Astrid felt raw, wincing as the wax ripped the hair from her arm. She was in the Capitol, in the luxurious cage they kept the tributes in or, as the others called it, 'the tribute center'. Her prep team was scattered around her, their surgically altered features making them look almost grotesque.
Florus, Astrid thought that was her name at least, had made her nose unnaturally thin and long. Gaius, who was ripping out her body hair, had made his skin a shade of gold, the sparkles embedded in the color sparkled with every slight movement he made. Her hair stylist, Palmyra, had added several extensions to her eyelashes, the hairs reaching at least three inches from the woman's eyelids.
Tigris's eyes widened, "What happened to the Capitol?"
Haymitch took another swig, "Drugs."
Once they were satisfied with how she looked they handed her a thin silk robe and sent her into a room with two chairs separated by a long table. She swallowed nervously and elected to sit in the chair furthest from the door, they couldn't kill her before the games, right?
She looked up when the door opened, revealing a woman that had to be her stylist. She was pretty, and her hair was the whitest blonde she had ever seen. Unlike the district 8 prep team, she was relatively unmodified, and her clothes were less gaudy than what she had seen when she had arrived in the Capitol.
Tigris gaped, "It's- it's me!"
Finnick smiled, "Yeah, you became a stylist in the games to give children a chance. You and Astrid got pretty close because of it."
Sejanus smiled at the woman, glad that she was at least trying to make things better for the districts.
The woman kindly smiled at Astrid, as if the tribute was a skittish animal, and spoke, "Hello dear, my name is Tigris. I am your stylist."
The brunette sent her a polite smile, "Astrid."
"I know." Tigris moved the second chair around the table, setting it next to Astrid and sitting gracefully, "In some languages, the name Astrid means star."
Astrid nodded, "Let me guess, you're going to make me live up to the stars?"
Tigris nodded with a mischievous smile, "No darling, I'm going to make them live up to you."
Lucy Gray smiled, "That's a big feat to ask of the stars."
Finnick nodded.
𓅨
Astrid stepped out of the elevator and moved to her chariot as Tigris followed behind her and fixed the back of her gown. The blue sheer fabric was layered so thickly that it was an opaque wave falling from the corseted bodice. Her favorite part; however, was the stars that actually glowed, shined really. They covered everything from the dress to the thin gloves that reached her elbows.
Tigris gasped, "I made that."
Katniss's eyes widened, "It's beautiful."
Peeta looked confused, "You didn't watch those games?"
Katniss shrugged, "I was eight, I didn't have a great attention span."
He smiled fondly at her.
Astrid had never felt as beautiful as she had when the dress slipped onto her body, a fact that had made Tigris gather the girl in her arms. But then reality set in, she wasn't supposed to feel pretty, she was here to get slaughtered. Her face slipped back into it's stoic mask and she cleared her throat, resuming her cold demeanor.

YOU ARE READING
Paper Cranes 𓅨 THG WTM
FanfictionWelcome to your life, There's no turning back, Even while we sleep, We will find you 𓅨 Astrid Sallow lived a quiet life, she ate, went to school, came home, slept, repeat. That was, of course, until her name was pulled from the demonic lottery and...