(no subject)

[murdergame]

blood match day four



open arena

16 players remaining

The morning is just as hot and muggy as the previous day, but this morning the air hangs heavy with clouds. There's smoke still in the air from the volcano yesterday; not as dark and thick, but still enough to make your lungs hurt and your eyes burn if you exert yourself too much, especially in the vicinity of Zone 0. Later in the afternoon, the clouds burst; the heavy rain only lasts a few hours, but it clears away the remaining smoke. Otherwise, things seem calmer today, though there are still places where the jungle is damaged from explosives yesterday, and it seems that the foot bridge between Zone 3 and 4 has been bombed out, and is no longer accessible.

As the sun rises, an announcement plays:

Good morning, contestants! Today, Zone 4 is off-limits. If you're in Zone 4, you have an hour to leave it!

Also, we've learned some of you don't like playing this game! Special new rule! If you kill your partner, you get to go home! If your partner already died, sorry, that's too bad. Okay, good luck!

True to these words, an hour from sunrise, the road bridge and tunnel to Zone 4 will be locked off by a thick metal gate. The rest of the arena is still accessible, but around midday, a fire in Zone 1 will begin to push players out of that zone as well. As a result, everyone will be pushed towards Zones 2 and 3.

(OOC: When starting a thread, please put in your header the following: ZONE # - TIME - AREA. This will hopefully make it easier for everyone to keep track of which character is where.

Please remember to update the Weekly Check-in with your character's planned movements. Check in is due by Monday at 9 PM)

Setting
Competitors
Weekly Check-in

Comments

ARENA EVENT | AN HOUR PAST SUNRISE

[murdergame]

At an hour past sunrise, at around 7 am, the electricity in Zone 4 turns on again, and a thick metal gate comes up, blocking the road bridge at the north of Zone 4 and the tunnel back to Zone 0. The foot bridge to the south seems to have been damaged in an explosion yesterday and is no longer accessible. If you're still trapped in Zone 4 once the gates go up, you'd better swim for it, or there will be consequences.

With high tide in effect, the only ways out of Zone 4 between the announcement and the gate closing are swimming across the west beach, crossing the road bridge at the north west of the island, or going back through the tunnels to Zone 0 - but with high tide in effect, the tunnel is partially flooded and only the main tunnel can be used. Since you're likely to run into a number of other players leaving at the same time, choose your route carefully!

ARENA EVENT | NOON

[murdergame]

Around midday, when the sun is high overhead, a heavy rain shower breaks, particularly concentrated around the western zones. A lightning strike hits a tree in the jungle at the northwest of Zone 1. Over the next hour, the fire spreads, burning through the jungles of the western half of Zone 1.

East of the river is safe for now, but as the day goes on, the smell of smoke and ash gets heavier in the air in this area, and the wall of fire grows higher. The river is full of ash and is difficult to drink. You can try to stay in the canyon or the eastern half of this zone, but you'll gradually be pushed out of it if you can't take the smoke.

Zone 2/3 | Trail | 09:00 - 12:00

[kouyouensei]

[Adorning the branches that hang around one side of the path connecting zone 2 and zone 3, there are several nooses. Small and medium ones; even the youngest cast members couldn't fit their necks through these, though the very largest might work on a monkey. Birds seem like more fitting targets for the rest. The shape is pretty defined, even if the materials are lacking. Leaves, weeds, cattails, meadow flowers - whoever made these used whatever she could find, and that evidently wasn't rope.

The creator is not terribly hard to find. Haruhi is pacing right on the other side of the path, patrolling from far too close to see if the traps are getting any game. Though on account of bugs she's covered up compared to yesterday's swimsuit fanservice session, her face and neck and collarbone are tacky with sunscreen, shining in the sunlight, like the clean knife she holds in her right hand.]

Here, kitty kitty... heeeeeere, kitty kitty...

[quncertain]

[Huh. So the nooses aren't some kind of creepy ominous message like he'd first assumed.]

You're not going to attract any game by making noises at them, you know. [Pause.] Besides, cats are too cute to kill.

[kouyouensei]

[Haruhi turns her head up to face Iron Bull with flat eyes and a flat mouth. That said, her grip on the knife actually relaxes a little.]

I'm just psyching myself up. Of course the kitties are gonna come in over there.

[Pointing. Haruhi, that's still within eyesight distance.]

[quncertain]

[Bull shoves his hands into his pockets and rocks back casually on his heels, intentionally taking a stance that makes him seem less threatening. He still keeps a careful eye on that knife though - he's had enough experience to know not to underestimate kids, even if he'd rather not fight them.]

You plan on eating it or taming it as a pet when you catch one?

[kouyouensei]

[Dead serious in spite of continued use of the word "kitty".] As cute as they are, I'm gonna have to kill a kitty. Or a birdie. You see, the big game is really dangerous over here, and there's also more of it. That's why I can't make a trap for anything oversized. They might still be alive inside and able to hurt me.

[glasshole]

[What the fuck is this. He suspects he's wandered into someone's attempt at intimidation when he hears what sounds like Suzumiya's voice.

Oh, Suzumiya. All right. A rather dull prospect, most likely; she seems like an ordinary high school girl, and he gets quite enough interaction with ordinary high school girls in his life. But he's also partners with Nui, possibly one of the biggest threats. So why not take the opportunity to learn what he can? At least he knows he can handle her.

He puts his hands up in surrender.]

I hope you don't intend to use that.

[kouyouensei]

[Haruhi hides the knife behind her back and puts her hand on the back of her neck. No sudden movement! Wait, that was itself a sudden movement.]

No way... Ootori-kun! This is for the birds, if any turn up.

[glasshole]

[He thinks this is a really terrible plan to catch birds. But he nods and observes it with interest.]

Ah, I see. You're catching a meal. Impressive, this must have taken a lot of effort.

[kouyouensei]

It's taking forever on an empty stomach. I seriously thought about eating the weeds.

[She looks up at him with her hand on her hip.]

How are you doing on rations? I'm out, today.

[quncertain]

Riiiight. [He scratches his nose idly while he tries to figure out how to word what to say next.] You, uh...need me to catch something for you? No offense, but it'd have to be one stupid and half-blind bird to fly into one of these.

[Yeah, that's about as non-blunt as he can get, sorry.]

[kouyouensei]

Huh? But... what's in it for you?

[She's starving, though - mildly, sure, but she's never seriously missed a meal in her entire sheltered little life. She charges on with a desperate politeness.[
]

I have matches! Lots of them that have been kept super waterproof!!

[dramatist]

[There's some BIG GAME rumblin out of the woods in Haruhi's direction--!!

Except no, it's just this weird bruised hobo, who pops out from the underbrush looking a little concerned and then a little relieved and then a little concerned again. Where there's a Haruhi, there's usually a Nui, after all... But there's no sense in disappearing back into the foliage now, so he'll step out the rest of the way, making a vague gesture with his free hand. The other is holding onto one of his bag straps.]

Goodness! I was wondering where all of those nooses had come from.

[kouyouensei]

Hello, Jack!

[Haruhi turns with her knifeless hand adjusting a noose. She decides not to stress out. He might have weapons on him today, but he also looks downright downtrodden. It's even more likely than before that he'll maintain a safe distance again. She lets go of the noose and waves also.]

I'm hunting for lunch. How are you?

[glasshole]

I'm doing well enough. We have at least enough to get us through the day back at camp. If you're struggling, I've heard the fishing is decent.

[Actually, he has a lot of food, on his person, but it's a bargaining chip. He's not going to dole it out unless she turns out to be worth his time.]

[quncertain]

[The truth is, he's seen enough people die by starvation to not wish it on anyone, especially a kid. There's nothing wrong with a good clean death or falling in battle, but something as slow and painful as starving's another beast entirely.

But he doesn't want her to think he pities her either, or to get suspicious enough not to take his offer. So he raises an eyebrow instead, looking intrigued at her offer.]

Hey, I'll take a couple of those! Being able to hunt food's no good if you can't cook it. You don't happen to have a few spices anywhere on you, by chance?

[kouyouensei]

A lot of the places I swam were too choppy for fishing.

[The words are spaced out. She's gotten icy; it hasn't occurred to her that there are such generous food sponsorships, and even if he went to zone 4, the security in his voice is suspicious to her.]

You're camping in this jungle forest, then? The bugs are going to get very bad later.

Zone 3 | North Lake | 1 - 3 pm

[bloodvow]

[Tokaku never made it to zone 1 as intended, most of the day and what little she could see of daylight wasted navigating the dense jungles. The body of drinkable water had been a pleasant surprise. The cougar she could swear she'd heard growling an hour back was less than pleasant, however.

She was on her second vine rope by now, smoothing the coarse texture to thin the density, somewhat. The first was going to be for climbing. Her current endeavor was toward something not so innocent.]

[glasshole]

No, I'm not really one for the jungle forest. We're nearby. [He doesn't give a location though. Nui.

He can tell she's gotten icy, though, so he pushes back a little, tries to sound a little less confident.]

Is that right? I've attempted a few times, but haven't had much success. I thought it might be due to my own lackluster skills.

There was an orchard in Zone 2 that was keeping us healthy, but that's been depleted now. Hence my braving the insects...I don't suppose the pickings are better in this direction?

[kouyouensei]

[She sucks in air through her teeth - that explains why Jack called the area manageable on the second night when it's been less hospitable for Haruhi and Nui. Then again, there was also less lightning back then.]

You probably saw how there are lots and lots of poisonous trees. I don't know everything about those, but, like, there are lots of different poisonous things here in the west. When you go east the ratio gets a little better. It's still not a place where you can reach out and grab whatever, though. And it's darker there so if you are that curious you should probably go now, not waiting for the late afternoon I mean. While there's the most sun.

[dramatist]

Well enough! I hope the same can be said for you. [Sure he's little beat up, but nothing that can't be dealt with...! Probably.

He eyes the nooses for a few seconds, though. Hunting for lunch with that?]

Have you managed to catch anything yet?

[kouyouensei]

Fittingly enough for a matter of matches, Haruhi's face lights up like a firework. Focused, she opens her backpack. A dark, slick swath takes up much of the space underneath the empty ration wrappers. Murder be damned, littering is where she draws the line. Some are completely clean and yet not shiny, suggesting she licked them in childish enthusiasm before her current crisis; there are others with small deposits of half full packets, or at least sauce stains.]

I wish I had brought more with me from the city zone. Maybe tomorrow we'll get to go back. At least there's no lack of kindling here. Especially this stuff, the smokes not even too bad. Hey, Iron Bull, you don't have an actual axe or anything, right?

[kouyouensei]

Nope. It's a shame. I definitely need to get enough for me and Nui-chan. We've done so well until now.

[Her affect is not very strong. Her polite smile drops like a rock as she realizes one possible reason Jack looks so bad.]

My condolences about Akamura-san.

[dramatist]

I hope that you can catch something soon.

[He has some fish left, but not very much and he's not entirely certain that it would be a good thing to share regardless. People are wary (for good reason) about taking food from those they aren't allied with, as he's seen.

Before he can speak more on it either way, there are the condolences, and Jack's smile softens a little.]

Thanks. It was a little surprising... I didn't know until the announcement, myself.