The world was a barrage of colors that didn't end. Amelia's arm only had bits of acid on it, but still felt as though it were burning as she waited under the large petal. The creature had left near an hour ago, yet she couldn't bring herself to leave. Corradhin and the rest of her group were too far off for her to catch up to anytime soon. Amelia knew that she'd have to get up, find a better place of refuge, but she just couldn't bring herself too.

The liquid inside of her package had lessened the burns, but still the large wound was ugly. Some of it had even spilled out onto her exposed stomach. It was going to scar, which would piss her off if she wasn't too scared to think. Bright reds, dark browns, even some greens and yellows had compromised the naturally smooth tones of her skin. The stark colors of Amelia's burns stood out against the flower she was underneath, catching Electra's eye as she walked by. She paused as she realized that she wasn't alone. Electra's hand drifted towards the gun hanging from her makeshift belt, but she didn't do anything until she'd walked far enough away from the flower to clearly see the edge of Amelia's figure.

Amelia held her breath until Electra was far enough away that she couldn't do too much damage. "Okay," she whispered to herself, "just wait until she leaves..."

Moving to the side so that she could see a little more clearly, Electra pulled the dart gun from her waist. She aimed it carefully but the plant Amelia was hiding behind provided her more cover than Electra would have liked. With a sigh, she looked over the top of it, frowning. Amelia was just waiting there, out in the open, yet the thick flower covered too much of her skin. If she missed the shot Amelia would know she was there and come after her.

From Amelia's spot she couldn't see the gun. Her heartbeat tripled its pace as she waited, feeling as though an eternity of time had passed. Finally, she decided that it was stupid of her to just sit and wait. With a grunt, she shoved off the petal and turned to face Electra. "Kill me or leave," she spat.

Surprise flickered through Electra at Amelia's blunt words, but she didn't say anything. Instead she just raised the gun and shot, aiming for the other girl's heart.

Amelia laughed. It wasn't giggly, nor cold, just a laugh. Her body swung in a fluid motion as she got out of the way, legs poised to run. "Think a gun will work? Pathetic."

Electra kept her eyes on Amelia as she thought quickly about what do. She only had six darts left, and it would be a waste to use them all on Amelia. After a moment she put the gun back on her belt, and stood, tensed, waiting for Amelia to make the next move.

"So, are you mute or just that dense?" Amelia laughed again. She felt free-no longer needing to make herself appear innocent or stupid. It was the Games, why should she hide who she was?

At last Electra replied, her tone brusque. "Does it matter?" Her eyes darted around to look at their surroundings, looking for anything she could use to her advantage.

"Tells me whether I should kill you now or leave you for some brute to shred apart," Amelia said. A yawn was captured in her words, yearning to escape into the wild.

A small quiver spread through the ground and then disappeared after her words. The ill shadow, predicting the grim as it did, passed on without another sound nor movement, leaving the girls to their standoff.

A faint smile flashed across Electra's face before she said, "You could just leave me for someone else to kill. I'm sure that would be easier for you." It would make it easier for Electra to shoot her in the back as well.

"Wow," she said, snorting, "do you really think I'm that dense as to fall for that?"

"Yes." Electra's voice was flat, and she found herself vaguely amused at the question. She glanced up at the sky briefly, wondering what the people watching thought of the two them. This had to be some kind of record-two tributes not in an alliance and not physically fighting.

"Ouch." Amelia rolled back her shoulders, listening for that satisfying pop.

Another tremor shook the ground, this one much larger than before, and it left Electra off balance. Before she could steady herself the ground shook again, and she stumbled. Her knees hit the ground before she managed to pull herself up, heart pounding as she tried to get away from the tremors.

A million petals fell to the ground in brilliant motions as the world shook and fought itself. The arena was in a Games all its own, it seemed, trying to kill itself and those on it with every violent protest.

"We'll save this for later," Amelia shouted. Straining, she fought to keep herself upright as everything around her was falling apart.

Electra didn't try to respond, turning to run in the opposite direction. She flinched each time she heard another tree fall to the ground, and the air was filled with flowers, like they were a new form of rain. Her vision obscured, Electra stumbled again, and this time she wasn't quick enough to avoid the tree coming towards her.

Bones crunched as the large mahogany tree toppled over. Electra had no time to move. One of its bigger branches landed on her arm, and a scream tore its way out her mouth. She was frozen. Shock took control, leaving her helpless as she cried out in agony. Pain coursed through her, and she felt any semblance of her normal, rational thought dissipate, leaving her to the jumble of emotions threatening to overwhelm her.

She fought to keep the pain from completely clouding her mind, desperately trying to put aside her emotions like she always did, but the pain was persistent. She caught a glimpse of Amelia in the corner of her eye, and wondered if the girl would come over to finish her off.
Amelia watched, uncertain of what to do. Her body shook as did the ground. She pursed her lips as she saw that she had the perfect chance to kill the girl. It was probably the only chance she'd get to strike without fear of failure. "My god, luck just smiles on me today," she murmured. A smile cracked against her face. "Having troubles there, Electra? Or did you just want me to finish you that quickly?" In a few simple steps she was before Electra's trapped body. The girl was covered in dirt and leaves, and her arm was pinned down against the forest floor.

Electra looked up at the red haired girl, biting her lip hard to keep from whimpering in pain. At the pleased expression on Amelia's face she said tightly, "I'm not going to beg for my life. Either kill me or leave me here." Electra knew she wouldn't be able to fight the other girl if she wanted to, that she was at her mercy. The knowledge left a bitter taste in her mouth. She stared at Amelia, dark eyes glazed with pain as she waited for the girl to make her decision.

Amelia didn't believe in mercy. She was shown no mercy as a child, and couldn't ever imagine herself thinking of anyone who wasn't her. "You're useless to me," Amelia said. Still, something kept her from leaving the scene or even killing the girl. "What even can you do? Nothing."

There was no way for Amelia to tell if she was convincing Electra or herself.

"You're just...useless," Amelia reiterated. Her voice grew lighter, almost pathetic. "Does it hurt much?"

Electra stared at Amelia, confusion crossing her face. Then she said, "There's part of a tree on my arm. It hurts." Her words came out weaker and less sardonic than she'd intended them to be, and she wondered once again what their invisible audience thought.

"Damn," Amelia told her. She chuckled, kneeling down to inspect the area. Electra's arm was bruised and broken under where she was pinned down. "I don't think there's a way to save your arm." She didn't bother to add in that if she did let Electra live the girl would only have to be killed later on. "But I can get this tree limb off of you, I bet. If I did, you'd kill me."

Electra didn't reply, which only prompted Amelia to keep talking. She reached out and touched the branch as she spoke, her words seeming to lift it more than she.

"Then again, if you didn't kill me, I'd just have to kill you. Really, this situation is just telling me to make a life or death decision to save someone I don't know or care about," she said. "But if I didn't kill you..."

Electra was quick to speak, starting to understand where Amelia's thoughts were headed. "If I didn't kill you?"

"Then we'd be in a truce. You'd owe me, of course."

Amelia's entire arm was under the branch now, muscles straining as she began to pull it up. The other girl was left in limbo, unable to lift the tree branch herself. Luckily for her, Amelia had trained with weights enough to pick up things twice her size. Having a small knife didn't hurt either, and Amelia used that to rip apart some heavy vines that were attached to the branch. She paused before going to finish lifting it up.

"Do we have a deal?"

Electra hesitated, but only for a moment. Her head had cleared a little. She knew that the only way she'd survive was by taking the deal Amelia had offered. "Yes, we have deal."

Amelia smirked at the response, lifting it the rest of the way off Electra's arm. Letting out an involuntary gasp, Electra scrambled away from the branch. The pain was almost too much to bare, hot and scorching as a twig scratched at a piece of skin and tore. She staggered over to a nearby tree, steeling herself to look at her arm.

Electra tried her hardest to ignore the almost concerned look on Amelia's face as her shaking fingers slowly took off the shredded remains of her right shirt sleeve. It was barely recognizable to her. Her skin was bruised and red, her bones obviously had been fractured, if not broken. Blood trickled from numerous tiny cuts and the small part of her brain that wasn't consumed with pain filled with worry. For once, she didn't know what to do.

"Just remember," Amelia told her, and Electra looked up at her, "if you betray me, I'll kill you."