.:.:.:.:.:.:.
directly behind me and ahead of the time
but don't you worry he'll fall right in line
.:.:.:.:.:.:.

[justify]It was almost like going on a scavenger hunt, moving through this arena, searching for something different every time. Sometimes food. Water. Plants. Tributes to kill. Tributes to run from. Gamemaker traps. And every place she looked was different, vastly different; so far she hadn't entered a single tower that resembled another. It must have taken months, even years of work for the Gamemakers to put together something so complex - but Kiara wasn't about to commend them for their genius. No, not when they're trying to kill me.

There was one common thing the District Eleven tribute consistently hunted for every time she inspected a new tower: trees. The past two days she'd found some, yes - she'd even camped out in one the previous afternoon until the massive sandstorm outside in the deep red dunes had subsided - but they'd been jungle-like, not the type of tree she was most familiar with. It was disappointing; more than anything she'd have liked to be in a place somewhat familiar, after dealing with nothing but a whirlwind of foreign locations full of people and things that wanted nothing more than for her to die. But that was too much to ask for here, clearly; especially since this latest tower she'd come across still did not contain any familiar trees. Or trees at all, really.

But she did recognize it immediately, being from District Eleven. Rows and rows of grape-bearing vines lined the grassy ground, perfectly uniform, standing straight and proud. Blue and purple and maroon bunches of the little grapes clustered together among the leaves, looking plump and juicy and inviting. True, she wasn't extremely familiar with vineyards - she and her parents had always worked more in the fruit-bearing orchards back home - but she knew what they looked like. And at that moment it didn't matter if there were trees or not, because she was hungry, and those grapes looked fantastic.

Neglecting to take any precautions not to make noise or remain inconspicuous, Kiara rushed for the first vine she saw and stripped it of a handful of deep blue grapes. It had been an awful decision not to be quiet, though, for as she made to pop a few in her mouth she heard a rustling sound from somewhere behind her. Alarmed and cursing her lack of prudence, the dark-haired girl spun around, hatchet in hand, to face her assailant...and found herself face to face with what looked like a deep purple peacock. It might've been harmless - it didn't look particularly vicious - but instinct told her that this was a trick of the Gamemakers. And she wasn't going to fall for it.

[attacks brewbird, hatchet]
[dice=200+11000]
[dg right calf 8]

.:.:.:.:.:.:.
blame me so blameless
can we find a way to blame ourselves out?
.:.:.:.:.:.:.

[justify]Proving her suspicion, as soon as Kiara's hatchet sliced across the peacock-creature's scaly little leg it attacked immediately, jabbing its beak fiercely right into her calf. Of course, perhaps it was only attacking because it had been provoked, in which case she was an idiot. But on the other hand, she had a strong feeling that the strange creature wouldn't have left her alone even if she had minded her own business, and it was nice to have the upper hand, at least.

She didn't normally hunt birds; as fast as she was, they were hard to catch, because they took to the sky at the slightest noise or movement felt through the ground or through a tree. More often than not when she tried, the attempt ended with her watching in frustration as a bird flew off through a gap in the leaves after she'd pursued it up a rickety sapling. It didn't matter anyway; bird meat wasn't that great, which was good because rabbits and squirrels were easier to catch. But as she observed her latest assailant cautiously while dabbing at the small trickle of blood now flowing from her calf, she couldn't help but wish she were more practiced in the art of killing a winged creature. What if it flew away? Could it even fly? She had no idea, but it looked pretty angry; she'd rather kill it before it got the chance to hurt her any further.

[attacks Brewster]
[dice=200+11000]
[dg cheek 8.5]

.:.:.:.:.:.:.
we are blamelessly teething
on much more than we need
.:.:.:.:.:.:.

[justify]The peacock muttation looked blatantly in pain and unable to take much else, while having left barely a scratch on Kiara. Well, it's not like I'm going to let a stupid bird beat me, am I? That would be awfully embarrassing - what about when they played her death on the recap? And here we have Kiara Mason, pecked to death by a usually harmless bird. A pity, huh? Or maybe she was just too weak to fight back...

No, she wasn't weak. Hadn't she already proved herself strong? She'd split the skull of a girl and severed the head of a dinosaur, for Ripred's sake; there was absolutely nothing weak about her. Size didn't matter; sure, she had the body of a twelve year old, but it had its assets. It made her fast. Made her agile. Made people underestimate her, so that they weren't expecting it when she sliced them open with her hatchet. As she dodged the bird's spearlike beak, not taking a hit at all, a thought crossed Kiara's mind for the very first time in the entire Games. What if I do win?

[attacks Brewster]
[dice=200+11000]
[sc right hip 3.5]

ooc — the bird was already dead, sorry Semper, so that last attack won't count.