Part II
Faith kept her reaping dress on, fingers still clutching on the small locket. Everything would be fine, she knew it. She's trained enough to be strong enough. She grabbed the neat capitol brush, held it up in her hand, clenched her fist and cracked it into pieces. With a sweet smile she left her room and stood near the door.
Cat stepped down from the train, dazzled by the flashes of the cameras. She nervously brushed a curl out of her eyes. She knew what the people must be thinking. Such a shame... what a small little thing. She won't even last a day...
Faith stepped from the train with confidence, a sweet innocent smile held in place. They'll love this... She thought. The not-so-innocent beauty killer. With a laugh she batted her eyelashes at the camera, immediately heading towards the stylist area.
"Come along Catherine." Lucia Gatwasky, the District representative, took her firmly by the hand and lead her along, towards the remake centre. She stumbled as she was pulled along, glancing shyly at the photographers through her dark curls, blinking innocently at the people of the Capitol. She caught sight of Faith, confidently smiling at the camera. Well, Confident and sexy seemed to be the way Faith was playing it. She was good at it too. Well... Cat peered out from behind her hair and gave the photographer a sweet but shy smile, which exhumed innocence.
After blowing countless kisses, her mentor, coincidentally her father, managed to drag her into the building. Straightening her dress, Faith ignored her father completely and strolled in the pointed direction.
Cat caught sight of Faith ahead. She managed to catch up with her. "Hello Faith." she said shyly, looking trustingly up at the stunning older girl."Will you really help me?"
Faith turned to the girl, wearing a stunning smile. "Of course, Catherine." She said, tilting her head to the side.
"You can call me Cat if you like." she said, slipping her hand innocently into Faiths, as they walked along.
She smiled. "Of course, Cat."
A prep team came to great them. "Hey there, sweetie, my name's Lorinta!" said one woman with bright blue hair. "You're Catherine then? I'm one of your prep team, so would you just like to come with me..?"
Cat turned to Faith. "Bye then Faith. And thank you. You're so nice!" she beamed shyly at her.
Faith laughed. "I'll see you soon, Cat." She dropped her hand and turned walking to where her prep team awaited her.
Cat walked along with the woman with the blue hair. She gave a secret little smile to herself. She wasn't sure, but she thought that she'd just made a powerful ally. Albeit, an ally who would turn on her in seconds, but an ally none the less.
"All right poppet, let's get this beautifying sorted. You'll look as sweet as a little pie by the time we've finished with you!" said Lorinta
Jasper jolted awake as the train slid to a halt. Jeeze that was a short nap.
He stretched, trying to preoccupy himself by trying to reach the roof. Yeah, fat chance. Cursing his short stature, Jasper slid the door open to find his mentor glaring at him. Jasper wracked his brain, trying to remember her name. Ah, that's right. Moxin Learen. Jasper tuned out Moxin's irritated comments as he picked up his limited gear and headed off onto the platform. Jasper idled at the door, watching as one of the tributes blew kisses to the crowd. Shaking his head, he stepped off the train. He gave fake smiles to all the cameras surrounding him, trying to find where they were all supposed to meet up. Along the way, Jasper spied two female tributes talking, instantly recognizing one of them as the attention seeker from before. Jasper snorted. "Girls. Already gossiping." Rolling his eyes and dodging a blow from his mentor, Jasper headed inside, giving the two other a teasing smile before disappearing up the elevator.
A boy shot Cat a teasing smile as he walked past. She gave him a cheeky grin back, before remembering she was meant to be sweet. Oh well, never mind.
Faith walked to her designer, who introduced himself as Clay, with his bright green hair with unnatural blue eyes. He looked freaky, Faith decided but allowed him to lead her to a small room. "Ah! I do lurve district ones! Hardly any work!" He said happily. "Okay!" He clapped his hands together and the team of three stylists jumped up. "Chop chop!" he turned to Faith and grinned at her. "Don't worry, honey, you're going to look like a star!" Faith smiled.
Jasper stared at the three stylists hovering around him. He grit his teeth as they prepped his body for the main stylist. One of them was completely green, and seemed to be slightly kooky. Then there was a surly red one and a jittery yellow one. All three of them were talking above his head and sighing over his 'pretty boy' looks. He frowned. "I'm not pretty." He had interjected at one point. Red blinked in surprise. Green clapped his hands.
"Splendid! He talks!" Green cooed excitedly. The yellow one shook her head.
"Sh-shush Kio. You'll upset him." The green one, 'Kio' looked rather put out.
"Sharie is right, you know." Jasper turned to the doorway and saw a magnificent black and silver piece of art walk towards him. The new stylist smiled enchantingly.
"Hello. I'm Ink. It's a pleasure to meet you Jasper." The other stylists took it as their cue to leave. Ink sat down gracefully beside him. Jasper blinked a couple of times before blurting out, "Are you a guy?" Ink laughed, and nodded his head. Smiling himself, Jasper examined the black blue skin and swirling silver lines with awe. A gentle hand touched his shoulder, and he looked back up.
"Shall we begin?" Jasper nodded hesitantly, before gathering up his robe and following Ink out.
-x-
"Okay, honey, you're done."
Cat blinked up at Lorinta. "Oh, thank you."
She had been waxed, plucked, scrubbed...She had never been cleaner in her life; her hair shone like dark brown silk and curled around her shoulders and down to her waist, and her skin tingled all over.
"Heather will be here in a moment sweetie."
"Heather?"
"Your stylist."
Lorinta and the rest of the team left the room and left her nervously waiting for 'Heather'.
The stylist cooed over Faith who had to stop from rolling her eyes.
Apparently, she was much better kept than District 7, where they had been last. Apparently, she could make many guys hearts break. Apparently, she was going to be "Absolutely Stunning!", as they had cooed. After a while, she was studied and able to follow Clay out of the room, in a robe, thank God.
"Wait till you see your dress!" Heather twittered, stroking Cat's hair like she was some sort of pet. "You're such a sweet little thing! You're going to look just like a little princess!"
Jasper sighed as he slumped down a little in his chair. He watched Ink as he gathered up various bits of clothing for him. Turning back to the mirror, Jasper took in his new face. His normally bland green eyes now smouldered with a hidden fire, thanks to Ink's inventive way of using eyeliner. His lips were darker and his cheeks were a dark, dusty rose. Ink reappeared at his shoulder with a smile.
"Oh, you are going to love your outfit! It totally suits your bad-boy image."
Jasper blinked, before turning around and taking a look at what Ink was holding. He gaped. His suit was entirely black, but it was intricately decorated with a fire motif.
"I'm going to look like a person-shaped piece of burning coal?"
Clay twittered happily and showed her in a mirror so far. She saw her black locks were twisted to even thicker curls and tipped with gold, she had thick false eyelashes tipped with gold as well. She had gold lipstick on, which she thought should look horrible, but actually looked nice, she smiled. Clay chirped. "And, then we're going to make you into a shooting star!" He said perkily clapping his hands and one of the stylists walked in with a dress with different gold tones that swirled to a shooting star. Faith smirked.
"O.K sweetheart! you can open your eyes now!"
Cat blinked. She could hardly believe that it was really her reflection she was seeing. Her hair was soft and shiny and hung in loose ringlets to her waist, with a small silver crown studded with sapphire, pearls and aquamarines around her forehead. The dress was a deep sea green, with swirling shades of sapphire and silver also visible in the floaty silk. It had a tight bodice decorated with shimmering silver embroidery, and the full skirt hung past her feet, swirling loosely around her, looking like rippling waves. Her large blue eyes were rimmed with dark Kohl, making them look wide and innocent. In contrast her lips were a pale rosy pink, making her eyes stand out. She looked like a sea nymph from a story of ancient Greece.
Faith grinned in the mirror; the top part of a dress was made like a corset in whites and gold, with lots of lace. The last part, that swirled down like a shooting star seemed to pronounce her figure, make her much bolder than normal.
"Nearly done!" Clay said cheerfully slipping some very long starry earrings in and a small golden crown. "They'll love you!" He said clapping his hands together in excitement.
Heather slid a pair of pearl earrings decorated with sapphires and aquamarines into Cats newly pierced ears. "That's a gorgeous necklace!" Heather squealed.
"It's my district token" Cat explained.
"Nice." Heather helped Cat down from the stall on which she was standing, and led her to the elevator. They swooped down to the place where they would board their chariots.
The District 4 chariot was silver and decorated with gems and pearls, and was drawn by four pure white horses, the exact colour of foam on the sea.
After slipping into high strapping golden heels, Faith tilted her chin up and allowed herself to be led to the chariots
Jasper stared at Ink, who shrugged sheepishly.
"What can I say? I thought it was a cool idea." Jasper's mouth popped open as he watched Ink give him one of the best pouts he had ever seen on a man. And that in itself was kinda weird. "Oh, please, Jasper. Just put it on." Jasper sighed and began to get dressed. Some of the little buckles were annoying to put on, so Ink hovered by and eventually put the outfit on him by himself.
When they were done, Ink clapped appreciatively.
"I'm telling you, Jasper. You look awesome." Resignedly, Jasper turned back to the mirror. He blinked. The outfit, once on him, didn't look too bad. "Don't panic, Jasper. I need to check something." Ink grinned, before the lights suddenly switched off. Jasper swore that his jaw actually hit the floor. His clothes glowed. It was kind of strange, wearing glowing clothing. The lights flickered back on and Jasper turned back to his crazy stylist.
"Wow Ink." His soft voice was awed. Ink grinned again.
"I told you you'd like it."
Cat saw Faith and headed over. She had some time; there weren't many other tributes down here yet. "Hi Faith, you look amazing!"
She grinned at Cat. "You too, honey." She said perkily.
"Thank you!" Cat said, smiling at Faith. "Faith, are you really good? At combat and stuff?"
She winked. "I may have a few tricks up my sleeve."
Cat smiled at her. "What will you teach me? Did you mean it when you said you would?"
She grinned. "I can show you a thing or two."
"Thank you! I don't know what I'd do without you!" Cat gave her a swift hug- careful not to mess up either of their outfits- before slipping off to her chariot. She could barely see over the top. "Erm.. I might need a stool..." she said.
"Okay. Just remember Cat. It's the hunger games." With a quick smile she walked to her chariot and took a seat, tilting her chin up, ready.
Cat clambered onto the stool offered, smiling nervously at Faith, pretending not to know what she meant. But in reality, she knew all too well.
Faith grinned at her before facing forwards and readying herself for the parade.
Jasper sighed once again and looked at the Chariots. He eyed the light where he knew a whole crowd of people were waiting to gawk at him. He wasn't a people person; he didn't know how the hell he was going to survive the Interviews.
"One step at a time, Jasp..." He muttered to himself as he clambered onto his Chariot. Jasper looked down at Ink who had come to stand beside the chariot. Ink smiled gently and placed a comforting hand on Jasper's knee.
"Relax. Everything is going to be okay. You look amazing, and the crowd will love you." Jasper snorted before looking ahead again. He could see a lot of tributes milling around, some of them having a chat. Jasper recognized the same two girls from before. He frowned, and turned back to Ink.
"Are you sure?" Ink nodded eagerly.
"Yes. The costume will glow better when it comes into the strong lights outside. You will glow with your inner fire." Ink winked before strolling away. "Chin up, Jasper. The people will love you." Jasper exhaled shakily before standing up straight, mentally preparing to face the crowd.
Faith's chariot was first to begin rolling, she absently coiled a dark, gold-tipped curl around her finger as it left for the street. She sat up straight, grinning mysteriously, with her chin tilted to give her an air of authority.
The other District 4 contender clambered up into the chariot with Cat. Even though she was standing on a stool, he was still taller than her. She wobbled a little bit, and Heather rushed over. "Let her hold onto you!" she hissed at the boy. He looked irritated, but nodded. Cat flashed a grateful smile at both of them, and gripped his arm to keep herself steady. Their chariot began to roll out, and Cat took a deep breath and prepared to face the crowds.
The other tribute clambered on, Faith looked at him doubtfully, but he looked like a good fighter, she hadn't really spoken to him much. "Career?" She asked from the corner of her mouth, he smirked and nodded. She grinned and blew a kiss toward the crowds as the chariot rolled out.
Cat smiled and waved to the crowds, managing to retain her innocent smile, making her look young and sweet. She caught a glimpse of the screen, and noticed that Faith was definitely getting the most screen time. However, surprised, she noticed that she was getting a fair amount too, not as much as some of the others, but still a fair bit. She wondered if her brothers were watching, and felt tears threaten to spill down her cheeks, but managed to regain her composure and remain smiling.
Faith managed to keep a small air of mystery, whilst blowing kisses and waving at the crows with a sly smile on her face. Her eyes occasionally flickered to the screens, a small smirk growing on her lips.
Cat waved to the crowds, trying not to wobble on her stool. She was shaking with nerves, and a glance up at the screen showed her that she looked extremely vulnerable and pitiful. Good.
Faith watched Cat on the screen for a few moments before turning back to the crowds holding a hand up to catch two golden roses.
Cat managed to catch a small violet in one hand, and smiled sweetly up at the direction where it had come from. She waved, delicately up at them.
Faith blew a kiss in the direction that the roses came and tucked them into her hair, the chariot doing a final lap before entering the tribute training area.
As Cats chariot did a final lap, she blew one sweet little kiss right towards the camera. Finally, her chariot entered the training area, and she managed to prise her hand off of the boys arm. "Thank you!" she sighed, before slumping down onto her stool. He ignored her and stormed off.
Faith stepped from the chariot as it rolled to a stop, walking to the horse and stroking down his neck.
Cat giggled as the horse huffed her hair. She gently stroked it nose as it arched its head over her shoulder. "Hello gorgeous" she whispered under her breath. That was what she liked most about animals. They didn't judge you. They just loved you no matter what, as long as you showed them kindness.
The horse was sweet and kind, but Faith wasn't sweet and kind, while stroking down his neck a nail 'accidentally' poked into his neck. The horse whinnied slightly but Faith noted that nobody noticed. With a grin she kissed the horses' nose before walking off, thanking her stylist and ignoring her father.
Cat wasn't sure, but she thought she saw Faith poke the horse, making it whinny. She decided she'd probably imagined it. Giving her horse a farewell pat, she clambered to her feet, and followed Heather and the boy from her district to her rooms.
Jasper trembled as his chariot rolled forward into the lights. The girl beside him -he hadn't even noticed her getting on- clutched at his arm for support.
Jasper swayed, before righting himself and forcing a smile on his face. He held on tightly to the chariot and waved, switching on his nonexistent charm.
Nobody cared about District 12 anyway. Jasper looked at the screens, and watched as he and his fellow tribute glowed like human shaped fire. He snorted. Hadn't this already been done before? The chariots finally came to a stop, and Jasper helped the girl down. He noted the flowers that she had caught. Jasper smiled wryly, turning away and heading to the elevator. His smirk grew as he listened to Moxin gushing over the pretty flowers. Ink sidled up beside him and grinned.
"Did you enjoy that?" The smirk slid off Jasper's face. He frowned at his stylist, before glaring at the elevator doors sullenly.
"I hate crowds." He muttered. Ink laughed and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Just remember to eat well and rest up. The training is going to tire you out, my friend." Jasper snorted again, this time giving Ink a friendly nudge.
Sleep. That was the last thing on this tribute's mind.
Faith let her district representative lead her upstairs, Clarry was a mound of fake tan and golden hair, looking... well... fake, Faith decided. She stepped into an elevator, leaning against the door as it zipped up.
Cat got to her room and collapsed on the bed. She would need all her strength for the trailing tomorrow.
Faith stepped into her room, kicking her shoes off and stepping into a warm shower, washing off all the make-up.
Cat managed to finally finish washing off all the make-up and dragged on a pale blue nightdress. Collapsing into bed, she was asleep before she'd even touched the pillow.
