#Rowan O'Shay

[boomstickscribbles]

Tree houses

So I have a thing for scars on my characters, they tell a story. I love coming up with how they might’ve acquired them and since both Rhys and Rowan’s face claims (Zach Roerig and Josh Dallas respectively) have scars on their faces I wanted to write a little flash thing about how the O’Shay brothers might’ve gotten theirs.

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"There’s nothin’ to be scared of…" Pulling himself up into the tree the eldest of the two brothers, only 13, hauled himself up onto the platform he’d spent the last few days building from scraps of the old fence posts and boards their father had been replacing around the boundaries of the ranches’ individual paddocks. "C’mon Rhys!" Rowan couldn’t help the disappointment in his expression when his little brother shook his head, kicking at one of the roots of the tree anxiously. “It’s awful high up…” "That’s the point doofus." Standing up Rowan, his the same sandy ash blonde hair as his brother pointed out into the distance. "You can see all the way to the lake from up here, and that way’s home. You can see the whole ranch. It’s awesome." Dropping back down onto his knees he leaned over the edge, a hand extended to his brother. Rowan wasn’t scared of heights in the slightest, he’d learned to fly before he was Rhys’ age after all, heights where kinda his thing. Rhys on the other hand hadn’t started to manifest any abilities at all yet, the nine year old the normal kid that Rowan had always wished he could be. He could see that his brother was beginning to cave from the way he kept glancing up and chewing his lip industriously as if having some big internal debate with himself. Finally Rhys gave in, scrambling clumsily up the tree’s limbs before grabbing Rowans hand to help pull him up over the edge and onto the platform. "So what do you think? It’s awesome right? I’m gonna put a roof on it so we can come up here even if it’s raining! Cool huh?" "It’s… very high. Are you sure it’s safe?" "Yeah you said that. And of course it is. See?" Standing again the older boy started to bounce. The whole platform and the branches supporting it shaking in time with his bouncing. "Roooow! Stop it!" The younger sibling clung to the trunk of the tree, having positioned himself against it since it was the closest to the center he could get. "I can hear cracking!" "It’s not cracking. See!? Totally soli-" He didn’t even get the word out before with one almighty and very definite crack the platform disintegrated beneath the brothers, taking most of the branches and the two boys with it. "You could've gotten your brother killed! You could’ve broken your neck!" Rowan wasn’t sure what caused him to wince more, the rag soaked in antiseptic his mother was pressing against his chin, the wrist that was now strapped up against his chest or her scolding. "Stupid boy! You’re not invulnerable!" He knew she didn’t mean it, knowing just how freaked out their mother was by the fact her children could be injured and apparently hadn’t inherited her invulnerability along with the other abilities that Rowan at least had begun to develop. She was stern but her bright hazel eyes had always been caring, no matter how much she told her children off, there was no doubting how much she cared for them. Sat at the kitchen table, his mother on a chair in front of him Rowan could see his brother and father out of the corner of his eye, Rhys apparently getting the same lecture about not climbing trees, or possibly about not letting his big brother get him into trouble. Rowan could see the gash on his brothers top lip that matched the one on his own chin, both boys covered in various other little cuts and bruises from their fall as well as more than a few splinters their parents still hadn’t managed to dig out but if the pain in Rowan’s jaw was anything to go by, they’d both be stuck with reminders of what a dumbass the eldest O’Shay brother really could be.