The Sterling Nightingale ⟷ Finnick Odair/OC

That hangs in the suspense

"I'll get Iridessa," one of the women say, and leaves to find the head stylist. The name seems vaguely familiar to Sil. She's probably a stylist who has been transferred to the District 1 team from another one. When Iridessa arrives, she welcomes Sil happily, and Sil welcomes her just as happily. It's much too lighthearted than the situation calls for, but this is the Capitol after all.

"Silver, lovely to meet you," the woman says, closing the door behind her. She holds out a dress which is covered in a black fabric bag, and the stylists rush to hang it up. Iridessa turns her full attention to Sil, looking her over with a clinical eye. "Perfect," she says after a moment of this, clapping her hands together with a smile. "Thank goodness you've been keeping good hygiene. So many tributes don't even know what waxing is! You've made our job very easy today."

It's probably meant as a compliment, so Sil smiles. "Oh yes. I wouldn't dream of forgoing waxing!" She cringes just for effect.

The stylists all nod in tandem, like chickens bobbing their heads. Iridessa sagely agrees and says, "You're such a famous Victor, I wanted to do something a little different this year. Would you like to see the gown?"

When Sil nods, Iridessa unzips the fabric that covers the dress, revealing inch by inch of tantalizing silver and diamond-like stones. In all its glory, the dress is spectacular, if not a bit daring. Definitely something Sil would wear out to a high class event. Its made of an efflorescent, chiffon silvery white fabric, but that isn't all. When the light catches it, the entire piece turns almost luminous due to the reflective diamond stones sewn into the fabric.

They are everywhere, clustered heavily at the bodice and trailing farther and farther apart as they drip down the skirts. The fabric is a gossamer chiffon, basically see through but for the diamonds that are patterned over the important bits. Luckily it's only partially see through. The fabric is thick enough to give her some level of comfort, but the hint of her skin beneath is relatively obvious. It's really more like expensive lingerie than an actual dress.

"Oh, it's beautiful," Sil breaths, stepping around the dress to see all angles of it. It represents District 1 well enough, but Sil suspects it had been created to represent her more than her district. The diamond-like stones are luxurious, as is the set of expensive looking jewelry that Iridessa shows her moments later.

A huge diamond ring, a diamond choker necklace that trickles down the collar, and a hairpiece that shines no matter what lighting.

"I'm glad you like it," Iridessa says, handing the jewelry off to one of the stylists. "Let's get you dressed up, shall we?" She takes the dress off the hanger for Sil to step into.

Being surrounded by all this luxury is even better than seeing it within reach. Sil feels like a princess as she stands in front of the mirror. The stylists twitter around her like little birds, doing her hair and clasping the jewelry on. They dust her eyelids with a silvery powder and rouge her lips with deep plum red. Fake eyelashes that seem to flutter out like wings are glued on. There are two tiny little diamonds on the outer edges – fake, of course, otherwise they would drag everything down from their weight.

After forty five minutes of this, it's time to get out the shoes. Sil is impressed with Iridessa's style. The shoes she picks are crystal-like. They're edgy in a way the dress is not. Sil likes them, and they definitely complete the look.

"...What do you think?" Iridessa asks, arms crossed as she looks over Sil for any imperfections. Sil stares at herself too, twisting in front of the mirror. She nods after a moment and says, "It's perfect. Thank you."

They exchange smiles.

"You'd better head to the chariots. It's almost time," Iridessa says, leading Sil to the door. The Victor sends her stylists one last nod before opening the room and heading off to where the chariots await.