Trigger warning: Cora's POV contains brief mentions of dysphoria, past assault, and trauma.

Cora Buchanan, 15
District 11 Female

I honestly thought getting ready for the parade would be simple. Maybe I'd take a hot shower, I'd get dressed and then I'd be ready to go.

Somehow, I'm lying naked on a table surrounded by three colourful adults who introduced themselves to me as my prep team and I hate it. They don't give me a chance to breathe or ask what we're doing, or to tell them to stop. Just lie down on the table, Cora. No questions, Cora. We know your body better than you, Cora, and we're going to make you pretty.

They don't know my body or me at all. It doesn't make me pretty, it just makes me want to scream at them. Get me out of here!

Finally, they all let up and I can practically feel my skin jumping at the opportunity to crawl off me. Everything is so itchy and hurts. A giant overhead light casts a harsh white glow that makes me feel even more exposed.

The worst part? It feels like being with my dad. A feeling I swore I'd never want to experience again and I never thought I'd experience again. It makes my heart pound and my head hurt.

I am going to jump off this table. The door's right there; I can certainly make a run for it…

"Stay here, tribute. Your stylist will be in shortly and we do not need you messing up all our hard work to make you look good!"

I have a name, you know, I think to myself as off my prep team goes. A few moments later, a head pokes in. This person has pale blue skin, not something I expected at all, but is much easier to look at than my prep team's modifications. Their purple and green streaked hair has been shaved to one side. All in all, it looks rather tame by Capitol standards.
"Hello. Cora, was it?"
"Yes."

"Well then Cora, if you'd like, call me Wisteria. I'll be your stylist for the duration of the Games."
"Oh. Okay." I have more pressing matters on my mind. "Can I please have something to wear?"

"They didn't give you anything? God, those fools really should know better. I'm sorry, I'll have you dressed in a moment." Wisteria passes me a big fluffy bathrobe. "Now, let's go get some lunch."

Lunch is awesome. Fried chicken and collard greens, with coleslaw and gravy on the side, and chocolate cupcakes for dessert. I portion my plate carefully, because I don't want to grab too much and make a big mess of myself. I could never hope to eat so much at home. This could feed my family for almost a week.

Wisteria opens a notepad. "I have a couple of ideas for your outfit. First off, do you want to wear the pants, or the skirt?"
"Ummmm…definitely the pants."

"Okay. Perfect."

The sound of pencil on paper, scribbling something down. I try to lean in to see what she's writing, but the paper is angled in such a way I can't make anything out. After about a minute, Wisteria triumphantly closes the notepad. "I'll just take a couple of measurements, and then we can get you dressed up. Want to see what you're wearing?"
"Sure, I guess?"

She leads me back to the original room I was in, leaves, and comes back wheeling a rack covered up by a large cloth. That makes me want to laugh a bit, because it's all just so dramatic. But I don't want to seem rude.

"Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." It's just a costume. What's the worst that could happen?

Wisteria yanks down the cloth. I have no words for what awaits me.

"Ohhhhhh, this is so exciting!" Iovita's mouth was running a mile a minute as they hurried in front of Athos. "I've never watched the parade from here before!"

"Iovita, watch where you're going. You almost knocked someone over."
"Whoops. My bad."

Finally, they reached their seats. An Avox was already waiting to take food and drink orders. Iovita ordered a strawberry daiquiri and a cheeseburger. Athos just asked for a glass of red wine. He and Aramis had gone out for dinner earlier. It was a big meal.

One would assume he'd be sitting with his cousin…but no. She had her own both right above the Training Centre where the tributes would end the Parade. His booth was close by, but gave him what he thought was a way nicer view. Admittedly Athos didn't care about the Parade all too much.

Just a frivolous in-between that took time from his work. Or leisure. To think he could be sitting in a warm bubble bath right now. But no, his attendance wasn't just expected, it was mandatory. His cousin wouldn't throw a fit if he didn't show up, but someone else probably would and he didn't need that extra stress.

Spotlights shone onto the road. Iovita clapped their hands together. "Sir, it's starting!"

So it was. The chariots began to pull onto the road, one after the other. The tributes were here, all dolled up for their first proper introduction to the Capitol.

First up? District 1, like always. Both tributes were clad in skin tight bodysuits. Prism's was almost silver in colour, sending rainbows flying all over the place when the light reflected off it. They waved and blew kisses to the crowd, basking happily in the spotlight. Beside them, Vivian's bodysuit was a brilliant gold with a line of emeralds embedded in the fabric around her neckline. She waved as well, but shielded her eyes from Prism with a hand.

Both of the District 2 tributes were dressed as knights in shining armour. Olympia's armour was an ivory colour. She held her helmet in both hands, turning it this way or that, as if debating whether she wanted to put it on and hide her face. Arietis's armour was all black, with a single red feather sticking out from his helmet. He pumped a fist in the air and roared, Capitolites cheering along with him.

District 3 pulled in close behind. Now this was an interesting pair. Mila was wearing a bright poofy pink dress with a small gold tiara in her hair. She clutched tightly at the fabric and kept her eyes to the ground, shaking a little. Vick had on a red shirt and cap, with white gloves and blue overalls. He took off his cap and tossed it in the air. The audience cheered and clapped for him.

For District 4, both Avonleas and Cy's outfits had been woven out of nets with shiny fishing lures hanging off them. Avonlea's dress hung off her right shoulder and trailed right to the very edge of the chariot, bracelets made from seashells sitting on her wrists. Cy was wearing a tunic that ended just above his knees with a string of seashells hanging off his neck. Neither tribute looked too comfortable, but they still waved and smiled at the crowd as they passed by.

Shortly after, District 5 came into view. Both tributes were dressed in sleek black bodysuits with tall and narrow headpieces that looked like the smokestacks of a power plant. There must've been some kind of smoke machine hiding inside, because it trailed out of the headpieces. Ganbataar just folded his arms, staring forward in a sullen mood. Loire made a few attempts to wave or look at the crowd, but her smile was obviously forced. The smoke was also making it a little hard for her to see.

Unfortunately, District 6 wasn't much prettier. All Naomi and Walker had were stiff pairs of overalls. Walker had been given a white T-shirt underneath, his hands shoved into the pockets as he stared at the crowd surrounding him. Naomi, who didn't have anything else on and clearly had no interest in playing into the sex appeal, just scowled and made no attempt to even look at the audience.

And along came District 7, with almost no surprises. Aisling had on a simple dark brown dress that stopped a little past her knees. Her hair was covered with a bright green wig. She tugged at it, setting it in place before smiling happily at the sponsors. Messier was wearing a brown jacket, dress shirt, and pants all in the same colour. A crown of leaves had been placed on their head. They didn't look up from the chariot at all, standing still as a statue.

District 8 soon pulled past the audience; usually their stylists were a little more creative. And the same was true this year. Garnet's suit was made out of indigo blue and olive green fabric that had been carefully stitched together, and he looked quite handsome in it. He tugged at the jacket and laughed when someone wolf whistled. Ascella's dress was made in a similar way, out of purple and yellow. Ey swished the flowing fabric around em, playfully hitting Garnet's leg with it a few times.

At first, District 9 was a little blinding to look at. Cameron and Grail had been dressed in tunics made of tiny sickles, catching the light and sending it everywhere. Black fabric could be seen underneath, thankfully protecting the tributes' skin from the blades. Cameron stared off into space, his hands wrung together and his nerves obvious. Grail placed their hands on their hip, swaying back and forth a little as if they couldn't be bothered to make a decent impression to the crowd.

District 10 was next. Both Hunter and Linh had been dressed as birds. Linh was a little white dove, wearing a leotard and feathery skirt with tights and flats underneath. She stretched out her arms, plus the wings attached, and gave them a small flap, smiling to herself. Hunter looked like a vulture, a black cape covered in feathers draped over his shoulders and only a pair of baggy pants on underneath. He glowered at the crowd, but they just cheered in response. It seemed like it was all a part of the act after all.

The cheers soon turned into stifled laughter as the District 11 chariot pulled in. Both tributes had giant foam cutouts of sickles surrounding their heads. What they wore underneath didn't help to sell the costume either: just simple beige shirts and pants. No shoes. Kerkylas couldn't glare enough, his gaze jumping from person to person as he sought out every single one who had laughed. Cora just put their hands over their eyes as their face turned red.

Mercifully enough for the previous district, 12 had shown up to take away most of the attention. This time, the stylists had done a much better job. Tati and Reggie had both been put in shiny silver bodysuits, patterned to look like diamonds. Under the lights, they certainly sparkled. Tati shied away from all the eyes staring at her and pure fright, shivering and shaking. Reggie was a little more polite, but made no attempt to smile at all.

The chariots continued on, until they reached their stop at just before President Snow's booth. It was her job to make a quick speech, welcoming them to the Capitol and the Games. Athos didn't stay to hear it. The same spiel over and over again. Rosalina needed to be a little more creative. But hey, if it wasn't broken, why fix it?

Iovita downed the last of her drink. "Oh my goodness, sir! That was so much fun. I love all the pretty costumes and everything!"
"I'm glad you liked it. You don't have to hang out with me or by my side. You can go home if you wish."
"Oh…" Iovita titled their head. "Really? Because there was this party my friend was holding…"

"Iovita-"
"I promised her, but if you need me here or at the office, I totally get it!"
"Iovita. You can go. Have a nice night."

His words finally hit them. They made an awkward little bow, mumbled a rushed but energetic "thank you, sir!" and rushed off. Athos watched them, just to be sure they made it through the crowd without incident.

Now he really ought to be home. That potential bubble bath sounded so tempting.

Guess who also wants a bubble bath.

Time to get into the training slog. Sometimes, you never really write a SYOT; you just get stuck in different stages of pre-Games hell.

See you all next chapter,

-Vr