☠Bellona Viellana☠
Bellona Viellana should love shadows.
She should love the way she can easily blend into the dark, no fear present of ever being caught. She should love the way they offer her protection, guarantee safety for the time being. She should love the way the dark envelops her, keeps her in the depths and away from everyone but herself.
She should love shadows, but she doesn't. They leave her hidden and alienated-alone. And if there's one thing she fears, it's being alone. She absolutely despises the chilling feeling.
From her little, concealed alcove in one of the caves, she watches as her allies sleep, both oblivious to the way the light and shadows are cast on their faces. She stops paying attention to the light, however, when she notices just how peaceful both Corradhin Cole and Orville Stud look as they rest. They've snuggled up beside each other, back-to-back, keeping warm. She laughs to herself, knowing neither will believe her if she tells them. They'll brush it aside and say she's joking, just wanting to get a rise out of either them-maybe even both of them.
Aside from what she has read or has been told by natives of District Four, she doesn't know much about the ocean. Someone once explained to her that the harsh salt waters would make the skin prune if there is constant contact for prolonged periods, but oftentimes, the sea hydrates the skin, the salt scrubbing away at dirt and sweat. Looking at the sleeping, peaceful figures of Corradhin and Orville, both spawn of the ocean, she believes it.
This is the first time she has ever seen them look so calm, so undisturbed. The dark eye bags that Corradhin sports turn lighter and lighter the more he sleeps, and the angered wrinkles that Orville wears relax and disappear the more shut-eye he receives. Neither has ever looked like this, especially when that close in proximity to one another. There isn't a day that goes by without Corra and Orv arguing with each other over the pettiest of things, asking Bellona to intercede.
She wishes she could capture this moment, her allies finally serene and tranquil. The only way she can keep this with her is by remembering it in full detail, remembering the way the light plays with their faces, the way each hold their respective weapon in hand, the way she almost reaches out and pushes their hair away from their faces.
She draws her hand back close to her and then reaches out again, knowing they can't sleep forever, knowing she can't watch over them forever.
Scooting Corradhin's machete away from his open palm, and snatching some arrows away from Orville's holster, she coos, "Hey, wake up, sleepyheads."
Gently she pokes into Corradhin's dimpled cheeks, making sure to scoot back the moment he begins to stir. He wakes with his eyes wide, hands searching for his machete. When he realizes it's just Bellona, he calms; she throws his blade at him. It takes a bit longer to wake Orville, but once he's up, his arrows are returned.
"Morning, darling," Orville tells Bellona, then greets Corradhin with a wink and: "Did I overstep my boundaries?"
Bellona and Corradhin look at each other with tired and slightly amused expressions. They don't know when Orville came up with this running gag of making couple jokes at them, but he hasn't stopped, even if he is very, very, very wrong.
"Can you hand me the final canteen?" Corradhin asks, and Bellona passes it to him.
When they finish packing, they exit the caves in which they were resting, and find themselves in what looks like the center of the arena. They stand directly in the center of a dome-like structure, with more caves acting like entrances and exits. There are six large caves, each spread out equally apart from the other. The one directly in front of them emits a silvery glow, while the next one over shines with yellow and orange. Next to that one is cave with purple and blue lights, and beside that one-directly behind them-a muted gray light emerges. To their direct left, a cave glows with light blue lights, and to that cave's left, another cavern has a mellow yellow shimmer to it.
