Macho-Man William [Matthew]

[Atawhai Kirkland]

Atawhai let out a tired sigh. She finished work early today and was taking her sheep, William out for a walk. He didn't need a leash because he was a good, smart sheep most of the time. Atawhai also had to be with him because he had a horrible sense of direction and could get lost in a matter of minutes. Not only that, but he had a thing against other males. Atawhai didn't even know what triggered his hatred towards men, and she was his owner.
"Habba... habba babba." The sheep bleated, looking up at his owner, then looking at a guy Atawhai had never met. he looked quite a bit like Alfred, but his hair was different, and he was dressed a lot nicer than him.
William looked up at Atawhai, and immeadiately noticed her eyes on that man.
He didn't like that one bit. That man could hurt his dear owner! With one swift tug, he managed the leash out of Atawhai's unaware grasp and ran towards the man. It didn't take Atawhai too long to realise William was running towards another unsuspecting guy. She started to run after her protective sheep. She was very close to grabbing hold of his leash, but unfortunately not close enough as William headbutted the man's stomach.
"Ah jeez!" Atawhai said to the sky while running to the man now laying on the ground.
Some guys sighed in relief that William didn't headbutt them today, while other's shook their heads in a 'been there, done that' sort of way. Overall, it was a fairly normal occurance in the Lowlands, it was something a Highlander didn't have to expirience. Hell, Atawhai saved a Highlander from William once. Too bad she couldn't of done the same for this one.
She started to scold William and then she remembered the highlander who was laying down, and probably in a lot of pain.
"Are you okay? I am so sorry my sheep rammed you!" She said, sitting down next to the man.

[goldfiiish]

Matthew decided for the first time in his life to step out of his protective home in the highlands to head down to the lowlands. There was no particular reason, but recently he had been curious about the world outside of his house. The lowlands were something he hadn't experienced before, so he wondered what they were like.

This was the morning he chose to wake up and board a train heading to the lowlands for the day. The train car was empty so he spent most of the time looking out the window. The scenery was a bit different than he expected, but he found it interesting still. At the trains first stop in the lowlands, Matthew got off. He didn't really know where he was, but he thought he could figure it out. Matthew pondered for a moment if he really did get off at the right stop. With a shrug, he dismissed the thought and started to walk around.

After an hour of walking, Matthew had no idea where he was. He rubbed his face with a sigh. How did he get here? He glanced around on the street looking for a sign or something to help him figure it out, he wished he brought the map that was lying on his kitchen table. A weird noise snapped Matthew out of his thoughts He turned around to see the weirdest looking creature in the world charging toward him at full speed. He didn't have enough time to react as it's face collided with his stomach. The sheer force of the sheep threw him to the ground.

"M-maple..." Matthew breathed out and clutched his stomach. He rolled onto his side and took a few shaky, deep breaths. This was nothing he couldn't handle. A woman sat down next to him and asked him how he was, and apparently owned the sheep. "I'm... I'll be fine." Matthew mumbled. "... Is your, um, sheep okay?" He pushed himself into a sitting position. He hoped the sheep was okay. The last time something rammed into him, it broke a tooth on his belt buckle and Matthew had to pay the owner to get it fixed. "I-I hope it's okay..."

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"Dude, he's fine." Atawhai said while glaring at William. "He does this all the time. Seriously, are you sure you're okay? He's rammed me before, and I know it hurts." She said, clutching her own stomach, while looking straight at the man before her. Now upon closer inspection, his eyes were violet. Nothing like Alfred's eyes.
William noticed how upset Atawhai was with him after he rammed the man. He felt regret, and a slight bit of pity for him. He was just trying to keep Atawhai safe like Hoa told him to! Hoa also told him to keep her happy, but she only looked upset and concerned. That was far from happy.
"Habba Babba?" William bleated at Atawhai, to which Atawhai nodded. William then proceeded to lay next to the man with his head bowed.
"He's sorry." Atawhai murmmur softly, not believing her eyes. All her life, she knew William as the 'No Regrets' sort of sheep. This man must've triggered something different in William's brain! Atawhai hoped it had to do with common sense, she really dide.

[goldfiiish]

"I'm... I'm fine." Matthew replied slowly. He would be eventually, at least. The woman looked at him straight in the eyes, startling Matthew. He shifted his gaze to the ground.

The sheep laid down next to Matthew and lowered his head. Matthew blinked at it and glanced at the owner. The sheep was sorry? Sheep's were capable of feeling regret? Well, at least he learned something today instead of it being a waste of his time. "It's fine..." He reached his hand out to pet it, but changed his mind, he wasn't sure if it bit so it was best to just leave it be.

Matthew rubbed his stomach lightly. "Um, do you know how to get to..." It dawned on him that he had no idea what he really was looking for. He didn't exactly walk in with a plan. "... What's fun to do in the lowlands?" He nodded his head. That was what he was looking for, he wasn't sure if he worded it well though.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"Well," Atawhai smiled and got up "There's clubbing, but you don't seem like the clubbing type. What does fun mean to you?" She asked and helped him up. Then, it came to her. If he's a Highlander, which he most likely is, then why was he here in the Lowlands? It's potentially dangerous for his kind to be around here, but do Highlanders ever listen to the warnings? Goes into one ear, comes out the other. What if she was a deranged killer or something!?

Atawhai eventually calmed her mind and looked at the man again. She didn't even know his name yet, and she was already mentally scolding him.
"What's your name?" She asked while kneeling down to grab William's leash. As soon as Atawhai stood up with the leash in her hand, William bleated quietly, stood up on his hind legs and walked around his owner impatiently.

He knew he did wrong, but now his owner was going to show some random guy around? Atawhai was too nice for her own good sometimes. What if he was a date rapist or something!? He started mumbling again while looking straight ahead. William was most definitely going with them, wherever they decided to go. just to keep his Atawhai safe and sound.

[goldfiiish]

What does fun mean to him? He never really thought about it. He liked cleaning, he thought that was fun. But if he wanted to clean he wouldn't have bothered leaving his house. He didn't do very much, the last time he had a lot of fun doing something other than cleaning and cooking, he was barely ten. Matthew pondered this for a moment as the girl held a hand out to him. He took it without really thinking about it, finding her very friendly, and she helped him onto his feet. He was still a bit wobbly from the blow and his knees felt like they would collapse on him, but he managed to stand on his own. "Well, um, what's a club like?" He asked, a bit quieter than he meant.

"I'm... I'm Matthew Williams." He replied back, adding his last name on out of habit. "And you are?" The woman seemed like a nice person, which was different than what he had heard about the lowlands. Matthew noticed his glasses were a bit smudged, so he took them off his face and rubbed them off with his shirt. When he put them back on, he didn't understand what he was looking at. The sheep that had rammed into him was walking on it's hind legs. How does a sheep manage to do that? His jaw dropped slightly. "Your... your sheep is walking." Matthew stated, extremely confused.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"Weeeell... a club is basically a place where you go to dance, get drunk, start a fight and get some cheap company for the night. You've never been to one?" Atawhai looked at him like he turned into a unicorn. There were hardly any people around he age who didn't go clubbing. He was... he was like a saint or something. A very innocent-looking saint.

"The name's Atawhai, Atawhai Kirkland." She smiled and then looked at her sheep.
"He's a bit different. He's a lot smarter than normal sheep." She then lifted William up and kept him close. "An oddball sheep for an oddball girl." She murmured quietly and petted William in a caring way. William was the only thing that actually cared about her. No one was there for her once Hoa left, except for William.

She almost forgot about Matthew, until William bleated again. The tone his bleat had was a tone that a father would used to reluctantly let his daughter do something. Right, be upset about not having a human family later, entertain Highlander now. She looked up at Matthew again.
"Matthew, what do you like to do? I reccommend something from your interests." Atawhai smiled softly and put down William. There wasn't a lot to do in the Lowlands, but there at least was something to do.

[goldfiiish]

"Getting drunk and fighting? That... that sounds dangerous..." Matthew mumbled. "I've never been to one before..." And he really didn't ever want to by what they sounded like... Well, maybe once for the experience. Judging by look on her face, he had said something weird, which got him worried.

"N-nice to meet you, Atawhai." Matthew said still somewhat distracted by the sheep. "It... it definitely seems, um... special." He mumbled, tilting his head to the side.

When the sheep bleated again, Matthew tensed and his heart rate picked up. This was probably the weirdest experience he had ever had in his life time. What do I like to do...? Matthew thought about it. He liked being in his house, but it wasn't really fun. "I-I don't really do anything." He said quietly, more to himself that to Atawhai. What did he do other than clean, cook and study. "...I like pancakes." He blurted out stupidly. That worked with, well let's see, nothing. He sighed and slumped his shoulders, feeling a bit embarrassed.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"That's because it is dangerous," Atawhai shrugged. She'd been in a bar fight before, it wasn't exactly fun for her, but it was a good way to get some exercise and some phone numbers from girls and young boys. "some people find danger to be a lot fun."

Atawhai continued to look straight at Matthew, even though he avoided eye-contact and just looked anti-social. This behavior was statring to bother her a little, as she thought all Highlanders were proud. When she barely heard him saying he liked pancakes, Atawhai frowned. This man had no pastimes? No hobbies that didn't include chores?

"Matthew, what are you waiting for? You have your whole life ahead of you, and what have you done? School doesn't teach you how to live your life to the fullest, man." Atawhai said plainly, looking straight at him. She meant every word that came out of her mouth. One thing she hated to see was people that didn't enjoy life, something that should be enjoyed. Atawhai just shook her head and looked at him, her once cheerful light green eyes filled with pity and saddness.

"Friend, you must dig deep here... what makes you smile? What fills you with happiness and warmth?"

[goldfiiish]

Danger equaled fun? That seemed a bit... irrational... Matthew decided Atawhai must have been a brave person to find things like that fun.

Matthew felt the piercing gaze of Atawhai staring at him, probably finding him odd. He really tried to be normal... Her lecture hit him like a ton of bricks, it was short, but to the point. What was he waiting for to get his life started? He felt like he needed to get someone's okay to move on with his life, like it was wrong of him to enjoy anything when he had so many things he didn't deserve. Happiness and warmth were things he didn't really like letting himself feel because he shouldn't be feeling them, right?

"Dig deep..." He repeated to himself. What used to make him feel warm was a topic that he didn't need to get into in front of a stranger. This really didn't seem important to him, but it seemed like Atawhai found it to be. "It's not really..." He started then sighed. "I've never bothered to figure it out." He mumbled with a shrug.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

Atawhai looked at him again and shook her head. It was fine if he didn't want to share, she was just a low-class stranger. She was asking him so he could maybe realize what he likes, she wasn't asking just to waste time. "I'll tell you what makes me happy." she smiled and started walking. She stopped and looked back at him.

"Don't just stand there, follow me!" She said, with an urge to add that someone was going to kidnap him if he didn't come with her. Once they were both walking together, Atawhai looked over at him just to make sure he was still there. Sometimes it just felt like he wasn't there. Like he was invisible. It looked like he wanted to be invisible, too, what with his body language.

"What makes me happy is... seeing people smile. A nice, genuine smile. That's why I'm being so persistant with you, Matthew. I want to see you happy. Meeting you was like meeting a distant cousin. I may not know you too well, but I do care about you." Atawhai said happily, and then regretted the last part. 'I do care about you'... Oh God, he was probably thinking she was some sort of creep. Atawhai's cheeks reddened for the first time in a long time. Matthew not only triggered something in William, but also triggered femininity in Atawhai. She knew she didn't care about Matthew like someone cares about a lover, but he could think she meant in that way. Which would most likely scare the guy.

"Wh-what I meant was..." Atawhai stuttered, but then sighed. She had been defeated. "It's no use. You probably think I'm some kinda creeper, huh? I'm sorry."

[goldfiiish]

Matthew watching her, not saying anything and unsure of whether to follow not. Apparently he was supposed to go with her. He jogged to catch up with her, but as they continued to walk she kept giving him glances as if to check something.

See him being happy? Matthew shouldn't be happy. He had ruined things, too many things. He couldn't even find himself to be on a level of person who deserved respect. He spoiled himself even though he deserved to not even have a house. He was too selfish to be happy. She cared about him? Matthew's breath caught in his throat. It was probably nothing to get worked up over, but he just felt weird about it, like someone thought of him as something important. He shook the feeling quickly. She probably didn't really mean it like that anyway.

"No." Matthew replied quickly. She didn't seem like a creeper. He was interested in what she had to say, but didn't think it really applied to him. "No, you don't seem like a creep. I know creeps, they don't usually ask questions." Matthew stated in complete honesty.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"Really? You don't think I'm creepy?" Atawhai asked, very surprised "That's great. I guess I should clarify what I mean, huh?" She said and sighed in relief. What did she mean? She though about it for a bit, then came up with the perfect explanation, or so she thought.

"I care about you as if you were family. If you wanted pancakes, and I had a stack, I'd give you more than half without second thoughts. If you were ever homeless, I'd take you into my home whether you liked it or not. I care about family a lot." She nodded and put her hands in her pockets. At this point, William was mimicking Atawhai because he grew bored. He nodded and put his hoofs in his wool. He was starting to like this Matthew fellow, he seemed nice. If he visited the Lowlands again, William made a promise to himself that he wouldn't ram into Matthew again. He decided that instead, he would maybe pet his shoe, or hold his hand. Or maybe he'd just act 'normal' and not freak the hell out of his owner's new friend.

Then, Atawhai noticed one of the reasons Matthew seemed invisible. He was slouching. Atawhai smiled and put a hand on Matthew's back, and then one on his shoulder, and made him stand up straight. She muttered "Don't be invisible, I won't see you if you're invisible." And gave him a little smile. A little, genuine smile.

"So, tell me about yourself, Matthew. Since, you're my new cousin 'n all." Atawhai said in a happy tone, looking straight ahead.

[goldfiiish]

Matthew had been looking at her, but as she continued to speak his gaze drifted to the ground. Hearing someone say a thing like that made him feel a bit embarrassed. She thought too highly of him, he was going to let her down, he just knew it. There was no way he could be worth what she was saying.

Matthew jumped slightly when Atawhai suddenly placed a hand on his back and another on his shoulder. She then proceeded to straighten his back. He forgot he needed to stop slouching... He noticed her small smile and a warm feeling made it's way through his chest. It was such a nice smile, Matthew felt himself grinning back.

Tell Atawhai about himself? Matthew wasn't sure what to tell her. He didn't have anything interesting to say about himself without just dumping his life onto this girl he had just met. He hadn't even been doing anything with his life for so many years there wasn't much to tell. "I don't think there's anything important about me..." He mumbled with a shrug.

"If we're 'cousins', I wouldn't mind hearing about yourself though." He suggested, glancing back down at her. "I understand not wanting to though..."

[Atawhai Kirkland]

He did it. He smiled. Atawhai's mission was complete, but she didn't want to leave just yet, he did ask about her. It would be rude to decline.

"Well..." Atawhai thought for a moment, as a sad smile formed. "I'll start from the beginning. I was the love child of a sailor and a factory worker. They never married because they were both poor. One day, when I was still a baby, they didn't wake up. I was nestled between them, left to die. Luckily, a woman came into the house- I think she was a friend of my mother's- and she found me. From that day on, I was raised by her. She never told me her name, she said to call her 'Hoa', which means friend in some dead language. She named me Atawhai, which means 'kindness' and 'caring' in that same language." Atawhai paused and looked at Matthew, who was probably bored by now. "Am I boring you, Matthew? I can stop right there if you like."

Atawhai truly thought her story was a boring one. There was no love interest, no action, nothing interesting like that. It was just her, losing everyone who took care of her, and a lot of farming. It was just a waste of breath to re-tell. Her story wasn't a miracle, or a work of art. It was the story of a simpleton, who cared about it anyways? Atawhai didn't care. Or maybe she did. She didn't really know these days. What was her point, anyways? Survival?

'No, no, Atawhai. You are kindness, you are caring. Please don't stray.'

Atawhai looked back up at Matthew and smiled. She was kindness, she was caring. She would not stray.

[goldfiiish]

Her parents were dead too? Matthew wondered if he could have turned out as happy as her if he had tried harder. The meaning of Atawhai seemed very fitting of the woman. This complete stranger was acting kind and caring towards him though they barely knew each other. Matthew still didn't know why she was still there. He really thought Atawhai was just going to walk away. It was shocking to him when she asked him to come along with her.

"You aren't boring me." He said, trying to use the same amount of kindness in return to her, "You can stop whenever you feel like it, but I don't mind listening to whatever you have to say." Matthew felt a bit awkward looking her in face saying that, but seemed like something that he should do so he did. "It's a lot better than my life story anyway." He shifted his gaze back in front of them.

His story was too boring. It didn't even anything special in it, just the death of his whole family and him never truly getting over it. Matthew thought that he could really learn something from Atawhai, she had managed to achieve something he hadn't. Happiness. That was what made her life interesting to him.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"O-oh, uh... okay." Atawhai said, a little taken back by Matthew's sudden eye contact with her. She felt a slight blush on her face and hoped Matthew didn't notice. "Well.. uhm.. Hoa was really sick most of the time, so I never went to school. Instead, I was working at a farm to provide for Hoa and I. I started working at a farm at a really young age, like five or six. So that was pretty much my life up until my nineteenth birthday. By now, I had my own farm. On the day of my birthday, I came back from farming, and Hoa was gone. Then I saw two papers on the table that had designs on them." Atawhai stopped and pointed to her neck and calf tattoos. "There was a little note that said they were tattoo designs for me. It also said 'Please remember who you are, Atawhai'. I'm guessing she meant never change, but sometimes..." Atawhai trailed off and subconsciously wiped a tear from her eye.

She had been crying, and she didn't even notice.

Atawhai sniffed and touched her neck tattoo. She smiled, remembering her dearest Hoa. She knew Hoa was watching her along with her parents on that cloud island. She looked at Matthew and gave him a reassuring smile.
"I told you about myself, now can you tell me about youself?"

[goldfiiish]

Matthew glanced down at Atawhai. Tattoos? There was definitely more to this girl than meets the eye. When he looked back to her face, Matthew noticed she was crying, he immediately felt bad. He shouldn't have pried so far into someone else's life. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to keep talking." He mumbled and fiddled with his fingers.

Atawhai gave him a smile as if to say it was okay, but he still felt bad. "About myself..." He nodded slowly. Matthew had never told anyone his life, but it seemed fair for her to hear it. "I've never told anyone about myself before, it might come out weird." He warned before beginning.

"I grew up as my aunt and uncles adopted son. I had a twin brother and an older sister, but they lived with my biological parents. There wasn't any kind of awkwardness between though because we would spend a lot of time together. I lived in my twin's shadow a lot. Everyone always thought of me as him, 'Alfred this' and 'Alfred that'. Since I'm starting my life, I might as well mention I hated him for it. It was awful, I never felt important." He sighed at his confession. Matthew wish he hadn't felt that way, but he was young and that was what happened. "When... when I was ten... a maniac killed my whole family. I watched my mother die... I'm the only one who made it out alive..." He whispered out quietly. Why hadn't he died that day. Everyone else in his family had so much more potential, he didn't deserve to be the one telling that story.

(ugh, sorry, I couldn't get this to come out good)

[Atawhai Kirkland]

(It seems fine to me. :3)

"Alfred... he didn't die." Atawhai mumbled oh-so quietly to herself. She knew an Alfred. He looked almost identical to the man beside her. If she wanted Matthew to know, she would've said it louder, but she didn't want him to know.

He needed to find him.

Atawhai didn't want to be there when they reunited. She couldn't taint something so wonderful with her exsistance. That would just be rude. "We both lost who we cared about... and here I was, thinking that the Highlands was perfect." Atawhai said in a sad tone, looking at Matthew again. His story is too sad for the Highlands. It was worse than Atawhai's, definitely a story to tell. It was miracle, even.

"If you don't want to countinue, it's fine... we're already here." Atawhai said with a smile, stopping at the Lowland's park. She was childish at heart, since she never had a childhood to begin with. She skipped to the swings with a faux-happy air about her.

[goldfiiish]

Matthew was too busy in thought to notice Atawhai's reaction. He wasn't fully prepared for the emotion that story would bring to him. It felt awful. After all those years of caging it all up and trying not to think about what happened, it came out. He missed each and everyone of them with every piece in his being and there was no way to bring a single one of them back. But he kept his composure the best he could despite the raging emotion inside of him.

Atawhai brought him out of his moment of angst by saying that they had arrived. He surveyed the area. A park... it had been a while since he had gone to one of those. Matthew watched as Atawhai skipped ahead to the swings. How could she muster it up to look so happy? He wished that he could feel that way. "Parks are nice." He nodded and followed her. He placed himself down in a swing gently. It had been a while since he sat in one, it made him think of old childhood memories, which he dismissed quickly.