Liam Bryne

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[liamxbryne]

basic information

Age— 45 (08/13) Originally from—  Dublin, Ireland Previous job— Legionnaire - Captain Community job— Hunter / Outside security Living Arrangements —A cabin niched between the woods and the training yard / joined dec 2039 , left june 2042 , returned april 2043

Liam Bryne was born in Dublin to a modest family. His father was a teacher and his mother worked at a hotel nearby. His younger years, he spent a lot in the places nobody knew about at the hotel and the people there became some sort of extended family to him. There were no tragic events in his youth, and while he was not the best at school, he managed to stay away from most troubles. This would end when at 18 , his parents died in a car accident. It had been a harsh winter, the road was slippery, the car fell down a ravine. Liam survived but endured being with his parents for more than a day. He realized at the hospital how alone he was, how fast life could end and how lost he was. It took months for him to figure out what to do and get out of the grief enough to think of a future. He sold the house, he sold everything, and left. While Dublin had given him life, it had also taken his family, thus becoming a tomb to him.

He roamed through Europe for a while, trying to forget the accident, the smells, the pain. Liam tried to heal, but it seemed like the more he pushed it all away, the more it ate him. It came to the point where he decided to knock on that fateful iron gate in Paris. The emblem on the gate read “légion étrangère”  (foreign legion).  He had listened to people talking about it and felt compelled to give it a try. Their reputation was worldwide, respected and maybe feared by many, he did find a way in being a legionnaire. The training was intense to the point of him feeling physically sick, but it was also cathartic. For the first time since his family died, he felt like he belonged to this unit, brothers in arms. He would finish top of his class and go become a paratrooper.

By the time the virus hit, Liam acting captain was on a mission in South America. From the company a lot died within the first hours of contact. Long months followed; the orders last in were to go up to Canada. He was honestly not sure they would make it. In the end, only two remained by his side: Tessa and Brady. The trio eventually stumbled on Penny when Liam was wounded by savagers attacking. Even though he was injured, he put a lot of them down before collapsing. A fever struck and they stumbled on Redwood just in time to treat him. Showing the tough nature of being a Legionnaire, he was up and running before he should have. Honestly, he found hope in Redwood, and after discussing it with Tessa and Brady, they agreed that there wasn’t anyone to return to , probably. The radio had been still for a long time. So they joined, as hunters and protectors of the civilians.

They were on a hunting trip when the reavers attacked but managed still come back to defend Redwood. A lot of blood was shed by the legionnaires on that day, who then proceeded to give them a burial themselves. Liam disagreed with a lot of the Beckett’s decisions but kept his anger at bay thanks to Penny. That , sadly only lasted until a night around a bonefire and a revelation that would push him off a wrong end. After a violent fight with her, the day after, he decided to leave, not giving any explanation, not even to David with whom he had bonded closely. In fact, he left things sour with a lot of people as he left. Tessa decided to join him, while Brady decided to remain. It has been months now, but it seems that a familiar face is to make a return to Redwood.

Headcanons

Fluent in French, speaks it with Tessa and Brady . Uses it also for commands for Juno

Juno, his 2 years old malinois female has been trained by him to detect the dead, hunt and for biting. She is also impressive with jumping

Has anger issues linked to a possible PTSD but has found peace and calming techniques

Legionnaire to the bone and lives by its values

has large scars on his back , and one near his abdomen when he was wounded by savages

[liamxbryne]

You find a note attached to your front door. In lowercase letters it reads: you are the tunguska event.

Coming back from a hunting trip, Liam saw the note. At first, he thought it was just a note from Penny or David, but upon reading it, he face remained closed. He had vague knowledge of the event , so he took as a threat. He folded the note and looked around. The air felt somber. Instead of going home, he walked away , still looking around and went to David to explore what this could be.

[liamxbryne]

Are you still in love with Penny? Do you think you still have a chance with her?

I very much am.

We've been working on it for 18 months now, so the chance is ongoing, I'm just grateful for what she is willing to give me .

@pennykingstcn

[pennykingstcn]

Should things had been better between the two, Penny would've gasped and raved about the name. She remembered Mulan - a beautiful story told about a Princess saving her family by disguising herself as a man and, ultimately, gaining the respect she deserved by saving her people. It was one of Penny's favorites growing up. Matthew would groan every single time his sister would request to watch the movie but would surrender knowing Penny would be glued to the tv screen, leaving him alone for a good two hours.

Penny wanted to tell Liam all of this ... and she almost did until those hazel eyes glanced at her. The same ones that held such disgust not too long ago. "We'll take good care of him," she promised instead. Penny turned on her heel and began making her way out of the stable. "Do you have everything you need for Juno?" Despite the rough tone, it was a genuine question.

[liamxbryne]

There was a relief , that showed in his muscles relaxing a bit. "I do, thank you. " he replied. Though his cabin was probably full of spiderwebs and other critters, but hey. He took a second to think of if he should tell her now, he figured that since she wasn't just outright closing him off, he could say it. "I know it does not mean much now, but I'm sorry , for everything that happened that night and after. I never meant to hurt you, and left to avoid anything happening to you. " he swallowed hard. "When you want - if you ever want to ... we found it... and we brought stuff back... it's going to be safe at my cabin..." he was careful not to name the lab, or what he had brought back, you never knew who was listening, especially since he had give close to no answers as to the months being away.

[liamxbryne]

Do you think you'd like to join the council?

The council seems to operate just fine, I can advise if needed.

[pennykingstcn]

Seeing Liam again brought on a wave of emotions. Penny didn't know how to handle it. It also brought a bit of tunnel vision - she completely forgot about the horse and didn't see Juno. Averting her glare down to the pup, Penny bent down to greet her. "Hi Junie. You're as beautiful as ever." After Liam left, a gapping hole formed deep in her heart. His scent lingered; his voice, the sound of his breath as he fell asleep. When it all eventually evaporated, Penny found herself mourning for the loss of Juno shortly after. Sure, she had Riley to help, but the pit was nowhere near as trained as the Malinois.

Getting to her feet, Penny sighed. "Follow me," she instructed, turning on her heel to make her way back to the stables. Thankfully there were a few open enclosures left - but if anymore new horses came, there would have to be conversations.

She flicked on the lights. Almost immediately she was greeted with multiple horse heads popping out from the gates. "Newbie coming through guys. And he's a big boy so be on your best behavior." Talking to the horses like they were people wasn't uncommon for Penny; they helped her sanity. "The last stall is good for him. It's a little bigger than the rest." She opened the gate, avoiding eye contact with Liam as much as possible.

[liamxbryne]

Liam wasn't sure what he preferred, the outburst of anger or the this cold shoulder. He used the dog to just observe Penny. The little changes since the last time he had seen her. Juno was just happy to have the attention, after all this was her mommy too. She gave Penny some licks and whines and gave her booty for some scratches. He knew it would take time, and he hoped they had time, because all he had with them was hope.

He did not say much and obeyed, leading the horse to his stall. He brought him in, took the halter off, and patted his neck. It was a good horse. The thought crossed to say it out loud, but what an empty conversation this would make. He didn't want that between them. Yet after all the yelling, silence seemed a double edged sword. The horse was a good distraction, however this couldn't last forever. "Tessa named him Khan, apprently it's a horse in an old Disney movie called Mulan." he settled for that information, even if it sounded as empty as his first thought.

Liam did not want to impose after what was probably a long day. So despite his heart clenching at his ribbcage to do more, go to her, hug her, tell her everything. He remained in his self control and closed the stall behind him, to move away. From all the reactions he had gotten in such a short time, he wasn't sure he could take any rejection or hits from Penny right now.

[zackastor]

"Mh." Zack didn't move, aside from tilting his head slightly up to meet Liam's gaze. Zack had gotten to a point like this with other people before - Liam didn't want to and wouldn't tell him more. By now, talking to Liam further would be pointless.

He stayed quiet after Liam's questions, silently seizing him up, assessing him without comment. After some long, stretching moments of silence, he finally spoke up again. "Dismissed." Without much more, Zack turned around and left the cell, locking it up behind him before he made his way out of the precinct.

// END //

[davxdalexander]

David had the bowstring pulled taut, ready to release the arrow. A deep breath in, natural pause....release. The arrow flew again, thudding in the center and he lowered the bow on his exhale just as he heard Liam speak again. Part of him wanted to turn, look upon his friend's face to listen to his explanation but he couldn't bring himself to do so. There was still so much anger in there. Anger currently being channeled in his grip on his bow.

I know, you were just trying to help me....and that I - fucked up. A haughty, hollow chuckle sounded from David and he spun, finally looking at Liam for the first time since he left. David's face was unreadable - not surprising, as some people would pull out, but there was a spark in David's eye. One of bewildered amusement. "You fucked up? Yeah, sure, I'm glad it took you this long to figure that out."

His concentration was broken on his range time now so he sat his bow down and walked over to Roxy to look through his bag. "Fucked up...you hear that, Rox? He fucked up. Just like that. All said and done." Roxy just tilted her head, obviously confused by what David was saying. But it wasn't really meant for her. "That's a real nice way of putting it, Liam. Destroying Penny, getting physical...up and leaving without so much as a word or look back on the people that trusted you, cared about you...looked out for you....yeah, sure, fucked up. Do you have any idea the mess you left behind for us to handle? The questions, the guilt - you have any idea how absolutely crushed some of us were by what you did? You think a simple 'I fucked up' is going to just undo what you did?"

[liamxbryne]

"No , I don't think that. I don't think anything I can do or say can undo it, nor do I think I'm redeemable or forgivable. It has happened and I hurt you , and Penny, and I have to live with that. I did put it nicely, because fucked up sounds ...more bareable than saying that ptsd episode was so bad I only remember parts of that night and the shame afterwards... " Liam replied.

He wasn't expecting forgiveness or a second chance. He just wanted to be sure, that the damage he had caused was not festering. Even if it meant being the most hated person in people's heart. He could endure it, as long as it had a purpose. "I left to not hurt anyone else, because I did not have any control and was not even seeing Redwood anymore or your faces ..."

His eyes filled with so much sadness but also resignation. "I can answer your questions if you have any, if that helps ?...or I can go to hell, it wouldn't be the first time I hear it today anyway." and there he silently prayed he wouldn't.

[thevisualvamp]

Don’t forget

[harry-thompson]

open starter for @liamxbryne

On a mission to hide from his husband or anyone who could lecture him about his bruised ankle, Harry thought the pound could be a nice spot. Or at least it was his plan until he spotted someone already on the bench. Too bad. Ready to leave and try somewhere else, Harry stopped himself when his Irish radar activated itself. No way. No way it was what he thought it was. He couldn't just leave now, he had to ask if he wanted to not ponder the question the rest of the week. Walking closer, he stopped when the man noticed him. "Hi, sorry, is it what I think it is?" He asked, a finger pointing to the beer, rushing the polite part of his sentence to focus on the priorities.

[liamxbryne]

Some pleasures, Liam had kept for himself. Like what he was holding in his hand. It just proved the higher quality of the can. They were rare and old , and not really tasting that great, but a Guinness was a Guinness. He had a few cans stocked away, and well now that he was settled and the first wave of how unwelcomed he was here and how lucky they let him back was over, he felt he needed a break. That was until a man spoke up and asked if it was what he thought he was. He did not recognize the man, probably came after he left, but that man had spotted something. Now Liam's math just went to the beer and the slight ginger tone. "sláinte" he cheeered , extending the beer to him.

[davxdalexander]

David had heard through the grapevine that apparently Liam was back in town and David had some pretty strong, mixed feelings about this. Yeah, he was glad that Liam was okay and safe and back in town and everything because David wasn’t heartless like that. At the same time he also wasn't all that keen on going to see the man anytime soon. When Liam had left, David felt a lot of things. Anger, betrayal, loss.....the two men had developed a pretty good bond during their time here in Redwood. In fact, Liam had almost became like a brother to him. They used to go out on hunts together, shoot the shit, have a laugh or two and overall, just be buddies.

And then he left. That day would live in infamy with him. The fight, the bruise on his jaw.....over a year of being friends and just like that, it seemed over. David resigned himself to the fact that Liam was gone for good and never coming back so he mourned and moved on. That's what you had to do in situations like this - mourn and move on. Friends came and went so fast in today's landscape.

But now Liam was back and David - well, David wasn't quite ready to deal with that just yet. So instead he planned on doing what he did every day when he wasn't hunting - wake up, take Roxy for a walk, go do some physical therapy at the training yard, plan a hunt for the next day and relax. Roxy was running around the training yard, getting her energy out and sniffing around to see if any of her doggo friends had been by before laying on a hay bale to watch as her dad started firing off some arrows with his bow. He fired off a few arrows before he heard a voice behind him - and his shoulders stiffened. Looked like it didn't matter if he was ready to talk - it was happening. "Still a better shot than you," he said without looking over his shoulder. Instead he just adjusted his foot. "Ya come out here just to critique my footwork, Bryne?"

[liamxbryne]

The fact that David chose to speak to him, made him smile , more to himself than an actual smile. And David wasn't looking in his direction so , it helped to show some of the relief he felt. He was also not going to argue, with a bow, David would always be a better shot than him, that was just true. As to the question, it was loaded. A lot of possible answers came to mind for the Irish. Some sounded like excuses, justifications , none really got the point across of what Liam was feeling.

David had been on his mind when leaving. Those thoughts were full of regrets, as he played back the events of that night. Again and again and again. Some of it , also was just starting to come back, as he had been in a kind of fugue state. First, the answer was not coming, giving the impression that he was not willing to answer or that he thought David's question was rethorical. The truth was, that talking about footwork, was easy than finding the right words to open that wound between them again, in order to close it and not have it fester.

The Legionnaire put his arms on the fence. "No. " he found his voice. He just decided to be true to himself, be straight to the point. "I'm sorry for what I did to you and what I said to you that night. " he apologized, implying that was the reason why he came closer. He did not know if David wanted to hear it or even consider forgiving him or letting him earn his trust again, but he felt like he owed at least to tell him he did nothing wrong. "I know, you were just trying to help me. " he licked his lips. " and that I - fucked up. " he taped a finger on his arm. He kept quiet, that his rage did not kill David, because it pretty much could have.

[virewolf]

"The hell you are doing." Vi pushed inside of his space, staring up at him with hard anger. The dog didn't bother her. Liam wasn't stupid enough to let her attack a resident. "And you can shove your pretentious politeness up your ass. You don't get to come here and 'Miss Wolf' me."

The junkyard was technically open source. Even if Vi regarded it as her domain, anybody could come and take what they wanted. Unlike what they kept in the overflow storage, this was just junk and scraps. But Vi would do hell and let Liam take any of it. "It's not your job to fix the front gate. I'm gonna go and fix it. You have no business here, so unless you want me to sock you, leave."

[liamxbryne]

Liam looked down, and still was not moving an inch. There was nothing in his eyes Vi could read for sure. No anger, no hurt feelings, he just remained annoyingly neutral while facing her anger. He had never used her first name on her, but fair enough he had a pretentious politness. He looked at the tractor tires, then back at the woman, wondering just how she wanted to carry those herself.

"As you wish Miss Wolf, it has been asked to be done today. Hopefully you will be able to complete the task in time. " he stated. He took his leave with a nod, turned away but stopped after a couple of steps and looked back at her by turning his head slightly. "Thank you, Miss Wolf, for being there for Penny. " the thank was said in a more vulnerable voice, with a real appreciation that Penny had not been alone and was being kept safe by fierce characters while he was gone. He continued to walk away from the junkyard.

[zackastor]

Zack listened attentively, tongue still prodding at his canines. That hadn't been the smart choice. "You didn't mention that in your first story, soldier. Don't you think that's an important detail? Awfully convenient you just included it now." Zack stepped closer again, right up to the edge of Liam's space, not really looking for an answer to the question.

"Any reason you couldn't tell Ermano that story, since you notified him that you were leaving? Telling it seems to come pretty easy to you now." Zack stared down at the other man, hands shoved deep in his pockets, staring down at the other man unwaveringly. Both watching for reactions, though the guy had been as emotive as a brick wall so far, and assessing him. He breathed out, slowly.

"The problem ain't that you left without telling anybody that you were, soldier. It's that you didn't tell anybody why. You didn't tell them the story you're trying to sell to me right now." Zack already didn't appreciate people leaving and coming back when they felt like it. It'd been one of the rules with his wolves - you leave, you're out. Redwood ran differently, but that didn't mean they needed to slack. Zack wouldn't let that happen.

"Something ain't adding up, we both know that pretty damn well." Zack's tone was sharp, his eyes narrowed with distrust. When he spoke again though, his voice was still hard, though it'd eased up the faintest bit. "While you were out there, Redwood was attacked. Me and the council worked to keep this place safe. People died to do that. People got hurt. And right now, I got no damn reason to think you ain't just another danger to this place. So cut the crap already."

[liamxbryne]

Zack just kept going down in Liam's value scale. The man only saw the world the way he wanted to. Not giving details at first rarely meant a lie to normal people, yet to Zack it seemed so. It was telling. Of course Liam gave the lesser details , but that too was not out of the ordinary. He really only confined in Penny and David and that after months of knowing them. Tessa knew him best, and he could feel her biting her tongue in this. Zack did not know him as a man or as an officer, thought of him as a soldier, a liar , a judgement call himself found distateful.

He could have justified himself further, the signal had not been a secret, listening for it had not been either. Those close knew it made him come up here, knew what it meant to him. He knew nothing about him to make that judgement call, nothing had been said to contradict his story. He could have said that , since he was in a hurry, he just told Ermano the minimum. Yet he did not.

The Legionnaire stood up, and calmly came closer to Zack. Still straight as a pole, he stopped in front of the bars and put himself in a resting stance. Now looking slightly down at the man in front of him "I gave you the reason I left, I gave you the reason I came back. If you believe me or not is out of my hands. No amount of details will change that. If you think I'm a danger and do not want me here, then veto it and I'll be on my way again. This is my home, but if the community does not want me, there is nothing I can do but leave and it being my fault." he replied just with the same calm as he did for the whole conversation. He wasn't really moved by the attack on Redwood, places like Redwood were bound to be attacked, it was how the world worked now. He was honest in his decision to come back to his home, but if they did not want him there, he would take his things and leave, with a heavy heart, but accepting that he was no longer a member of this community due to the choices he made. "Will that be all, Sir ? "

[liamxbryne]

What is your favorite thing about Penny ?

Her eyes, they often show her passion, her gentleness, her love, her worries, her happiness. It is the first thing I see when I snap back or wake up. Plus they are just beautiful , the pigments of green , the slight hue of blue and brown.

[liamxbryne]

What's your biggest regret?

I try to not dwell in regrets or remorses. There are choices and consequences and you move on with the teachings of both.

But to give a regret, I suppose not enjoying time with my parents more.

[liamxbryne]

Why didn't you tell anybody why you were leaving?

It was more fleeing than leaving. Who could have I told without putting Penny in danger ? I had to leave for her to be safe, and me to calm down.

[liamxbryne]

Do you regret coming back?

No , I do not regret coming back.