Weary.

Amani felt weary.

Her whole body ached horribly, muscles burning and screaming out in protest whenever she moved. She wanted nothing more than to stop and curl into a ball, and welcome blissful sleep. Yet, Amani forced herself to keep going, even though she knew not where, for Corradhin needed her help. He had saved her, and had paid a terrible, terrible price for his act of bravery. Amani refused to look at his swollen, bloodied eyes, once so bright and full of life, instead focusing on leading Corradhin's way through the dense undergrowth of the forest. Her petite hand was entwined in his shaking ones, and she tried her best to choose a path with fewer roots to trip over, an easier path for visionless Corradhin to take. Her heart swelled at the memory of him coming to the Fly Trap for her, dodging the plant's vicious tentacles to pull her out. She had been crying, so afraid, and Corradhin, despite his pain, had comforted her. They had sat, huddled together on the ground, until the rustling of the bushes behind them signaled the approach of enemy tributes.

After that, for a while, Amani knew of only red chaos; a great splurge of shouting in her ears and the ring and clash of weapons. Two groups of tributes had appeared on either side of them, trapping the two exhausted tributes in the midst of the crossfire. Immediately she hugged the ground, stayed out of sight, and urged a panicked Corradhin to do the same. Adonis, with a fierce battle cry, brandished a sword, and metal clashed with metal as Kale's sword met hers. And all of a sudden there was fire, materializing out of nowhere, catching the wind and spreading across the vegetation rapidly. The flames ran at them in bright waves, and the clearing was full of smoke that tore at their lungs, choking and blinding them. Instinctively, Amani jerked Corradhin to his feet and took off at a sprint away from the flames, away from the dying screams of Adonis through the rolling smoke. As the two of them stumbled through the trees, the ragged, burning fire nipped at their heels like a pack of wild dogs, but this only fueled them to run harder, until the inferno stopped pursing them and turned to feast on Adonis's body instead.

Amani urged Corradhin to keep moving even after begging her to pause, to give him a chance to catch his breath, his bearings, his grip on the situation at hand. All he knew was everything was dark, and that simple fact sent waves of terror slamming into his chest. All he heard was his own huffing breaths and the crackle of flame behind them. The world felt like it was spinning, dizziness taking a shot at his brain. He reeled and fell forward, latching onto something. Amani gave a startled gasp as Corradhin crashed into her, sending both of them into the bushes.

Groans broke free of Corradhin as he tried opening his eyes to see where he had fallen, what he landed on. The pain that shot to his skull was immense, and a strangled scream escaped him. Amani managed to throw her hand over his mouth, suppressing his audible agony. Her whispers did nothing to calm him, everything was drowned out by the throbbing in his face. His death would be slow, starting from his eyes and working its way down his body until he was nothing but a bloodied, scarred mess.

Amani reduced to gently shushing him as she methodically worked to lay him on his back. She placed a steady hand against his forehead. His skin burned her fingers, and when she pulled back they were coated in a thick layer of his sweat. "You're coming down with something," she said, concern lacing her tone.

Words mattered little to Corradhin, his mind overflowing with alarm. "It's dark, so dark," he muttered. "Make it stop, please, make it go away."

His words, his utter helplessness, made Amani want to break down and cry. Corradhin...Corradhin had been there for her, he'd always been. And now, seeing the blood that started from his swollen eyes and flowed down his marred cheeks, Amani just couldn't stand it. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she took his trembling hand, entwining her fingers in his.

"It's okay," Amani murmured, tears welling up in her stormy grey eyes. The words held little meaning, but Amani kept repeating them over and over to Corradhin, praying that if she recited the statement enough, it would actually come true.

Eager for comfort, he clutched Amani's arm. Just knowing she was there was enough to calm him, if only a little. This girl had an air of Beckett; she cared deeply, but also had a fiercer side hidden by a concrete shell, a shell few people would ever crack. "I managed to crack his shell," he mumbled, half out of consciousness. His brain was floating, he felt so detached from his own body being unable to see where he was, or even his hands in front of his face. He hated it.

Amani glanced at his hand on her arm, and she let a soft frown crawl onto her face. She knew exactly who "he" was, but everything that happened between the two was so vague, and curiosity spun loops in her head. Had they been lovers? Friends? Corradhin never refered to Beck as anyone other than the latter, but his whispers said otherwise, and she found herself sympathizing for his loss, brushing the hair from his forehead. "Hey," she whispered, relieved his hysteria was fading. "Do you want to talk about it?"

It took Corradhin a moment to process what she referred to, but once he did, he shook his head vehemently. He no longer wished to remember why he was there, in the arena, why he could no longer see, why pain rocketed through his skull every given moment. He had, very stupidly, ran into this mess on his own, blinded by anger, by the need for vengeance. But I didn't come here to avenge him, he managed to think, I came here out of guilt.

Emotions danced across Corradhin's face, a variety of shifting expressions, from rage to grief. Amani watched, caught in a web of awe at how one could express so much without knowing it. But one thing was certain: that boy needed to talk to someone. And she decided she would be his confidante, no denials. "Tell me," she said, "Who is Corradhin, and how did he come to love Beckett?"

Corradhin automatically filtered out her second-to-last word, and a string of words left him of their own accord, unstoppable by any weak will he still possessed. "I broke the boy who might break, I broke him, and I can't put him back together again."

Amani's heart throbbed for him, and she beckoned more from his half-conscious form. "How did you break him?"

"I let it happen. I took part. Notes. They made me do it..." Corradhin tried squeezing his eyes tighter, and another flash of pain rushed over his eyes. "He saw. The bodies, the people. Gunshot." He could see every color, all in his mind. Shadows threw themselves over him, blood met his cheeks. And then, a figure haloed in light ducked and ran as soon as they'd appeared. "Beckett!"

Amani pushed him back by his shoulders, preventing the escape he'd just attempted. "Shh, Corr, you're seeing things." She knew she should've stopped pushing, stopped pestering him with questions, but curiosity had always gotten the best of her. "Before the gunshot. Before the...the bodies." She scrutinized his face, searching. "Did you love him?"

That word again, this time muffled to his own ears. He growled at the possibility of what it could be. But consequently, his growls became sighs of longing. "I want him back. I want my Beck back." Quit being vulnerable, he thought. They all see you as weak. You're not weak...

He ignored his degrading mind, and let the fire in his chest and the pain in his brain control his mouth. "Beck always had my back. Without him, I'm always looking over my shoulder."

Amani gazed at him, expression void of any emotion, but inwardly her heart pounded like a jungle drum. It felt as if she was being torn in two. One part of her understood the loss Corradhin felt, and wanted to share with him her loss of Anastasia. The other part, the stronger one, was an uncontrollable, rich, burning passion inside her, a feeling of she couldn't quite place. A feeling of anger, pain and fear, but also hope, compassion and spirit--all mixed together and coming at Amani all at once.

"I know," she got out, not knowing what to say. Amani fidgeted with her jacket, mind whirling, before blurting, "I have your back, Corr."

"It wouldn't have worked, anyhow..." he continued, ignoring her statement. It'd show up later, in another nightmare, but for now he could pretend she said nothing. "Four doesn't take kindly to Cole's in general, let alone a Cole of my...orientation. Just because I can loveanyone, I've gotten death threats, rocks through my window...They got him once. He was out of it, so he doesn't remember much, but...you can imagine how pissed I was." His blood boiled at the memory, which came only in snippets, but it was enough to set his body ablaze all on its own, and he fell back, grasping his head.

The acrid whiff of smoke from the flames which had consumed Adonis suddenly smelled much more sickening to Amani, and she realized they were both inhaling toxic air. Noticing that the entire area had now been shrouded in a thick veil of suffocating grey smoke, panic began to weed its way into Amani's heart and she felt the all-too familiar feeling of dread and horror overwhelming her. Struggling to keep her emotions under control, Amani gently grasped Corradhin's broad shoulders and murmured, "Corr, we have to go."

The only answer she received was a heart-wrenching moan.

"Corr," Amani began to grow panicked, and she shook the boy's shoulders in an attempt for him to get up, "Corradhin, we can't stay here!" Her voice rose an octave, and Corradhin shifted underneath her grip, but he made no effort to budge. Feeling more of the choking smoke settle over their heads, Amani felt like she was at her wit's end. Amelia and Danelieux were gone, Corradhin was gravely injured, and Amani had no idea what to do. Everything in her body told her to flee from the toxic fumes, to abandon the boy she'd only met a week ago and save herself. Yet, Amani found herself rooted to the ground, shaking like a leaf but kneeling resolute beside the boy's body. Not even an army of Peacekeepers could shift the girl from her spot. If we die, she found herself thinking, then we die together.

After all, I am Anastasia Juerlia's sister. And us Juerlia's don't give up.

Fueled by an unanticipated burning passion in her heart, in the heat of the moment, Amani reached downwards and grabbed Corradhin's limp body under his armpits and, gritting her teeth, she heaved the boy to his feet. Her arms strained against Corradhin's dead weight, but as Amani hauled him up Corradhin stirred and staggered like a drunkard, gripping onto Amani's arm roughly for support. The girl winced, but ignored the pain, instead focusing on a possible escape route from the smog, now so dense and widespread that she could hardly see the landscape around her. Without warning, the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly, and Amani yelped in surprise as trees groaned in agony around her.

"Amani?" Corradhin's voice was hoarse and he coughed from the abnormal smoke-another Gamemaker invention from hell, Amani presumed-and she noticed that his grip around her arm tightened, "Wh-what's going on?" For once, his voice quivered, his courageousness and vengeful façade slipping away. No longer did Amani see a warrior boy who fought for revenge-instead she saw someone helpless and in need of her assistance in the face of danger, someone who needed her as much as she needed him. "Y-you alright?" Cue another racking cough.

"Yeah," she breathed out, heart hammering in her chest. He needs me. "I'm alright."

"This is bullshit," Corradhin cursed as he whirled around, and Amani sensed that his burning, fiery spark that she had grown to love was back. Pivoting around hard on her heel, she came face to face with Corradhin's bloodied, suffering, yet fierce face, and an overwhelming sense of desire for Corradhin's vicious fire and flame overcame her so much that she felt as if her heart would burst. Without warning for either of them, Amani leaned forward, closed her signature stormy-grey eyes, and kissed Corradhin Cole on the lips. She kissed the boy who shedded blood, the boy who broke Beckett - but also the boy whom she felt she loved with all her heart and mind and soul. Deep down, Amani felt a gnawing feeling that this was a bad idea, but she shook it away. She didn't regret it. Not one bit.

It took Corradhin an approximate four seconds until the pieces of the situation fell into place, and he found his lips against Amani's. How had this happened? What was he to do? He saw nothing. Not her face, no sign of what she meant by all this. But he felt everything: the pain in his eyes, a tickle crawling its way through his stomach, Amani's lips pressed to his. Some part of him wished to melt into it all, but his thoughts were pests, and they infested him. I've only shook this much when I kissed Beck.

He pulled away, trying to control his trembling limbs. It was futile - they were out of control. Heat rushed to his cheeks. "Why did you do that?" he asked, voice cracking. "Why did you let me..." he trailed off. His insides were a whirlwind of confusion, tossing gusts through his veins, making them throb. Another headache wormed its way to the front of his skull. Thinking does no good.

Amani didn't know whether to feel disappointed by his reaction, or hopeful. She wasn't given much of a chance to figure it out, for the tremors returned. But this time it wasn't a light shake, no, this time a giant hid beneath the arena, slamming his fists into the ground. She lost her balance, and stumbled forward. Corradhin heard her panicked gasp and instinctually reached out, catching her arm before she plowed face-first to the hard ground. All around, trees moaned and shook, branches raining, leaves brushing the tributes' faces. The roles reversed - Corradhin was the one dragging Amani through the jungle, narrowly missing vines that itched to trip him, flinching at the cracks of trees that signaled their destruction.

One crack, far too close, made Amani jump, and she risked a glance back. A thick tree crashed to the ground and, at the sound, Corradhin leapt forward, adrenaline kick-starting his system. He had no way to know what lay ahead - a sudden dip in the landscape - and they both fell forward, skidding down the steep hill. Rocks struck their arms, scratching them, plants hissed at them. Only when they came to a stop could Amani process where they'd ended up. That, and how the tree that'd caused so much panic was steadily rolling its way to the edge of the hill, until finally it rushed down to meet them, bouncing from the force of the earthquake. "We need to move!" she screamed. She grasped Corradhin's arm like a lifeline, and dragged him into the rock alcove that would serve as their safety. She'd drag him by his hair if she had to.

The tremors had stopped by this point, and she listened intently for the sounds of the tree rolling to them, praying the ledge was sturdy, praying it wouldn't give way. Her breaths were rapid, mixed in with Corradhin's tired pants. One. It approached at breakneck speeds. Two.The bark scratched the rock above them. Three. A flash of vibrant green and brown fell across her vision, and the tree hit the ground in front of them, speeding downhill, running away.

Amani's sigh of relief offered comfort to Corradhin, and he reached forward, pulling her into a hug. She couldn't help the disbelieving chuckle that left her, and said, "See? I told you I have your back."