Here are the stunning Coral Wright and Caelan Dale from Lorelai Sofia Petrova and Iris Hunt. Thanks guys!

The ocean. I am the ocean. I feel like home.

"Oh, I'm good." Red, my stylist, mutters under her breath. "Very good."

I can't look away from myself. My waist-long, beach blond hair is lightly curled making it look like undulating waves. The ends are temporarily dyed turquoise. There are jewels glued to my skin which make me sparkle like the sea on a sunny day.

And then there is my dress.

Floor length. Tight corset leading to a sweeping, full skirt. The gauze sleeves trail along the ground. I can't describe the color. It seems to meld between indigo and sea foam. A small foam starfish is stuck to my temple. And I feel beautiful.

This is the first feeling I've had that hasn't been utterly petrified since they announced the Games. My eyes are drawn to my necklace. A sand dollar from my twin sister, Aqua. She gave it to me after I volunteered for her. When they called Aqua's name and she couldn't get to the stage alone… well how could I not have stepped forward? Aqua would've died in the first second, with only one leg and her now overly cautious attitude. I could see the combination of horror and despair on her face. At least I had a chance at surviving.

"Thank you, Red." I whisper and smile. Red is not at all how I imagined a stylist from the Capitol. She is nothing like my mentor, Dari. Dari has been tattoed, dyed, tightened, slimmed, and fixed in just about every way the Capitol have dreamt up. Red looks like she could come from home. Tanned skin, sunkissed blond hair, slightly crooked teeth. She looks just like so many of my friends.

"No problem, it was a blast. And a surprise to be honest. There was another woman who was meant to be your stylist, but she dropped out at the last minute. So they asked me." Red spritzed something in my hair as she spoke.

"Yeah this is such a blast." I said sarcastically. I can see this makes Red uncomfortable, but I smile to let her know I'm not mad at her. The Games gave Red a job. They took away my future. I wonder what, Noah, my fiancé is going to do now. We were planning on getting married soon after the reapings. He could barely say goodbye in the justice center, knowing he would never see me again.

"Alright. Let's get you out to the carriages. Apparently they've got horses! Can you believe it? I don't know where they got them. Never seen a live one before." She chattered amiably, brushing off my comment.

As I walk through the elegant building we tributes are staying in until the Games, I realize that no one here probably even realized a rebellion was taking place. Everything is so pristine.

My friends were all affected in terrible ways. Lost parents, lost siblings, lost homes. I lost an uncle, a forerunner for the district soldiers. We didn't really see him that often, but the loss still makes me angry.

I see Caelan standing by what must be our carriage. It's being drawn by two bay colored horses.

I think Caelan must have been affected the worst by the rebellion. Everyone was there. They made us watch while they executed his parents. Caelan's always been quiet and never interacted with the rest of the class at school. I know he's smart though. I remember on our first swimming class when we were only 5 he recited the entire lifeguard manual off by heart to our instructor. Those were the only classes I ever had with him, but he won every award in our final year.

"Hey Caelan." I smile amiably.

He grunts in reply.

"You look good." I say.

Another grunt.

"That the only sound I'm going to get or do I need to ask you direct questions?" I nudged him jokingly.

Finally he cracked a smile. And grunted again for good measure. I laughed.

Caelan is the sand to my ocean. He is in a sand colored tux, which looks a rough texture. There are small shells sewed onto the jacket instead of buttons. Anyone would know we were district 4.

I glance around at the other tributes. Some of them have not had such a good stylist as Red. I see 12 in baggy coal miner get ups with coal dust in their hair and on their face. But the district 1 tributes look beautiful.

The girl is dripping in diamonds and other precious gems. Even her skin glitters in the dying light of the day. She looks not of this world. I think her name is Emilia. I remember her because she volunteered for her sister too. She looks so beautiful.

"You look beautiful too, Coral." Caelan finally says something. Very quietly, so I nearly miss it, but at least he's finally talking. I blush, realizing I must have said this out loud.

"Thanks, Caelan." I smile. And try to get him to open up a little more by reminiscing about our swimming classes. Before the rebellion. Before our worlds got turned upside down. He begins to relax and recounts a hilarious story about our instructor nearly losing his trunks in our second year when he showed us to dive. Caelan's alright. I wish I'd gotten to know him better before… all this.

We are instructed to mount our carriages. Caelan must have felt the change too because we stand stiffly apart, scared to even look at one another.

I pick up the skirts of my dress and arrange them carefully in the carriage. It would not be good to get caught up in a wheel before the Games even begin.

I hear the roar of the crowd before I see them. How can they be excited about this? I don't understand. I have to stop myself from crying from the anger of it. This is where I must sell myself to sponsors. I am definitely beautiful enough, thanks to Red. But am I strong enough?

HGHGHGHGHGHG

What I want most is to cover my ears. All this noise is unnerving me. I can feel myself shaking a little and hope like hell I don't fall out the carriage. That would not be good. I'm so angry though. All our efforts for naught. My parents gave their lives to free the districts. I risked mine by hacking into confidential capitol files and sneaking them to the rebels. Countless families torn apart… all for nothing.

Coral, next to me, is smiling and waving at the audience. I've known her my whole life, although we've never really spoken. I remember her as a little kid when we were learning to swim. She'd be the first one in the water every single day. When the rest of us were too scared to dive, she'd jump right in, even though she never quite managed to get it right.

I decide that I need to match her bravery right now or no one will take me seriously. My stylist, Gevin has dressed me smartly. I look more attractive right now than I ever have in my whole life. And I need to use that.

I swallow my anger and fear and try to control my shaking hands. I need to be smart if I want to live. I give a big grin and wave to the Capitol. I wink. I blow kisses. I do everything right. Although it makes me sick I know the only way I can win these games and, once I return home, end them and help free the districts forever I need to outsmart everyone else.

I've tuned out the sound but I think I can hear them calling my name. Me and Coral.

We reach the end of the procession and the president begins speaking. I can't focus though. The tension of the night has gotten to me. In a moment of pure insanity, I grab Coral's hand. And it really is a moment of insanity. Because impulsive behavior is not in my personality. Think first. Act later.

I haven't thought of the consequences for this. Does this mean we're allies? I try and push these thoughts away. I don't want to get attached to someone only to have to watch her die. Not again.

Coral whips her head around and sends me a questioning look. I shrug and thrust our joined hands in the air, as if in victory. The crowd goes absolutely wild. They love seeing us together. Strong. Beautiful. Joined as one. I try not to let them see how much hate I have inside for each and every one of them.

Once we get back to our rooms, 4th floor for District 4, Katya, our mentor goes through the idea of us as allies.

"It was a quick decision on your part Caelan, but the rest of the Capitol really seemed to enjoy it. I was in the crowds. Heaps of people are already lined up as potential sponsors." She rambled, excitedly.

Coral sinks onto the soft couch, deep in thought. I can see the wheels turning and sit next to her.

"What are you thinking, Coral?" I ask.

"Katya." She says slowly. "Is it possible to form an alliance with other districts? Is there like a rule that says no?"

Katya taps her nails against the long table where we ate that morning. "I'll have to check with the gamemakers, but I think it's a possibility. I mean, they can't say no after how wild everyone went at the thought of you too being together."

"Who were you thinking?" I ask again, already knowing the answer. She'll want 1.

"District 1 for sure. The crowd loved them." She bites her lip.

"I'd go for District 2 if I were you, as well." Katya states. "The girl was seriously pulling sponsors. And the boy looks pretty lethal too."

I share an uneasy glance with Coral. I run a hand through my messy coal black hair. Do we want lethal people in our alliance? Do I even want to go into this with allies in the first place?

"You six would definitely pull the most sponsors collectively." Katya says, as if this settles it. "I'll have a chat to their mentors and see if we can arrange something. They won't say no if they want to win."

Ensley smiles unsurely at me. What have we just done? What have I just done? Set something into motion that I'm not sure will do me any favors in the long run. This is why I think first. Act later.

We watch the recap of the opening ceremony. I have to admit. The six of us got lucky with costumes. We definitely look the best. Is that what these Games are going to come down to? A beauty contest? I scoff out loud and Coral gives me a questioning look, but I revert to my usual solitary stare and ignore her.

"What about him?" Katya asks, her manicured nail hovering over the District 9 boy.

"What about him?" I grunt, giving him the once over. I hadn't noticed him before, as he was behind Coral and me. He looks terrifying. His eyes are black as coal and he looks like he could easily wipe out the entire arena without blinking and eyelid.

"Do you want me to speak with his mentor as well? Maybe not the girl. She's pretty, but I didn't hear a lot about her in the crowd. He's called Dorian Smith." She taps something on what I've heard referred to as a palm pilot.

Coral bites her lip and nods. I can tell she thinks we're making a mistake hooking up with these terrible, lethal people.

I almost begin to hope this isn't allowed. That the Gamemakers put a stop to this alliance. Katya's certain they won't. I'm pretty certain too.

I swallow my fear and think about what I'm going to do. I'm going to learn as much as I can about these tributes in the next few days and I'm going to be smarter than them. I'm going to outsmart them all.

A pang of sadness shoots through me. To win, Coral will have to die. How could I have gotten attached to her so quickly? This is not the way the games were supposed to go. I realize that I've always liked her as a person. She's always been friendly to me, even though I try to push everyone away. She's always laughing and I've never heard a bad word said about her. She doesn't deserve to die.

I grit my teeth and ignore these uncomfortable feelings. I'll won't think about it until I absolutely have to. Emotions have no place in these games.

AN: Well there you have it, the first career pack! Tell me what you think in a review!

Points:

Siriusly . retardis: 28

xSakura-Blossomsx: 18

Lorelai Sofia Petrova: 15

FinchelPrincess:14

Prim Hawthorne: 10

ButterAsh: 9

Katrace: 8

QuietConspiracy: 6

dawn-jessica:6

Hello83433: 6

Shevil Devil: 5

holyeverlark: 5

RMH RMH: 5

Iris Hunt: 5

hogwarts-hannah: 3