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[color=808080][color=c9bef3][b]#c9bef3[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [url=https://imgur.com/13iPJhP][color=808080][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url] [color=2e2c2c].....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [b]arena[/b][/color]
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[indent][indent][indent][indent][justify][color=808080]Blair wasn’t asleep… [i]per se[/i], more lingering in that miserable balance of a pounding headache that felt like Zeus himself was trying to pry her brains through her eye socket with an ice pick, and the ache of her stomach churning unable to decide if she wanted to vomit or if she was hungry. Both sounded entirely unappealing. There was even a point where she [i]thought[/i] she might have heard someone approach and sit nearby, but for all intents and purposes, Blair was asleep… dead… communing with the Gods to take pity on her. But mostly her brain was an incoherent cacophony of aches, pains, and [i]what the fuck were you thinking drinking that much.[/i]

She was discontent to suffer in her misery… alone and silent—Dear [i]Gods[/i] please keep it fucking silent. If Nelly starts shouting some overly peppy team fight song to motivate them all to train… Blair might just have to kill her… 

[i]Tartarus could be nice this time of year.[/i]

The sensation of something being pressed between her ribs and arm jolted her out of her whiny, self-loathing spiral. Of course the actual [i]jolt[/i] made her stomach burble in protest and sent a stabbing pain reverberating down the right side of her head. Blair squinted her eyes so tight they hardly could pass as open before lifting the side of her coat, letting the sharp sunlight slip into her cave of agony just to see it was her brother. She scoffed, letting her head fall backwards onto the bench with a little too much force, which made her brain feel like it was rattling around inside her skull like a bell in one of those little cat toys. [color=c9bef3]"[i]Ow,[/i]"[/color] she grumbled.

[color=8e0047]"I haven’t seen you like that in a while. You manage to get to your own cabin in one piece?"[/color]

Before she could form a proper thought, Blair heard a quieter, more sheepish voice approach. [color=5a3e85]"Um…hi."[/color] She was trying to piece it together, but getting two of her brain cells to rub together was like trying to wrangle cats. [color=5a3e85]"I, uh—[i]We[/i] met yesterday"[/color]

Then it dawned on her. [color=c9bef3]"[i]Anissa![/i] Thank the Gods."[/color] In a fit of gratitude mixed with frustration, knowing she could no longer disappear into her misery in peace, Blair threw her coat off her head like ripping off a bandaid… Which also coincidentally tossed it right into Fiona’s side, whom she didn’t know was sitting there until that moment. [color=c9bef3]"[i]Mmm[/i]... Sorry,"[/color] she mumbled while pushing off the bench and forcing herself to sit up. She had already forgotten about the bottle Lochlan wedged beneath her arm until she nearly dropped it, but once she saw it was water a thankful sigh fell from her lips as her body slouched forward, absent its usual poise. [color=c9bef3]"Thank the Gods."[/color] She then proceeded to chug half of it, only stopping to take a deep breath. 

Blair rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand that clutched the bottle cap. [color=c9bef3]"[i]Yes,[/i] I made it to my own cabin… [i]Alone[/i],"[/color] she answered Lochlan’s question, begrudgingly, before downing what remained of the water. [color=c9bef3]"I got lost a couple times, but I eventually found it,"[/color] she admitted with a weak smile as she set the empty bottle down on the ground by her feet. [color=c9bef3]"What about you? It was your fucking idea for shots, but I’m the one hungover… Make it make sense."[/color]

She looked up, eyes widening as she saw Anissa hovering nearby. Blair’s brain caught up a second time, as if object permanence was no longer a thing while hungover. She reached out, grabbing the girl’s hand and pulled her down onto the bench between herself and Fiona with a little more force than necessary. There was a second where she parted her lips preparing to release a barrage of questions about River and what happened after midnight, but she caught herself before anything slipped out. That wasn’t really a conversation for [i]company.[/i] Instead she figured introductions were in order, if only to make things… [i]less[/i] awkward. 

[color=c9bef3]"Anissa, this is my brother Lochlan."[/color] She nodded her head toward him as if it wasn’t obvious with him being the only male in their general proximity. [color=c9bef3]"Same dad—[i]mortal[/i]—different moms. His is Hera. And then [i]that[/i]—"[/color] Blair pointed toward the red head on Anissa’s other side. [color=c9bef3]"Is Fiona, [i]also[/i] Lochlan’s sister, but both Hera… It’s all very [i]Once Upon a Time.[/i]"[/color]

Before any more conversation could be had, for better or worse, River demanded attention—luckily without [i]actual[/i] shouting, she didn’t know if her brain could handle that. There was a lot of new leader welcome bullshit before he got to anything that actually demanded Blair’s attention… Mostly it was the part where he took his shirt off which warranted an impressed eyebrow raise followed by suggestive side eye in Anissa’s direction. Girl code dictated that he was [i]strictly[/i] off limits, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be happy for her friend… And rightly a little jealous. [i]Good for her.[/i]

Luckily—or unluckily depending on how you want to look at it—River’s muscles were the [i]only[/i] thing that kept her attention fixated on him running the course. Although, to be honest, he could have instructions for the training written in braille along his abs and Blair [i]still[/i] would struggle to retain any of it in her current state. It was actually laughable that this fucker expected her to do any of that in a reasonable amount of time while nursing the worst headache she’s had in months. 

[i]Good luck with that buddy.[/i] 

The only thing that kept her ass planted in her seat rather than walking out and going back to bed was Nick. Sure, they just hooked up and didn’t really get to anything beyond that, but he was her friend… Or friend enough. He was also the previous leader… and he [i]still[/i] died during Pandora’s box. That meant she was insanely and stupidly lucky, because there is no way someone like him died while she survived. In her own fucked up logic, it felt like she owed it to the more capable people who were dead to at least try. Blair didn’t know when she got so morally… [i]whatever[/i], but she didn’t fucking like it. Things were far more simpler when she wasn’t trying to amount to anything beyond trying to sleep with the hottest guy she could wrap her thighs around. 

When River finished his run and explained the last bit of rules, the only thing she really cared about was when she had to go. After he rattled off the names for the first Group and hers wasn’t included, she let out a relieved—and slightly dramatic—sigh. That was where her attention began and ended. There was a small part of her that might have enjoyed watching Sloane run the course in hopes of seeing her struggle, but it was far too early in the morning and she was too hungover to care about her feuds at the moment. Blair was more concerned with how the fuck she was going to accomplish a single one of those fucking obstacles, let alone the whole course in less than an hour… Fifteen minutes? [i]What a joke.[/i]

Well, fifteen minutes or not, the first group felt [i]way[/i] faster than that. Blair had barely managed to keep the water her brother gave her down before their names were called in the second group. [i]Alphabetical. Great.[/i] She reluctantly pushed off her knees and stood up with a groan. [color=c9bef3]"Five bucks says I barf before the pool"[/color] she commented sardonically to no one in particular. [color=c9bef3]"Come on. Let’s go."[/color] She gave Lochlan’s arm a weak tug, thankful to have him running it with her although she knew he’d be long gone before she finished the second obstacle. [color=c9bef3]"I’ll be shit, so you'll look great. Chicks will love it."[/color]

They made their way toward the course in no particular rush. As they got closer, Blair’s stomach twisted with a new wave of dread. It all looked smaller… More manageable from the stands. Now that she stared down the barrel, she had no fucking clue how she was going to finish any of this. Beyond the heavy weight of feeling inadequate in the face of this, there was the added anxiety of looking like a fucking incompetent idiot. Nerves… [i]and something else[/i] started brewing in her guts, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and her whole body was covered in a cold sweat. She swallowed the lump in her throat and clenched her hands into tight fists to try and keep herself from shaking. 

Blair was so lost in her own thoughts and dread that she missed River’s signal to start, only knowing to begin when she saw all the others take off like bullets where she could barely lift her foot off the ground. The tires looked easy compared to everything else and that was her first mistake, underestimating the course or overestimating herself. She didn’t even make it four tires deep before her toe clipped the edge of one and she fell face first along the ones lined up in front of her. [color=c9bef3]"Are you fucking kidding me?"[/color] She grumbled to herself, face beet red at having fucked up in the first fucking obstacle. [i]Pathetic.[/i] She forced herself back to her feet and proceeded slower, with more caution. There were still a couple times where she stumbled but at least Blair managed to keep her balance enough to not fall over a second time. 

For the log jumps she didn’t really run at them as much as she walked towards them and awkwardly stepped over the lower hurdles. Once she reached the third one she sort of hooked her knee over the log and rolled over it. She repeated that for the other two but the height and momentum made her slip over the edge and fall on her back. [i]Two for two.[/i]

The low crawl, surprisingly enough, proved to be one of the easier obstacles. Aside from getting dirt under her nails, in her mouth, and in her hair, it wasn’t the [i]worst.[/i] Blair still lacked any semblance of speed compared to the people she ran with who were already at least two obstacles ahead of her, but she had a steady rhythm, even if it lacked all proper form. Her arms didn’t really accomplish much of anything, but she had spent more than her fair share of time on her knees and wore heels constantly, so her leg strength shouldered the brunt of the work. 

When she reached the end, Blair stood up and wasted more time than was necessary dusting off her clothes and hands. Time was ticking away, she knew it was, but it was a convenient distraction to postpone the damn rope climb for a few more seconds. She sucked in a deep breath and slowly approached the rope, tilting her head back to take in just how high she had to climb… [i]Spoiler[/i], it was really fucking high. Manicured fingers wrapped around the rope and she jumped, but couldn’t even hold on long enough to get a steady foothold before she slipped free. 

She continued her pathetic attempts for at least a minute before River’s voice cut through the buzzing in her ears that drowned out everything else. [color=86a8ad]"Keep moving."[/color]

Blair looked over at him, already out of breath with her hands on her hips. [color=c9bef3]"Bless you, Nipple boy."[/color] She gave him a shitty salute before running—more like lazy jogging—toward the next obstacle. 

River’s brows furrowed, confusion plain as day across his face. [color=86a8ad]"Nipple—[i]What?[/i]"[/color]

She didn’t hear him nor did she realize her slip up… A problem for later. 

Blair approached the rope net bridge and, again, she thought it looked fairly straight forward. But having learned her lesson the last time she paced herself, watching where she placed each foot and gripping the sides like a lifeline. She almost cheered when she reached the end having made it without her foot slipping through a single one of the holes, but she was met with the rope swing, and all the pride she had washed away in an instant. Blair took a hesitant step forward and took hold of the rope. If she couldn’t even hold on well enough to get a foot off the ground in the rope climb, how the fuck was she supposed to accomplish this? She looked over the edge, noting the drop into the water below and her heart sank. 

[color=c9bef3]"Fantastic,"[/color] she grumbled while ringing her hands against the rope. Blair took a deep breath and a couple steps back. [color=c9bef3]"Fuck it."[/color] She ran. She jumped… And she immediately plummeted straight down into the pool below with a loud splash and a small squeal before she disappeared beneath the surface. She came up coughing and gasping for air while pushing her wet hair out of her face. The pool was only a few feet deep, so rather than swimming she trudged her way toward the edge and climbed out. 

While the balance beams might not have been that huge of a concern when she watched River run through them, she was tired, soaking wet, and losing patience. Blair started up the rising beam, but the water on her shoes gave them little to no traction and she slid back down. She cursed under her breath, stopping and twisting her shoes in the dirt to dry them off before trying again. It was sloppy and wobbly, but all in all, she did far better on them than half of her other obstacles and got across fairly quickly. 

[i]Swimming.[/i] Thank the Gods for swimming. Blair dove into the water with a confidence she lacked in every other challenge thus far. She had lessons as a child, so while she wasn’t a competitive swimmer by any means, it was something she could accomplish without making herself look like a bigger idiot than she already did. However the second to last obstacle was the one she dreaded most. A giant ass fucking ladder… [i]Honestly.[/i] She didn’t have the faintest clue how she was going to climb it. The best she could do was tackle it similarly to the log jumps, but there was no pool of water to catch her like the rope swing, so if she fell… she was fucked.

It was a painstakingly slow climb with countless missteps and slipped holds. Blair climbing the ladder looked something akin to watching a cat that half fell off its tower, holding on for dear life and flailing… a lot of flailing. The best part about reaching the top meant her arms could relax… sort of, but the climb down was complicated. She proceeded to slowly lower her legs down a rung, stretching and reaching until she found the log with her toes, then awkwardly lowered herself. Repeat. Taking a page from a couple other's books, when she was close [I]enough[/I] to the ground, she dropped the rest of the way. Unfortunately, she landed wrong, twisted her ankle, and fell on her ass. 

With one obstacle left, Blair just muscled through it as best she could, limping her way to the long jump. But given her ankle and exhaustion, she merely stepped over it, not caring too much about the water since she was already soaked and walked her way out. The second she crossed the finish line she felt the water leave her clothes and hair like it was never there in the first place. No doubt something nipple boy did. She had every intention to thank him, but then there was a wave of cold that sent a chill down her spine and stopped her dead in her tracks. She barely managed to look over at Lochlan before doubling over, falling to her knees, and vomiting on the dirt floor. 

Blair remained there for several seconds, retching up the contents of her stomach which was little more than the water her brother gave her and bile. Her body only stopped convulsing when she surpassed the point of dry heaves. She spit on the ground and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She couldn't bring herself to stand, her arms and legs felt like jello that would cave under her own body weight. Already resolute in the embarrassment of her entire run, Blair just remained there on her hands and knees, hunched over a putrid puddle of her own making, eyes stinging from the tears that threatened to burst free.[/color][/justify][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]

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[color=808080][b]interactions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] lochlan, fiona, anissa & river [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]mentions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] none [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]collabs[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] none[/color]
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