The Hunger Games discussion

A spacious room tucked behind the Ballroom. There are round card tables set throughout the room, each one bearing a set of cards and a pair of dice. Near the back is a long rack of wines, the bottles...strangely dusty. On a few seats there are boxes of cigars left out.
Then there are the walls. They’re paneled in mahogany, with a long tapestry hanging over the back. But that’s not the noticeable part of them. The left and right walls are lined with masks...but the masks aren’t normal. At first glance they seem like normal masquerade masks, the animal kind - foxes, wolves, wildcats, eagles and hawks. Feral animals.

[only reachable from the Ballroom]

Elektra walked into the room after Lavi, examining the walls and the tables. The masks on the walls caught he by surprise - she blinked, then narrowed her eyes, staring. They were masquerade masks like hers. Hollow-eyed and empty.

Lavi walked in, looking around silently. He noticed the wine bottles at the back and walked over to them, picking one of them up. It was covered in dust, like nothing had touched them in months. He glanced around the room. Those masks lining the walls seemed pretty normal at first glance, so he ignored them.

"Are those drinkable?" Elektra asked, skirting around the tables. She hissed as she bumped into one - or rather, her skirts did. She spotted a set of dice on the table and a set of cards. Instinctively, she pocketed the dice. They didn't count as supplies, but maybe they could do...something.

"Maybe. I'm not sure." Lavi held up the bottle, examining it, but fumbled and dropped it to the floor. It shattered with a loud crash. "Shit-" He picked up the neck of the bottle, which now had a jagged edge. "Well, I guess we have a weapon now." He glanced at the other bottles.

"That'll work," Elektra said dryly, picking up another bottle carefully. "Do you think we could use this for something?" She looked it over, taking in the dimensions. Maybe it would fit in her hoop pockets? "If I could rig a trap or a structure, this would make a good weight. But it'd hard to carry around."

Chase runs in from the ballroom and sees both Lavi and Elektra. "Oh shit." He rolls his eyes. He should have just stayed in the ballroom but it's too late now. He keeps his champagne glass up in defense but lowers it slightly. Probably not the best entrance considering it's 2 against 1 here. He narrows his eyes knowing he's probably about to get attacked. "Hi." He says dryly. His best defense here is probably hand to hand combat or just trying to outsmart them, but maybe getting into that frame of mind isn't the right option considering nothing has exploded yet.

Elektra turned, still clutching the bottle with both hands. She wondered briefly if she could use it as a bludgeoning weapon, but dismissed the thought. She didn't have the strength or the desire to kill. "Are you going to kill us?" She asked flatly, her green eyes darting to the glass fragments by the edges of her skirt.

His eyes lock on hers, stone cold. You're here to make allies, not friends. "If you don't attack me, I'll keep my hands to myself." He says under his breath.

Elektra glanced at Lavi, tilting her head slightly. She didn't want to kill. But she didn't want to die, either. She didn't trust Chase in the least, but she couldn't see them peacefully agreeing to leave each other alone. The chances of that were low, and it had already happened with Liam and his group.

Lavi stepped in front of Elektra slightly, brandishing his broken glass. Somehow, after barely knowing her for a day or two, he had already come to think of her as a younger sister. He didn't really catch whatever Chase had muttered under his breath. "What did you say?" He asked, watching the boy warily.

Elektra didn't let her surprise show. But she was pretty surprised. Lavi already trusted her? He was protecting her? Did trust really work that fast?

Chase glares at them. "I said," he says, fully enunciating. There was no reason for him to get irritated--maybe Lavi didn't hear him because he mumbled, a problem he had as a child. But something told him it was more of a challenge. "I said I won't attack you unless you attack first. And right now I'd prefer not to have a big--" he makes motion with his hands. "--kaboom. I hope you understand that." He was careful not to show emotion and remain calm and collected. Plus, he needed allies. But he wasn't the type to just say "want to be allies."No, it doesn't work like that. Trust is earned--and actions speak louder than words.

"So could you move?" Elektra asked bluntly, eyeing him. "One of us should leave, and you're the one in front of the door." She nudged aside pieces of glass with her foot, hoping one of them wouldn't cut through her slipper.

He cocks his head in confusion. He was usually good at reading people but Elektra and Lavi were a whole different......breed. "What do you mean, leave," he says, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't really understand what she meant. It was quite obvious to him that the best option was for him to just leave-unscathed and unharmed, but he stayed anyway. He wouldn't survive for long out there. Not without an ally. And if it made him seem weak that he wanted to stay with them--so be it.

"You said you wouldn't attack," Elektra said, tilting her head. "That includes letting us leave."

"I shouldn't be saying this but can I stay with you guys?" He says under his breath. It was stupid to ask considering the answer would be no.

Lavi hesitated. The boy didn’t seem like he was going to attack them, but Lavi still didn’t trust him. He glanced at Elektra uncertainly. “I’m cool with it if you are,” He said.

Elektra frowned. "What skills do you have?" she asked, evaluating him carefully. She didn't trust him, but she rarely trusted anyone. So that didn't mean much. Would he slow them down, though?

He shifts his weight from his left foot to the right. "Hand to hand combat. I'm good with maneuvering heavy objects and a steady aim. Ideally that would be a axe but no District 7 things here....." He sensed they all had trust issues from the way they communicated.

Elektra nodded. "Good enough. Are we planning to leave this room?" Lavi could fight well enough, but Chase would be the brawn, she supposed. She would be the brains. They'd make a strong enough unit.

"Depends on what you and him want to do," he says, pointing to Lavi. Earning trust took time and for now he was trying to give them the reins, even though he liked to be in control a lot, he had to refrain from that for now. "What are your names?"

"Elektra Everfall, District Three," Elektra said. She pointed at Lavi. "Lavi Ansel, District Eleven." She already knew Chase's name, too. She'd memorized everyone's names.

Lavi nodded, offering Chase a handshake. He didn’t quite trust him - Not yet, anyway - but he would deal with it for now.

Chase tilts his head and shakes his hand. "Chase Jenson, District 7." He recognized them briefly from training scores, but at the time he was too drowned out and trying to focus on himself and improving his fighting that he barely paid attention to the other tributes.

Elektra nodded. "Do you have any supplies?" she asked. "We're thinking these bottles might be helpful, and I could probably do something with these ridiculous skirts." She knelt down carefully and picked up a few long, jagged shards of glass. Tugging open the top of her side-skirt, she placed them into her hoop pockets.

He nods and motions to the champange glass he was still holding. "I could break it and throw it at someone if necessary." He also pulls out a wood ladies fan that was tightened around his stocking-- the stocking was so tight around his ankles it was hard to stuff it in there and took effort for him to yank out without breaking it. "Once again, could break and throw."

"That helps," Elektra said, nodding. She tested putting the bottle in one of her pockets. "No." She said out loud, not caring that no one else knew what she was saying it for. The bottle would slow her down too much. She left it back on its rack, wiping her hands on her skirts to get rid of the dust residue.

Chase was fascinated with the way Elektra carried herself--it was the simplest of things but he noticed the vibe people seemed to give off. He looks over at Lavi and nods to himself. The alliance wouldn't be bad at all. Not perfect, of course, but they could make a good team. He brushes off the top of his shoe and slowly and carefully wedges the ladies fan in between a spot in his stocking. Not the most elegant place to put a weapon but what could they do with no backpacks? He decided to just hold the champagne glass, it was light enough.

Elektra eyed the masks on the wall again. "Where are we going now?" she asked no one in particular.

(Firefly should I do the thing)

(ZHU LI DO THE THING)

Lavi looked around the room. “Maybe there’s something behind that tapestry?” He suggested uncertainty.

Elektra frowned at it, skirting around the tables to avoid stepping on broken glass. She passed too close to the wall, leaning away from the animal masks...

the masks near her start moving.

Elektra yelped and tripped over her damn skirt, careening into the table. The fox nearest her lunged from the wall on the hook it had been set on, teeth flashing. As it turned out, the masks had teeth. Despite how hollow they looked.

Lavi whirled around. “Elektra!” He jumped in front of the fox, slamming his glass piece into its head as hard as he could. It did a bit of damage, but not much, and the glass shattered in his hands. Having no other weapon, he just threw as heavy of a punch as he could manage.

"Don't fight it," Elektra yelped wildly, stumbling off the chair. "It's activated by close contact. Or something similar." A wolf snagged part of her sleeve, and she yanked her arm away.

“Well then what do we do? Let them shred us?” Lavi punched a Wildcat that lunged for him, but yelled as an eagle’s talons tore through his shoulder. He grabbed Elektra’s hand and pulled her to her feet, grabbing another wine bottle. There was blood spilling down his shoulder, but he ignored the pain as much as he could. There was no time for him to worry about it.

"They're only active near us," Elektra snapped, narrowly ducking a cougar's fangs snapping at her throat. Long, shallow scratches ran down her face from the miss. A hawk's claws razed through her bodice, shredding uncomfortably through her too-stiff corset. "We need to leave the room."

Lavi gritted his teeth. “Alright, stand back.” He swing his wine bottle at a hawk that was swooping towards him and the charged towards the door, slamming his shoulder into it. The door, which hadn’t been locked, flew open. He probably could’ve just turned the handle to get them out, but no, Lavi’s dumbass had to go dislocate his already injured shoulder for no reading.

Elektra growled under her breath at the snapping animals, an eagle's beak stabbing a wound into the exposed skin of her arm. She stumbled over the hoops and petticoats of her skirts as she ran for the door, nearly running into a chair. Panic made her clumsy.
Elektra was panicking. Logically, she knew she had a plan. She was getting out. But her body, for stupid anatomical reasons, didn't know that quite yet. Her heart raced, her feet stumbled, and her vision was doing strange things. She couldn't tell if it was hyper focusing or disorienting.

Chase was standing in shock until he saw Lavi punch open the door. He went to sprint toward the door until a wildcat jumped out from the side and got a really good dig in his ankle. He groans and grits his teeth so hard, blood seeps in his gums. If he saw one more animal fly out he'd kill it with the glass he was holding in his hand. No question, he'd just kill. This whole thing was making him so angry--why'd he just stand there in shock? It didn't matter now--because at least he was alive. But they weren't out yet. His ankle rolls over to the side as he tries to stand up and leans on a table for support. They were going to get out. Ignoring the throbbing in his head, he inches closer to Elektra. "What do you think is the best option," he says softly, for some reason wanting to keep his voice down. He could almost sense her panic.

"We get out of here and we find supplies," Elektra breathed, hands clenching in her skirts. Her breaths were coming faster, so she tried to slow them down. Count. She focused on the stream of numbers, adding and adding.

Elektra didn’t look so great. She was stumbling a bit, seeming disoriented. Lavi wasn’t sure what was happening to her, but he set his hand on her arm gently, trying to help her focus. “You good?” He asked. His eyes, which usually showed no emotion whatsoever, were now filled with concern. It was strange.


((My phone randomly switched to emojis and I almost said his eyes were filled with 🔦💡⌛️ and somehow I find that hilarious))

(his eyes were filled with draining flashlights)

"No," she muttered, brushing repeatedly at the blood trickling down her arm. 28, 29, 30... "Let's go." She was just in shock, she knew that. She would calm down.

Lavi frowned, but nodded. They needed to get out of here before he could try to help. “Alright. Let’s go.” He pulled her towards the door.

((Lavi's eyes were filled with light and time. Lavi was indeed a god.))

Chase stands up, wincing at his ankle.

Elektra turned to Chase. "How bad is it?" she asked him, yanking at her skirts again. Her eyes fixed on his ankle.

"Bad, but I can survive." He says honestly. "At least it's wasn't near the brain." He looks over at Lavi. "Do you have any injuries?"

“I don’t think-“ Lavi started, but then gasped with pain as he shifted his shoulder slightly. “Scratch that- yes.”

"We'll have to take care of that," Elektra sighed, remembering the broken glass in her skirt. "I can make bandages. But we need to get out." She strode out of the room, still stumbling.