A/N: There are going to be a lot of times were Finnick will meet new people, but I'm going to give the basic description of the character while giving precedence to Finnick's thoughts.
I played nice, kept my mouth shut, but the assault that I received for it was nasty. The three-person team that was remaking my body were very ignorant and stupid. The people in the Capitol have low opinions of people in the districts, and it shows. I'm not one to get easily offended, and Mags told me to play nice, but the opinions of the people who are working on my body are starting to get on my nerves. Maybe the stylist while have a head on their shoulders, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
I know I agreed to play nice, but this is ridiculous. I looked at the clock and saw that this team has been working on removing all of body hair for the better part of an hour and a half. I guess the removing it isn't beneath me, I never really had much use for it. I look at my hands and see that they had removed layers off of my skin, it looks like I never worked a day in my life. I'm not exactly sure I agree with this practice because I was proud of the living I've done to date.
After the group had finally finished, I was aloud to stand up and the next thing I knew was I sharing a room with my stylist. She was six-foot tall woman who towered over me. I'm unnerved by height difference but keep my emotions under wraps.
"Finnick, my name is Jade Meadowfall." Jade said.
Jade has creamy bronze skin, jet black hair that falls to small of her back, and that was were her basic feature ends. The garishness of the Capitol alteration is—well I don't have the heart to tell Jade that she doesn't look attractive. Jade might have been beautiful before all the alteration, but now she looks like one of the Capitol mutts that they use in the Games.
Jade was satisfied with the work her team did on my body.
"You can put your closes back on and follow me." Jade said.
A few hours later, I find myself stand next to District 4 chariot wearing a swimsuit, makeup, and a full body net. I've seen a lot of opening ceremonies, but this is original. I'm not feeling the cringe, but as I look over my right shoulder, I see the male from District 12; he's stark naked and covered in dust. So, yeah, I don't feel so bad. How does Haymitch not lift a finger to protect his tributes from this assault? That's true cringe.
"Finnick, you look stellar." Coral said, approaching the chariot.
"I look better than District 12." I said, hiking a thumb over my shoulder at the boy from 12. I see that his partner had also joined him.
"Huh—Oh. Oh! That's gross!" She said- and then dry heaved not once, but twice.
"You look stellar yourself." I said, patting Coral's back.
"Is everything okay?" a male voice asked.
From the looks of if, the male is Coral's stylist and Jade approaching the chariot.
"If you have some water Coral could use it. The stylists from District 12 love to assault their tributes, and Haymitch doesn't have the will to stop it." I said, pointing at District 12 chariot.
"You have my condolences, and here's some water Coral." the man said.
Coral took two big gulps from the bottle that he gave her, and then we heard the doors open as the opening music begins to blow.
"Thanks, Cabe." Coral said, giving the bottle back to her stylist
"Have fun kids." Jade said, and then walked away.
"Any last-minute instructions?" I asked.
"Do as you wish?" Cabe said, taking the bottle from Coral and then left.
I step up onto the chariot, and then offer my hand to Coral. She takes it and steps up onto the chariot. And with that we prepare ourselves for what is to come. We were looking around the room for a bit when the first chariot finally pulled out. These horses training was something else because the first chariot had been on the move for all of thirty seconds and then the second chariot was beginning to move.
District 3's chariot was starting to move when Coral asked. "How should we play this?"
"However you want. Cabe didn't give explicit instructions on what not to do." I said.
Coral looked like a child who got the gift she wanted for her birthday, and then we felt our chariot lurch forward.
The moment the spotlight landed on our chariot, both of us started to work the crowd. It was a mile trip from the Remake Center to the City Circle. I waved to both side of the crowd, while Coral waved, blew kisses, and winked to the crowd. It was really taxing keeping my hand up to wave, so I decided to just place both hands on the rim of the chariot, smile and look straight ahead. My playboy persona works the crowd as much as Coral's interactions.
All the chariots pull into the City Circle, and we hear my mindless chatter, and then the big guy takes the stage. President Coriolanus Snow, the man who paid to have me created. Snow doesn't look spectacular but looks can be deceiving and make note not to be alone with this man ever.
Snow gives a speech, and then the twelve chariots pull into the Training Center.
There was chit chat between the stylists and our mentors, but I was checking out the competition. Except for 1 and 2, none of the other boys stick out to me. Should I mercy kill them, or let them die of their own volition? So many questions not enough time. I guess I should just worry about what Coral, and I are going to do.
"Follow us." Cabe said, and then six of us headed to the elevator.
Mags presses the button for the fourth floor after we all boarded the elevator. One guess and I see that each district has its own floor giving the presence of twelve buttons on the floor panel. If I had to guess District 12 would also have access to the roof seeing as how they're on the top floor.
The floor plan is spacious. There's a sitting space with a tv, a wide-open area with a table for dining and hallway that leads to living area. The floor is massive, but it doesn't catch my attention. The opulence of everything here doesn't drown out the fact that were about to become murders in six days. Maybe it works in my favor that I act arrogant, to hide my disdain for the coming massacre.
I never did understand any of this. The Hunger Games, the Dark Days, all of it. The Capitol is lording it over the districts, again except far worse, and the Capitol has the gall act like they're innocent in all of this. I thought.
Something about the way Mags is looking at me tells me that she has an inkling about my musing.
"Keep your thoughts yourself. The people in Capitol don't care about what occurred Sixty-Five plus years ago. Definitely keep those thoughts to yourself because the government doesn't care about what we plebians think, only what can be proven." Mags said, whispering in my ear.
I nod my head.
"Go get changed. Dinner will be ready in an hour." Chrysan said.
I get to my room, enter, and see that it is bigger than my room on the train. I get a shower, and again, I'm upset when I see my hair is ruffled even more than after my shower on the train. I don't even bother to grab a brush because it's a waste of time. I get changed, and head down to dinner.
When I get there, the rest of the team shows up. Dinner is six course affair, and while Coral turns a light shade of green, I retain my usual bronze skin tone. Chrysan is locked in an engaging conversation with Jade and Cabe, but Mags doesn't miss the color change in Coral while nothing happened to me.
After dinner, we all walked over to the tv and watched the recap of the opening ceremonies. It was silent until the tributes from District 12 entered the camera view. The reaction was two-fold. One reaction from the crowd was that of hysteria, while the other was that of disturb curiosity.
"Wow. District 12 must really hate their tributes." Cabe said.
"Clearly." Mags said, I can see a shiver go down her spine. If I had to guess, Mags is debating how it feels to be in the shoes of the tribute but from her perspective. I guess the stylists could make all the tributes naked and dress them in the theme of their district. That's the point of the opening ceremonies, but judging by the display that just occur, it seems that 12's stylists lost interest in being kind and rational human beings and treating their charge with respect.
"Bedtime! Let us adults discuss the coming events of the next six days." Cabe said.
Coral and I head to bed, and my dreams are empty again, but the void is fill with another calming presence. I wake up early and get dressed. The training outfit was made of athletic material and was solid black with blue and orange accents.
As I'm heading down to breakfast, I feel a hand wrap around my wrist and pull me over to the sitting area. It was Mags, and she pulled me into a dancing position.
"Mags. What are you doing?" I asked, just above a whisper.
"I have an eye for talent, and I'm testing my tribute." Mags said.
"Testing how?" I asked.
"As you grow older, the tributes are expected to attend balls at the Capitol." she said.
And before I knew it, the two of us were dancing. I was about to ask if Mags knew something that I didn't, but I remember my dad saying thing about my genetics. I wonder if Mags is being swayed by genetics or is Mags testing me in her own way.
"I've heard rumors that you've become a favorite of the crowd because of you're demeanor and personality. Be careful Finnick. I've also heard rumors that the tributes have become playthings of the Capitol citizens." she said.
"Any of the tributes you train suffer that fate?" I ask.
"The tribute before Chrysan Skyfall became a Capitol plaything. I don't remember his name." she said.
"What happened to your first tribute that you mentored?" I asked.
"That's the tricky part. He went to the Capitol Fourteen years ago, and never came back. The Capitol leadership give some lie about his disappearance, but I was never about confirm or deny his death." she said.
At that moment, the elevator sprang to life and went past our floor to the ground. Mags broke up the dance party and walked over to the table. I was still in shock by Mags and I dancing so smoothly, but it is a topic for another time because the elevator had stopped on our floor and Cabe stepped off. At that moment Coral was coming down to breakfast.
I look over at Mags who has taken a seat at the table. Mags gives me a smile, and then I join the group at the table. Coral's training outfit is also made of the same athletic material, but it only had red accents. I don't think much of the outfits and then take a seat at the table.
Chrysan and Mags talked about the things that were going to happen over the next three day: training. Lots of training. Mags and Chrysan both told us to work on the stations that could pose the greatest obstacle to us. With Coral wanting to be trained separately, I have no idea what her weaknesses could possibly be.
As breakfast was finishing, Chrysan said. "Training begins at ten. Meet Amethyst at the elevator at nine forty-five. Your free to do whatever you like until then."
As Chrysan and Mags were leaving, I saw that it was nine o'clock.
I have forty-five minutes to kill before Amethyst arrives. Coral heads back to her room and gets ready for the day. I noticed that Coral has put away the airhead act, and started to mentally prepare for the coming Games, both metaphorically and the actual event.
I head back to my room and get cleaned up, and then sit on my bed for the rest of the time. I think of my father and my dad. My father said that my dad was a victor, and according to Mags she trained him personally. My mom was a courtesan who had a guest that was deep in Snow's circle of advisors. How deep is beyond me. Just like the extent of my genetic alteration is still beyond me. These are topics the continue to avoid my grasp, and they still evade my grasp because I look up at the clock and see that it's nine forty-five.
I exit my room, and head out to the elevator. I hear the door open and shut behind me, but I don't stop until I get to the elevator. Amethyst is waiting by the door, and she seems antsy. We board and Amethyst presses the button for the basement. The elevator is in the basement before we know it. I'm intrigued by efficiency of the elevators, but is there anything in the Capitol that isn't highspeed?
As we exit the elevator, I see a giant gymnasium with dozens of stations ranging from combat to survival. I don't want to let on to my specialty with weapons, but I need to brush up on my survival skills.
All the tributes have tags on their backs. Before we even get close to the other tributes, I feel a pat on my back. I look Coral's back an see piece of cloth with the number four on it.
"What's written on it?" Coral asked.
"The number four. If I had to guess it's to help the trainers, and whoever else is going to be in the room, know what district we're from." I said.
"Great." Coral said.
We join the rest of the tributes, and then the last two tributes arrived. They were from District 5.
After everybody arrived, the lead instructor took control of the situation. Other than her name, which was Atala, I didn't give much of my attention. I looked like I was paying attention, but I wanted to get down to training. There are three days of training, and then a one-on-one with the Gamemakers where I show them a skilled that I learned. I'm not exactly sure where to beginning.
"Are there any questions?" Atala asked. The silence was deafening. "Begin." Atala said.