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Angie nodded, her smile evident. "He is, he is! He helped me with bullies one time in school, they were too scared to bully me again!" She smiled at the thought, the bullies having run from her in a matter of moments after Lukian appeared behind her. It had been funny, at the time. Now, it was simply day-lifting.

A young Inkling with wavy pinkish-purple hair, the dead giveaway of her heritage to Bella and Coraline's bloodline was the dark rings around her eyes. She was walking out onto the floor in a Kinono themed dress and took her spot next to Charlie. While the dress at a distance appeared to be made of cloth, it was actually ink woven into cloth to make the wonderful shades that seemed to stand out but blend in at the same time.

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It wasn't unexpected that the stylist was nervous around Zoe. Though to Zoe, it was amusing. She didn't care one bit what the Capitol thought of her. In fact, she'd like them to express it, purely so she could tell them what she thought of them, in a much more colorful way. The stylist looked like he should have been a Peacekeeper. He was large and muscular, with a shaved head and strange bright tattoos that went up and down his neck. His eyes were dusted blue, a popular practice in the Capitol. And like any other Capitol citizen, his hands shook and he avoided Zoe's gaze. But among his assistants, he had a confidence that told Zoe why he wasn't breaking non-Capitol necks and was here. He ordered his assistants around quietly, and they seemed happy to do whatever he asked of them. It didn't mean that Zoe wouldn't want to shove a comb up one of their noses. They were still Capitol no matter what. By the time they were done, they had chosen a long red evening dress. "Ironic, wasn't it?" Zoe thought as she twirled a little in front of the Mirror, flipping a not-so-friendly sign at her reflection that her father had taught her without her mother's knowledge. The stylist kept the ponytail, braiding the hair in the middle of the ponytail. When she was allowed to walk to the carriages, she chose a red one with deep orange patterns. The Capitol loved the aspect of design, why not coordinate? Her part of "doing good" so that her parole wasn't delayed. She stopped outside of her carriage when she noticed Maci and Angie. Her stare was almost unsettling, but she didn't even seem to notice.

Meanwhile, Eric was a bit more miserable with his stylist. She looked to be middle-aged but talked and acted like she was 100 years old. He said so as she made him lift his arms for what seemed like the millionth time. "Is it just me, or is the makeup doing too good of a job?" "Please stop talking." "I mean, at first, I thought, Woah, this woman must be like, 20 or something! But y'know what? I think you're younger." "Young man-" "Oh, so you're older? My apologies, grandmother." At this point, Eric could tell that he was making her majorly angry, but for some reason, he couldn't stop himself. He really was an idiot. But somehow, they managed to force him into a dark green suit, though he was much more compliant than his sister. He was still tugging on the collar as he walked out towards the carriages.

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“Hello. And who might you be?” Lifei asked smilingly, bending down to look at the new octoling-inkling. She bent down to Charlie, braiding a similar braid for her, that poked out from her pretty blue cap. She didn’t put any flower at the end this time, instead gesturing with a gentle smile for Charlie to open her “inventory”. Lifei wanted to use one of Charlie’s own flowers this time.

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"Oh yeah?" Maci asks with a grin. She has a different story playing out in her head. She begins to suspect once again that this dark aura was coming from Angie. Perhaps it was something she couldn't yet control. The aura was unnerving to her, so maybe her power was causing fear to others. "Luke must be incredibly strong if he was able to do that. How long have you been friends with Luke?"

A shiver runs up Maci's spine. She turns around, and tenses up when she notices Zoe watching them. She tried to read Zoe's facial expression, but found that she was unable to. What does she want? Maci wonders nervously. She lifts her chin up and tries to unflinchingly stare back at Zoe. Is this a test? Will she see me as weak if I look away?

Angie stared at the sky, silently counting the years. "I think four.." After a moment, she looked back towards the earth. "Four years. He found me once when I was sad, because I couldn't find my bear. He asked me to cheer up, and told me all sorts of stories. Before I knew it, I was happy again. My bear was still gone, but I had Luke. It was a good day, that day." She smiled towards the bottom of the carriage, her memories stirring and flowing, recalled back to her over and over.

Zoe had been watching Angie, mostly because for the first time, she was starting to get attached to someone. It was ridiculous. The kid had talked to her for a second, and just because she was the only one who didn't know about what she had done. It was weak. Zoe really needed to stop that. That was how you got killed. And Zoe would not go down in their little games. She did notice that Maci was staring back at her, and that broke her train of thought. She smirked, and it turned into a laugh. She knew who Maci was. She'd watched her in the games. She winked once, still laughing as she climbed into the carrige. Maci, she would have to watch carefully. It brought back memories of the other girl, the one in that Hunger Games. Shiloh. She'd come to the prison often, bringing things for the prisoners. She was nice...

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A flush crosses Maci's face when Zoe laughs at her. She had to admit, her attempt to seem intimating was rather weak. Perhaps she was judging all these tributes too harshly. She had to stop jumping to conclusions. Not every tribute wanted to hurt the first person they laid eyes on. She was being paranoid. Still, she was tempted to keep a close eye on Zoe. To be fair she was a criminal. She hated to go by stereotypes, but she wanted to be prepared for the worst. There we go, being paranoid again.

She turns back to Angie so that she can catch what she is saying. Her words bring a smile onto her face. Her story reminded her of the time she first met Jaxon. Back when they were childhood friends. She had a similar story. "It sounds like a good day. It must be nice always having someone by your side, who'll protect you no matter what."

Angie nodded in agreement, glancing back and forth quickly at all the carriages. They were all fascinating, especially the black and gold one. Two people stood in it, looking like the other, assuming the other was the other gender. After a few moments, she spotted Zoe. Smiling, she waved rather frantically at the other Tribute. It hadn't even been that long since they'd talked, but to and eight-year-old it felt like forever.

Zoe was about to get into the carriage when she noticed Angie's frantic waving. She paused, most of her already inside of the carriage. One hand rested on the roof of the carriage, the other was limp at her side. After a minute, she waved, the plastic pump on the side of her glove flopping from side to side. She smiled again, this time with less malice. The kid was nice, and didn't mind her. That was rare, and she shouldn't take it for granted.

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Understanding what Lifei wanted to do, Chalie opened up her inventory and handed her a Lily of the Valley.

"Blossom." The Inkling said with a smile, she fiddled a little with her hair as her chocolate eyes looked around the area. She was clearly fluent in her native tongue and english.

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By the time Lauriam stepped out from his styling, he was fuming. The train ride had been less than pleasant and he had kept to himself mostly but the stylists had really gone an extra step to make his day awful. The outfit itself wasn't terrible, just a black leather coat with floral motifs running up and down the sleeves and thick leather gloves. Under the coat was a half crinoline made of vines that only reached the top of his thighs, creating a old fashioned dress-like appearance as thigh high boots with damned heels were strapped to his thighs with garter belts, making it hard to see the light stitching on his leather pants. It was... a lot and the heavy fabrics weighted Lauriam down as he wobbled on unfamiliar shoes that cramped and pinched his feet. But the worst part was his hair. Or more specifically what they did to his hair. Apparently putting flowers in people's hair was fashionable and the designers took full advantage of his anthokinesis to use lillies as a hair extension. To put it lightly, Lauriam felt disgusting, the whole ensemble heavy and painful to wear. The other tributes looked like they were having fun so good for them he guessed. They didn't even act as if this was just the capital parading around their prey, playing with their corpses until they got cold and left them to rot. Hissing as he stumbled again, ankles twisting under the pain of having to walk in heels, Lauriam cursed the fact that he couldn't exactly take his shoes off and the ensemble was already embarrassing enough as it was. He didn't need to eat dirt to make it even worse.

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Robin noticed Lauriam's discomfort, one of her tentacles slithered onto her shoulder. "Not used to heels? I'm not either." She lifted the skirt part of her dress a little to reveal that Robin was also in heels, though hers weren't at tall.

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“What a lovely name you have. Do you two know each other? Otherwise, Blossom, meet Charlie. Would you like a flower too?” Lifei asked kindly, as she patiently braided the lily into Charlie’s hair. “You look stunning.” Lifei praised, before smoothing out Blossom’s kimono, which was slightly crumpled. She also retied the bow, making sure the pair looked picture-perfect. She then took out an accessory box, and held it out for the pair to choose.

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The two girls gazed at the accessories like kids in a candy store, finally Blossom picked out a tear drop shaped necklace while Charlie picked out a marble necklace that she could fiddle with in case her anxiety spiked up.

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Jumping at the sudden arrival of a voice, unnoticed due to his focused task of not embarrassing himself, Lauriam instinctively snarled and almost pushed Robin away. "Don't ju-" cutting himself off as he tried to put distance between himself and Robin, he ended up tripping over his aching feet and falling to the ground. He was lucky that nothing about his outfit was broken or displaced but still his face burned with shame as he glared at the ground. Great, now others would think he was weak. Again. This was awful. Ignoring any help, Lauriam tried to get up again, knees shaking as his ankles protested at the pressure put on it. In the end he managed to get back on his feet though it looked like he was only achieving it through sheer force of will and stubbornness. "I would appreciate it if you made sure I noticed you next time before speaking to me." He grit out, doing his best to stay civil as he tried to find his balance.

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Although it was clear he was trying to avoid it. Lauriam quickly catches Maci's attention. For a second, she considers helping him out, but his hostile demeanor keeps her away from him. She watches him for a moment longer before glancing away dismissively. If he didn't want help, then she wouldn't offer it. She didn't want to push her luck with anyone if she didn't have to. It was best to avoid people's bad side.

Scarlett smiled. “I’m not gonna hurt her, Lukian. I just wanna find out how she’s doing and such. And you’ll never beat me in a fight, let alone kill me. Don’t worry, I won’t Attack unless you force my hand” She grins, pulling out a sort of ring, a beautiful one, and handed it to Lukian. “Check it if you want, but I hope you‘ll let her accept the gift. She gestures to a invisible Angie.

Lifei smiles, before raising her hand, and plucking a staff from the sky. She returns her hood, a blue rimmed one. She then slams her staff into the ground, and it tinkled like a bell. This causes her accessory box to disappear, and she steps away, playing with a stack of cards. She then starts performing, slamming her staff into the ground alternately, before her cards transformed back into a fan as she twirled around. This dance was one of power, and strength, showing the Peacekeepers that they should never mess with the tributes. She finished with a flourish, flicking her wrist, a ninja star flying towards a hiding Peacekeeper and narrowly missing him.

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As the parade got started, the tributes were ushered into their chariots and got ready. Finally once the anthem started they rolled out and headed towards the President's mansion. Charlie and Blossom were together, much to their relief. Robin and Gabriell were paired, which forced Harmony, who could now see thanks to the Capital surgery, to be paired with Lauriam.

They circled the mansion twice before finally stopping in front where President Snow himself was on the balcony, his amber eyes held their gaze upon the tributes, though they held onto Blossom and Charlie for a few moments.

(minor spiolers)

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Zoe hated the anthem. Even when she was a little kid she always winced when they played it. Now it held so much more despise in her heart than just a bad tune. She knew the kid she had been paired with. They had grown up together, at least until the fire. He seemed to take it as some kind of invitation to befriend her, and wouldn't stop trying to ask her questions, at least for a while. Still, with morals and the parole impending looming over her, she kept herself in check, biting on her tongue so that she wouldn't speak, staring straight ahead coldly. Her icy stare sometimes flickered to other Capitol citizens as they rode. Zoe hated them, hated how they threw away what they had like it was nothing. If only they knew...When they reached President Snow, the iceyness was replaced by fire, and she stared at him with a burning hatred. One day, she wanted to see him bleed. Wanted to see him bleed in her hands. Oh, how much Zoe wanted to kill that man.

Meanwhile, Eric was in another carriage, paired with a girl that he did not know. He didn't say much to her, as she seemed extremely nervous and he didn't want his own nervousness to show. He watched the Capitol with great interest, as he was the complete opposite of Zoe. He was dying to know what their lives were like. But as he saw President Snow, his throat tightened, and he gulped. Did he actually look at him?

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