The Chariot
Elias shifted uncomfortably as he approached the horse that was pulling District 7's chariot. While he was glad that the outfit wasn't as basic as it always was, the decision to use actual wood as the basis of the outfit made it horrible stiff and itchy.
His outfit was at least better than his district partner's, and seemed more suffocating than his own. He could at least admire the handicraft in it, with supporting pieces like a waist cincher, collar, and end of the sleeves made out of carving wood. For the more malleable parts, pieces of woods had been carved almost like scales or feathers, overlapping and creating something he could move in. Despite having no pine in the design, he smelled heavily of it, as his stylist had sprayed him down with a perfume that smelled exactly like a chemical version of the woods at home; it was unbearable.
He focused on the feeling of the coarse hair of his chariot's horse under his fingers, trying not to think about the crowd he was about to be paraded in front of. He had never cared much for crowds, and even if they'd be away from him, he wasn't ready for the feeling it gave him.
In District 7, you never felt exposed except when you went into a clear cut area. Maybe something was watching you in the woods in secret, but you could also be watching someone else. Even with the tall buildings and skyscrapers, nothing felt so exposing as being in the Capitol with everyone blatantly watching you. It was unnerving, and he felt like a rabbit wandering into a fox den.
Then again, he supposed that that may be exactly what it was.
Trying to distract himself from the thought, he looked around for a familiar face, but didn't find any that weren't busy with their own fancy outfits and chariots. Thoughts flooded his mind, and it took everything to figure out how to react. Wanting to show pride for his district, at the absolute least, he practiced a warm smile, as if the people out there weren't consumers of him as an object, but people back at home, happy to see him representing their home and their people.
He was doing this for his friends and his family. He would look handsome and perfect and at home they'd think that he'd really cleaned up and presented himself nicely. That was all that mattered.
Perhaps a rabbit in a fox den, but one that could make its way through.
