etcircenses: (Default)
Panem Events ([personal profile] etcircenses) wrote in [community profile] thearena2014-01-18 02:35 pm

ARENA 09 - THE MUSEUM

The Tributes are woken up early for this Arena, and switched from whatever sleeping attire they're currently in to a set of pajamas, each designed for the individual in questions. Women wear onesies, and most of the men wear two-pieces, but other than that any similarities are at random - the outfits are in all sorts of colors and patterns.

The floor of the helicopter taking them to their Arena location, and of the underground entrance to the tubes that hoist them to the surface, will feel cold under their bare feet.

Rather than bringing them to sunlight, like the tubes have in the past, instead the Tributes are presented to a dark concrete ceiling in a badly-lit parking lot. Fluorescent lights do little to illuminate the cavernous space.

The countdown begins, announced as if from far away.

20

19

18…


The Cornucopia, a ghastly thing carved from stone and concrete, sits at the center of a pattern of white and yellow lines reminiscent of spots for parked cars. The painted lines create a sort of spoked wheel, providing lanes for the Tributes leading to the prizes at the center. Some of the more unfortunate Tributes will find the concrete architecture has placed pillars in their lanes.

8

7

6…


Six parked cars lie around the outskirts of the huge lot, barely visible in the dim lighting. Glowing exit signs on two opposite sides of the chamber announce where Tributes should go to escape the bloodbath. Elevator doors are perched beneath them.

3

2

1


The gong rings out, and the countdown's voice announces "the Arena is now open". The Games have begun.
pointandclickme: (pic#1139876)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-19 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
She moved fast. He had a feeling he could like that. And also that it might be okay to lower his arms now, though he kept his hands visible. Sure, he may be armed only with argyle and charm, but he'd met Trinity. There was no reason to make any threatening moves when he knew what women could do to people with their hands alone.

"Mouse. Yes, I think. And before that last one, a question in return, if I may: will answering one way or another make the hitting start again?"
gardienne: (smile)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-19 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
"Mouse?" She began to laugh. "You are called Mouse? You Mama named you after a filthy creature? That is funny!"

Oh, he was a funny boy indeed, if he was worried about a bare footed kick from Eponine. There was little damage she could do. In between her hoarse cackles, she managed to pant out, "Oh, M'sieur, you will have more to fuss over than a kick or a punch from me whilst you're here. Believe me."
pointandclickme: (pic#1139884)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-19 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
"But later is later."

Phew. Now that he's not worried about the punching he glances down at his hands and- eek. Talk about not making the manliest of impressions. He runs one hand through his hair before readjusting his leaning against the pillar, arms crossed over his chest now. Much cooler. Even if she did laugh about his name.

"And it's the other kind of Mouse, but, you know. Call me that. M'sieur was my father, miss...?"
gardienne: (I don't want your money)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-19 07:26 am (UTC)(link)
She shook her head. "I am not a 'Miss', Sir. No title. Just Eponine."

She watched him straighten out warily, completely unimpressed by his show of machoism. This was when they always surprised her with a weapon. "You must answer my question now, Sir, if you please. Do you have any weapons?"

pointandclickme: (pic#1139882)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-19 05:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Want to check?"

Could he help it? Probably, but what could he say. No amount of imminent death could stop humans from being human. So he took a step away from the pillar and raised his hands up, lacing his fingers behind his head in a classic 'ready to be frisked' position.

Traditionally, this kind of thing ended with Switch punching him in the stomach. But it was a whole new digital world, and hope sprang eternal in the hearts of young programmers. Also, the new position might make the fact he really didn't have any weapons might be slightly more visible under the PJ material.
gardienne: (wary)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-19 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Eponine stepped right up to Mouse, so close that there was but a hair's breadth between them. She stretched so that she could whisper into his ear.

"You must be mad. We are fighting to the death, Monsieur. And you have nothing to give me in return. I will not do it."

She stepped back as soon as she was finished whispering, making sure that there was a sizeable distance between them. In all honesty, Eponine didn't know what to do now, really. It was rare that she was in control of a situation, especially one in the arena, and she wasn't sure, truly, what to do.

"Are you going to fight, Sir?" She asked, after a moment or so of silence.
pointandclickme: (pic#1139878)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-20 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hey, what's the point in fighting to survive if there's no fun worth surviving for, huh?"

Charming (in his opinion) grin- just a little be shaky because holy shit. A girl he didn't program had been close. And called him an idiot, granted, but hey, who was paying attention to details? The whole experience was enough that he didn't even remember to lower his hands yet.

"But whatever fighting's coming, come on. It's not gonna be between us...right?"
gardienne: (accusing)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-20 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"Us?" Eponine looked completely blank. What on earth was this man talking about? What could he possibly mean, 'us'? Unless... It clicked properly then. Another man, asking, always asking. And the single time she had asked, Marius had looked horrified. He'd left her sat alone. And then she'd run away.

She didn't smile. Rather, she raised her fists. "I can fight, you know, if this is a trick to surprise me. I am not so weak as I look, Monsieur. I know well how to fight."
pointandclickme: (pic#1139883)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-20 09:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hey!"

And then he very much noticed his hands were behind his head, because it took an extra moment of remembering to let his fingers relax to de-tangle them in order to bring his hands up in front of his face again.

"No more hitting! Just saying we- you and me- we don't gotta kill each other, right? Right now, anyway? I just got here and everything. Haven't even gotten the tour! At least let me find some nicer clothes to die in first. These ones are humiliating."
gardienne: (tired)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-20 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Slowly, she lowered her hands, but she kept her distance. "Monsieur, this better not be a joke. I... I have friends. They will come after you if you hurt me."

That was a lie. Eponine had nobody in the arena. Not any more. Howard wouldn't come near her. She had fallen out with Ian. Wyatt, she was sure, would rather see her swing than help her. Orc... well, she hadn't seen him at all. And Aunamee, well, perhaps, perhaps he was cross with her. But this Mouse did not know that.

But she couldn't help but smile, just a tiny bit, at his plea for clothes. "Monsieur, you are a dandy! I knew it! To worry about your sape at a time when we die? Well, you perhaps think i like to dress in pink ribbons and a strange suit, but no. No, I do not, but there shall be no more clothes until you die - perhaps a week away, perhaps two months or more."

[Sape = clothes]
pointandclickme: (pic#1139884)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-20 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Funeral clothing really isn't the silver lining I'm looking for."

Smiling, that was good. He would take that. The dandy part...well. Pick your battles, Mouse. For now, avoiding a literal one would be enough. He could prove his incredible hetero manliness (or at least the middle part in those three words) at some future date.

"But cross my digital heart and hope to- you know. I'm more in the human rescuing business."
gardienne: (desperate arguing)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-21 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
"Then you are going to be upset, Sir, for this arena is designed for us all, save one, to die." She shrugged. There was nothing she, nor any other tribute, could do about it.

"These people, they want to kill. They WANT to. And if you do not... well, you die first. Believe me. They have killed me, perhaps five times now. And they will kill you too. You need a weapon and you need to run."
pointandclickme: (pic#1139877)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-21 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
He tiled his head to one side, then the other, eyes narrowing as he took that in.

"Died five times. Meaning there's a respawn point? With better clothing at it?"

What a weird program. If the machines were giving up on the 90s, this wouldn't have been his first guess for their next try. Immortality wasn't really a human function.
gardienne: (I don't want your money)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-21 02:15 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, I do not know about better clothing. Only once have they allowed me a dress that I wanted - and then they let me wear it only when they gave me a nightmare and put me in prison." She shrugged yet again.

"You do not believe me, Monsieur? You do not look as if you believe me at all."
pointandclickme: (pic#1139881)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-21 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"Weirder things have happened. And that's an understatement. But that's just so...pointless. Battle to the death when no one dies? And you don't even get the fabulous prize behind door number two at the end?"

There had to be something to this. He'd gotten the brief 411 before getting tossed in, but it hadn't made much sense. This added information- while slightly reassuring- wasn't really helping on the but why, god? part of the problem.
gardienne: (jealous reply)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-21 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"What door, Sir?" Eponine had never heard that allusion before. "There is no door at all, I do not think. Not even one door, Sir."

She shrugged. She thought the whole thing was pointless, but there was no point in trying to object again. Nobody ever listened to her.

"There is nothing to be done though, Sir, so you may as well agree to yourself to get on with it, you know?
pointandclickme: (Default)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-22 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
"Mouse. Just Mouse. Only Mouse. M for short."

Sir this and sir that. The lady was going to give him a complex- or worse, an ego. He skipped over the whole 'door' bit, if she had been wise enough to stay away from bad day time TV as a kid, there was no point in ruining her now.

"And maybe instead of getting on with the whole brutal murder thing we could do..."

He glanced around. Yup. It was still just a parking lot.

"Getting a car? You like cars?"
gardienne: (self-loathing smirk)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-22 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
"I've been in a car. A few times, Mons- Mouse. You must forgive me: it is a habit that I have, 'Monsieur this and Mademoiselle that'. It has been a year since I have seen Paris and yet still I have the habits I had there."

She glanced at the cars. She had no idea how to work one. "Can you drive it, Sir? Mouse? I do not know how such a thing can work without a horse, truly. And even with a horse... well, I have never driven one of those either. Eva took me in a car when we were in the Capitol. I like it."
pointandclickme: (Default)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-24 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh, I can drive."

Finally, something he could look half cool at doing. Because, really, getting beat up wasn't that high on the list of things a guy could look smooth while doing.

"Got a favorite color? Pick whatever one you like."
gardienne: (shy smile)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-24 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
A favourite colour? Nobody had ever asked her that before. Eponine looked dumbly around, before nodding, as her eyes landed on a certain car.

"Red. Mouse, I like red best, if you please." A random choice, but it was nice and bright, at least. Eponine started over to it, though when she reached it, she waited for Mouse to get the door. Every other time she had ridden in a car, somebody had held the door open for her to clamber in. She wasn't entirely sure how to open it, and she was not about to make an idiot of herself in front of this boy.

"I have never been in a red car. A black one and a yellow one before. I wonder if it is any different."
pointandclickme: (pic#1139871)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-25 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh, yeah. Red is the best color there is. Makes the car go faster."

Red. He had suspected she was a lady of taste (possibly having to due with the french accent. Hard not to sound sophisticated with one of those). He want to dramatically open the door for her-

"Locked. Hold on ooooone sec, my lady."

And there went his chance to look suave. Time to get a rock.
gardienne: (resentful)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-27 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"Does it really?" She had never imagined that - that a colour could change the speed of an object.
then again, she'd never thought of a car before two months ago, so...

"Are you going to smash the window? Monsieur, can you really drive?" She was beginning to have doubts - what if it was all a ruse so that this Mouse could just kill her quickly?
pointandclickme: (Default)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-01-28 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"Could pick it, but that's slightly longer than I'd like to be in this dump- ah."

He hefted a chunk of concrete next to his head, grinning as he displayed his find. That she was still on 'he is going to kill me mode' utterly manages to escape his notice.

"It'll just be the back window. No sweat."
gardienne: (accusing)

[personal profile] gardienne 2014-01-28 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
"You know they will not let us drive it out, Sir? We will still be trapped in the arena?"

But still, Eponine moved to help Mouse with the concrete. She might have been skinny and malnourished already, but she was surprisingly strong.
pointandclickme: (pic#1139882)

[personal profile] pointandclickme 2014-02-06 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
"I do not know, in fact. And can't think of a thing wrong with a little trying."

His grin widened with the help, and he gave a quick wink as they reached the car.

"Count of three, okay? One...two...three!"

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