WAR GAMES

[shinsengumi]

10...

9...

This year, you will be participating in teams. Your teams, as sponsored, are as follows:

Aeva and Ystelle; Ashleigh and Larsen; Aubrey and Kieran; Brigitte and Ellias; Cabel and Joss; Cyrel and Hollingworth; D'Ivann and Helene; Drael and Kristopher; Griffith and Xian; Fila and Lisette; Indra and Zacharius; Ivy and Reece; Kol and Laurence; Leonel and Solus; Lucinde and Visvaldis; Malis and Vox; Oberin and Odette; Shryke and Siegfried; Talbot and Thane.

Should both members of a team survive, you will both be permitted to leave the arena alive. May the odds be ever in your favour...

2...

1...

Comments

[contagion]

[His skin already singing with the tension he knows he'll need to survive, he nearly reacts with violence when Kris takes ahold of him. Snapping his teeth shut on his first response, he instead opts to slap one hand over Kristopher's mouth, wrap one arm around his back and wrestle him backwards until Drael feels the relief of a solid surface behind him. Then he hisses, low and sharp in Kristopher's ear.]

Shut up, Kris, you don't need to pay me anything, you just need to be quiet. We're not going to live long if everyone in earshot can hear you.

[He's wary to slow his rapid heartbeat, but he forces himself to, so he can hear above the pounding of blood in his ears. It doesn't sound as though anyone's close by... and he supposes that's by design, to give teams time to form or disband. Not too far off, he hears the booming echo signalling someone's death, and lets out a long breath, easing his hand from Kristopher's mouth and finally fixing his gaze on the other man, nodding slowly.]

We need to find weapons. I need a dagger. Calm down, okay? Panicking won't help.

[cordiality]

[The second Drael clamps a hand over his mouth, Kristopher screams. The sound is muffled and useless against that grip but Kris struggles and cries out again, terror and panic overriding all other sense of what Drael's purpose might be. For those few endless seconds, powerless and silenced and then pinned back, he's convinced Drael intends to kill him then and there.

It's not until Drael speaks that he starts to quiet at all, even now finding obscene comfort in the sound of this man's voice. The words lack sense at first, and Kris stares ahead with wild eyes as he tries to understand what he's being told, breath rapid and stifled beneath Drael's pressing weight and that firm palm across his mouth. Then he hears that telltale sound - the first death - and his whole body jerks, he whimpers, he squeezes his eyes shut against the fresh rush of tears and shakes his head and wills it all away.

But Kris is silent now, and that seems enough to prompt Drael to finally pull his hand back. Kristopher opens his eyes and finds himself locked in Drael's stare, and this time the words do make clear sense but Kris shakes his head all the same.]

I-I can't. I can't fight, Drael.

[contagion]

I know you can't. I just don't want to be stuck forcing poison into people to keep us alive. It's not exactly self-preserving to run up to someone and shove my fist in their mouth.

[He keeps talking, low and regular and as much for himself as for Kris, and squeezes the other man closer to him in an embrace meant to be comforting.] If we can find some wire, I'll do even better. Set up some tripwires and give you a place to hide. I'll make sure no one comes near you, alright Kris? We're going to get through this, you hear me?

[cordiality]

[The embrace does ease him, noticeably so, but still he trembles and still his breath is flighty and catching, his whole body remaining tense in Drael's grip.]

I don't want to be left alone. I-I won't know what to do, I was terrible at everything in the training. Please, Drael...

[contagion]

I'm not going to leave you, Kris. We're going to find some weapons and a quiet spot, and we're going to wait this out. [He finds his fingers tangling in Kristopher's hair, quite without realising it, and he sighs heavily as he tugs them away—he wants his hands free as much as possible. He knows they need to move, need to do as he's said and get themselves set up while everyone else is still fumbling through the beginning of this... fucking game, but he finds himself unwilling to push away from the tree and start. Softer, he says again.] I'll get us through this, Kris. Just listen to me, and I'll get us through.

[cordiality]

I will. I'll listen, I'll do what you say, I-I'll keep quiet. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be... I'm not...

[His quiet voice trails off for a moment, hands gripping into the fabric across Drael's chest and head tilted forward as though he can bury all this beneath the warmth of another body. But then Kris looks up, and though his voice is little more than a whisper now it's steady and sincere. Frightened and small, but heavy with feeling.]

Thank you.

[contagion]

Shut up. [Drael says it softly, meaning something very different than what the words imply. On impulse, he leans down just enough to kiss Kristopher quickly, and then pushing the smaller man away from him, resuming a low, business-like tone.] Let's get started. Follow me, and do your best to be silent.

[He casts a quick look around—though the damn trees all look the same to him—and chooses a direction to lead them in. Before long, he's half-crouched and creeping, taking them through tangled vines and undergrowth; the harder it is to get where they're going, the safer they're going to be.]