#games. 124

[cheathatcher]

The hustle and bustle that came with the first day of a new game cycle made it easily one of Elias’ least favorite days of the year. It not only made it impossible to get anywhere, but the excitement that filled the air was vastly unwarranted in his eyes and left him feeling rotten. While the outside foyer was still buzzing with energy, it lacked the same commotion of anywhere inside the tower. He stayed close to the building walls, a cigarette perched between his fingertips as he tried to block out everything for a moment before he pushed himself to rejoin the district twelve team as they went about their tasks in preparation for the games. 

Until he felt the impact of another person colliding with him, knocking out both the air in his chest and the cigarette in his hand. “What the fuck!” he snapped, fumbling to steady himself before stubbing out the cigarette on the floor with the end of his boot. “Waste of a perfectly good cig,” he scoffed under his breath. 

[dearclaude]

Caffeine was not going to be what calmed his nerves and saved him from his thoughts, but it would give his hands something to hold onto, and for that, he was grateful. He wasn’t supposed to feel like this. This is the plan, everything is just going to plan, he silently reassured himself.

He took a hasty sip from his mug as he heard footsteps approaching. “Sorry, I’m standing right in front of the pot,” he gestured in front of him to the half-empty coffee pot sat on a hot plate before offering up an antsy half-smile and quickly moving to the side. “Don’t know where my manners are today... Sorry about that.” he tacked on, giving a small nod in apology.

[longsyne]

Oh no. That asshole did not just show up, it’s not him.

The hope that it could be someone else is crushed that when he sneaks through the hall of the District 3 floor, hiding behind potted plants and console tables and he fucking recognizes how he moves, catches glimpses of face, his hair that’s always in his eyes and the way he’s constantly having to push it out of vision. Xavien is reminded of someone he thought he had long forgotten. Five years.

He steps right behind him then because now he’s sure it’s him, “Sprite?” Xavien surprises even himself by calling Zero by that nickname, but the shock doesn’t last long, it’s soon replaced by something that’s almost as familiar to him as the nickname; all that pent up fury for the other.

He’s not supposed to be here. Not when Xavien has been doing so good without him here — or whatever form of okay he told himself was good enough to count. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he bites out in a way he hopes sounds mostly uninterested. He doesn’t want to give him too much. He learned that lesson the hard way. 

@zero-linux

[cheathatcher]

One of his tributes, already gone in the bloodbath. His eyes stayed on TV until he was sure; until he saw his body fall. He waited. Elias wasn't dumb, he knew he was gone, but still, he waited on the slim chance that he'd get back up. Until he just couldn’t stand to watch anymore. He had to get out. Elias suddenly stood up from his seat in the back of the viewing room, exiting out the double doors into the quiet of the hallway. He leaned with his back against the wall then, closing his eyes for a moment to clear his mind of the seizing anger, the anguish he felt. He'd rather push it off to deal with when it wasn't so fresh, but the muffled sounds of the games traveling out from the viewing room did nothing to help him in his endeavor.

When he heard the sound of someone slowly approaching, he spoke before they could say anything, "I already know this zoo shit is gonna get on my nerves." It was more of a redirect than a lie. And more out of instinct than anything did he try to hide how he was feeling after what he'd just witnessed. "Just ridiculous," he breathed out, rubbing at his temples.

[dearclaude]

After they'd finally escaped out of the birdcage, Claude ran out of there, crumbled on the ground, and laid unmoving in the grass. He didn't want to think anymore. Maybe this is how it'll be when I'm gone. His injuries weren't nearly serious enough to bring him death, but when closed his eyes then, part of him wished he wouldn't wake up. But sure enough, the morning came. He stayed there until the sun's rays started to become unbearable as they cast down on the back of his neck. Picking himself up, he felt the pain again in his face — the cuts, the bruises, the cracking of dried blood at the most minuscule facial movements. The pain dulled his mind, and he needed to wash it away, so he wandered until he found the murky lagoon, collapsing on his knees in front of the body of water.

When he heard someone behind him, he almost didn't look back. Maybe they was here to finally take him out, to end his run, but Claude was jumpy, antsy, and waiting for it and so he had to look, needed to know if it was finally his time. And when he looked to saw him there, Claude almost couldn't speak "...Hades?" it came out choked, voice gravelly as if he was on the verge of tears. Part of him wanted to cry then, because here he was, right in front of him. Everything seemed to wash away in his presence; like nothing else fucking mattered as long as he was here. His lips upturned into a smile then, eyes wide and unblinking out of fear that if he did, Hades might dissipate, leaving him all alone once again. 

Maybe this was why he was still here, why he was still alive. It was so he could see Hades again, so he could feel what it was like to want to be alive one more time. "You-you're here?" 

@hadeserpentine​​

[cheathatcher]

So maybe diving straight into a pond to retrieve the blown away scarf his stylist had so graciously given him for the night wasn't the best course of action to take. He probably could have just left it there, told Taffy that some animal had stolen it off him, or that he'd taken it off and forgotten it. That probably would have been the smart thing to do; at least then he wouldn't have been completely soaked head to toe. 

But hey, at least he got the scarf back? Taffy couldn't be mad at him. Well. She could. But Elias chose to believe she wouldn't be. He strode over to the closest person he saw before tapping their shoulder with a still wet hand. "Have you got a towel on you? Scratch that. Please tell me you have a whole damn change of clothes," he groaned the same time as he wrung out one of his sleeves, a ridiculous amount of water falling onto the pavement below.

[dearclaude]

He wasn't quite sure how, but he found himself wandering into a building in the dead of the night. He was simply seeking some solace; the dark of the first arena night had him on edge, full of worry about what it had to offer. It was no luck though, as the inside of the building seemed to only shine with the light of the moon just as the outside did. How was that possible, Claude didn't know. The worries of a dark room were soon replaced when he felt something soft brush against him, causing him to stumble back a bit at the sensation. Even as he backed away, the creature seemed to insist it be in his company, as it whined and pawed at his leg, asking to be picked up. Reluctantly, he obliged. He examined the animal in his arms — a small fox with pleading eyes that caught the artificial moonlight. His lips twitched up into a smile as he wrapped the fox in his arms, giving it a pet before he continued walking further into the building. That was until he'd found himself bumping into another being. This time it wasn't so small and fluffy, no, it felt a lot more like another tribute. Claude instinctively held the fox closer to his chest as he whipped around to face the entity, eyes wide in terror. "...Hades?" he murmured as the recognition sunk in. Still, he backed away slightly, unsure what his intentions may be now that they were in the arena.

@hadeserpentine​

[cheathatcher]

Three months and Elias had settled into something with Abel that he couldn't fully grasp, and he didn't think Abel could either. It didn't bother him; they didn't have to know to keep it going, and that seemed to work for them — it was comfortable. And wasn’t that just what the both of them needed right now? 

"Hey," he came up from behind, resting a hand on the low of Abel's back for just a moment, if just to let him know he was there, "I’ve been looking for you. I ordered you this fancy sparkling water crap-" he brought the glass to eye level, examining it with a much too overcritical look, "I thought maybe you'd like it," he held the glass out to Abel, a small smirk on his face. It wasn't like he needed a reason to see him, not in the slightest, but he wanted to offer something up and water would surely treat him better tonight than something alcoholic. 

@abel-evans​