Entry tags:
Good Hunting
Who| Shepard, Garrus, and All Of You
What| Attempting to murder some folk, or at least cause injury
Where| various floors
When| Week Three, et all
Warnings/Notes| Probably language, game-typical violence
Shepard: Good Hunting in the Hallways, any floor
The second time, she’d been caught by surprise and normalcy of the challenge. The first, by the novelty. But in every arena, there was a simple rule— they would do something unexpected. Same recipe, like variations on a theme: this arena had sprinkles, that one had Dinosaurs, this one had… Well, still Dinosaurs, but considerably less terrifying ones.
By now, she’s no longer surprised, merely grateful for the shallow comfort of long lines of sight and well-defined shadows. Grateful for the way that having bare feet is an advantage rather than a hindrance, and for the weight of the bundle on her back, heavy with food both perishable and otherwise. It’s wrong; she should be angrier, but rage can’t solve her problems right now, and hiding is no longer the order of the day— she’s hunting, and if she finds you, she will kill you.
Garrus: Dioramas, Floor Two
Bullets were great but not having a gun to use them limited their functionality. If there was a gun to be had that fit the bullets, Garrus figured the best place to look would be the dioramas of human history. If nothing else, he would look a few of the spears and consider taking those. It wasn’t a great place to hide but his plan was to get in and get out of there as fast as possible.
Either or both: Elevator, any floor
Ding!
Beautiful thing, a choke point. Every bell meant something. A person. A sponsor gift. A tense waiting moment for everyone on the floor. A vantage where you could see the elevator but not easily be seen was worth more than anything right now. The perch just outside the door where one might lie in ambush was risky, but damned useful— as were the Elevators themselves.
Which was why most people took the stairs, it seemed. Which was why Shepard and Garrus had largely been taking the elevator. So far, it’d been nothing but empty corridors and tense breath-holding moments. Once or twice they’d pressed a button on their way out, send it down to the basement, send it up to the roof, just to see if anything would happen, to watch rushing feet kick up bits of roof-gravel as they scattered over the skylight.
But it was possible, this way to draw out the targets. Which was, after all, what Shepard wanted most right now. And what the Commander wanted, was what she usually got, in the end. No matter how many people had to die before she got it.
Just say which one you're responding to,
or which person you want to thread with in your entry thread, thanks! <3
What| Attempting to murder some folk, or at least cause injury
Where| various floors
When| Week Three, et all
Warnings/Notes| Probably language, game-typical violence
Shepard: Good Hunting in the Hallways, any floor
The second time, she’d been caught by surprise and normalcy of the challenge. The first, by the novelty. But in every arena, there was a simple rule— they would do something unexpected. Same recipe, like variations on a theme: this arena had sprinkles, that one had Dinosaurs, this one had… Well, still Dinosaurs, but considerably less terrifying ones.
By now, she’s no longer surprised, merely grateful for the shallow comfort of long lines of sight and well-defined shadows. Grateful for the way that having bare feet is an advantage rather than a hindrance, and for the weight of the bundle on her back, heavy with food both perishable and otherwise. It’s wrong; she should be angrier, but rage can’t solve her problems right now, and hiding is no longer the order of the day— she’s hunting, and if she finds you, she will kill you.
Garrus: Dioramas, Floor Two
Bullets were great but not having a gun to use them limited their functionality. If there was a gun to be had that fit the bullets, Garrus figured the best place to look would be the dioramas of human history. If nothing else, he would look a few of the spears and consider taking those. It wasn’t a great place to hide but his plan was to get in and get out of there as fast as possible.
Either or both: Elevator, any floor
Ding!
Beautiful thing, a choke point. Every bell meant something. A person. A sponsor gift. A tense waiting moment for everyone on the floor. A vantage where you could see the elevator but not easily be seen was worth more than anything right now. The perch just outside the door where one might lie in ambush was risky, but damned useful— as were the Elevators themselves.
Which was why most people took the stairs, it seemed. Which was why Shepard and Garrus had largely been taking the elevator. So far, it’d been nothing but empty corridors and tense breath-holding moments. Once or twice they’d pressed a button on their way out, send it down to the basement, send it up to the roof, just to see if anything would happen, to watch rushing feet kick up bits of roof-gravel as they scattered over the skylight.
But it was possible, this way to draw out the targets. Which was, after all, what Shepard wanted most right now. And what the Commander wanted, was what she usually got, in the end. No matter how many people had to die before she got it.
or which person you want to thread with in your entry thread, thanks! <3
Elevator
Sandy was not having many good ideas in this arena.
As the bell ran and the doors slid open she peered around the corner and stalked closer with her crowbar held firmly in both hands. Was there a gift in this elevator? One she could steal? No one's name had been announced...
The bandages on her face were starting to come loose from sweat and activity revealing tell take scars from one of the masks ripping off her skin. Blood stains the collar of her Pjs in a way that makes her appear more dangerous to anyone who didn't actually know Sandy.
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She had her knife in her hand and did not take her eyes off Sandy though she kept aware of everywhere, in case anyone tried to sneak up on her.
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"Shit!" too late to pull the blow she recognized her mistake; a kid. Well, what would life be if anything ever went according to plan?
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First, Sandy was disheartened to see the elevator was in fact...empty.
Next the sound of soft footsteps coming up behind her fast. Sandy thought that it might be Pruna but when she turned all she saw was crowbar. She shrieked and brought her own crowbar up on instinct...only to see Pruna go flying at Shepard's legs. The confusion meant Sandy wasn't holding her crowbar strong enough and Shephard's swipe hit the crowbar so hard it popped out of Sandy's hands, caught her in the gut and put her on the floor.
All and all a complete success for the viewers at home and their entertainment.
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Jane took a half-breath lying here more atop Pruna than anything else to be grateful that this was all on camera. No one would ever believe it otherwise.
"What the hell do you two think you are doing?" because anger is a valid response no matter the situation, "I could have killed you!"
After all, she'd meant to.
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She shook her head to indicate that they didn't know it was Shepard they were robbing but other then that she remained on the floor clutching at her stomach where a deep bruise would be forming under her bloody and tattered one piece bed clothes.
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She wouldn't, though, not by choice. Instead she just sat up and gave Sandy a moment to breathe while Shepard scooped up the fallen pry bar and used it to lever herself back to her feet.
"You okay?"
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At least Shepherd didn't seem mad enough to finish the job. But how many more screw ups could Sandy afford before they came across someone who would?
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"You two gotta stop trying to ambush me or one of these days I'm not going to pull it quick enough," Maybe that was her fate; perpetually ambushed by children and salarians. At least the Salarians were fun to hit, Sandy's wheezing practically tasted like guilt.
Come to think of it; she turned to Pruna, "Does this actually work some of the time?"
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She didn't mention that it was usually her doing the robbing, she didn't want to discourage Sandy too much.
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"You're on our side." She wheezed with her second complete breath and finally sat up straight keeping her hand on the place where the crowbar had caught her.
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"So long as none of your ambushes actually catch me, you mean," But enough of incredulity— she turned to Pruna, "Get anything good?"
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"We did be getting loads of cool stuff, especially from stupid head R."
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Hallway, 4th Floor
Even when he clung to the shadows, his skin caught what little light there was and reflected it back a color shadows weren't supposed to be.
He froze when he saw movement, saw someone entering the fossil hall.
For him, freezing and hiding wasn't enough.
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But you, boy, you are not stealthy. And your skill, such as it may be, is a little questionable when your best move seems to be freeze and hope my natural camouflage compensates. A snowshoe hare, you are not. Still, Shepard's eyes slid over the confused jumble of shadows without pause, a smooth, thoughtful glance. Did she see him? Maybe not.
And then she started down the aisle, long purposeful strides with her crowbar held low. Watch out, rabbit.
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While he was a competent fighter thanks to the same training with Karate Kid most Legionnaires had, he'd never bothered with most skills that were useful for combat or survival. Who needed stealth when they could stand there and let their forcefield deflect energy blasts?
"Motherfucker."
Another "sprock" helpfully translated for the home viewing audience.
He bolted, knowing that with his current state of exhaustion that there was no way he could outrun her if she was in remotely decent physical shape. It was to buy a few extra seconds.
"LYLE!"
Just a few extra seconds. She'd catch up to him first, though.
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"Oh for fuck's sake," Of course he had a friend in the wings. She raised her crowbar on the approach, ready to cave his noisy little skull in, for his trouble, "Every damn time."
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He was still running, running, gauging how far she was behind by the sound of her footsteps, running, stopping -
Stopping?
He stopped suddenly right when she was nearly upon him, reversing direction, turning and diving into a roll back towards her, ending it by launching into a sweeping kick aimed at her feet.
Exhausted and outmatched though he was, he certainly wasn't helpless. And he wasn't about to just let her run up and bash him in the head from behind.
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Clever rabbit, not too bad, really. He had potential, if nothing else; but it wouldn't save him.
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Lyle had been trained to run silently, but he'd sacrificed stealth for speed when he heard Brainy screaming for him. Which meant, if she wasn't too focused on the chase, that she might have warning enough to dodge before the impact of knuckles against a pressure point made her drop her crowbar.
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That, and, he wasn't exactly going for the stealth ambush.
So when Lyle came at her, she found the presence of mind to dodge. It was an undignified little two-step straight out of the dodgeball playbook, but it did the job. Alright fine, if not your friend, brat, then you get to be my dance partner. Eat crowbar, punk.
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Roll with it, ROLL WITH IT--
"Whooft!"
Lyle hit the floor hard, with the wind knocked out of him and his side on fire. He tried to move, or failing that, to fade from sight; but he couldn't do the latter because of whatever the Capitol had done to suppress his powers and his attempts at the former could have been knocked aside by a month-old kitten until he could get his breath back.
I don't wanna have my head smashed open in front of Brainy...
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They were alone in this place together. After having lost so much, to be detached from the Legion, from what they did have, was already painful. All they had in this place was each other. By themselves, they were certainly heroes, but only together could they be Legion, even if it was only a legion of two.
Of course, the ferocity wasn't just that. There was also the fact that before all this, they'd spent an awful lot of time together and this was the first mission or life or death situation they'd been in after spending that awful lot of time together.
That was possibly why Brainy was half-focused on Lyle, making it so his kick was angled in a way that didn't have much power to it, even if it was fast. The fatigue from starvation wasn't helping either.
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She wasn't looking until the scuff of Brainy's foot heralded his kick. She turned just int time to catch the kick across her cheek and brow rather than the sensitive and vulnerable amp port at the back of her head. Later, she'd be grateful, but in that moment, Jane saw stars.
Don't mind her, she's just going to stagger against the wall for a little while.
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"Go, go, go, go," he panted, staggering in Brainy's direction. Like sprock he wanted to stick around here for the crowbar-happy lady to recover!
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Shep, Second Floor
It was a maddening stretch, this. Things were so quiet, too quiet, the lists at night so short.... It couldn't last. Wyatt could feel the hammer, poised above them. Either the Capitol was going to break, and do something to stir the hornet's nest, or the tributes were.
He crouched beside the tumbling cubs, frozen forever mid-wrestle, and brushed through the leaves, checking the branches, his mouth twisted in a thoughtful frown. He should have been grateful, he supposed, for every extra day, and he was - partly.
But it also made it harder. Made him want - made him wish....
With a sigh, he turned away from the empty bushes and stared out into the dark hallway beyond. He glanced toward either end of the hall, checking the surroundings, then reached back for his bag.
Pulling out the thick square of paper and unfolding it has he many times before. Giving himself a moment to pretend there in the silence.
To hope, that it wouldn't all end there.
That is a beautiful tag. You should feel good about it.
And, beside all that, it never hurt to stockpile. The edible plants display was well picked-over, stuffed robins overseeing a dessert of plastic leaves and taxidermied Grizzlies— but you'd be surprised what people left behind, even when they were starving. She stopped by the wayside and stared into the brush; good place for an ambush, but there were a lot of those in this place. Come to think of it, there probably weren't any Grizzlies left, back home.
How she'd missed it on the approach was a mystery, but when she found the pale corner of paper among the leaves, she froze. A message? It shifted and she discerned the wider shadow; ah. Someone was down in among the blackberries. Sloppy; should've had it memorized. But she only had a moment before they looked up and noticed her, which wasn't enough to manage the intervening screen of plant-matter and bear. Alright, new tactic; psychology.
"Come on out," pitched low so as not to echo, it was a clear command, the or I'll come in after you invisible if not silent, "Now."
There were only a few possible reactions to such a threat, but the time it took to think through them would let her unwind the crowbar, and make ready. If the shadow in the bushes ran... Well, she'd just deal with that when it happened.
c: Thanks
He knew when something wasn't right.
It didn't safe him from trouble - he often got mixed up in it all the same - but it was a warning. Enough to keep him steady, giving him a heartbeat to tense and ready before it came dropping down on him.
His heart skipped, his shoulders bunched, he started to look up -- and the voice called out, almost a whisper, if not for the current of steel running under the surface.
Someone meant business.
He shuffled through his options and shifted, slowly and carefully, refolding Max's pictures with one hand, reaching for his crowbar with the other. Trying to catch sight of who'd gotten the drop on him through the tight tangle of branches.
"Steady," he rumbled back, almost politely, as he decidedly kept his crouch. "I ain't lookin' for trouble."
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"Sure you're not. This is just your little campground, right?" the steel was bleeding out of her voice, though the iron in her hand was enough to make up for it, "You know, I'm eventually going to stop giving you a pass, if we keep running into each other like this."
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Shepard, of course.
"Probably goin' to regret ya didn't," Wyatt drawled, pushing a sigh out through his nose. But, given that she hadn't, he rose up out of his crouch, revealing himself - though the crowbar remained in hand. Iron pressed against the inside of his wrist. "But I appreciate it."
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"There's a first time for everything," Not today, she decided, and indicated with a tilt of her head and the angle of the crowbar a safer vantage than two idiots hanging their asses out by a known food-source, however exhausted, "Wanna talk? I mean, we could always try to kill each other, if you think that'd be more entertaining."
If not blood, then drama. Boring the audience was as dangerous as enticing them.
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Even knowing she meant something to Max, that he to her in turn, he couldn't shake the unease.
(Maybe because of it. Of how she'd replaced him once, slipping in as the partner Max had needed and couldn't find in him. Would never find in him.)
"I ain't found nothin'," he said roughly, assuming that's what she wanted as he shifted carefully through the display. That uncertain deal they'd made there in the dark of the bathroom. "If that's what yer wonderin'."
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Why couldn't anything ever be easy? She considered hefting the bar in her hands and burying the blunt end in his face for the sake of all the times she'd been hard done by, but even the thought was only on general principles. Couldn't get mad at someone when they had every real reason to be wary, and not even her explicit word to stand in her favor.
Still, she kept her promises. And she'd been thrust into worse situations with less appealing allies than one Wyatt Earp, so she settled her back against a well-shaded wall and lay the crowbar against her knees, legs crossed, quite as if she hadn't a care in the world. Everybody starts and ends somewhere, you just have to draw them out.
"So. Come here often?"
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Not that he didn't think her entirely capable, he knew that too, but it would be more trouble that it was worth just then. For both of them, whoever came out on top.
As she settled herself against the wall, he elected to move, drifting in a slow loop past her and back, head tipped slightly as he listened.
"I was jus' checkin' the bushes again, makin' sure they were really as empty as I remembered."
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I was jus' checkin' the bushes again...
The glance she shot him was nothing short of disgusted. You could hit this ass with a brick and he wouldn't take the hint; people called her thick-skulled, but she knew the lay of the land.
"Sit down, will ya? Movement attracts attention, even if I wanted to play tennis with this conversation," This was going to be a talk, dammit, "I wanna ask you something. It's kind of important."
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"What can I do for ya, Shepard?"
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But you couldn't say that on TV, couldn't point out the glimlet pip of a camera embedded in the grout between marble tiles, or whirring softly as it refocused from what surely did appear to be a proper security cam abovehead.
So she turned, met him square in the eyes, and evoked the theatrical fates.
"Tell me about Max."
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The tension is his jaw slackened with surprise and his head pulled back. His mouth opened a fraction, but there was a long pause before he found words.
"...Is there somethin' in particular ya'd like to know?" he asked with a blink, his head tipping.
It wasn't really that it was Shepard asking, it was that Wyatt hadn't really talked about it to anyone - not in depth. He'd only just found the words for Max and even then it had been the promise of death that had loosened his tongue. The knowledge that if he didn't say it then, he might never again have the chance.
Bearing his heart wasn't something he did idly.
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"Got to be a story there."
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"Yes," he told her, meeting her lingering stare. "Yes, I care for him."
Loved him. Missed him, now, with a terrible ache.
That too was written on his face, in the lurch of his Adam's apple has he swallowed.
"There ain't no story. Neither of us planned it,... it jus' happened." Grew between them. Burrowed so deep into Wyatt he felt it in the marrow of his bones.
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For a moment she forgot herself, remembered the smell of his salt-rich Kahje tea. But that only made her remember the way he'd smiled at her as he died. As if it wasn't her fault.
"Kinda the height of masochism, around here," half-smiles were her staple these days. She used to have wholes, but that was before rationing had gone into effect. Jane sighed, "But then, nobody ever fell in love without being a little brave."
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They were alike, weren't they? Her and Max. Wyatt had recognized that from the start - even in the state he'd been.
He looked away, studying the dirty grout in the floor, a muscle working slowly in his jaw as he chewed his way through another long breath.
"I think he regrets, every now an' again. Wishes sometimes...." He cleared his throat, turned back. "There's a guilt in him, when he leaves."
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Oh, Wyatt Earp, she didn't want to like you. You were such a pitfall, with your southern drawl, and your questionable survivability. But, there was hope for him yet. And they had enough in common that she had to smile for the clenching of his jaw.
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"I did."
That, at least, he didn't have to ask. He'd already felt it. That moment of weakness as he stood on the threshold of the arena, knowing full well what was waiting.
If he had to say, it was likely the most selfish thing he'd ever done.