The Starving Artist: Hunger Games 2015

TASK THREE: ESMERALDA'S MUTTS

Of all the things that could excite Esmeralda Noh's mind, animals had always in the top priority of her list. On weekends you would find little Mer bubbling in her golden shoes when her big sisters took him to the zoo. She was that girl who stuck her nose to a python's glass cage and climbed the wall separating her and grizzly bears, growling and roaring at them.

So when she got to be creating her own mutts, her own animals, she was beyond ecstatic.

"Mer do you have your mutts ready?" Harrington Octavious asked as he scanned the screens above, keeping tracks of all the tributes who made it through Cornucopia.

Mer's metallic nails were clanking when she brought up her creations' profiles onto the gamemaking table. She bared her teeth as she smiled. "My babies are ready as ever."

"You're sick," Claire mused, eyes sticking to her monitor.

"Says the one who blew up a whole temple last year," Rohe commented. Claire didn't say anything, so she turned to Mer's direction. "I love your snings, Esmeralda. They're such cute little creatures."

Jittery and excitement seeped through Mer's spine and she just wanted to bounce in her seat. Her babies were so great and there was no denying it.

"I know right!" she says. Her smile was so wide that her cheeks could swallow her eyes.

Mer tapped her finger on top of the hologram table and positioned her creatures in every biome it represented. One on the west, one on the east, and then the north and finally the south.

She clasped her hands together, eyes twinkling at the sight before her. "Let's feed the babies, shall we?"

*

THE TASK

On this task you will write about your encounter with deadly mutts. Each biome has different mutt to deal with, so you have to write about the mutt your selected biome will provide.

THE NORTH: A white wolf that stalks its prey in the mountains. Unlike the average wolf, these are much more cunning. Their favorite way to hunt is to entrance their prey, luring them away from safety. It leads them to the females of their pack, where they kill their prey and share their flesh with the rest of the pack.

THE WEST: A prickly creature that is three feet tall and fat. It has two legs, a short but spiky tail, long claws, and wings on its back. It has a beaked mouth but no feathers, and its skin is like a shark's (rough and cuts your hands when you touch it). The creature isn't that fast but can fly and makes a sound similar to a crow before it attacks. The mutt is called "Flock", as three or four of them are often seen together. Sometimes people refer it as "Reaper" as it is good at killing and maiming people.

THE EAST: A large rhino with sharp pointed metal as a horn. It charges and spears tributes with its horn. Red bloodlust in its eyes. The mutt is always hungry.

THE SOUTH: A small creature called "Sning". It looks like a lemur but with strong crooked hind legs and big green eyes which glow in the dark. This creature's size is just about the same as an adult's thumb, but it has sharp fangs which could cut through flesh. Snings are nocturnal and fast. They live in a big colony and attack together at night. They wait in silence for their preys to take a rest. When the preys are asleep, snings jump together to chew on their flesh and suck their blood dry.

The rest of the details of these animals are left up to you. You must encounter your assigned animal and it must put you IN DANGER. Remember your surroundings, and include them in your entry.

And also, if you chose The Desert (east) as your biome, there will be a pile of boxes consisted of different supplies. There are bombs, hotpacks to deal with your sprained muscles, and medicines. There are ten boxes but each of it will consist of one kind of supply only. You may only take 2 boxes, and it must be written in your entry.

It is time to break up some alliances. You will be able to have 3 in-entry deaths, but you won't be able to mention anyone that isn't in your area (north, south, east, west). In other words, you won't be able to have any other tributes in your story other than who went the same way as you. You also will get one ballot (unless you're sponsored by the Gamemakers, then you get three), and this task must end with you hiding somewhere.

Finally, if you were in the top 10 last round (Rankings), you have the option to switch biomes. The rest of you, unfortunately, are stuck.

Task Three is due July 15th, 2015 at 8PM CT

Happy hunting, and remember...

No one is safe!

*Short story above courtesy of Esmeralda Noh (-Juhno)