C'mon Down To The Talent Show // [ 66th Tribs Blitz ]

I remember a year ago
I was standing in the crowd
waiting for my chance to break through,
My chance to live again.

The look that Argonite Shore had flashed my way brought my own thoughts into the picture. It looked as though he was calling me forward when he coupled it with a question. "It's time for a new category. What do you think? Gentlemen?" The smile on his face reminded me too much of Claine and I turned my eyes away. "Anyone brave enough?" I wasn't sure bravery had anything to do with it, but thankfully I was spared the answer by the District seven boy - Henry or something. "Brave enough for what, Argonite?" A quick glance showed that the boy had now moved to sit near Argonite, then my attention was caught by the District ten male. The boy gave Argonite and his little crew of girls an odd look before going to sit alone. My mouth twitched a little, a seed of sympathy at his awkwardness in my gut - I was no good with people either.

Now it seems I've found
Some friends who finally understand
what it takes to make this dream come true,
We'll be here till the end.

That was when the District eleven girl - Lichen Flower or whatever - began to sing. I clenched my jaw together, the implications of what she was singing giving me odd images in my head - odder than even some of the ones Claine would put there. In an attempt to clear my head I turned my gaze away. My eyes fell on the District two girl pounding back shots. The thought of drinking any alcohol was tempting, a new experience that Claine had mentioned some of. Wondering what it was like, I got up to find some of the booze that was scattered around. As I searched I watched as the singing girl went over to the District ten girl, for some reason all I could come up for her name was Rainbow. To keep everyone straight in my head I let it stick. Rainbow said something but due to being uninterested and more occupied with reaching for a bottle of rum I couldn't hear what she said. Now I had to find a glass.

Shake it, break it, get off your feet,
come dance with me and don't you fake it.
Shake it, break it, get off your feet,
get close to me and don't you fake it.

Somehow my eyes raise from the table before me to the door as it is pushed open. I smile to myself slightly as Lyric walks in, wearing a pale blue scarf and a dress that made me blush. I quickly averted my eyes to continue my quest for a glass. Desperate for a taste of the clear liquid contained in the bottle I held, I unscrewed the top and held it under my nose. One sniff sent my head spinning and I was overwhelmed by the intense scent. Claine laughed at me from over my shoulder but I ignored him. I eye the District eight boy, drinking merrily, and wondered how he could so easily stand the burning that they smell had caused my nose and eyes. Perhaps the taste wasn't as harsh as the smell. Tipping my head back, I lifted the bottle and tilted it until a small stream of rum trickled into my mouth.

Shout and scream my friends,
Connect with me and we'll pretend
This night will never end
This night will never end.

The shock of the liquor on my tongue and down the back of my throat made me almost drop the bottle. Coughing, I tried to save myself from the burning that was now going down the wrong pipe. Still spluttering, I tried to remember how to breathe. A few moments after attempting deep breaths I managed to stand upright again. Not far from me was the only blond male in the Games - one Wally Keeni, or something. He was guzzling down the alcohol as though it were water on a hot day. Somewhat amazed, I watched as the clear liquid disappeared into his mouth. Giving up on finding a glass, I sit myself down nowhere in particular and discover that there is suddenly a cup with some sort of liquor in it. Looking it up and down, I decided to put my bottle of rum - mostly untouched - aside for the moment. Drinking from a cup would allow me to go slower than tipping the contents of the bottle down my throat, as I had learned that burned a lot.

Just let go you'll see
Together we'll do anything
This night will never end
This night will never end.

My sips start off being small, barely more than a couple drops at a time, but by the time I reach the end of that first cup I was taking it in gulps. Eagerly I grabbed my bottle of rum, almost knocking it over in my exuberance, and dumped a cupful of the booze for myself. Over my arm I saw Lichen and the District eight boy - Mike or whatever - talking. Lifting the rum to my lips, I gulped at it. The burning sensation had faded into a constant numbness and I was able to swallow the last of the liquor in a matter of moments. My, now odd, vision captured a movement along the wall and I blearily tried to focus on it as I poured yet another drink for myself. At this point I may as well drink from the bottle, but using the cup at least gave me a chance to breathe between servings.

Oh, wish I could thank you all
For what you have done
And all of the things
That you have shared with me.

It takes me a moment before I can even discern the gender of the person, and I realize it's Claine following a boy. About to call out and tell him to quit it, I am distracted by my table beginning to float under me, taking my body with it. I stared at the ground below me, trying to figure out how this was happening. Blinking a couple times, I eventually just shrugged and took a drink from my cup, thinking that might clear my head. Suddenly, Claine's voice came from beside me and I almost spilled my drink on him. "Woah hey, watch it." His words sounded jumbled to me, not really making sense but somehow I got the gist of it anyway. "Aaaie Dnnt meee nit." He patted me on the shoulder and I almost spilled my drink again. "How much have you had." When I just blinked at him he pointed at the cup. Grinning broadly, proud of myself, I held up three fingers. Claine's expression made me break out laughing and I pounded the table with my fist.

Oh, wish I could take you all
To where I must go
Wish I could take you all,
I'll take you in my arms.

At that time, another person made their way through the semi-sparse crowd. Looking unamused, which left me more amused, she grudged her way over to a chair and plunked herself down. I would have gone over to see her, but my table was still floating and I didn't want to fall. Turning my head to the empty space beside me, I found it wasn't empty anymore. Instead, there rested a teddy bear. I beamed, picking it up with one hand and about to cuddle it when it clawed me. I bled, red lines streaking down my arm as I yelled. Dropping the bear, I watched as it plummeted to the ground to land in a heap of it's own fur and limbs. I laughed, even as the floor beneath it turned red. Claine put a hand over the top of the cup as I went to drink it. With my lack of coordination and attention, I ended up kissing the back of his hand. Oddly, it tasted a lot like the rum.

Dance, get on the floor
Shake, get on the floor
Break, get on the floor

Pouting, I looked up at him. "uwhhhaayy?" He gave me an exasperated look, rolling his eyes when I stuck my tongue out at him like a five year old. "C'mon bucko, time to sober up." I shook my head, the movement making my world spin but I kept going, not sure whether I was trying to emphasize my point or see how long it took to make myself throw up. "Nuuuuhpuh!" The look Claine gave me was clearly a warning, but I was paying attention. Right now I realized I was still bleeding from the teddy bear's scratches and now there was a growing red stain on my pants. I poked at the wound, wincing at the pain. Curious, I stuck a finger in my drink and put it to the wound. The fire that spread through my arm caused me to yelp and I retracted my hand, shaking my arm out.

I'm reaching out here
To show you what we've been through
I think there's something we can share,
That's completely new

To try and drive the pain away I took a gulp of rum. It helped to buzz me back to knowing Claine was beside me, but every sting was still there. More alcohol, I decided. I drained the cup and reached out for the bottle of rum. Before I could reach it, Claine knocked it off the table and sent it crashing to the ground below. The sound made me jump and I thought I was going to fall off of the bench and die. I glared at Claine, or gave him as much of a glare as I could manage while being completely hammered. "uwhhhaayy deeeed hooo duuuu dhaat?!" My accusative tone - probably hilarious to anyone besides myself, I thought it was quite menacing - flared at him like little flames. For a moment I wondered if my breath had caught fire and laughed at the idea of being able to breathe fire like a dragon. Gleefully, I blew air between my lips and watched as flames burst to life in front of me. Was I a dragon?

Or maybe I'm just insane, whoa oh
Shake it, break it, get off your feet