Archived:The Modern Janissaries/Liam and Roger

Roger and Liam

William "Hastings" Norwood His sat in his room, frowning as he stared down at the sketchbook, charcoal covering his fingers and staining the white desk.

Eliza Barnes I knock softly on the door to your room. "Can I come in?"

William "Hastings" Norwood His head tilted up to look at her and, upon realising who she was, snapped the sketchbook shut and stood from his chair. "I suppose so," he said gruffly before running a hand through his hair, staining it black with coal. "I think Roger's room is on the opposite side of building."

Eliza Barnes I chuckle. "I should know that. Besides though, I wanted to talk to you, specifically." I say as I step inside the room, looking around with a smile. "You have a pretty swanky room here, Liam."

William "Hastings" Norwood He took a moment to look at the room, the bed covered in clothes, two swords hanging from the hooks and a trio of long daggers placed on the bedside table. His desk was, like his desk at the academy, was covered in art supplies and a pile of books scattered around them. "I suppose it's...familiar," he replied before looking back to her, "my room, regardless of the location, is mine. And I always intend to make it mine. Make it familiar. I don't have much else to make me feel comfortable," he said before breaking off and closing his mouth. Idiot, she doesn't need to know that. "But, come on, I don't think either of us have all day. What's up?"

Eliza Barnes "Make it personable - I like it. Anyways, the last couple days, since we've talked to Charles and all, I realize that I don't know the full story of the Norwood Family, and I feel as if I need to hear your story as well. I know Roger's story, and a decent portion of Charles's, but I realize that I don't know much about you. You can summarize if you want, you don't have to tell me everything, but enough that I can understand you better."

William "Hastings" Norwood Something snapped and his face smoothed out and he crossed his arms across his chest. "I don't have one," he said carefully, "none that differentiates from Roger's, I'm sure. Our upbringing wasn't exactly different."

Eliza Barnes "What caused you to run away though?" I look at you carefully, letting you take your time.

William "Hastings" Norwood He stared at her with a slow blink. Run away. The words danced around his mind and the only movement he made was the pursing of his lips. If only it were that simple. "Why would Charles run away?"

Eliza Barnes "I wasn't talking about Charles. I was talking about yourself, Liam. It's probably tough and complicated, but I need to know in order to understand you better. But if you need time, you can tell me when you're ready to."

William "Hastings" Norwood He stepped closer to her and his eyes searched her face, "why do you need to know?" he asked, his voice low and quiet, "why do you need to understand me better? I'm not Roger."

Eliza Barnes I take a moment to gather my thoughts before I spoke. "The three of you - Charles, Roger and you, all of you have found one another here. But, I know, understandably, there is a lot of tension between all three of you. My main point, is that I want the three of you to realize that you all have a very special connection with one another even if you haven't realized it. I want the three of you to still have the ability to be some kind of family. I know what it is like to be without family. My mom has been gone since I was nine, stepmom and stepbrother since I was thirteen, along with my mentally deranged father who took great pleasure in torturing me. Clara, my younger step-sister, I never see her around anymore. Roger is the closest thing I have to any normal family in eight years, and I owe to him, to you, to Charles, and myself, to let the three of you been connected in a way which each other that I never can be with my family." I take a long breath as I glance down.

William "Hastings" Norwood He slammed her into the wall as if his temper had finally gotten the better of him. His hands were tangled in her shirt as he lifted her off the ground and pressed her into the smooth stone, "don't. Ever. Talk about how I should handle them. That special connection? It's bull. Blood doesn't make anyone a family. I'm sure you can agree to that. Just...don't. Don't bother trying, because it won't work. I don't even know if I plan to stick around once this is all over. And if I do, I'm sure as hell going to be avoiding Roger."

Eliza Barnes My eyes widened a little as you lifted me against the wall. "The least you can do is understand that I have good intentions, Liam." I say calmly. "You can put me down now."

William "Hastings" Norwood He didn't move for another minute but eventually he let her go and took two steps back. "I think you should go and don't think about asking me for that again."

Eliza Barnes "Did it feel good, to let out your anger?"

William "Hastings" Norwood He eyed her, "I think," he said slowly, "that you should go."

Eliza Barnes "Once you answer my question, I will leave. Did it feel good to let out your anger?"

William "Hastings" Norwood He spat on the ground, "I don't have anger, a temper perhaps," he replied, "but not any withheld anger."

Eliza Barnes I nodded and left the room, before making myself a mocha with Bailey's and I sat by the fire, sipping my coffee.

William "Hastings" Norwood He rubbed his forehead and shut the door behind her.

~~TimeSkip~~

William "Hastings" Norwood He was in the same music room that he had taken Diana too and his fingers were flying over the keys.

Eliza Barnes I stood in the doorway, with my coffee mug in hand, having changed into comfier clothes as I smile a bit at you playing, drumming my fingers against the mug.

William "Hastings" Norwood After a second, he looked up at her and the music halted. "You seem to have a habit of drifting around around me nowadays," he said, "like a fly."

Eliza Barnes "Hey, can't blame me for wandering in. By the way, you are quite the piano player."

William "Hastings" Norwood He shrugged, "I was brought up in a royal family, one of us had to have some sort of musical talent, a requirement," he said.

Eliza Barnes "Music is something you really enjoy then?" I say, glancing at you.

William "Hastings" Norwood He thought back to the days of when he messed up a note, a cane stick was slammed onto his fingers and frowned, "more like a punishment."

Eliza Barnes "Definitely not one to my ears, or Diana's, I can assure you."

William "Hastings" Norwood "No, I suppose it's not to anyone else," he said carefully.

Eliza Barnes "Nah, I wouldn't think so." I say and pause for a moment. "So you and Diana, are you two a thing? Just curious.."

William "Hastings" Norwood "We're not, no," he said as he shoved his hands into his pockets and tilted his head, "relieved?"

Eliza Barnes "I was just curious. At least the two of you don't make it obvious like Elle and Julian do. I've figured they have had a thing for weeks.

William "Hastings" Norwood "I suppose they have," he said with a shrug, "I haven't been watching."

Eliza Barnes "Suppose you haven't." I chuckle. "However, I do need some help, if you don't mind helping me with something. It won't take long, I think."

William "Hastings" Norwood "Sure, I guess?" he said as he eyed her.

Eliza Barnes "Can you read Russian at all?" I say as I head out of the music room, walking towards the kitchen.

William "Hastings" Norwood He followed a step behind, "oh yeah, I can do that."

Eliza Barnes I hand you a recipe card that had "Shepherd's Pie" on top with Russian text and a sheet of paper. "I wanted to attempt to try and cook something for Roger, but I can't understand this recipe, it's written in a weird form of Russian. Think you can do it?"

William "Hastings" Norwood He scanned it before shrugging and grabbing a notebook. Soon the recipe was transferred into english and he offered both to her.

Eliza Barnes I take a look at the translation and smile, before taking back both the card and the translation. "Thank you, Liam. I really appreciate it." I say as I read over the instructions, before following the first few steps to prepare the dish.

William "Hastings" Norwood He took a step back, "if that's all."

Eliza Barnes "For sure." I smile. "You know, there's more people who care about you than you think."

William "Hastings" Norwood He looked at her with a scowl, "do I look like I care?"

Eliza Barnes "No, just thought that I should let you know."

William "Hastings" Norwood He huffed, "well, I don't need to hear it."

Eliza Barnes I nod and keep working

~~Timeskip~~

William "Hastings" Norwood He was in the kitchen, rifling through the fridge. It was around midnight and everyone else had cleared out a long time ago.

Eliza Barnes I sat in a chair by the fire, having dozed off, but my forearm was visible, and if anyone was looking, they could see the burns caused in reaction to my nightmares on my arm.

William "Hastings" Norwood He glanced up to her and saw the burns, deciding to be a jerk, he filled up a vase of cold water and tipped it over her with the intentions to cool down the steaming burns.

Eliza Barnes I suddenly woke up. "Okay, that's like ice cold, meanie." I say as I check my arm.

William "Hastings" Norwood "There was steam pouring off you, so I improvised," he defended himself with a shrug.

Eliza Barnes I see the burns and curse. "You could have woken me up nicely, perhaps. Do you enjoy it when you get drenched with water while you sleep?"

William "Hastings" Norwood "I did yes," he said with a nodd.

Eliza Barnes "Besides the point. Roger's probably asleep, or worried, so I should head back upstairs."

William "Hastings" Norwood He shrugged, "if he's asleep, I doubt he's worried about you, and you don't need to babysit him," he said heading back into the kitchen.

Eliza Barnes "Good point." I use my powers to steam off the cool water as I quickly dried off. "Anyways, what brings you here at night?"

William "Hastings" Norwood He brought out a plate of leftovers, "food, I'm hungry," he said, "what about you? Thought the bed would be a good place to fall asleep."

Eliza Barnes "Woke up with nightmares, actually. Thought it would be good to come down for a bit, just hang out." I eye you warming up the leftover shepherd's pie I made earlier.

William "Hastings" Norwood He grunted at this and then rifled through the fridge for ice cream and scooped it next to her pie. "Seems mostly everyone here suffers from nightmares."

Eliza Barnes "For sure, but mine have been okay for the last little while, it was only since a few days ago that they flared up again."

William "Hastings" Norwood "Can't imagine why," he said as he forked some of the food into his mouth as he watched her.

Eliza Barnes "So, how did the shepherd's pie end up turning out?"

William "Hastings" Norwood It was great. "I've had better," he said as he mixed it with the ice cream.

Eliza Barnes "I know, not quite Irish enough to pull it off." I chuckle as I watch you mix the pie with the ice cream.

William "Hastings" Norwood "You don't need to be irish to make a shepards pie," he said as he took another bite, "remind me, before Charles, we had about zero reasons to talk to each other and now...we're talking every other hour. Why."

Eliza Barnes "I don't know." I sigh and sink into a chair. "I thought I could try and mend the family, find renewed happiness for the three of you, but maybe I'm going too far." I stand up and head to the bar, making myself a cocktail. "I just know that it sucks to grow up without family to help you along."

William "Hastings" Norwood "I was eleven when I was hitched, not five," he pointed out, "i certainly did have them when I was growing up."

Eliza Barnes "But not through adolescence at all." I say as I sit down and sip on my cocktail. "But then if you don't feel obligated to talk to me, even after meeting Charles, then why are we talking with each other?" I pose the same question to you as you did to me.

William "Hastings" Norwood "Because, I don't like eating in my room and I'd feel weird if I stood here in silence whilst you babbled on," he replied.

Eliza Barnes I nod and take another sip of my cocktail. "So then, how are we going to change it then, unless you want to talk to me, or rant."

William "Hastings" Norwood "Dunno," he replied, "as I said–there's nothing for me to say."

Eliza Barnes I nod and keep sipping my cocktail periodically.

William "Hastings" Norwood "So...Roger said I ran away," he said after a minute.

Eliza Barnes I nod. "And I asked why. I could tell right away that you were a runaway because all of us have that same, lost look in our eyes."

William "Hastings" Norwood He hesitated for another five minutes before saying, "I didn't run away. Not ever. I never intentionally left them."

Eliza Barnes I glance at you curiously, wanting to hear the rest of this story.

William "Hastings" Norwood He didn't elaborate and finished the plate.

Eliza Barnes "Maybe this derives from what Charles said while we were out for that walk there a few weeks back, and I'm stressing from what he said."

William "Hastings" Norwood "What'd he say?"

Eliza Barnes I take a breath. "He was talking about Roger's past, how he's had the same behaviour with everyone else he's been with. And I don't want to believe Charles for one second, thinking that I'm just like everyone else Roger has dated to "experiment" with his sexuality. But, I wanted to try and bring the three of you together to prove Charles wrong, to show him that I am different, but what if I'm not different Liam? Will I get left behind like everyone else?" I didn't realize it, but finally talking about the situation and how stressful it was, I started to cry.

William "Hastings" Norwood He looked at her, feeling kind of awkward, "uh..." he drifted off as he watched her, "maybe you should trust Roger...? Like ask him?"

Eliza Barnes "I do want to talk to him about it, for sure." I nod, wiping away my tears. "Sorry, I didn't mean to rant to you about all of this, I've been bottling it up inside for a long time, and I just needed to let it out."

William "Hastings" Norwood He slowly blinked at her, "uh huh," he said slowly.

Eliza Barnes "Now I've shared what's stressing me out. And now it's your turn."

William "Hastings" Norwood "I don't have any stress," he replied, "funnily enough, I'm not that bothered by anything, not anymore anyway. Apathy is my middle name."

Eliza Barnes I finish off my cocktail, glancing at the fire.

William "Hastings" Norwood "You know," he said, "if you all die and I'm taken by the cult...i suppose I would mourn you."

Eliza Barnes "Nah, no one would miss me. Except Roger, probably."

William "Hastings" Norwood "I just said I would," h replied.

Eliza Barnes "But what have I done to earn that? Nothing that important.."

William "Hastings" Norwood "Oh will you just say thanks!"

Eliza Barnes "Alright, thank you." I glance at you. "So then, curious question, you drink?

William "Hastings" Norwood "Nothing fancy like that," he said eyeing her drink, "anything straight from the bottle."

Eliza Barnes I nod. "For me, depends what mood I'm in, depends on what I'll drink."

William "Hastings" Norwood "I'm not that picky," he said with a shrug.

Eliza Barnes I chuckle. "I don't think anyone is."

William "Hastings" Norwood "There's two of them, you know," he said, "Katherine and a guy named Gabriel. De Lightly. Siblings."

Eliza Barnes I nod. "Well, we know Katherine has her eyes on you. Know anything about the brother?"

Liam Hastings - The Thorn

He shrugged, "as much as we know about Katherine, I suppose," he said, "the kingdoms did something to them. They...never said it to me, but they made it obvious. This is more than wanting equality...they have some sort of vendetta. A personal one." Character's Bio Child of the flames Age: 17 Height: 6"0 Weight: Sexuality Bisexual Relationship Status: Single Birth Place: Ireland Main Weapon: Fire powers Accent: mix of Irish and Russian Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves. Personality {{{personality}}}

Posted On: {{{2}}} by TimeLord15

Eliza Barnes "Between all four of us..." I think for a moment.

William "Hastings" Norwood He looked at her weirdly, "what? No, against the elementrium. I don't think they particularly care about any of us."

Eliza Barnes "Are you sure about that?" I ask, drumming my fingers against my now empty glass.

William "Hastings" Norwood "If they did," he paused as he thought through his words, "then they would have done something by now. They wouldn't have ignored us."

Eliza Barnes "Perhaps they're planning, Liam. We have to be ready for whatever could be coming."

William "Hastings" Norwood He shrugged, "I suppose we do."

Eliza Barnes I grab my jacket. "Need to head out for some air, I'll be back soon." I slip on my jacket and close the door.