Chapter Eight

My friends were dressed like me. Except…

"Hey, where's my pickaxe?" Zavier complained.

I grinned. "Pickaxes are for the leader only." I waved it. Our suits lit up. It was like I was the controller. I laughed.

"You look great," Peyton said.

"So do you." I hugged her. "Jeez, I'm nervous."

We waited in our room. My body shook with nerves. My stomach churned. For an hour, we waited.

"I wonder how the others are going," Zavier said, seeming to be unable to stand the silence.

"I hope they're going bad," Tammin said.

We were called downstairs. My footsteps were tiny- more like shuffles. I shivered not from cold, but from nerves. Nyal came over and put his arm around me, anyway. I appreciated the support.

"Don't worry, they'll love you," he said.

"Ha-ha," I said sarcastically.

"Have you seen yourself lately?"

I shook my head, unable to hand out any more sarcastic comments. Down here, I could hear the crowd. Cheers. My stomach churned even more.

"District Twelve," a man said, calling us over.

I grabbed Peyton's arm and pulled her with me.

"Nuh-uh," Rica said, separating my grip. "You stand by yourself. You are the leader."

"I don't want to be the leader," I muttered.

I stood there, facing the doors. The crowd was now quieting. Waiting. For me. My heart was hammering against my ribcage.

My nose was almost touching the ornately carved doors. My hands were clammy and my grip on the pickaxe was started to slip from sweat. If I didn't get a hold of myself, I probably would have sweat off all the makeup. All too soon, a man called out our district number to Panem, and the doors swung open to reveal a deafening crowd.

Lights momentarily blinded me, but my focus soon came. People. Hundreds of them. To see me. To see us. To cheer us on while we killed each other.

A lush red carpet led its way into the crowd. A human barrier of Peacekeepers held the screaming horde back.

My mind told my foot to take a step. And another. And another. Then I was walking through the audience.

Confidence grew as I took more steps. My name and a few others rang through my ears. Don't worry, they'll love you, Nyal had said.

Every now and then I waved to the crowd and smiled. Pretended that I loved them for encouraging bloodshed. I moved the pickaxe. Satisfaction welled up inside me at the sound of their collective gasps.

An enormous TV above the stage provided me an image of myself. I had to bite back a gasp myself. I was extremely unrecognisable under the mask. But every flash of energy illuminated my face. The mask became invisible in the light of my suit and my face would be seen for half a second. Then it was gone. Rica was an absolute genius.

I grabbed my hat and flung it into the swarm of citizens. People dived to retrieve it.

Finally, the stage drew near. A Peacekeeper helped me up the steps.

People screamed and cheered. Flowers were thrown at our feet. Our names were shouted out.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Panem, this year's tributes for district twelve!" The host called.

I grinned and waved. Another wave of cat-calls.

I looked back to my friends for assurance. They were assembled in a line, but I was at the front. Their leader. The one with the pickaxe. Peyton nodded and motioned a swinging action. Oh. Pickaxe.

Stepping forward, I raised the pickaxe. Several people gasped as they realised what I was going to do. I swung it down as fast as I could before sense could register. The tip sank through the stage's floor.

The lights blacked out and all was dark. Silence. Then, before anyone could react, a single light flickered on. I looked around for a source- then I realised, that it was me. The light was me.

Behind me, lights turned on, too, but not as bright as mine. Finally, the light consumed my suit and little coal-like shapes of the material fluttered to the ground. My mask dropped off. My costume was gone.

A completely different person stood in my place.

The undergarment that Rica had put on wasn't an undergarment. It was a dress. A one-shouldered white dress that came halfway down my thighs- and that was it. My arms… what did Mona do? Black stripes ran across them, patterned with different shades of orange. My legs, too, had the same pattern. Parts of my boots had torn off, leaving only sandals with laces going up to the ankles.

My eyes went to the TV. My mouth opened in a small 'o' of astonishment.

I looked like me alright- but enhanced. Dark shadows streaked up on my eye region. Lines of black. But as I moved, the vision flickered. I was me, then not me. Then me again. Rica had managed to bring out my other side. The side that everyone had seen when I had taken the stage, laying down my life so Julia was free. The side that the Peacekeepers felt when I attacked them. The side that took over me when I leapt at Teah. The side that showed up at every hunt, when I was armed with my father's weapons.

My other side was a tigress.

Mona had managed to make me look feline. My hair had gone out of its bun fell like a wild cascade over my shoulders, down my back, down my chest. Unforgettable. Recognisable.

Turning around, to make sure that my friends could see what I could, I noticed that their suits were still on. They hadn't burnt off, like mine. Then make the others shine like you, Rica had instructed.

Walking over to Peyton who was the second in line, I took off her mask, giggling. Immediately, her suit glowed white and dissolved. She was a zebra. Going one by one, I tore off my friends' masks- revealing them to the crowds.

The stage was a zoo. Hilton- a squirrel. Zavier was a monkey, his tail brushed the floor. Vena- an eagle. Gill was a humungous polar bear. Tammin- a grizzly. Kinley was a buck.

Last in line was Nyal. I smiled at him and gently took his mask off.

His animal was tiger. The crowd doubled its cheering- it was now a roar, dotted by wolf-whistles. "Okay," I said. "This is not a coincidence."

Taking his hand, we all bowed. The stage was a zoo. The multitude of people were a wild jungle.

Finally, a Peacekeeper opened a door and we disappeared behind the stage. I gave one last wave as the curtain closed. Show over.

Rica was waiting for us. "That was great!" she exclaimed, hugging us all in turn.

My arms felt like jelly. I still hadn't let go of Nyal's hand.

"Great?" I said. "You designed the costumes that made us great."

"Three cheers for Rica!" Zavier yelled. The backstage was suddenly full of our voices. Several people turned to glare, some looked on in amusement.

Teah appeared.

The holiday mood died down a bit as my friends studied my reaction. Nyal squeezed my hand as a warning. Don't lose it.

"Hello Teah," I said stiffly.

Her lips twitched. "Hello Lanie." She stuttered a bit then shut her mouth. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry-"

"Yeah," I said. I would've stopped at that, but Nyal squeezed my hand again. "I'm sorry too," I said, trying to look ashamed. My friends failed to stifle a sigh of relief.

Teah drifted off with Rica for a private conversation, while the prep team fussed over us. Nyal smiled at me. "You didn't lose your head."

"Not completely, no," I agreed as Mona handed me a robe to put on.

I caught the eye of the boy brutish boy from district four. I narrowed my eyes and bared my teeth slightly- tigress style. The other tribute from district four, a girl with blonde hair, tugged on his arm, grabbing his attention. "The nerve of people," I muttered.

"If you want, I carve his eyes out in the arena for you," Nyal offered.

"No. He's mine… to kill," I added, catching the look on Nyal's face.

"Oh." Nyal grinned.

"Not in that way," I said, shoving him slightly and rolling my eyes. "I can't wait to get all the make-up on me. My skin can't breathe." I stretched.

"Get up early tomorrow, we've got training."

I groaned. Peyton called my name, telling me that we had to go.

"See you," I said to Nyal, and starting to walk away.

"Err, Lanie?" Nyal asked.

"Hm?"

Nyal held up our hands, mine still holding on to his tightly. He raised his eyebrows. I smiled a bit at my own stupidity, hoping that I wasn't blushing about the fact that I was reluctant to let go. "See you," I repeated, then left with Peyton.

Reaching the room, Peyton hopped onto the bed, jittery from either being famous, or the thrill of having survived Capitol citizens. Either way, both feats were still something to be proud of.

While I waited for Peyton's hyperactive behaviour to wear off, I headed into the shower. I picked buttons this time, hoping that I would get the same type of shower as the morning's. The water became multicoloured as the makeup was washed off my skin. I relished the feeling of the warm water.

I seemed to have caught Peyton's bug. Inside of me, there's a pleasant feeling- the feeling of knowing that I am loved in a way. A buzzing of a feeling. I don't think it was so much about the people screaming out my name, but something else. I felt warmth spread into my cheeks as I remembered. Being the tigress. Nyal being the tiger. Had Rica done that on purpose?

I stared dumbly at my hand, remembering that I had gripped his so tightly. So naturally. So casually. Everything seemed to have evaporated. I was sure that I would have taken a swipe at Teah, if Nyal hadn't been holding my hand. I was sure I would have thrown up from stage fright, if Nyal wasn't there to support me.

The container came down and dried my hair. I checked in the mirror briefly to make sure I was clear of all makeup. I was satisfied when I looked like myself.

As I went back into the room wrapped in a towel, I realised that I had nothing to wear. I opened the closet and was immediately bowled over by the clothes. "Oh, wow," I muttered.

"I know right?" Peyton squealed, appearing next to me. "Ooh, there's a note! There's a note!"

I recognised the writing. Tobias has scrawled, More clothes- can't have you walking around in only your underwear.

I ordered Peyton to go calm down in the shower as I changed into a pair of shorts and a singlet. I didn't wait for her to finish. God knows how long she'll take to repeat to me the recent events in explicit detail- no matter how many times I'll tell her that I was there too, she'd still yabber on. I slipped into bed.

And let the memories of Nyal lull me to sleep.

Sorry guys, I know it's been a while since I've last updated. But don't worry, more chapters are definitely coming. Reviews?