[PRP] The key to success (Shiloh & Liam)

[Melancholies]

"Vivien, huh..." He tasted the name on his tongue. Something seemed vaguely familiar about the name, but then not at the same time—definitely didn't seem like someone whose bad side you wanted to be on. "Noor? You okay?" His shaking breath and sheer exertion wasn't lost on Shiloh, at least.

"We can take a break from all the teachin'—learnin'—teachin' stuff if you're too old to keep up." He shifted back and forth on the couch, homing in on the cocoa with the intent to finish it off. He was being playful, but the teasing was still there—serves him right for making him tap dance. "And just talk, or something." He took a long sip, like someone taking an extended drag off of a cigarette.

"Tell me a crazy story or somethin'." He seemed to be having a good time.

Silverah

 

[Silverah]

"Yeah," agreed Liam, sipping his cocoa. "A break's in order."

He looked at Shiloh, considering all the possibilities - and then grinned wickedly. "So, in my youth, I was what you kids would call... a s**t kicker. As in, a version of you called me that once, thirty seconds before we were chucked in the back of a police van for obstructing traffic during an AIDS demonstration."

"Renard bailed us out. Showed up at the precinct in sparkly pink eyeshadow and a winter coat."

He laughed, a little bit misty-eyed.

"They were hard times. But we had fun."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"We got arrested?!" Shiloh absolutely gawked at this fact, "Holy s**t, I was a ********' badass." Something about the story felt nostalgic in the way that he could totally see himself getting caught in that situation, despite it not actually being him. The vicarious experience was an enjoyable one, but it was saddening too; Shiloh felt somber. They weren't his memories and that wasn't him, but the way Liam spoke with such a genuine fondness.

He regretted it, in a way. When was the last time someone actually told him they were proud of him? He couldn't recall. At least that him was out there actively trying to make a difference, even though he supposed he was trying to make a difference now.

Maybe they weren't so different.

"It sounds nice, in a way." He swirled the cocoa around in the mug, staring down at it with the faint tinges of a smile still. After deliberating, he spoke up again, "It doesn't weird you out talking to me like this? Like, knowing all the other "Shilohs", I mean. You don't miss the first one?"

A pause, "Sorry, guess that's kinda invasive."

Silverah

 

[Silverah]

Liam hesitated - and then he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling into wrinkles he hadn't always had. "Yes, but... I think of this as an opportunity. To give you a better outcome."

He didn't seem like he was going to explain.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh considered this for a moment. He didn't want to be contrary or argue, but, "I thought you said I turned out alright." His voice was a little soft, sort of somber, "Grew up, moved out, that sorta thing."

He continued to swish the cocoa around.

"What actually happened to Jamie 'n I?" He didn't make eye contact when he asked, because he fully expected for the question to be deflected. Why else would Liam be so hesitant?

Silverah

 

[Silverah]

Liam sighed. "You did grow up," he said. "You did move out. And you were alright. For a while."

He put his cocoa aside, folded his hands together across his lap.

"That life isn't yours," he said. "And I don't want to burden you with it."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"For a while, huh?"

For a second he was silent.

"You... really don't wanna talk about it, do you?" It gave him the impression that something bad happened. Something terrible. How would that burden him though? It wasn't like he'd know if Liam told him, but at the same time he worried about what it could have possibly been. In the same breath—

—it wasn't the same him. He couldn't hold himself accountable for actions that he didn't really commit.

"You said it yourself, though. That life isn't mine." He tilted his head, "It's... I wouldn't want that life back, even if it was something super awesome and great. I like the life I have now." His teeth gnawed at his lip for a moment, "I guess I'm just... curious is all." And stubborn, boy was he stubborn, but he was being stubborn in a polite way, at least. Pressing, but gentle. "Even if it was somethin' terrible. Maybe I could learn something from it." He shuffled his feet.

"But if you really don't wanna talk about it, then you can just tell me more funny stories instead." He cracked a tiny smile.

Silverah

 

[Silverah]

Liam looked pained. "Another time, perhaps," he said, the final S whistling through his teeth.

Then, he smiled wistfully. "You brought home a kitten once that you found in an alley," he said, "and infested the entire apartment with fleas. We could feel them jumping on the beds at night until Renard cooked up some truly noxious potion that chased them out... into the apartment downstairs, I later learned."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

He let it drop.

"...Christ, how much other stupid s**t did I do?" He laughed though, "I guess it's kinda funny that we're not all that different since I still do stupid s**t now." To an extent, anyway. Being a Noble and being a principal kept him a little more in line than it used to. Well, that and Jamie. "Did we keep the kitten?" He leaned forward "What'd we name it? Oh my god how pissed were the people downstairs?"

Silverah

 

[Silverah]

"Sir Percival Paws Pouncington the third," replied Liam, a smile crossing his lips. "Though I believe the number was simply an affectation, and the knighthood honorary at best."

He chuckled. "I never heard the end of it from the neighbors. It made checking the mail quite harrowing - it required a lookout."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Oh my god." He snorted. It was nice to know he was just as creative now as he had been in the eighties. "I'd say sorry, but that's totally Renard's bad for putting the fleas downstairs." He would have nothing to do with it. "'Cause Percival was totally a knight. He was prolly going to become a king someday." Of this, Shiloh was sure.

The smile was still on his face when he went on. "Anyway, you have enough of a break? I wanna get back to the good stuff." The learning, teaching, training stuff anyway. "Teach me something else." It was rare to see Shiloh actually enthusiastic about learning.

Silverah

ftb with more Learning(tm)?