Rapidly, the hope was draining from her chest, but her fighting spirit was a little harder to ditch. She knew this feeling. She'd felt it when the Games started. She'd felt it in the vents when escaping Coral and Treech. She'd felt it when she had rainbow snakes slithering along the +

She could run again, potentially weave through a path and lose him in the trees. He was close enough now that she was losing that advantage fast, now or never. She made her move, darting towards the chosen destination. But she only got a few paces out before catching herself on a thin tree trunk +

Why couldn't one thing be easy? Lucy Gray believed in the stars, but all they spelled was cosmic bad luck. Coriolanus had already played her savior once, and did quite the job of it. It wasn't easy to gain her trust, but he'd made quick work of it +

Lucy Gray grit her teeth, trying to fight off the dizziness. The last thing she needed was to pass out. There was no telling where she'd wake up-- if she'd wake up. Maybe all Coriolanus gave chase for was to finish the job.

"I'll do just fine on my own," She said, her +

No one could put up a fight like Lucy Gray. But she wasn't immune to blood loss, nor the fatigue that was settling into her body, even with the adrenaline humming in her veins. A wave of dizziness shook her world, and she looked to her shoulder again. She couldn't keep running, +

Could she? The Victor wasn't thinking about the future right now, though she'd been sure of her survival when they'd left. She could make things work out here, if she could escape. Even yesterday, if he'd offered help, she'd be in his arms. But with every footfall, her trust was sapping.

Lucy Gray made it a couple paces from the tree when she heard his call out, fighting the urge to look behind herself. If she ran now, he would hear her footsteps, even against dampened forest floor. But hiding? That felt like a silly option, waiting for a slaughter.

So she took off.

The snake wouldn't do any long lasting damage, Lucy Gray had picked a nearly harmless one, only to strike when threatened. Enough blood is on her hands. Despite herself, and likely her best interest, she didn't want his death. No, of course not.

She heard rustling, a snap of a twig. Time to go.

Lucy Gray took another breath in, before she had to keep moving. A carefully placed snake had bought her some time, but hadn't stopped him like she wished. Hadn't scared him enough to go back. She didn't have a physical advantage, no, but maybe she could scare him. She could try, if it came to it.

A nomad at heart, Lucy Gray knew the woods of Twelve. But that didn't prepare her for trying to navigate it was a particularly nasty wound. She paused, letting out a huff of breath and placing her hand on a tree.

It was a sinking feeling, her fear.

⠀i want you always to remember me . will you remember that i existed , and that i stood next to you here like this .ᐣ