Shen didn't exactly notice that his sister had found him before he could find her, and that, additionally, she had recorded the entire "performance" on her iLac. Even if he'd known, he wouldn't have cared. He'd vowed to, well, delete his LacBook account anyway after some initial negative impressions, making the choice to avoid this section of digital space as much as he could. Sober Shen was very much still intent on perpetuating his old tactics of avoidance and acceptance, but drunk Shen ... well, the young man could care a lot less about all these imagined problems in an imaginary space. With the absence of his usual anxiety and worries, which appeared as if they had been replaced with a newfound enjoyment of all things he encountered, as well as a hefty load of intoxicated, if clumsy, confidence.
Anyway, he was ripped from a few distracting thoughts as a hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling the young man towards the figure that had emerged from the crowd around him, Shen turning his head to find himself break out into a grin once more. "Oooo, dere u are!", he would giggle at his sister, though, he would swiftly find himself tilting his head as she insisted that they, in her words, "got out of there". "Awww wat? But t'night's barely started ...". Why was Lilith always so obsessed with spoiling his fun? It wasn't like he could unwind often, and now that he was having fun, for once in his life, she was once again trying to ruin it. A brief, though very much quiet stint of inward anger would wash over Shen in an initial emotional response, though the same emotion would quickly transform as the grin in his face returned. If she was determined to ruin this night for him, well, he would simply intensify his own efforts to return the favor. With not inconsiderable dexterity, Shen would end up winding his hand from her grasp before, with a surprising swiftness, dashing off back into the crowd one more time, undoubtedly to the great annoyance of his sister. Not like he cared. Well, he did, but in a mess of drunken emotions, his childish impressions would dictate his logical responses, not his intellect. And this same drunken stupor told him that this was very much a good idea to try and annoy Lili. Something that would, without question, come back to haunt him in the future, something the young man lacked the foresight to realize in his state.
Determined, Shen would maneuver through the partying crowd, briefly distracted by his thoughts until they were, in a sudden burst of booming sound, washed away by the onset of thunderous music, his head instinctively swerving into the direction the echoing roar of drums. The banging of the instrument was supported by digitally generated background noises and a catchy beat, and as Shen spotted the source of the noise, he could barely contain his excitement at the sight, his eyes lighting up with fascination where his sober self would've been aversed at best. The station that had been set up on one street corner was, undoubtedly, the origin of the music, curious onlookers, ravers, and overall a mesmerized crowd surrounded a set of drums where participants regularly stepped forward and began playing the instrument, though, with a twist. With each strike, with each bang of the drums neon colors in the form of paint would burst forth from the drum, each one producing a different hue, coating the surrounding area and the crowd in a spray of colorful dots and glowing streaks with each resonating thud. It was immediately captivating, and the young man knew that this was the exact kind of thing that his inebriated self would love to try.
He would find his way over to the set of drums, slipping through the partying crowd before reaching it just as the previous occupants had finished their turn, an eccentrically dressed man, covered head to toe in sprinkles of definitely somewhat magical glowing paint, handing him two drumsticks with a grin before joining the crowd, which now cheered for the new attempt, Shen's attempt, at a party-goer playing the drums, the blare of rave music on the background ever-continuing all the while. Shen was, even in this state, somewhat intimidated to be performing in front of this many people, but if he wanted to try the paint drumming ... then it couldn't be helped, right?
Tapping the drumsticks gently against outside of the instrument, the microphone at his side picked up the light wooden tick-tock before finally, the young man would slam them down in tune with the music, the stage erupting into colors as the paint burst from the drums, Shen following this up with more rhythmic taps that increased in speed, intensity, almost as if in trance drumming away while colors, hues, and glows exploded around him. This came to him surprisingly easy, way easier than dancing, it seemed, the crowd cheering while the music, backed up by the heavy thunder of drums continued to echo around them. One had to admit that the performance the young man put on, despite his obviously intoxicated state, was not bad at all. One might even say that the young Rune Knight recruit was somewhat talented at picking up the rhythm and sounding the instrument before him, which still expelled colorful paint all around, to the beat of the music. It was anything but difficult to lose oneself in the motions, the song, the resounding booms of every strike that produced even louder resonance from the speakers. In simple terms, Shen was enjoying himself.
Though as it was the case most of the time, whenever Shen had fun, fate would find a way to ruin that, the thundering roar of music and drums suddenly stopping after an "Oi! Watch out, mate!" would sound out from off to the side, a young man, probably similar in age to Shen, stumbling from the crowd towards the drums, missing a step, however, and crashing into the set of instruments, knocking them over and spilling the contents of paint all over the stage, the music abruptly stopping, a resounding "Aww" going through the crowd. Shen, however, found himself pushed back, though steadied himself quickly, finding his shoes and part of his pants were now covered in more than just a light sprinkle of paint, instinctively barking an obviously angered and very un-Shen-like "Ey, pay attention to where you're going!" at the guy who'd put a definite stop to his enjoyment of tonight's Neon Festival, forcing his body and mind into a state of at least some sobriety that extinguished his excitement and sent his previous confidence into a spiral of obvious anger, his brows inching closer together. "Huh? Who the fuck are you?", the young man, who, upon closer inspection, was about the same height as Shen, but was built a little heavier than him, not a difficult feat, responded in quite the ineloquent and obviously aggressive manner, evidently annoyed that the young Rune Knight, who seemed in no position to do so, had just told him off. "Staff Sergeant Kadokawa, Rune Knights. I wanna suggest you get out of here and sober up. You clearly had enough", Shen replied coldly, now himself annoyed that he had to be subjected not only to a sudden stop to his fun just as he'd gotten into it, but also the drunken swearing of some street goon, pulling out his badge and flashing it to the man, who broke out into amused laughter. "A baby like you, a Rune Knight? I'm gonna piss myself laughing. Don't fuck with me, kid". Normally, Shen would have backed down, perhaps intimidated by such a threat. At least, in a private scenario, but ... he had introduced himself as a Rune Knight, and he would no doubt be expected to act like one.
"What if I will?", he asked sarcastically, depositing his badge in one of his pockets again and taking a step forward, his eyes firmly locked on those of the other. The drunk wouldn't pass the chance up. "You're about to find out". With this, the man would throw back his arm before bringing it around for a wide swing. Shen had seen this coming, anyone would've, really, and while the young Rune Knight wasn't as adept at using magic as some of his fellows, at least as of yet, he was still capable in his own right. With a brief surge of magic throughout his body, he moved swiftly, once again displaying impressive agility as he sidestepped the punch, his hand wrapping around the other's arm and twisting it, the drunk sinking to the ground with an audible yelp. "Ow, ow! Come on man, let go!". Shen, though, would look at the drunk festivalgoer as sternly as he possibly could before letting him go, sending the guy stumbling to his feet with a "Last warning. It's time for you to leave. The man wouldn't have to be told twice, scurrying off into the crowd with newfound haste, taking not a single moment to look back.
Shen sighed, his shoulders sinking down. He hated acting like this, it went against every fiber of his being, but it was part of the job. He hoped that he'd learn how to effectively wield this persona when he had to, it wasn't perfect, of course, but the alcohol had helped. Speaking of alcohol, though, his intoxication had begun to wear off, and instead of inebriated stupor and drunken excitement, the young man now felt somewhat nauseous and definitely tired. Distraught with the fact that, once again, the universe seemed to have it out for him, he would lower himself to the ground before sitting down on the paint-covered stage, the crowd beginning to disperse and move on to other locations, perhaps in search of more music, more alcohol, and more party. Shen, though, was done for tonight, muttering a soft, and admittedly somewhat sad "Man, I wanna go home" under his breath.
Word Count: 1,680
Thread Word Count Total: 5,180 / 4,000 ( Event WC fulfilled - 1,180 words excess)