"It never fails to amaze me how I can manage to overcome any misfortune...even the most morbid," A deep, yet ominously soft voice spoke up as another chariot emerged from the curtain onto view on the runway. This new cat- a member of District 5, chuckled as his tail waved back in forth. He wore a blue tux, covered in a glowing neon scale-like pattern. Whether it's referencing a fish or a lizard seemed to be entirely unclear. The grey-blue fur over their ears and paws were covered with a temporary black dye, and they also wore black eye shadow. "Greetings, citizens of the capital." The cat curtsied as best he could whilst in the chariot to the audience, his voice and expression now becoming sickeningly sweet as he spoke up much louder now, "My name is Sapphirus Cinnisterra. It's such a *pleasure* to meet all of you!" They let out a small, emotionless sounding chuckle. His eyes looked around the area. The parade certainly expanded much larger than he'd expected from what he'd seen previous years on video. He now took notice of the holographs that'd been swarming his chariot for the last couple of moments, and instantly, his face twisted into a bit of a disconcerted expression. People really couldn't be bothered to show up in person? Nonetheless, he forced himself to take a deep breath, and forced that calm, saccharine, smile to return to his expression. "I appreciate you all coming here to support me and every other tribute. I assure you, once the games roll around, none of you all will be disappointed with my performance in the slightest, though I do fully wish for the odds to be in the favor of the other tributes as well. I may not be afraid to be ruthless out there, but I'm sure you all want to see a few friendships and good-will. It only makes the eventual outcome more enjoyable, correct?" Sapphirus smirked, "Now, enough about me. Why don't some of you tell me about yourselves with the time I have left out here- One at a time please. I want to be able to remember who supported me when I win, so that maybe I can do some sort of favor for any of you." They then silenced themself and listened to some of the various capitol holograms speaking up now. He occasionally nodded to make it seem as if he was listening. As if he cared. As if any of these capitol cats and their support meant anything more to him than hope at a sponsor ship. As if he even wanted to come here in the first place. Occasionally, he spoke up, only to give a compliment. He wanted to make these cats he viewed meaningless individuals feel special and important. Before exiting, however, that cat wearing a Capitol crest caught Sapphirus' gaze. He came to the dawning realization they seemed important, especially from their notepad and intrigued and at the last moment, the District 5 cat managed to get out a calm, "And you as well. You haven't spoken this whole time, yet, I must say, you seem interesting. I do hope to see more of you." It was a rushed compliment, yet, he simply knew they had to say something. They let out a relieved sigh as their chariot returned back behind the curtain and finally allowed himself to relax, a scowl on his face replacing his false smile. That was it. The first step in his performance. The first competition in this morbid and sadistic game. As Sapphirus saw it, that parade was when this 10th round of the Hunger Games had *truly* begun.
I wasn't able to make art due to time but yeah here it is
