The Competition// one-on-one//Closed

She tried to form words but no sound came out, shaking her head. A soft, almost silent, "..No.." Was all she could say and she leaned against Griffin, barely controlling her emotions. The arrow obviously wasn't from Felix's bow and it looked like he had bled out before he could get to the others, a sad but almost peaceful look on his face.

"We-we have to go. We have to go now. Can you run, or should I carry you?" Griffin swallowed his emotions down. He would have time later to grief. Now wasn't an option, not for him, not for Dierra. It would risk their chance of survival. But the instant he saw her lose it, he knew he couldn't stop her.

"I'll try to run.." She said softly, shaking her head as she turned away from his body, "Let's-let's go, tell the others and keep an eye out for anyone from the other team, we need to get as far away from here as we can."

"Okay," Griffin made sure to stay a few feet behind Dierra. If someone was to sneak up on them, he'd sacrifice himself for Dierra to live, no doubt about it.

She started towards the others, her mind numb as she started jogging. The thought of Felix, laying dead on the ground, almost made her falter but she continued jogging, soon reaching the others. "Felix isn't…we have to leave.." She said, her voice shaking as the others realized what she was saying.

"C'mon then! Let's go!" Griffin's voice was harsh and pained, enraged and sad at the same time. He didn't care if he was aggressive. He didn't want anyone else to die, and Griffin blamed his carelessness.

Cossett and Cassian exchanged knowing looks before taking off, Cossett grabbing Dierra's hand and jerking her into a run before she could think. None of them said anything as they ran, but the feeling that they were being watched again crossed Dierra's mind.

Griffin ran aimlessly in a straight line with his group, just wanting to get away from whatever force killed Felix. His mind was the only thing in him that was running faster than he was.

After a while of silent running they stopped again, the tall concrete wall of the edge of the arena looming above them. Cossett collapsed against a tree and gasped for breath while Cassian leaned against the same tree, watching her carefully. Dierra just stood and looked at the wall, her mind still going over the image of Felix even as much as she tried to get it out of her head.

"It's not your fault," Griffin said, putting his hands on her shoulders. It's mine, he thought, but didn't say. Griffin knew that he shouldn't blame himself, but he did anyway. Death wasn't a thing he took jokingly, and he was used to blaming himself all the time.

She shook her head, "I should've gone looking for him sooner," She said weakly, leaning against him again. Dierra shook her head again and looked up at the wall, "Now we have to decide if we should look for the others..or if we just assume that they didn't make it…"

"Looking for them gives us something to do. If we lay low, someone might find us. We have to keep moving." Griffin resisted the temptation to pull her into a hug, to take away her fears and doubts. He squeezed her shoulders reassuringly.

"You're right.." She looked over at Cossett and Cassian before sighing and wrapping her arms around Griffin, hugging him gently. She didn't care if anyone saw them, hugging him was comforting. "Where should we start looking?" She asked, "The other team could be anywhere.."

"If the rest of our group's smart, they'd have moved to the outskirts of the arena," Griffin said, embracing Dierra. "As long as we stay near the wall-not too close or we might be jumped-we should be able to find the rest. Whether they're dead or alive, I don't know."

Dierra nodded and glanced over at Cossett and Cassian, who were paying no attention whatsoever to the two of them, "We'll take a short break before we head out again, and this time we'll stay together. No one besides me since I'm the leader of our team is going to be putting their life in danger by scouting ahead or staying behind the group."

"I may not agree with the, 'you putting your life in danger and nobody else' part," Griffin remarked, "but as for everything else, I think we have a plan." Griffin eyed the other two, determining if it was best for Dierra to risk her life for the three of them.

"I'm not letting you risk your life, that's for sure." She replied, shaking her head, "I already can't forgive myself for Felix's death, you dying would be impossible to bear." Dierra hugged him tighter for a moment before taking a step away from him, "That's our plan then. Follow the wall and search for the other two, hope that they're not dead and then wait out the rest of this fight."

"Okay," Griffin said, still not liking her idea of risking her life. She barely knew him, and he barely knew her. He wasn't letting Dierra risk her own life for anyone else, let alone him, but he didn't say it, because he knew she was blaming herself, just like he was.

Dierra nodded and then turned to the others, "Let's keep moving, keep your eyes open." She said, pulling out her dagger as she pointed to the wall, "We're going to follow the wall around the arena and look for the other two."
Cassian nodded, "Sounds good captain, let's get going." He did his best to grin, though it was sadder and filled with more worry than usual.
"Alright," Cossett said, pushing herself to her feet and starting towards the wall.

"M'kay," Griffin noted, keeping his eyes on the group, occasionally looking around in suspicion. He didn't like the feeling of Felix's killer being out there.

They started walking, not going very fast as they scanned the surroundings both for the other team and for their teammates. Dierra led the group along, doing a headcount of the small group every few minutes to make sure they were all still there.

God, I wish I could convince her that it's my fault. She's just as stubborn as I am sometimes… Griffin trotted along, taking the rear. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay," he muttered to himself repeatedly.

Her mind wandered as she led the group along and she bit her lip, running through all of the ways she could've prevented Felix's death in her head. She didn't notice Griffin's muttering, though the other two did hear it and just exchanged looks before continuing on.

Griffin looked around, and, for some reason, paranoia started to set in.
Is Ava okay? Are we safe? Who killed Felix? Will Dierra get killed? What happens if none of us make it out alive? Will my family mourn me, or will they be angry? What would Ava do? What if everyone but me dies? What'll I do?
Griffin couldn't stop thinking as his eyes fluttered across the wood surrounding them, never resting in one spot for too long. He continued to mutter to himself to calm him down, but Griffin was still honest-to-god scared.

The woods were quiet, but after a while Dierra heard the snap of a branch that wasn't from their group and she froze in her spot, her eyes growing wide. Cossett and Cassian stopped as well and just looked around, ready to fight but terrified at the same time.

Griffin's hand practically flew to his dagger, and he looked behind them, acutely aware of their surroundings. He was not going to be surprised, not yet, at least.

"What was that?" She whispered shakily, shuffling backwards a step so she was closer to the others. Her eyes darted around and her heart beat faster, worried that it was someone from the other team. Cossett stepped towards Cassian and he looked at her, determined to protect her.

"Don't know. Stay on your toes. Keep looking around, and no moving until we are for certain that the coast is clear." Griffin instructed rather than suggested. He felt the need to just run into the woods and kill the other team single-handedly, but it was an illogical thought process, and he saw it as impossible.

Dierra nodded and let out a soft breath, telling herself that it was probably just a random stick breaking even if it didn't make sense. "Let's just hope it's the others.." She whispered to herself, her eyes darting to Griffin every so often.

Griffin was tense, not trusting that it was some coincidence. His jaw was tight and he ground his teeth, but he couldn't help but hope that is was their other team members. "Yeah, let's hope it is." His voice was dry.