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"Fine," Akiro said evasievly, "A lot of nearly freezing to death, but fine." He adjusted his bag so that it was swung over his shoulder, and he tredged through the snow behind Suvansh. He was too tired to even be startled by the zombie, but he took note that Suvansh had a weapon. Even if he had an ability, Akiro still didn't trust him, and didn't want to be caught off guard. But something told him he wouldn't need to, although he argued in his brain that he couldn't trust any of them. Remember, he thought, It's just an hour or so. Then you leave.

---

Suvansh shrugged off the evasive reply, not rudely though. He wonders what Mare would say seeing he invited Akiro along. He wonders what if Akiro just grabs anything else and attacks them- or worse- if he has some powers- he shook the thoughts away. He wanted to not trust Akiro...but his brain...just wouldn't let him. As they reached camp, Suvansh entered the tent and noticed Lesia was awake now. "Hey, are you alright now?" He also nudged Akiro, as if to say to be at home. As homely as any of them could feel it to be.

---

Akiro was still dusted with snow like a sorry excuse for a snowman, and out of habit, he jammed his hands into the pockets of his coat, a defensive gesture he used when around other people, keeping his shoulders close together. As much as he apriciated the sentiment, he didn't think he'd get very comfortable around here. Just warm up and go. He winced visibely as his stiff fingers bent against the lining of the pocket, he'd forgotten now that they had become numb. Was that a sign of frostbite? Akiro didn't know. He looked around the tent, not really saying much.

---

She slowly nodded, slightly startled by the sudden entrance of Suvansh and Akiro. She was slightly confused on why Akiro was here, but she didn’t really care. At least it wasn’t one of the more... dangerous tributes. Sure, Akiro was still pretty dangerous, but she trusted that he wouldn’t do anything to them. “So... what now?”

It was nighttime at this point, and Rui couldn’t see as much as she wanted to. While she roamed, she heard dozens of zombies, got scared half to death by creepers, and nearly shot by skeletons. So nighttime was basically hell, wasn’t it... Well, not exactly. Zombies were technically human.... right? Sure it would be as disgusting as normal food, but at least she could eat it. The problem is, she had a big chance of getting sick from it, so she would have to use it as a last resort. She decided to go back to the tundra, it would be more difficult to know where she was but at least the snow would mask her scent and make it easy for her to hide. She began to regret leaving the group, but at this point she didn’t really have a reason to stick around.

"It's nighttime, and better stay in the tent for the night. In heard a lot of mobs outside- but does any of you have another tent?" He eyes Lesia and Akiro. "This tent won't be able to accommodate 4 people at once-"

---

Akiro shook his head. He didn't have a tent, didn't have enough time to grab one. "Give me an hour, and I'll be on my way. I'm used to sleeping outdoors, and I can handle the mobs." Sure, it would be rough, but once he was in the desert it would be easier. That was his final destination, after all, and this way he could move out more quickly, avoid getting close to anyone. He had already made that mistake, he didn't want to make it again.

---

Lesia didn’t grab much stuff to begin with, so it would be unlikely she had a tent. She looked through the small bag she had and found nothing but firestarters, rope, and a blanket. “No... But I can stay outside.” She slowly tried to get up, only to fail due to how weak she was. She began to use her arms, which required less strength, to move outside, and that worked, but very slowly. She sat outside and covered herself with a blanket, started a fire, then made a shield with her ability. If anything tried to get to her, they would be... well... eliminated. She just had to make sure she warned the other 3 in case they went outside as well.

Suvansh was left astounded. He tried to stop Lesia- he wanted to tell her he would sleep outside and she should rest- but she was already well out of the tent, and didn't seem she would listen otherwise anyways. To Akiro, he just nodded. He wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise anyways- as it is he was neglectent to seek his help. He just lowered himself and sat down against a wall of the tent, making himself comfortable. He would be an easy target now, that he chose to sleep, in front of three people who could potentially kill him, but, he trusted them. Trusted them too much? Maybe. But at least, he knew he would die by the hands of "friends", and not enemies at the least. He didn't go off to sleep yet, but just closed his eyes and rested himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, at least for a few hours now. As it is he was a light sleeper, and wasn't much comfortable in front of people, and he had just awoken from a nap about 30 minutes ago. He starts fidgeting with Flare's pokeball, even though he was outside, keeping guard, and taking short breaks at times, as Suvansh had trained him to do.

---

A small stack of bones sat in front of Jacovin, as well as a few piles of decaying flesh. A crude stone sword was in his right hand, and he was panting hard. The night was terrifying, as all things were in the arena. A small structure stood behind him, made of crudely chopped wood. Picking up the bones, Jacovin turned around, surveying the small clearing. A wolf was staring at him from the shadows, head tilted. One ear hung low, still floppy despite the age that the wolf clearly was. Kneeling down, Jacovin threw a few pieces of rotting meat to the canine, holding perfectly still as it ate and approached. After a few moments, the boy held out a bone. The wolf took it carefully in her jaws, hardly flinching as Jacovin stood up. Watching the wolf, he paced towards the shelter, smiling as she followed.


-=-



The chasm was dark and damp, water dripping off of the uneven walls. reaching a hand out, Chelsea set it on the cold, soggy stone beside her. Then, kneeling down, she lightly scraped her fingers along the floor until they caught on something. A pressure plate, as she'd read in the books. Hooking her fingers on the edge of the stone, she started to pull. After a moment, the stone lifted away to reveal red power on the floor. Setting the stone to the side, Chelsea grabbed a handful of the powder. Standing back up, she rubbed the power between her hands. The room lit up with a dim red glow, revealing a multitude of chests. Upon checking each one, Chelsea nearly fell down. Her luck was unbelievable! A saddle, horse armor, string and green gel. Even e few tools, although they were covered in rust. Of course, that could only mean that they were made of iron. Opening the last chest, Chelsea was delighted to find unlit torches and a pair of stones in the bottom. Leaving the horse supplies in the chests, she grabbed some string and the iron pickaxe, stuffing the string into the waistband of her pants. Then, striking the stone beneath her, she cracked the sandstone away until a bright red surface caught her eye. Old explosives. They probably still worked. Tying the red sticks together, Chelsea began to climb back up the ladder. She had torches, string, explosive, and flint & steel with her. As soon as she reached the surface, Chelsea began to lay the string down, tying it to triggers that hooked to the explosives. One of these went to every entrance, guaranteed to keep her safe. Standing a torch up on the ground, Chelsea crawled back up to where she'd come in, then filled the hole with sandstone.

Akiro stayed in the tent for awhile, fidgeting with the handle of his dagger. He had stripped off his jacket, and lay it beside him, letting it dry with his back to the tent wall. His eyes flicked around the room, like a pair of crickets jumping around. He didn't want to be here for long, just long enough to warm up. He could see the snow melting slowly off the jacket, and it looked more like a wet lump. He wasn't far from the desert, and it would dry there. He just had to survive long enough. He kept in a defensive postition, like a turtle drawing into its shell.

---

Lesia knew the cost of using her power for too long, but it didn’t matter at the moment. She was already tired enough, using it for too long would just make her collapse. But why should she care about that when bigger things were on her hands. Her eyes began to close on their own, and Lesia had to force them back open. The shield she had made began to deteriorate, massive holes were in the slices but were quickly covered up, but it was still easy for something to get through. She rested her cold, metal hands on her face, hoping that it would keep her awake and alert longer, but it was barely working. The heat of the flames was too soothing, but if she put it out she would be in big trouble. The wind coming off the slashes was already cooling enough, it would just make it worse. She sighed, knowing that she was in a tight spot, but there was nothing she could do.

Rui walked along the desert, hoping she was heading in the way of the taiga, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. She had somehow found herself in the forest, and not too far from Jacovin either. She decided to not bother and continue forward, thinking there might be something good in the forest. There... were surprisingly a lot more mobs here... The first one she saw was a skeleton, who she quickly cut down with a rod she had found at the cost of a graze to her cheek. How in the world could they aim that well without any senses whatsoever... She grabbed the bones it had left and stuffed it in her bag, then focused on recovering her wounds. She was growing more and more exhausted and hungry, she needed to rest soon... She was sure she heard rustling in the distance, one that didn’t seem to be made by monsters, but instead something else. Was it another tribute?

A hefty hwoof from the wolf drew Jacovin's attention. Liali, as he'd come to call her, was standing at the door. She was listening intently and sniffing the air, which could only mean something was out there. Grabbing his stone sword again, Jacovin pushed the door open slowly. As soon as it opened, Liali bolted into the underbrush. Jacovin froze, whispering as loud as he dared, "Liali! Liali, back!" But she was out of sight. A terrible feeling began to well up in Jacovin's belly. Closing the door behind him, the nervous Tribute started forwards.

Rui paused as she began to hear barking and such, getting louder and louder, like it was coming closer. Was it wild? Did it belong to the rustling she heard a while ago? Was there really another tribute around? She began to hear someone calling a name, a name she didn’t recognize. So... the dog was tamed? Either way, she hated the situation she was in. She knew dogs had an incredible sense of smell and would easily be able to find her if she hid, meaning the tribute would find her as well. If the dog was aiming for her, at least. She didn’t have the greatest experience with dogs, they always tried attacking her or recoiled when she came close, even if the dog was tame. Would this one do the same? She just had to hope the dog wouldn’t find her...

Liali ran for a few more seconds, then burst out of the bush in front of Rui. She was panting hard and wagging her tail as only she could. A moment after spotting Rui, Liali dropped into a playful position, her hindquarters in the air and her head near the ground. She was whimpering slightly, as if the thought of a new person was too overwhelming to her happiness factor.

She backed away as soon as it appeared, expecting a much more... aggressive result. She stood confused for a few seconds until she realized what was going on. This old dog was being playful, to a complete stranger no less. She knelt down to meet its level, unsure of what to do. She assumed it was tamed already, judging from the collar and the playful attitude for such an old dog. She pulled out one of the bones from her bag and shook it in front of her, using it like a stick to try and “play” with it.

After a moment, Jacovin called out again. "Liali!" Liali answered with an excited bark, bouncing up and down as Rui pulled out the bone. Jacovin broke into the clearing, stumbling as a bush with red berries caught his pants leg. Panting, he looked up and froze. Watching the other Tribute carefully, Jacovin started to catch his breath.

Now that she heard the name better, she could confirm the name being called was Liali, not Lily or whatever name she thought it was. As soon as the tribute who owned the dog appeared, she raised her free arm over her head and retracted the arm with the bone, startling the dog a little bit. She was expecting Jacovin to attack her or something, but that didn’t happen. Yet. She slowly removed her arm from above her and extended the arm with the bone yet again, this time putting it down as she stood up. Even as short as he was, he was still significantly taller than her, which intimidated her.

After a few moments of intense silence, Jacovin glanced down. Liali was perfectly fine. Lowering his crude tool slightly, he beckoned for the other Tribute to follow. Then, he turned and started back towards the shelter. Liali gladly trotted along beside him, glancing over her should every few seconds to see is Rui was following. Jacovin stashed his sword, keeping it tight against his body, and laid a heavy hand between Liali's ears, making them flop a bit as he rubbed her head.

Rui was hesitant to follow due to knowing very little about him and if he could be trusted, but she didn’t anyways. She might as well see if he wanted anything before leaving, right? She did her best to steer clear of any of the shrubbery and mobs that were around, doing her best to keep an eye on the two as she did so.

More than a few times, Liali darted forward for a moment, only to return after the sound of something dying was heard. A few scraps of flesh or bones on the side of the trail marked where she'd been. After a few minutes of trudging through tall ferns and berry bushes, the group reached a clearing. Liali quickly vanquished a skeleton, then barked and trotted a large circle around the area, sniffing the air. After she approved that the perimeter was clear, she joined Jacovin in trudging towards the ever-expanding wooden shelter in the center of the clearing.