AUTHOR'S NOTES: Just because Katniss is absent does not necessarily mean that the chariot costume designs were abandoned. Primrose might not be "The Girl on Fire", but at the same time, she's not about to be doomed to die the nameless death of bloodbath fodder. Peeta's got her back.
In other news, we've got Thresh and Rue who are taking a completely different and more tactical approach this year. The careers aren't about to just bulldoze their way to the top or anything... not that easily at least. Happy reading!

CHAPTER 3: Steel and Fire

Cato, Clove, and all of the others were simply biding their time until the evening, where they would all be dressed up in fancy and flashy costumes in order to show themselves off to the Capitol. Perhaps this was another lesson about how the teams were just that—teams. Tributes relied on their escort to line up sponsor gifts; their mentor to teach them tips and tricks, as well as when to receive sponsor gifts; and the stylists to make them give a good impression to the Capitol audiences, both during the chariot parade and during the interviews that would happen with Caesar Flickerman at the end of the 7th and final day of training.

Other than perhaps the notion of allying with District 1, the most commonly spoken about tributes on the 2nd floor were that District 11 pair. Most tributes would say something to the careers, or would shy away from them whenever they crossed paths, even if it was as simple a place as an elevator.

And yet, Thresh Dakara and Rue Keniye had not stood down, nor had they even opened their mouths. Cato mentioned that he had heard that there was a pair of stylists who were like that—perfectly able to speak, and yet simply choosing not to, but Clove dismissed that as well.

"It doesn't matter if they don't talk," she reminded him, "they'll be dead soon." Of course, this stroking of Cato's ego helped the boy's thoughts wander elsewhere, while Clove instead focused more on it, unbeknownst to Cato.

What if they were actually a threat though? As easy as it might be to pick off a dozen or so really weak tributes during the opening minutes, the ones that survived that were usually either clever, lucky, or both. If that massive boy decided to defend that smaller girl, they could potentially be a deadly team.

Clove's thoughts wandered again, as they often did when she wasn't doing anything. She thought of back home, and of her family. Okay, so perhaps it more than irked her that they had not come to see her finest achievement. She had volunteered for the Hunger Games! She was in the Capitol now, basking in the glory of their benevolent hosts. Soon, she'd be in the arena fighting to the death to win glory for herself, her family, and her district! How could they not be proud of her for that?

It was certainly not that they were ashamed or anything; they had just seemed disinterested. Sure they were hard on her in the past, but this… this should have made everything better.

Cato actually noticed it, no less. Clove did not expect much sympathy from him though.

"You look like you're off in dreamland," he quipped, "you're not scared of District 11, are you?"

"Of course not" Clove shook her head, "Just thinking about something back home. I'm going to see it in a few weeks, you know."
Cato smirked. There was the usual arrogant Clove that he knew and loved (so to speak).

"That's only if you can get through me," he smirked, "Not an easy task."

"I bet I can still off more tributes than you," she challenged.

"Oh, you're so on!" Cato shook her hand almost enthusiastically. "May the odds be ever in your favor—you're going to need it!"
This playful bantering and bickering continued for a while until Athena returned with a pair of stylists in tow. This of course prompted Clove and Cato to follow them to the studios, where they and the others would be cleaned up one final time before getting dressed and adorned in fancy outfits of some sort. Naturally, cleaner-cut and more hygienic tributes like the kids from District 1 and District 2 did not take nearly as long as the rougher and (arguably) somewhat feral kids from the likes of 10, 11, or 12.

Cato and Clove got along well with their stylists, who were soon adorning the two of them in bronze-colored gladiator-styled outfits, with stylized battle armor and winged helmets. The outfits were somewhat revealing, for they did want to show off Cato's muscular physique, but also Clove's lithe and slender form. After all, they were set to be some of the Capitol's favorites this year, or so they were told. This kind of ego-stroking meant that neither one of them was upset with this notion.

If there was another (of surely many) things to say about the Capitol, it was that they had some impeccable timing. It would also have explained why the trains from all 12 districts arrived in the Capitol within minutes of each other, and perhaps also why the tributes were done being operated on and dressed up all around the same time as well.

Clove did hear a delighted squeal a room over or something, and after emerging from the studios herself, noticed that Marvel and Glimmer, that slightly ditzy but otherwise fairly attractive District 1 pair were decked out in rainbow-colored glittery outfits—probably a representation of gems or something.

"Was that you in there?" Clove turned to the taller, blond-haired girl and stuck her thumb out in the direction of the studio where she had heard that delighted squeal.

"It was," Glimmer admitted with a grin.

"It seems fitting," Cato nodded his approval of the girl's outfit as well, although seconds later, exchanged glances with Clove that indicated he was thinking the same thing she was—Glimmer and Marvel had nothing on them.

One of the most notable subjects that would circulate around the Capitol and the stylist community this year though, was the synergy between the District 11 team. Their stylists, a pair named Zakuya and Misaha, were new this year, and thus had been given one of the outer districts to work with. What made them significant to Thresh and Rue was that they were about as talkative as the tribute pair—which meant they hardly spoke at all.

Perhaps the most intriguing part about it was that it did not stop communication, and so they were cleaned and outfitted without a hitch. They appeared shortly after the District 12 pair, who were clad in form-fitting black attire, which most people dismissed as simple and ineffective as usual.

For a moment, Thresh and Rue both glanced towards Glimmer, Marvel, Cato, and Clove, none of which knew what to make of their expressions. A sparkle of interest seemed to flash before their eyes, though their lips remained closed the entire time as if they were silently sizing up their competition. Glimmer smiled and waved coyly at them—a gesture which they did not return. In fact, the only actual movement from them at the moment was the flow of the blue and green fabric that comprised their outfits.

The tributes began to converge where the chariots would line up before showing themselves off to the Capitol audience as they were paraded down the square. There were hushed whispers among many of them as they heard some of the opening fanfares and boarded their chariots. It was only a matter of minutes before Marvel and Glimmer would start off the show, with Cato and Clove in tow, as well as District 3, then '4, all the way down to Peeta Mellark and Primrose Everdeen in District 12.

There was never any booing or negative remarks from the Capitol crowds upon seeing their tributes, but instead, the voiced it with silence. However, there was anything but silence as the career chariots made their debuts. Clove and Cato raised their arms into the air, shouting triumphantly, as if to pump up the crowds. They were certainly just as big of hits as they had expected themselves to be.

However, the thrills of the parade didn't end there. Even the districts in between were fairly memorable for a bit, even if they might not have shone as brightly as District 1 and District 2.

District 11's costume did not have any explicitly special effects, although their outfits did seem to shimmer under the light of the moon and the Capitol, bringing the symbolism of earth, water, and light into being, reminding the Capitol that those were requisites of making plants grow.

District 12, however, was an upset this year. Those simple black costumes the tributes were clad in suddenly burst into exotic (albeit fake) flames halfway through the parade, which was a trick one of the stylists had pulled off, to great success.

Clove actually glanced behind her out of the corner of her eye to see why the crowds had suddenly erupted into cheers behind them.

"They're on fire," she muttered to Cato as they began to form a semicircle around the President's balcony, "Here's for hoping the flames are real."

They knew that these flames weren't real, but suddenly they felt like they had just gotten challenged. There would be plenty of time to address that issue tomorrow at training though. Right now, it was time to focus on President Coriolanus Snow, who appeared up on his balcony that the tribute chariots now surrounded. His words were simple but powerful.

"Welcome to the 74th Annual Hunger Games." He announced in his usual calm but commanding tone. "And may the odds be ever in your favor."

AFTERTHOUGHTS:

1-All of these tributes are familiar faces, but that doesn't meant they're the same as we remember them. Who strikes your fancy the most so far?
2-Zakuya and Misaha are in fact the same stylists that dressed up the District 2 pair in "The 92nd Annual Hunger Games". Should I continue to make little subtle references to my other fanfics like this, or no?
3-Cato, Clove, Thresh, and Rue have now formally crossed paths. Any thoughts on the relationship between these two tribute pairs?