Trials and Tribulations

Chapter Eleven

Juniper strategizes fast. She moves instantly, stepping off the platform one foot at a time, jumping nimbly with a distance between where she plants her feet. By her logic, this way she shouldn't break the ice.

A howl pierces the air and Juniper can't help but get distracted, looking to see who it's come from. To the left of the cornucopia, a tribute has landed too heavily on the ground, plunging into the freezing water. An ally runs over quickly and pulls them up and out. They both take a second to breathe, the one just in the water shaking like a leaf.

Searching the circle quickly, she sees most tributes wary of hurrying, worried about falling through the ice and being unable to get out. Juniper sets her eyes on the cornucopia and lets her gaze harden.

Then she's off, leaping on the balls of her feet quickly, putting space to separate each step.

Despite the task at hand what takes the most strength is ignoring the strangled sound of Silus being choked to death on her right. They don't fire the bloodbath cannons until after it's finished, but the thump of a body is the only confirmation Juniper needs. She swallows and continues. The boy never even had a chance to run.

Juniper thought her brief hesitation would cost her but she's rewarded by being the first to reach the mouth of the large structure. Lone materials are scattered near the entrance, while the belles of the ball are towards the back; the hardest to get to and the hardest to escape with. Despite her speed, Juniper knows she doesn't have much time. She scurries carefully among the mess of prizes, picking apart the scene with her eyes. Her calculating observation is why she spots it.

Hanging on the back corner of the cornucopia, almost tucked away, as if waiting to be found just by her keen eye. A sheath of six throwing scimitars hooked right there on the wall. Juniper's eyes widen like it's Christmas, and she takes action instantly, hearing the frenzied sound of footsteps approaching fast. It's mainly the careers she must worry about, and if her plan has worked then Arden has warned them to not bother with her. That may change when they see her fight.

Bounding to her chosen weapons as gently as she can, she pulls the sheath off its hook on the wall. Doing so reveals a further trophy; two sets of buckles snaking off the top and bottom of the sheath, connecting to two further straps. A thigh holster.

She doesn't have time to arm herself yet, so instead Juniper loosely holds her accolade in the tight clasp of her fingers, praying that the scimitars are tightly secured.

Juniper already knows the backpack she's after as she's picked it out before finding the scimitar treasure trove. A white thing that looks as if it's bursting with materials, fabric puffed out, laid out closer to the deeper part of the cornucopia. She keeps her head down as she searches for the color, hearing the action but desperate to not join it. She spots the bag quicker than she's expecting and bites her lip, attempting to keep down a smile that's itching to spread. As Juniper bends to pick up the pack, she hears the sound.

One lumbering set of footsteps behind her, coming at her as quickly as the slippery ice allows. She can't identify the assailant but reacts fast nonetheless. Juniper crouches lower than she originally intended to, putting off the attacker who has swung out their arms to where her head just was. Before they can recover, Juniper sticks her right elbow directly into their scrotum, praying the tribute looking to end her life is male. By the low groan that splutters from their lips, Juniper assumes they are.

As she rises from the ground, she pulls her backpack aggressively around her shoulders, letting it firmly hit his right hip when she's standing upright. His shaky nature from the blow to the balls makes it easier to move him, sending his weight all to his left side. Still standing to his side, Juniper throws a right hook at his nose, the punch slightly diluted by the sheath still clutched in her hand. As he cries out with pain, Juniper scampers around his back, hooking two arms around his neck. With all his weight on his left, it's easy for Juniper to pull him down on that side, tugging with all her might and letting him crash to the ground messily, hands waving around to catch himself on air. Juniper thinks he should consider himself lucky. He didn't break the ice.