Breathe.

Quennel Falker||16||Tribute

[quennelfalker-blog]

Welp

Well since I was kicked from the ooc blog I guess this is as good a place as any to post this. I just wanted to say sorry to everyone for having to drop and thank you all for being fantastic. Life just got too hectic for me to continue and be in here. Thank you to the GM's for all your hard work and for putting up with me having to leave and all the other shenanigans. Good luck to everyone left and may the odds be ever in your favour!

[quennelfalker-blog]

Target Practice || Throwing Knives || Oneshot

I watched the one game maker who'd watched me on the gauntlet pull a few others aside and talk to them, pointing to me every once in a while as I walked away from the station to find something else to train in. I didn't recognize any of them as the head game makers yet, guess I'd just have to impress them in my private training.

Like before I strode over by myself and picked up a holster of knives, strapping it to myself before drawing out a single knife. Naturally I had no idea what I was doing as I gripped the knife in my hand, getting a feel for the weight. This couldn't be too hard could it? I'd handled knives before, though those were for eating not killing, but really how difficult could it be? I took aim and fired the first knife at the dummy. To my delight it hit the target right in the chest only to bounce harmlessly to the floor. No one was going to die of a bruised chest.

The trainer must have noticed my failure of a throw because he started walking over to me. "Need any help?" He asked, picking up a holster of my own. "Can you just throw one please so I can watch?" That's all I needed was a demonstration I could copy. "Uhh.. Sure thing." He replied a little confused by the request but complied anyways. I scrutinized his form intensely, going over ever detail in my mind and replaying it long after he'd buried the knife just outside the bulls-eye.

After a few moments I drew another knife and this time changed my stance to match his, copying his body movements down to a tee as I cocked my arm back and threw, remembering to flick my wrist a little at the end as he had. Middle ring. Knife after knife flew from my hand as I worked to perfect the technique, to own it. I coated the target in knives, ranging from a few outside the target to two lucky bulls-eyes. At least none of them were bouncing off the target anymore. As I launched my last knife into the moving target the trainer had set up and it landed in the dummy's head I felt a smile creep onto my face. This was a weapon I quite enjoyed.

[quennelfalker-blog]

Grappling With Reality || Quennel & Rosalie || Wrestling

[rosaliebeales-blog]

I grin at my partner. It was nice to see him out and about again. “Sounds great.” I say with a smile. “I missed you these past two days.” I admit. Even in the suite, we hadn’t really had much time alone not without Eva gabbing about one thing or another. So it was nice to actually get to talk. I place my hands on my hips as he leads me over to the wrestling mats. “I don’t know, don’t know think this is a little unfair with all your fancy footwork?” I tease.

[quennelfalker-blog]

So she had taken notice of how absent I'd been for the past day or so. "I missed you too Rosalie." I signed her name as I spoke it and smiled back at her. It's true I'd the first day I hadn't even thought to check on her after training and the second day I'd just focused on my training. Now that I thought about it I felt pretty crappy for avoiding her like that, some district partner I was.

"Just because I can move these doesn't mean I'm not a pansy." I joke as I point at my feet. "Besides you're pretty tough, I'm sure you could take me." 

[quennelfalker-blog]

Is It Supposed To Be This Easy? || Gauntlet || Oneshot

It was the morning of day two and in one day I'd only managed to train at two stations. Surely we had plenty of time for training but I couldn't help but feel that perhaps I was wasting some of my time by socializing and not really picking up the skills I'd need to survive. If I ended up dying because I'd spent more time talking about my home life than learning how to defend myself...

There were many tributes around though and doing it at the best of my ability meant revealing things. Surely Rosa and Em knew, and by now I'm guessing Remy did as well but other than that it was hopefully still a secret just exactly what I was able to do. So instead of giving it my all the first run I started slowly and within a few seconds the end of a foam bat was swung in my stomach and I was falling from the course down onto the safety mats on the ground.

The air rushed from my lungs and I winced at the pain. Who knew being bad at things could hurt so much? Forcing myself to push through the pain I stood up and positioned myself at the beginning of the course again. This time I tried a little harder, wasn't quite as careless and made it to the top of the course without much difficulty. Still, it was far from a record and nothing to sing home about.

I did this a few more times, simply running through the motions as I jumped obstacles and dodged trainers and their bats. Still having yet to break a sweat however I wanted to give it one final run before I tried something else. Glancing up at the game makers booth I caught the eye of one and motioned to the gauntlet with my head before bracing myself for the run. Two deep breaths and I was off. Years of throwing myself into dance had made me fast and agile. I easily leapt over the first few platforms bypassing some of the obstacles and coming up to the first trainer. He swung his bat as I bent my back and slipped underneath passing him and moving to the next one. As he swung I stepped hard on my right foot and spun my body around past his weapon and carried my foot into his back knocking him off his platform.

A few more obstacles that proved to be no challenged and one final trainer from the top. I watched his body tense up as I got closer and prepared my muscles as well. The moment his body started to twist I pushed off with my feet and gracefully jumped up and over his foam, pulling the splits in the air and landing softly on the top platform. Finally, I'd pushed myself and doubled over panting for a moment before standing up and shooting a wink to the watching game maker. I wonder if they timed these things because that was quite possibly a new record.

[quennelfalker-blog]

Grappling With Reality || Quennel & Rosalie || Wrestling

After a day of solitude training with no one but myself I decided to get back in the social game. Not that I needed the friends or enemies but I figured having a few relationships wouldn't hurt. 

I spotted a familiar head of red hair and happily jogged over to meet Rosa. With a quick tap on the shoulder she spun around and I smiled mouthing the word "Wrestling?" to her.

[quennelfalker-blog]

How Does One Make Like A Tree? || Quennel and Emerson || Plants

[emersonsterling-blog]

I rolled my eyes. “It’s a good thing you’re a good suck up, Six.” I said, neatly finishing up at the plants table. “I’ll keep that in mind. You’re still on my good side but not by too much.” This kid had no balls, retracting his statements just so I wouldn’t kill him.

“Don’t go all spiritual adviser on me. I’ll play it my way, you play it yours. We’ll see who’s wearing the crown when all is said and done.” 

[quennelfalker-blog]

At this point her over confidence was killing me. I wasn't playing peace maker so much as seeing how far I could push her.

"That sounds perfectly fine to me. You in for a career pack this year?" I asked casually. I was pretty much done with this conversation but any more information I could squeeze out of her could do me some good.

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

A Little Q&E || Lunch || Quennel and Evie ||

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

“I learned to deal with it, I cared more for my siblings at that point. It didn’t matter how I felt.” I answered, and drank some water. “Who takes care of you? Just yourself?” I wondered.

[quennelfalker-blog]

"My uncle. I was still quite young when I lost them so he took over everything including me" I took a drink and looked back to her. "The man is a pompous bastard."

[quennelfalker-blog]

How Does One Make Like A Tree? || Quennel and Emerson || Plants

[emersonsterling-blog]

“Second place was District One and had she not had the fire under her ass from him killing the love of her life merely seconds before I’m very confident she’d have not been able to do it.” I sniffed. “Besides, I don’t care about last year. I care about this year. And I don’t appreciate your attitude, Six.” 

I just rolled my eyes. Did every freaking tribute here have a massive ego? Big talk from dancer boy here.

[quennelfalker-blog]

"Look, Miss, it wasn't my intent to upset you. I know you're very capable of handling yourself and really you have a great shot at being the victor, much better than me or most of the others for that matter." I stopped my work to look her in the eyes.

"I'm just here to remind you that even the best can be beaten given the right circumstances. Keep the circumstances in your favour and it should be check mate." Hopefully that settled some of the tension. Enemies were one thing but getting careers against you was a death wish.

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

A Little Q&E || Lunch || Quennel and Evie ||

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

My eyes softened as he told me about his parents being gone. I understood that… more completely that he could know. “I know how you feel, Quennel..” I said softly, glancing at him then taking a drink.

“My father died quite a few years ago… He was he glue that held my family together. When he died, my mother lost herself in working 2 jobs and abandoned her children to cope with her pain. The day he died, I lost her too.” I looked at him. “She left me to grow up and be a mother to my baby siblings, because she couldn’t any more.” Well… there it was.. most of my sob story. 

[quennelfalker-blog]

I looked up from my plate of food to see Evie speaking completely candidly. I hadn't even told her they'd died, how had she known? "That must have been really tough." Was what I managed to get out. As a rule I didn't say sorry for things I couldn't change. "Your siblings are lucky they had someone like you to take care of them. I certainly didn't."

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

A Little Q&E || Lunch || Quennel and Evie ||

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

“I suppose you are right.” I nodded and looked at him. He sounded so sad, I wondered what it might be.

“But you sound so sad…” I commented, “Did something happen?” I started to realize there were so many sad stories in this game. Each one of us carrying one with us, some would talk about it and many others would take it to the grave. Which one would Quennel be?

[quennelfalker-blog]

She seemed genuine, motherly. I felt a longing in my chest I hadn't felt in years. Don't break down in front of her Q you're stronger than this. "My parents have been gone a long time, I miss them is all." That worked, it wasn't lying.

"Everyone here could tell you a sob story. Don't worry yourself with me. Tell me more about your family."

[quennelfalker-blog]

How Does One Make Like A Tree? || Quennel and Emerson || Plants

[emersonsterling-blog]

My eyebrows raised. “Not worrying?” I said, another cold laugh from my lips. “I think you’re one of the ones who needs to worry. Have you picked up a weapon? Do you know how to use one? I admire your confidence however without the skills to back it up you’re setting yourself up for failure.” I was being harsh and I knew it, but he needed a reality check.

“I know better than to underestimate but I also know that I need to keep my confidence up because that pushes me from being good to being great. And you won’t be seeing it. I’ll be sad to see yours.”

[quennelfalker-blog]

She was being harsh but I'd be doing the same in her situation. I smiled back at her laugh. "What's there to worry about? Last year a girl from Ten beat your careers, how much training did she have? Besides, I've come to realize there are fates much worse than to die in the Hunger Games." 

"Confidence can be a blessing and a curse Em, watch that. I appreciate the sentiment but I don't plan on being another face in the sky if I don't have to. I know how to take care of myself."

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

A Little Q&E || Lunch || Quennel and Evie ||

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

“Maybe I’ll learn to enjoy it, but for now.. the alone time is something of a bother.” I admitted.

“Mmhm.. and a little brother. They made sure there was never a dull moment. Also made for no peace and quite either.” I smiled, “Do you have siblings?”

[quennelfalker-blog]

I laughed a little but hoped it didn't come off as rude. "I'm sorry ma'am but I think you're running out of time to learn to enjoy it." A mixture of sadness and hope in my voice.

"No, I've always been an only child. Not something I've always wanted but you get used to it. My parents were great when it came to that though, making sure I didn't feel alone." I gave her a sad smile and kept eating.

[quennelfalker-blog]

How Does One Make Like A Tree? || Quennel and Emerson || Plants

[emersonsterling-blog]

“Oh, I’m not worried.” I said with a sharp laugh, examining another leaf. “I’m not worried about anyone here. However, I’m a trained Career first and foremost and it’s my job to mentally file all the information I can get out of all of you. I like you too, Quennel, but I’m here to win.” I looked up, my eyes glinting like they did when I thought of victory, a little bit manic.

“I will likely be telling my partner. How much I tell him I’ll decide later.” I saw no problem in sharing strategy, he’d tell people I was a swordsmaster, so I wasn’t sure what the difference was. “Nobody’s competition for me but I need to keep your talents in mind though I don’t know their full extent just yet. I have an eye on you, Quennel.” I replaced my evil glare with a sweet smile before going back to work.

[quennelfalker-blog]

The glaring confidence was beginning to grate on me a bit but I couldn't blame her. It was simply in her nature, how she'd been raised. "Well I guess you and I have something in common then. I'm not particularly worried about anyone here either." I flashed a coy smile and picked up another plant identification book.

"If you're keeping that in mind, also keep in mind that over or underestimating can be a particularly costly mistake. I would hate to see that pretty little smile in the sky at night."

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

A Little Q&E || Lunch || Quennel and Evie ||

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

“You caught me… I like to be around people. Being alone isn’t my most favorite thing. I have 3 little siblings in small house. I never had alone time and it never bothered me.” I added. “What about you.. you enjoy being alone?” I picked at my sandwich.

[quennelfalker-blog]

"Enjoy?" I paused to consider the word. "I didn't use to but I've grown to like being alone." I take a bite of the mashed potatoes on my plate. 

"There's nothing wrong with enjoying company though. I bet you love your little sisters." I offered her a smile.

[tresa-sterling-blog-blog]

A Little Q&E || Lunch || Quennel and Evie ||

I said goodbye to Darius but I still wasn’t finished with lunch, chuck that up to me doing more talking that eating. I spotted someone just arriving alone who I hadn’t met. As he passed my table I opened up. “Hey.. I noticed you’re alone, as am I.. Would you want to join me, no one likes sitting alone.” 

I smiled and looked up at him. “I’m Evie… District 8, by the way.”

[quennelfalker-blog]

I hadn't expected to be approached to eat with someone at lunch yet here I was standing over a girl, Evie, who had jut invited me to sit with her. "Quennel, from Six." I say politely as I set my try down and sit across from her.

"Not one who enjoys being alone Evie?"

[quennelfalker-blog]

How Does One Make Like A Tree? || Quennel and Emerson || Plants

[emersonsterling-blog]

I shook my head, easily seeing through that facade. “Oh, don’t pull that with me. Not like I can use that against you in any way. Just because one of the Careers knows you’re fast and stealthy doesn’t mean that you can’t still run away from me if I’m chasing you.” I paused for a moment. “Though I understand keeping that as a secret weapon of sorts. Mine are pretty out in the open, I’m deadly with everything but I specialize in swordplay.” 

I’d have to tell Remy about Quennel when we discussed strategy next, but I didn’t necessarily want to. I didn’t want to have to hunt him down but the fact was, it was a major warning sign that he was stronger than he let me know. 

[quennelfalker-blog]

Could I get away with trying to lie more? Who knew. "Look, Em, I like you. However I know that now quite possibly I've become somewhat of a worry in the back of your mind despite the fact you're much better trained than I. I also can see some sort of mental struggle going on in your mind as to whether you should tell your partner or not." I took a breath and picked out a few edible leaves from among a bowl where they were mixed in with poisonous leaves.

"I'm not as dangerous as you may think. Sure my... talents may afford me a little bit of an edge when it comes to running but it ends there. I'm not competition for you." Hopefully I made my point very clear as I'd suddenly put myself in quite the dangerous position.

[quennelfalker-blog]

How Does One Make Like A Tree? || Quennel and Emerson || Plants

[emersonsterling-blog]

I leaned in at the prospect of a secret. I loved secrets. But this one I wasn’t fishing for for strategy, I was honestly curious. “I promise…” I said suspiciously, wondering what he could possibly be hiding.

A dancer?!

My eyes shot open. “I didn’t expect you to say that!” I said with a smile. “That’s cool though. So by default you’d be… flexible, stealthy, pretty strong, fast, limber. Those sound like winning qualities to me. Get you all trained up with a set of knives and you could give me a run for my money!” I exclaimed. Not like I thought this guy had any chance of beating me- not many did- but I thought it was cool nonetheless.

[quennelfalker-blog]

Surprise, that was a common reaction. However whether she was humoring me or genuinely analyzing me she immediately started listing off my possible strengths and I felt horrible for telling her. I knew she was close to her district partner, a big hulk of a guy who I didn't want to get on the wrong side of. Had I just painted a huge target on my back?"

"If I'd been doing it for more than a few years then probably." I started on damage control and my natural lying skills came into play. "Seriously I only started a few years ago and haven't really got into it much."