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

[longtermlove]

Shut up! [Reece snarls even as he's pitching forward, off-balanced and shocked to find he has no means to slow his fall. He manages to direct his shoulder to strike the dirt first, and kicks out sharply in the direction where Thane is—the chain is biting into his knuckles and he has no idea what that massive sword is doing, but he isn't letting this white-haired freak claim an easy kill.]

[swordsworn]

[The kick doesn't strike him but it does set him stumbling. His sword is too tangled to pull back easily, especially with the stubborn grip this Reece is maintaining on his end of the chain, and the scream of metal across metal angers him a great deal more than anything else. He hasn't cut anything yet. They're going to ruin his brilliant prize before he's even cut anything.

Thane finds his footing and returns a savage kick of his own toward Reece's torso, only one hand on his sword hilt now. The other is raised and ready, metal knuckles gleaming bright in the sun. He can bloody Reece in other ways, yes.]

[longtermlove]

[The kick prompts a sharp 'oof' from Reece, but when he glances upward and sees only one hand on the sword's hilt, he instantly forgets to consider the pain. He remembers his flexibility, born of many years training with a staff-like weapon, and twists in a vicious arc, meant to yank the sword from Thane's wrist or at least cause him a great deal of pain if he keeps hold of it. He's still at a disadvantage—he hasn't had a chance to get to his feet again, and if the sword and chain are stay twisted up in his grip, he has no way to defend himself either.

It's not fear, but anticipation that makes him quiver.]

[swordsworn]

[It jerks his wrist sharply, that twisting motion, and Thane makes a furious sound and relinquishes his grip both at once. Now he's angry though, with attention quite firmly locked on this sole target. The girl, the goat, they're forgotten now.

Thane descends in a swift rush, past his entangled blade to grab a handful of chain and twist it tighter, to force it even sharper into Reece's flesh. Then he swings for Reece's jaw, a brutal blow that will strike all the harder for that metal across his fingers.]

[archfiend]

[He can't recall ever aching so much as he does now. It's fixed in his skull, he decides, and he has to fight to keep his lip from curling furious disgust. The man overpowered him with precious little effort, and then proceeded to rub his face in his weakness. Oh, if only he knew...

He's listened for some time now, and it sounds as though he's been forgotten. As a test, he shuffles slightly, not opening his eyes or raising his voice, but if the time is ripe, he has someone to rendezvous with. His so-called teammate will face him—and how—but on his terms, not Thane's.]

[wishfuldreams]

[Ivy knows she must be careful, can not to draw attention, and she tries to stay to the edge of their clearing as she moves. But there's no time, Reece needs help right now, and when she sees the other stranger stir it seems a sudden last desperate hope might be presenting itself.

She kneels at his side, touches his face... he's so bruised, so beaten, and she doesn't even pay attention to his horns, incredible though the sight is, because she's too choked on fear for Reece and fear for this man and fear of what's to come.]

Are you okay? Please, can you help him, please, he needs you!

[archfiend]

[Gentle fingers prompt him to open his eyes, and he sees a terrified, pathetic-looking girl with a weapon clutched in her delicate hands. She's... what, she's looking for him to help? He sits up in quiet alarm, taking quick stock of the situation. Some fool tussling with Thane on the ground, silver and metal clutched between them.

He hardly cares. They're preoccupied and he's got a plan.]

Give me that, and I'll help.

[He speaks in a whisper, and reaches for the saw before he finishes. The second he has a fixed grip on the item, he clasps a hand about the girl's mouth and slices a great length in her throat, just at the jugular vein. He holds her until he no longer feels panicked breath against his palm, and then drops her body, letting it bleed out to the earth. Let Thane read what message he likes: Talbot is leaving.

He moves cautiously until the sounds of the fight fade away, and then he darts through the wood in a rapid zig-zag pattern. He focuses on the moment, and the need to find a small, dark, quiet place, rather than the thought of how long it's been since he's been reduced to this. He finds what seems to be an abandoned badger's den, and shoulders his way in as far as he can go. He'll wait for the cover of night. Then he'll play.]