A/N Sorry if there was any confusion, but Jack's hair is purple, not blue. Sorry if I make that mistake again.
Lex held out the sugar cube to the horse, whom gnawed on it graciously. She smiled, glad that for once in her life she did something right. Lex's prep team spent a great deal of time on her hair and makeup. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled into an elegant bun, with streaks of dark purple to compliment the dress. The dress was a grape like color, with green vines wrapped around her from her torso to her shoulders. The outfit was topped off with a wreath of vines placed on her head. Lex's nails were painted a lighter colored purple than the dress, and on her feet were silver high heels and her token, an anklet with a grape charm on it.
Lex stroked the horse's mane. Her district partner stormed over to the chariot, looking infuriated. Lex examines him with distaste. Alex wore a red tunic and had a green choker that appears to be a stem.
He's a tomato Lex thinks. How idiotic.
"Nice dress," she comments dryly. Alex glares at her.
"Hey, calm down," Lex says, her hands up defensively. "Jeez, some people. So... anyway, about the alliance-"
"No," came Alex's sharp reply.
"Fine, fine," Lex responded, annoyed. "I'm gonna go scope out the competition. Do you wanna come?"
"No."
"Surprise, surprise," Lex mutters under her breath, walking towards the district twelve chariot.
Diego was dressed as the norm- he was a coal miner. Nothing special. Madison, on the other hand, was a piece of coal. The new stylist, Margie, spent a lot of time on it. A black shawl covered the entirety of her body, giving off an aura of mystery. Diego climbed down from the chariot to greet Lex.
"Eleven's coming our way," Diego had told Madison, to no avail. Her gaze was fixed on the young girl from 11, cold and calculating.
"Diego Torres, District 12," Diego introduced himself, holding out his hand.
Lex shook it. "Alexia Brite, District Eleven."
"That's Madison," Diego says, jutting a thumb towards the chariot behind him. "She isn't the most approachable."
"I noticed." Madison was still glaring at the poor girl. "I'll just cut to the chase: are you interested in forming an alliance?"
"Well," Diego says, after pausing for a moment, "I can't speak for Madison, but I'll consider it."
"Okay, thanks," Lex calls over her shoulder, walking towards the district ten chariot. Or, lack thereof.
"Hi!" called a girl perched on top of a horse. She wore a typical rancher outfit, lasso and all. Her smaller district partner, a boy who appeared no older than 11, sat on the other horse in an outfit much like her own. The girl had long, wavy brown hair, with natural highlights at the end. "I'm Ari, and this is Ryan. You're from District Eleven, right?"
"Yeah. I'm Lex."
"Hi!" chirps a voice, who Ari introduced as Ryan.
"Hello. Well, I better get going if I want to meet all the other tributes. It was nice meeting you two."
The girl could be of use, but the boy is dead weight, Lex thought, walking towards the district nine tributes. Emma wore a beige colored dress, with a wreath made from real wheat. Jack wore a similar outfit, thought his purple hair threw the point of the costume out the window.
"Hi, I'm Lex, from District Eleven."
Jack gave Lex a friendly nod, while Emma barely acknowledged her presence.
"Would either of you consider making an alliance with myself?" Lex asks.
Jack opens his mouth to say something, but Emma cuts him off. "No! I mean, not right now."
"Okay, I understand. The offer still stands. Good luck, District Nine. And may the odds be ever in your favour," Lex replies calmly. She starts to walk away, but stops and turns back around to face Emma and Jack. "Nice hair, by the way," she compliments, and turns on her heel towards the District Eight chariot. Jack watches her go, a smile crossing his face.
Abby's stylist turned her to face the mirror. An extremely beautiful girl stared back at her. Abby wore a strapless, layered, blue and green dress that fell a few inches above her knees. Her blonde hair was as curly as ever. A crown made from seashells was placed on her head to top it off.
Abby bid her stylist goodbye, walking to her chariot. Riley was already there. He was shirtless and his costume had identical shades of blue and green. In his hand was a fake trident. On his head was a crown similar to Abby's.
"Hey," Abby says.
"Hey."
"We should go talk to Districts One and Two, make sure the alliance is still on."
"Yeah."
Charisma, Devin, Cassie, and Robert were already gathered near District Three's chariot. Abby and Riley walked over to them.
"Finally, District Four, we were wondering if you'd ever show up," a boy with a Mohawk quips.
"I'm Charisma," a pretty girl with dark brown hair and lighter skin says. "That's Devin," she introduces, pointing at Mohawk boy. "And those two are Cassie and Robert." The girl named Charisma points at Robert and Cassie, who have blonde and light brown hair respectively. They both are clearly district two, dressed in full battle armor. Charisma and Devin were in full white, with jewels studding the hems. They appeared as a god and goddess.
"C'mon, let's go find out who we're gonna kill!" Cassie says excitedly. The rest of the Careers oblige, and they head toward District Five.
Michelle and Ben watch them leave with pure hatred.
"They disgust me," Ben declares.
"I'm with you, but they're trained to be killing machines," Michelle responds, matter-of-factly.
"What in the world are they even supposed to be?"
"Well, district one is clearly Zeus and Hera, the king and queen of Olympus, District Two is Ares and Athena, Olympian brother and sister, God and Goddess of war, and District Four is Poseidon and Amphitrite, husband and wife, rulers of the sea," Michelle answers intelligently.
"Whatever."
Meanwhile, Lex was talking to Jordan and Anthony from District Seven, since District Eight were yet to make an appearance.
Jordan wore a red checkered shirt that exposed her midriff, very short blue jeans, hiking boots and a fake axe. She looked fierce. Anthony had an identical costume on, minus the shirt.
"Sorry, but I'm already in an alliance with my district partner," Jordan says, shooting down Lex's offer.
Lex slumps away, defeated. She was halfway through the districts and still yet to get a single 'yes.' Lex walks over to District Six chariot. They were apparently dressed as train conductors, costumes that weren't much better than Diego's. CJ was currently complaining about the costume.
"Shut up! Eleven's coming this way," Tricia tells him.
"Eleven's coming this way," he mimics her, but quiets.
"Hi I'm-" Lex begins.
"Well hello there beautiful, who might you be?" CJ says smoothly, descending down from the chariot quickly, snaking an arm over Lex's shoulder.
"Um I'm Alexia Brite, District Eleven," Lex says, uncomfortably.
"Lay off, CJ," Tricia warns. Turning her friendlier side to Lex, she says, "Hello. My name's Tricia."
"I was wondering if you wanted to form an alliance-"
"Of course I would, Lexie," CJ responds.
"I wasn't talking to you," Lex snaps, breaking her kindness façade.
"You know Lexie, you really Brighten my day," CJ flirts.
Lex was really infuriated. She drop kicked CJ, than lifted him up by the scruff of his neck. Tricia looked on with a smirk.
"Listen buddy," Lex threatens in a dark, menacing voice, that was surprising very calm, "if you haven't noticed, only one person escapes this thing alive. Everyone will be trying to get home. Including me and you. So either you're trying to use me, or you're very very stupid, thinking a relationship in the games could last. Though I'd guess it's the latter. So you better lay off, 'cause its not gonna be pretty in the arena if you continue down this road." Lex dropped him, and stalked over to her chariot. The Careers watched the exchange in amusement from afar, as they walked towards the eleven chariot.
"I'll do the taunting this time," Charisma volunteers. She saunters over to the chariot, her hair blowing in the wind. "Hey!" Charisma shouts. Alex points to himself, "Yes you! Tomato face, I'm talking to you." Alex turns as red as his costume.
"Leave me alone!" He tries.
"Oh c'mon, you're that scared? The twelve year old from ten is braver than you!"
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
"I want to join your alliance."
"He might be useful for guard duty," Abby whispers.
"I think we should let him join," says Devin.
"Let's kill him after the bloodbath," Cassie says quietly.
"We'll see. But for now, let's let him join," Robert says, and the other Careers nod in asset.
"Okay, Tomato, you're in."
"All tributes, please make your way to your chariot if you are not there already. You have five minutes until we start," an intercom announces.
"But tomorrow at training, we will test and evaluate you, to see if you have true Career potential."
The Capitol was bouncing with excitement, ready to meets the tributes for the first time.
District One rolled out in their jewel-studded costumes. The audience roared in approval as they interacted with the audience. Someone threw a rose at Charisma, who smelled it, and blew a kiss in the direction of which the flower had come. Capitol suitors tried to "catch" the kiss, while the rest of the audience was focused on District Two.
District Two appeared in their full battle armor. Unlikely their allies before them, both tributes stared straight ahead, seeming above it all, though the crowd still cheered loudly.
District Three had wires running all on their bodies. Michelle just observed and looked around at the sight before her, a scowl settling on her face. Ben waved a few times. The audience clapped, but there wasn't as much enthusiasm as there was for the first two districts.
Capitolites cheered when District four came out. The different hues shimmer in the spotlight. Abby and Riley waved to the crowd, but with more effort then district one.
District Five rolled out with pulsing electricity. Literally. Their outfits seemed to be struck by lightning every ten seconds. Ivan shrunk away from the limelight, but Isabella was getting into it all. She was ramping up the crowd, getting them to cheer even louder than before. Finally, Ivan stood up and started waving with Isabella.
Tricia waved until her hand hurt, and CJ winked at every cute girl in the audience (and boy, there were a lot of them), but they just couldn't compete with District Five. They were soon overshadowed by District Seven.
No one in the Capitol could take their eyes of the District Seven tributes. The crowd cheered and chanted their names, but Jordan and Anthony just glared at them.
The Capitol didn't notice Paul and Melissa in their pauper and seamstress costumes, as they were still fauning over Jordan and Anthony.
The audience paid a little more attention to District Nine, although nothing special, the Capitol shouted Jack's name. Emma seemed unsure what to do.
District Ten galloped out, lassos and all, twirling them all around. Ryan was very fidgety, but excited, no less. They rode their horses by the audience, waving and smiling. The crowd loved them.
Capitolites cheered loudly for Alexia. They yelled for her to let down her hair. She eventually did, her long, dark brown hair falling past her waist, with the streaks of purple to accent. The crowd chanted her name.
The Capitol paid no mind to Diego, but Madison got a lot of applause. They stared straight ahead, unaffected by the scene.
The president came out to give the usual speech, and the screens flashed with images of the tributes, mainly Devin, Abby, Isabella, Jordan, Anthony, Jack, Ari, Lex and Madison.
The open ceremonies draw to a close.
Lex decides to try one more time.
"Will you join my alliance?" She asks pleadingly.
Alexander Dillon spoke the last five words Lex would have expected.
"I am a Career now."
This time it was Alexia who only spoke one word.
"Traitor."
Ohhhhh grudges, and tension! ;) Favorite character poll up, vote if you want.
Please Review, constructive criticism welcome.