The woman went to her purse. She had many, but this one was her favorite. It was black leather, with golden studs and a diamond zipper. She used it only for her most prized possessions. When she unzipped it to find what she had been looking for, however, she found it missing. Gone as though it were never there. The woman almost shrugged, but she didn't even care enough to do that. It wasn't as though what she were looking for wasn't rare; she could find it in almost any store, anywhere in the capitol. She barely sighed. She had twenty minutes before brunch, she would simply choose another color, of course that would mean choosing another outfit, but that would barely take a few moments of programming the automatic outfit-choosing device in her closet. It would take five minutes tops, no big deal. She thought, not such a big hassle, but still it would be nice to know what happened to my gold eyeliner.

Brunch that afternoon was at a small café in the midtown called, the silver lining. She had never heard of it, but her friend, Tigris, thought that it was worth trying. Well, she could vouch for the caviar scramble and mimosa, that much was true. As she took small, dainty bites with her small dainty fork, she and Tigris chit chatted about this and that, when Tigris said.

"What a lovely dress"

"Well, thank you" said the woman, who, in all honesty had not truly paid much attention to her sapphire calf length dress, complete with deep blue accessories, a lapis lazuli necklace, lapis studs, and a shimmering blue bracelet that with even the slightest movement, gave off the illusion that the wearer had a bit of a rushing river on their skin. They were not truly what she'd wanted to wear, they were not the Champaign colored dress, with gold studs, bracelets, and gold eyeliner along her lash lines. Therefore, she paid this outfit no mind, but now that Tigris said it, she realized, yes, like always, she looked quite pretty.

"Actually", she said, "I had something else in mind to wear, but that unfortunately was quashed by a little thief."

"Your little … boy?"

"Yes, him, he always takes things from me, as though I won't notice."

"Well, whose fault is that?"

She hadn't thought of that, she did love for her boy to dress in silk, satin and velvet. She loved to see him in red, pink, and soft colors. She had, in all honesty, wanted a girl, but when she'd gotten pregnant and delivered healthy, lovely Cinna, she couldn't help but try to make her dream flesh, even if it was only with garments, jewels and makeup. She had to attempt it, and her boy was so slender and, almost feminine, he looked lovely all dressed up, so, yes, he'd gotten a taste for makeup, yes, perhaps it was her fault. Not that she'd ever admit that. Outwardly she was Daria Hartly. Outwardly, she was flawless.