I Breathe Fire Like You Breathe Air(Open!)

[Boxy]

I wake up slowly, sunlight sinking in behind my eyelids, waking me with it's warmth. I blink me eyes open, not wanting to get up, but knowing that I have to or I won't get a meal today. A small grunt escapes my lips as I sit up, checking my supplies. My matchbox is half full. Good, enough to last me at least another five days or so. My two water jugs are full. I refilled them last night. My cloak is intact, slightly wet from last night's rain. I'm ready for a performance. I get to my feet, tying the cloak around my neck and pulling the hood over my eyes. I stuff the two water jugs and box of matchsticks into my left pocket, then feel around with a hand in my right pocket. I hear two coins clink together, and a worried expression crosses my face. I may have to steal something today. I shake my head, as if trying to pull myself out of a daydream, then head down the alley.

I keep to the shadows, never going in the light. My face is turned to the ground, and the good casts a good sized shadow over my eyes. I pass by a 'wanted' poster. I take a look at it, wondering if my face will be on it today. There are four faces, quite more than usual. A muscular-looking man with tattoos is the first. He's got a silver hoop on his left ear, and he's bald. A small goatee the color of straw has grown on his chin. I don't bother reading the reason for why he's a wanted man, only take a quick look at the other two and then at the fourth. It's my face. Well, from when I was three, anyway. Not many people have had a chance to take a picture of me since my father left, and Id like to keep it that way. I read what it says below my picture. 'Girl seen stealing bread in the market. Homeless. Goes by the name Gwin Shadow.' Yep, that's me. The girl who can eat fire. Which reminds me, I really should be getting to the market.

I run the rest of the way, purchasing an apple and a slice of cheese with my last two coins. Hopefully I'll earn enough money for another meal today. After eating the small breakfast on a bench outside the Hob, I make my way toward the District Square. As usual, it's crowded, with people pulling children along, men going to the coal mines, and women getting their breakfast from the few stalls that are set up around the square. I find a spot next to the fountain, then get out my things. The fountain itself has no water running from it, though I'm sure it would have been a spectacular site if it had. I'm just beginning to wonder why the Capitol doesn't start it up, when I remember I'm supposed to be doing a show. I check the grounds for Peacekeepers, and, seeing none, I pull back my hood.

My brown hair falls down my back, and my hazel colored eyes dart around the square. No one will recognize me, since it's been ten years since that photo of me was taken. I'm much older now, at 13. I think. I might be twelve. I've lost track, and I don't remember when my birthday is. I remind myself to stay focused, then get back to work. I place my hat on the ground, open for people who are willing to give me some change, then hop onto the edge of the fountain. Already, people are looking in my direction. I put on a smile, then begin to talk in a loud voice, so the whole square can hear me. "Can you eat fire? Can you hold it in your hand? Can you breath it out of the air?" I can see people are loosing interest, but then when I speak again, they look at me with unbelief and a bit of mockery in their eyes. "I can." I say, and without further ado, I begin. 

First, I lite a match. Then I pull five torches from my cloak, lighting each one, then snuff out the match with my bare hands. What the audience can't see is that my hands are covered in water. I hear a few gasps, and a grin crosses my face. I toss the torches into the air, one after the other, catching them with the opposite hand. Then I start tossing them back and forth, until it looks like my hands are holding a huge circle of fire. I go on like this for a bit, watching the children's faces and the adult's wonderment. I stop the torches abruptly, then snuff out four of them by saving them in the air. My next act is fun.

I pull out one of the water jugs, and take a quick gulp of the liquid. The stuff tastes horrible, but I don't make a face. Instead, I spew it into the air above me. The fire from the one torch disappears, and the liquid catches. A fireball appears before me, and it looks like I'm spitting out fire. I want to laugh with joy at the audience's reaction, but I have to keep up the act. I pour some of the same liquid into my hand, holding it there, then light a match and drop it into my hand. The liquid catches, and it looks as if I'm holding fire. The flames lick my hands, trying to burn them, but I feel nothing. The liquid is protecting me. I throw the fire into the air, and it blows out before it drops back to the ground. I glance down at my hat, wondering if anyone has offered a few coins.

[chelsey]

C E D R I C L A N E

As a kid, I believed in magic.

Magicians, to me, were more than just "illusionists," - they were rebels. They ultimately possessed the powers to do almost anything with the talents they held. Magicians could make items appear out of thin air, vanish an object that made you question the possibility of invisibility, escape the confines of a locked small box in mere seconds, and even teleport things from one end of the room to the other. What amazed me the most was the ability to transform something into something that it's not - a rabbit to a bird, a hat to a bouquet of flowers, a string into a scarf - it pulled me in with a magnetic attraction. If this was possible, then maybe even the life of a boy as poor and obscure as me could transform into something enticing and - well - magical.

If anything, right now, I wish I could swim back to those oceans where I could walk over the clear and shallow pools of innocent chastity, stainless purity - the times before a storm raged over my seas and drowned me in my own sorry guilt and corruption. How stupid I was back then, the boy who believed in magic and happily ever afters, but, sooner or later, we all needed something to believe in, didn't we?

Right now, the girl in front of me is about the last thing I'll ever put my beliefs into.

"Can you eat fire?" A young voice echoes over the square. A small crowd has gathered around an old fountain, and I follow the voice while gripping the sling of my guitar closer to my shoulder. It seems a bit too early for the crazies to start acting up, but I'm not about to miss a show when I see one. "Can you hold it in your hand? Can you breath it out of the air?" The girl, who looks to be about five to four years younger than me, meets the gaze of her audience with a mischievous look. "I can."

A few startled gasps from children and their mothers fill the square as I let out my own laugh. The genuine concern in some of these people's eyes plant a smirk on my face as I lean against a nearby post to view the girl in front of me. "You've got to be fucking kidding me right now."

The girl reminds me of the magicians I used to believe in as a kid - manipulative and a liar. Her act, of course, falls nothing short of spectacular - but anyone paying close enough attention could see through it all. It's called an act for a reason, isn't it?

The, undoubtedly, more privileged and gullible ones in the Square hastily drop a few coins in the girls open hat, and continue to watch the show in awe. After a few minutes, however, the crowd disperses and I make my way towards the front to get a closer look at the fire bursting from her mouth and juggling on her quick hands. Eventually, she blows them out, taking a glance at the few coins that have made it's way to the bottom of her hat. I look up at her through the lens of the sunglasses perched on my nose, and smile a bit. I have a single coin pinched between my forefinger and thumb, and dangle it loosely over her hat. "That's quite an act you've got there, miss." I tell her, the smirk dancing across my lips. I snatch the coin back and stuff it in my pocket, crossing my arms over my chest. "Though I think you'd have to do better than that to get a coin out of my wallet."

NORMAL // C6C6FF

CHARACTER'S DIALOGUE //FFFFFF

OTHER DIALOGUE //5B5BFF

EMPHASIS // 9191FF

[Boxy]

I finish up the show with another round of torch-juggling, this time with six torches, then snatch them all up in my hand and take a bow. A few people have the generosity to clap, and when I look down at my hat, I count exactly five coins. I'd say that's enough for to meals. I smile and begin putting my things away, leaving out the hat for any last coins. Nothing. At least, not until most of the crowd has left. When they do, however, I see a teenager, a boy, coming towards me. He's wearing sunglasses. I don't like that. I can't tell what people are thinking when I can't see their eyes. But, two can play at the same game, so I pull up my hood, shadowing my face. I see him bring out a coin and dangle it over the hat. For a minute, I look at it longingly, then tell myself to stop. Of course he won't drop it in. Anyone who actually wants to give me money will just put it in the hat, no questions asked. This boy, on the other hand, obviously has no intention of offering me the coin. He's teasing me.

But why? What did I do wrong? Could he see through my tricks? Questions fly through my head, and I pretend not to notice him until he speaks. "That's quite an act you've got there, miss." He says. Miss? Why call me that, of all things? I turn back to look at him, and I see a smirk on his face. He snatches up the coin, puts it away, and crosses his arms. Of course he was going to do that. "Though I think you'd have to do better than that to get a coin out of my wallet." I stay silent for a minute, slinging my bag over my shoulder, taking the five coins out of the hat and putting the hat and the coins in my pocket. "I wasn't looking to impress you." I say in a bored tone. And I'm not lying. "I was looking to impress the crowd. I got enough money for my next meal. That's all I want." With my head turned to the ground, I start to walk away. I don't have time for people like him. Scoffers. People who want to dampen my spirits and anger me. It doesn't work, so he can just quit his stupid game.

Something registers in my mind as I walk away. He's obviously realized I tricked the audience. What if he tells people that it's not real? That I use things to keep myself safe? My steps slow for a minute. That fire eating is what gives me money. I need it to survive. If my tricks got out, the show wouldn't be worth money anymore. But I shake my head, and return to a brisk walk. How could have figured out the tricks? You can barely see any of what Im doing.

[alexbou6]

i watched the fire breather pass me oblivious. there must have been something on her mind. so i started to follow her. i had just met up with the guys and showed them my new "toy". it was brand new and shiny... a gift from Ashe. anyway id been watching this wanted girl awhile. thinking of recruitment. but i wasn't sure shed say yes because if she didn't id probably have to waste her. it would be to risky, she might blow the whole operation. so i had the boys on standby on the roofs above us.

"don't move" i say as i draw my knife. i didn't want to hurt her but i would if i had to. three people block the way out of the alley. "tern around nice and slow". "Gwin isn't it?" i said in a kind but forceful tone, readying my knife.

[chelsey]

C E D R I C L A N E

At first, she ignores me, instead slinging her bag over her shoulder and collecting today's income. "I wasn't looking to impress you." She finally says, though, not meeting my eyes. I give a small laugh at this, stuffing my hands in my pockets, almost as if just to spite her. "I was looking to impress the crowd." I raise my eyebrows then, and look around at the people around us, some still slightly in shock at what they've witnessed. Well, impress you obviously did. But, I know better than to trust the likes of a girl like her. I wouldn't exactly call them thieves - I'm not that unjust - but they sure as hell have some similar qualities. I'm about to point this out to her when what she says next throws me off, "I got enough money for my next meal. That's all I want."

I close my mouth at her words.

I know what it's like to suffer. I know what it's like to scrape your knees just to put food on the table. I know what it's like to have starvation twist the tissues of your stomach, and poverty wipe grime on your sweat drenched faces. I know what it's like to, not only feel like nothing, but to actually be nothing. After all, sometimes I can find myself on the streets - like the stranger before me - with my guitar out on my lap and my voice mindlessly singing for spare change. I wouldn't call that performing, though, I'd call it desperate. Guess that doesn't make me and her all that much different, then, does it?

The girl turns around and walks away before I have the chance to register an apology in my mind, sure, an apology in my mind, although I'd never really ever say sorry to someone out loud, over my fucking dead body someone will ever hear a pitiful "Sorry" from Cedric Lane.

[/i][/s][/color] I watch her retreating form, a bony figure huddled in a dark cape - like dragging herself across the stone cobbled streets, while I take a seat on the ledge of the fountain myself.

Digging into my pocket, I retrieve a match and a pack of cigarettes. I draw one out, and balance it between my chapped lips and manage to light it. Constantine would tsk if he saw me now, "Smoking, now, is it?" He would say. "Fuck off," I would reply, offering him one all the while, knowing he'd accept. But, Constantine isn't with me now, and I haven't even seen the damned bastard in a few weeks. Maybe I should head over to the orphanage right now, pay that undoubtedly sick patient a visit, smooth over his woes with a bottle or two of beer from Carman's unlocked cabinets. . .

"Don't move."

In the distance, I can still see the girl with her dark cape and hat, only this time she's accompanied with, well, a friend. Though when was the last time a "friend" ever held out a knife to you? I drop my cigarette on the pavement, crushing it under the heel of my boot as I walk towards her. I get there just in time to hear him say, "Gwin isn't it?"

"Sorry, mate, 'fraid you've got the wrong girl." I say once I know I'm in earshot. I raise my palms to face the guy and shrug. "This here's my sister, she's always out and about causing trouble of some kind. Sorry for disturbing ya." I wrap and arm around the girl's shoulder's casually, then throw the coin that I was previously teasing her with to the man. "Sincerely sorry." I drag my newfound sister away before the guy even has a chance to reply, not looking back. Once we're far away enough that he can't hear us, I whisper into her ear as we're walking, "So, sis, your name really Gwin? Or did I just save an unsuspecting victim from an untimely death? It's not everyday I get to be a hero, you know." [/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

NORMAL // C6C6FF

CHARACTER'S DIALOGUE //FFFFFF

OTHER DIALOGUE //5B5BFF

EMPHASIS // 9191FF

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[alexbou6]

all of a sudden a boy walks up behind me and says "Sorry, mate, 'fraid you've got the wrong girl." who did this guy think i was an ameture... well i technecally was new at this but i wasnt that stupid.
"This here's my sister, she's always out and about causing trouble of some kind. Sorry for disturbing ya." he said in what sounded like a condesending tone. i felt a vein twitch in my head. but i stayed reserved, i was once this erigant. "sincerly sorry he said tossing a coin at me allittle to quick. so... i swated it out of the air. it hit the pavement with a sharp ping. he was very nieve, he didnt even notice that the other end of the ally was blocked.

"i know who she is and that she defenetly doesnt have a brother." i said calmly. " i just want to talk with HER not you. but if you to are 'TOGETHER' you can wait nearby." i said matter-of-factually. " oh and by the way were do you buy your cigarettes? i thought i was the only one who had tobacco in district 12."

[Boxy]

Everything's happening so fast. I'm suddenly surrounded, and somer kid is holding a knife, ready to throw it at me. Only one emotion runs through my veins: fear. I can't consentrate. I can't register what's happening around me. All I can see is the knife, the sharp point, the boy's hand, ready to throw it if I try to run. I feel dizzy, and the edges of my vision are getting fuzzy. Is this it? Have I finally been caught? Has someone discovered my secrets? A sound like a choke escapes my throat, and I feel sick. I can't even hear what people are saying.

But suddenly, there's an arm around my shoulder. A steady one, too. I look up, and I am able to recognize the person's face. It's the boy who was making fun of me only seconds ago. The one who wouldn't give me a coin, and laughed at me just for the fun of it. Now...now, he's helping me? No, he's probably working with this other kid. But I'm too scared to resist, so I just stand there, rigid as a stone. Then I hear him say something. "Sorry mate, 'fraid you got the wrong girl. This here's my sister. She's always out and about causing trouble of some kind. Sorry for disturbing ya." That's funny. Why is he using an accent now? Or maybe that's his real voice, and I just here it before. All the same, I realize that yes, he is in fact helping me, and I decide to play along.

I see a coin fly through the air. The coin that was meant to be mine, swatted out of the air by the other kid's hand. "Sincerly sorry." I'm still stunned, but the boy who teased me is now leading me away from danger. After a few seconds, he says quietly, "So, sis, your name really Gwin? Or did I just save an unsuspecting victim from an untimely death? It's not everyday I get to be a hero, you know." I almost smile. I nod. "Yeah, I'm Gwin." I pause, not sure I want to say the words trembling on my lips. Then I decide to do it anyway. "...Thanks. I really needed some help."

My voice is interupted by the sharp words of the kid with the knife. "I know who she is and that she definitely doesn't have a brother. I just want to talk to her, not you. But if you two are 'together' you can wait nearby. Oh, and by the way, where do you buy your cigarettes? I thought I was the only one who had tobacco in District 12."

I turn around abruptly, glaring at him. I'm acting now. This is just like one of those little skits I sometimes perform along with my fiery tricks. "It's none of your business where he gets his cigarettes, sir. And why do you think I'm Gwin? I look nothing like that thief of a girl on the poster. I should think you would have noticed that by now. Now, would you please let my brother and I pass? We really need to get home. Mum will be getting worried."

OOC: Sorry for the late reply!

[alexbou6]

she suddenly terns around and shouts "It's none of your business where he gets his cigarettes, sir. And why do you think I'm Gwin? I look nothing like that thief of a girl on the poster. I should think you would have noticed that by now. Now, would you please let my brother and I pass? We really need to get home. Mum will be getting worried.". i was calm and collected but this put me over the edge. i put my knife away and slowly walk toward them. i hold my hand up to let the boys at the other end of the ally and the ones on the roof know im fine. "do you think im stupid!" i yelled at her. " first of all I've been following you for months!" i pause letting this sink in. "yeah this isn't a robbery i have no intention of hurting you, actually it would set me back months." i said voice growing more and more serious. " and by the way Gwin there are parts of the face that stay the same even when you age!" i stop stepping forward and stand still. remembering the other boy i point at him and then at the ground and then hold my hand up, never breaking serious eye contact with Gwin. " the curve of the chin, the jaw line things like that. I've had to study every inch of your face for whats going on 9 months now, just to make sure it was you. and now im sure so i have an offer for you... well its really for both of you now and its really not an offer because we'll have to kill the both of you if you decline, but here go's... how would you never like to never be hungry again, how would you like to never be lonely again hmm? i don't know if you noticed but you can breath fire. i don't care how you can do it either you just can. now me and my 'friends' we all have special... talents, i wont get into it but we need you. were non violent... mostly. Gwin how would you like to have your family never go hungry again?" i say stopping and waiting, hand held high, waiting to spare then or bring it down and doom them.

[Boxy]

I clench my fists, trying to stop myself from trembling in fear. Up until now, the boy has at least been quiet when he talks. Now, he's yelling at my face, advancing, and I don't do a thing about it. Like a rabbit caught in a car's headlights. I take a step back, almost knocking into the boy who helped me earlier. Why is this kid suddenly yelling at me? I hadn't so much as raised my voice! His words aren't entering my ears, until the last part.

"Gwin, how would you like your family to never go hungry again?" I actually laugh. It's a sharp, mocking laugh, much like the other boy's laugh when he was teasing me. "I have no family." I say, my voice quiet and angry. I'm terrified, really, as I glance up at his hand ready to strike at me. I step out of it's range, next to the other boy. "If you've really been tracking me for so many years, you would know that. They died long ago, idiot." I almost wish I hadn't added on that last part. I look over his shoulder, and frown. I'm looking at the corner of a building. This trick has worked many times, and I'm very good at it. I just hope he'll fall for it, and look over his shoulder. Then, I change my plan.

I reach into my pocket, lighting a match and pulling out one of the bottles of liquid. I hold them about a foot apart. "You know what's in this bottle?" I ask threateningly. A smile is toying at my lips. "Gasoline. I have only to throw these two things at you're feet, and you'll go up in flames. Can you tame a fire, boy? No. You can't. But I can, as you know. I can make it do what I want it to. Do you really want to risk being burned alive, or would you rather let us go?" Some of that was a bluff, but most of it was true. I can make this kid go up in flames. I can escape it, too. But he can't. I'm sure he can't.

Despite this, I'm still wrapped in my little blanket of fear. What if something goes wrong? What if the match goes out? What if the boy who tried to rescue me cant escape? And I don't want to hurt anyone either. I want to get out of here peacefully. I just want to be back by the fountain, performing for a crowd of children. Without realizing it, I reach out my hand to grasp the hand of the boy standing beside me. It brought some comfort to have his arm around my shoulder, so I don't stop myself.

[chelsey]

C E D R I C L A N E

“Yeah, I’m Gwin,” She says back, the faintest traces of a smile imprinted on her lips. “…Thanks. I really needed some help.” I feel my own smile - a genuine smile - find it’s way to my face, and right when I open my mouth to reply, another voice speaks for me.

“I know who she is and she definitely does not have a brother.”

“God fucking dammit,” I say at the same time Gwin starts speaking. She continues along with our act, saying something about looking nothing like the girl on the poster and our mum being worried. My arm never drifts from her shoulders, instead, remains planted there, out of a protective instinct.

Still, the man isn’t buying it, and lays down a rather pathetic deal for the two of us, threatening to kill us if we decline. I scoff, and - just to spite him - smirk at his form. This guy really thinks he’s such a big shot, when I’ve met much greater - far greater - than the likes of him. I’ve known the law, I’ve known where to and how to break it, and - above all - I know how to escape it. And this stranger - threatening me with something as obscure as the point of tiny knife? - is no exception.

As the guy continues to drawl on, I continue to roll my eyes beneath the lens of my glasses. He just thinks he’s so goddamn tough, doesn’t he? It’s when Gwin finally says, “I have no family,” do I begin to wonder exactly how serious this situation is. “If you’ve really been tracking me for so many years, you would know that. They died long ago, idiot.”

This revelation of her personal past seeps into my brain, and I feel a faint glow of embarrassment skim across me. That’s why she was performing. That’s why she needed the money for her meals. That’s why she’s even stuck in this mess in the first place. The thought begins to dawn on me - what if Gwin actually is dangerous?

Exactly what did I get myself into?

I want to leave. I want to go home. I want to find Constantine, I want to down a bottle of rum in one gulp and laugh about nothing with him. I want to forget the misery that can sometimes plague a person’s life - like how it had done to mine.

But now, at this moment, isn’t the very best time to remember Astrid and mourn over it. Now, my past is only my past, and I can’t let it get in the way of protecting this girl from whatever dangers may lie ahead.

And, maybe, some of those dangers even come from herself.

“Do you really want to risk being burned alive, or would you rather let us go?”

I never signed up for this. I never agreed for myself to become stuck in this mess. I never asked to be a part of it. But, when Gwin reaches out for my hand - grips onto it as if her own life depended on it - I know I can’t back down. I suddenly do feel like a brother to her, ready to protect this girl - this stranger whom I had only been taunting just a few minutes before - from any harm that may come our way. And, that statement that I’ve told Gwin before, suddenly becomes true. It’s not everyday a villain gets to be a hero.

I give her hand a squeeze in reassurance, and say, “So, are you finally going to get the hell out of here?”

NORMAL // C6C6FF

CHARACTER'S DIALOGUE //FFFFFF

OTHER DIALOGUE //5B5BFF

EMPHASIS // 9191FF

[alexbou6]

. "I have no family." she says to me. that i didnt know. i didnt even though were she lived because I did have family, my mom, and i couldnt follow this girl all over the place. "If you've really been tracking me for so many years, you would know that. They died long ago, idiot." she says. she looks at something over my shoulder. i dont care Will would take care of it if it was dangerous.

"You know what's in this bottle?" she says to me holding up a match and a bottle. "Gasoline. I have only to throw these two things at you're feet, and you'll go up in flames. Can you tame a fire, boy? No. You can't. But I can, as you know. I can make it do what I want it to. Do you really want to risk being burned alive, or would you rather let us go?" she said next as she grabs the hand of the boy next to her. i knew it, they were lovers! as she does this the boy says “So, are you finally going to get the hell out of here?” as he says this i bring my hand down and the match head breaks off. i forgot how good with that thing Will was. i quickly brig my hand back up and yell "HOLD!" so Will wont take there eyes out. "I have no intention of hurting you, the knife is just a habit. and yes i WAS willing to die to talk to you." i steped back. " now will you co-operate Gwin?" i said in a calm tone. " oh and boy, i would sugest you keep your mouth shut. i wont hurt you but i cant say the same for Will." "now for your answer, yes or no?"

[Boxy]

Tye boy takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. As I expected, it comforts me. He's talking to the other boy, the one with the knife. I flinch a little at the amount of swearing that's coming out of his mouth. I never particularly liked swearing, and I never did it myself. I don't see the point in it. I don't really hear what anyone says, until the boy brings his hand down. I step backwards, eyes full of fear, and a small scream escapes my lips. But, he hits the match, not me. It falls out of my hands, snuffed out by the dirt on the ground. My only chance of survival. It's gone. I'm going to die. I don't want to accept this kid's offer, and I don't trust him. I look up at the boy holding my hand, and I see right away: he doesn't want to be here.

A huge wave of guilt washes over me. Why is he even here? If I hadn't walked away from him in the first place, none of this would have happened. But then again, if I stayed, he would have continued making fun of me. At least that's better than being murdered. "Now will you cooperate, Gwin?" The boy asks. I tighten my grip on the hand, and try to look him in the eye.  "Oh, and boy, I would sugest you keep your mouth shut. I won't hurt you but I can't say the same for Will. Now for your answer, yes or no?"

I look at him, fear, hatred, and disbelief mixed in my gaze. Oh, what am I doing?! I made up my mind long ago that the answer was no. And, he has no right to tell the boy to keep his mouth shut! Anger burns inside my chest like an out of control fire. "No," Though my chest is burning, my quiet voice is ice cold. I turn, hoping my new found...friend, can I call him?...will follow me, and hoping with an ache in my heart that no one will hurt us.

[Lulu]

So it's come to my attention that you're using characters that you haven't made bios for, alexbou? And on top of that, you're powerplaying; you can't knock out another person's character without their permission. Both of these things are against the rules.

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