"We're here!" exclaimed Joo Dee.
People screamed outside the train, a churning whirlpool of colors that made me dizzy. Their faces - dyed and decorated until they didn't look human. I saw wings on one person, feathers for eyebrows on another, foot-tall furred shoes on another, blazing yellow clothes so tight I could see the woman's nipples.
"You want them to like you," my mother told us, standing to my left. Tenzin was on my right. "So look happy."
Joo Dee opened her mouth, glanced at Toph, and thought better of it.
The doors whizzed open.
Any attempt at false happiness was squashed under the brunt of experiencing a Capitol crowd for the first time.
If we look overwhelmed in the videos, it's because we were three sane people tossed into a sea of lunatics.
Only barely did I register the Avox, in plain grey, approach my mother. I shook my head at him.
With my elbow, I bumped my mother's arm. She wrapped her hand around my forearm.
At home, my mother had the house and surrounding town memorized. She refused to rely on a cane or anyone to guide her. Here, she had no choice but to permit the help.
We walked to the waiting car, me fighting every instinct I had which were shouting at me to fight or flee these creatures surrounding us. If I'd been alone, I wouldn't have been able to endure it.
We slid into the car as fast as we could.
Reaching the Tribute Center, a cage of glass and steel, the car entered via a short tunnel. We exited the car and went straight to an elevator.
"You're on the top floor," announced Joo Dee, obviously bolstered by being on her home turf. She tittered and smiled. "It has the best views."
"Knife. Eye. Brain."
Joo Dee shut up again.
The doors opened on a magnificent apartment, decked in lush fabrics and gleaming woods. Flowers, what kinds I didn't know but doubtlessly expensive, filled vases on every flat surface.
A woman lounged on a sofa.
Slowly, she tilted her head as our little group disembarked. Her relaxed posture, her languid movements, her straight mouth, all suggested boredom.
Except her eyes betrayed her.
So did her clothes. In the Districts, the woman's scarlet and black attire would be noticeable, memorable, distinctive. In the Capitol, it was just bright enough, just loud enough, to blend into the crowd. Anything plainer would be distinctive because of its plainness; anything flashier might be remembered.
Camouflage.
I knew a predator when I saw one.
Sighing, the woman eased herself to her feet.
To Joo Dee, she ordered, "You've been reassigned."
"Who are you?" demanded Toph.
"What?" blurted Joo Dee at the same time. "But I'm -"
A shift of the woman's shoulders, a tiny straightening, stopped her. She gulped and started backing towards the elevator. "Yes, ma'am."
It dinged as she pushed the button for down. The doors hissed closed.
"I'm your new escort. The name is Mai."
She turned with a careless roll of her shoulders and ambled further into the room. A lazy wave and a drawled, "Welcome to the Capitol."
"This is bad," I muttered.
"Maybe not," Tenzin replied softly as we moved forwards. "She could be better than Joo Dee."
"She's not an escort," Mother said. "And I think I've hear her voice before...somewhere."
"I don't like this. Joo Dee didn't put up a protest, she just left on command. And if this Mai's not an escort, what is she doing playing one? For District 12?"
Neither of them had an answer.