Connor kept sleeping, cuddled up to Wilhelm with an arm still thrown around the German boy's waist.
Pheasant Brook (O/O with Icarus!)
Wilhelm checked the time. He let out a quiet, content breath, shifting a bit to get more comfortable.
After a while, Connor finally awoke again, eyes slowly cracking open as he peeked up at Wilhelm through his lashes.
Wilhelm didn’t notice Connor waking up, now that he was finally focused on his book. He ran a hand through his hair and yawned.
Connor realized that his arm was around Wilhelm's waist still, and he cautiously pulled his arm away, stretching.
Wilhelm looked over, finally realizing Connor head woken up. “Good morning.. did you sleep alright?” He set the book down on his lap.
Connor let out a sleepy groan, rolling onto his back and stretching again. "Mmph. Slept fine." he mumbled in reply, voice slurred and sleepy.
“Well, that’s good to hear.” Wilhelm laughed softly, finding that he adored Connor’s half-awake speech. He sat up fully now, clasping his fingers behind his neck.
Connor grumbled, curling back into the blankets. "Wh' time 's 't?" he asked, accent stronger, as it usually was in the mornings.
Wilhelm looked at the clock on his bedside table. “Oh, 7:30, roughly. Not too late.”
He sighed. "Please tell me tha' this place dinnae have some sort o' required church or somethin'."
“No, no. Strongly recommended, yes, but not compulsory.” Wilhelm reassured him, cracking his neck as he talked.
"Oh good." he replied, stretching again and sitting up on his elbow. "Ah've had eno' o' church."
“I can’t agree more. God, church back home is a nightmare.” Wilhelm laughed, rubbing his eyes. “That’s one good thing about being here, though- they don’t make you go to services.”
"Yeah. M' uncle always made me go. A' least, on th' days when th' bruisin' wasnae too bad." he replied with a shug, running a hand through his hair.
Wilhelm gritted his teeth. “I’m sorry.” He drummed his fingers on the cover of his book. “How were you raised? Religion-wise, I mean.”
"Catholic." he replied with another shrug, leaning back against the pillows and letting out a slow breath. "You?"
“Lutheran. Never believed it, but hey.” Wilhelm stretched again, leaning his back against the headboard and crossing his arms. His head lolled to the side slightly. “It is what it is, I suppose.”
He shrugged a little bit. "Ah stopped believin' when ah was about…ten, probably."
(So for the year…I did the math, and the earliest this could take place and still work for Connor's backstory is 1924…is that alright with you?)
(yeah, it works great! i was thinking about the same time!)
“Yeah.” Wilhelm took a breath. “I think I never really believed, but I completely quit only a few years ago. Age 15 or so, I think. The minister said some fucked up things that just turned me off of religion, full stop.” Wilhelm sighed, shrugging.
(alright perfect! Thanks!)
"Ah stopped after…" His eyes flickered away. "No' important. Jus' some shit." He shrugged his shoulders. He wanted to ask what the minister said, but didn't want to intrude on Wilhelm's privacy.
A look of concern briefly crossed Wilhelm’s face, but he didn’t pry. “Sure, sure. It happens.”
He bit his lip for a moment, sighing softly. He wasn't ready to talk about what had happened to his mother. Not yet, anyways. He didn't know Wilhelm that well yet, and he didn't want to start crying in front of the German boy.
Wilhelm moved the blanket off of himself. He glanced outside, at the damp grass, the night’s storm still lingering in pools where the earth dipped. “God, it really rained last night, didn’t it?”
He laughed a little. "Yeah. Could go swimmin' taday. Or, if yer brave, skinny dippin' in th' dark." He grinned mischievously.
“I’m brave, Connor, but not nearly that brave.” Wilhelm admitted, a smile on his lips. “There is a small pond on the edge of campus, though. Maybe if it dries off later in the day I’ll go down. Not to swim, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, you know?”
Connor laughed. "Mhm." He replied. "Oh! That sounds lovely. M' ma used to say that the faeries used ponds as swimmin' pools." He shrugged his shoulders.
“Swimming pools, huh? That’s cute.” Wilhelm smiled faintly. “The closest I ever got to something like that was when my brothers would tell me how ponds were just places for snakes to hide.” He laughed, thinking back on the pond near his grandparents’ house, the one where he had been pushed in countless times.
He laughed. "Ah'm an only child, an' there are lots o' faery stories in Scotland. An' m' ma told me all of 'em." He replied with a smile.
“That’s fair, that’s fair.” Wilhelm raised his palms in defeat, not wanting get into any sort of back-and-forth. “Would you like to join me if I go to the pond? I can’t promise it’ll be interesting for you, as I’ll just talk your ear off about plants, but my offer still stands.”