forum It's A Deal Then //Private with Chogiwae//Closed

Started April 07, 2020 by @gracehustle

tune

Venali just grinned at her threat, taking the plate, "I think you'll be happy to know that I get threats on the daily, so yours is at the bottom of my list." He scooped up his own plate as well and waved to her as he walked away, calling down the hallway, "Don't die."

He actually meant what he said, especially about her not dying. But he wouldn't mention that. Right now the last thing he wanted to do was say something nice to her and be snapped back with some snarky comment.

As soon as he disappeared, Arya appeared in front of her door, a soft smile on her face, "Hi Raina."

Don't die. She wasn't planning on doing that. She hadn't made it this far just to die like this. She had Alec to protect and a family to avenge. Though Venali wasn't looking, she still flipped him the bird, a scowl on her features that died down when Arya spoke.

Serena simply nodded in reply, then picked at her nails. Now that they were clean… it was so hard not to bite them, a nervous habit she could never get rid of. "What do I have to do before the trial?"

"You're required to change into this, and I have to tie your hair back," Arya said gently, pulling out a key and slipping into Raina's cell. She held out the clothes for the girl, as well as pulled a small knife out of her pocket and set it on top, "That's the one weapon you're allowed to have in the arena. Please don't use it on me."

As soon as she had taken the clothes, Arya slipped out of the cell, motioning for the guards to go away so she had privacy to change. Surprisingly they did and she shot Raina a small smile, looking away and leaning against the wall of her cell, "Tell me when you're done."

A knife. Good. Serena needed nothing more than that from the Fae. Everything else, she’d find in the arena.

Serena quickly dressed in the outfit provided to her, sighing at the thought of not being able to put on her jacket. But, then again, it was a good thing; she’d rather not have those clothes dirty.

“I’m done,” she said once she was dressed. “What now?”

Arya turned back around once she said she was dressed, looking over her, "That should be it." She nodded to herself and opened the cell door slightly, grabbing a discarded pair of cuffs from against the wall. "Venali said you could spend some time with your brother right now if you wanted to, as long as you came with me willingly and handed your knife back over for now." Arya seemed to know what today was, what might happen to Raina, and so she was less chatter today, though still her upbeat and usual self.

Serena spent the rest of her time with Alec. Surprisingly, Alec didn't cry, nor did he seem sad. He had faith in her, and Serena knew she couldn't disappoint him. So they sat together, just basking in the silence before she had to leave.

"I know you can do it," Alec said to her in determination, but now his eyes were glassy and his hands were shaking. He hugged her tight, nearly cutting off her air supply, but Serena hugged him right back. "Prove to those Fae assholes that you aren't to be trifled with."

Serena laughed, a true, honest sound that only came around Alec. She kissed the top of his head, the soft smile still on her lips. "I'll will. I'll make sure I do."

Then Serena left, most likely being led off to where the other humans were before being released. She exhaled through her mouth, waiting for her trial to start. She wondered if Venali would wish her good luck. Then she instantly discarded the thought. She didn't need anything from him.

(The arena is sort of similar to the coliseum, if that makes sense)
As much as Venali wanted to make sure that Raina knew what to do, he was occupied by setting up. His uncle seemed to make sure of that, making him hang golden flags with the royal seal around the seating, herd in anyone that wanted to watch and do hundreds of other things. Even after that, he couldn't go see her, forced to sit to the left of his uncle in the royal seating. He was only feet above the area that Raina would be fighting in, the tops of the trees brushing the bottom of the booth.

Arya accompanied her instead, strangely silent as she led the girl through the palace to the arena she would be fighting in. The arena wasn't attached directly to the palace, but Arya didn't lead her above ground either, slipping into a sparsely lit tunnel. It led them under crowds getting in, that much was clear from the footsteps. They arrived in a small room leading straight out to the arena, only a barred gate separating the human competitors from the thick growth of trees.

"I have to leave you here," Arya said, looking up at Raina. She took off the cuffs from the girl, reaching out and squeezing her hand before she could walk away though. In her hand was a tiny coil of thin wire, a gift that she pressed into her hand before letting go, "Good luck. Venali sends his regards. He also told me to tell you to not forget what you're fighting for." Before she could say anything back, Arya slipped back into the tunnel, closing the door behind her and dissappearing.

Serena breathed out slowly, looking down at her hand to find a coil of thin wire. She didn't know whether that was a gift from Venali, or from Arya herself. Still, she was grateful. She really needed the wire. The traps she'd thought of would work much better now that she had the wire.

She exhaled again, slowly, softly, and closed her fist. She didn't bother looking at the rest of the humans, though their state tore at her heart. Because of her bond with Venali and the bargain, it seemed that she was treated better than them. Shaking her head, Serena began to walk out to the arena, the tall trees blocking the sun from making direct contact. She could do it. She didn't need much. All she needed was pieces of wood, vines, this wire, and her knife.

"Tell Venali I know what I'm doing," Serena breathed out, though Arya was long gone. All that was left was for the trial to start. She didn't dare turn her head to look into the crowd or to catch Venali's eye. She knew he was watching. "I know what I'm doing…"

It was only minutes after Raina arrived in the cell that Eldon started off the trial, saying nothing. The signal that opened up the human's holding area was a low trumpet, and another one followed a few seconds later that signaled the release of the monster.

There was nothing Venali could do but watch, his hands clenching the armrests of his seat. No motioned showed on his face, but internally he was terrified. Raina needed to survive. She had to survive, otherwise, he would die and his plan to get rid of his uncle would never come to play.

Serena didn’t waste a single second in separating from the other group of humans, her knife in the pouch on her thigh and the wire in her hand. She assumed she had a few good minutes before the beast began its hunt and found her, so the first she thing was search for sturdy pieces of wood. She didn’t need thick ones; all she had to do was sharpen them up and give them a pointy edge, and set them up so when triggered, they were released. It just depended on the angle they were set up, as well as its speed.

Luckily, Serena had much training in setting up traps, and so she began, working as fast as she could. At the third sharpened wood, she heard several screams—and then silence. Dread coiled in her stomach. Dead. Those screaming humans were dead. If she didn’t hurry or play this right, she’d be next. She couldn’t let down her little brother. She needed to survive—she had to survive.

Finally, she set it up on one spot. Satisfied, and careful not to trigger the trap, she stepped away, and was about to proceed with the next part when the ground shook. A screech filled her ears. She had to get out of here before things sped up before things were ready. So she moved from her spot, stepped out to the clearing, turned her head, and froze.

Just a distance away was the most monstrous thing she’d ever seen. It was a quadruped with a body of a lion, a large, enormous tail like a scorpion’s, and the face of a wolf. It was hideous, with teeth so large and many she couldn’t even count. Even with the distance between them, Serena knew its gaze was fixed on one thing; her.

But she couldn’t move.

"This is fun, isn't it Venali?" Eldon asked, reclining on his chair and watching the trial with a look similar to amusement.

"No, not really," The Fae answered, tense beyond belief. It took all the self-control he had not to bolt out of his chair and scream for Raina to run, especially as he watched the beast focus its attention on her. It was blind, but all its other senses were heightened, so even if it didn't see her, it could very easily smell and hear her. "C'mon, move," He muttered to himself, very very aware of the three bands of marking on his shoulder and what they signified.

"Aww, having your life on the line made things less fun?" The king drawled, clearly having fun taunting Venali, "I wonder how much longer the girl will last? Do you think she'll make it?" He picked up a glass of wine, sipping at it in a bored manner like there were much better things he could be doing with his time, "She might just survive if that stupid creature doesn't get its legs moving."

Blood dripped from its mouth, and there were at least three dead humans near its feet. Serena felt sick to her stomach. Instantly, memories she tried to suppress flooded her mind.

Of barely recognizable faces, twisted bodies. Guts everything, mouths wide open, arms and legs torn off. Flesh ripped into itty bitty pieces, and her parents—

Serena’s breathing quickened. The ground shook again as the beast tore at her, its teeth bared, and she swore she saw an arm impaled in its sharp canines.

Then a young face flashed in her mind—Alec—and she quickly turned around, tripping in the process. She had to get away. She needed to. She couldn’t — scrambling to her feet, Serena ran back into the trees, sharp branches scratching her, but she was blind to the pain. She was so painfully aware of the monster after her, tearing through the forest, and she was so lost in her panic that she didn’t realize she wasn’t leading him to her trap.

No, she was leading him away from it, and more towards her doom.

Quickly, she found herself hiding behind a tree, gasping for breath, trying to get back to her senses. When she felt like she wouldn’t mess up, she slowly turned around and peeked around the tree to see the beast… sniffing the air. Then Serena noticed one thing; the beast had its eyes closed. Furrowing her eyebrows, she lifted up a stone, threw it in the other direction, and found the beast instantly run after the sound.

It was blind. Serena had just found its weakness.

"Ah, clever girl." The king sipped at his wine and looked over at his nephew, watching just how closely Venali's attention was focused on her, "I don't think that's going to get her far though, her movement has to be loud, and breathing is probably sounding like she's dying."

Venali felt a flash of relief when she found a weakness in the beast. Maybe she could survive now. Correction, she would survive.

Serena discarded her shoes due to the noise they made. Then she evened out her breathing, careful not to be loud. The beast was gone for now. She carefully made her way back to the trap she set up, grabbing little sticks on her way, sharpened them up on both ends and stuck them in the soft ground. The more she set up, the better. The ends didn’t even need to be extremely sharp, not like the ones she set up with the wire and vines.

She knew there was still a lot of time left until the trial was over. She couldn’t wait that long. All she’d do is find the beast, create a distraction and direct it towards the trap and it’d be dead. But when she found it again, it was chasing after a group of humans. Two teenagers, barely older than her. They were holding hands, and they reminded Serena so much of her own parents.

She didn’t think about what she was doing, so she did a stupid thing. She picked up another rock, threw it in the direction of the beast and yelled, “Hey! I’m over here, you hideous piece of shit!”

Then she ran for her life.

(Sorry it's shorter)
Venali couldn't help but glare at the arena as he heard Raina yell. What was she doing? She was going to get herself killed, as well as himself and her brother. It made the king snort though, which earned him a glare from his nephew as well. Even if she was smart enough to come up with a plan under those trees, he doubted strongly that it would actually work out. She had no clue what creature she was dealing with. It could kill her in fifteen different ways while being blind.

(It’s okay! There isn’t much you can write, anyway)

Serena led the beast to the trap she’d set up, but it was faster than she expected. It was gaining on her quicker than she thought, bellowing in rage, its teeth bared. For a while, Serena really did think it was going to kill her. Maybe she wasn’t really.

But… but she was. She wasn’t a weak human. She was a huntress. She lived in a forest her whole life; she knew how things worked. So she went past trees, dodging the ones that got knocked off, until she finally led the creature into the first part of the trap.

She knew where everything was, so she was able to avoid stepping on the sharp splinters on the ground. The beast wasn’t so lucky. It screeched when they dug into its feet, tail swinging madly. Serena’s eyes widened as the tail collided with her stomach, sending her crashing into a tree, gasping for breath.

But she’d injured its feet. There was nothing else it could do as it screamed and bellowed in pain the more it stepped on the ground, pushing the splinters deeper, and then it happened.

It tripped on the first wire. Then another. And another. It triggered the final trap. One makeshift spear impaled itself on its stomach. The second narrowly missed its back, just tore off a chunk of its flesh and stuck to a tree. The third? The third was what finished it all. It stabbed it right in the neck.

The beast howled, but Serena knew it was over. It swung its tail wildly, knocking down trees, but then after struggling, finally fell to the ground.

Serena tried to pick herself off the ground, hissing at the pain in her chest. She probably broke a rib or two, and her arm was broken. Blood dribbled down her nose, her lip was torn, everything was aching, but she couldn’t register the pain.

She’d done it. She really did it.

(I tried word-vomiting my imagination. It didn’t work very well.)

While the maneuver was hidden from the royal seating, Venali could hear the reactions of the crowd. Some cheered in pure amazement, while others booed that a human had actually killed the beat. Either way, the trial was ended with another low trumpeting noise and Venali got to his feet. He ignored his uncle as he called something after him, on a mission to get down to where the medics that were deployed into the arena would take Raina. He had to make sure that she was alright for one, but also to scold her for being stupid enough to take on the beast.

Under his frustration though, a hint of joy surfaced. He was still alive. Raina had actually done it. That in itself was a huge accomplishment. He pushed through crowds of Fae leaving the arena, using his royal blood to skip past guards down to the restricted area, the medical grounds that all immediate injuries were treated.

A medic had bandaged Serena’s nose, which had broken when the beast’s tail had collided with her stomach. She didn’t even recall it hitting her in the face, but apparently it had. Her broken arm was popped back in its shoulder, something that hurt like hell, but she took it with a hiss. Her lip was cleaned and taken care of, but her ribs were what gave her the most problem. Every time she inhaled, it hurt. Bad, even though she’d been given some painkillers. She supposed she deserved it for not being smart enough. She also hoped she’d heal just in time for the rest of the trials.

Maybe she was a bit out of it due to the medicine, but when she saw Venali, a crooked grin covered her features; tired, but satisfied.

“I told you I’d do it,” she rasped out, trying to hold back a cough. “You should’ve seen yourself out there, looking like you’d shit your pants.”

"You directly went against everything I told you to do Raina, of course, I looked like that." Venali scolded, though he felt a flash of concern at her state. She was in bad shape, he could tell from the way she looked like breathing hurt, "You know you could've gotten yourself killed, right you idiot?" Now that he had gotten to her, most of his frustration and anger had fizzled out, and soon he found himself motioning for her to come over to him. What he was doing, he had no clue.

"C'mon, I'll take you back to the palace." He eventually said. Venali waved a dismissive hand at one of the medics who wanted to protest, tapping the embroidered seal on his shirt to show who he was. "Before you cough up a lung."

Serena rolled her eyes, but she still stood on her feet and dragged herself over to him, her good arm wrapped around her stomach. Occasionally she’d forget breathing hurt and took long breaths, and then winced when the pain flashed.

“But I didn’t,” she reminded him with a wheeze, stopping when she was in front of him. “I know what I was doing. I’ve survived for twenty long years, on the run from you and the rest of your kind.”

She felt as if she’d collapse any second. She was exhausted, and the only reason she hadn’t fallen over was because her pride refused to let her. She’d never show how weak she was to them.

But if she was being serious, she’d never go through that again.

"That doesn't mean that it couldn't have happened," He insisted, rolling his eyes, "And I'm not completely one of them, you keep forgetting." Venali knew that she was probably trying to cover up her injuries, or at least her exhaustion. She wasn't doing a great job of it though, with how much she was wincing in pain. He was definitely going to get an earful from her as to what he went to do, but it was the easiest way to get her to the palace without cuffs. And so, even with Raina clearly hating being near Fae, he scooped her up gently in his arms bridal style.

"Before you complain or do anything stupid," Venali said immediately, meeting her eyes, "This is so that I don't have to hunt cuffs down for you, and so that you can focus more on trying to hide your wincing instead of trying not to fall over."

Serena gasped, surprised by both his gentleness and the fact that he had her in his arms. She tried to squirm, but it shot pain through her and she instantly hissed, grasping his shirt tightly in her hand. Thankfully, he’d positioned her so it was her good arm pressed against him, but it didn’t help much with her ribs.

A Fae was carrying her. She was letting a Fae carry her like that.

“I can walk just fine,” Serena argued breathlessly, weakly, though her body was already reducing to jelly. “I’m not going to fall over. I’m not helpless.”

But she would have fallen over, she knew it. She met his eyes, but instantly removed the eye contact and refused to rest her head against him, even when it got harder to keep awake.

"I know you're not helpless, I just watched you kill one of the worst beasts that my uncle keeps," Venali snorted, turning around and walking out towards the doors to get outside, "But you are far from being able to walk fine right now, so I'm going to carry you." He tried to keep his movements smooth, avoiding anything jarring that could hurt her arm or the side she was favoring. Going up the small set of stairs was the hardest part, not because he was carrying her -she was extremely light- but because he couldn't race up steps like he normally did.

It was weird, carry someone in his arms. He was very aware of her grip on his shirt, and just how close he was holding her. His grip tightened whenever a guard looked like they were going to stop him as he walked out of the arena and into the sun. The palace wasn't far away, just across a large garden that Venali was currently carrying her through. He was following one of the gravel paths that cut through it towards the palace, though his pace noticeable slowed as he looked around.

It was weird, Serena decided, having Venali hold her like this. His grip tightened around her whenever a guard came by, and it sometimes sent a flash of pain through her. Serena wheezed, her eyes squeezing shut as she tried to ignore the pain. It had dulled slightly, thanks to the painkillers, and allowed her to realize two things: one, her hand was gripping his shirt, and two, he was holding her so close. She'd never allowed Fae, much less a human male, this close to her before, aside from Alec of course. Heck, she never even kissed a male, given how much she had to run and how little she trusted anyone else.

Serena quickly let go of Venali's shirt and pretended everything was okay, and that there was nothing else she could do other than let him carry her. After he'd put her down, though, she would tell him to never do that again. If he thought he could break her ice and get her to trust him, he was wrong. The Fae were never to be trusted. They were mischievous, tricky, and natural-born killers.

"How high do you think I placed?" she finally spoke, her voice a slight slur. "Will it be enough for Ale–Alaric to be comfortable?"

She nearly said Alec's real name. How could she be so stupid?

Walking through the garden had let Venali zone out. This had been one of his favorite places in the palace when he was younger and he was lost in the few memories he had with his parents.

A giant blanket hid him in his father's arms, only his face poking out among the white cloth. His mother laughed about something his dad said, the magical noise rare enough that Venali tried to repeat it in his head and remember it. They stepped out of the double doors into the garden, though even as much as he squirmed in the blanket, his dad wouldn't let him down until they had sat down under a large birch tree.

As soon as he was unwrapped from the blanket, young Venali was off, his six-year-old legs moving as fast as they could as he raced away from his parents and into the garden. Everything was so beautiful, the flowers shone in the moonlight and he thought of his mother when he picked one. Then another. Soon he was holding a bouquet of them as he ran as fast as he could to bring the surprise back to mom.

She looked so happy to see the present, happy enough to trap Venali in her arms and kiss his cheek several times. He tried to escape but she wouldn't let him go, starting to tell him stories about the constellations instead. His father's strong arm circled around both of them and he leaned against them both, falling asleep in his parent's arms.

"How high do you think I placed?…Will it be enough for Ale–Alaric to be comfortable?"

The voice brought him back to reality and he replied after a second, "The rankings will come out tonight, but I'm guessing that with that stunt you pulled, you'll easily have scored first or second." Venali quickened his pace slightly, realizing just how close they were to the palace now that he wasn't stuck in the past. It also kept him from slipping back into more memories, less pleasant memories to be specific.

(I tried my best on a 'flashback' of sorts lol, I definitely need practice writing those)