Forum Thread

Shuffling in, Ibaraki breaths came in sharp heaving gulps, having ran all the way down. Immediatly golden eyes caught sight of Cree's form and Ibaraki immediately went over to the obstacle course. "Good morning!" Came the cheerful chirp as Ibaraki slowed to a stop beside Cree, holding out young hands for the other to inspect. In them were two packaged snacks, foisted from the mess hall. "I did not see you at breakfast so I brought some food for you in case you were hungry. I do not really know what you like to eat so I hope this is enough!" There was a shine in the child's eye, as if Ibaraki was a puppy looking to get praised.

---

Molly smiled kindly while shaking his head. "Not at all. I'm here to save people, not to kill. Teaching others the skills they need to survive is part of that mission." He explained. On the inside, he was absolutely estatic. Being able to finally take that first step towards helping people survive longer in the games was the only thread he was hanging on to, the mantra he repeated in order to prevent a spiral of terror. It was unavoidable that he would die but with this first step at least his death wouldn't be in vein.

---

Cree turned slowly, hearing a familiar voice speaking to him. Glancing down, he settled his eyes upon Ibaraki with a bit of relief. For a moment, the beast had no clue was he was looking at, unsure of what the packaged snacks were. When the realization finally came to him, he took a closer look. "Hhhhhhhhhh..... Good.... Hhhhhhhhhhh...... Morning. Hhhhhhhh.... What.... Hhhhhhhhh.... Are..... Hhhhhhhh..... There...?" He was indicating the packages, thoroughly disgruntled at the presentation of food. Of course, he didn't want to hurt it offend Ibaraki. That was the only reason Cree.was taking any interest in the food, instead of keeping his eyes on the younger Tribute and being sure he wasn't hurt.

---

The initial request for a trainer to spar with was denied to Tyler, as were the second and third requests. Though on the fourth attempt, Tyler received his wish. An enormous woman with terrifyingly large muscles and obviously immense ability stepped into the sparring ring. She looked like an Amazonian of myth, beautiful in a horrifying way. Tyler assumed a loose.offensive stance, readying himself for the pain likely soon to come.

---

Ace was swinging his blade experimentally, having lacerated a few bloodless fingers.in the razor edge.

Good question. Ibaraki had no idea. It wasn't like the child could read what was written on the packages either so the only option was to open them. Very careful to not use too much strength, Ibaraki peeled open the packet to reveal multiple oval shapes with a brown coating over each shape. Still unsure of what it was, Ibaraki popped one into a waiting mouth. It was soft but also a bit toothy, though the softness soon melted away into something a bit harder. "Hmm... I do not know but it is safe to eat." Ibaraki reported, rolling the chocolate almond around cheeks that had yet to fully loose it's childish fat. "You should probably eat something though. Come to think of it, I have not seen you eat anything at all... Do you not need to eat? I am sorry for bothering you if that is the case." Ibaraki was unaware of it, but the child was making what some may call puppy eyes, looking demurely up at Cree with a slight pout.

---

Once again, Tayla finds herself at a crossroad. She noticed that both Cree and Ibaraki were together. Should she approach them? She wouldn't want to interrupt their conversation, but perhaps she could strike some new conversation with them? But then what would she talk about? Would that even help them warm up to her?

She glances over at the training mats, noticing that there was a mat open for anyone's use. She should also put up an image for the Capitol. This would be a poor image, but it would be better than purposely scoring high and making herself a threat.

She glances back and forth, before ultimately settling on training. She would have plenty of time to chat with the two boys. It would be best to it when they weren't already deep in a conversation.

Unlike Tyler, her request for a trainer was granted without any pushback. Her opponent was a boy a few years older than her. He was pretty muscular, but nearly as muscular as Tyler's opponent. She didn't envy Tyler one bit. She returns her focus to her opponent and tries to remember the few self defense moves her grandpa taught her when she was young.

Block any attack by keeping an arm up in front of you. If needed, bend your back slightly and raise both arms up. To punch you simply curl your fingers into your palm and keep your thumb on the outside. You want to punch with the first two knuckles. Tayla cringes to herself, realizing that her knowledge was extremely limited. Still, technique didn't matter that much right? In the end, it's about physical strength and endurance-

While she was distracted by her thoughts, her opponent had been doing a one armed hand stand and was starting to do push-ups. Realizing that she was watching and waiting to fight, her opponent swings his legs backwards, his body follows his motions and he ends up landing a backflip.

Tayla refuses to be intimated. She didn't care if her opponent was stronger and/or more skilled. She had to realize that she wasn't the best at everything. In order to survive, she had to know how to best the unbeatable.

Both of their eyes meet, both gazes sharpened when they realize that the other wasn't intimated. It was apparent to both that this wasn't going to be a clean fight.

Cree carefully picked up one of the almonds, poking it under his mask and seemingly straining to chew it properly. After a bit, he swallowed hard, evidently having crushed the snack to a preferable size. He tilted his head a little, jaw returning to it's usualy slack position. "Hhhhhh.. I... Hhhhhhhh... Eat... Hhhhhhh.... Rarely..." He straightened his back a little, glancing across the obstacle course.

---

Tyler found his sparring partner to be far more agile that he thought, the large woman practically vanishing from sight before she struck with another crushing blow. Tyler's only advantage was that the Astral Infection was picking the woman out in the blur of movement, quickly allowing Tyler to block or counterstrike. Mostly, Tyler was spinning in slow circles, his opponent barely appearing for more than a moment before moving around him again. However, the brute slowly started to speed up, analyzing his trainer's moves simply by the way she struck beforehand. His corrupted fist clenched, the powerhouse of an arm tensing as his partner appeared, the purple fist firing like a cannon into her belly, twisting through the air and landing a brutal blow, sending the giant sprawling across the mat, tumbling as she hit the ground. She was panting, coughing as well, as the hit slowly started to sink in, her abs quickly bruising as some kind of vacuum filled in behind her flight path. It had been short fight, but it had proven a point.

Oh that was good to know. At least in the arena, finding food wouldn't be a priority for the both of them then. Well, as long as Ibaraki didn't use the curse to alter anything. "Is food... tasteless for you too?" Ibaraki questioned, voice uncertain as if what the child had just said was supposed to be something sensitive. In a way it was, Ibaraki didn't quite go around announcing that anything put in that fanged mouth had no taste, but it also seemed kind of sensitive for Cree, the subject of food.

Following Cree's actions, Ibaraki took a good look at the obstacle course. It looked hard and despite seeing a girl breeze through it no problem, many were still failing at it and for good reason. It was hard. Ibaraki would be satisfied with just getting pst the first obstacle, the sheer physical difference between the others and the child too large of a gap to mend. Yes, Ibaraki could bench press almost all of the tributes (Cree was the only uncertainty, he was probably too big for Ibaraki to even get a hold of) it didn't mean that those short arms could grab a hold of the bars resting high above Ibaraki's head.

---

"Hhhhhhh... Most.... Hhhhhh..... Is...." He tilted his head at the course, soon approaching it with a lengthy stride before analyzing it once more. Most Tributes were failing and returning to the beginning, aside from one female Tribute who had breezed through the course as if it were simply a morning jog. The monstrous form of Cree seemed to click into a different place, his shoulders letting out their disturbing crackles as they resettled into a new orientation. Cree was changing based on how he looked at the course, suddenly resting more weight on his front limbs and leaning forwards more. He looked like some kind of alien ape, maybe a pale, horrific gorilla.

Tayla was at a disadvantage against her opponent. Unlike most people in this universe, Tayla didn't really have a power. Her strength came from a skill that she had trained for years. Even if her skill did count as a power, it was rendered useless in a fist fight and it was apparent that her opponent had a specialty in hand on hand combat.

His firsts were glowing and the moment he struck her, her she realized that it was a harder hit compared to a normal person's. After blocking only a few hits, Tayla could've swore that her arm was broken. It wasn't, but it certainly felt that way. She glares at her opponent through clenched teeth and charges towards him. She couldn't block forever, eventually he would wear her down enough to render her defenseless. That must be what he was planning on doing, what he always did in a fight. Was he like her? Someone who was not use to their target fighting back?

Her theory was correct, she manages to land a punch at his cheek. It would've been his nose if not for the fact that he reflexively moved his face just in time. He blinks a few times, as if surprised that she had fought back. Tayla uses his hesitance against him and kicks behind his knee, which sends him crashing ground. As Tayla stands over him, she can't help but wonder is this really it? She didn't intend to spar someone and immediately win. She had wanted to lose. She glances towards one of the cameras, wondering whenever or not there were Gamemakers watching. If there were, what were they thinking? Did they think was strong? She hoped not.

With her being distracted, she doesn't notice that her opponent had slowly risen onto his feet. He had been putting a lot of weight onto his uninjured leg. He lands a punch at her bruised side, throwing in a lot more power that was probably necessary. Tayla takes a step away, clutching her side and swallowing down a agonized scream. But she wasn't able to hide her pained gasps. She stares at the boy, waiting in anticipation for him to attack while she tried to compose herself.

"We're even now" her opponent growls. "I think that's enough. I'm afraid I'll accidentally kill you if we continue. We don't need any tributes dying on us, it'll ruin the show" he adds with a cruel smile. His pathetic words would have some sort of meaning to Tayla if it weren't for the fact that he had to limp off the mat. Tayla feels a cruel sense of pride knowing that she did that to him. She forces herself to walk away normally, trying to hide just how much pain she was in. She had to hold her breath to do it, but it seemed to work, because the trainer looked furious to see her walk away seemingly alright. Tayla chooses a spot on a wall to lean on and silently watches the other tributes train.

Tyler rubbed his stained fist, clearly having hit his opponent harder than he though he would. Walking briskly over to the fit woman, the Tribute offered his untouched hand to help her up. She took it gratefully, though she kept one arm over her stomach. "That was a good hit. Very powerful." She spoke with an accent, not too heavy but not unnoticeable. "Thanks." Tyler shook his colored arm hissing a little. "You're a very firm target, by the way. I think I might have fractured something with that hit." The woman chuckled, nodding a little painfully after she did. "Many years of training, and you will look like me. Maybe not so much bruising." That caused Tyler to chuckle, the trainer soon sending the boy on his way.

---

Several eyes suddenly fixed upon Tayla, each from a single source. Ace tilted his head, turning to look in a more forwards way at Tayla, his long dagger still in hand. He hadn't done much with it, not knowing how to, but it was an interesting thing. Shiny too. Shiny was good. From what the air whispered to Ace, Tayla was attempting to ignore pain caused by a rough tie in the sparring session she'd just had. To Ace, she wasn't pulling it off very well.

Ibaraki stared up at Cree with awe sparking in those large golden eyes, taking in the new appearance. Cree had appearance changing powers too! So that meant that Cree and Ibaraki were really really similar! Both couldn't taste food, both could change their appearances, both were friends! That was three things in common! A thud drew the child out of ecstatic pondering, however, as most tribute's gazes were drawn towards the sparring mats. Those punches looked like it hurt a lot and Ibaraki frowned at that. Why would people try and hurt each other on purpose? It made no sense. Whenever Ibaraki hurt someone, it was always by accident even if the victim said otherwise and it was always followed by an apology. Adults were weird if they wanted to hurt people on purpose. Ibaraki's button nose wrinkled in confusion as the child shuffled just a bit closer to Cree.

---

It took Tayla awhile to realize that she was being watched. She had glanced over at the knife throwing station with a sense of lounging. She was tired of allowing her pride to be attacked. She wanted nothing more than to show everyone what she could really do. Show them that she was not someone who was weak and reckless. But she couldn't do that. Both because it would go against her plan but also because she didn't know if she could physically carry herself over there to throw accurately enough.

That's when she spots Ace. She didn't want to read into his intentions too much, but she really wasn't liking the way he was staring at her while holding that dagger. She gives him a challenging look while raising her eyebrows a clear I wouldn't do that if I were you look.

Eventually, the Avoxes, traitors of the capital, started to set up a large buffet for lunch. The trainers blew their whistles as they ordered the tributes to knock off to replenish their systems with food.

Charlie at next to Moona and Tayla, both girls had their trays loaded with food of their liking. Moona had a wide variety of food on her plate while Charlie had mostly veggies and fruits. Both had a tall carton of milk.

Jeremy and Akane were on the other side of Tayla. A tall blonde plopped her tray down on the other side of Akane. She had wanted to sit next to Jeremy, but since Tayla was on the other side she had to make do with. . .her. Akane didn't even acknowledge this other tribute.

There was a small band of (NPC) tributes all making a ruckus as if they considered everyone beneath them, clearly this band had made an alliance early on.

(This crazy chick is going to be important later, I'm cringing as I get ready to type up her text-)

---

Ace's many focused eyes flickered in some confusion, a sudden burst of pain going through one hand as the mimic had tried to his the blade, realizing that was what had tipped off Tayla. However, he'd simply grabbed the sharp end with his palm, instead of simply dropping it. Looking at the long slices in his palm, Ace dropped the knife to the ground with a clatter, poking at the exposed tissues in some curiosity. slowly, they began to mend themselves, stitching back together far too slowly to be seen without some sort of microscope. As the Tributes were called over to the tables, Ace started over as well. He wasn't hungry, of course, nor did any of the food on the tables seem at all edible or even satisfactory. However, one other Tribute did catch the Beholder's attention. Six eyes quickly made eye contact, causing the Tribute to sneer in disgust and look away. All the better for Ace, really. Looking around slowly, Ace mentally grimaced. Where would he sit? Where should he sit?

---

Tyler hesitantly sat down at his own table, tray loaded with a seemingly impossible amount of food. Large portions were stuffed into his mouth greedily, though his gaze remained fixed on the one Tribute he'd already built up a grudge for. The boy didn't seem to notice, to distracted among a larger group. However, anybody that dared to glance towards Tyler would easily see the wrath spinning in the back of his irises, the simply lust for revenge painted plainly across his scowl.

---

As the others went to eat, Cree quickly strode to the front of the obstacle course, waving off trainers and occasionally swiping at them, his fingers no small threat either. He was quite determined to make his way through the course, even if the trainers wanted him to eat.

The blonde was clearly making Jeremy uncomfortable and getting on Akane's nerves. On and on the blonde prattled about Jeremy always something, and some of it was just flat out creepy. Like dangerous stalker creepy.

"Why don't you just go suck on a banana, because that's clearly what you wanna do." Akane hissed at her finally. Jeremy's face burned red hot as he choked on his drink and started to cough, some of the liquid going up against his nose.

The blonde glared at the fairy. "Oh look at him, you clearly upset my poor boyfriend-"

Akane slammed a hand on the table in frustration, a nerve had clearly been hit. "Excuse you! YOUR boyfriend!?" Akane rounded to the blonde, now standing in confrontation. "Keep your filthy roaming hands to yourself, you *redacted*!"

"Akane no, it's not worth it!" Jeremy begged putting a hand on her arm, his face was still burning though not as badly. "Leave it alone."

The blonde just smirked. "Aw, I'm sorry, did I hit a nerve? You poor, poor naive vergin."

(Cringe-)

---

As the shouting between Akane and the blonde Tribute near her sparked up, a great number of multicolored eyes twisted that way, Ace's curiosity burning through most of his judgements. As he drew closer, his eyes spread across the faces at the table that seemed to be involved. Akane, flushed in rage, Jeremy, attempting to calm the quarrel, and the odd blonde, who had seemed to be the source of Akane's rage. Slow steps carried the Beholder closer, every passing moment passing along more information. The air started to whisper as well, filling in any gaps Ace realized there were. Jealousy was the most that Ace picked up, from both of the female Tributes. The blonde, jealous and envious of Akane's Jeremy, Akane's own jealousy and pride causing her to start spitting. Staying a safe distance away, Ace watched for a moment, hardly daring to speak in his disturbing way yet. A few eyes made contact with Jeremy's, the gaze on the young man's face practically begging for any help. Taking an unseen breath, Ace spoke, the jaws under his tank top moving quickly to shape the sounds. "What is the reason of this dispute?"

The moment the whistle was blown, Ibaraki's eyes lit up and the sight of so much food. Quick as a fox, Ibaraki snatched up a sandwich and seemed to almost inhale the food, not even swallowing. A second sandwich was quickly snapped up in a similar manner as well, the ravenous child licking up the crumbs left behind from the merciless carnage. It was clear that Ibaraki was hungry and could obviously eat much more but after feasting on the meager morsels, the child slunk away into the shadows to the fish hook making station. Pilfering some materials, Ibaraki hunkered down to attempt to make something while keeping an eye on both the other tributes and on Cree. What the child's intentions were was yet unclear but Ibaraki was working with intent so hopefully it wasn't anything dangerous. Hopefully. Debatable as there seemed to be a whole bunch of wires and sharp objects among the stolen materials.

Thankfully before anything potentially dangerous could be created, a loud shout had the child startling so badly that the construct fell to the floor, scattering into the many different pieces that Ibaraki had used. The child's lower lip wobbled slightly but other than that, Ibaraki calmly swept the fallen materials into a pile. and began tinkering again.

---

Having felt very proud of himself for teaching Moona some new knowledge, Molly filled his plate with vegetables, snacking on a celery as he watched the other tributes. This year seemed to be full of troublesome tributes and he was hoping to make niceties with some during this time. There seemed to be a group of tributes who seemed haughty and arrogant. If he could appeal to their lofty self image, Molly could strike an alliance with them but then again Molly wasn't just looking to ally himself with a few people, he wanted to ally himself with everyone. But a few people were a start anyways and he began to make his way over to the loudly chatting group. Before he could though, a even louder commotion drew the whole rooms attention. Turning to watch, Molly wondered if playing mediator would put him on the two girl's good list. Probably not. It would be best to watch for now and step in if needed later. He did, however, move closer to observe.

---

Akane opened her mouth, seeming to try to down calm some, but the blonde beat her to it. "It's just awful! She's hypnotized my boyfriend and is flirting with him! She's probably going to try to bang him too!"

"*Redacted* drama queen." Akane rolled her eyes. "You're one to talk, your bedsheet rap is more than a mile long."

The blonde flushed in rage she looked like she was ready to strike Akane. "You dare-"

"You opened the door, I just walked in. You've got no one to blame but yourself." Akane insisted shrugging. From behind Akane, Jeremy looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole, don't get him wrong, he loved Akane but when these kinds of situations popped up. . .well. . .

---

Ace tilted his head. "From what I have been told- What I know, this started over an act of jealousy. Is this a correct accusation?" Ace hardly moved more than was required, his eyes blinking in no set pattern while his brutal jaws molded the sounds he needed. "Or is this simply an attempt to entice another into a brawl, thus leading to the potential elimination of one from the upcoming event?" He stepped forward again, carefully examining the three with slit eyes. Every minor motion, every tiny action told him something. There, a muscle tensed: rising aggression, potential violent. There, a pupil expanded: a lie, told as quickly as it was thought of.

Jeremy took the moment of silence from the girls as they hesitated with a response to sweep Akane behind him before she did anything drastic on his behalf. This. Was. A. Mistake. The moment Akane wasn't between him and the tribute girl, the blonde quickly wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer, too closely apparently as he squirmed to get away.

Akane glared at the girl and took a step forward, she was seething, the flames in her hand weren't red, but blue in rage. "Give. Him. Back. Tiffani. Now."

Tiffani's emerald eyes held something dangerous in them, an almost possessive look to them. "You want him? Come get him."

Akane started forward with slow calm steps and the blonde reacted instantly. Her hand came down to strike Akane, who was ready to counter with a wall of fire, but something else got in the way instead.

A loud WHACK echoed and Charlie skittered a little ways, the impact had sent her flying a short distance. Charlie held a hand to her cheek, behind it a bruise was starting to form. Akane, startled, killed the flame in her hand and carefully helped the mute girl to her feet, apologising to the child even though it wasn't her fault. On the other hand, Tiffani didn't appear to feel the slightest bit sorry for Charlie.

(Get Jeremy away from Tiffani, now. Or help Charlie.)

---

Ace raised a hand, lifting it vertically before turning it ninety degrees, uttering one word. "Break." However, nothing happened. Evidently, much to Ace's dismay. He took for about three seconds, then slammed his hand down on the table. "CURSED MIMIC BODY!!" Several of his eyes turned lime green, pupils flooding with red as his wrath attempting to gain an edge over him. "You. Liar, thief, and otherwise deceitful nymph, release him." After a moment, a bright line flashed across the table, slicing it cleanly in two without even a burn mark. Watching the table fall, Ace became very silent, more and more of his eyes slowly shifting to the green and red violence. He slowly stepped towards the captured Jeremy, miniscule arcs of red lightning flashing from eye to eye. His jaws quivered, giving an odd sense of extra motion the to Tribute. A single hand reached out to the side, yanking the air closer. In response, a single soldier came stumbling forwards. His stride was broken, even fake, as compared to the usual trained walk that the Peacekeepers had. "You will remove this Tribute from the area, by any means required." The voice was ominous, the order even more so. The Peacekeeper straightened up, blinking slowly as their mind returned to them, the new order set in stone. The soldier analyzed the scene, quickly moving to act on Ace's will.