Disclaimer: I don't own the hunger games. If I did, I'd be Satan.

The crowds of the colourful Capitol waved back at me through the window. If I want to survive, I guess I'll have to make the Capitol like me but sitting down, refusing to wave like Roland, isn't very likeable.

I step away from the window when we enter the station.

"You know, it's respectful to wave to people who want to see you" I say in a matter of fact tone to Roland.

"I'm not being friendly towards people who enjoy seeing children die" Roland replies as we walk out to the station.

I roll my eyes "I would be friendly to people who could save you in the arena"

Since he's walking in front of me, he turns his head and glares at me "You can survive without them"

"You never know" I argue back "you could get poisoned and if some rich person likes you, they'll send you an antidote"

Roland glares at me again

"She's right" Aurora says "but you can continue this argument later, you need to go get pretty now"

Does she mean getting ready for the tribute parade?

Before I could ask that, I was taken away from them by a peacekeeper.

Well isn't this going to be fun...

"There's even blood in her ear!" Squeals Yulia, one of the members of my prep team with very spotty skin says. She's like a Dalmatian.

They looked at me oddly but I just shrugged, avoiding contact with their eyes so I don't become a giggling mess. They are all too funny looking to not laugh at.

Every Capitol citizen looks funny, I remember my family and the Coatrian's all teasing their looks and hilarious outfits. You'll never not be amused by their fashion.

They all sigh in relief when they finish cleaning me and ripping out my body hair. "Now she's beautiful!" Comments a jumping Santhe, who has a Mohawk as her choice of hairstyle.

I smile at her. If you look around their odd choice of fashion. My prep is actually really cute. Dalmatian skin, Mohawks and even Gadge's odd spiky beard. It doesn't matter, their personalities are adorable and I'm already starting to like them.

"She's going to look great in her dress!" Gadge excitedly said. He then got me up "Let's go introduce you to your stylist!" He said, wrapping me in a dress robe and gently escorting me to a door.

"He's in there!" Yulia says while Gadge opens the door for me.

"We can't go in with you though" Santhe says with a pout.

"But we'll see you later!" Gadge says, now pushing me in.

"Oh, alright! Thank you!" I say quickly before they slammed the door, leaving me standing there naked, only covered by a dress robe.

"Hello" I hear from behind me.

I turn around, greeted with a room that has a window covering one side of it ,and only two armchairs and a table.

The window has the view of the Capitol. It's actually pretty. It's the sight you don't see on television. The skyscrapers then the view of the forest and mountains on the outskirts.

I look over towards where the voice was. He was sitting at one of the armchairs, looking at me with a smile. He didn't look harmful. He was like another Gadge, but without the spiky beard. This guy has tattoos all over his body, but he still has the colourful Capitol vibe going on with his red shirt that has a pattern that looks like scales but other than that, he looked normal.

"Hi" I say walking towards him and sitting on the arm chair across from him.

"I'm Aldar, your stylist" he says with a toothy smile

"Alexis" I say with a small smile.

"You know, you don't look that angry now compared to when you were on cameras" he says with a teasing tone.

I sigh and unconsciously smooth my hair back out of my face.

"I got over it" I say simply looking up to him

"It?"

"I got over that I was picked out of a thousand children" I answer. Somehow already not minding him and his questions. He just talks too much like I'm his old friend. He talks like Mollie, I guess.

"That's an interesting thing to get angry about" he chuckles

I grin "I'm an odd person"

He nods with a smile "Yes, and now I'm going to dress you into an odd costume"

"Oh no" I say instantly, semi sarcastic, semi dreading.

I think of the cow outfits and the usual overly exposed cowboy outfits. The stylists usually dressed the district 10 tributes into for their tribute parade.

"Oh no, indeed" he says, his eyes sparkling in mischief.

I look at him in horror.

Don't tell me he's giving me an overly exposed cowboy outfit.

Okay, this outfit is way better than the overly exposed cowboy outfit I imagined.

Aldar dressed me up in a brown leather puffed up dress. Horse hair as a cape and boots which are covered with chicken feathers.

I was dressed with the coats of the animals from district 10.

I didn't look bad, not even silly like the rest of the years before me. Aldar and Glide must have seen potential in me and Roland to be actually dressing us up differently from anyone else before us.

My hair was spread on my right shoulder. Feathery pattern on the left side of my head, but it was more like they fish braided it going to my right side and sprayed it a lighter brown colour on the edges of the fish braids, making it look like feathers.

"They look beautiful, Santhe" I say to Santhe who was showing me my hair in the mirror.

"It was Aldar's design" She smiled brightly "and I think it's beautiful as well!"

"This year, he finally gave us something new to work on" commented Yuila as she was doing my nails.

"You know I'm right here" Aldar said from his seat beside the large mirror that's from the side of me.

We all laugh.

"You love it, don't deny it" I say, smiling from the laughter.

"You're right, I do" he said winking towards me.

By the time I get down to the ground floor of the tribute center, which I found out, was where I was stuck the whole time until the games.

Every other tribute was down there, getting their last finishing touches.

Roland was there as well, wearing the male version of my outfit, he even had the same eye makeup.

"Howdy, partner" I say in the usual district 10 accent when I reach him.

He laughs "Howdy" he says back before turning back to Glide who was re-pinning his horse hair cape on his leather jumpsuit.

I turn towards Aldar, who was standing behind me "Got to adjust anything?"

He shook his head "No, you're perfect"

I smile in thanks then start to observe the rest of the room.

All the tributes are stuck to their horses.

You can see who's from what district by their costumes. District 12 with their coal miner suits and pickaxes. District 7 looking like trees. District 2 actually having weapons.

My district is the only one really different from the last years.

I spot Aurora who was casually chatting with other mentors on the side of the hall.

Haymitch Abernathy was there. I still want to be friends with him.

Even the victor from last years hunger games is there. Finnick Odair. He looked almost awkward being there as well, being the youngest but then there was the fact that all of them have the same aura.

Victor of the hunger games.

They all had marks and scars.

You can see them from a distance, how much the Games effected them.

They all seem wary and cautious.

I wonder, if I won the hunger games, what scars I would have.

"It's almost time for the parade to start" Aldar says from beside me.

I nod, turning away from the mentors.

Stepping on the carriage. Roland stepping on afterwards.

"What should we do?" I ask Aldar and Glide.

"Smile and wave to the crowds" Said the tired voice of Aurora as she stopped walking towards them with Baxtin and stood in front of them.

I didn't even notice the absence of Baxtin.

"oh! This is lovely!" Baxtin says delighted as he looked over our costumes. "You look stunning and almost fierce" he compliments before adding "It's like your from a tribe!"

Rebels. I think instantly.

"It was all our stylists" I say

"But you are the models that make our designs great" says Glide.

"Thanks, Glide" Says Roland while I just smile genuinely at her.

"It's show time!" Squeals Baxtin, jumping on the spot.

He was right, because district 1 was being pulled away to where the population of the Capitol was.

Me and Roland both wave to our stylists, mentor and escort as they move away to leave us for the parade.

"So just smile and wave?" Roland asks me as we started to move forward.

"Yeah" I confirm, glancing to the side at him, meeting his worried gaze.

"They'll love us" I say reassuringly.

He nods "Thanks"

Then we were in view of the Capitol.

Roars, cheers and screams surrounded us. I wouldn't be surprised if I become deaf after this; and if I think that this is the loudest they could be. I'm kidding myself because as soon as they catch sight of me and Roland.

I know I will be deaf after this.

I wave and smile at them, like I was told. It was surprisingly easy to do so.

I could see myself on a screen, I really do look fierce and I definitely look like I'm from a tribe.

That's when I see the roses being thrown my way. I catch one. I look at it for a second before cuddling it and smiling the general direction it came from.

I smile at Roland when our eyes meet again. Then we go back to waving and smiling.

Until we slow down and stop in front of President Snow's mansion.

President Snow does the official welcome to the hunger games from above us.

I observe him. He doesn't look trustworthy at all.

I end up throwing away my smile and glare up at him.

He finishes and the anthem starts.

We start to move again and we circle around before making our way back to the tribute center.

"You were amazing" Baxtin squeals as we eat dinner afterwards.

"My cheeks hurt from smiling so much" I say, rubbing my cheeks before eating some of my meal.

"I feel the same" Roland says with a sigh.

"It'll heal by tomorrow" Aurora explained "and you'll get used to all the smiling, don't worry"

I nod "if you say so" then get up from the table

"I'm going to bed" I stated, moving away from the table.

Roland gets up from the table "Hey! Wait up!" he called, jogging over to me "I'm going to bed too"

I raise my eyebrows wondering why he was coming with me but I shrug

"alright"

"Good night, and remember your training starts tomorrow" Aurora reminded from the table.

I wave to her, acknowledging that I know and I walk into the hall way which has mine and Roland's room.

"Do you think either of us are going to win?" Roland suddenly asks in our silence.

I stop and look at him.

He looked worried and scared, like the way he did before we went out into the view of the Capitol.

He's two years older than me, but he seems younger than me in this moment.

I softly smile at him "only if you believe" I whisper to him before retiring to my room.

I said the same words, Tyler and Mollie used to convince me that I can win. Well at that moment it was mainly Tyler, but Mollie finished it off.

I smile when I think of them.

I hope I will see them again.

ANOTHER CHAPTER YAYYYYY.

NEXT ONE! TRAINING AND MAYBE MEETING THE OTHER TRIBUTES PROPERLY!

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