Panem

"So, what sort of weird outfit do you think our stylists are going to cook up for us?" Jordyn asked.

"I honestly do not want to even think about it. With my luck, I'll end up looking like some form of bird or something." he thought about it for a second and then shuttered. "I dislike the fashion trend that district 1 sets....." he sat down beside Jordyn and for a few seconds he fidgeted around in the couch. "This couch is trying to eat me."

A few minutes later, Loganin and Tabitha came through the door. "Well, it's time to get you guys dressed for success!" Loganin said with an abnormal enthusiastic air about him. Zach had a feeling in his gut that he wasn't going to like what was to come. He stood up and turned to offer Jordyn a hand up.

"I honestly do not want to even think about it. With my luck, I'll end up looking like some form of bird or something." he said. "I dislike the fashion trend that district 1 sets....."

He sat down beside me and fidgeted for a while.

"This couch is trying to eat me." he said.

A few minutes later, Loganin and Tabitha came through the door.

"Well, it's time to get you guys dressed for success!" said Loganin, annoyingly enthusiatic.

Zach stood up, and offered me a hand up. I took it and pulled myself lightly to my feet. We were probably being taken to where our stylists would be designing the outfits for us. I hoped what was going to happen next wasn't going to be too painful. We were taken into a room down the end of the apartment, where our stylists were waiting. Mirren seemed especially excited to see me.

"Oh darling, I'm going to make you a beautiful outfit and it's going to be spectacular and you'll look gorgeous!!" she blurted out, all at once.

I smiled awkwardly and glanced sidewardly at Zach. His stylist seemed equally excited. Mirren gave a squeak of excitement and held up a few pieces of fabric up to my face. She muttered something about 'complexion' and 'eyes' then held up a few more. She appeared to find something worthwhile and put the fabric beside her. She then looked through a box of odd items and after examining a few, took my measurements and scribbled them down on a notepad.

"Perfect. I'll have your outfit done by tonight for the presentation." she said happily.

I was slightly confused. What was she going to make me wear? I guessed I would find out tonight.

"Hey there, Zackie boy! We'll make sure you are the talk of the century with what we've got planned for you!" that line that came from Zevran made Zach mentally cringe. Zach sighed and looked over at Jordyn, who gave him a look. He could tell she was having just as much fun as he was.

Zach stared at his stylist for a bit, and then back at Jordyn's. They were doing the same exact thing. When Zevran would take something out of the box, her stylist did. When he measured Zach's head, she measured Jordyn's. It was creepy, but they were probably experienced with outfitting the tributes of the hunger games. Regardless, when he finished measuring Zach and screwing around with the various objects in the box, he stood up and clapped a few times as he smiled.

"Don't worry, Zackie. We'll have a perfect suit for you by the time you need it!" he went to walk away, but then added. "And believe me, you'll look fabulous!"

Zach wasn't too happy with his chances that his outfit wasn't going to be wierd. Nor was he happy that he was being called "Zackie", either. Maybe if it was his wife, which he'd never have, he might like it, but it was strange coming from a grown man. Nevertheless, Zach pushed those thoughts to the back of his head and stood up. He was done, and by the looks of it, so was Jordyn.

"So, you as scared as I am? I'm terrified that I might become a bird tonight...." he joked, but subconciously thought that that might actually happen.

(OOC: I hope you don't mind the costumes, I got the idea from the bird thing)

"So, you as scared as I am? I'm terrified that I might become a bird tonight...." joked Zach.

"Definitely, there's no telling what we could be dressed as." I replied.

In the background, I heard Mirren exclaim. I turned around to her scribbling down the words 'bird'. Uh oh. I hoped Zach's joke didn't result in a disaster. I stood up and made my way to the kitchen in hope of finding something edible. Little did I know that the fridge was stocked with every type of sandwich and cake known to mankind. I grabbed what looked like a chicken and mayonaise sandwich and a tart of some sort. I sat down at the table and ate my hoard. After I was done, I decided to practice a few moves before I showed them off to the tributes in the training center. I made my way into the lounge room, which seemed to have the least amount of breakable items. I started off with some cartwheels and handstands, then moved onto backflips and somersaults. I perfected them, so I went back to my room in hopes of a bit of rest before the parade.

I woke up a little before dinner. I tidied my hair a little and went outside. I ate my meal mostly in silence, anxious about what we would have to wear. I didn't eat very much, though I knew I should as I had barely eaten anything that day. When we were both finished eating, we made our way to the end room we were in before. Mirren and Zach's stylist were standing in the doorway, ready to show us our outfits. Mirren appeared to be hyperventilating.

"Disrict 12 tributes, we present you...... your presentation outfits!" the stylists said at the same time while moving aside, revealing our outfits.

My first thought when I saw my outfit was, I am going to be a bird. I looked closer, and realized they weren't bird wings, they were angel wings. Red, orange and gold angel wings. I guessed they were meant to look like they were on fire. I looked down at my dress. It was bright red, fading off to orange and gold at the ends. My shoes red high heels. I guessed Zach's bird idea had gone down well.

Zach thankfully didn't notice the word 'bird' being drawn a certain stylist's notepad. Of course, he should've because everybody knows that the bird is the word, but everyone except him and it would be safe to assume that he didn't mind not knowing what the word was. He sat down as Jordyn went to feast upon a sandwich, and somewhere along the line, he fell asleep.

When he awoke, the others were beckoning him to join for dinner, which sounded good due to a skipped lunch. He picked out a few items that looked appetizing and ate away, though he was still worried about his future attire. Zach finished just before Jordyn, though he had much more on his plate. They went down to the end room, where Zevran and Mirren stood, obviosuly eager to display their work. Somehow, Zach didn't feel as if he'd be as excited.

District 12 tributes, we present you..... your presentation outfits! the stylists said in unison ans the made a short step to the side, revealing a couple of outfits.

Zach looked at his and instantly felt dispair. It was only as he observed it better, that he discovered he wasn't a bird, but a....demon? He looked over towards Jordyn's outfit, and she appeared to be an angel. Guess it made sense. Polar opposites or something like that. Zach didn't really care what suits stood for, he cared what they looked like. He had to admit, the costume didn't embarass him as much as he'd thought it would.

The costum was more or less the 'opposite' of Jordyn's. Her outfit was more 'angelic' while his was more 'demonic'. That much may appear to be obvious, but it's how it was made. The outfit was clearly meant to show his muscles off, a 'brutish' look is what it gave off. The sleeves were cut off, but they gave him gloves that made it look like he had claws of some sort. Wierd, but could've been worse. His wings were not of an angels, but of a demons or a bat's. They were blackish and purple, with some pattern in it that made it almost look as if the colors were moving. Guess it was supposed to be a demonic aura or the like.

His boots were the dress shoes, but his pants covered down to his shoes, so it looked like it was part of the outfit. They must've spent more time with theses than Zach had thought.

"Wow.... I can honestly say I'm not going to die from wearing this..." he blurted. "Though don't take that as me loving this." he quickly added. He looked over to Jordyn. "So do you like yours? I mean, you get to be an angel." he had almost let out 'Well, you already are.' but he quickly kept that thought in his head.

"Wow.... I can honestly say I'm not going to die from wearing this..." Zach blurted out. "Though don't take that as me loving this." he added soon after.

He looked over at me.

"So do you like yours? I mean, you get to be an angel." he said.

I pondered this statement for a few moments. I looked over at Zach's outfit. It was the opposite to my outfit, demonic and dark. I had angel wings, whereas his were like that of a bat's. I had a beautiful, flowing dress, while his suit was brutish and manly. I guessed I was meant to represent fire, and he was meant to represent coal.

"Well, I kind of like it. Not really my style, but pretty." I said.

At that moment, Mirren grabbed my hand and pulled me away from Zach. She informed me I was going to go and get ready now. I nodded my head and grabbed the various parts of my outfit. She accompanied me to a room near the parade area, where I guessed I would get ready in. She helped me get into my costume, which fitted me quite well. She then called in my prep team to help her with my hair and makeup. Saffra and Talon fussed over what colours of makeup I should have, while Mirren and Gliese argued about what they should do with my hair. They seemed to work it out, because half and hour later I was ready to show off my outfit. I took a look in the mirror, and actually had to ask if the person in the mirror was me. I had full makeup on, with smoky red eyelids, long eyelashes and neat red lips. My hair was curled and neatly parted. My nails were painted red, orange and gold with sparkles. The wings on my back looked genuinely like fire. And, there was something on my head. A sort of, halo. I was spectacular, I was beautiful, I was an angel.

"Well, I kind of like it. Not really my style, but pretty." she said.

If anything, Zach thought she looked gorgeous. However, he could tell they were going to make him look... different from her. Before he could respond to her, she was taken away by her stylist and the same happened to him. He was dragged to a room where he was told by Zevran that he'd changing in. So, he did so, but the transformation was not yet done.

He had to listen to them blabber on about how they were going to make him 'hot n spicy'. This of course disturbed Zach, but he didn't let it show. By the time they were done screwing with him, half an hour had thrown itself out the window. He looked in the mirror and gasped.

"What did you do to my hair?!" he said angrily. His hair was shot back and was now black (not to mention a couple horns hidden in it). He didn't agree to his hair being dyed and he didn't really care for the horns either.

"You need to look like an demon, honey. Don't worry, it'll flush out with water, as its not a normal type of hair dye." Zevran smiled. He seemed content with his work.

"What do you mean?" he said, obviously not happy about that last part.

"It'll change from black to red periodically. Not instantly of course, but it'll be noticable."

Zach didn't have a response to that. Hearing his silence, Zevran took it as a 'yes' and showed him the door. After that, they stood and waited for Jordyn, who Zach thought was lucky, as the worst they could do is put a halo on her.

My prep team and stylist took my hands to help me walk around in my heels. I went out the door, trying not to trip over my skirt. Zach was waiting for me out there, ready in his costume. His costume was truly amazing. A ripped suit, demonic wings. And his hair! Black, but it seemed to be slowly changing colour. And of course, horns. So completely different to mine. How did our stylists get the ideas for these costumes? They were so, amazing.

"Liking your outfit?" I asked.

"Liking your outfit?" I asked.

The whole while he had been staring at the ground, not really caring for much. Her voice snapped him out of his staring contest with the ground and he replied. "I prefered my own, natural color of hair...." he looked up. "...thought that may just be-" he paused for a moment to take in the sight: An angel before him. The costume look extremely good and made it as if she were an angel. The dress complemented itself and the wings that were made out to look like they were on fire just helped the overall image.

He blushed due to the fact that it surprised him and then continued. "...Well, we should get going. You ready?"

"I prefered my own, natural color of hair...." he looked up. "...thought that may just be-" he paused.

He blushed. I smiled.

"...Well, we should get going. You ready?" he asked.

"Definitely." I replied.

We made our way to the area we would wait in before the presentation. Not many tributes were there yet. I watched as District 9's tributes burst into black and white flames. It was truly spectacular. Tabitha soon came over to tell us to get on to the chariot.

"Ready?" I asked Zach.

"Ready?" I asked Zach.

"As I'll ever be..." he said, looking onwards towards the huge crowd. They were about to be the center of attention (along with the other tributes.) worldwide. He wasn't normally nervous, but then again, he was never in front of everybody in existence.

He hopped up into the chariot and extended an arm for Jordyn. "Let's show them what angels and demons really look like."

"As I'll ever be..." said Zach, looking toward the crowd.

I could tell he was nervous, but then again, who wouldn't be? I mean I was, probably more so that Zach. I gave a few deep breaths to calm myself. Zach jumped up into the chariot and held out his arm for me.

"Let's show them what angels and demons really look like." he said.

I took his arm and climbed into the chariot after him. I tried to make an superior yet kindly face, as I expected angels would usually wear. I hoped my nerves didn't show though my expression. The chariot started to move.

"Here goes nothing!" I said.

I put down a few more ideas on the laptop, closed it, and headed for the stadium. I sat down in my seat, and looked through the costume ideas sent by the stylists. My eyes widened at 3 of the districts costumes, 4, 12, and 9. But district 12 costume didn't represent there district at all, even if it would look good, there district won't like it. District 4's was good. District 9 looked a bit like a pair of grim reapers, but I could understand how it was to do with there district. The rest were mostly the usual, some were good, some were boring. I sat up, and looked out the gamemakers window. I smiled, can't wait for the games to start.

Zach took a prideful and determined appearance as the cart move, contrary to his nervousness. It was more or less a cocky appearance, in contrast to Jordyn's angelic facial expressions. Though their costumes didn't really have any relation to their district, Zach knew why this was so. It was to 'branch out', to be different from the expected. While the other districts were to relate to their own set of skills and work, District 12's was to show that they were unique, to show that they weren't just another district.

Zach admired the meaning behind this, and he had to give props to the designers for not only injecting a special meaning, but for making the costumes aesthetically pleasing. It was a mini-masterpiece.

However, he kept his same face and waved to the many people spectating them. After all, they were supposed to show off.

the chariot was about to move, when Eric ran up and gave me a black skelaton mask. He fitted it on my head and stood back. Black smoke was comeing from the masks mouth, and more came when I breathed. This just made me look more like a grim reaper. The chariot started moving, when we were in the stadium, I put on a confident smile, an evil looking one. I waved at the crowd, and flung my scythes in the air. I caught them, then juggled them. When we were near the end, I brought the scythes up, then down, like an excecutioner would do. We were at the end, the president made his usual speech, and we were off to our homes for the week, or something like that. I noticed the flames only went out when we left the stadium. I went straight to my bedroom, had a shower, and went to sleep, in bed.

I stared out from the gamemakers box with wide eyes. District 4 wasn't as good as I orginally thought, but 9 and 12 was better than I would of guessed. I saw the district 9 male, Desmond, I think it was, do some tricks with his scythes. All the tributes went to the end, the president made his usual speech, then they were off. I smiled, tomorrow was training.

As soon as we got off the train we were hurried into dress and makeup.My stylist Hera put me in a dress with details that symbolises power for district 5 and a silver headband .Samantha was pushed in a chariot with Com who wore basicly the same thing.She blew kisses to the crowd and held Coms hand as she was instructed to to prove they were friends.

After the chariot ride she went straight to bed and slept until the next morning.

I woke up and was frightened to see hera looming over me."Rise and shine sweet cheeks,time to get you in your training uniform".she said snapping her gum.Hera got me dressed into a black and red suit.she fed me a few things while I was rushed into the training room.((sorry still wanted to be apart of tjis but my partner stopped posting)).When i was in the training facility nobody was there yet,so sammy being herself grabbed a few knives and chucked them into a skin colored dummy.

Were we late at all? Likely not, but obviously people did not make haste in the Capitol. When the awkward quiet of the train was left, they were prepared and brought into their costumes.

I had suggested something, which obviously appealed with our stylist. I wore a silver headband and a cyber-punk type clothing, similar to what my partner was wearing. Though, covering my back (the part of my costume I liked most), I wore some kind of cape, made out of very thick power cords. Really, I probably looked better than my partner, but then again, her dress seemed to match my clothing and cape combined.

The Chariot ride really made me, really really nevous. There were some costumes that seemed to be about as good, if not, better than ours. I was suprised when Samantha held my hand. I hadn't been instructed that. Well, it was likely that nobody saw it. I gave off looks to the croud, as if at the same time I was grinning at them, I was calculating. I pointed as if I could control things. Yeah, I wish...

The day after that, we started training.

As the Chariots started to move, I glanced at Desmond, and rolled my eyes. Geez, his costume was completely over the top. It pretty much barely had anything to do with our District. Fire and Death, what's the deal with that? That's almost saying that our District is even more Third World than the outer districts. Well, at least that was the message I got out of it. At least my costume had something to do with our District.

As the Chariots moved, I saw Desmond still being over the top. I did more gracefull movements, if you could call them that. I looked around at the croud, but I didn't smile, but I didn't show any resentment toward them either. I shook my head a bit and a couple seeds flicked out of my hair. I bent my head over my hand, letting a couple seeds fall into my hand, the one that wasn't holding the broken scythe. I examined the seeds, and slowly poured them over the blade of my broken scythe. They trickled off and hit the ground harmlessly. I then looked up at the air and around at the audience again, as we were reaching the end.

...

As Luster waved to the crowds of the capitol, he couldn't help but remember where all of his newfound fame had started, right at the reaping in district one. Nobody dared to volunteer for Luster, for fear that if they did win, their skulls would be bashed into their bodies when they got home.

The train ride was short but sweet, and meeting the stylists was even sweeter. Leo (Luster's nickname) and Diamond had become buddies or "chums" as they called it. They talked about what they would do during the games and how they would find unique ways to kill each individual from each district. Leo got a laugh out of the thoughts of burying the district 6 boy alive, tying the district 5 girl to a tree (if there were any) and throwing knives at her heart, and burning the district 11 boy alive. Leo had a feeling he would get the most parachutes. He just knew he was that strong and powerful.

Leo laughed when he saw that the district one costume would represent a diamond. He almost felt bad for his female partner. She must've been embarassed. Leo had to wear a jumpsuit with many sequins, rhinestones, and glitter. His face was also covered with paint that sparkled like his jumpsuit. The costume was complete with a diamond headress.

During the parade, Leo could barely make out the other district's costumes. Leo didn't want to admit it, but he was a tad bit jealous of district 9's costumes. the scythes were amazing. But what was district 12's costumes about? District twelve was not about angels and devils, it was about dirty disgusting blobs of coal. If anything, the tributes in district 12 shoud've been painted all black.

When the parade was over, Leo showered, watched some tv, and went to bad with good dreams. (most having to do with eternal glory)

When Leo woke up, he made his way to the dining area of district 1's small apartment. Back in the day there weren't many, but there were still some Avoxes. Leo pointed to one and shouted at her, "You, get me some breakfast!!!" Leo sat at the table, not expecting Diamond, and chugged down his breakfast, making a mess. Even though he was from district 1, Leo knew that capitol food was the best.

Later, Leo got into his black and red suit, and headed down the elevator to the training room. He stood in the middle of the room, waiting for the tributes from 2 and 4, his partners in crime during the games.

I woke up, had a shower, when I got out, I saw some bland clothes on my bed. I remembered it was training day. I changed and went to the training hall. We were the second group to arrive, as district 5 was already there. I could see the gamemakers up in there seats, mostt were eating, but one was concentrating on the people below. He wore different clothes than the other gamemakers, so he must be the leader. I went straight to the archery part, shot the arrows untill I got used to the bow, and got a bullseye. Then I went to as many other training spots besides the sword and archery spots. I saw these large poles with another pole connecting them. I ran up to them, climbed up it, wiggled to the middle and turn until I was upside down. I brought 2 knifes in my mouth with me, I straightened up, so I was only hanging by my shoes, took the knifes out, and threw them at the targets. I got both as a bullseye, I smiled. Then my foot slipt, twisting we around until the other slipt. The pole was really tall, about 12 metres up, so I flipped as I fell. In the middle of this, I noticed most of the other tributes have arrived. Then I hit the ground headfirst with a loud bang. I wish that knocked me out, but it didn't, so it was quiet painful. I could feel blood on my head, I groaned and got up. I staggered a bit, then regained my balance. i felt my head, when I brougt my hand back, my hand was covered in blood. I stared at my hand for a while, then I turned around and saw a pool of blood. I saw a seat nearby, so I sat there and watched the othes until I recovered.

I woke up, got out of bed, dressed, and headed to the arena. I sat down in the gamemaker area, got up to get some food, then sat back down again. As if on que, disrict 5 walked in, the girl started to throw knifes. A few seconds after, district 9 walked in. The boy went to the archery targets, shot arrows until he got a bullseye, and then did some other training stuff. I noticed he veered away from the sword and archery spots. Then the other districts came in. I sneered, the careers were here. I hate the careers, there so full of themselves and overconfident. I was gonna give them a disadvantage, just enough to put them on an even playing field. I will put down the best weapons and supplies for district 5 to 12+3. The careers were gonna get nothing, absolutly nothing. But then there would still be lots of weapons near the centre of the cornicopia, and the places where the tributes stand will be spread apart by a large distance, about 100 metres between each tribute. I saw out of the corner of my eye Desmond going upside down and getting a bullseye with 2 knifes. I was impresses, then I saw him fall from the pole and hit the ground headfirst. I flinched when he hit the ground, I've taken quiet a liking to this tribute, and a few others too. I saw him get up, blood streaming down his head, that took strength. But even the strongest man needs to recover from a bad wound, as Desmond then sat down. I sat back in my seat and sighed, then smiled. This would be the best games yet.

Soon enough, the chariot ride finished. I relaxed my facial muscles and breathed in deeply. I gave Zach a look of pleased relief and turned to face Loganin and our stylists.

"Fabulous! Wonderful! I knew you kids could pull it off....." chattered Loganin.

I grinned, properly, for the first time since I had been reaped. It felt good to be praised. I glanced around the area, seeing some of the tributes staring at our wings, then quickly glancing away when I spotted them. Soon, we went back to the apartment to get ready for the next day. I was really worn out, and barely had enough energy to have a quick shower. Yet again, it left my hair and body smelling blissful. I pulled on a silk white nightdress, then walked outside to say goodnight to Zach, Loganin and Tabitha. When I went back into my room, I basically collapsed on to my frilly pink bed. I thought for a moment about Zach, and how handsome he had looked today, and how much I wished we didn't both have to die. Then, I fell asleep.

As i watched all the other tributes,I groaned knowing I wouldbe the first to die.I desperetly looked for Com but didnt see him so i wandered off to the plant station."Hello young lady,you hear to determine wich plants are lethal and wich are not?".I gave a quick smile and nodded "Sure am."he pointed to a big leaf with about five to ten little brown spots on it."Not lethal?"I say.He nods approvingly "Do you know what it is used for?".I shake my head."It is like medicine,you put it on a wound and it helps the healing proccess."."Cool."I say.After about twenty minutes of this station I shake the mans hand,he wishes me best of luck and then I go to the knot tying station to learn a few extra things like how to make traps with the vines.I look for Com again and still dont see him so I sigh he is practucly like my only friend.

"Fabulous! Wonderful! I knew you kids could pull it off....." chattered Loganin.

It seemed to make Zach just a bit happier; he had done the chariot ride as good as possible, he had nailed it, per say. During the trip back to the apartment that they were staying at, Zach began to feel the strain of nervousness on him. His eyes didn't want to stay open, and by the looks of it, Jordyn's eyes were the same. He would've taken a shower, had Jordyn not thought that same way, so, he went into his room and waited.

A few minutes passed and Jordyn's shower had ended, prompting the boy to at least wash his face. Sweating occured during the chariot ride, so he'd at least wipe that off. When he was heading for his room, Jordyn popped out of her room to say good night to him, wearing a good silk nightdress. He idly waved his hand at her and said the same as he continued to his room, thinking she looked good in just about everything she wore.

He fell into his bed, a thought across his mind and not a pleasant one either. This thought nagged at him, as he knew it wasn't a thought he wanted to think. He knew that there was a slight chance for district twelve to win. As long as they stayed together and out of trouble, they could live for a bit. However... the thing that was bugging him was when they were the only two left alive... only one was to leave.

It was a stupid rule. Why couldn't they both just live? Why couldn't they both be crowned the winners? As if fighting for their lives weren't bad enough, one of them would have to kill the other. Zach couldn't really choose. Should he kill her so that he would be able to help his ill parents? Or should it be the other way around? She must've had somebody she needs to look after. He swore he'd protect her, he couldn't just go and kill her after that, could he?

He stayed up late that night.