teeth into my arm. I tore my arm away, wincing from the pain, but the adrenaline was beginning to pump and I found myself able to shove that to the back of my mind. I tore at her with my dagger and dug the blade deep into her shoulder, deep enough for her to die of blood loss eventually, but I knew she would continue fighting. Plus there was her infuriated sister to worry about, but she was in the back, letting the ferocious first one do the job for now.
The struggle continued, the empousa scratching and biting at me and me retaliating with my dagger, stabbing her in as many places as I could while she attacked me anywhere she could hit me. Luckily with my shield I could fend off most of her advances, but she managed to tear one particularly painful scratch into my thigh before my dagger reached her neck. I finally had her pinned down under my shield, my foot digging into the shoulder wound I'd given her as I plunged the knife into her neck. And before I could watch her drown in her own blood, something heavy flew towards me and tackled me to the ground.
It was the third empousa, who was evidently regretting staying back while her sisters tried to take care of me.
"Stop!" I screamed as she tore at my clothes and bit me wherever she could find. I wasn't strong enough to push her off of my body; the shield was the only thing between us. "Get off me!"
But she wasn't listening, she simply continued clawing at me, biting where she could, yelling at me in disgust. It was getting infuriating, in fact. my vision was beginning to get clouded and my head was starting to pound. If I couldn't get out from under her, I would definitely die. I took a deep breath.
A roar escaped my throat as I bit at the empousa. Fear overtook her red eyes as she took in what I had transformed into and she quickly backed off of me. I snarled, a growl escaping my feline lips and I stared her down while I stood up, the shield and backpack falling off of my haunches. Trembling with anger and adrenaline, I took a few slow steps forward before I struck, running towards her and pouncing.
I tore at the creature with my claws and teeth, tearing limbs and skin and hair off of her before finally ripping her head clean off. I then walked around to the other dead empousas, taking their heads off as well for good measure. You could never tell with these odd Capitol mutts.
I shook out my honey colored fur before taking another deep breath and collapsing onto ground, taking my human form once again. That's when the gashes began to sting. I bit my lip as I picked up all of my belongings and ran back towards the door, taking several blind turns through the maze before finding another dead end. As I fell to the ground again, I sorted through my backpack and took out three bandages, binding up the worst wounds I'd obtained: the bite in my arm, the deep scratch in my leg, and a shallow gash on my hairline that was now beginning to bleed profusely.
Sitting back, I took a sip of juice and decided to rest for a while. I would need to find somewhere deeper in the maze to stay the night, but that task could wait until later. For now, rest.
Definitely didn't like this girl. I could feel it in my gut. I stood there, looking at her for a minute and waiting for her to make a move, placing my hand on the hilt of my dagger.
"And you going to look or not?"
At this moment I was positive there was nothing good behind that door. Her impatience clued me into that. The offer of that easy of a victory had completely left my mind, and the only thing keeping me from turning and running was a mild lingering curiosity of who-or what- she was.
she sigh "so much mistrust " they turn a corner and another and soon enough there is a end of the road. "There is a quick passage here. Come " she open a hidden door
The hidden door gave me the heeby-jeebies, and I could almost see my father sitting in our living room, eyes plastered to the screen, telling me not to do it, not to follow the strange woman that the Capitol had sent to take me off course.
"Can you look through?" I asked. "To make sure it's safe?"
I felt the generator run out of electricity, and I shoved the dagger back into my pocket, holding my hands up. "No blades. No weapons. I just want you to look first. You don't even have to go through."
The cogs in my head turning, I looked her in the eyes, seeing just a glint of something different in there. Something was off, and I wasn't sure I wanted to stick around to find out what that was.
We turned several corners and I could feel my heart beating through my head, almost like how it had two nights ago on the roof with Leo. But this was not a good heart pound. This was cautiousness, almost fear. Confusion.
I raised an eyebrow to her question and shook my head, tightening my grip on the dagger and lowering it a little. "You give me the creeps. I won't hurt you if you won't hurt me."
I wasn't getting any clear answers from her, and at this rate I was going to be stuck here with her for the duration of the Games. Her vagueness was slightly infuriating, and I could feel myself getting more and more annoyed with the lack of clarity.
I held my dagger out cautiously, feeling the soft buzz of the electricity running through it, and gripped the shield with my left hand.
"Fine," I answered, still keeping my distance from her. "Take me. But you lead the way."
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