Time Skip: 1 Year Later
A knock came at the door as Liam was playing with Lukas and the new pet wolf, Snowball. Most of the time he doesn't really look like a snowball...
"I'll get it!" Liam called through the house, "Watch over Lukas, Snowball." he tells the wolf, standing up.
"Hello, how can- oh, hey Freddie." Liam grins, looking up to see a familiar face.
"Hey Liam. Meet Jack, my brother." Fred grins, introducing his younger brother. Liam looks down to his height to see a black haired, grey eyed boy trying to hide behind Fred.
"Hey Jack. It's nice to meet you." he smiles, giving him a wave.
"Hey.." Jack mutters, finding a sudden interest in the ground. Boy, this guy's pretty shy. Wonder if I can get anything out of him? Liam questioned in his thoughts as he moved away from the door and held an arm out into his home.
"Come on in, you two." Liam invited them in.
"Who is it?" Kelly asks, coming from her art room. Her dirty blonde hair was etched with red paint on the tips and her stormy grey eyes were soft as always. They never rained.
"Fred and his little brother Jack."
"I'd like to chat with you and your husband, ma'm." Fred tells Kelly, who nods.
"Just let me clean up. Aiden will be back in a few minutes. He's gone to get some wood." Kelly replied, motioning to the paint on her hands and arms. Liam gave a high-pitched giggle. Although boys don't really giggle, well, Liam is one. He liked to see his mother like that.
"Want to play with Lukas?" Liam asks Jack. Jack gave a shy nod, and Liam went back to Lukas's room, where he was still trying to figure out how to put the square block into the circle hole. "Tell me a little about yourself." Liam began, wanting to start a conversation as he took a seat next to Lukas.
"Well, uh... My name's Jackson, but everyone calls me Jack... I'm 6... uh..." Jack seemed to struggle with his words. Liam was about to ask a question to help out, but the black-headed boy spoke up once again, "I would like to just take care of my own family when I grow up. Small garden, go get wood, go mine, you know what I mean?"
"What about hunting?"
"I don't really like meat all that much. I prefer bread, apples, carrots, mushroom stew..."
"You actually LIKE mushroom stew? That stuff tastes like mushrooms and mud!" Liam gagged, pretending to vomit.
"It's actually pretty good. Plus, how would you know what mud tastes like?" Jack asks, motioning towards his new friend.
"Funny story, actually. Snowball here, decided to shove me into the dirt when it was raining out. Let's say I lost my appetite for a few days." Liam playfully glared at the wolf at his feet. Jack laughs. Liam laughs along, happy to be helping Jack a little bit. Jack opened his mouth to say something else, but there was a conversation going on outside. The two boys looked at each other.
"Have you heard of the Ocelots?" they overheard through the door.
"The Ocelots?" Liam asks Jack.
"A small group of builders who win most of the Endercon Building Contests they hold." Jack explained. Both of the boys left Lukas to keep playing with his toys and Snowball, and they put their ears against the door, careful not to open it and reveal what they've been hearing about.
"Yes, we have. They seem like pleasant people." Aiden answered Fred.
"My parents would like to recruit your son for his bravery in fighting the monsters a few months ago, along with my brother."
"What?" Liam asks in a whisper, unable to believe what they are saying.
"That's a huge opportunity for the family... We'll take it." Kelly nods.
Liam looks down. He saw all the pieces fitting together... Just a few weeks ago, he overheard his father and his mother talking about how risky he's becoming. Talking about how he's just going out in the middle of the night to slay monsters, how he's going to mine at such a young age... Liam doesn't want to stop doing that. He wants to become a great person in Minecraftia. Not a hero, just a great person that has their own story, embedded into the pages of legend. Just like the Order of the Stone.
"Why..." he whispers to himself.
"Are you okay?" Jack asks, looking at him.
"Why do my parents just want me around to hold the family while they watch after Lukas... I'm barely even a teenager!"
"Calm down!" Jack tells him, as he put his hand to Liam's mouth to muffle his voice. Jack listened for a sign that told him the others didn't hear Liam. "What are you going to do?" he asks, removing his hand once he knew the coast was clear
"I'm gonna see how I do in the tryouts. If holding the family up means holding Lukas up, I'm all in for it. I'll do anything to keep my brother safe and sound." Liam looks at his baby brother next to him. Lukas had finally gotten the square block into the right place, and he made a little round of applause for himself, laughing and giggling. Liam smiled. He knew Lukas would be a lot better than himself. A lot better.
