The next two days were torture. Between Vase trying to make me lady-like, which my mom had failed terribly at, and Gregor trying to find out my personality, I was an emotion and physical wretch.
The first day with Vase was the hardest in my opinion, the moment I walked into the room, she was all over me, stripping me naked and putting me into this humongous yellow dress that blinded me just to look at it, before putting me into high heels that were twice as tall as the ones I'd had on before this, at the opening ceremony.
She made me walk for her and she had to admit that I had some practise with high heels, which was true. Yet the way I was holding the dress made her go ballistic. When I didn't hold it, though, I was tripping over it.
Then Vase got into sitting. Every position we tried didn't look good to her. I tried with crossed legs, with straight legs, with a lazy, yet elegant posture. Nothing worked. She ended up screaming into a pillow, which was pretty funny.
In the end of the second day and the end of the training, she looked me over and nodded, "That's the best I can do, lets hope you don't make a laughing stock of yourself,"
I stared at her for a few minutes, before turning and starting to strip the huge dress off my body. It was great to be back in my normal clothing after that.
Then again, Gregor was a pretty hard teacher, the first time I stepped into his room, the first thing he yelled at me was stop! I'd jumped about a foot off the ground, but it had stopped me all right. He had walked around me for about three minutes, then sighed and threw his head back in the air, "I don't know! You have nothing that the capitol wants to see naturally... we're gonna have to dig something out of you,"
The things that I couldn't do soon became apparent. I couldn't be sweet, I had to much built up anger in me. I wasn't sexy, my body just didn't work that way. I wasn't dark and mysterious. Gregor said I shined with an internal light. I wasn't quiet. I didn't need to ask why about that one. Most of all, I wasn't girly. I'd never been girls. I was a tomboy, for crying out loud!
In the end, we worked mostly with bored, but I wasn't good at that at all. Some questions made me perk up angrily, others made me laugh. Gregor said there was a constant glint in my eyes that just didn't go along with 'bored'.
In the end, I'd thrown my arms up in the air, "Whats Quill doing?"
Gregor had shrugged, "Charming, of course, "
I'd lay my head back on the couch, thoroughly tired of this, "Why am I not surprised?"
In the end, it turned out I was a personality dud. Gregor had been very annoyed at this, muttering stuff like 'this never happens to me' and 'its usually only district 12!' I watched him and on the second day, we'd just sat there and played cards.
As I was leaving the room, he'd clapped a hand down on my shoulder and just shook his head, before practically shoving me out the door.
Right at this moment, I was sitting on a chair in my room, waiting for my prep team to show up, plus running one hand up and down the stubble that would be gone by the end of today. I closed my eyes as I heard the tell tale squeals of them coming, then they burst into my room.
They hadn't changed at all. The moment they were inside, they were telling me to strip and I quickly got naked. Makapla ran a bath while Flur began to fix up my eyebrows, horrified by how much they'd grown in such a little time. Tiplaka was working away at my finger nails already.
They maneuvered me into the bathroom and into the tub and I was forced to endure fifteen minutes of scrubbed, pricking and filing. Then I was being dragged back out. Flur instantly got to work on my hair, blow drying it and then curling it wildly around my head and hooking it on the top somehow. Tiplaka began to paint my fingernails, a light blue colour. Obviously we were doing another water theme.
They waxed me again, but this time I was much more prepared, so I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stick through it. It went by faster this time, since my legs weren't as hairy and nothing was left over afterwards. They still went over me with tweezers though.
After this, they began to spread sparkles over my body. I stared at them in confusion, but I wasn't able to look down at my legs because Flur was braiding strands that were hanging along the sides of my face. With each braid, he slipped a blue bead on. Afterwards, he applied the same sparkling material to my face, before putting light blue eye shadow on me and making some designs around my eyes.
Finally they stepped back, observing my body. Then they all broke into grins, screeching stuff like 'we did it again!' and 'she's gonna be loved!'. I just stared at them until finally they grabbed my hands and dragged me out of the bathroom.
Flavish was already out there and he was quick to praise the prep team. He instructed me to close my eyes again, as he had before and I was quick to do so. I raised my arms carefully and he slipped something over my body. It only seemed to reach halfway down my thighs, which made me feel a little vulnerable. He stepped me into a pair of knee high boots and slipped a pair of elbow length gloves onto me, before stepping back.
His voice showed the excitement he was feeling, "You can look now,"
My eyes cracked open and the mirror was already in front of me, this time moved with a little bit more expertise. I stared at myself, mouth hanging open in shock.
The dress landed were it felt like and was coloured a deep blue, with dappled markings all over it, like sun reflecting off the water. It was strapless but fit my figure perfectly. Every time I shifted, it sparkled brilliantly, still showing sun reflecting off water. My body sparkled along with it, every corner, as did the boots and gloves, which were the exact same shade as the dress.
My hair was curled and a bunch of it was pinned on the very top of my head, falling down like a cascade of water. The strands that fell around my face were braided and fixed with blue beads that sparkled in the light. My lips were lightly sparkled and glossed, while my face sparkled. The blue eyeshadow around my eyes complimented my eyes greatly and glowing wave designs cupped my eyes, but no where's else.
I just stood there, trying to breath in, but finding myself unable to. Everyone was waiting for my reaction and I forced myself to speak. Every time they decorated me like this I seemed to be unable to speak, "I... I love it!"
They squealed, ushering me from the room as we made are way to the vehicle, which I would be sharing with Quill. I wondered what he looked like.
We reached the vehicle and I quickly climbed in, shifting around in my dress as I tried to figure out how to sit with one like this. I barely noticed Quill staring at me until I finally looked up. I jumped about a foot in the air, staring at him in shock.
He was dressed in a pair of brown pants that looked exactly like wood and a green, dappled shirt, like leaves. His hair had been left alone and his face was designed with leaves and sparkles, like sun going through leaves. His lips were a burgundy colour, as were his boots and the gloves he wore, which only went to his wrists.
For a long moment we just stared at each other, then pain seemed to flash in his eyes and he turned away, staring out the window in the darkening streets.
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It didn't take us long to reach the interview building and we quickly made are way inside before anyone would notice us. There was no time to talk to anyone so we just went along with the flow. I caught a glimpse of Viclin, dressed in simple brown clothing.
People stared at us, but soon we were being seated. Quill seemed lost in thought as he sat down beside me though sometimes his eyes flickered my way. I unsuccessfully tried to ignore him and that only made me more mad.
The interviews started and people began to cry out, or sigh, or laugh. I waited impatiently for are turn to come, but it seemed to take a very long time. Ruby was going for tough, Reggie obviously trying to be dangerous, which he was naturally good at. Viclin was sweet and innocent. The girl from district 5 was sexy all the way.
Finally, the boy in front of me took his seat again and it was my turn. I steeled myself, unsure how the capitol would react to my outfit and stood up and walked out.
The screams were instant, they obviously loved it. I smiled and waved at them, before sitting down beside Caesar, who was dressed in orange. Orange hair, orange make up, orange suit. It made me think of vomit.
I barely have sat down before Caesar is speaking up, "So, Tivra, right?" I nod and he smiles, his teeth shockingly bright, "Tell me, what was your reaction to being reaped? Weren't you excited?"
I grit my teeth together, then shrug, "Oh wasn't really that surprised, actually. I was expecting something like that to happen sooner or later,"
Caesar raises an eyebrow, shock evident on his face, "Really? Well that's definitely interesting! So, whats you favorite part about the Capitol?"
I paused, as if debating on what to say, before giving a big smile, "Obviously all the wonderful, amazing people here! You're all just so sweet!"
People cheered, calling out my name and I wish I could slap them all, smack some sense into their perfect little heads, but Caesars speaking again, "Well, I'm sure we can all say that we were shocked by the opening ceremonies! You're dress was absolutely dazzling! And that kiss! What were your thoughts on that?"
I froze. All of Gregor's advice rushed through my head, swirling there. I know that I should be giggling, acting like it was a shock but not a bad thing. I pushed my lips together for a minute, then sigh, "Well, I think it was complete irresponsible! But I wasn't repulsed!"
Caesar laughed and the rest of the crowd caught up, but I know that I hadn't played my card right. Dang it, Tivra! Can't you do anything right?.
Ceaser was quick to get the interview back on track, "This dress! It is absolutely beautiful! What do you think of it?
I paused, before smiling at the camera, "Well, I think its to short, but I guess if the crowd likes it... Lets just say my dad is not going to be happy with me!" I shrugged and Caesar laughed again.
"Well, why don't you tell me about your family?" Caesar asked and I could instantly see the regret in his eyes when he saw pain flash across my face, but I quickly obscured it.
"Well, I live with my dad and we both work in the lumber business. I love him very much and hope that he's happy and is proud of me," Caesar reached over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"That's wonderful, dear. Any special guys back home, well, of course, besides the one here," He winked at me and I shrugged, trying to look a little embarrassed by the question.
"Not as far as I can tell. So far, there's only been one guy that's taken a liken in me," I felt the blush rising up in my cheeks. Perfect.
He nodded, "Well, that's good for the golden boy, isn't it, everyone?" There were cheers through the crowd and I went red again, but Caesar turned back to me, "So, a twelve? How did you manage that?"
I grinned, "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"
To my relief, the bell rang and Caesar dismissed me with a, "Happy Hunger Games," I just nodded and stepped of the stage, trying to tune out the cheers and cries of my name. Turns out my sucky interview hadn't changed what people felt towards me. That was good, we were going to need sponsors.
I sat down beside Quill, trying to keep myself from hyperventilating. He didn't look at me as his name was called. He stood up and strutted towards the stage, flashing the audience a grin that sent them screaming and falling over each other. He sat down beside Cesar, who managed to calm to audience down.
Caesar turned to face Quill, already smiling at him, "So, how about we start with the same question we did with Tivra? What was your reaction?"
Quill smiled, turning dark eyes to look at the audience, "Well, I can easily tell you that I was very surprised that I was going to get to meet all these wonderful people," He winked at the audience and about half the women swooned.
I tuned his interview out after that, but was forced out of it when Caesar asked how Quill felt towards me. Quill paused, eyes seeming to be fighting an internal battle, then he sighed, "I'm really not sure how I feel about her... but I'm pretty sure she hates me,"
I froze, eyes widening in anger, that had nothing do with the plan. I ducked my head as the camera's swung around to see my expression. It would only confirm it if they saw my anger. I forced myself to ignore the rest of his interview and finally he came back to sit my me, stiff with tension. The rest of the tributes went up slowly, including a girl that was only twelve years old from District 12. I had never noticed her before.
Her hair was black, almost as black as mine yet her eyes were a startling shade of red. When she smiled, it made you think she was just to cute. Caesar shook the little girls hand. She was dressed in a small, red dress, "So, Arizona Mellark, what was your re..." I drowned them out again, but not before I realized she was related to a past winner, Peeta Mellark, who was pretty famous all on his own.
Finally the interviews were done and me and Quill slipped away into a vehicle and returned to the training center. Suddenly, as I stood in the elevator with Quill, all I could think about was that I was going into the arena tomorrow. I squeezed my eyes closed, regulating my breathing strictly.
If I had kept my eyes open, I wouldn't have seen Quill approach me.
When I opened them again, his face was right in front of mine, his breath mingling with mine. I did a double take and would have smacked my head hard against the wall if his hand hadn't cushioned it. I stared at him, then just barely breathed, "Yes?"
All he said was, "We're going into the arena tomorrow..."
I nodded and there was a sudden ding. We'd reached are floor. He pulled away and swiftly left the small space. I took a deep breath, the sudden breeze where his body had been a moment before chilling me.
I would not fall in love.
That was probably the only thing that kept me from kissing him that night, the fact that I couldn't break that promise to myself. I couldn't love someone that I was going to kill.
I slowly made my way to my room, feeling like the very walls were watching me. I opened the door and closed it quietly, before slipping into the bathroom and getting into the shower. It wasn't until a few minutes afterwards that I realized I was still in my dress, which was soaking wet. I stripped it off and let it drop to the ground at my feet, floating in the shallow pool of water.
I didn't bother to do anything beside stand under the water. My hair fell to pieces and I managed to undo the braids and let the beads trickle off and down the drain. Finally I stepped out of the shower, closing my eyes for a moment before I died off and went to my bed, crawling under the covers.
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I was running through thick trees, my stomach gored open by my own axe. My face was covered in blood, but still I kept running. I could hear a cackling behind me, getting steadily closer. I picked up the pace, but only managed to trip myself on a root and fall flat on my face.
Suddenly Reggie was leaning over me, his face twisted into a sadistic smile, knife in hand. He began to carve my eyes out and my screams echoed through the trees and I fell him grip my eyeball. Horrible pain exploded there.
Out of my other eye, I could see Arizona standing there, my axe in her hand. She could have gored Reggies head open right then, but instead she turned and walked away. My screaming increased...
"Tivra! Tivra! Wake up!"
I started awake, only to find Quill leaning over me, shaking my shoulders. I was gasping and my throat was raw from screaming. I shook him up, hands scrambling at my left eye, expecting there to only be an empty, gaping, bloody hole. To my immense relief, my eye was still intact.
I leaned back against the pillow, closing my eyes and rubbing one hand through the tangle of black hair on my head. Quill looked at me for a second, before whispering, "Nightmare?"
I nodded and he coughed, "Um... do you want me to stay?"
I opened my eyes to look at him. The golden boy, the one that held the puzzle piece of mine and after a moment, I shook my head. He faltered, staring at me, before shrugging and slipping out of my room.
I rolled over and closed my eyes, but sleep would not come, so after a moment I sat up and slipped to the bathroom. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The mess of black hair around my head, the dark blue eyes. I couldn't help thinking about how if someone grabbed my hair in the arena, I was as good as gone...
I opened a drawer, a suddenly idea blossoming in my mind. I took out a pair of scissors and took the first stand in my fingers, pulling it tight and cutting it at the very base.
