Days 16-18 (1st)

## Day 16

### Green Team

On the morning of Day 16, Marcus and Lenobia were sleeping in as per their usual, and Zillik had already left camp to forage for berries as an excuse to get away from everyone. Jade took advantage of the solitude to talk alone with Blaike, since they were the only two awake. Jade asked her why she felt the need to lie to her twice now about voting with her. Blaike, who was already annoyed at Daniel having voted for her, rebuffed Jade's accusations by pointing out that Daniel and Zillik lied to her face too. Jade dismissed that and told her it was her karma coming back to haunt her for lying in the first place, which only made Blaike madder. Jade continued by lecturing Blaike and telling her that integrity and morals didn't need to be sacrificed just to play the game, and that Blaike could have been upfront about how plans to vote Catherine and Marcus. Blaike, who personally felt that she was just trying to play the game, told Jade that it was none of her business who she voted for. It wasn't as if Blaike had lied and then voted for Jade, after all, so why keep hounding her about it? Jade insisted that the violation of trust and decency was the problem. She had liked Blaike at the start of the game and felt that they could get along, but Blaike kept being dishonest with her. Blaike, feeling a little bit more guilty now, admitted that she had only lied for the sake of trying to play the game a bit harder. She wanted to win to send the money back to her mom and felt that it was a good enough reason to try and play a strong game. Voting out Marcus to split he and Lenobia up had seemed like the best move. Despite understanding her reasons, Jade still told Blaike that she was sure her family would be prouder of her for losing with her integrity intact than lying to everyone to win, which only made Blaike angry again. At that point, Blaike interrupted Jade's lecture to let her know that she didn't care how Jade felt and definitely wasn't going to be told how her family should or would feel. Trying to channel her anger into something productive, Blaike went to the shelter and started pounding away on it to make improvements, just as an excuse to work alone for the rest of the day.

The pounding noise and work being done, of course, woke up Lenobia and Marcus, both of whom proceeded to get into another argument with an already pissed off Blaike. While Marcus was shouting at Blaike, Lenobia left the shelter to ask Jade what had gotten her so angry. Not liking Lenobia or trusting her, Jade was dismissive and stated that it was none of Lenobia's business. Surprised at her rudeness, Lenobia asked Jade what exactly she had done to warrant that after she had just helped vote Daniel out. Jade told her that flipping on a teammate and ally was hardly something deserving of respect, so she shouldn't expect any, especially if she was just going to sleep around for the sake of getting farther in the game. Offended by that, Lenobia remarked that she hadn't slept with anyone since the game started and certainly didn't have to rely on it, but maybe the real issue was just that Jade was jealous that Lenobia knew how to use her looks to her advantage. Jade assured Lenobia that she took great pride in not being the type of girl to use her looks to manipulate men and that Lenobia would get what was coming to her for relying on that to get her by.

By the time Zillik came back to camp, he was pleasantly surprised to find it completely silent. As it turned out, after the arguing ended, no one was in the mood to talk to anyone else. The only people not actively mad at each other were Marcus and Lenobia, but they were both too mad at Jade and Blaike to do their usual flirting. Deciding it was best not to ask what had happened, Zillik set himself to just enjoying the peace and quiet at camp for a change, even if it meant everyone hated each other. After all, that was kind of a good thing for him anyone. If everyone else was fighting and they lost the next challenge, he probably wouldn't be anyone's first choice to be voted out.

### Yellow Team

At the Yellow Team camp, things were much more serene. Since they hadn't had to vote and no lines had been drawn in the sand, everyone was still getting along. Of course, everyone was also still working a bit at the game. All four of them were making periodic points to socialize with one another and try to see if persuading someone to vote with them was possible. One major issue that Timothy noticed was that Kim was persistently stubborn, and he was certain she would be willing to draw rocks. Jennifer, also, was a problem, but for different reasons. She was nice, friendly, and subtly perceptive. He could tell from their conversations over the last few days that she was smarter than she was letting on, which he both liked and feared. Dragon, of the four them, was trying to take things the easiest and had a more one-day-at-a-time approach. If things were going smoothly, he didn't see a reason to rock the boat.

Idol searches continued, though Jennifer and Dragon had largely given up. Both assumed someone else already had found the thing. Kim never stopped hunting, though, and Timothy kept looking just to keep anyone from becoming suspicious of him. Otherwise, life was good at the Yellow Team.

## Day 17

### Challenge

At the challenge on Day 17, the serenity experienced by the Yellow Team would come to a screeching halt. The Green Team won the challenge, as well as the second clue to the location of the Hidden Immunity Idol, not that it mattered all that much since it was already found. Additionally, at the challenge, Kim and Jennifer were concerned when they realized Daniel was the one who was gone. It meant that if their original Blue Team was now down a number, so they would be at a disadvantage moving forward unless they voted out one of the original Red Team.

### Green Team

Armed with the second clue, the Green Team set to work hunting down the Idol. Marcus and Lenobia hunted together, figuring that they could solve it if they worked together. Jade and Blaike, no longer trusting each other or really getting along, went off on their own ways. Zillik mostly kept to himself at camp. He doubted he would ever be in enough danger to need the Idol if the game kept going at this rate. Why not just enjoy the peace and quiet while everyone was off running around the forest?

### Yellow Team

At the Yellow Team camp, both duos set about working out their plan together. Dragon suggested that he and Timothy target Kim, given she was clearly a very strong, competitive player and seemed to act as the leader within her groups. Agreeing, Timothy consented to this plan, and the two boys were set to vote out Kim. Meanwhile, Kim and Jennifer were having a more in-depth discussion. Given they suspected Timothy would be more willing to flip to their side than Dragon, Jennifer suggested they vote for Dragon. Kim wanted to target Timothy, insisting he was a much greater threat going forward. Jennifer was hesitant to agree to that. She wanted to keep Kim happy, but also felt that Dragon was too physically strong, too well-liked, and too tied to his original Red Team. Their priority should be getting one of the two out, and it would be easier to sway Timothy than Dragon. Kim proposed they sway Timothy to their side, and then they both vote for Timothy and get rid of him with a plurality vote. Jennifer misliked this idea. Sure, it would probably work, and Timothy would leave if it did, but then Dragon would go forward with them knowing that he couldn't trust on them. If they just voted with Timothy against Dragon, Timothy might feel that he could work with them later and be willing to betray his original team for them. Kim was skeptical of this idea, but she had to admit that Jennifer had a decent point, and Dragon was definitely a threat. She told Jennifer that she'd talk to Timothy first and decide what to do from there.

When everyone left to look for the Idol again, Kim took advantage of the situation to pull Timothy aside in the forest and ask where he was actually at. They danced around words for a while, each trying to figure out if the other would bend. However, Timothy felt he had more room to play. Since Daniel was gone and his Red Team had the numbers, he didn't have as much worry about losing another person and letting it be even again. Dragon was also a significant threat that was well-liked, as opposed to Kim, who was a threat, but didn't seem very well-liked. He finally caved and told her that he'd be willing to vote out Dragon if that was their plan. Kim leaped at the opportunity and agreed immediately, saying that Jennifer already had been pushing for Dragon and this would just seal the deal. Timothy made a note to talk to Jennifer before the vote, wanting her to weigh in on this situation, since she seemed a little more level-headed than Kim.

Back at camp, Jennifer and Dragon made small talk. They mostly just joked about how Timothy and Kim were definitely out trying to sway each other to their side. Dragon told Jennifer that he'd already made his peace with a tie and was curious to see how it would go. Jennifer admitted that she was also curious as to how a tie might play out, but selfishly hoped that it wouldn't end with her leaving. When Kim and Timothy returned to camp, all conversation ceased and everyone focused on eating and working before nightfall.

## Day 18

### Green Team

Not much happened on the Green Team on Day 18. Things were still somewhat tense around camp from the arguing a couple of days ago, and Zillik was always quiet. That meant the only real conversation was between Lenobia and Marcus, who mostly just kept to themselves. The players did periodically discuss who they thought might get eliminated from the Yellow Team, as well as the possibility of a Merge coming soon now that the Jury had started forming. Otherwise, there wasn't much of note, as most of the team had given up on finding on the Idol. Despite having the second clue and all of them having searched for a while, none of them had turned it up. Thus, everyone was just assuming that someone already had it and was keeping it to themselves.

### Yellow Team

As the Yellow Team prepared for their vote, Timothy made a point to stop by and check in with Jennifer. He asked if she would be honest about who the girls were targeting, and Jennifer told him that it was Dragon very plainly. He admitted that he was considering voting with them to avoid a tie, but wasn't sure he could trust them not to vote for him instead. Jennifer pointed out that Dragon was a much more apparent threat. Everyone was liked him and he was very strong in challenges, which made him dangerous in a Merge. Besides that, Jennifer just wanted to form a tight connection with someone from the original Red Team, and she believed Dragon wouldn't commit to that. He would also be loyal to his original group, as that was just the sort of person he was. She admitted to Timothy that his willingness to vote Dragon proved exactly why she wanted to keep him. He was more willing to work with the original Blue Team if it meant getting himself farther, and they would probably need that at the Merge. Satisfied that her answers seemed truthful, Timothy cut a deal with her. They would work together to vote Dragon out, but if a Merge was on the horizon, he would call the shots at the first vote. If there wasn't one and they lost again, he would understand if she teamed up against him with Kim. He, of course, had the idol in his pocket as a security blanket, so this deal wasn't making him as vulnerable as it seemed. Timothy would protect himself if they lost again and he would vote Jennifer out before Kim, as she was clearly the more subtly dangerous one of the two. Kim was direct and aggressive in her playstyle, but that made her easy to read. Despite her initial wariness to agree to vote for anyone with Timothy after the Merge, Jennifer found herself wanting to go along with this plan. After all, it would essentially guarantee that the vote didn't tie, which would be good for her. Finally, Jennifer agreed on the one condition that she didn't have to go along with his post-Merge first vote if it was going to be for Kim. She still viewed Kim as an ally and an asset and wanted her around longer than that. Timothy easily agreed to her condition, and their deal was struck hours before the vote.

Kim had spent the evening trying to see if she could pressure Dragon into voting for Timothy, just in case Timothy proved to be unreliable. However, Dragon was steadfast. He was determined to stay loyal to his original team and believed Timothy would do the same, and he was comfortable taking his chances with a tied vote. If anything, all of Kim's persistent pressuring made Dragon want to flip less than he already did. She made a few great points, but was starting to become really irritating. Kim was a usually chipper person, but when she got competitive, she became obnoxious. Nothing much resulted from their talks.

### Vote

At the vote, Jennifer's push for Kim to vote for Dragon worked. The two of them voted as a unit, knowing they had to in order to survive later in the game, giving Dragon two of the four votes. Dragon, true to form, voted against Kim, just as he'd told Timothy he would. Timothy, on the other hand, flipped and voted against Dragon, as per his deal with Jennifer. When Dragon was voted out, Kim lightly suggested that maybe he should have taken her up on her offer to vote out Timothy. Dragon bitterly responded that maybe he should have. He gave Timothy a look that was at first withering, but quickly turned to disappointed exasperation. Dragon made a snarky remark about Timothy even bothering to form a so-called alliance with him if he was going to lie to him at the only two votes they attended together. He wished Kim and Jennifer good luck, then left the game and became the second member of the Jury. Timothy felt somewhat frustrated as Dragon left, realizing by his looks and comments that Dragon was probably not a Jury vote he'd be able to count on. Nonetheless, he had played the game and survived another vote, and his Idol guaranteed that he would survive another one if they lost again before the Merge. Timothy decided to count that as a win, even if it cost him Dragon's respect. Kim and Jennifer, of course, were celebrating their victory as the three of them returned to camp. They had evened the original team numbers again and taken a massive threat out of the game.