Celest drew in a deep breath. She knew how this would go. She remembered her father telling her when she was little: Don’t show fear. Don’t act shy. Visualise your success. Backstage, where no one could see her, she closed her eyes and saw the crowd cheering, and herself strutting our confidently, answering questions like they were nothing. Opening her eyes, she looked down at her outfit. Neat. Professional. Yet, somehow casual. Her designers had really pulled it off. Finally, she heard her cue. “Everyone, please welcome... Celestite Sage!” At the sound of her name her heart skipped a beat and her legs carried her through the curtains without being told to. She held her head high. Her tail was level. Her walk, impeccable. She addressed the audience with confidence. “Hey everyone! ... thank you, thank you!” She smiled and giggled and acted like she was completely used to this. She turned to her interviewer, a lady with brown-red fur and jewels hanging off her like they grew on her. “Hi!” She greeted calmly, feeling the fast pace of her heart and channeling it into adrenaline. “Hi there Celest! Is it okay if I call you that? I’m here to ask you some questions,” the interviewer said. “Go ahead!” Celest replied, flicking her hair. “I hear that you’ve got a relative participating in these very games! Care to tell us who she is?” Celest laughed and replied. “Mel’s my twin sister. The only reason we are participating in different districts was because we were on separate trains and had reached different locations during the reaping. I wouldn’t fight her unless I had to, but we’re blood-bound allies.” She giggled again, a habit, it seemed, that showed itself when she was nervous. No one had to know that though. “Very interesting story!” The interviewer said half-heartedly. “And she is the person you care the most for in these games, I assume?” “Of course! Her and my new friends.” “But you’ll fight them when the time comes, right?” “Uh...” Celest said, startled by the question. She quickly regained herself and laughed. “When that time comes, I suppose I will. Anything to win, right?” Ouch. Lie. A white one though, to make the Capitol happy. “Of course darling. It’s all about the gold!” She then loud-whispered so the audience could hear. “They always betray you in the end, am I right?” This triggered laughter from the audience, and Celest joined in. “So true,” she said, starting to be concerned about the trust of her allies. “Moving on,” she interviewer declared suddenly. “What would you say are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” At last, the easy question. “Oh, I have a lot of strengths. She strutted to the middle of the stage. “I can throw well,” she said as she threw an imaginary axe. “I can fight well,” she said as she clawed and kicked swiftly and elegantly at an invisible enemy, “and I know herbs like the back of my paw.” She walked back to the red cat. “I can run, I can climb, I can heal, but I have a few soft spots too,” she said, reminding herself to only reveal weaknesses that no one could exploit. “For example, my hair is ALWAYS getting in the way,” she said, flicking it aside, and earning laughs from the audience. “And I have this green cloak that belonged to my father that I treasure.” It was at this moment that she realised. She messed up. She loved that cloak, as it had once been her father’s. It gave her courage and she couldn’t bear the thought of losing it. Still, she smiled and carried on. “If anyone tried to take it, I’d claw their nose off.” She laughed, and the audience laughed with her. “Well thank you for that, Celest! We’re out of time now,” the interviewer said. “No, thank YOU! And thank you all!” She said to the cat and then the audience. “It was a pleasure being here, really!” And with that she walked backstage, feeling light as a feather. ( this is my first round of thg, please tell me if I did anything wrong! )
