TVDU's Hunger Games

Aurora

Aurora

With two wickedly curved blades in her hands, she contributed to the Cornucopia massacre with absolute pleasure. Drawing streaks of glorious red from her fellow tributes' necks gave her a sense of freedom she hadn't felt in quite a while. Her blade entered Joshua Rosza's chest and came out through his back. Blood sprayed across Aurora's face, and she began to laugh. Deliriously, ecstatically, wondrously. The District 9 boy had been in favor with a few of the sponsors, his pleasant manners and charming smile doing most of the job for him. Aurora would have felt much more satisfaction in killing off one of the Careers, yet alas, this was all she was going to get for now.

She left the clearing of the Cornucopia and continued to run until she reached a field of wheat. It was immensely out of place with the forest that surrounded it. Aurora decided she liked this place. It reminded her of herself.

"What do you have, Lucien?" she turned to her district partner, the one who was hopelessly infatuated with her. The two of them had come from the wealthiest families in District 10. Their participation in the games paid tribute to the daunting fact that not even the rich could escape the fate of the Hunger Games. But Aurora wasn't afraid of death. She'd love nothing more than to return home to her brother Tristan, of course, but if death was inevitable... Well, she would just have to make sure she took down as many lives as she could with her.

In response to her question, Lucien held up an arm-length sword and one bag. Aurora rummaged through the bag's contents and found two day's supply of food, a bottle of water, and... "Hello," Aurora marveled at the blade she had found. It was curved, like the ones she had brought from the Cornucopia. But unlike those, this one seemed to have been carved from bone.

Lucien, my darling," Aurora spoke. "Find me someplace to stay for the night. Tomorrow, we shall begin our hunting trip."

They slept at the base of the tall and twisting tree, shielded from view by the tall wheat stalks that grew around them. Lucien offered to take the first watch, as Aurora had known he would. Night fell and morning rose. With a yawn, Aurora sat up.

"Lucien, you twit!" Aurora gave Lucien a hard shove. "You're not supposed to fall asleep during your watch!"

She stood and dusted herself off. "Tell me who's alive."

"A few more cannons fired after you fell asleep last night," Lucien replied. "Eight are dead. Sixteen left."

"Six of those sixteen are the Careers, I imagine?" Aurora sighed. "I wouldn't mind going after them. It would be fun."

"But it would be foolish," Lucien said. "We should wait the Careers out. See how much damage they do to one another before stepping in to make the final blows."

"So we're hunting the weaker ones, then?" Aurora flipped her hair behind her shoulders.

"The District 9 girl seemed harmless."

"Exactly. No fun at all. She'll probably trip over her pretty little feet and end up in a ditch somewhere by noon."

"District 5?"

Aurora contemplated this for a moment. "Yes," she nodded.

"I saw Katherine head for the woods the moment the games began."

"A runner? How disappointing," Aurora frowned. "What about Marcel?"

"He got a sword and fought his way out. He went in the similar direction as us, actually."

"Let's go find him then, shall we?"

For an hour, they walked under the stifling heat. At one point, Aurora removed her apparel all the way down to her underclothes, but Lucien's eyes never once wavered from her face. She didn't know whether to take this as an insult or not. Still, she couldn't doubt Lucien was loyal. And fierce. She had no qualms about stringing him along, seeing as he could throw more than a wicked punch to any who came her way.

Not that she needed his help. She had a few tricks of her own she would love to use before the day was out.

They began to see the first signs when they reached a roaring stream. A broken branch, crushed leaves, and droplets of blood. Someone had been here.

Aurora and Lucien continued down the path until the trails of clues ended. Aurora was about to suggest that they give up on this useless chase when she sensed something behind her.

She ducked only just in time. A sword swished across the area her head had been in a split second before. Lucien threw himself and Marcel and knocked him to the ground. Aurora had to admit Marcel's plan had been genius. He had snuck up on them when it had been supposed to be the other way around. Her thoughts evaporated when Marcel held Lucien in a chokehold. Lucien Castle could die later, but for now, Aurora was in need of his unique skill set.

She pulled out her bone blade and dug it into Marcel's back. His flesh seemed to tear apart upon contact with its jagged edges. Aurora knew it couldn't be poison; The Gamemakers would never have let such an easy weapon make its way into the arena. No, it had to be the way in which the blade had been built that allowed for such an easy drawing of blood.

Marcel toppled. Together, Aurora and Lucien pinned him down. Aurora began hacking away at Marcel's chest while Lucien bashed his face in. Marcel was much younger than either of them, and yet Aurora felt not a sliver of pity when the boy's eyes dulled.

"That was fun," Aurora beamed. "Who's next?"

It was only after she and Lucien had gotten back to the wheat field that the two of them realized they hadn't heard a cannon fire.