taking chances [mati/saturn]

Mateo wasted no time trying to figure out the perfect outfits for his tribute this year. He was working hard with the other stylist to make sure that the two from ten stood out, and it helped that the boy had a very defined bone structure, it made it easier to figure out what was going to work for him after all.

He stayed up late into most nights, trying to match outfits to Exor even though he knew that the final product would probably be unrecognizable to the naked eye. Mati had a thing for being a perfectionist, which didn’t match his brazen personality, nor did it help when the victors from ten wondered if he was really up for Florences old job. He just had to prove them wrong, that was all.

Mati was always up for making sure that he did just that, show people up. Because in the capitol, everyone thought that were better than everyone else, including Mati himself. It was always a race to see who could get hard first, and as bad as an analogy as that was, Mati knew it was true. Too true sometimes. So true in fact that most people would shout from the rooftop that they had more to offer then the next dick sue or mary that came through the woodwork.

Mati tried to be humble, but when he was inspired, he could get hot headed to say the least. He wanted nothing more than to impress, and he knew that if he was going to do that this year, he was going to have to show the capitol that he could make a stunning look out of almost anything.

---

While he worked on the interview look, Mati decided to take a stroll through the training center to see if there was anyone up at this time of night. If Mati had to guess, he would probably find the careers out and about, because unfortunately, he knew that most of them wanted this more than the rest of the tributes that were reaped. He didn’t blame them, as if they won, they would be bathed in luxury and wealth beyond their imagination. Of course, Mati knew that they had to trade their peace of mind for that, but he thought that was a trade well worth it.

At least, that is how the capitol made it seem.

He walked around slowly as he entered the training center, trying to see if he could find any type of inspiration that could influence his next piece. He already knew that he was safe for another year, but what about the next? That is what he wasn’t too sure about. Mati had to keep turning out the looks if he was going to make waves in the capitol, which meant that he had to stay on his toes if he was going to even come close to making something that would be worth while. Luckily he did have his family to fall back on, and the clothes that he made for their shop always seemed to go quicker than he could make them.

It always brought a smile to his face when his family would ask him to make more as they flew off the shelves after all.

---

His eyes wandered, noticing that his hunch was correct. There were a couple of people in the training center, most of which seemed to just be working on various things to help them in the games. Mati personally knew how to work a needle, so he sometimes offered some of his tributes tips on how to sew up a gash and make sure it was clean. It wasn’t much, but he did care enough to make sure that his tributes were prepared for what was going to be in there.

Luckily his sister could sometimes give him ideas of what to expect for the arena, but he was always sworn to secrecy if she did reveal any information to him, which was fine, because Mati was good at keeping secrets, after all, that was how he got this job in the first place.

His lips were tight, locked with a key that no one could find. At least, not yet.

He stopped at the punching bags, realizing that one of the tributes was working up a major sweat. From the looks of it, Mati could tell that he was the tribute from one, which made more sense as he got a look at the boys body. He was ripped in all the right places, a sight and Mati didn’t mind one bit. He wondered why the boy needed to be in the training center in this moment, working up a sweat like he was. It was a little mind boggling to Mati, seeing as this could have been a time to spend either studying plants for the arena or sleeping.

It didn’t matter too much to Mati though, tributes were free to do what they wanted to do, and if the boy wanted to show off his body and work up a sweat, then who was Mati to stop him?

He smiled lightly as he approached him, holding the bag that he was punching furiously, ”Need a hand?” Mati smirked, getting a good look at him before resting his body against the bag to hold it in place.

As much as Mati knew that he probably should have wasted his time, he didn’t mind having a chance to meet some of the other tributes that were here. Soon enough they were going to be dropping like flies anyway, so what was the harm of trying to flirt or get information?

He didn’t see a problem with it, because if anything, it was going to give Mati the inspiration that he needed to make something magical, and judging from his own willingness to hop right into action, Mati could tell that he needed a break from his nine to five to let loose a little.

And there was nothing wrong with that to him.