🆃🅷🅴 night has fully come, Aries, depositing the opening on the ground. Sword close to his reach for anything that they would encounter. Estella frowned, glaring at a neighboring tree as the uneasy feeling still wavered in her. "You should sleep before they blast the stupid anthem. It can be the cause of nightmares, trust me."
Estella giggled, Aries somehow always found a way to make her mood cheer up. As much as her eyes and body are scrounging for some sleep, something told her that she should attend over the deceased tributes. Something wasn't sitting right with her.
"I will, soon." The answer wasn't constructing Aries to sleep any easier. Subletting out a sigh, he sits up alongside Estella, deciding to wait along with whatever she is anticipating.
When the capital logo is conclusively shown brightly in the sky, Aries scoffs pestered by the anthem while Estella's heart feels like it slipped into a bottomless pit. Above them, image after image is projected onto the sky of children's faces. "Aries... I don't like this feeling."
Aries glances in concern at Estella's sudden heartsick tone. "Love, what's wrong?"
Estella's eyes never transmitted from the projector, waiting for something that was going to sink her heart. Aries stood up, picking up his sword, the moment his finger traced the mental. The sound of her ruptured gasp caught his attention.
He instantly turned his concentration on Estella, observing how she was now standing on her feet gently, a hand overlaying her mouth as slow tears dropped left her eyes that gripped glued to the projector. He frowns, and slowly his eyes move up to the sky. There is a picture, that shows clearly of Rue, before fading to another district.
There was a moment of silence between them. Aries scowled at the ground, his mind going nuts at how this had happened. While Estella's faint sob was the only thing detectable as she frantically mumbled 'no' multiple times, her hand still covering her mouth to hinder her noises.
"Estella-" / "I need to find her!"
"Wait!" Aries watches in distress as she frantically buckles her knives around her waist along with her whip. Her hand was shaking uncontrollably, "Estella, love, listen to me!" Aries was like a ghost to her, she would walk past him, speed walking into the woods with him following hot in her trail. Her hand would continuously wipe the tears falling from her eyes.
"Estella! Please!" Every time Aries got a hold of the girl, she would push him away, harder each time. Aries could easily overpower his partner but he doesn't want to hurt her more than she already was. He wasn't favoring this at all. It brings back too much memory and it's starting to affect him physically and mentally.
He needed Estella to listen.
Aries got enough of being neglected at one point that he pushed Estella to a tree, trapping her. "Listen! Look at you!.. You're too vulnerable right now. You'll get killed easily!" Aries's voice elevates loudly due to his anger before it leisurely gets delicate and tender to get his words through Estella.
But that doesn't seem to work, the girl is in denial. Estella countlessly shakes her head. Not wanting to process the words. He persists in talking and talking, getting her to actualize while Estella sobs and tears overflow the forest.
SWISH!
They stopped everything when a knife was thrown right beside them. It grazes Aries's ears and Estella's cheek barely, leaving a trail of cuts on their skin. Both turn their attention, seeing Cato and Clover smirking at them. "Couple quarrel?" They mock awe at Aries and Estella.
Aries snarled in nuisance while Estella wasn't contemplating straight at her friend's death. "You both got death wish?!" Remembering that the cannon blast bothered Estella, he knew she couldn't have been able to save herself. Her senses were everywhere. She wasn't in a state to fight, he needed to get her safe.
To Cato and Clover, Estella is an easy target now.
Cato attacks first, running towards Aries. Crashing him against the tree while Estella quickly took a run. The Career holding onto a vicious Aries with his forearm pressed against his neck brutally, choking him.
Estella panics seeing Aries trap and growling his teeth at Cato while striving to get the upper hand. She didn't get the opportunity to think much when Clover inaugurated throwing her knives everywhere at her, evading them was almost difficult. She took out her whip, wrapping it around Cato's feet and pulling it making him land head first on the ground.
Dodging another knife from Clover, Estella rushes off to her, tackling them both down on the ground while Aries settles his with Cato.
The girls were rolling on the ground trying to make one stay still, particularly Estella as she avoided Clover's stabs while Cato and Aries fought fist-to-fist. Cato took most of the hits which were starting to anger him especially when Aries's taunting grin grew with his laughter.
Clover got above Estella, banging her on the ground causing her to whimper in pain. She took out a knife, placing it right on Estella's neck who wasn't afraid instead frowned harshly at her. She cursed at herself, her mind wasn't working along with her body. It's making her weak and she hates it.
Groaning, not giving up on getting out even the knife digs deeper into her skin. "You know, it's too bad that you couldn't help your little friend." Estella stops squirming as her brain registers Clover's words. Rue, they killed Rue. Her eyes grew wide, tearing threatening to fall.
"Get your fucking hand off her!!" Aries overheard Clover too, his anger merely rose at it. He has Cato in a headlock, enduring the elbow hits on his stomach from Cato as his main concern is Estella
"That little girl. What's her name again? Rue?" Estella growled, fighting to get Clover off her. "You fucker!" Estella spits directly in one of Clover's eyes, blinding her for a while. Taking the chance she forces her off and kicks her right on her stomach receiving her to fall back and into Cato when Aries let him free.
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