4: Arriving

Katniss POV

Why does Gale want to join the careers? He has a twelve year old brother, how could he just agree to kill other little boys and girls so easily? I know in my heart that if it comes to killing a twelve year old I won't be able to do it. All I will see is Prim, my little duck, and will back out.

I look over to Gale, who is sitting with an expression of stone on his face. We are nearing the Capitol, probably the reason for it. Gale hates the Capitol even more than I do. He always had more anger in him than me. I don't disagree with his hate in this case though: when it comes to the Capitol, the deserve every bit of it. I feel my face setting into an angry expression and my muscles tensing as I look out of the window.

The Capitol is filled with pristine white skyscrapers and beautiful mansions. It is obvious the amount of wealth they possess and the money and effort that went into building this place. And it makes me feel sick. In this moment, I remember the starving children on the streets of District 12 not lucky enough to be able to hunt or forage. And then the Capitolites are here living in luxury where their biggest worry is what crazy hairstyle to choose.

And the Capitol people: they are freaks. Their skins are dyed in a variety of colours ranging from pale blue to dark red. Their hair is mainly bleached white blonde and I even see a few people with tails. And the clothes are even more strange and horrible than Effie's, it seems here in Capitol Effie would be a fairly natural person. The train stops; Haymitch and Effie enter the room.

"Well we're here, oh and isn't the Capitol beautiful?" Effie says brightly.

"Oh, yes and won't the arena be so beautiful as well?" Gale snaps sarcastically. Effie shuts up and glares at him.

"Get off the train," Haymitch mutters. "Exit's over there." He gestures down the corridor to a place where doors are opening and a ramp is extending down. Gale and I reluctantly walk over and step down onto the ramp, giving death glares to the cheering Capitol people. They appear not to notice.

Down the train, I can see other tributes descending down the ramps. I keep an eye out for the careers and any other threats. District 1 tributes are the typical, a pretty boy and girl, beautiful but deadly. District 2 is a bit out of the ordinary. The male tribute is huge, even bigger than Gale, and well muscled. Definitely one to watch out for. The girl is about fifteen with dark hair, probably dangerous too. A girl from 5 catches my eye, red hair and foxlike features, looks a bit sly. District 11 has a huge boy, but the girl is only twelve, reminding me of Prim.

Going through the Capitol crowd isn't so bad as I had expected, it passed by quite quickly. We are soon taken to a skyscraper and Effie pushes us into a lift. We get out on the top floor. The view is beautiful, in the next few days, I can see myself sitting on the roof with Gale, just enjoying each others company.

We have separate rooms, nicely furnished. I go into mine and Gale goes into his. The chariot rides will be tonight, I hope we have a decent stylist this year. Last year our tributes were naked and covered in coal dust. A style even the Capitol people weren't crazy enough to appreciate. I lie down on my bed hopelessly. Even with Gale's crazy plan, we still have little hope of getting good sponsors.

xXx-X-xXx

Gale POV

Damn, the Capitol is more luxurious than I thought it would be. I mean, yes, I've seen it before on TV, but it doesn't compare to the real thing. Hatred rises in me, against the whole system. At my age, Capitol teenagers are probably watching the Hunger Games and gossiping about which tribute they like best, not about which spot in the woods is best for hunting.

My room is better than our whole house back in District 12, and the Capitol only use these rooms for a few days per year. They are dressing us up for the slaughter, I realise, the hopelessness setting in. I had forgotten completely about the chariot rides tonight, and the utter rubbish the District 12 stylists come up with every year.

Coal mining is not glamorous, they can't make much out of it. Usually, our tributes dress in baggy miners outfits. Last year the stylist tried to be different. He succeeded in a bad way, I think, remembering the tributes 'dressed' in coal dust. I hope that whoever decides the stylists has enough common sense to get rid of that one. Then again, there's not much hope, this is Capitol, judging by what I've seen so far they don't have common sense.

I hear a knock at the door. I ignore it, wanting to be alone with my anger. A few moments later a woman comes in. She has pale green skin and white hair. Eugh, another Capitol freak.

"I am your stylist," she says. "My name is Portia, and I am here to make sure you are suitable for the chariot rides. I have your outfit here," she gestures to a bag. "Luckily for you, it covers your body completely. We will not need to do the shaving and waxing we normally do."

"Well that's good," I mutter sincerely. I don't want this Capitol freak that I've just met examining my body and tearing out my hair. I take the bag and go into the bathroom. In it, is something black. It is a full body jumpsuit. There is a cape made from the same material and a strip of fabric to tie around my head to keep my hair back. I pull on the clothes and look myself over in the mirror. I look ridiculous in the cape, like one of the superheroes in some of the comics that merchant kids read.

I come back into the room and Portia claps excitedly. "Oh, you're so handsome," she gushes. "The audiences will love this and they will love the next touch even more. Now spin around." I do as she says and she nods, satisfied.

"So what's the next touch?" I ask nervously.

"Well Cinna, that's Katniss stylist, and I have been developing pretend fire. It looks just like real fire, but it won't burn. So we can set fire to your headdress and cape. Everyone will love it." Fire. That will look different I guess. If I don't get burned alive. I suppose I'll have to trust Portia on this, she knows more about crazy Capitol fashions than me. She leads me out of my room outside to wear twelve chariots are waiting. I get into the one labelled twelve, seeing Katniss. She is dressed the same as me.

"So what do you think of the fire?" I ask.

"I'll rip off your cape if you'll rip off mine," she mutters grimly.

"Don't worry," I soothe, "I'm sure the Capitol know what they're doing when it comes to crazy fashions."

"I can't help it Gale, my instincts are telling me not to trust fire."

"It's just for a few minutes." I grin. "And if it does go wrong, then I promise that I will rip off your cape."

She smiles back. "And I will rip off yours."

A dark skinned man with a bit of gold eyeliner comes in and lights our capes. "Good luck," he mutters. The chariot starts to move. The Capitol audience is cheering wildly for the first few Districts. Then they go quiet and I see that they have noticed us. There is a short muttering, then they explode into applause. Roses are thrown and Katniss catches one, waving to the crowd. I wave awkwardly too, before an idea hits me. I grasp Katniss' hand and whisper, "let's make an impression." We hold hands and raise them. The Capitol becomes more excited. Step one to getting sponsors, complete.

We come to a stop in front of Snow's mansion. Cameras are focusing on us and President Snow as he starts to make a speech. I zone out through it and come back to Katniss shaking me. It is time to return to our rooms for tonight. Finally, I don't think I can stand another minutes of these crowds.

xXx-X-xXx

Authors Note:

Another chapter. Feel free to review.

-MoonOfPluto