"I know that," She replied in a quieter voice, feeling that it was her fault that he had died, "I wish we didn't have to even come and fight in this arena and that none of the other people on the other team had to die." Dierra wasn't picking berries even, she was looking for any signs of animals to hunt to eat.
"I know. Do you ever…" Griffin took a breath. "Do you ever think it's not worth it? To win? Because then, you'd be known for killing. I-I don't want to be known for that, Dierra."
She was silent, trying to keep her emotions in check, "I…I don't know." Her shoulders slumped and she sighed, "This…the…I can't think of winning and the cost of it right now. I need to stay together. I need to be strong and keep our team alive. Right now all I can tell you is that you won't be known for killing people unless you make a habit of enjoying it."
"But those families! The people watching! They'll think you're a ruthless killer for murdering their child! It's…just…" Griffin was crying as he shook his head. No crying, not while you're still in danger. "It's not fair." His voice was soft as he sat down in the grass, leaning against a large tree and looking up at the canopy.
Without speaking, she swallowed another lump in her throat and sat down next to him, tentatively reaching out and wrapping an arm around his shoulders, "Then what you do if you win is, you make an announcement. A video. Explain that you're extremely sorry, that you didn't want to kill anyone."
"What if I lose? What if I die? Ava'll have to live with that…and then the families will hate my family…and then…I don't know. The shit just keeps hitting the fan." Griffin sighed audibly, returning to a normal sitting stance, his head resting on his knees as he looked at Dierra.
"Do you have any plans? If you win?"
She sighed, shrugging and answering in a faint voice, almost like she was too worn out to think, "Griffin…I promise that I'll fight to keep you alive, to help you win, if it means I…don't survive…then so be it." When he moved to sitting normally, she pulled her hand away and tucked it by her side, thinking before answering in the same faint voice, "If somehow I win, then…I don't really know. When I was young I had all the plans in the world as to what I would do when I won..but now…I just want to keep any more generations of kids from dying in these damn arenas."
"I feel the same. No one should go through this." Griffin stood, smiling. "So let's win this thing, okay?" He holds out his hand to Dierra.
(Sorry for the rather short response!)
(It's totally fine!)
"Lets…lets do that," She agreed, nodding and even mustering up a small smile. She took his hand and pulled herself up, happy to now have a goal in mind to work towards in this competition besides just surviving to the next day.
"Of course…we need to get food first. Otherwise, they'll think we were dawdling or…other things." Griffin couldn't prevent the blush in his cheeks as he strode to bushes, eventually coming up with more berries.
"See if you can find some catchable animals; berries won't fill us for long."
It took Deila a few seconds to get what he was talking about but then her cheeks flushed, "Yeah, we should probably hurry up then." She looked around and tried to decide where was the best place to try to find some small animals, somewhere they would be easier to catch but would still be close to the base.
(Uhhhh…Time skip? I don't know…)
(Yeah sure, do you have any time in particular that you want to skip to?)
(Maybe when they get back, start eating, and then they (the people ensuring that we fight each other) get bored and throw us for a loop? Cough Hunger Games style cough)
(Ooooooo that sounds good :) Do you want to start it off or me?)
(I can! I'm assuming that the group has made a small-ish fire.)
Griffin, after him and Dierra scavenged a little, came up with a rabbit and some sort of bird, along with assorted berries that they both knew were edible.
"You guys good? Anything happen?"
(Yeah they did)
Cassian and Cossette looked around, glancing up at the two of them as they returned, "Nope, the only thing that happened was Adrian and Ari got into a little bit of a fight and are now not speaking to each other." Cossette said, motioning to the two of them and the unusual silence between them.
Dierra nodded, not really caring about the fight but just wanting to get the food started so they could eat. "As long as no one attacked or anything. Now let's get cooking and then eat." She was holding the rabbit and with a glance at Griffin, she walked to the small and neat fire to get to work. The rabbit was already gutted, though she hadn't been able to figure out how to skin it.
"Here," Griffin was at her side. "Think of it as…peeling an orange. once you penetrate the skin, you can peel it, but don't puncture it too well or else you'll dirty yourself." He demonstrated and managed to skin the rabbit with only a few punctures. "If you're going for rabbit with the skin on, you're best bet is probably to burn off the fur in a controlled manner." A hand went up to Grif's face. "I paid attention when my mom taught me to do basic cooking. I'm not great, but I can make edible things." Griffin gave a lighthearted chuckle towards himself.
"Well, you'll have to thank your mom for teaching you once we get out of here," Dierra said with a crack of a smile, thankful that she didn't have to worry about skinning the rabbit now. She looked to the fire and tried to decide the beset way to cook the rabbit, on a rock near the flames, or on a stick above the heat.
"What is it?" Griffin saw the way she looked at the fire. He was sitting down feebly, his arms supporting him from behind.
She shrugged, still focused on the fire, "I'm just trying to decide if I should cook the rabbit over the fire or next to the fire. Which way would be faster in your opinion?" She was perched up on the balls of her feet, elbows rested on her knees as she crouched and thought.
"Probably next to the fire, just don't make sure you overcook it. That should be best for speed." Griffin cocked his head to the side, his eyes dazed, mesmerized by the fire. He snapped out of it. "Yeah, anyways. By the fire is better, I think."
"Sounds good," She replied with a nod, trying to find a flat and clean stone she could lay the rabbit on to put it by the fire.
Griffin looks at Dierra. "Do you have any siblings?"
In all honesty, Ava was the only person at home he couldn't stop thinking of.
"Yeah, I have three," She said, laying the rabbit our on the rock and pushing it as close to the base of the flames as she could before turning to talk to Griffin, "Me, my sister, and my two brothers."
(Sorry I haven't responded in a while! I was sick and in bed 90% of the time!)
"Hm. I only have one-a younger sister. I can't think of having to deal with more than one of her." Griffin chuckled.
"Do you miss them? Your siblings?"
(You're all good! Hope you feel better!)
"I only get to deal with two of them now," She said, though there was a bit of hesitance when she said it, "And yeah, I really really miss them." A hint of a smile crossed her face and she chuckled, shaking her head "Especially their stupidness. Do you miss your sister?"
"I-yeah. Yeah, I do. It's just…" Griffin sighed as he smiled. "She doesn't deserve to be so young and innocent, and then immediately have her heart broken when I die."
Dierra looked over at him and shook her head, thinking of when she had heard of her older brother's death while competing like she was. She knew the pain and refused to have someone else feel that pain if she could help it, "She won't be heartbroken, you know why? Because I'm not going to let you die in here, you're going to get back to your sister and the girl you said you liked."
"I-" Griffin smiled. "Yeah! Of course." Though, it wouldn't be as simple as he'd thought to achieve those goals.
(What should get their team to move and fight the other team?)