Clover smiled at her dressers as they attached the last piece of fabric to her. They had praised her and allowed her to look in the mirror. They had given her a beautiful, mint green dress, covered in roses that matched her ribbons. It was large and frilly, a dress that surely met the capitol’s sometimes questionable fashion standards… Clover hated it. But she pretended to love it. She padded over to the designer, hugging them. “Thank you so much~! I love it,” the tribute had chirped, then left to go join the others in line. Clover waited in line, thoughts swirling in her mind. She had thought carefully about what Sheri had told her. What plan she would have. And she would put on a show for the capitol. When it was her turn, she stepped out, gently shaking a paw with Ellema. Clover’s smile was sweet as ever as she sat down, looking at the audience with bright, sparkling eyes. She winked at one particular cat in the crowd, one she didn’t know a single thing about. “Hello, hello, Clover!” Ellema’s voice was loud and charismatic. Clover turned to face her interviewer. “I’ve heard so many interesting things about you- where to even /start/?” The capitol cat chuckled, lifting a paw to her chest. Clover chuckled along, sounding like she really did find the joke funny. Clover had gone into these interviews prepared. She wasn’t scared of anything. But that was a lie. There was one thing she was scared of- one question that could undermine everything. But, surely with all of the drama going on during training, there would be other things to ask about. “Hmm, let’s see~ Would you like to tell us some of your skills, Clover? Your plan for the arena? You seem to be gaining many allies, huh?” “Well, of course,” Clover said without hesitation, looking at the crowd and then back at Ellema. “I’ve been training in every weapon, and I’d say I can handle all of them well- my plan for the arena is to try and hide out. I want to avoid conflict as much as possible- I’ll be able to defend myself, though, and fight the other final cat, if the time comes.” She said lightly. Ellema nodded, seeming amused. Something seemed to shift in her eyes as she asked the next question. The one Clover feared the most. “So, your sister- half-sister- Emmeline. She was in the games a year ago, right?” Clover’s ears involuntarily pinned down against the side of her head. Suddenly, there was a loud ringing noise in Clover’s ears. She blinked, taking a breath, straightening up in her seat. Her smile returned. “Yes, she was my half-sister-“ the words felt bitter on Clover’s mouth, came out that way, a little. A stark contrast to the honey-like quality of her voice earlier. “But- Emmeline does not define me. I am my own cat- I will not make the mistakes that she made.” The edge was still there in Clover’s voice, but after a heartbeat, she appeared to be normal again. The terrible ringing noise stopped. Ellema stared at the tribute for a moment, then nodded. “Well, then~ on to our next question~ we know there’s been two tributes who have been particularly… interested in you. Hearst, from your own district, and Chlorophyll from District 12. Let’s hear your thoughts on them~!” Okay. She had prepared for /this/. “Hearst is my ex-boyfriend,” Clover explained calmly. It was hard to believe that she was the cat who had nearly lost it a minute or two ago. “He’s courageous, and cares a lot- when I lost my ribbon during the Gamemakers, he gave it back to me.” She brushed a paw against it, holding it out a little to the audience. “Chlorophyll is an interesting cat. We’ve both had relatives in the games. She’s a little wild. During a spar, she knocked out my tooth.” Clover opened her mouth, showing her fake blue tooth to everyone with a fake grin. Not that it was obvious. She had made her voice sound a little wistful, talking about both cats. “Hmm~ they both seem to take an extraordinary liking to you, Clover… And, with prom approaching, well, everyone must know… Who do you wish to go with? The ex-boyfriend or the new ally-?” Clover turned back to look at Ellema with a playful smile. “Well…” she turned to the crowd. “That’s for me to know and for you all to find out soon.” She winked at them with the last word. “Alright, then, that’s all of the time we have- thank you for this, Clover. I’ll be watching you carefully~ May the odds be ever in your favor!”
