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...

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Comments

[narcotism]

[Kol gives the young man—whose name escapes him in light of the announcement—a sharp look, but the moment he opens his mouth to respond, he begins to cough, and he does not stop. He coughs until he feels his stomach twist within him, and falls heavily to his knees, making an attempt to stifle the sound with his fist. What a fool he would be to give away their position so easily... !

He shudders around the fit, feeling an old ache he'd nearly forgotten creep into his bones. Even though the coughing, he feels desperately for his medicines, fingers clutching for the barest of relief—but he finds his pockets empty. Suddenly he's unsure of what pains him most, and he presses his mouth to the crook of his elbow until the cough fades. When he finally raises his gaze, shuddering, he's surprised to see blood on his skin.

His eyes sunken, he looks to the young man and says flatly.] You don't want me, child.

[fideles]

[It's only when Kol drops to his knees that Laurence finds it in himself to dart forward to crouch alongside him, not willing to lay hands on the man but plainly horrified at both what he's seeing and the amount of noise being made. At length, though, the coughing fit comes to an end, and Laurence turns to look wildly about their patch of forest as though expecting an ambush. Nothing, for the second. They may have gone unnoticed, or enemies might even now be bearing down on them. Either way, they - is it they...? - can't afford to stay put for long.]

You're really sick. [It's a stupid observation, but he's too suddenly disgusted by what he's seeing not to say something.] Why would they put you out here? What sort of fun do they mean to have watching a sick man die? As if this isn't twisted enough already...

[And now he's supposed to leave this guy? Staying isn't tempting, but leaving doesn't sit very comfortably either... what would Visvaldis do...]

[narcotism]

[He can't help it—a grim chuckling sounds in his throat, much as he stifles it, not willing to prompt a further attack. The poor fool, worrying about him. The boy's right about one thing, though: he's doomed out here, that much is clear.

His voice is smaller and hoarser than he'd like, and that makes his tone hard.] I have always been sick, my entire life. This is normal. [Normal, but with nothing to blunt the edge, he isn't sure how long he'll weather it.] My brother is looking for me. You can go. Live as long as you're able.

[fideles]

[The brother, the stronger looking one... The thought of them reuniting out here isn't something he can find very comforting, even when he's already been considering searching for Vis in precisely the same way...]

You and your brother won't both be allowed to leave, though. What're you gonna do if he does find you?

[narcotism]

He has always known I will die before him. At least he would give me a respectful end. [He doubts there is anything he could say to convince Larsen to kill him, but he knows there is nothing Larsen could say to convince him to live through this. He will not keep his cursed life for the sake of his brother's or Helene's, and there is nothing waiting for him on the other side should they both die here.]

[fideles]

Then you just want to live long enough for him to find you...

[Can he afford that? To stay and help this man, just long enough for family reunions or the grim revelation offered by a night sky?

... It's a kind thought, but he can't. Every moment they share is a moment where Kol might reveal them, and Laurence has learned very well how much danger exists within his fellow players. He knows too that a good many of them must be keeping cards to their chests, concealing hidden powers that might yet change everything. For now he has to hide, stay as low as possible. Once the field is narrowed, maybe then he can reveal what few cards he has left to play.

That won't work if Kol is with him.]

I'm sorry. [Laurence rises, offering a half-hearted hand should his teammate need help getting back to standing.] You should find somewhere to hide. If I wind up seeing your brother, is there something I should tell him? [Before he kills me, or I kill him? This "game" has barely begun, and already they've managed to mess with his head.]

[narcotism]

[To be perfectly fair, he wouldn't mind dying on his own and saving Larsen the trouble of arguing with him, but he's not about to say that. He can't expect his would-be teammate to live through this, not with Larsen participating and only one or two winners permitted, but all the same, he wants as little to do as possible with the young man's death, and that means telling him only one thing.]

Stay as far away from him as you can. Even if you tell him I sent you away, he won't let you go.

[He ignores Laurence's outstretched hand, instead pushing himself upward with effort and turning his back to the young man to study what he can see of the sky. Careless 'playing', but he was never going to win this game.]