Happy 2-Year Anniversary, Bete Noire!

[magistrated]

Today, November 7, the tropical island comes to life.

Five springs across the island start spouting water. The sun dawns on several new types of berries and fruits that weren't there before.

Feel free to snack away, but be warned: these foods have consequences.

SPRINGS: All effects from the springs can last anywhere from fifteen minutes

Comments

Amy eats starfruit and gets animal pal

[lovesaroman]

The impromptu nap Amy took after having a starfruit snack left her with a new friend standing next to her side.

"Are you going to sleep all day?" a voice calls out to her.

Rubbing her eyes, she groans and sits up. "I'm up, I'm up." Then she blinks rapidly a few times and spots the peacock beside her.

"Uh, that wouldn't have been you talking to me just now, right?" She chuckles to herself.

The peacock's beak opens. "Of course it's me."

Amy gasps and jumps back on her rear end, but the peacock spreads his wings and follows.

"Not too far! If we get too far apart, we'll start to feel very unwell."

Standing up, Amy glances around, wondering if anyone can explain this to her, or if anyone has animals trailing after them and talking nonsense.

Yay animal friends!

[frostyoutodeath]

"Peeeeeeta." The voice is echoing through his head when he wakes up. Peeta feels drowsy, like it'll take an entire's day effort to just open his eyes. So of course, he keeps them closed.

Peeta remembers being curious about the starfruit, remembers that Katniss taught him not to eat anything he couldn't identify, then he remembers his concerns wandering out of his mind like a receding tide. This wasn't the arena, they weren't home, and the starfruit - it had been so beautiful.

He can vaguely hear another voice in the distance, it seemed familiar, but he couldn't recognize who.

"Peeta wake up," it was that voice again. It was gentle, definitely a female voice. Very soothing.

So when Peeta finally open his eyes, he let out a loud shriek of surprise. Above him, staring at him, standing there patiently, was a 15 foot elephant. And Peeta had never seen an elephant in his entire life.

Awesome funtiiiimes!

[lovesaroman]

It's not long before Amy appears, her daemon in tow. Seeing an elephant outside of a zoo is a sight enough, but seeing it so close to this guy makes her wonder if it has something to do with the strange things going on with this island.

"Hey," she said gently, not wanting to spook the elephant. "I remember you from Halloween." The peacock struts out beside her, flapping its wings.

Yeah phone tagging!

[frostyoutodeath]

Peeta, still on the ground, had propped his upper body up by his elbows. He looked over at Amy, and the elephant follows his gaze.

"Amy!" He had always been good with names, and the sight of someone familiar was slightly reassuring, given that Peeta was terrified of the large animal crushing him.

He scooted himself backwards, slowly getting to his feet and walking towards Amy and the peacock.

[lovesaroman]

"Cupcake Guy!" she replied with a bright smile. Yes, she had forgotten his name, but in her defense, she had met a lot of people that night. And then she'd been a mermaid.

"So, odd question," she began as he moved towards her. "But is the elephant able to talk?"

[frostyoutodeath]

Peeta didn't take any offense. Back home, he was sure most of the Seam kids just knew him as the baker's son. Plus, being identified with cupcakes was hardly a bad thing.

"I - " Peeta looked at the elephant, unsure.

"Of course I can," she said. But when the elephant spoke, it was directly to Peeta. Daemons never spoke to any human except for their own. Not that Peeta knew that.

[lovesaroman]

"All right," Amy began, clapping her hands together and shifting on her feet. "That makes two of them. I've got this peacock following me around and I think it has to do with something I ate. Did you eat anything from the island recently?"

[frostyoutodeath]

"Yes," Peeta answered immediately. "I had a starfruit. And then..."

"...you fell asleep," the elephant finished. Peeta blinked, and looked at Amy. "Did you eat one too?"

[lovesaroman]

She nodded. "Yeah, and now we're stuck with zoo animals following us around."

"I am your daemon," the peacock said to her, sounding offended.

[frostyoutodeath]

"It seems that way."

When the peacock spoke, Peeta stared at it in awe. After a brief moment, he walked next to Amy and leaned in next to hear ear.

"What happens if we run?" he whispered.

[lovesaroman]

Whispering back, she explained, "The peacock said if we got too far apart, it'd hurt. I don't know if that's bollocks or not. Should we try?"

[frostyoutodeath]

He nodded, slowly turning his body in the opposite direction of the animals. Peeta would realize in retrospect that outrunning an elephant wasn't his brightest idea, but at least Amy had a chance with the peacock.

"Three, two ... ONE!"

And they were off.

[lovesaroman]

Amy was used to running, and so she took off easily, her long legs kicking up sand. She heard the protests of the peacock, who sounded extremely distressed and maybe even scared, but she kept going.

That is, until she felt like the world had dropped out from under her. She stopped, tripping over her own feet and falling to her knees. Pressing a hand to her chest, she nearly started crying. No, everything was wrong. She felt like she'd been sapped of her energy, her drive, everything. Something precious was lost to her and she felt completely directionless.

That didn't last long, however, as the peacock flew down beside her and began scolding her.

[frostyoutodeath]

Peeta never had a chance. He was running, as fast as he could given his prosthetic leg, and the elephant patiently followed. The distance she covered in one stride Peeta could barely reach in ten. But after awhile, the animal stopped. It knew that Peeta needed to feel the pull for himself, otherwise, he'd never understand that they were connected, and that she was his soul.

So foolishly, he ran, thinking that he'd shaken the elephant off through an amazing stroke of luck. But very quickly, Peeta felt an immense surge of pain in his chest and he tumbled to the ground. It wasn't a physical pain, though he felt an invisible tug. But the pain in his chest was one of loneliness and fear.

The elephant felt it too, and despite how it hurt, she waiting ten seconds before quickly catching up to Peeta.

"Please don't ever make me feel that way again," she said, staring at him through her large black eyes. Peeta brushed himself off and looked up at the magnificently huge animal. "You- What are you? Why did that happen

[lovesaroman]

Struggling to gain control of the situation, Amy forced herself to her feet.

"Yeah," she huffed at the peacock. "We need answers, now."

"I told you we couldn't be separated by much distance. It hurts both of us. Don't you see, we are two halves of a whole."

Amy still didn't understand, and the whole thing just sounded ominous. Turning around she moved closer to Peeta. "You ok, Cupcake Guy?"

[frostyoutodeath]

He moved closer to Amy until they were shoulder to shoulder. "It's Peeta, by the way, and yeah, I'm okay. Felt like my heart was nearly torn out of my chest though."

"I'm your daemon. If we get too far apart --" The elephant shook its head, it's ears flapping once. "I don't know. But I'm part of your soul Peeta."

Peeta eyed the elephant, looked at Amy and then looked again at the elephant. "So, you're telling us that we took a nap, and all of a sudden, we have souls in the form of animals?"