Forum Thread

Gateguard could barely reign back the tumultuous feelings crashing against him as he took in the loyalists that were gathered here, emotions that he could barely even start to describe mixing inside him. Some of the faces in the crowd were young, so young that they could have been his siblings. He didn't want to think about it, people so young brainwashed into believing the rhetoric of the capital that they were willing to die for it. But this was the truth of this world, the reality that Gateguard couldn't turn his eyes away from.

Chancing a glance at his companions, Gateguard could tell that they too were taken aback by this revelation, that these were not the enemies that they had envisioned they would face. Gripping Nova's other hand, Gateguard steeled himself and his own vocal chords, knowing that if the worst were come to past and things went south, his voice would be instrumental in calming down the crowds.

---

Echo silently stared at the clock, still waiting in the room Rose had left. He blinked, before starting to think. The other members of the team had come back a few hours ago, but Rose hadn't returned. It wasn't that he was worried, he just couldn't believe she had left when she saw he was going to win the challenge. That was surely it. He started to pace the room for an hour. She still hadn't come back. He left the room and started asking if anyone had seen her around. Nobody had a clue of her location. He frowned, making his way outside. He supposed he had to find Rose now...

---

Rose sighed as she slowly pulled herself up from the sitting position. She ran her hand over the smooth rock next to her. She felt the cool water on her finger tips. She stood up slowly. A nearby oak tree, had a branch low enough for her to climb on to. She hoisted herself up and kept going. Higher and higher until her breath felt shallow. She flicked some bark off her leg and hooked her legs on a branch.

---

Echo huffed as he walked outside, this definitely wasn't how he wanted to spend the rest of his day. "Rose?" He called out, quickly stepping over a blackened tree trunk. He wasn't aware of where she had been lost, and he briefly considered the fact that he could get lost as well. Unfortunately he took a challenge to be good for 24 hours and the time was still not up. "Rose?"

---

A gun shot fired form somewhere making the others jump, Jackson was whipping his gun around trying to find who had fired. One of the younger men collapsed and Nova upon impulse broke the handhold and bolted towards him. "STOP!" Her cry was desperate, as though afraid that no one would hear her. "Stop! He needs help!" Nova dropped to the ground at his side to help him when a gun was suddenly put to her throat. Jackson's cry for everyone to hold their fire was about the only thing you could hear aside from the ambince and the background of war.

The man glared at Nova, hsi face bleeding heavily, his garbed voice no louder then a whisper, yet the mic on Nova still picked it up. "Give me a reason I shouldn't shoot you."

Nova froze, millions of reasons should've came to her tounge but there was nothing. "I can't." Nova's voice was barely above a whsiper as if fearing her voice being too loud would make him pull the trigger. "But that's the problem isn't it? You burned districts to the ground and we blew up your mine. We have plenty of reasons to kill eachother, so go ahead and do it. Make Snow and the rest of the Capital happy. I'm done being killing his slaves and playing his games." To enforce this she pressed her throat against it.

The man blinked at her and looked down. "I'm not their slave." He utters.

"I am." Nova said and he looked at her. "That's why I killed *Girl from 2* and she killed *random tribute* and he killed *boy from 2.* It just goes around and around, over and over again and who wins? Always Snow. District 2. District 13. We have no fight against eachother but the one the Capital gave us." Nova locked eye contact with him. "Why are you fighting the rebels? Your neighbors? Your friends? Your family?"

The man droped the gun as the words seemed to sink in and relased Nova looking away. Nova's mind was on full speed as she looked around them. It was so quite you could hear a pin drop. Slowly, Nova rose up then gestured to the citzens of 2. "These people are not your enemy!" She gestured to the rebels, her voice now a shout. "The rebels are not you enemy! We all have one enemy!" She gazed and round and jabed a hand in the general direction of the Capital before slowly looking around. "And that's Snow! He currputs everyone and everything! He turns the best of us agasint eachother. Stop killing for him! Tonight, turn your weapons not to your neighbors or friends or family. Turn your weapons to the Capital." Nova's voice trembled, making it sound somehow more charasmatic as it echoed in the night. "Turn your weapons to Snow."

One of the men from Two scrambled up and emptyed is clip into Nova's chest before he was shot. Nova dropped down and she didn't get up, though the slight breathing from her chest indicated she was, infact, alive, not that anyone could see it in teh crazyiness that ensued.

(Everyone react to this, you'll be seeing it on teh TV. I'm going to shower.)

---

The world froze in place, everything narrowing down until all Gateguard could see was darkness and the slowly falling body of Nova, graceful and otherworldly even when dying his world red with tears and rage. His body moved on its own, muscles working to carry himself towards the one thing he could see, a scream tearing free from his throat.

Steady hands jerked him backwards, as revels held him back, static noise filling the air as they spoke to him, yelling over to chaos that violently dislodged every rational thought from his mind. "Let go of me." He snarled, attempting to shake off the hands that held him back, salt coating his tongue as he licked his lips looking for words that could properly convey his feelings. He was suddenly pulled backwards, knees buckling as he was sent tumbling onto the cold ground. There he had a better view of the slowly crawling red that flooded his vision, a beautiful colour framing Nova's still form that brought nothing but fear. Swallowing heavily, he saw one of the rebels close to him raising their gun and Gateguard immediately grabbed the muzzle and forced it down, the first action that Gateguard could confidently say was something he did consciously ever since this whole event started. "For the love of everything holy and good, Don't. Shoot." He snarled, using the gun as leverage to help push himself up.

Taking a few shaky steps, he at least made it back to his original spot, suddenly unable to take another step further, eyes fixated on the morbid beauty that was splayed before him. Hands covered his mouth as he almost threw up again, knees feeling weak once again. He couldn't tear his eyes away though and could only watch in subtle horror, his mind disconnecting from his body, sheltering his already fragile psyche from the full extent that this nightmare had to offer.

---

Then Gateguard saw it, though faint and the movement breif, he caught Nova's lips slightly open. His eyes went to where she'd been shot. No blood. The bullets had been caught by her chestplate, rendering them flat and useless.

She was still alive. Unconcious from the blow no doubt, but still mercifully alive.

Leaf had gasped out when she watched Nova get shot on teh TV. "Harlow, you dont think that she's actually dead right? They woudlnt just send her out there and not thought of something like this."

---

Chakti stirred finally, his torso wrapped in bandages around his shoulder and stomach. He groaned, then reached up and pulled off the mask on his face. He panicked initially, then remembered why his arm was missing. He groaned again, stiff and sore. He sat up, slowly, wanting to stretch, then noticed the other person in the room. "Whoweryou?" His words were slurred and slow, the drugs barely starting to wear off. His eyes were tired, and his face a little pale.

"I was about to ask the same thing" Tempest tells Chakti without looking at him. "Tempest" she replies after a moment of silence. She sits up, taking a peek at him. "Are you okay? What happened?" She asks with genuine concern

Leaf laid a head down on Harlow's shoulder and yawned, she was still tired and had been woken up by this propo. Leaf had only watched out of decentcy, but now she just wanted rest, being pregnant was hard work adn that went double when you had two little girls that were babbling to eachother in baby code.

---

"Chakti. I think I'm fine,but I shattered all the bones in myarm, I think?" His smile was a little crooked, but it was there nonetheless. "I was justaboutta escuze myself and visit some friends. I wanna tell Harlow I might've broke my promise.." He locked on to Tempest's eyes, asking, " Y'know Harlow right? And Leaf? They're real nice. " he yawned, stretching his arm and back, a slight grunt escaping his mouth. He swung his legs slowly over the edge of his bed, wobbling on his drunken legs. "I think I got too much sedative.." He grabbed the side of his bed, standing up a little straighter.

---

"I'm sure she'll be fine" Harlow tells Leaf. She turns off the TV and turns to Leaf. "Let's get some rest. Best not to worry about things that are out of our control" she tells Leaf as she snuggles next to her.

"I heard of them.. never actually talked to them" Tempest admits. When Chakti stands up she quickly rushes over, she feels a bit shaky on her feet herself. She haven't actually walked by herself since she was kidnapped by the Capitol. She winces at the memory. "Lay back down" Tempest demands as she gently pushes Chaki back down. "You are in no state to visit them"

Chakti fell back onto the bed, his arm flailing and grabbing onto the nearest thing- Tempest's arm. The light push was enough to overbalance him, and he ended up bringing Tempest down with him. Embarrassed, he let go, helping her off him. "Sorry" was the only word escaping his mouth. His eyes seemed to clear, despite his current status. "But I've gotta see Tempest!" He blinked. " Err... Harlow! " He chuckled a little at the simple drunken mistake, rubbing his eyes and trying to wake up his mind.

"I'm sure she'll visit you soon" Tempest replies, almost bitterly as her deminor changed once again. She moves away from him and sits back down on her bed. Instead of staring out the window like she usually does, she stares at Chakti; trying to figure the boy out. "Why do you want to see her so badly anyway?" She doesn't know a lot about Harlow, but Harlow didn't seem like the person to allow people in her circle so easily. She rolls her eyes at this thought, Seems like we have one thing in common.

☁ ☁
District D2 Location D2 Tags Nova

Adelaide's gut was already roiling when Nova stepped up to address the brutes from Two - her own district. She hadn't felt so sick or so uneasy since she'd entered the arena for the first time. Maybe it was the fact that it was her people. Adelaide realized now why they weren't the soldiers that she had anticipated to face. They were masonry workers; like Kardia was. No less experienced with weapons...but not the ones who were trained to become the lethal, stone-cold killers in the arena or the Capital.
And it made sense then. The masonry workers lived a strenuous life hauling stone to patch up the District's Walls. They were spared little time to adequately prepare themselves for combat.
A flash of movement to her left, and someone pressed a gun right to Nova’s throat. Adelaide snarled in warning, the guttural sound ripping through the night.

Chakti shifted on the bed, making himself a little more comfortable. "My family is based around honor, right? Least, it was 'till my parents decided to come along. Anyways, according to our traditions, if you break a promise to somebody, you tell them. I promised Harlow I wouldn't end up here in the infirmary again." He looked at Tempest. "What about you? Any interesting family traditions or anything?" The drug had seemed to wear off almost entirely, ever so quickly. It was clear his old family bits and pieces were important to him.

Nova was carried back to the hovercraft Gateguard was quickly usered right behind her seeing him get crazy. A few medic went straight to work on her, but there wasn't much for them to do other then wrap her chest up to cover the brusing. Gategaurd was then allowed to see her. Her hair was still pulled back in the bun but she was awake.

---

Tempest winces at this. "Heh, any family traditions have been forgotten" Tempest admits. "I'm in a rough spot with my family... Long story short, when I escaped from the arena last year, they disowned me" she sighs. "I've already accepted what happened.. and in a way.. I suppose I forgive them" her eyes start tearing up at this revelation.

Chakti blinked, his half smile fading. "O-oh.. I'm sorry. I didn't know.." He sat in silence with Tempest for a bit, then listened to the background noise of the area. He could hear his parent's voices in the back of his mind, too: "What do you mean 'looked into our history'?! We have no history!" "A tattoo of our 'family crest'? I thought I told you to get your damn head out of the past, boy!"

(I'll be back in a bit)

Tempest laughs, but it's a bit forced. "Don't worry about it.. actually, it's nice to talk about it with someone else" she smiles a genuine smile at him. "And don't worry about the whole Harlow situation... I'm sure she'll come visit you soon enough"

(Alright)