Writers Games; Alliances

D10 Male - Tobias Haycraft - Task 6 [unobtrusive-]

 "Buck, please, stay close and keep moving." I whispered, just barely able to see the outline of his body as it was surrounded by darkness. I could see more clearly the rest of the room, as my eyes slowly adjusted. I gazed around the room, unsure of what I might find, or what to do with it for that matter. Occisora didn't always like leaving things easy; she preferred riddles and hidden messages. Aside from the doghouse, I could see something on the wall to my left; a dark square framed by neat white trim and light brown edges met my eyes. I approached with caution, though curious, and discovered it was a picture frame. Shocked, I gasped, and reached for it. A single nail held it in its place.
   As I searched the photograph Buck began to whine impatiently, so, I bent to my knees to share my findings with him. "Look, it's of the feast. You remember it, I brought you lots of scraps afterward." I mumbled, eyes still looking over the image ravenously. Buck, after briefly sniffing the corner of the frame, became disinterested and resigned to trailing his nose along the floor of the room. I couldn't think of any reason why Occisora would choose to give me this image; the shot wasn't even close to my table. Instead, one could clearly see Vulcan Shrine and his family devouring meat and vegetables at their table. But more clearly, the focus of the image was on Occisora herself, who sat at a table directly behind Vulcan and had been indulging in a bit of laughter at the time it was taken. It appeared as though she didn't know her picture was being taken either. I noticed she stuck out from the crowd because her dress was a certain shade of pink, while the others surrounding her wore more neutral colours, or at least colours less obvious than her attire.
   I rose to replace the image on the nail, glancing down at Buck only to feel something grace my fingers and slip from the back of the picture frame. Curious, I bent down to discover a white envelope with my name written in pen on the back.
  Buck suddenly lifted his head, smelling the air, and came rushing toward me with a sudden burst of excitement. "What is going on with you?" I chuckled, scratching behind his ears while he continuously licked the back of my fingers and the envelope.
 "Okay, okay. I'm opening it, see?" I held the paper just out of his tongue's reach, slipping my finger beneath the cracks to tear the folds and reach inside for the letter. I prepared myself for another of Occisora's torturous speeches or threats, only to be pleasantly surprised when I recognised the handwriting of my dear friend Maximus. I slipped off my knees and sat on the cold floor, back against the wall as I read rapidly his note.

        Dear Tobias,
    It has come to my attention that not all Gamemakers, such as Seneca Crane, Dubious Axion, and Akayla Silvera,

   I recognised the names as previous Gamemakers.

    are cold hearted, cruel, and downright evil, such as Occisora Cruedelis. I know, I know, her name in latin means murder and cruelty, but in all reality, once you see past the Gamemaker stereotype, she's not so bad. She gave us TONS of food after the feast, so you needn't worry about us starving while you're away.

 Suddenly the handwriting changed drastically, and I immediately smiled as I recognised the sloppy, slanted writing of Nash cutting in on Max's writing.

 Not that we were ever concerned that Max was going to starve. I mean have you seen his cupboards? Quite honestly he could do without some of the food that I've seen in there.

I shook my head slowly, recalling the one time I visited the Hallaway household. They indeed had many strange cans, bottles, boxes, containers, and shelves, each filled with food which I'd never even heard of before. The handwriting then returned to Max's careful, precise strokes as he finished out his letter.

 Anyway, we just wanted to write to you and tell you how wonderful Occisora has been to each of us. We all got tons of food, as I already mentioned, as well as chests full of new clothes! As you can imagine, Nash is thrilled to be adding new things to his closet full of colourless garments.
[Nash] Hey! I have very nice things thank you very much.
 [Max] Haha anyway, we hope you safe travels, safe training, and a lovely interview. I know we don't have to ask, but please remember to be safe and careful once your days in the arena arrive. We don't want anything to happen to you, your friendship is much too valuable for that.
  [Nash] and your inventive brain. Hey, can I have your books if you don't make it back?
  [Max] Forgive Nash and his idiocy. As you can see the letter has been written in pen and therefore we cannot erase the hideous words he's written. At last, we bid you farewell our dear friend. Return to us soon.
                    -Max & Nash