protection comes in different forms

Swan was thirsty, feeling like her throat was on fire, again. The worst part might've been that she could feel the lack of moisture in her mouth, like it was being fried. The tribute saw water and couldn't resist the possibility that there might be water, and the idea of liquid was lovely. Her hair was in tangles, and she knew it would be useless to try and fix it now. There was more important things, like beloved water.

Swan wanted to drop to her knees and drink once she got there, but the girl knew better. That could be fatal. She had to think with her head instead of her instincts, not matter how badly she wanted to have water slide down her throat.  

The water reminded her of a little pool they had back in district ten, near their pasture. When they were young, the children would go swimming in the summertime. Thinking of home only made Swan sad, but she knew it would be important to keep them close to her heart, especially now. "Let's stop here," she muttered, setting down her two sharpened sticks and lone rock.

Swan craned her neck in search for her ally, but she decided that it would be best not to call out for her. The tribute didn't want to signal her location to everyone else. Instead, she sat down by the pond and sighed. It was nice to site for a while, even if it would be temporary.

She guessed Lori was right behind her, and would be fine. Her blue eyes wandered towards the water. It was tempting. The tribute was thirsty...

Swan perked up at a noise. What was it? The sound was so familiar, but she couldn't quite place who it was. What if it wasn't even a person? The tribute couldn't be sure of much, if anything right now. "Hello?" she whispered back. Her eyes flicked back and forth as she wondered who was there.

She should've known it was probably a trick, but the voice seemed so real. "Hello," she asked, louder this time. The girl was glancing around, trying to find the source, but Swan didn't see anyone there. "Who's there?" the tribute muttered.

Swan heard the noise again, this time a little louder. She couldn't palce the voice. Wait... was it? The girl's eyes flicked around as the wind continued to blow around her, making it hard to tell who it was coming from. Then it hit her. "Thickett?" she breathed. Her twin brother, whom she had left at home in district ten. She hadn't paid much attention to him in the past, but now it seemed like he was clouding her thoughts more than ever.

Swan stood up, taking one of her sticks with her. "Thickett?" she asked again.

Swan recognized the tone in the sound of her brother's voice. Pain. Thickett was hurt. Had they kidnapped him? Was her family okay? A million questions buzzed through her mind as she continued to look about, letting her face be attacked by the wind. "Thickett!"

Her grip was tight against the stick, her only weapon. She had expected more, but what was she going to expect? Who would want to sponsor something from a livestock district? Then again, who would want to make her suffer? Apparently everyone. "Thickett! Are you okay? I'm here!" Swan called aimlessly.

Swan continued her attempts of contacting the voice, but to no avail. It seemed like she was talking to thin air. Then it hit her. She was in an arena. Her family was at home. Safe. She had to protect herself, not the strained sound of her twin. "Thickett, take care of it yourself," Swan spat with a frown. She had said that many times on the farm, but it didn't really fit this time.

She walked back to her original place, where she looked at the water.

The soft silence was a little nerve racking, but she took it as a sign that whatever had been speaking to her wasn't anymore. Instead, she made her way closer to the pool, and cupped her hands. It had felt like forever since she had water, and this was her chance.

Swan didn't know if it was good water or not, but right now she didn't really care. It didn't appear to be dirty or contaminated. Then again, she hadn't really paid much attention at the survival stations.

Swan felt the coolness of the water against her palms, which was relieving. She then cupped the water in her hands and brought them to her mouth, drinking quickly. The girl sighed contently, reaching for more of the water. It had cooled her heated throat, but it wasn't enough. She needed more.

The idea of saving the voice of her brother was long gone as she began gulping down the water, which hadn't had any immediate effects on her.

Swan  continued to drink the water, using the same method as she had before. She felt content with herself, which was the first time that she felt this good since the start of the games.
Once she had drank her fill, the girl reclined back on at shoreline, looking up at the sky. She felt like she needed a teeny break, no matter how short.

Soon after she sat back up and grabbed her stick and rocks. Swan set back to work on sharpening the weapons, just in case she did get attacked. She still had some pain from her previous fight with the mole rats, but didn't have anything to fix them.

Swan kept going on her scraping motion, trying to make the stick into a sharp point. It was kind of dull, and she knew one stick wasn't going to last her the games. She had to make two, at least. She was almost done refining the point on her first, the second lying beside her leg.

The tribute tried to stay as quiet as possible, considering that's what her surroundings were like. It was almost peaceful, but she knew that wasn't the case. Hopefully, somewhere, someone was dying and making her odds of winning better.

Swan scraped along, after finishing her first stick. She noticed the outline of the weapon becoming blurry. After blinking a few times, she thought she was just imagining it. Continuing on her current project, she felt a little slower. She couldn't quite place the problem, but it was bothering her.

Maybe she had something in her eyes. Wiping her eye with her sleeve, Swan frowned. She couldn't understand what the problem was, but it wasn't getting any better. The girl hoped that it wasn't from the water.

Swan blinked again, frantic for better vision. However, it seemed like her body was betraying her, as she could only define shapes now. Hearing a noise, her head jerks up to see the shape of another person. Was it Lori? She wasn't sure, but she didn't care either.

She swiftly stepped up and charged, sharpened stick in hand. Swan didn't have time to think, or see, at this point. "You came to the wrong pond!" she hissed, taking a jab at the figure.

occ: i don't know if the mutt followed Kira or not so this attack goes her her, alright?