patehamming

[patehamming]

Pate gasped on the ground, trying to find a way out of the hole he had dug deep for himself to die in. She was right. He couldn't even follow through on his promise to Tia. He was absolutely useless and a failure. Like a roach stuck on it's back, Pate flailed trying to fight back, but again, it was pointless. He looked up at her in agony. Maybe she would have mercy on him like he did in the training center. But he was wrong. Pate watched as she uttered these painful words to him." Do you know what you are? A disgrace. You barely tried." Tears stung in the corners of his eyes. There wasn't anything he could do now. She was right. Flora raised he whip, ready to attack now. He squeezed his eyes shut, welcoming the failure wholeheartedly. “Tell mommy and daddy Hi for me.” The fire that engulfed his neck was intangible. Pate wanted to scream but there was no air in his lungs to support his voice. He cried out a muffled sob against the blood and gore that tore across his esophagus. Do you know what you are? A disgrace. A failure. You're useless, Pate. Thank God you're dead.

Chasing a Nightmare || Pate & Flora

[patehamming]

The laughter Flora offered Pate gave him chills. He ignored her annoying chatter and continued to slip off the leg. He hadn't done so in over 2 days. The sweat and grime had definitely built up. "Mom and Dad, wouldn’t want to see you suffer after all.” He froze there, finally having his leg off, and he stared up at her. His anger had reached it's boiling point, yet he could not boil over. Pate watched her with sadness in his eyes. "My father," he repeated uselessly. Clearing his throat, he shook his head. He did not need to be reminded of the other great loss in his life now. Slowly, Pate pushed himself to a standing position using his staff and his good leg. "He's dead, you asshole. It was because of your fucking district that he died!"

Pate's father was a rebel, that much was clear. But the type of operations he had completed relied on District Two, and The Nut's destruction. Here they made weapons used specifically for the Games, it was there that his reputation grew. By the time he had returned home, the Peacekeepers followed him, and killed him. They had not been the Peacekeepers of their district, but of District Two. Pate growled at the memory and balanced on his one leg, swiping his staff across her torso. His attempt to knock her down was useless, Flora had the upper hand now. With one last push for an attempt to hurt her, Pate kicked his leg up and hit her in the stomach. Useless. Now, he laid on the ground, trapped and his staff knocked feet away. He was completely and utterly useless. His disability had put him at the largest disadvantage of all; his life.

Chasing a Nightmare || Pate & Flora

[patehamming]

“Did no one teach you how to talk girls. For one you don’t call them anything like that. It can be offensive.” Flora's words felt like a hard slap in the face. "Not if they truly are one," Pate spat the words back in response, but she kept speaking. Everything she said knocked his confidence down another level. Back in the training center, Pate had beaten her. She would have died on his account had they been in the arena. Distracted in his thoughts, her weapon leaving a trail along his face brought him back to reality. He gasped just as his foot fell from under him. Crashing against the ground, Pate's fake leg had been wedged under another large fine. He propped himself up on his elbows to respond to her. "Shut up." Pate narrowed his eyes at her, and swiped his staff under her legs. It was obviously predictable, because Flora jumped over it with ease. He tried to pull himself to a standing position, but his prosthetic was clearly stuck under the vine. He growled at her from the floor as he began to remove his leg. Pate knew how to fight without it, but it would put him at a large disadvantage, and throw him off balance.

Chasing a Nightmare || Pate & Flora

[patehamming]

One moment she was on the ground, the next her urnanus was wrapped around his arm. Blood poured out around the blades and he hissed, sticking his jaw out to keep from actually crying out. He stared at her, lips pursed against the other, and listened to her words spoken in monotone. Pate grimaced. "Oh, and you career bitches think you've got it all." Anger consumed him and captured him. He wanted to kill Flora then and there but he needed to wait. A gentleman would kill a lady with grace. And if that lady is a career, then of course you wait.  He narrowed his eyes and shook her weapon off of his arm. Taking his staff, he pushed himself back from her and spun his staff, ready to strike.

Chasing a Nightmare || Pate & Flora

[patehamming]

Her words were dry and painful against him. Pate swallowed the lump in his throat, and then cleared it. First speaking with a higher pitched voice, he cleared his throat once more and aimed his staff toward her. "She would-- She would have beaten you too." Taking a large step closer to her, the end of his staff pressed against her windpipe, Pate looked at her as if she had been the one to kill Tia. "Just like I am now." Kicking his feet up, Pate slammed his fake leg into her rib, shoving her to the side and making her stumble over.

Chasing a Nightmare || Pate & Flora

[patehamming]

Chasing a Nightmare || Pate & Flora

Life is a puzzle. You can't see the whole picture yet, but as you grow older and older, the pieces become clear as day. Pate had just lost a large piece to his puzzle. Everything he once knew had completely turned into confusion. He felt lost and as if something so dear to him had been ripped from his cold hands. It was unjust to have lost someone so soon after finally fixing their bond between them. Of course he wanted revenge, but for the time being he needed to grieve alone. Suggesting that the alliance split for the night was more than healthy, but little did he knew the chaos that would soon erupt upon him and his life long puzzle.

Stumbling through the rough brush, Pate allowed the tears to fall down his cheeks. He felt the heat of the sun quickly depleting behind his back. Soon it would be dark. With no supplies, he had wished that he thought of this sooner. Soon he would need to stop and rely on the night to cover him from other wandering tributes looking for another kill. His staff dragged behind him, leaving a trail he wasn't aware of until now. Pausing to swipe the dirt from the rod, he heard her. Head snapping up, slowly bringing his staff into a defensive mode, he shook. Pate wasn't ready for this now, but he would have to be. Raising his eyebrows in a false sense of confidence, he spoke. "It was you wasn't it."

[patehamming]

Pate had taken the watch for the night. It was obvious that it would be a boring task, but necessary in this world they now lived in. Tia refused to sleep without being near him, so there he sat in the fresh sunlight with her wrapped in his arms. It was nice to be close to her again. To feel her breathing against him, the gentle rise and fall of her chest was reassuring to him. With Tia knowing the complete story behind his lost limb he felt like he could trust her with everything, including his life. For once, everything seemed right with the world.

The day had been growing warmer and warmer with every rapid rise of sunlight. Pate had planned to let the others sleep longer if it wasn't for the swift movements that sounded a little too synthetic to be the wind rustling through the dense brush. "Tia," he whispered giving her hand a light squeeze. "Tia, get up I think someone's across the river." Now that he focused his attention, he could clearly see another tribute. At first Tia was reluctant to wake, but hearing the news of a visitor, she was quickly on her feet, grabbing her mace, and jumping into the water.

"Tia!" Pate reached for her hand and only grasped her fingertips for a brief moment before she was too far gone. There were reasons that he didn't trust the water, and he clearly had every right to. Before he knew it, Tia's entire figure was engulfed in a frenzy of horrific fish that teared and pulled at her flesh. The wounds began to spill blood all along the surface of the water, staining it with a crimson stain that would lie in Pate's memory forever. Her screams filled his ears and invaded his thoughts. There was no saving her now. Tia Monday had died and there was nothing Pate could do to save her.

Damn the tribute who crossed their path, damn them straight to hell where they belong. If it weren't for them Tia wouldn't have dove into the infested waters, and clearly wouldn't have died. He wanted to kill this tribute, get even with them for what they had done. But who was he to make such decisions? Pate was just a crippled boy who had no chance at survival. He was the one who couldn't save the person he cared for the most when she needed him. This would loom over Pate for the rest of his life, and this was only the beginning of the nightmares.

He watched as Morgan killed-- or stunned-- the fish right into their dazed sleep. But rather than use her own advantage, Ryan jumped into the lake next. Pate watched as one of his best friends jumped into the water and risked his life to find this tribute. During this time, Morgan had made her way closer to him. Her palm against his helped with the pain that froze him in his tracks now. "I'm sorry," she offered in a simple and quiet tone. He dropped his head for a moment, and rubbed his eyes to hide the tears that never existed. Pate nodded, words wouldn't satisfy the gratitude he felt for her in this moment. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, which only made his heart ache a little more. He remembered squeezing Tia's hand like that only moments before.

By the time Ryan had returned, the tribute had left. But they knew their location. They needed to get out of there and move. Before suggesting this himself, Morgan read his thoughts. “I think we should start walking,” she spoke softly while looking both Ryan and Pate in the eye. “The Career girl knows where we are, we’re not safe here anymore.” Behind her, Pate shoved himself to a standing position and muttered a small agreement. There wasn't much to grab, but Pate made sure he had his staff and was ready to fight when necessary. There wouldn't be any more casualties from this alliance. None. Pate would be sure of that.

[patehamming]

SO LIKE WHILE I WAS GONE FOR MAYBE 24 HOURS ALMOST EVERY COMPUTER IN MY HOUSE BROKE? My sister leaves for school tomorrow so her laptop is only here for a limited time and I am a little upset by this.

[patehamming]

this happened

[patehamming]

"Because you're already fucked up enough, I don't want to make it worse," he said in an odd way, then turned to go. He nodded to Toby's suggestion and ran the opposite direction. He could hear a large rush of water that was a distance, but he could tell it was big. Before exiting the cornucopia entirely, Pate grabbed another pack and sprinted down the volcano and toward the large river.

In Time For The Show || Bloodbath

Don’t give me that. Toby knew exactly what Pate meant. He was used to getting odd looks from the people who knew he was dead: that horrid combination of concern and forced pity. No one needed it and that was why he was shocked when Pate let go. If anything, Tobin should be the one showing mercy to him and not the other way around. He felt all of the expected emotions: confusion, guilt and apprehension but there was something else as well. Wasting even more time but barely caring, Toby stood and tried to meet Pate’s eyes. “Why?" He whispered, without thinking. It suddenly hit him that there was a much more logical response. “I mean, thank you. Thank you, but we should split." Split was supposed to mean part ways just as well as it meant get the hell out of here.

[patehamming]

Toby's sudden movement threw Pate to the ground with a hard thunk. He slid to the edge of the platform. Another inch and Pate would have been dead in the lava. Looking up at Toby he stared at him, staring at his leg. He rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that," he said passively. Slowly raising himself to a standing position once more, he held the pack with one hand, and his staff with the other. He thought of ways he could get out of this with the pack, and then Pate remembered Toby's mental state. This kid was so depressed he had the illusion that he was already dead. He sighed, contemplating releasing the bag's handle, but he wanted to wait and see what Tobane would say.

In Time For The Show || Bloodbath

Where was Kalla? Did she have her tiger claws? Did she have anything that would keep her fed or clean or safe? Tobin was still focused on the pack but he mentally scanned what he’d seen of the Arena. The water was too open. The jungle would be dirty but it would provide cover and shelter- assuming it wasn’t full of nightmares like the Quell had been. It was as good a place as any to start looking for her but in the meantime, he was still clinging to the pack, beginning to feel strained and stupid for doing so but unable to move at this point. He tried to calculate the positions of the other tributes. Most would be getting away from the scene as quickly as possible but others knew how to get their kills when everyone was frightened and exposed over this volcano. It didn’t make sense to try reasoning with Pate- they’d both wasted precious time over this pack but continued pulling wouldn’t do much more than tear the fabric. There wasn’t time to divide or negotiate over the supplies so Tobin did the only thing that made sense to him: the craziest course of action. He twisted both hands around the section of material he held and then threw himself to the ground, attempting to throw Pate off balance and hopefully roll with the bag once he let go. Tobin could run after that but he wasn’t leaving empty-handed and he still had to avoid falling into the lava. Without a word or moment of hesitance, he rolled onto his back and jerked the pack toward him but coming to a sudden halt when he saw something incredible. One of Pate’s legs wasn’t real. It seemed functional but that was beside the point. Was it the only thing the Rebellion had cost the boy? Toby felt an agonizing rush of sympathy. He was almost tempted to give in but he couldn’t let himself play nice anymore. Kalla was the one who needed to survive the Games and, to make that happen, Pate Hamming would have to lose a lot more than a limb.

[patehamming]

Eyebrows furrowed, Pate was confused. The Toby that he met only days ago would have complied and let go of the pack, but this new kid was one he would have never expected. Cocking his head to the side, he gave him a sideways glance before tugging on the pack harder, but Toby still clutched to it. "Seriously, let go. I have places to be and standing here fighting over a fucking bag isn't one of them."

In Time For The Show || Bloodbath

The heat wasn’t just coming from the sun and the surrounding arena: they were on a ledge above a presumably active volcano and Toby could only speculate at how stable that ledge might be. The circle of points and the platforms they’d started from also led off in a few different directions. Which way had Kalla gone? Tobin couldn’t see her anymore and, if he had to search, he couldn’t waste another second. He had heard the order but instead of complying, he gave a sharper tug from his end and positioned his hand into a stronger grip on the bag. Getting away from the Bloodbath- and the volcano! -was still a priority but it would be stupid to leave this place with nothing. As though it had never occurred to him before, Tobin snarled and glanced at the person in his way. Pate. They’d met once before and although the boy had managed to prevent Tobin from further destruction and proving his point, he still knew the secret. Toby was dead and he had nothing else to lose. The fact that he was fighting with that in mind should have made Pate at least a little cautious but something told Tobin that the boy had been affected by the war in a similar way. He was also aware of the staff in the boy’s hand but it made little difference. He could withstand a fair amount of pain and he had another advantage. Gripping the bag with two hands now, Tobin shook his head. “No," he said somewhat distantly. “I’m sorry, but… you let go."

[patehamming]

As Pate was raised into the arena, the blistering heat burned at the sole of his shoes. Looking down, he noticed the fact that every single person in the arena was wearing shorts-- it dawned on him that his leg, metal and all was completely exposed. His leg now had looked even more strange. Because of his previous complications with the false limb, Pate's stylist pulled a few strings to get him a new one for the arena. This leg is stronger, lighter, and less prone to break in all sorts of weather. It would help him run faster and be more agile, but everyone could see it. There was no hiding it now, Pate would just have to roll with the punches.  As the gong sounded, he moved carefully over the thin metal, trying his best not to fall into the hot lava of the volcano. Immediately, Pate grabbed his staff ready to defend when necessary. Pate almost ran off with that, but decided against it in order to grab a survival pack. Just as he turned to run with it, he felt a tug back. Glancing back to investigate, he saw Tobane clutching the same one as him. His eyebrows furrowed. "Let go," he said in a low, warning tone.

In Time For The Show || Bloodbath

Toby’s first glimpse of the arena could only be described as a tropical nightmare. The short-sleeved, olive-hued outfits that he and Kalla had been forced into suggested as much. If nothing else, Toby could cross one possibility off his seemingly-infinite list: there was absolutely zero chance of Kalla Price freezing to death here. Poison and heat-exhaustion were still on the table though, among several other things he didn’t have time to think about. She was going to need supplies, first and foremost; and if he intended to help her, he would need a few of them as well. The survival packs typically contained a variety of helpful gear. It was a risk, but one that was at least easy to carry. His eyes settled on one such package but his mind began to wander.

The red numbers of the countdown danced in front of his eyes even when they weren’t visible. He was terrified, not for himself, but for another person and he certainly wasn’t the only one here who would kill to save another life. Karen would have done the same in a heartbeat. She’d told Tobin once that she would gladly volunteer if it meant helping anyone- not even just her own sister. Keeping an eye on Kalla was the closest Toby would get to letting her realize that dream and he hadn’t even done that right… so far anyway, although Kalla’s behavior during their last goodbye had given him a sliver of hope… Tobin exhaled slowly and glanced back at the countdown timer, only to find it had run out. There was no telling how long ago that had happened but twenty-three other people had moved and it seemed that a few of them were already dying. Shit. Tobin forced himself into an immediate sprint, oblivious to everything but the first survival pack he spotted. He had to get that and then find Kalla. When his hand finally gripped one of the bag’s straps, he pulled but found it much heavier than expected and glanced downward to investigate.

[patehamming]

idk when this was but apparently i left a ransom note at some point

[patehamming]

today i found this tooth brush holder and i literally scrubbed that for 15 minutes before putting my tooth brush in it and i felt like kalla it was terrifying

[patehamming]

is this what it's like flora?

[patehamming]

Pate considered telling all of them about his leg, but then disregarded the thought. Morgan already sort of knew, but she never confirmed her own suspicions so he chose to ignore it. Sighing, he scanned the room and ignored all of the previous statements. Tia stood in the kitchen, but he knew that it was his cause that made her leave. He shook his head at her insecure reaction and ignored that as well. Sighing, Pate turned to face all of them from the corner of the room and spoke carefully. "I'm no leader, but I'm not letting this team die in the blood bath because of disorder," he glanced in Tia's direction, then continued. "Tia, you get a survival pack, I'll get one, and Ryan and Morgan will grab first aid. Don't forget to grab your weapons as well. We will meet at the nearest water source, but I say we should have a signal, or something. To show we're near by like clapping, or a birdcall, I don't know..."

TEAM AWESOME YEAH! | Order: Ryan, Tia, Morgan

Casually leaning back, Morgan's sight shifted oddly between Tia and Pate, "Why do I feel like something weird just happened?" Morgan did not speak quietly, but her hushed tone of voice had her speaking to Ryan more than anyone else. Curious eyes trailing Tia, Morgan shrugged it off and gave a long, "Anyway," stretching out the syllables as she spoke. "Can someone please tell me if Pate's the leader here or if we even have a leader?" Morgan glanced briefly in Tia's direction before settling on Pate then Ryan, then Pate. "And also, if we're going to be like the Fantastic Four or whatever, shouldn't we be aware of what each others' weaknesses are, same as strengths? I mean, it'll be a disadvantage between the four of us, but an advantage when against the rest because we'll know which one of us does what best.." Morgan now gazed at everyone individually while silence momentarily took over. "Okay. Someone please back me up, this is getting even more awkward than Tia's blushing."