AUTHOR'S NOTES: This Victory Tour is going to be comparatively short, simply because Korra's major stops are confined to a couple of districts, and her mind is elsewhere. Also, we get to meet a victor that shares something in common with Korra that none of the other 91 victors ever did, and we get a reminder of Saki's song, among other things.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 36: Gold and Glitter

There were countless times when Korra wondered what went on in the heads of Zakuya and Misaha as they designed Korra's victory tour outfits for each and every district. Delun had not been lying when he had said that they were the best of the best.

They were both silent as they dressed up Korra for their stop in District 1 today, and Korra was not entirely sure what to think about it this early on. She threw all of those thoughts out the window by the time they had finished dressing her.

"I've never seen so much pink and glitter in my life." Korra exclaimed, "Seriously—why pink?"

As always, Zakuya and Misaha did not answer, but did chuckle to themselves. Korra fluttered her long skirts out and found that she actually thought the dress was rather pretty. Ultimately, she smiled and thanked her stylists for a job well done.

Of course, in District 1, they were thrilled to see Korra, especially with how she was dressed. As Korra wheeled herself out onto the platform, she noticed sentiments for Vivian that she did not expect. It was as if the girl had been unprecedentedly popular, and it made Korra wonder if this had been a development that had come from the games or if Vivian had just been really popular before then.

As for Cobalt, Korra could simply say that he was her ally, and as she approached the stage and listened to the mayor give a little speech, she glanced out at Cobalt and Vivian's families—both of them had siblings and both parents alive.

Soon the mayor completed his speech, and Korra wheeled herself up to the center, rising from her chair and gripping the sides of the podium before she spoke. She was not nervous, and the expression upon her visage was one of genuine sorrow and empathy. Korra really felt for these families, knowing that there was nothing she could say or do that would ever fully console them.

"I do not expect your sympathy, and I do not expect your praise," she stated at one point, "but know this: Cobalt Efran was my friend and ally, and Vivian… Vivian was the type of hero that Panem needs more of. She was the Marcus Romero or the Chel Colorado of the 93rd Annual Hunger Games. She was a smart, amiable hero who let nothing ever drag her down. Even after losing an arm, she kept on fighting. Vivian Nelson was a fearless role model that even I aspire to become like. She was skilled at what she did, but more importantly, she was cheerful and her will could not be broken, even in the final throes of her life as she greeted death face to face."

Korra's speech continued, and she was choosy about her words, not wanting to say something that might come off as rebellious. Sure she did not think that such things would cause district-wide riots in a place as loyal as District 1, but she could not take any chances. She had to hold the status quo, despite her hatred of the Capitol wanting little more than to burst out and express itself.

She was a little watery-eyed by the time she was escorted into the Justice Building, but she managed to retain her composure and not break down.
"This is your party, kid," Amy quipped, patting Korra's shoulder, "take a look around, meet some friends, find some old victors to talk to. You've earned it."

Korra did not actually have to look for very long or even look very hard. Within less than 2 minutes, an aged woman most likely in her mid-60s with a bottle of alcohol stepped right up to her and grinned at Korra, almost as if she recognized her from somewhere.

"How's it going, '93?" she grinned, flashing a surprisingly white set of teeth, and Korra merely tilted her head, an eyebrow disappearing into her flyaway bangs.

"Do… do I know you?"
"Miriam Luxio," the woman introduced herself, seating herself next to Korra's wheelchair, "40th Hunger Games. I like the chair, kid. It makes me proud to know I'm not alone anymore."
"What do you mean?" Despite the woman's age, she seemed perfectly able to walk wherever she pleased, and, while she was carrying a cane, she did not seem to use it very much. "you look like you can walk just fine to me."
"Oh, I can," Miriam smirked, "but when I was your age and on tour half a century ago, my legs got jacked up real nasty, and I opted to take the wheelchair just as you did. I couldn't even walk proper till about 2 months AFTER my tour. To put it simply, you're the first and only victor apart from me to ever rock the wheelchair on your victory tour."

"I don't exactly think it's a good thing," Korra frowned.

"Why not?" Miriam raised an eyebrow, "I was always proud of my title… '40 was the only one who ever did it… now I've got to say only '40 and '93 ever did."

At once, Korra realized what Sacajawea's verse had meant.

Are you, are you, coming to the tree,
where legends are told… of victor '93.
Strange things did happen here; no stranger would it be,
if we met, at midnight in the Hanging Tree.

Perhaps this would be one of her legends. Perhaps the very thoughts she sought to repress could be the beginning of her making Panemian history.

"Why the numbers?" Korra asked, "is that really the only way you remember the victors?"
"More or less," Miriam shrugged, "I've long since been desensitized to the notion of violence and even of people. The games will do that to you."

"Don't I know it," Korra sighed.

"But hey," Miriam interrupted her again, "shit's going to happen no matter what, kid. The most we can do is make the best of it and screw the rest of it."
It was not exactly a cure-all solution for Korra, but she shrugged and took it for what it was worth. The rest of the night went fairly smoothly, and eventually Miriam even softened Korra up to the idea of having a drink or two. One drink led to another, and the wild encouragement from Miriam and Clove (as well as another alcoholic District 1 victor named Nailah) helped Korra eventually slip into a comically drunken stupor. Eventually this got to the point where she fell unconscious, but luckily for Korra, this was apparently a normal thing for victors to do.

When she woke up, she was back on the train, heading presumably to District 3. On the nightstand nearby were a couple of bottles with a note that was only a few words in length.

"Ask Dezna Meraxa in District 6 about Red Gold."
~Miriam Luxio~

District 6—not a place Korra wanted to think about any time soon. Luckily she was able to take her mind off of it as Delun practically burst in to remind her that today their stop would be in District 3. Korra could live with that. She might not have known Argenta very well, but Koshu had been her friend, and she wanted to make sure that that was made clear.

The outfit that Zakuya and Misaha put her in was unsurprisingly cool. Consisting of a loose, breezy black suit, it almost reminded Korra of a simpler version of the parade outfit the District 3 tributes had worn that year, except instead of green, the lights on her clothes were white and gold, and were slightly less flashy. Korra felt like that would be for the better, not wanting people to get distracted by her dress while she was giving her speech.

Korra's words were simple but sincere. The passion that fuelled most of her speech was as present here as it had been when she had been giving commands in the arena, and her respect for Koshu as not only a tribute, but as a person, had the citizenry of District 3 applauding her when all was said and done. It seemed that more people understood that she was not the enemy, and that made her job easier. Maybe they were in on her being the Mockingjay. There did seem to be a rebellious feel to the place that didn't pass over Korra's head.

All in all, Korra left District 3 in good spirits, and her journey to and in District 4 was similar. She did not know either of the tributes near as well as she had known Koshu, but the nights were devoid of nightmares, and the people of District 4 seemed very mellow and carefree by comparison. For a district often called 'careers', they didn't seem to harbor any strong loyalty to the Capitol the way Districts 1 or 2 did. The beautiful beaches, fresh, crisp air, and overall positive attitude seen by the inhabitants of this place marked it as one Korra would want to see again.

Perhaps most curious of all, however, was a girl that bore a striking resemblance to Korra herself, seen among the crowds. Korra saw her several times that night, meaning either she was becoming schizophrenic (which seemed highly unlikely), or the girl was real. Before she could cross paths with her though, she found herself and her team being escorted back to the train that evening. After all… the Victory Tour had to go on.