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HAVEN AND THETA WERE THE FIRST of the District 4 group to arrive in the tunnel where the chariots stood. Haven glanced around, noticing that about half the tributes were still missing. Theta leaned in and whispered, "Not to be biased, but I think you win best dressed." Haven giggled, looking right over at the poor District 10 tribute who was dressed as a cow. Some Districts clearly had it worse off than others. The Cleary girl shifted her focus from the bovine tribute and began petting the horse in front of her, her actions piqued with curiousity because she'd never seen one before in District 4. She was entranced, stroking the mane of the animal.
"Oh look, the princess and her pony. How fitting." Haven snapped her head up, and saw Collin chuckling at her, clearly amused by his joke. The pale girl's cheeks turned bright red as a reaction, to which Collin responded that he was only kidding. The other District 4 mentors slowly made their way over, and finally a few minutes later Spencer arrived with his stylist. Her partner was dressed with a similar theme in mind, or should she say half dressed. The brunette was shirtless, with only a thin, shimmering fishing net draped over his shoulders. His pants mimicked Haven's skirt, with the same multi chrome scales. The two looked perfectly in sync, at least in regards to their clothing.
"Alright you two. The Tribute Parade is one of the main ways to get the sponsors' attention. And trust me, you want it. Their help can make the difference between life and death in the arena." Mallory spoke to the two tributes. "Haven, what you did on the platform earlier was great, keep that same energy." she continued. "They're always head over heels for the charming tributes. Just look at Finnick, that's exactly how he won his games." Garrett added. "Awfully kind of you to forget about my cunning work with a trident and instense knowledge of survival skills." Finnick shot back sarcastically, before popping a sugar cube into his mouth.
"Aren't those for the horses?" Spencer asked. "The horses didn't win the Hunger Games, Cade. I did, I deserve this in exchange for my trauma." the blonde victor replied, with a hint of sharpness in his voice. Spencer didn't respond, only shooting back a flare out of the corner of his eye as he turned towards Collin. Haven stifled back a laugh, the tension between the two fighting to be the alpha male was so thick that you could slice it with a knife.
The blonde girl was about to burst, but luckily for her the tributes were told to get into their places. Spencer mounted the chariot first, before giving Haven a hand, as it was much too tall for her to do alone. She mumbled a thank you to him, which he gave a soft smile to. "Alright. Smile, wave, whatever you do make them love you." Chlöe said to the tributes, right as their chariot began to move.
Startled by the uneven movement of the horses, Haven clutched tightly onto the handlebar of the chariot, her knuckles turning white. They exited the tunnel, and instantly the two were bombarded with the screams and cheers of the Capitol spectators. Remembering what their mentors told them, Spencer and Haven both plastered huge smiles on their faces and waved to the crazed fans. The sights of the insanely colorful Capitol people, mixed with the sound of huge drums and the cheers was extremely over stimulating. "Smile and wave. Smile and wave." the blonde kept repeating in her head, blocking out the distractions. They kept this up as the chariots moved all the way down the path, before stopping in a circular formation.
