My guess is correct. I get put in a coal black leotard and Portia explains to me that she plans on setting it on fire, my face drops to a similar expression to when I got reaped. She just laughs and leads me to the stables with the horses and chariots. Well this should be interesting. I'm glad to see Katniss in the exact same thing. She's got the exact same cape and headdress as me. At least I won't burn alone.
No one is talking, it's eerily quiet. Everyone is just standing on their chariots not saying a word. And before we know it, a Capitol assistant is calling out "District one, take places district one!" Glimmer and Marvel are already standing on the chariots, led by pure black horses, their district supplies luxury items to the Capitol, so there outfits are pure white robes with multicoloured diamonds scattered across it and they have been sprayed with a sort of silver shine, very typical career.
District two are supposed to be buildings I presume, since they're Masonary. All the others go by with decent and typical outfits. Eleven have just gone by the time me and Katniss are called. Our stylists position our bodies, when they're done Cinna goes of to get the torch.
"What do you think?" Katniss whispers to me.
"About what?" I whisper back.
"About the fire?" she replies, through gritted teeth I say.
"I'll rip off your cape if you rip mine off."
"Deal." We should at least avoid the worst burns if we do rip them off.
"I know we promised Haymitch to follow what they said, but he surely didn't think of the angle?" Katniss says.
"Where is Haymitch anyway? Isn't he supposed to protect us form this kind of thing?" I reply.
"It probably isn't safe for him to be so close to fire, with all that alcohol in him!" we both start laughing loudly,we must both be so nervous that we have forgotten where we are.
Cinna, Katniss's designer, comes up with a torch in his hands and lights our capes and headdresses. Katniss, looks... she looks amazing, with the flicks of the fire projected in her grey eyes. It looks like real fire, but I feel no heat. It just tickles. Cinna shouts something to us "Hold hands!" but Katniss doesn't catch it so he shouts it again. She still doesn't hear it so I have to interfere. I thought hunter's senses were much better than people who don't hunt?
"I think he asked us to hold hands." I say, she nods in thanks whilst I grab her right hand. Having Katniss right next to me, holding my hand feels amazing!
Our chariot is led, purely by coal black horses, no one holding any reins guiding them. They must have been trained all their life to lead tributes around the town square. Poor things, leading around people preparing for slaughter every year. They probably get mishandled as well, as soon as they get old, they're probably the ones who get slaughtered. I hear horse is quite popular here.
In a few minutes we are led out of the stable doors, everyone's attention is on the careers, well were paying attention to the careers. Everyone is screaming "District 12!" or "Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen" as soon as we get out. You know you look stunning when they bother to learn your names on the first night. "Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen" It has a nice ring to it!
I look up to see myself on the T.V screen on fire, it looks really amazing. If we don't get many sponsors I'll be shocked! But what is even more stunning is Katniss. Blowing kisses? What side of Katniss is this? I haven't ever seen this side of Katniss Everdeen before. Not even before her father...you know, died. I will seriously be surprised if we don't get sponsors purely from that. A girl on fire blowing kisses. Everyone will want a piece of that.
Everyone reaches their hands out idiotically, trying to catch one of Katniss's many kisses as if they were real. But, she's stunning, if I were in the crowd and I saw this, I would try to catch one of them any time of day.
She is now squeezing my hand so hard it is really starting to hurt! She realizes this and tries to pull away. But determined to hang on to her, I stop her slipping out "No, please. If I don't hold on to something I'm worried I'll fall out." She just nods and regains her grip. This would be the perfect moment if I didn't know that, in the matter of a few days we'll both be fighting to the death.
We go around the square one more time, the television screens show all the tributes briefly. But, we are still the ones with the most air time, this is against the rules, but we really do look spectacular, Katniss especially. Once we finish our second lap, we stop in front of President Snow's mansion. We see him on the balcony like every year, a paper thin man with snow white hair, a dark purple suit, with a single red rose in his pocket. He, unlike the rest of the Capitol citizens, hasn't appeared to have had any alterations. All though the slits in his eyes resemble the eyes of a snake, which makes him appear scarier than he originally seems.
I can see him eyeing, what seems like me, but I know is Katniss. When he starts his speech, the camera men on the balconies surrounding the squares try to show every tribute. But, once they have the camera remains on me and Katniss. His speech is the same every year, how the Hunger Games is to remind us that we can't defeat the ways of the Capitol. He then states the rules of the Hunger Games.
"Every year 24 tributes aged 12-18, are trained in the art of survial and weaponery and must then enter an outdoor arena and fight to the death, until one is named the victor."
Next to him is the head Gamemaker: Secena Craine, he, like President Snow, hasn't appeared to have had any alterations, but looks scary none the less. His short beard twists at the end of his cheek, along with his moustache, and with hair being perfectly gelled back, the impression I get from him is sly and cunning. He probably has a ton of horrible ideas for new muttations in his head for when we don't die quickly enough.
He, also like Presidient Snow, is eyeing Katniss. Not surprising really. No district in the history of the entire Hunger Games has ever had a costume like this.
As it starts getting darker, it's even hard to take your eyes off of us. Our costumes just illuminate us more, grabbing even more than thought possible of the air time. When the Capitol anthem starts to play again, the cameras make another quick skip around the tributes, but then once again land on us again. The death glares we are getting from the other tributes is almost amusing.
We quickly go around the square yet again, then we quickly disappear into the training centre, are home/holding pen until the actual games. But this is where things really start to heat up.
As soon as the doors shut behind our chariot, we are smothered by some kind of white foam that comes out of a red cylinder, Portia calls a 'fire extinquisher' . Once I can finally see again, all of the tributes are staring at us with what? Admiration? Jealousy? Spite? Whatever they're feeling, like the crowds, they can't take they're eyes of us. Maybe we will have an advantage in the arena. An advantage of being feared.
