A/N: I am so, so, so, so, so, so sorry about the wait! I've been going through a lot of things here at home, and my computer broke, and I just recently got a job... I'm not gonna bore you with my excuses, but what I can tell you is that I just recently saw Catching Fire... Twice, and got totally inspired! I can also tell you that I'll be getting my own laptop soon, and will be able to update this story and my other stories quicker than ever! Updates on that will be randomly posted on my profile. Right now, I'm using my dad's computer so updates are gonna be pretty slow, but I'll still be updating as much as possible.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Hunger Games related. Although owning Finnick, Peeta, Gale, and Cato would be pretty epic. Ah, well.
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flippingthroughthepages: You'll see soon! The games will start sooner than you think! Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!
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The Brunette Mother of Dragons: First, let me start with saying that you have an awesome penname! I love it! Thank you for the review, too! I'm glad you like my Polyvore outfits as well! There'll be more updated with almost every chapter!
Zzhell-butterflyZz: Unfortunately there's only a little more Finnick and Abbie interaction in this chapter, but there'll definitely be more in the next! Thank you for the review!
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-ADITO-
And now it's clear to me
That everything you see
Ain't always what it seems
I'm wide awake
Falling from cloud nine
Crashing from the high
I'm letting go tonight
Wide Awake – Katy Perry
-ADITO-
Abbie walks through the smoky, dead forest, wearily glancing at the leafless, scorched trees that surround her. This arena is far different than any she had ever seen, and she knows never to doubt the Gamemakers creativity ever again, for this particular arena is almost nothing but a burnt forest, leaving nothing but lifeless trees, and an ash covered ground. This leaves very little places to hide, but for some reason, Abbie hadn't seen any of the other tributes for some time now.
A soft sniffling noise instantly catches Abbie's attention, and she reaches to her belt where she keeps the two daggers she acquired from the Cornucopia, and she grips them both with one in each hand. She starts forward, letting her ears lead her towards the sound. She eventually reaches the source of the sound and she frowns when she sees a girl sitting on the ground in a dirty white dress with her knees pulled to her chest. The girl's shoulder's shake with silent sobs, but Abbie can't see her tears since the girl has her back to her. Abbie's hands begin to shake when she sees that the hair of the girl is identical to hers. She takes another step forward, resulting in the loud sound of a twig cracking under her boot covered foot. The unknown girl's shoulder's stop their shaking immediately and instead, they tense dramatically. The girl slowly lifts her head from where it was resting on her bare knees, and she lets her legs fall to her left. Abbie cautiously takes another step forward, reluctantly approaching the girl.
Abbie's eyes widen dramatically, and both daggers drop from her hands as she lets out a horrified, pained shout when she sees the girl's face.
It's Annie.
But just the fact that it's her sister isn't what caused such a reaction. She sees Annie sitting on the ash covered ground, wearing the white dress that she wore to the reaping ceremony, with her hair undone from the braid that Abbie put it in. Her hair lies in long messy waves, and is matted with dirt and blood. Abbie feels tears run down her face as she spies the various cuts and deep gashes that mar Annie's face, and her stomach gives a lurch when she finally sees that her throat is cut from side to side, and that blood is pouring out of it, spilling down the front of her dress.
"Annie," Abbie chokes out through her tears, and she hesitantly reaches out one of her hands toward Annie, but she jerks her hand back when Annie violently flinches away.
"I needed you," Annie whispers, brokenly, "and you didn't help me. You wouldn't help me. You couldn't help me!" Annie says, her voice progressively getting louder, before letting out a loud, hacking cough. Abbie takes a few more steps forward when blood begins dribbling out of Annie's mouth.
"Annie... Please, l-let me-," Abbie starts, but quickly cuts herself off with a sharp intake of air when Annie falls onto her side. Abbie immediately drops to her knees beside her and presses her hands on the deep wound that continues to leak blood. She begins to externally panic when Annie's breathing becomes shallower. "No... No, no, no, no, no, Annie stay with me!" Abbie shouts, letting out a loud, pained sob when Annie coughs up more blood and shuts her eyes. "Annie, wake up!" she all but screams, and her breath catches in her throat when Annie's breathing stops all together. Abbie shakes her head in disbelief, and takes her hands off of Annie's neck before grabbing her shoulders. "Annie... Don't do this to me," she says, shaking her shoulders lightly. "Annie, don't do this to me!" she screams, and she jumps with horrified surprise when the sound of a loud cannon goes off. "No...," she whispers, releasing Annie's still shoulders, and shakily rising to her feet. "You weren't supposed to have her," she mutters to herself, looking down at her hands that are covered in her twin sister's blood. "You weren't supposed to have her!" Abbie screams, looking up at the sky. "I volunteered! She wasn't supposed to be here!"
A scream of shocked surprise escapes Abbie's throat when a hand grips her boot covered ankle, and she stumbles back, tripping over a scorched log, and landing hard on the ground. Abbie stares in horror at her previously dead twin as she slowly rises to her feet. Annie has a dead look in her now cold green eyes, and she slowly stalks toward Abbie. Annie pauses briefly to bend down and grip one of the daggers that Abbie dropped in her hand, and she continues her path to Abbie.
"Annie... Don't-," Abbie starts, but is cut off by a loud rage filled scream from Annie, and Annie races forward, with the dagger poised in her hand, ready to strike.
-ADITO-
Abbie jerks awake with a sharp gasp, and she sits up sharply in the soft bed that's provided on the train. She looks out the window in her temporary bedroom, and sees that the sun is just beginning to rise which makes her sigh and lay back down. She runs her shaking hands over her face, effectively wiping the thick layer of sweat from cheeks and forehead. Abbie feels her eyes water when she pictures Annie's dead form lying on the ground from her dream, and silent tears leak from her eyes without her consent. She keeps her mouth closed tightly to keep her sobs reigned in, making her body convulse violently with the intensity of her grief. Abbie allows herself to cry for only a few more minutes before pushing every thought of her nightmare to the very back of her mind, forcing her tears to stop. She takes a few deep breaths when her tears cease, trying to calm herself down, and when her breathing is back to normal, and her face is dry, she continues to lay in bed, simply staring up at the ceiling for what feels like minutes. Abbie only realizes just how much time has passed when she sees that the sun's new position in the sky.
At this point she decides to get up, kicking the soft covers off of her body, and rising from the bed. She walks to, and opens the closet, picking out the simplest looking outfit, and quickly pulling it on, deciding it would be best to change out of her reaping dress. She looks up sharply after pulling on a comfortable pair of black flat shoes, when there's a quick series of knocks on her door. She frowns as she makes her way to the door, and presses the button that slides the door open. Abbie blinks when she sees Plumb's face beaming at her.
"Wonderful! You're already awake," Plumb chirps.
"I.. Um, yeah," Abbie says, forcing a polite smile onto her tired face. Plumb's smile seems to widen.
"Well, come, come. We've got to get some food in you, and I won't take no for an answer this time," Plumb says, in a tone that's actually somewhat firm, which manages to surprise Abbie. Plumb promptly turns on her heel and makes to walk down the hallway, but doesn't actually begin her journey until she's sure that Abbie is going to actually follow. Abbie realizes that it would be a lost cause to attempt to argue, and willingly follows the purple haired Capitol escort down the narrow hallway. When they arrive to the dining car, Abbie spies Finnick, and Mags, but not Jonas. Abbie blinks in surprise when she's practically pushed down onto a chair by Plumb, who immediately places a plate full of food in front of her. "Eat," Plumb commands, and Abbie resists a smile. Plumb's new found firm tone paired with her Capitol accent amuses Abbie greatly, but she manages to keep her face neutral as she nods in acceptance, not trusting herself to speak. Plumb announces that she's going to wake Jonas and as soon as she leaves the room, Abbie slumps in her seat and rubs her eyes tiredly.
"Rough night?" Finnick asks, semi-teasingly, and Abbie leans back in her chair before shrugging.
"Rough life," she responds, and Finnick grins in amusement.
"And it's about to get a whole lot rougher," he says, causing Mags to glare at him and slap the back of his head, making Abbie snort with laughter, while smirking. Before anyone can comment on what just happened, the sound of Plumb's rapidly clicking heels sound down the narrow hallway, and soon, she appears in the room, practically dragging a tired, scowling Jonas behind her. Jonas is pushed into a chair in a similar fashion as Abbie, which makes him grunt before glaring at Plumb. Abbie slowly takes small bites of the food on her plate, realizing that the Capitol food which is supposed to taste delicious, doesn't have much of a taste to her due to her steadily growing nerves.
"Now, we'll be arriving at the Capitol soon, and as soon as we enter the training center you'll both be taken by your stylists to get ready for the tribute parade," Mags explains, and Abbie and Jonas listen intently.
"So, how horrible is it gonna be?" Jonas asks, and both mentors smile grimly.
"It's definitely not gonna be pleasant," Finnick answers, and the two tributes share a hopeless look.
-ADITO-
Abbie clenches her fists tightly, her short fingernails biting into the slightly calloused skin of her overworked palms as one of the three members of her stylist team pulls yet another strip of white fabric from her leg. She shuts her eyes tightly as the only woman on the team, a blue haired chipper female named Sibia, plucks hairs from Abbie's eyebrows. The small white haired man, Placidus looks at her apologetically as he applies another piece of warm fabric onto her left leg.
"Only a few more," he assures her, and she nods as Sibia helps her sit up before the last man, a tall multi-color haired man named Kestrel attacks her long wet hair with a comb. He hums happily as the comb glides through her dark locks without any snags or knots.
"My darling, you have wonderful hair!" he coos, caressing the dark, damp strands almost affectionately.
"Thank you," Abbie says with a small, polite smile. A few minutes, and three more painful strips of fabric ripped from the tanned skin of her leg later, the prep team looks at her approvingly.
"Just a quick once over with the lotion, and you'll be ready for Theta," Sibia says cheerfully, before grabbing a bright orange bottle from one of the shelves in the room. She squeezes a large glob of a clear substance into her pale hand before rubbing it onto Abbie's now hairless arms.
"Who's Theta?" Abbie asks, curiously as more of the clear substance is rubbed onto her legs and torso.
"Your head stylist, sweetie," Kestrel answers as if it's obvious. Abbie wouldn't know this though because the only thing issued by the Capitol that she watches is the mandatory viewing of the Games. "She's a genius. She'll have you looking more beautiful than you already are in no time," he says, gesturing for her to stand from the table. She slides off of the cool metal table, letting her feet touch the cold tile floor, making her shiver involuntarily. A thin blue robe is immediately pressed into her hands by Sibia and she quickly pulls it on, wrapping it around her naked body. The three members of her prep team announce that they're going to fetch Theta before exiting the room with beaming smiles on their faces. This leaves Abbie in the large room by herself, and she crosses her arms over her chest while wandering around, looking at the different bottles and devices with curiosity. After she makes a complete lap around the room, the door opens and a tall woman with hair colored various shades of orange walks in. Her makeup isn't as outrageous as most Capitolites, but to Abbie, the bright orange and purple shades around her eyes are pretty out there. The thing that stands out the most about her to Abbie, is the intricate designs tattooed underneath her dark blue eyes. Abbie shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably as Theta simply stares at her from the doorway. After what seems like hours under Theta's scrutinizing gaze, she finally moves from the doorway, letting the door slide shut.
"You look even more perfect in person for what I have in mind," Theta says, walking closer to her, examining her face closely. "Beautiful high cheekbones, elegant eye shape, pretty blue eyes, and if I'm right, you have a lovely smile," she says with an approving smile, and Abbie blushes slightly at the praise. "Remove your robe for a quick moment, please?"
Abbie hesitates before shrugging out of the thin robe. Theta gives her a small, reassuring smile before taking the robe from her hand and sets it on the table next to her. Theta instructs Abbie to hold her arms out at her sides, and Abbie does as Theta asks. Theta spends a few moments observing Abbie's body before nodding and allowing her to slip her robe back on. Theta leads Abbie through the second door in the room which leads to another, well lit, more comfortable looking room, and gestures for Abbie to have a seat on the available couch.
"I've been styling for District four, for three years, since switching from District ten," Theta starts as she takes a seat next to Abbie on the couch, turning her thin body to face Abbie. Abbie immediately thinks back to last year when the tributes during the parade were dressed as beautiful mer-people. She distinctly remembers the girl's beautiful mermaid costume, and how there were shiny pink scales painted randomly on her exposed arms, shoulders, and torso. "Those three years, I've been focusing mainly on the creatures of the sea. This year though, I'm going to broaden my views slightly."
"What do you mean?" Abbie asks, frowning slightly.
"What stands out most of all when you're home in District four?" Theta asks, smiling softly at her.
"The sea," Abbie answers without hesitation.
"Exactly. The water," Theta says, and Abbie's frown deepens. "But I'm thinking beyond just water. I was looking through different pictures of a few different districts," she says, rising from her seat and walking to a small desk, and she pulls open one of the drawers. Theta pulls out a picture and walks back over to Abbie before handing it to her. Abbie looks at the picture and her frown lessens.
"Snow and ice," Abbie observes, looking at the picture of a frozen lake after a fresh snow fall. "So... You're gonna dress me up as... What, a piece of ice?"
"Something like that," Theta says with a secretive smile.
-ADITO-
"This is definitely not what I was expecting," Abbie says as she looks at herself in the mirror in the room. The only thing she can really see of herself is her face and her hands, the rest of her person being covered up with a thick, white, hooded cloak that envelopes her form completely. Her face she can see clearly though, and she's in awe of what she sees. Her eyes are surrounded with beautiful silver decorative small gems, and her cheekbones are dusted with a white powder that resembles snow which is also on her lips and nails. The makeup all together is somewhat simple, yet powerful. The heeled shoes that she has to wear on her feet are taller than anything she's ever worn, and Theta agrees to allow her to put them on only when she's on the carriage.
When Abbie, Theta, and their prep team arrive in the giant stable, they find nearly all the other tributes inside already and in costume, ready for the parade. Abbie's nerves nearly work themselves into a frenzy as they approach the carriage she'll be riding on with Jonas, and she sees that the horses that will be pulling them are a silvery-white color that matches the cloak she wears perfectly.
"Ah, and there's Hammil with your district partner," Theta says, placing a long nailed hand on Abbie's cloak covered shoulder. Abbie immediately sees Jonas, and finds that he's wearing an identical cloak to hers. His face is bare, save for the similar dusting of snowy white powder on his cheekbones.
"You too, huh?" he asks as the stylists begin conversing with each other, and Abbie nods.
"I don't even really know what I'm wearing under this. Theta wouldn't let me see," she says with a frown and Jonas nods in agreement.
"Yeah, same with me," Jonas says, before both of them are grabbed by their stylists, and led to the carriage.
"Right, now you two, when you're half way to the City Circle, pull on the strings of your cloaks," Hammil says, as he and Theta usher Jonas and Abbie onto their carriage. The two tributes look at the stylists with confused looks on their faces.
"You'll see," Theta says with a grin before placing Abbie's shoes in front of her. Abbie heaves a sigh before carefully stepping into the shoes, using the front of the carriage, and one of Jonas' shoulders to keep herself steady. Theta and Hammil begin listing off advice when the parade begins and District one's carriage leaves the stable.
"Remember, stand up straight!" Hammil says quickly.
"And big smiles!" Theta adds.
"And pull the strings of the cloaks half way to the City Circle," Hammil says, as Abbie and Jonas' carriage begins to move, causing both of them to grip the front of the carriage quickly. The two of them exchange a look before simultaneously planting smiles on their faces, and Abbie can only hope that hers doesn't look too fake.
The roar of the crowd is nearly deafening. Abbie looks out at the crowd and eyes the mass of bright colors with a smile on her face. She sees the way the other tributes are waving to the crowd, but doesn't attempt to do the same, seeing as how the heavy cloak is weighing her arms down, and keeping them down. When their carriage reaches the halfway point to the City Circle, Jonas and Abbie look at each other before reaching up through the slits in their cloaks, and simultaneously pulling on one of the strings on their cloaks.
Abbie blinks in surprise and the smile vanishes from her face as the cloak's string disintegrates in her fingers. She feels the weight of the cloaks hood on her head slowly disappearing, and she looks at Jonas, only to find his cloak vanishing off of his person. Their cloaks slowly disintegrate into small white flakes that look identical to snow which flurries around them before disappearing completely. Abbie didn't think that the roar of the crowd could get any louder until she and Jonas' cloaks began to disappear.
Abbie looks forward again and catches sight of herself in one of the screens positioned around the city, and she stares in amazement. In the city's light, the white dust on her cheekbones and lips looks much more prominent, as does the silver gems around her eyes which sparkle beautifully whenever the light hits them right. Her dark hair is done in a simple, yet elegant twist which is thrown over one of her shoulders, and is now dusted with the fake snowflakes, giving the illusion that she'd just come in out of a snowstorm. The dress she wears is a simple sleeveless, shimmering white gown, which has a white fur collar attached to it which goes completely around her slender neck. On her arms from her wrists to her elbows, she wears two silver, flexible cuffs that top off the entire ensemble.
Jonas, on the other hand, wears a completely white suit, with a shimmering silver tie, and silver, sparkling snowflake cufflinks. His dark hair has the same dusting of snowflakes, and the lapels and collar of his suit jacket are completely made pure white fur.
Abbie and Jonas both look at each other one last time before planting the more real smiles on their faces, and gripping the front of the chariot with the hands closest to one another, and finally lifting the hands closest to the crowd to wave like they've been waiting for. The crowd, if possible, cheers even louder, three-fourth's of them waving back enthusiastically, while chanting both of their names.
Soon enough, they reach the city circle which is located right in front of President Snow's mansion, and Abbie can only thank any deity out there that district four's chariot position is one of the farthest away from said mansion. When their chariot comes to a stop, Abbie quickly grips the front of the chariot with both hands to prevent herself from falling. She's surprised when one of Jonas' quick hands grips her elbow to keep her steady, and she sends him a small thankful smile. He returns the grin before they both turn their attention to the president's mansion, seeing him just as he steps out onto the balcony.
"Welcome!" he announces as the cameras all turn to him. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor. To our tributes, welcome! We salute your courage, and your sacrifice," he says, and Abbie feels a chill run down her spine when she swears that President Snow's cold eyes zero in directly on her. This makes her uncomfortably anxious and she breathes a subtle sigh of relief when the chariot begins to move again, the horses slowly taking them back to the stable.
Once back in the stable, Abbie and Jonas are immediately surrounded by their stylists and their prep teams, all of them praising them on how wonderful they did. Plumb's familiar head of purple hair eventually pushes her way through the small crowd of stylists.
"You two were wonderful! The crowd just loved you both!" Plumb gushes happily, making Jonas and Abbie grin in amusement. Abbie slowly and carefully slips her feet out of the tall silver shoes, feeling monumentally more comfortable afterward.
"And you've both already made names for yourselves," the comforting voice of Mags speaks up as she and Finnick join the crowd around them.
"They're calling you the ice prince, and ice princess," Finnick says, amusement dancing in his green eyes. The names make Abbie scrunch up her face in disapproval.
"How... Quaint," Abbie says, her tone clearly showing her distaste. She glances down as Theta takes the shoes from off of the chariot.
"Isn't it?" Finnick asks as Jonas steps off of the chariot as the stylists begin to depart. Finnick then holds his hand out to help Abbie down from the chariot. "Princess," he says teasingly, making Abbie scowl at him before stepping down from the chariot herself, making his grin widen significantly. Mags witnesses this entire exchange before leading both district four tributes to the elevator with a small smile on her face.
-ADITO-
A/N: I really hope that this chapter was worth the wait! Let me know what you think! For the tribute parade outfits... I saw the movie Frozen and got totally inspired, and snow and ice is water, which they obviously have a lot of in district four! I hope you all liked it!
New outfits on Polyvore, and pictures of Abbie on my profile. Link to Polyvore collection on my profile!
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