Aramis Rosegold [D1 tribute] (knightofgrapes) wrote in colosseum, @ 2014-02-14 02:35:00 |
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It was now two days after Aramis had sent Cypress a formal invitation requesting him to fight him in a proper duel, and he still had yet to see the boy from Seven charging towards him with an axe or find him hiding like a coward with his allies somewhere. He had gone back to the wax museum as per Brock's information the other day and scoured several other nearby attractions, but so far, there was no sign of anyone anywhere. And the longer it took for him to find Cypress and fight him or vice versa, the more likely he knew the Gamemakers were going to intervene to drive them together -- and he didn't want to find out if he could out-run a pack of muttations or not. Perhaps at this point, the Capitol just wanted a good mauling to satisfy their blood-lust instead. And it was under those dire and desperate circumstances that he now found himself wading through the shallow water that flooded the dark tunnels of the Tunnel of Love attraction. There was a fleeting thought in his mind of what it would be like if he could return here with Vellum for an arena tour after winning the Games, but he pushed that frivolity aside for now. The tunnels here were the perfect place for someone to hide, and he could hear echoes through the air -- perhaps they were being made by other tributes. Cypress, even. He wasn't sure if the cameras could see him in the darkness -- probably, given all the clear night footage he remembered seeing on television -- but he let his face twist into a predatory grin, dagger gripped in one hand so that he was ready to stab the first tribute he ran into to death. What he hadn't expected was to suddenly feel and see the still water suddenly swirl and rush around him in circles, faster and faster and faster until the ground beneath his feet suddenly disappeared and an unseen force suddenly grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him deeper and deeper in the vortex and under the surface of the water. Aramis hadn't had any time to scream for help from his allies before water rushed into his stomach and lungs through his nose and mouth and he couldn't see anything. He had breathed in water by accident before when learning how to swim during training back in One and he'd seen tributes drown to death in the Games on television, but the burning in his throat and chest as if he had swallowed fire and how he couldn't think of anything but air, he needed air or he was going to die, air air air, he was going to die, air, he couldn't scream, air, he had to swim to the surface and get air, he needed air, and -- -- he suddenly found himself landing hard on the bottom of a pit as the water drained away, leaving him cold and soaking wet. All he could was roll over onto his side as he gagged, choked, and coughed up water, his nose, throat, and chest still burning and throbbing as he tried to breathe in air at the same time and not throw up all over himself. Once he was able to lie on his back, he stared up at what must be the ceiling of the tunnel, stars clouding his vision. He couldn't think straight, but he didn't think he had broken anything thanks to what had obviously just been a Gamemaker trap -- he'd probably be crying in agony if he had, and he wasn't. And when he was this sopping wet, he couldn't be sure how much was just water and what was blood, though he could feel bites of pain in his arms and legs now that his adrenaline was finally ebbing away. 'All right, I get it -- less (cough) walking around in circles (gag) thinking about Vellum Spry, more --' a longer interlude of hacking, choking coughs, and his voice was still weak and rasping '-- hunting down and beating Cypress to death.' Once Aramis thought he had caught his breath as much as he could despite his spinning head and the sharp throbbing pain in his chest, he staggered to his feet and started climbing up the side of the pit, grabbing hold of whatever he could while keeping a tight grip on his dagger. The concrete jutting out of the walls cut into his hands and arms and he was weighed down by his wet clothes, and when he finally reached the surface, he had to bite down on his lower lip and grind his teeth as his left hand caught onto the jagged metal track of the ride and sliced a deep gash across his palm, swallowing the cry of pain that almost escaped and hissing in surprise and annoyance instead. The second he had finally pulled himself out of the hole, the water came rushing back in before it finally stopped at the same shallow level as it had always been, as if nothing had happened and he hadn't just been sucked into a whirlpool death trap. He instinctively wrapped his arms around himself to stay warm and staunch the bleeding from his hand as he walked back to where his allies were waiting, but as his head cleared, he was keenly aware of the cameras again as he always was. Perhaps it was the oxygen deprivation from his near-drowning, but his mind wandered over to Pecan's reminder to make sure he endeared himself to men and women, as well as Sugar's advice that no one liked anyone who was too pure. Well, he'd fucked up the first somewhat with his love confession to Vellum, and there weren't exactly any buttons on his shirt to undo like during his interview, so he did what he thought was the next best thing given the circumstances -- he unzipped his jacket all the way open so that his soaking wet white t-shirt underneath would be visible to the cameras. Ugh -- sinking to the level of a Four was so fucking embarrassing. If he could just find and kill Cypress and his allies, then maybe everyone would forget any of that and the previous day's antics with Vellum's statue ever happened. |