#games.day5

ember

ember was constantly on lookout, even when it wasn't his specified job to be. and so when he missed the bottle falling, he was surprised at himself and his inability to notice the fact that projectiles fell right in front of them. that being said, he hadn't always been the most observant person. "what do you think is inside?" he asked cautiously.

royce

cocking his head to the side, royce slowly got up and moved -- or, rather, crawled -- forth to get a better look at it. for a moment, he thought it was some sort of trap. but, then again, the chapstick and insect repellant hadn't been. "it... it looks like a key? like, it's so sparkly. dude, it makes the map besides it look a little--"

demelza oberon

Demelza attempted to distract from their current predicament by pretending the arena was a tropical resort. The three tributes were simply in a remote part of the island, and they had a small shelter they could return to. She could hear the two others speaking behind her but hadn't paid much mind. That was until the second parachute descended toward them. "What's going on?" She finally asked. "A sparkly key's in there? I hope whatever it opens is just as sparkly."

ember

he raised an eyebrows, slowly removing his sword from its home at his side in case there was something dangerous in the bottle. "what do you think it opens? i haven't seen anything locked anywhere on this island..."

royce

royce had stopped when demelza talked over him. instead of being offended -- which another royce carter a few weeks younger would have been obligated to be -- he continued staring at the bottle's key. slowly, surely, and completely unaware of any danger, he grabbed it, popped open the top, and poured out the contents. "it's a key and a map," he said blandly and softly to himself more to anyone else. head tilted towards the sun, royce looked for ember with squinted eyes and opened up a rather dry and parched mouth -- "maybe its for  like, y'know, buried booty... or whatever they say in those storybooks."

demelza oberon

While her previous statement had been quite senseless, Demelza hardly noticed. Her brow furrowed in deep concentration, as if she was trying to unlock the rational portion of her brain. She stood from her place by the lagoon's edge and moved closer to get a better look at the bottle. "Is there any other writing on there? Like clues of where it leads?" She asked, craning her neck to get a glimpse of the map.

ember

ember braced for impact as royce opened the bottle, and once he saw that the coast was clear, wandered over to look at his map. "hey, that looks kind of like what you got from the boat, remember? maybe it's a map of this island telling us where to go."ember refrained from making a butt joke, as much as he wanted to. the games had changed him already.

royce

nodding slowly, royce pretended to understand and remember the map he had gotten in the bloodbath. truly, the boy had already succumbed to his whimsy and forgotten all about it. "yeah... and, uh, demelza come over here. i can't hear you. you sound like a ghost."allowing his neck to tilt back, royce closed his eyes and allowed the warmth of the sun to take him to a place of uninhibited freedom.

demelza oberon

After the third bottle descended close by, Demelza scurried toward it and looked at her own map. "Well, whatever it's a map of,  the artist needs to go to some serious drawing classes." She remarked, staring at the map with confusion then heading back toward Royce and Ember. "My map looks pretty similar to yours, don't you think?" She squinted one eye to get a good look, holding hers closer to the others.

ember

ember gingerly opened his bottle, pouring the contents into his hand and observing the images on his piece of paper. "i'd say they're damn near identical. you'd think they'd want to try and split us up if they were looking for more action, right?"

royce

eyes still closed, royce muttered to himself the following unhelpful anecdote -- "haaaa... sounds like something my sister would draw. she's a terrible artist."then, suddenly, at the mention of splitting up, royce's eyes popped open and his head whirled towards his lover. "god, dude, shit... do you think they're trying to get us to fight for booty?"

ember

ember rolled his eyes, looking towards royce with a smile. "the only booty i'd fight anyone over is yours."

demelza oberon

Demelza clicked her tongue at Royce and shook her head. "Your sister can hear you, you know." It sounded silly, but she couldn't stop it from escaping her mouth. "Maybe that's the point. Maybe they want to draw us together and make us fight each other." She hypothesized, wrinkling her nose with a smile at Royce and Ember's comments toward each other. "If we weren't probably going to die, I'd say you two are cute together."

royce

"i know, dude. but that's a shame, because my ass is pretty flat. look at it," he said as he stood and scattered sand everywhere, "it's like a piece of paper."in the same breath, he turned to demelza and stared at her with his usual bloodshot eyes. "i want her to hear me. it's better she hear me insulting her before i die."

ember

"do you think everyone's got something there, waiting for them? and if we go, we could be walking into this huge elaborate trap?" he asked nervously, his hand instinctively moving towards royce's. he chuckled at dem's words. "hey, even if we are dying, i like to think we're still cute."

royce

grasping at it like it was the blood of a forgotten religious deity, royce enveloped ember's hand in his as he moved his stare to the waters before them. he said nothing, but instead allowed his thoughts to run wild with the thought of the three of them walking into a trap.

demelza oberon

Demelza resisted the urge to make a butt joke, knowing it wouldn't be becoming of lady -- even one forced into a haphazard and humid jungle area. "I really hope it isn't a trap. I want whatever this map leads to." It already felt like going on one of her infamous scavenger hunts back home in Three. "If they wanted to draw us all to one place, why would they make us work so hard to find it?"(edited)

royce

"because it's a game," royce said seriously. his voice cut through the brief silence like a hot knife through butter. he allowed his gaze to linger on the waters for a few more seconds before wrapping an arm around ember to stabilize himself. "and it's fun, fun, fun, dude. didn't you know that?" he ended sarcastically.

ember

ember rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. "well, what do you think's waiting at the location on this map? it could be something incredible, and it could be a bomb, or more of those weird birds, or something worse."

royce

"a bird bomb..."

demelza oberon

"I liked it a lot better, when we weren't the ones playing." Demelza huffed and puffed out her cheeks in frustration. She hadn't liked the Hunger Games before, but the so-called entertainment became even worse with her own participation. "I-I don't know. I'd hope it'd be something great, considering how fancy this key is. It looks like real gold!" The female tribute gushed, bringing the key up inches in front of her face.

ember

he shuddered at the image of a bird bomb. now that was terrifying.

royce

while ember shuddered at the thought of a bird bomb, royce shuddered simultaneously at demelza's egocentrism.

ember

"do we think it's worth checking out?"

demelza oberon

Bird bombs sounded horrific, but she pushed that thought away by focusing on the shiny nature of the key. "I think it's worth a shot. There's three of us working together, even if we run into other tributes, right?"

ember

ember didn't want to say that he was the one tasked with protecting the both of them, he didn't want to think like that, but really he was the one with the weapon, when it came down to it, he would be the one stepping into danger for them both. "what do you think, love?" he asked royce

royce

the thought of getting into a fight made royce's bones shake, his muscles ache, and his mind vibrate at the thought of taking another life. thinking again of those red tufts of hair, royce felt his grip on ember's shoulder increase as he lurched forward and did what he thought would be a big batch of vomitas the heavy belch left his mouth and floated in the air, royce audibly made an "oh" sound. so, it was just a burp after all."i think that demelza should lead the charge, dude-who-i-love."

demelza oberon

The somewhat familiar belch erupting from Royce's mouth instantly made her scrunch up her nose. If vomit expelled from his system again, Demelza trusted Ember would help Royce recover. She rose her brow and stared at the maps again, as if she understood them fully. "I think that's an excellent idea." She chirped, always loving to be the leader in most situations.

royce

"see?"

ember

he wanted to be kind and nice, but the idea of dem leading the pack made him a little concerned. however, she seemed excited about the idea, so who was he to rob her of the opportunity? "okay, sounds good to me."

royce

"onward, then, demelza," royce said as energetically as he could muster. he had become accustomed to his overall lack of strength. the withdrawals were still kicking his ass, and the boy wondered if he'd ever know peace anytime soon. as he stole a glance at ember, royce decided that that wasn't a likely scenario.

ember

ember stood up, gathering his backpack and his items and holding them out to both. "anyone wanna store anything in here? i don't mind carrying things."

demelza oberon