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"DRINK." The cool lip of a glass bottle touched the chapped mouth of Zea, Lamina tipping her head back to let the cool liquid run down her throat, the water soothing the slight burn of her mouth.
She had joined Zea back on the ground right after receiving water from her sponsor, eager to rehydrate Zea. The Mays girl didn't look up, didn't tear her eyes away from her fallen partner. "I'll kill her."
Lamina didn't bother to ask 'who?', the answer was obvious: Coral. "Don't— it's four against two, Zea."
That caught the catatonic girl's attention. She glanced up from Panlo, from the flower of pink and red blood pinned on his chest. Her brows dropped as her tear-streaked face turned to Lamina, "Two?"
She received a gentle nod, "What? You think I'd let you go it alone?"
Uh, yeah. "...I don't know if I have it in me to keep doing this. I can't keep watching them die." Brandy, Velvereen, Panlo. Would Lamina be next? Mizzen? Why had she allowed herself to get so close?
The cool skin of Lamina's hand came to a rest over her own. "You can, you have to." She let the words settle in, tightening her grip after a moment. "It's not safe down here. Can you climb?"
Despite nodding, Zea blinked, "I can't leave him."
The coarse thumb of the redhead traced circles on her palm. "You must. There's nothing more you can do for him. Please—" Lamina set her other hand on Zea's cheek, forcing eye contact. "Stay with me."
The request brought Zea back to Earth for a moment. Lamina's eyes were scared, wide. Her skin — at least the strips revealed by tears removing dirt — was paler than normal. Her red hair seemed darker by contrast, bloody and matted. Maybe she couldn't help Panlo, but she would still have a chance with Lamina. "Of course, Lumberjane."
◌
After watching Lamina climb up to the beam, Zea repeated the pattern. Hand here, foot there, pull, repeat. She was far less graceful than her partner, District Nine boasting mostly flatlands and fields. If there were any trees, Zea didn't dare near them.
She wasn't particularly fond of high places, not since her incident in the silo. But, in the arena, she had few other option than to place herself with Lamina, both facing one another as their backs rested against the two support pillars.
A drone brought some bread and water for the two girls. "I guess Gaius is now in charge of me," Zea muttered, breaking open the oatmeal coated loaf and handing three quarters to Lamina. "I'm sure he's thrilled."
She shoved back Lamina's hand as the girl attempted to give some back. "Take half—"
