#trigger warning.

"I dunno, Paris. I don't normally wear.. stuff like this." Katherine grimaced, hands smoothing down the silk of her gown. It was a dark ruby red sleeveless dress with black trim and orange jewels on the breast piece, held up by her breasts. It was better than the outfit he'd put her in during the parade, but as someone who almost never wore dresses it was still odd.

She twirled in it a little, noticing the thigh slit on the left side of the dress. The ginger peered up at Paris questioningly. He simply smiled. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, everything will go perfect Katie."

She wanted to trust him, so she put her pessimism on the back burner for the night and gave him a more genuine smile. While Paris puts the finishing touches on the gown, Simon jogs in and approaches Katherine with a lopsided grin. "Why are you smiling like that?" She laughed.

"Girl from one. She took your offer." He said, offering up a dainty looking gold bracelet. Paris's eyes lit up.

Katherine threw her fist into the air with a victorious laugh. "Fuck yeah, finally something going my way." She commented as Paris secured the bracelet on her left wrist.

Soon after, Katherine joins the other tributes in line for the interview, looking down with embarrassment at the way her mouth salivated when she took in König's appearance. The suit Mauv had put him in was black, with a light blue undershirt and white tie that was loose on his neck, like he'd been fidgeting with it. His shoes were black and his hair was carefully slicked back, loose hairs pinned to the side with a phoenix feather hair clip, the reds and oranges wavering with the holographic energy that kept it alight to simulate flames.

König was from district three, so why did he have a hair pin designed for district twelve in his hair?

As the ginger looked around, she realized at least three other tributes were wearing something red related. Mira wore a hairband that held her hair in a tight bun with identical phoenix feathers, Amelia had a necklace on with a brilliant ruby in the center, and the boy from ten had red winged eyeshadow. That counted four. Four tributes that had Katherine's back in her quest to aid President Snow in ruining the underground fighting rings. Four out of twenty two. Even with the knowledge that at least three of them would likely betray her and attempt to kill her as soon as the timer hit zero.

König's name was called, and before stepping onto the stage to meet with Flame and Silva, he turned back and made eye contact with Katherine. She tilted her head a little as if to question him, and he gave a small barely there smirk before winking at her and walking onto the stage fully.

Flame begins the conversation with König innocently enough, complimenting his stylists work before moving on to questioning him about life in district three, leading to König opening up a little and mentioning his mother. She sounded like a nice enough lady from the way he spoke about her, but Katherine knew that everyone had their own demons especially when it came to family.

Especially in Panem.

König's interview ends, and he trades places with the boy from district four, his warm palm grazing the thin silk of the ginger's dress on her abdomen as he passed her to head towards the back of the line where the tributes from districts one and two stood, his brown eyes connecting with her green ones for just a split second. In that split second, a thousand emotions were revealed, a thick tension traveling between them and making Katherine's skin tingle where his hand was.

She zoned out after that, not bothering to pretend to be interested in the other tributes until her name was called, her mind on König and the warmth of his touch. She didn't feel the itch in the back of her mind to punch him or shove him away when he touched her unlike when Simon or someone who wasn't her father touched her. She almost seemed to crave his touch, demonstrated by how she caught herself about to lean into his touch when his hand grazed her stomach.

Katherine's eyes zero in on the black marble flooring when her name is called and it's then she realizes she had been thinking about König's touch long enough for nineteen tributes to be interviewed, and suddenly her mouth was dry and the dress too tight. She swallows thickly before lifting the hem of her gown and holds her head high while she walks onto the stage, making daring eye contact with Flame Kingston.

♡- -♡

The door locking behind her felt like a death sentence. The room was white, with the cool metal slab in the center of the room with drain holes in the center and an uncomfortable looking pillow at the head of the slab, likely for when tributes got scrubbed within an inch of their life after arriving at the capitol. On the metal slab was a pile of folded clothing. Katherine slowly undressed and tossed her sweatpants and t-shirt to the ground, unfolding the black undergarments first and pulling them on. There was a white button up made from a stretchy fabric, the sleeves loose enough that they waved in the air when she waved her arms around after slipping it onto her upper body.

She pulled on the pants next, made from a stretchy denim that still clung to her skin after pushing her legs through and tucking the white shirt into them, rips placed at her knees. Most likely to assist with maneuverability. She's adjusting her shirt when Paris walks in with three things in his hands.

"You ready for this Katie?" The dark skinned man asked, and as Katherine looked into his piercing eyes she could tell he wasn't just making eye contact with her, he was looking into her very soul and breathing in the crippling fear lodged within her blood for what comes next. These could be her last moments alive, and finally the weight of everything barreled off of her shoulders and struck her heart like a bullet. When she closed her eyes to will the tears away from her eyes, again all she could see was Kolton taking his last breath.

The ginger's eyes shot open and tears began to cascade down her face as she collapsed to the floor. "I don't want to die!" She sobbed, clinging to Paris as he kneeled and scooped her into his arms to comfort her.

He hushed her tenderly, combing his fingers through her soft hair with one hand while the other held her flush to his body. Katherine pressed her ear to his chest, allowing the steady rhythm of his heartbeat to soothe her through her breakdown. "It isn't fair..." She whimpers, fingers holding Paris's shirt tightly.

"I know, sweetie." He whispered before cupping her cheek and making her look into his eyes. "As soon as that timer ticks down, find König and stay with him, keep each other alive." He instructs her as they stand up together. He takes one of the things in his hands and wraps it around her waist, beginning to lace it together.

"What's this?" Katherine asked.

"A corset." Paris answers her, leaving the corset laced loosely while he takes the second object and clicks it into place on the inside of the corset. When he finishes lacing the corset properly Katherine can feel the cool metal of the object on the corset before suddenly the icy metal was under her shirt and spreading all over her upper body, wrapping around her like a glove. The ginger tilted her head curiously. "A breast plate, to give you a little edge." Paris answered her unspoken question before pulling a jacket over her shoulders. It was leather and lined with a softer material, feeling oddly enough like a cloud on her.

The overhead count down for tributes to enter the tube began, and once again Katherine felt herself begin to hyperventilate as she was now mere seconds away from a fight to the death. Paris pressed his forehead against hers, thumbing her cheek gently as he used the last few seconds to soothe her. "Remember, stay with König and give every single one of them hell."

♡- -♡

The countdown felt like it took forever, Katherine's eyes glaring down the large orange holographic timer with a newfound hatred before she looked over and made eye contact with each of her allies. Amelia gave her a level headed nod back, Mira looked a little scared, the boy from ten looked ready to kill, and König stared at the grass.

The air was still as all twenty-two of them stood on their own platforms and awaited for the timer to hit zero, the heat from whatever climate they'd been transported to was already making Katherine feel the sweat pooling on the base of her neck and she swung her arms slightly to avoid already taking her jacket off like a few of the tributes had done, like Bentley had done, because the ginger would be damned if she did anything that made it look like she was copying him.

Bentley kept his sharp eyes trained on the ginger, large form tensed and bent at the waist, ready to launch himself at Katherine even though he held no weapons.

The timer finally hit zero, and instantly everyone moved in their own direction. Katherine raced for the bag labeled twelve and slung the bag over her shoulder before bolting for the woods behind her platform. She could hear heavy footfalls behind her, and when she peered over her shoulder she could see König hot on her trail with Mira, Amelia and the boy behind him. Katherine slowed slightly, falling into step with König as the five of them ran deeper into the wooded area.

Eventually, they stopped by a fallen tree to catch their breath, and König handed the ginger a hunting knife with a black wooden handle. Katherine took it gratefully before rounding the big tree to look for knots in the wood to be able to climb the tree quickly if trouble came looking for them. No sooner than she did, she heard Mira scream in fear and König yell something in a different language. The ginger peers around the tree, only to see Glitter and Glamour of district two holding Mira with a knife to her throat. "Where is she?!" Glitter growled, tightening her grip on the handle of the knife. Glamour had a sickeningly twisted grin on his face, telling his sister to not even hesitate and to just kill the little girl.

Katherine gripped the knife she held tightly, preparing to throw it at one of the siblings. However, as she raised her arm to take the shot, she hesitated. She could see the younger her in Mira, and if she killed the little girl whether on accident or not, she'd never forgive herself.

Katherine's eyes blurred for a moment, before she focused on how König's muscles tensed and twitched, itching to get Mira away from the siblings and just kill them both for daring to taunt any of them.

"Just give us the Singer girl and we'll let her go." Glitter taunted, pressing the blade of the knife into the little girl's throat just enough to make a bead of bright red blood travel down the arch of her throat. Mira cried out, beginning to thrash around.

"For now, at least." Glamour chuckled, wrapping the younger girl's hair around his fist and tugging teasingly. "I got plans for her later, though." He said, punctuating his statement by dipping his face close to Mira's neck to place a kiss on her throat.

🍟Congratulations to the S/O that managed to win his heart. Milluki isn’t impossible for him to love someone but he is harder to catch in the real world.

🍟His S/O met him in the online world first. Talked about his interest and shared a lot of his interests. His S/O managed to have a decent conversation over the hottest anime without him feeling like he is talking to a wall.

🍟Milluki’s way of talking is as if he is talking to a wall. He is a very unhealthy INTP or ISTP. So, talking to him about certain subjects do expect him to be talking down to his S/O. He isn’t going to change that is how he is he sees nothing wrong with it.

🍟If his S/O did manage to catch his interest, he will track them down and hack into their computer. Congratulations again, this will be the second time Milluki will leave the house, this time to capture, kidnap, capture his S/O’s heart. They can’t run away, he will track them down faster than Illumi tracks his runaway S/O.

🍟Milluki is a momma’s boy. Be warned, if is S/O is found fighting with his mom, he will take his mom’s side. No one is good enough for her son, so expect a lot of arguments with her. Punishment will come up, it will be in the dungeon with a whip.

🍟One of Milluki’s favorite activities is cosplaying with his S/O. His S/O cosplaying as their favorite character from their favorite anime series. Yes, it can get very naughty.

🍟He won’t cosplay his S/O’s favorite character, do expect him to get very jealous if it does get mentioned and broken figurines if by chance his S/O did order figurines of their favorite character.