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That was true, Shiloh silently agreed, siblings caused pain in more ways than one, even if they didn’t intend to. He was watching Ian toy with his blanket, sucked for a moment into the mood, before the other’s voice snapped him out of it. Looking up, he smiled back warmly, happy to see that Ian’s mood had improved at least that much.

He laughed at Ian’s request, shaking his head at him.

“Sorry for expecting a story a little grander than smiley faces, CDs, and mowing lawns,” he grinned, sticking his tongue out at him. “But I guess, if you insist, let’s see…”

Shiloh pursed his lips, trying to think of a good story. The problem with his childhood was that a lot of the good memories he had, involved someone he’d rather not think about, or at least someone he wasn’t ready to admit existed to anyone on Deus. Deus was a fresh start, without siblings, good or bad. No, he needed something funny, to lighten the mood.

“This one time at band camp…” He started, but he couldn’t stifle his sniggering, and soon gave up on the movie reference.

“My childhood was pretty boring. Just of playing outside, doing normal kid stuff, I didn’t even break any bones. Booooooring.”

Shiloh caught the shirt easily, settling it over his lap. He’d save throwing it back for when he really needed it, as for now, when Ian contested his childhood story integrity, he could easily nudge the man’s head with his foot, and so he did with a smirk.

“Okay, so I didn’t actually ever go to band camp. I wasn’t even in band,” he admitted, laughing too.

“I… Wasn’t very rebellious. I might not look it, I tried to behave.” Trying to behave hadn’t always made much of a difference, however, and though he was hesitant to say he disliked his family, he was definitely glad to be free of them. Still, he’d tried his best to be a good son, and because of it he had turned into a polite, pleasant person, someone respectable and well liked to the outside world, despite his unfortunate choice in hair color. He’d never managed to impress his family in quite the same way, except for his sister.

So Shiloh was happy when Ian continued, listening curiously about college. It wasn’t like Shiloh hadn’t partied, but bush parties in the back forty were a bit different than bars and clubs. And of course when it came to dating, he had to admit defeat, his experience limited to friends (girls) hanging off of him, laughing and giggling when they all hung out, but nothing more. He was dependable Shy, funny and kind, and no one ever guessed anything, or really wondered, they just figured he was waiting for the right person or that he was the type to not kiss and tell. Shiloh had tried his best to make sure that no one knew just how little he had to tell. Needless to say, he lacked many worldly experiences.

“What did you go to college for?” he asked with interest, eager to hear more.

“Tone deaf and a troublemaker, great. I’m not so sure I should be associating with you, Ian, might be bad for my rep.”

His tone was light, teasing, and the smile on his face cheerful, suggesting he was considering such a thing at all. Yet he stalled for a moment, for once conscious of his words and how they might affect the person listening. Awkwardly he patted back the hand on his knee, hoping the gesture would be enough to assure Ian he was joking, and that he was quite glad to be sharing the other hunter’s company.

Then his fingers slid off, his hand falling to his side and scrunching up the blanket. He wasn’t used to being careful like this, and he was again glad when Ian continued.

Luckily for Ian, the question was one Shiloh wasn’t hesitant about at all. He wasn’t ashamed about not having gone to college, not by any stretch. He might have regretting forgoing the experience, but as far as learning, he was confident in his intelligence and the knowledge he’d attained so far. He didn’t knock school, but college had simply not been for him.

“Hm if I had gone? I guess I probably would have studied a trade or something. You know, something hands-on,” he answered, grinning.

“I’m all man, man,” he laughing, flexing an arm and grinning at Ian like an idiot. Shiloh was glad to see the joke had been well received, and he relaxed too, until Ian gave him that look. The only thing it earned the Mist Hunter was his shirt tossed back in his face, and Shiloh pointedly ignoring his hands-on remark. Say something enough times, and the double entendre of it finally sunk into his oblivious brain. Never mind that he’d brought it up, he certainly wasn’t prepared to finish wherever that vein of thought might lead.

Instead, he leaned back onto his hands, thinking.

“Not really,” he admitted. “I mean, I thought it would have been pretty sweet to be a Power Ranger when I was like, five. But other than that, I guess I sort of lost myself. I dunno, I’m really not so wishy-washy, I swear. I just had a job out of high school, it wasn’t glamorous or nothing but I was content, and I figured when the right opportunity to move on presented itself, I’d know.” He smiled, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I guess since I’m here, I figured it out alright.”

“I hate to disappoint you, but the Pink Ranger wasn’t my favourite,” he chuckled, nudging Ian playfully with his foot again.

“It’s not all bad here, you know. The things we have to do are for everyone’s benefit right? So it’d good to do them, so things run smoothly.” Shiloh was smiling to himself, tracing a finger thoughtfully over the blanket. He probably sounded like an insufferable goody-goody, but it was true, wasn’t it? He glanced back up at Ian, the smile still on his face.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out though, or get your a** whooped in the mean time.”

His smile might have been more of a smirk at this point.

“The best strategy is to not make yourself bigger target by being more of an a**.”

Shiloh grinned at him.

“Besides, there are other ways of getting things done, when you don’t agree with things. You brought my shirt back, didn’t you? And I bet it was clean. But you can’t really do that with higher-ups. They’re our superiors for a reason, and they wouldn’t be leading us if they weren’t capable, right? Even if we don’t always agree... Well, I’m not saying you can’t disagree with them but there is definitely a certain protocol to be followed in those situations, you know? Mouthing off is only going to get you into trouble, even if you do have a valid complaint.”

He laughed a little, his grin tapering into a softer smile.

“Being too lazy to do something, isn’t a valid one, by the way.”

“Well, you better be clean,” Shiloh laughed, “Getting all up in my bed like that.”

He watched Ian for a moment after that, listening while he explained. Or rather, he tried his best to decipher the mumbling coming through his pillow. Shiloh wondered what having that sort of freedom had been like. To him, Deus was freedom. Yes, they were stuck on an island, and there were things to do like chores and patrols, but for Shiloh, that wasn’t any different from being stuck in a small town, with nowhere else to go. And Deus was a vast improvement on his hometown, he thought as he looked at Ian, smiling again.

No one at Deus told him he couldn’t have pink hair, or that he couldn’t see monsters. No one called him a liar, and ultimately, there was a safety at Deus that he hadn’t found anywhere else. He finally, sort of fit in without having to change who he was.

“That must have been… pretty awesome,” he said anyway, referring to Ian’s freedom to do as he wished.

Shiloh was laughing again as Ian floundering in his bed; he laughed a lot. But laughter, like being cheerful, was easy, and as he watched the sad smile ghost over Ian’s lips as he settled onto his back, he decided he definitely preferred laughing, in excess or not.

Shiloh couldn’t imagine freedom not being anything short of wonderful, and he frowned thinking that Ian had encountered things terrible enough to change his mind. Poor guy, he thought. But then Ian relented from his sadness for a moment, and said something that surprised Shiloh, and made him laugh all over again.

“Aha, friend!” he grinned, not thinking at all as he reached for Ian, attempting to simultaneously pull him into a hug, and give him a ‘noogie’. “I knew you’d come around!”