skull on fire: A skulduggery pleasant/ hunger games crossover fanfic

Chapter Eleven: Bread and Clouds

Chapter Eleven: Bread and Clouds

"Right.. So where do we start?" asks Skulduggery, and I shrug,

"Lets go talk to Rye and Aura. They seem the most approachable of the list, right?"

"Yeah.. Okay.."

It seems strange to me that however brave and strong both me and Skulduggery are, we are both more than a little nervous to be making allies with the other tributes. I suppose we are both just better at fighting than human contact. This moment almost makes me regret the hours I spent fighting with Skulduggery in his garage, boxing, fencing, magik.. I remember all the people I pushed away just to spend more time with Skulduggery and wonder weather that time made up for all the lost friends I could have had... But I know it was. My heart belongs to Skulduggery and my soul belongs right beside him, ready to step in and protect him at a moments notice if it seems nessecary. I belong by his side, and in his arms, and I would rather die there than live on without him. And if I have that bravery, surely I can talk to and befriend some other people before I enter the Arena.

I poke Skulduggery's arm and begin to walk towards where Rye and Aura are attempting to create a solid fishing net to catch the small, robotic fish at the fishing station. I see Aura struggle with a knot and kneel beside her, gently taking the rope from her hands and fixing the knot easily. I look over at her face as she thanks me. She seems so scared, every few seconds she looks around the room, as if she is expecting an attack at any moment. I understand her fear. Being a District 12 citizen, she has even less chance of survival than the rest of us. The President will not spare any mercy for the people who sparked the Uprising, and in his eyes, those people are the citizens of District 12.

"Are you okay?" I ask softly, looking into Auras haunted eyes.

"Okay?" Aura laughs softly, a distant look on her face, "Okay? I'm going to die here you know? When I was saying goodbye, all Katniss and Peeta could say was 'Save Rye, just bring Rye back to us. Please.' And I said I would. Even my parents seemed to care more about Rye than me. I need to protect him. if he dies, it will all be my fault."

"Hey," I murmer, trying to find some words to comfort her. The only problem is that everything she says is true. But I try, "You don't have to be alone. I promise, if I can help, I will."

She looks up in suprise, "You mean.. Allies?"

"If you like, yes."

"That would be.. Are you sure.. The President.. And Rye.."

"Its fine. The President already has it in for me and Skulduggery and I'm sure we can help protect Rye. You will need to go along with what we say though. If we want to have a chance in protecting Rye, we will need to follow some sort of plan."

"I agree."

"Right.." I smile awkwardly, "That's settled then."

"I look forward to surviving with you," says Skulduggery, as he stands up to leave. I wave at Rye and follow Skulduggery across the room. I need to talk to him about that.

"Well, that was sucessful, right?" Skulduggery asks, a pleading look on his face.

"Well, yes. We have our first allies." I reply, happilly. I really want to help protect Rye and this is the first step towards that.

"Who should we talk to next?"

"Maybe Rosaline and Fionn?" I wonder, watching them as they train at the archery station. They could be good allies, I only hope they think the same about us.

A/N: Yay! Update! Took me a while to write this, even though it is really short (Soz). But here it is!! I'm sorry if i'm making Skulduggery and Valkyrie seem to calculating and cold in this but.. Well it just seems to me that that is how they would act faced with a situation like this. Let me know youre opinions in the comments below!! It really means a lot to me when people comment and I will be sure to comment back!! Thanks!!