first arrow. ➳ voice. ( orb )

[empowers]

[ She practically threatened the old man out of her sight. ] Of course I have questions -- [ Desperate, horrifying ones. ] Prim! [ The voice rings out loudly over the orb's range of networking, the desperate shriek of a seventeen year old girl. The jabberjays have stopped. She's removed her hands from her ears, and she's discovered herself in a strange place with strange clothing. Everything is unfamiliar. And that can only mean one thing.

The Capitol has finally gotten to her. And probably her loved ones. ]

Peeta! [ She breathes raggedly. Like a scared animal. ] Where am I? What happened to them? [ The memory of the arena is fresh in her mind. Peeta, on the other side of the glass separating she and Finnick from the others as the jabberjays wreaked their havoc. The sounds of Prim and Gale screaming in voices that could only be brought on by torture. Surely they were dead. ]

I was in the arena! I was playing your damned Games! I did everything you asked me -- what did you do?! [ She has no idea to whom she is speaking. She's furious. She's terrified. She's yelling, and she's not going to stop yelling until she gets some answers. She wants them, now, and until she hears something soothing or receives a reasonable explanation for her whereabouts, she'll remain desperate.

And dangerous. ]

Comments

[rutagraveolens]

Katniss!

[The girl on fire. The girl from District Twelve. Rue never knew her as the Mockingjay, but she knows Katniss as those two things and, most importantly, as her ally.]

Katniss!

[She calls out again, trying to believe. It's one thing to see Peeta, someone she's maybe selfishly happy to see and meet, but it's another thing to see Katniss. They were allies. They were - the word feels so foreign but it's so true even for the short period of time they knew each other - friends. She's here. She's here.

But she can tell Katniss is confused, upset. Who wouldn't be? Especially them. They knew the terror of games, of the arena. The other people didn't know what it was like.

Rue calls out a final time, but not with words. Just four distinct notes that are theirs and theirs only.]

[dailybread]

[The fear in that voice runs down his spine like chilled water.]

Katniss!

[He has to fight the urge to run, to try to find her. She's somewhere in the castle, from the look of it, but the castle is huge; he doesn't know if he could find her inside.] Katniss, it's okay.

[empowers]

[ The moment she hears the voice, she's almost entirely certain that her heart stops. In fact, there's no other explanation. Her breath freezes in her throat, and a whole new horrifying element comes into play.

Prim's voice. Gale's voice.

Rue.

A chill shoots through her and she has to fight the urge to drop to her knees, cover her ears with her hands, and scream. But then there are their notes. Their four notes, and the echo of the mockingjays plays over in her head. But they could replicate that, couldn't they? The jabberjays?

Terrified, perhaps too much so to speak, she replies back only in their whistle. ]

[rutagraveolens]

[Rue laughs when she replies back with the whistle. It's a light laugh, a gentle laugh, a happy laugh, the laugh of a child that should be dead but is very much alive. She should be a ghost, but she's real, so very real and there she is on the other side of the orb.

But the arena is full of traps and trickery and sometimes what you want to see, or don't want to see, is what brings your downfall.]

It's me, Katniss. Your ally. Rue. It's me. This isn't a game. We're not in an arena. Peeta is here too.

[empowers]

Peeta! [ God, there has to be a way to find him, to work this stupid thing - ] Peeta. Where are you? [ OKAY??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM -- She is terrified. She's pretty sure she's either dead or under some powerful sort of drug. Okay??? ] It is not okay! What's happening?

[empowers]

[ She's almost positive that her stomach has now leapt to her throat, because she feels like she's going to empty its contents, however few they may be. ]

That's not possible. No, no -- Rue, it can't really... [ She needs Peeta. She needs Peeta right beside her, right now, because she's barely clinging to what's left of her sanity right now as it is. Those jabberjays did a number on her. ] You're here -- and you're alright?

[dailybread]

I'm in the market quarter--where are you? Do you want me to come find you?

[She's panicked. He tries to keep his voice as even as he can, although part of him wants to cry in something like relief, something else like terror. At least he knew Haymitch would do everything he could to keep her alive...here, he hopes he'll be enough.]

I don't know what's happening. Rue's here, and a lot of other people from places I've never heard of. But I'm not hurt, and neither is she.

[Which, yeah, scared the shit out of him too, when he first saw her.]

[empowers]

I'm in a castle. I don't know where, exactly. [ There's a little part of her voice that breaks as he offers to come find her and she wants to plead with him, but her desire to keep him safe is too great. ] Is it safe for you? I don't want you coming here if it means taking a stupid risk you can avoid.

[ Just hearing his voice is soothing, it's true. Protect Peeta. It's the most important part of her mission. The most important part of their second games. He is not to be harmed. He is to win, at any cost, even if that's her own life. ]

Rue died. How is she here? I know the Capitol's medicine is advanced but no one can bring people back from the dead... Is it really her? It's not some mutt, and you're sure?

[ She wets her lips but finds them wanting still. ]

What about Finnick?

[dailybread]

I'm okay. [It's repeated, but he doesn't care. He'll say it a thousand times if that's what it takes.] There's only one castle that I've seen--can you tell how high up you are, or what side you're on?

[Failing that, she can come to him. He's sure she'll be able to find her way out, and from there it's just a matter of crossing the southwest bridge and following the smell.]

I'm sure. [There's an essence in her, a brightness he doesn't think even the most advanced muttation could copy.] Finnick isn't here. Just you, me and Rue.

[rutagraveolens]

Uh-huh! I'm fine! Everyone here is really nice and there's so much space and you can have your own room and there's so much food. [For a girl who had never known anything but hunger, food is the biggest part.] you can have all the food you want and there's so much of it! Peeta even has a bakery! He's teaching me how to frost cakes.

[shiromadoushi]

[[Oh heck, panicking new arrival alert!]]

It's okay, you don't have to panic, you're not home any more. You're in another world away from there.

[[He hopes he sounds comforting. He's not especially good with dealing with this sort of thing but he wants to help]]

[tatra]

Oh dear. Miss, it's quite alright. You're safe now, and your friend Peeta is here as well. Please do calm down.

[empowers]

There's no such thing -- kids' stories... [ She's a little subdued by now, having spoken to both Peeta and Rue, but she's still... nervous. Very. ]

[shiromadoushi]

Aaa-- unfortunately kid's stories is sort of what this place seems to be made of... [[rubs the back of his neck a bit awkwardly]]

[empowers]

[ Safe.

You're safe.

She can hardly process the words. ]

If you understood the place we came from -- it's hard.

[tatra]

I can see that, but I do hope you'll try. You really are safe for the moment.

Would a cup of tea help?

[empowers]

Where are you, Rue? When I find Peeta, we'll come - [ She swallows. We'll come what? Save you? It sounds like she's happy. Katniss is relieved, in a way. ] Do you know? [ At this point, she can't decide if she wants to shelter Rue or not. So she'll go with not sheltering her because if this conversation happens sooner rather than later, things may go a little better for them both. ]

[consultmybooks]

[Giles lets her shout. Really, from the sound of it, she sounds like she had people she left behind. She had things to do. She has just enough experience with changing environments to associate it with a specifically bad entity, and even if that specifically bad entity isn't responsible here, the reality probably isn't much better.

So he lets her yell for a bit. But, when he speaks, it's the voice of someone used to dealing with panicking children.]

You're in the town of Schwanheim. Wherever you were before, um, I'm afraid you aren't there now. In terms of...well, worlds, I mean. Not just places.

[empowers]

I'm not close to any windows. I'll see if I can find one, get a look out... [ She's feeling trapped. Trapped like a rat in a cage or some cruel maze where every ending certainly ends in death. Or worse. ] There isn't any sun spilling in anywhere. It's like I'm underground. Does the castle have a basement?

[ She's going to wind up busting out of here by way of claustrophobic insanity, if nothing else. If he doesn't get to her soon, that's pretty much what's going to happen. ]

I can't believe she's alive, Peeta.

[empowers]

I don't understand - how is that possible? Is it a part of the Games?

[empowers]

What would help is knowing exactly what's going on. [ She's not going to stop being snappy, at least a little, despite calming down. ] But tea would make it easier to handle.

[rutagraveolens]

I'm in the market! I can come get you! Are you still at the castle? [She pauses and gives a small tilt of her head.] Know what? [only because the question points in too many directions for Rue to figure out.]

OMG!! HI :D /playedbuffyatilpromenade

[empowers]

Schwanheim? [ What kind of name is that? ] Someone else said the same thing. I don't understand how that works. How it's possible. All the lessons I've ever learned, what we're taught in school - there's only one world. Only one country still standing. There's just Panem.

[empowers]

I'm finding my way out. It's a little confusing, and I haven't found windows yet. I'll be alright. I'll come find you. You just stay put. [ Oh.

Oh, no... Maybe she doesn't. ABORT, ABORT. ] Nothing. Nevermind.

[rutagraveolens]

Okay. I'll find somewhere high to sit. Don't worry, everyone's really nice, but I have a knife. [A magic knife, even, one that will protect the pure of heart.]

...I know you and Peeta won. He told me.