Reclamation

Roxanne sighed, and gave the boy a sad smile as he walked away from them to avoid Lara and Abal. She went and sat with the group beside Marcus and motioned Riley over to acknowledge her previous request to come talk. "I'm not that hungry," she commented. She decided she'd go talk to the boy later. She hadn't even gotten his name.

 

Claire slumped down into a seat next Roxanne, grabbing a roll from the pile of food. She began to chew on it half-heartedly. Roxanne seemed to express her exact feelings––she wasn't hungry, but she knew better than to skip a meal. What if she needed that extra strength? None of them had a clue as to what could happen between challenges, and with that shadow kid running around she didn't want to be caught without energy. Besides, if she skipped a meal she couldn't concentrate. And if she couldn't concentrate her flow would be useless. Finishing up the roll, she reached for a drumstick and bit into it with a little more fervor––her face still looked somewhere between disinterested in her food and hurt because of how the challenge had gone. Fucking boys... she thought disdainfully.

 

Sydney decided to go over to Malik and Zein- Riley was sure to be sitting with the others and hopefully if she went with these two she wouldn't have to talk to the girl. "I see we've both run into a lot of little shits today, huh Zein?" she gestured to the demon rabbit blood all over her own cloak "I swear- I'm never looking at a rabbit the same again."

Riley sat down across from Roxanne "Are you OK? I don't really care but... it wouldn't feel right to win against an opponent who isn't even in their best condition, ya' know." she didn't touch any food, just watched Roxanne. Before, she would've avoided it all, but she was fine with it now. It was OK if she was caught staring. She'd just play it off- Assessing the enemy, that'd be a good excuse.

"... You know," She finally looked away from the girl "I have... I have a dead brother too. And dead parents. So... I mean if you want to talk about it- if you want- I- I could? I mean-"

Shit, shit, shit- she was supposed to be doing a confident and stern voice but she found herself getting flustered and embarrassed, the tiniest hint of her regular voice seeping into her words. (Changing fake-voice color b/c it's also Amir's. This means a bit of mix between both voices)

 

"There's nothing to talk about. You saw it all happen just like I did. There's nothing else to say. I just want Vanthus dead," Roxanne said, and folded her arms across her chest like she was giving herself a hug. Almost quickly to try and dismiss the situation, she stood up. "I'm going to go take a nap. I'll see you guys at dinner," she said, and pushed her chair in before leaving.

Instead of going to her room, though, she went to the storage room. Maybe she'd find Vanthus there. "Vanthus," she called out, almost demanding his presence and attention, if he was, in fact, there. "Get out here."

 

"Vanthus. We need to talk," Roxanne said. She noticed the shadow in the distance, but was unsure of what it was. "What the hell is that? The start of your new little utopia bullshit?" she demanded. She stifled a shiver in the cold, and the lack of jacket she had along with the lack of warm food was not helping that shiver. She forced herself not to show that weakness though. She needed to be strong to this man. Intimidating. Prove to him she was a threat to him. Yeah. Tough girl. Strong. Bad. Mean. Fuck the police kind of thing. And being cold was not what tough girls did. Tough girls were too tough for the cold to bother them anyway. They let it go. Yeah. She kept repeating The cold never bothered me anyway, the cold never bothered me anyway, in her head just to try and keep herself warm. Or at least distract her before she went inside.

 

"Give me my brother's body. Let me give him a decent funeral. I don't care what beef you have with him, but I need that. I don't know where you put him, but let me at least bury him and let him rest in peace." And soon, you'll be joining him. she thought. "If you don't tell me where he is I'll go to one of the other adults. And if that doesn't work, I'll come back. And I'll get it from you, the easy way, or the hard way... If you get my point..." she said as she pulled a sword off the rack as well. She didn't see Vanthus' sword, because frankly, she was focused on not being cold and getting Richard's body back.

 

"I hope she doesn't get herself hurt..." Riley shook her head, realizing her facade was slipping "Uh- After all she's an opponent I'd like to challenge."
She put on a stern expression, still not touching the food "In all seriousness- if you ever need help, call me. That is- if there's something you can do in return." She secretly signaled the boy to show Marcus that the last part was part of her act "I wonder when we'll get our point update... And if the adults will contact me for further developments..." When Crow Face had been scrutinizing her, something had changed in the air for a second, and she had this massive urge to find out just what it was.

 

"What?!" she demanded before she was snapped away and found herself in her room and warm. "No... No no no no no! You fucking piece of shit!" she shouted, and sank to her knees on the floor. "You fucking... piece of shit..." She started sobbing uncontrollably again, for what felt like the millionth time over the past few days. She couldn't wait to rip that man to pieces. To feel a blade carve that awful, disgusting man's flesh to pieces. He not only killed her brother, but destroyed him. She would have no closure now. No funeral. No way to say goodbye. 

That was what hurt the most. The suddenness, the lack of closure. It just... happened. First he was there, then he was... gone. Just like that. No goodbyes, no final words, no last will and testament... nothing. And killing Vanthus was the only bit of closure she would receive. If anyone or anything else did it... She would tear the tower to the ground.

 

Zein looked up at Sydney, her mouth full of an amalgamation of different food. The look on her face was one of pure irritation, and a deep, long sigh hissed from her nostrils. She swallowed her food, but her expression  remained. "I fucking hate rabbits," she remarked, voice colder and harsher than usual. "I only have so many articles clothing. I'm going to have to throw all of this shit away, y'know that?"  She sighed again, making obvious that her fatigue from earlier transferred directly to anger. Now that she was over her sunsickness, Zein was in full-out bitch mode.

She watched Roxanne, catching very brief snippets of that group's conversation. "Jesus Christ,  is she trying to kill herself too?" She shook her head. "Whatever, if she  gets  herself killed its her own damn fault for being a moron. If either of you want to train later on just come find me, I'm going to wash this disgusting rabbit goop off and then I'm going to nap. I'll be in my room." She gulped down some water and stood up, walking out of the lobby and up to her room without another word.

 

Malik watched the events unfold before him in silence. Most everyone was agreeing that rabbits had become some kind of disgusting critter and while he agreed with them right now, he still thought rabbit made for really good eating. There wasn't any rabbit to eat here though, Malik made himself content with hamburgers. He was able to put down three before getting full because he hadn't eaten so much before the contest.

He didn't really feel like talking much while he was eating, and Zein didn't look like she wanted to be disturbed, so she was not one to be with right now. So Malik instead wiped his fingers clean on his jacket and brought out his notebook again and wrote a note to Sydney. He handed her the notebook and began to wrap his face up and walk towards the door to go outside. There was a lot of pent up anger after his performance in the day's challenge and there was a real need to let it all out. His note invited Sydney to join him outside for target practice. There was a nice cabin he could shoot at with his bow.

His boots crunched in the snow as he walked towards the cabin. As he stopped 100 yards from the cabin he set his bag on the ground and removed his longbow from it's tube and dug in his pack for the bowstring. All twenty of his arrows were stabbed into the ground before he strung his bow and picked an arrow up. The feel of pulling the bow back to it's full draw was a comforting feeling, and so watching his first arrow fly towards the cabin's door.

 

Riley remained silent, watching the other's eat. She stood up all of a sudden, leaving the table without a word. She was nervous- her plan was half-baked, stupid, and most likely going to end with her dead. She reassured herself- she was a good actress like her brother, and as gross as it was, she was glad she got his talents. Stepping into the training room quietly, Riley made her way to an empty target. Unsheathing the falcata, she took an unsteady breath.
Fighting is a dance, fighting is a dance - She began spinning and twirling the blade, doing her best to move with grace and pretty flourishes. It wasn't the most practical way to fight, but it was the way her brother fought. And it was the way she would fight.
She felt physically sick. This was the way her brother fought- the blade almost decapitated her during her spin, narrowly missing- This was the way he... This was how he would beat her- mid-twirl she hit her fore-arm, a medium length but light scratch. She dropped the blade in surprise. Without a sound she fell to her knees, toying with the blade on the floor.
She fought like him. She was acting like him. She was using his blade. Hell- she was using his given name.
It had been so long... Who was she? What was she even like before? Before his dirty hands had bruised her skin? When her parents had cared for her? Did she even remember her true name? Ah yes- her name... The one thing she did remember. She laughed weakly- She hadn't even been called by her true name for so long. Riley always called her mutt, brat, whatever he felt like really. Then of course Sydney and the rest only ever knew her brother's name... She sighed, lifting her sword to her neck.

For a second, she contemplated the prospect...
-----
Sydney followed Malik outside and watched as his arrows bounced off the wall. What the hell? She threw a rock, the rock not hitting either. That voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it... She looked around yet no one was there.

"Well that's freaky..."

She went ahead to examine the cabin- from a small distance of course- and saw Malik's damaged arrows.

"OK, really fucking freaky."

 

"Hallelujah, hallelujah." Sydney quickly tore off her cloak, diving right in. The water was murky and she could barely see. She thought she could hear someone or something sinking further. Hmm... Those lights definitely seemed odd- Best to rush in and see if there's a pearl! Sydney swam forward with determination, turning her fingers into blades she pried open the scallop- A pearl! Haha!
Yet just as she grasped it- not one, ladies and gentlemen, but two creatures grasped her legs, pulling her down with a sudden change in weight.
What the hell is happening!?
----
Riley sighed, watching Marcus get caught by something as she hastily took off her clothes. She sprang forth, gripping his arm- yet she too ended up being pulled under with him. She growled, gripping both of his arms and trying to swim upwards.
I officially hate swimming.
While her effort was futile, she did end up accidentally slamming whatever was on Marcus' foot into the wall.
Oh please let it be dead... Oh crap- Now I'm thinking in this voice!?

 

Claire hissed as the alarm stirred her from slumber. Had it not been against the rules to smash the damn thing into a million pieces she would have. Slipping out of bed, she changed into some clothes and laced up her boots. Her fingers grazed the knife she kept hidden away. I'm so sick of this... she thought disdainfully, throwing a distasteful glare at the door of her room. She knew she shouldn't have come here the moment she set her sights on the god forsaken tower, but... ugh! Calm down, Claire. Nothing she could do about it. Not a damn thing. Begrudgingly accepting her fate for the time being, she finished her preparations for the day and joined the rest of the kids at breakfast.

She didn't dare touch any of the seafood. That stuff was nasty and probably not prepared properly. Fish and the like were always the hardest things to cook and the easiest to fuck up. Instead, she opted for a small helping of the stew, but she barely sipped it. Rabbits. Gross! She wanted to gag. Still, it was better than nothing at all. She took several speedy quick sips and guzzled down glass after glass of water, hoping to wash the awful taste from her mouth.

Moving onto the challenge, Claire cursed mentally as she realized they were outside. In front of the moat, of all places! The minute she saw that murky water she knew this was going to suck. Manipulating enough particles to effectively combat the... whatever it was she just saw move in there.... would take a lot of concentration. Would she be able to do it AND get the pearls asked of them? She didn't know. Regardless, she waited for the adults to finish before watching Marcus take the first shot at completing the challenge. The instant he sunk, Claire let out a girlish shriek. "Marcus!" she cried in false astonishment. "Oh god! What are we gonna do? He could drown!"

"Worry about yourself," one of the other kids called harshly. Claire frowned and tried to keep from blowing the kid up. Still, he had a point.

Serves the fucker right, she thought, keeping up her facade externally. Idiot should have used something other than himself to test it first. She could have continued her internal commentary on the older boy's foolishness, but she opted instead to focus directly on the water itself. Splitting the particles apart might have been a little hard, but hardening them? Perhaps that could work. Claire's eyes dilated as she focused intently on the water's surface, a slight sweat starting to bead around her brow. The water seemed to react after a couple moments, a small vein in the girl's forehead straining as the particles moved at just the right frequency. Without blinking, Claire took an experimental step out onto the hardened surface of the water and stood there, glancing at her competition.

"H-here goes," she murmured, the water's solidity breaking just slightly. Her concentration flared and sweat dripped off her face into the water. The vein in her head pulsed. The solid water started to move upwards, surrounding her as she began to sink as Marcus had. As her head slipped under, the hardened water closed over top, almost like a protective cylinder of particle goodness. A dull ache started in the back of her head as she went––she had to be quick!

It didn't take long to hit the floor of the moat. When she felt her feet touch the muddy earth, she relaxed her legs just the slightest. This, of course, backfired, for the hardened water seemed to have sprung a leak. A murky splash hit her face. Claire's teeth ground together. "Shit!" she cursed, fighting to keep control of her self-made submarine. As if in response, one of the strange things moving beneath the water's surface swam at her bubble at that very instant. Claire cursed again, strengthening the wall so it bounced off. The vein in her head throbbed erratically. Pearls, Claire. PEARLS! she thought, the bubble of protection weakening again. The weird fish kept battering her cover.

Doing her best to ignore the swarming fish, Claire reached down and plucked the first scallop. Instantly a pearl in her hand. One down, two to go. The smallest of smirks spread on her face and instantly the bubble broke from the waist down. "FUCK!" she cursed at the top of her lungs, feeling the tension in the back of her head ease slightly. This, of course, was quickly replaced with the bites of several fish, all of which became stone immediately after they latched onto her. "God damn it!" she screamed, the bubble breaking some more so that only her face was covered. More fish latched on.

"Calm down, Claire." A deep breath. As long as she got the other pearls she'd be fine. Struggling with the extra weight, Claire began to search for the next couple scallops. She had to be quick! Losing points this round was not a good idea.

 

(Sorry! Mod pls delete. My computer spazzed. Thanks!)