12th Throw - [ action ]

[shenevermisses]

December 18th:

[Clove can be found in the village. She looks older than she usually does. Nineteen or maybe twenty to her usual sixteen. She's grown just a couple inches, and she wears her hair up, rather than back. Her skin is flawless, none of the sun damage or minor scarring she usually has. She also seems, in general, much more serene.

She goes to the bakery to get some fresh bread and a small apple tart for herself.

Then, it's the clothing store to pick out a dress. All she wants is something simple but warm. A couple of heavy coats, too.

Before her errands are done, she lingers in the item shop where a few stuffed toys with red and green ribbons have appeared. She picks up a bear the size of a small child and just looks at it a few moments before putting it back. But she hesitates.

Maybe, just for the hope... Maybe she ought to get it.]

December 19th:

[That stupid bear is in her apartment now. She wants to shred it into a thousand pieces. Burn it. She hates it. She hates the lie it stands for.

Another hi-jacking. Another false life. The same one she'd known before. And Cato still thinks it's true. She played the calmed wife and mother when she left, kissing him sweetly and promising to be back before long.

Then off came the long coat, abandoned in the hallway of the apartment. She's dressed like a tribute again and immediately goes into the forest, looking for a hunt or a fight. She doesn't care which. Something to give her an outlet for aggression rather than tears.

Late in the evening, she finally wanders back to the village and goes to the fountain, using its cold water to clean up the sweat and dirt on her face before she goes home and has to act like she doesn't know what really happens to her and Cato, like being sixteen again is some sort of shift and not reality.]


(Clove from both her Victor!AU for a mallynap effect and then after it's worn off. Feel free to run into her anywhere either or both days!)

Comments

[19th - fountain part]

[rashness]

Shouldn't you use a shower for that? [He was out to get a last minute ingredient for something he decided he wanted to make tomorrow, ad happened upon the slashing before making it to the grocery. After all, that's got to be cold. He himself is in a thick coat, after all]

[shenevermisses]

[Clove glares at him.]

Why should I? Just washing off my face and hands.

[If she's bothered by the cold, it really doesn't show, except for a flush to her cheeks.]

[rashness]

'Cus that's cold, isn't it? Sheesh, I feel colder just looking at it.

[He can see his breath and everything, and he tugs his coat tighter about himself. She doesn't even look that warmly dressed if you ask him]

[shenevermisses]

I want to use the fountain, okay?

[Snappish? Just a little.]

[rashness]

[He blinks and shrugs. But then he considers his own coat and-] You want my coat, at least?

[shenevermisses]

I'm fine.

[...But. Okay. She shouldn't just ignore someone actually a little concerned with her. So, Clove shrugs.]

My jacket's made to trap body heat. I'm not that cold.

[rashness]

S'that why it looks tight? That's actually pretty cool. [He walks closer now, his tail swaying a bit. Yes, it's cold to not be under a coat or anything, but it's better than being cramped--]

Wait, I know you. Uh, Clover or something, right?

[shenevermisses]

[Tail. Muttation.

She's still not used to those things. Especially when they otherwise look human.

But she manages to not go immediately for her knives.]

Yeah. It keeps out the cold. [Not half as well as she makes it sound.]

It's Clove, actually.

[rashness]

Oh, right. Knew it was some sort of flower thing But man! You've got a cool suit like that? Is it some kinda space age technology? Are you from the future?

[Perhaps a bit too curious now, he settles into scrutinizing what she's wearing now. Even tilting his head and upper body to see from slightly different angles]

[shenevermisses]

[Clove unzips her jacket, showing off the vest it with her dozen throwing knives.]

It's not that interesting.

[Three layers, all sark to absorb heat. The material, as far as she knows, is nice, being Capitol qquality, but it's not really fancy.]

[rashness]

[...Wha-] Oi, oi girl, don't unzip out here! That's cold, and it's indecent. [Or so he assumes. He doesn't really look that closely, instead looking away because of his own assumptions, waving a hand in her direction]

[shenevermisses]

Really? [Her tone borders on mocking.] I still have two layers under it.

[Three if the vest counts.]

[rashness]

We... well it's still gotta be more cold, so just keep it zipped. Come on. [He only... sort of looked. Assumptions and the dignity of the girl in front of him in mind and all. He in fact had a hand over his eye - a little- when he glanced back at her, but when he saw what it was it lowered quick enough]

[shenevermisses]

[Clove shrugs.]

Never totally zip it. Can't get my knives quickly doing that.

[Because this is 100% normal to just say.]

[rashness]

Oh huh, so that's how you do it? I've always wondered how ninja and stuff do that sort of thing. Me, I need to unroll my sword each time. [He sort of shifts the thing on his shoulder, which is his sword all wrapped up in a bundle with a strap on it]

[shenevermisses]

I throw knives. Faster.

Friend of mine uses a sword. [It's funny, really. She can finally call Cato a friend.]

[rashness]

Oh, you throw 'em? That's a neat way to do it. [He glances at her again, and her arms]

[shenevermisses]

Safer for me. I'm smaller, so the more distance between me and who or what I'm trying to kill, the better.

[rashness]

[There's a slight visible flinch at someone his own age saying "kill," but he resists that, and nods. Focusing instead on... well, the distance thing] Yeah, definitely. Like Eyebrows's a Tamer, or how Koneko's an Aria. None of 'em are up front like me.

[...Well shiemi is destpite being a Tamer. But the principle stands]

[shenevermisses]

Tamer? Aria?

[rashness]

Oh, uh, meisters for exorcists, like me. [He shrugs, his tail shifting with him. He's totally keeping this girl] After getting your face wet, you gotta be cold - if we're gonna keep talking, are you sure you don't want to step in somewhere?

[shenevermisses]

[Tail is still creepy. She's trying to ignore it, though. This place has enough muttations that she's getting used to it a little. At least to pretending not to notice.]

Sure. I'm not that cold, but. [She almost smiles.] If it's bothering you that much. Lead the way. Wherever you want to go.

And while we go. You can explain-- What's an exorcist?

[rashness]

Sure. [And he motions - he was just heading to the grocery, there's only really a short walk there from the fountain, and with a nod he glances over his shoulder at her.

(in addition to tail there's also lightly pointed ears and lightly over-long canines, but those are way more subtle, but to put them on the record)]

Exorcists are people who save other people from demons. [...] Err, do you know what demons are?

[shenevermisses]

[Clove's little section of Panem is secular to the extreme. So, naturally, the answer is:]

No.

[rashness]

Right, uh... Okay, in my world, there's like two worlds on top of each other. One of them's Assiah, and that's the one humans live on, and animals and all the other people. [He has gotten way too used to explaining this...] The other one's Gehenna, and that's where demons are from. Assiah's normal and stuff, but Gehenna's twisted and... well, pretty much evil. So the demons who come out of it, for the most part, are evil. They want to torment and kill and generally just mess with humans when they slip on into our world.

[shenevermisses]

[If she was any newer to Luceti, he would sound completely insane. He still sounds mostly crazy, anyway.]

Okay. So. Demons are evil things from another world.

[rashness]

Yeah, basically. And someone's gotta protect people from them. That's us exorcists.

[And with a sage nod, he now holds the door of the grocery open for her]

[19th - Forest]

[unseenspy]

[Well, Jay hasn't really been outside of the village itself since the last draft, so he heads out into the forest for a little isolation himself. He doesn't expect to run into anyone, so it surprises him to see Clove a few feet ahead. But he instantly recognizes her, having seen her in the draft. Now he debates on whether to greet her. She seems cold, much like himself. That could give them something to bond with, or something to repel each other. Until Jay has a better idea on her attitude, he'll wait for her to notice him.]

[shenevermisses]

[Clove? Is most assuredly in a self-centered mood. Granted, she is almost all the time, but this one is much more marked.

Any hunters' instincts she's gained? She's not listening to. She knows only enough of her surroundings to maybe notice an oncoming attack. But that's it.

Instead, she's very, very focused on a little squirrel. It's done nothing to her, but it's edging very close to a nice little trap, designed the hang the creature. She can't sneak up on anything large, she knows, so she'll settle for little acts of violence against things that can't really protect themselves.

It's something like catharsis.]

[unseenspy]

[What is she so focused on? Jay steps a bit closer to find out. His steps aren't too quiet though, as leaves and twigs crunch and snap under his feet with every other step.]

[shenevermisses]

[The squirrel hears the sound and runs. That has Clove on her feet from her kneel with a sound that can only be described as a growl.

The sound isn't hard to follow, so she pulls a knife from her vest, turns, and throws it.

It's not meant to be lethal, but it is thrown in the direction of the sound. Damage? It might cause a bit. Probably just to whatever tree it finds, though.]

[unseenspy]

[Jay watches the squirrel scurry away. So that's what she was focused on.]

[He instantly recognizes that knife-throwing motion even before the knife leaves Clove's hand. He leans to one side as the knife flies past him and hits the tree, then glances back at it for a moment.]

[And that is it. Part of him is intrigued; as a fellow knife-user, he instantly becomes curious as to how well Clove's skill matches up to his own. On the other hand, he doesn't take kindly to being attacked.]

[So with a swift motion of his arm, he flings a knife of his own in her direction. Not directly at her, but he aims for a tree behind her. Unlike Clove's knife, however, Jay's knife will cause a rather small but loud explosion upon hitting the tree. Hopefully the explosion will startle her enough to warn her that messing with him is generally not a good idea.]

[shenevermisses]

[She sees it coming and immediately gets down and over, letting it miss her by a comfortable amount. The explosion, though, only serves to make her more tense.

Bombs in the arena. Food supply destroyed. The earth shaking under her feet. Cato rounding on her. Shouting him down.

Her lips part in a rather feral kind of expression, baring her teeth slightly. She thumbs the handle of the larger hunting knife at her waist with her left hand while her right is hovering near a second blade from her vest.]

[unseenspy]

[Jay's hands go into his pockets, and he taps his left foot, which is indeed his battle stance. But honestly, a fight is not what he came out here for, so he'll try to talk her out of it.]

Please. Are you really that anxious for a fight?

[shenevermisses]

I was lookiing for a kill, but you ruined that.

[Clove cocks her head, her joints staying loose as her muscles tighten. Stress makes her want a fight.

If she's fighting, she's thinking of the Arena. If she's thinking of the Arena, she's not thinking about the life she almost led. If she doesn't think about that, it doesn't hurt. Not as much, at least.]

Way I see it, I'm justified if I take it out on you.

[unseenspy]

My, my. So sorry.

[While it wasn't his intention to mess up her kill, there is a sarcastic tone to his apology.]

[At her last statement, though, he pulls out his arms for a shrug as he shakes his head.]

Very well...but anything that happens to you as a result will also be justified.

[And then he shoves his hands into his pockets again.]

[OOC: Here's a link with info on Jay's fighting abilities if you need it.]

[shenevermisses]

[Clove knows the tone well. No sarcastic apology is sincere, and he sounds just liike the other human-looking muttation. The same Capitol superiority.

Clove doesn't even pretend to hide rolling her eyes.

Still, the exploding dagger was a warning to the nature of this muttation. The last thing she needs now is to go home to Cato bloodied. She's supposed to -- the Clove he knows is - be beyond just picking fights.

So, she turns back towards the trap she was watching, still empty.]

[unseenspy]

[She changed her mind? A wise choice, Jay thinks. But of course, part of him is disappointed as well. This, and the sparring match with Cato, makes him crave a battle. Thankfully that can easily be satisfied in the Battle Dome.]

[He'll start to turn, wary that she can easily throw a knife at him when he turns his back if she wants to.]

Well, good luck with your kill then. I'll pray for the poor creature.

[shenevermisses]

[Clove bit her tongue lightly to keep herself quiet.

At least she's learning to hunt. If the food supplies stop again, she'll be able to survive.

She hopes he starves.]