Illusions (A Hunger Games AU)

•FIVE•

Stepping out of the ship into the big city, I was shocked at how vibrant everything looked. They're all living it up here meanwhile people back on the Ava home planet have to commit crimes just to survive half of the time. I couldn't smile for the camera, I didn't want to let these people see me as some kind of toy. I just kept my head down and walked to my next destination, lead by Azure. We needed to make an exciting entrance, apparently. Well, I doubt they deserve half of these people here. These rich Overseers want to keep everyone under them, staying in control and relishing in the sight of our deaths...

I should try to think more positive. We're getting completely free makeovers and can finally dress the way we want, not having to follow ARI rules. Plus, this is how I get sponsors, by making people like me. As shallow as it sounds, people will definitely pick who they sponsor based on how attractive they look, so I'll be quite mad if I get some clueless stylist who have no creativity.

We had to go through the prep team's work before we actually got our costumes for our grand entrance. I could handle it, it wasn't that painful but did sting quite a bit getting half of the hair that's not on my head torn off. This was way more intense than I was expecting, these people trying to rinse every germ off of my body. Obviously the audience would notice every speck of dirt, right? I didn't even know I had dirt under some of these places.

Then, the stylist entered. I could tell just from her appearance as she walked into the room that she knew exactly what she was doing, dressed in a badass outfit which she claimed to have designed herself. The Overseer of Addiction, probably in her early twenties, slammed her notebook down on the nearest desk as she walked over to me. Her voice was surprisingly calm and focused, contrasting with her harsh green and black appearance.

She looked at the orange butterfly necklace on the desk next to where the prep team did their work, alongside my Overseer soul necklace - a pink crystal. "I'm guessing this is yours," Addiction stated as I nodded. I think she was frowning, this was obviously not her forte. Illusions linked straight into dreams, which were usually thought of as perfect pastel paradises. Well, none of my dreams are like that, so dream on.

"So, you like butterflies? I guess I could work with that. Illusions is one of the easiest I've had so far," she told me as I took a seat, still dressed in the blue medical-like gown I had to wear for prep. "Last year I had Deduction, practically impossible. He had to win without sponsors." She then opened up her sketchbook, doodling outfit ideas that she thought would fit the theme. They had to link with what we oversaw (or maintained in some cases) and the colour of our soul crystals. Waiting, I sang quietly. I'm not anxious, I just think its fun, plus my original culture valued singing a lot.

I was blown away seeing these designs, telling her to go for it straight away. She did exactly that. It was nice that she actually respected my opinions, a lot more than I was expecting for this place. After waiting about half an hour, the dress was finally made. There must have even some magic involved because I would have thought it would have taken hours to create something that intricate and detailed. It was a mix between a dream-like fantasy and the dark themes that Addiction wanted.

First of all, my hair was straightened out and tied into a loose side braid, 3 butterfly clips (2 pink, 1 orange) added to it which almost looked like they were about to take off and soar at any second. I had eyeliner and a dark magenta lipstick on my lips. The actual outfit was a dress the same colour of my lipstick with black sleeves, contrasting with more butterflies which were added all over it, along with some glitter. There were extra details added too, including fishnet tights which I somehow knew she would want to add to the outfit. My necklaces were both worn too. It was... crazy, if I'm being honest. But at least it'll get attention for standing out.