Soul, No Survivor

Ch. 6- A Grand Introduction

TW: Cowboy hat

Rose felt like someone else.
Well, she was still her. Just...

Upon arrival at the Capitol, Rose and Clyde had been paraded through a shouting and clamoring flock of Capitol citizens all around.
Rose held her head high, but her nerves were betrayed by her fingers fiddling with her necklace. Clyde walked with his eyes towards the ground, expression unreadable, but compliant for once. Likely due to the gun-wielding peacekeepers that followed directly behind the tributes.

The group entered the Training Center, and were promptly split up. Rose was led by a strangely silent woman down endless long hallways until they stopped at a specific room marked "10 F."

Inside, three bright (in attitude and in physical appearance) capitol folks crowded around her and examined every inch of her, exclaiming things like, "Ooh, what a pretty thing!" Or "Hmm, a touch up here, or there maybe!" Rose was a bit taken aback, but she relented to whatever things they decided to 'tweak'.

Her team was all women, which relaxed her a bit. She learned that the woman with neon lime and pink braids going down her back was named Charlisle, and the woman with eyelashes that looked like feathers was called Birdie, appropriately. The third woman was named Diannora, and sported a crown of jewels and crystals that, upon closer inspection, appeared to be attached to her scalp.

Her prep team had scrubbed her with sickly sweet soap til her skin felt raw. They'd applied a sort of wax, ripping any hairs from her body, which made Rose feel a bit naked. All in all, though she didn't protest, she was not at all pleased with the situation.

Her hair was rinsed and soaked in strange creams, then dried with a 'diffuser', which was sort of enjoyable. Charlisle complemented her hair type, while Diannora expertly trimmed Rose's dead ends. Birdie fussed over everything with a pair of tweezers, plucking what the wax missed.

Once deemed ready, a man with dark purple hair and pointed, cosmetically altered pink ears entered, surveying Rose.
"Razmouhi?" The girl nodded. "I'm your stylist. Call me Florin."

At least he seemed friendly.

Rose and Florin discussed what she'd be wearing for the parade to introduce all of the tributes. He seemed to love an idea of hers regarding fake furs.

Which brought her to the present, fidgeting in her outfit in the dressing room.
Her parade costume was... beautiful.

Rose's hair was done in two braids that laid obediently over each shoulder. A single small strand was swirled on her forehead in what Florin called a 'kiss curl'.

A large fake fur ruff swooped around her shoulders, the cream-colored shape meeting in a v below her collarbone. Dark black fabric covered her top, with a brown leather corset cinched tightly to define her waist. Tight black leggings covered her lower half, with a burst of the same cream fur starting below the knee like a horse's fetlocks, almost. The outfit was capped on the bottom by black chunky heels, and on the top by a surprisingly light headdress featuring two brown cows' horns swooping upwards magnificently.  Her evil eye necklace hung on her chest, a comforting  and grounding weight.

Rose's makeup was... really, really pretty. Her lips were glossed with a warm hint of brown, and her lashes were darkened to make them pop. Her dark eyeliner and eyeshadow feathered out to make her look intimidating, as well as darkly beautiful.

Florin rapped on the door twice, signaling her to come out. He smiled in approval when she emerged, and led her down another series of hallways to where the district 10 chariot was waiting. It was bronze and black, and drawn by two Clydesdales. How fitting.

Sunbee, who was waiting by the chariot, let out a delighted shriek at the sight of Rose. He sported a black sequined suit with sharp shoulders. The eccentric man clapped his hands and ran, heels clattering, to Rose.
"Ah! You look GORGEOUS!! Rosie, darling, this is MARVELOUS!!" He buzzed around her and she stifled a laugh, a manicured hand covering her mouth. The man stopped suddenly, looking over her shoulder and grinning. "Ooh, you clean up splendidly!"

Rose turned to see Clyde approaching, looking not his usual angry self, but more just thoroughly uncomfortable.
He wore a black shirt, the same color as Rose's top and leggings. Over it, his stylists had put him in a brown leather trench coat lined with the same cream fur she sported. Atop his dark curls was a black cowboy hat with brown horns, larger than Rose's, jutting out. His outfit was completed with simple black pants and heavy boots.
He looked good.

The boy walked awkwardly towards Sunbee and Rose, messing with his jacket absently.
Sunbee clapped him on the shoulder, making him tense.
"How does it feel to be fabulous?"
Clyde frowned.
"Shiny."

A bell sounded, and Florin herded the two onto the chariot.
As it began to move, Rose could see a light ahead. Soon, they were in full view of shrieking capitol citizens, the number 10 blazing on all of the screens. Citizens waved at her, and some teenagers blew kisses, causing Rose to smile slightly and wave back. The people went crazy, screaming and clamoring. She turned to Clyde to see how he fared, and found him glowering at the people behind her. She shrugged it off and began to wave again, smiling.

With the bright light and the noise, as well as her corset being as tight as it was, Rose began to feel a bit lightheaded.
As the chariot went about its first of two laps, she moved to wave again, but stumbled. A hand went to her corset, the other gripping the railing of the chariot. She tried to take some deep breaths, and suddenly felt a strong hand grip her waist. Clyde pulled her up to stand straight, and looked down at her seriously.
"You have to look strong. The other tributes will think you'll be an easy target."

Rose blinked and nodded at him, one hand moving to grip his shoulder for support while the other waved weakly. Clyde's mouth opened, then closed again. He turned his face away from her to look straight ahead.
He didn't wave.

When the chariots stopped in front of the President, the two stayed intertwined, Rose breathing slowly. While he spoke, her thoughts turned to Clyde. He was rude, true. He was rough. He was a bit of a delinquent. But this was nice of him. Was he nice, too, perhaps? His strong arm still held fast around her waist, keeping her steady while she breathed shallowly around her corset.
Maybe he had a soft side deep down.
Way deep.
But he was still a bit of an ass.

Rose forced herself to focus back in on President Snow as he droned about the glory of the games.

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A/N: AAAA IM SO EXCITED!
As always, constructive criticism is welcome!
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Should I post drawings of the characters? Help a girl out here!! I don't bite!
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Be well, StarKat