I Saw the Moon Once (Nofo)

The train ride had been rather silent after the two tributes exchanged brief introductions, and once the stylists got a hold of them upon their Capitol arrival, there had been little time to converse. Cream, his stylist, had done him up to look like a human artillery shell. Even Julian had to admit, his appearance looked rather intimidating. His eyes were heavily shadowed with makeup and his lips were painted a metallic black to match the polish on his nails. As he joined Maya at the stables, the two had similar appearances. Despite both being small for their age and gender, the armored ensembles definitely depicted them as tributes to watch.

Julian eyed those around him, picking out potential competition and easy prey. He was also searching for his primary targets however, the tributes whose predecessors caused Midas’s death. The District 4 female and the District 8 male… He was able to catch a brief glimpse of each before it was time to mount their chariots and begin the parade through City Circle.

He kept his posture strong and powerful as District 2 made it’s way out of the stables and the thunderous applause engulfed him. Cheers and hollers came from every direction. Julian couldn’t help but smile, though it wasn’t exactly a cheerful one. His eyebrows narrowed and his hungry eyes were focused with the thought of victory; he looked vicious and sinister.

Once all of the chariots had made their way around the circle, President Snow made his usual speech, but this time revealing a special Quell twist to the Games. As looks of horror crossed many of the tributes faces, and much discussion erupted in the crowds, a smug smile grew on Julian’s face. He had of course originally planned to form a career pack, as many tributes from his District do, but this twist just made the Games that much more interesting. He had promised Panem a show upon his Reaping, and now he was certain he would deliver that.

Upon the finale of the ceremony, Julian was quite anxious to get the heavy make up he was not used to off of his face. After cleaning up, there was supper with the District 2 crew: his partner, the stylists, their mentor and the escort. Julian kept biting his tongue during their meal, itching to ask Glitch if he had any recollection of Midas. Cream had done nothing but gush to Julian about how attractive he had found Midas last year during his styling session, as if Midas was nothing more than a frilly plaything. It had taken all of Julian’s willpower not to break Cream’s neck then and there. He figured it would be best not to put himself through that torture again and thus refrained from further questions.

Serge Bryze, Julian’s father was the mentor once again for these Games. The father and son had not spoken to one another since boarding the train, and tension was still just as thick.

After the awkward dinner, everyone headed into the other room to watch the recap of the Reapings and the Opening Ceremonies. Serge, Glitch and the stylists made comments here and their regarding various tributes, but Julian remained silent as he watched. Once they were finished and everyone started heading to bed, Julian found himself wandering to one of the windows that reached all the way to the ceiling. It was impossible to see any stars with all of the lights of the Capitol, but the moon was still visible. He wondered if perhaps Midas had looked out of this same window last year. What perhaps had happened when he was in this very room preparing for his entrance into the 59th Games. Julian sighed deeply and bit his lip. He was finally getting everything he had ever wanted, but he knew that the hole Midas left would never be filled. His eyes narrowed and a small grin curled on his lips as he thought of his upcoming revenge though. It may not fill the hole, but it would certainly help.