unforgivable ➸ finnick odair

S E V E N

unedited and completed at 10:46 at night ~

"... wow," I breathed as I stared into the mirror. Titania grinned proudly at the expression of awe on my face. Yet again, my stylist and prep team had shocked me.

The black gown I wore was subtly fitted to my body and just brushed against the floor. It was a sleeveless, high-neck dress and was made out of plain black fabric - the only notable feature was the thigh high split on my left side. Other than that, it was quite normal - just how I liked it. My dark brown hair fell in loose waves, and my team had put me into black heeled sandals that - god bless - had a small/medium-sized high heel. True black smokey eyeshadow framed my dark brown eyes, with a hint of sparkling gold around the inner corner of my eye and a perfect flick of black eyeliner was drawn across my eyelid, my eyebrows were darker and more arched, my face was blemishless and smooth to both the look and the touch, there were none of my usual dark circles in sight, my cheeks looked naturally slightly rosy, my cheekbones were enhanced, the highlight right above said cheekbones was refreshingly blinding and my lips were a bold red colour.

In short, I looked fucking fabulous.

"You look stunning, Electra. There's just one final touch I need to make," Titania said, before pulling out a familiar golden locket. A smile spread across my face as she clipped it around my neck, the only piece of jewelry on my body.

"Thank you, Titania." I said, with full honesty.

"It's been a pleasure, Electra." She said tearfully before we made our way down to our tribute waiting area. Most of the other tributes were already there, having hushed conversations and pointing out different people - probably plotting their strategy for the games. I quickly sought out Bolt, May and Everly, grinning as I joined their huddled group.

"You all look fantastic," I smiled. Everly's stylist had made her wear a deep green one-shoulder full length gown with an embellished silver belt tied around her waist and matching closed off green heels, while May wore a white dress that had a lace strip over her waist area and a lace overskirt thing, white sandals and a flower crown in her hair that was also - you guessed it! - white. Bolt looked quite cheerful in his long-sleeved white button up and high-waist black pants, as well as his formal black lace-ups.

"I could say the same about you," Everly said, giving my outfit an approving nod. I laughed.

"What are your angles for your interviews? My mentor said to play innocent." May asked, twirling a lock of dark hair in her fingers as we sat in suspenseful silence, listening to Caesar Flickerman's voice resound on the stage.

"I'm kinda innocent as well," Bolt said, and the two young ones exchanged a smile. 

"Johanna said I would be good as quiet and cunning," Everly shrugged. The three all looked at me.

"Well, my mentor said to just wing it." We laughed.

"Just try not to make them hate you," Bolt grinned, and then we began paying attention to Caesar, moving closer to the stage.

Glitter, the bitch from one, played the sexy card, winking and flirting up a storm. She wore a see-through pink gown that had a matching pink bra and underwear underneath, but otherwise, the rest of her skin was pretty much exposed beneath the barely-there fabric. 

Hero, Glitter's counterpart, attempted the brutal killing machine tactic with little to no success, and I cringed at his extremely forced-sounding gruff answers.

Rhys surprisingly nailed the semi-good-guy angle. He talked about his sister Riley who was back at home with a bright, genuine grin on his face. I remember how he said that I reminded her of his sister and felt a rush of warmth spread through my body. Then I remembered that Riley would have to lose her brother in order for me or any of my allies to go home, and that warmth faded.

Claudia might've been quite small, but she played the vicious, sarcastic sweetheart with a special kind of grace. Her responses were clearly dripping in sarcasm and sweet, expired honey, and the audience ate it all up. She shot us all a victorious smirk as she descended from the stage.

I didn't really pay attention to 3's interviews, but I did tune in enough to remember Caesar mentioning that Chip was the son of two victors, so he 'had it in his genes'. So Beetee was his father, along with another victor. Unlucky.

Ocean talked about her best friend and her cousin, a pretty girl a year younger than her. "She's an orphan, see," she told Panem. "So she lives with my parents. She's a bit of an oddball and a loner, but we get along really well. I'm gonna go back for her." Shark, on the other hand, gave one-word answers and glared angrily at the camera. Not exactly a social butterfly, I guess.

"And now, for the girl who shocked all of Pane, with her incredible training score, please welcome to the stage, The Silver Star, District Five's Electra Reine!"

Taking a deep breath, I walked onto the stage.

FINNICK'S POV  

I found myself paying an extraordinary amount of attention to my television screen as Electra Reine walked onto the stage. She wore a very ordinary black-themed outfit, the only piece of jewelry she had on was a golden locket around her neck.

"Ah, hello Miss Reine! Please, have a seat. You look gorgeous in that dress," Caesar gushed.

"You don't look too shabby yourself, Mister Flickerman," her striking red lips twisted into a smile as she lowered herself onto the squishy chair, her back instinctively straightening. Remembering the 4 long hours of training I had to endure with my own stylist, I laughed.

"Please, it's just Caesar to you." The host grinned, his hair dyed dark blue this particular year.

"Then please just call me Electra. Or El, whichever you prefer." She responded, smiling at the crowd of adoring capitol citizens.

"Now, El, I'm going to ask you now what I think all of us have been thinking - how did you get that training score?" Caesar asked, leaning in closer. Electra laughed, dark eyes twinkling as she leaned back in her chair and laced her fingers together.

"Oh, nothing much really. A bit of weaponry stuff... and then I left a message. For my sister." Her face darkened at those last words and I winced, knowing where she was going.

"Your sister?" Caesar asked.

"Breeze Reine, 12-years-old at her time of death, runner up in the 65th games," Electra listed stiffly, a frown on her face.

"Ah, I remember her. You know, I was really rooting for her." Caesar lied. Electra sighed and shook her.

"I know you weren't." Caesar looked taken aback at her blunt honesty. "But it's okay. I don't think anyone else but me really was."

"I'm sorry for your loss," he said, a note of sincerity in his voice.

"It's okay," Electra waved it off. Then her face brightened. "But I gotta ask - Silver Star?" she questioned, laughing. Caesar grinned, and the mood immediately lifted.

"Your tribute parade costume and your training score," he explained.

"Ah, I see," Electra smiled. Then the buzzer sounded.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have here folks! So, I give you our Silver Star, Electra Reine!" Caesar roared as he and Electra rose from their seats. The Capitol cheered wildly as Electra flashed them a grin.

"See you in the games! Make sure to tune in and see my win for yourself!" She laughed, blowing the crowd a kiss before disappearing.

The rest of the interviews passed like a blur. I should've been focusing on the TV, but all I could think about was Electra Reine, my own games and the tiny twelve-year-old blonde who had so nearly won it all.