AUTHOR'S NOTES: I apologize for the lack of a chapter last week. Things happened, I was sick, and that kind of thing, so I wasn't able to write the chapter (Victors' Chronicles was already written). Anyhoo, now I can, and so here it is. From here all we have is the interviews and the final goodbyes before our tributes get chucked into the arena, so strap in and brace yourself. Things get a lot crazier and harsher from here on out.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 11: Complimentary Colors

Unlike with the parade outfitting, Cadence's mind was a lot deeper in thought this time around, and so perhaps Kurai would get a better taste of who Cadence was as a person. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without Nephenee giving them fanfare.

"Well now that the scores are done and over with," she cooed, "now it's time for one final game of dress-up!" Cadence naturally didn't follow her level of bubbliness, but Lucia seemed eager enough. It also seemed that Kurai and Kuro had a few quips of their own armed and ready.

"Do you plan on biting again?" Kurai offered, "because if you planned to, I'd recommend saving it for the arena. A score like that will get you far."
"Maybe I was mad at the wrong person," Cadence grunted, "don't get too smug now."

"Darling," Kuro cooed, "we're here to help you, not antagonize you. And tonight… we're here to make you look good. Do you want another District 5 victor? Because we do."

"And we're here to help make it happen." Kurai added, "Sponsor gifts have turned the game for or against tributes before, and that's our goal here. Don't worry… these outfits are much less flambouyant and over-the-top than the ones you wore during the parade."
Cadence still seemed a bit grudging to do it, but he rose up and followed Lucia, Kurai, and Kuro out of the apartment and down to the basement studios where they would be cleaned up and dressed up one last time.

"So what look are you going for this time?" Cadence asked the spiky-haired man. He was actually impressed with how long this man's hair was (for it rivalled Kuro's, albeit was spikier and less curly) and wondered if he styled it himself.

"It's tricky," he began, "that red hair is a challenge to find something that matches it. Don't worry though—I think I've got just the thing."

Cadence stripped down and soon Kurai was already outfitting him in shades of black, orange, and red. He liked that Kurai was quiet and professional when he worked, and despite his tendency to feel awkward at all the wrong times, he didn't feel awkward as his stylist did his thing. The slacks and dress shirt were mostly black, although had small streaks of shimmering red and orange (mostly red) swirling about them in elaborate patterns. Other than a red-orange band around the soles, his shoes were entirely black, and so was his belt. The outfit was topped off with a fiery orange tie very close in color to Cadence's wild curls. Kurai spent several minutes trying to style the boy's hair, and while he was unable to fully tame the curls, he managed to give Cadence a "wet-hair" look that caused his hair to hang lank and appear oddly attractive—even to Cadence. The look was topped off with dark red eyeshadow and light swirls of orange glitter on his cheeks. He wasn't familiar with most Capitol methods, but most male tributes often wore makeup during the parade and the interviews as well, and so ultimately Cadence did not feel very bothered by it.

"Feel free to have a look," Kurai offered once he had finished dressing Cadence up. The boys were usually finished slightly sooner than the girls because of the tendency for slacks and suits to be simpler or easier to design than dresses and gowns. Still, as Cadence admired himself in the mirror, he was surprised at how well Kurai had made the black, red, and orange all mesh together in a dazzling array of intricate color combinations. He couldn't help but nod approvingly.

"You do a good job," Cadence admitted, "I… may not have appreciated you as much as I should have. It doesn't make these games anything better than what they are, but I do want to apologize for my harsh actions towards you before the parade."
"It's not as rare as you think," Kurai shrugged, "there's no harm done, but thank you for the apology. I really didn't think you were as harsh as you came off as being."
"I could be," Cadence warned, "I'd have no qualms against murdering anyone who posed a threat to me or Lucia."
"Of that I have no doubt," Kurai nodded, "I look forward to seeing your performance in the arena tomorrow." While in other contexts it would be easy for Cadence to assume that he was referring to something related to a bet, he didn't assume that with Kurai.

"I've gotta keep Lucia safe," Cadence asserted. "I must."

One studio over, Kuro and Lucia were having a pleasant conversation as well. Lucia was as cooperative this time as she had been the previous time, and Kuro thought the whole thing was rather cute.

"You're really quite the sweetheart, darling," Kuro sighed, "it makes me sad that they're going to put you in that arena tomorrow."

"I would love to not have to go…" Lucia confessed, "but there is nothing I can really do about it, so I just need to make the best of it and hope that I can win."
"Even then… your friend seems pretty fixated on bringing you home though," Kuro pointed out as she started dressing Lucia up in shades of vibrant blues and cyans, "perhaps it's possible?"
"I don't imagine Cadence would want to turn against me if we were the final two," Lucia shook her head, "but sooner or later they will come for me, and I don't think me nor him will be able to prevent at least one of us dying. Maybe there's still hope though."
"Nonsense, dear," Kuro put her hands gently on Lucia's lower jaws, "you have to look at it from a positive perspective. You can survive, and you *will* survive. Even if it might not be true, you tell yourself that anyways. Don't ever give up, darling. I know you have a fighting spirit in you."
"How do you know that?" Lucia's tone remained calm.

"Because if you truly had given up, you would have scored a zero, not a four;" Kuro explained, "or a one, perhaps. A lot of tributes don't know it, but the private sessions are technically completely optional. A District 5 girl a few years ago… year 83, I think, decided not to try at all. She scored a 0. You went in, and you scored a 4. Anyways, love, my point is that you might be down, but you're not out. And while I know you can't see it, I want you to know that the outfit I'm putting you in is going to make you straight0up shine out there."

"Oh?" Lucia always liked being described when possible, "could you tell me a bit about it?"
"When I finish, I will." Kuro promised, helping Lucia don a few accessories before she started working on the girl's hair, "no point in showing you a half-done masterpiece when you can witness the full glory of the master's touch within a few minutes."

True to her word, Kuro took a few minutes to finish adorning Lucia in her interview outfit, and then announced that she was finished. Lucia's expression lit up.

"How do I look?" she bobbed up and down on her toes. "How do I look?"

"You are adorned in beautiful shades of blue, much like the sky." Kuro began explaining, "the fabric is translucent in a few places to show off your form, but it remains modest." Kuro moved her hands along Lucia's arms, and also motioned with Lucia's hands that parts of her legs had the same treatment.

"I thought about coloring your hair," Kuro continued, "but the golden locks go so well with the shoes and the golden hems of your outfit. Other than that, there's just one more thing I nearly forgot!"

Lucia's face was adorned with certain levels of makeup much like Cadence's, but perhaps to serve as a subtle reminder of Lucia's blindness or just to add a further element of mystery to the girl, Kuro put a glitzy blue masquerade mask over the upper half of her face. Her pearly white eyes almost shimmered through the eyeholes, and with a grin, Kuro stepped back to admire her now completed work.

"Now…" she beamed, "you best get out there. I would hate to make you late!"

Lucia scampered out of the studio, nearly running into Cadence when she emerged. He had to stop and do a double-take when he saw her.

"Damn…" he muttered, "you're gorgeous."

And even after seeing Serendipity, who looked genuinely dazzling (and it was no mystery that her stylists were giving her a downright sexy angle and approach), he did not change his mind at all. The simplistic but elegant beauty that was Lucia at this moment shone brighter to him than any of the careers or the other tributes. The dark colors that Mani and Sudi wore got his attention for a moment though. Cadence couldn't help but wonder who he would need to watch out for the most, and he remained silently in thought about this for several minutes as the others conversed around him. This train of thought was only disrupted when the tributes heard the Serendipity Li's name called out, thus beginning the interviews. With a smirk, she strode away from the others, her hips swaying with each step, and soon appeared on stage and had a seat beside Caesar Flickerman. The interviews had begun.