Hours later and he stood facing himself in a floor length mirror. He was unrecognizable. Gorgeous, but unrecognizable.  His outfit was either the most sensational or the deadliest costume of the opening ceremony. 
He wore a long, black coat with intricate details and embroideries. The coat had a royal yet ominous aura. The clothing was meticulously crafted, with dark, noble fabrics and delicate details. The color palette of his outfit mainly consisted of various dark tones, especially black.  Isabella had embedded a unique feature – the ability to ignite the outfit, setting it ablaze like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
His hair was styled so that it looked wavy and straight, but felt stiff. Velren felt strong, even as he  decided to head down to the ground floor of the Remake Center,  where the tributes and their chariots  gathered before the opening ceremonies. 
He hoped to find his sister, but she had not arrived yet. Unlike the year before last, when all the tributes were practically glued to their chariots, the scene was very social. The victors, both this year's tributes and their mentors, stood in small groups, chatting. Of course, they all knew each other, and he knew almost no one. He wasn't really the type to go around introducing himself. So, he stroked the neck of one of his horses, trying not to be noticed. It didn't work.
The crunching reached his ear before he even knew he was beside him, and when he turned his head, Finnick Odair's famous sea-green eyes were only inches from his. He popped a sugar cube into his mouth and leaned against Velren's horse.
"Hello, Velren." Finnick said, as if they had known each other for years, even though they had never actually met. "Hello, Finnick. " Velren replied just as casually, although he felt uncomfortable at his closeness, especially since he was got so much bare skin  exposed.
A net. Just a net, was wrapped and knotted intricately around his groin and other areas of the body so that he technically couldn't be called naked, but he was as close as it could get. Velren was sure that Finnick's stylist thought the more the audience saw of Finnick, the better.
"Do you want a sugar cube?" he asked, picking one up and showing it to him. "I mean it's supposed to be for the horses but, who cares about them right? They got years to eat sugar, whereas you and I... well, if we see something sweet, we better grab it quickly."
"I prefer chocolate."  Velren said. Finnick  gave him  a suggestive look . "Just chocolate?" he teased,  a mischievous grin on his face. Velren caught on and breathed out a short laugh before elbowing him in the rib. "You're disgusting, Finnick Odair. " he mockingly grimaced, though there was a playful glint in his eyes  "But I would love to borrow that outfit someday." 
"You look pretty terrifying in that getup." Finnick retaliated. Velren gave him a strained look, as if he would like to kill him at this moment. "What happened to the pretty little boy clothes?"  "I outgrew them." Velren coolly replied.  "You certainly did." Finnick said back to him with an ever-growing smile. 
"Why are you torturing this poor boy?" interjected a girl who bore a striking resemblance to the boy in front of Velren. Aurora Odair. "I'm not!" Finnick defended himself, holding his hand out towards his sister to show her the sparkling white cube in his palm of his hand.  "Do you want a sugar cube?" "No thanks." Aurora replied. 
"Shame about this Quell thing." Finnick said to Velren, ignoring the elbow Aurora digs into his side in warning. "Now, you . . . you could've made out like a bandit in The Capitol. Jewels, money, anything you wanted."
Velren  stomach twisted at the comment. "Well I don't like jewels and I haven't dealt with anything as common as money in years....So, what did you do with all your wealth anyway?" "Just like you, I haven't dealt with anything as common as money in years. "Finnick replied simply as he  scrunched up his face, thinking in that strange brain of his.