<br/><div class="floatleft">(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3op8ql1VS1r7wrq1o1_r2_250.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Lawrence Hawkins<br/><strong>Place within Hierarchy:</strong>Old Timer<br/><strong>Role:</strong>Act<br/><strong>Position:</strong>Fire Handler, Elizabeths Partner<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Food Car<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>Loose fitting bluejeans and a white wife beater.<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Olaana, Kepler, Erin (Mentioning Chloe)<br/><br/>Lawrence was now in a state beyond words.  It seemed like no matter who chose to speak, they all chose to grate his nerves to a point where he found his silence a blessing to all.  This was not the family that he had hoped to come back to.  This was not the unity that he remembered.  A Family that did not hate one another on the outside.  Yeah everyone hated someone, but you laid the shit to rest inside of your own head.  Go ahead and show it to the other person, but you<em>did not</em>display it in front of others.  He knew that this was no longer his circus.  Elizabeth had regained control.  But he questioned whether or not she would have allowed this.  The woman he thought her to be would have ensured that all involved would have suffered dearly.  But the woman he remembered would not have been in a drunken rest at this time of day.  He was going to have to point out the similarities she was now sharing with the former Ring Master.<br/><br/>But he just let them talk as he maintained a perfect poker face.  Olaana.  Erin.  Kepler.  One by one, word by word, he felt himself growing more and more irritated.  His hands lowered beneath the table and his left formed into a fist with his fingernails digging into his palm, and his right clutched Olaanas thigh.  But fingernails still dug into flesh, though her jeans protected her from any real damage done.  Had it been bare then there would be blood to pay, but all she felt was pain and he hoped she knew better than to let anyone else realize it.  Let alone make a fucking comment.  He could punish her, but he could not punish Erin.<br/><br/>He let every one of them have their go at one another.  And oddly the only person who would have been justified in acting up and causing a scene did the exact opposite.  Instead Chloe showed Lawrence exactly why Elizabeth catered to her so much.  She was ever the lady, and did nothing more than act as such.  Had Lawrence been in her shoes, then someone would have ended up in the hospital.  But the moment that Chloe finished her words, Lawrence interjected into the “conversation.” “That’s enough.  All of you.  You will quiet yourselves for long enough to let me speak, or you will all realize that none of us are more important than the family.” With his last words his fingernails pressed deeper into Olaanas thigh, to emphasize that she was not immune to that simple fact.<br/><br/>Lawrence still seemed to remain utterly calm.  His hand lifted from Olaanas thigh(As the other was now dripping blood) so that he could pick up his glass and take a drink.  He now wished that that drink had been scotch, because he’d do about anything at this point to calm his nerves.  It took him a few moments to speak, but when he did he went about his task with in a calculated way.<br/><br/>His first words were to the woman that he never anticipated needing to chastise.  She should have already known better. “Olaana, I swear to god if you ever go out of your way to stir up an argument in this family again you will live to regret it.  If this was the five of us in a room alone, then I would simply be irritated.  But you of all people have no right to comment on someones personal affairs when you are fucking the man that Elizabeth loves.” Lawrence was to the point where he no longer cared about keeping the facts hidden.  Everyone knew both of those facts, and since all involved at this table had stepped over the lines he planned to do the same.  He hadn’t bothered to look at Olaana as he believed his words would pack more power that way, but he did look directly into Erins eyes as he addressed her.<br/><br/>“And you.  I have no fucking clue what weight you believe you pull in this circus but you have just stepped so far outside of your boundaries that Elizabeth will hear about it, and will deal with it.  Lets ignore the fact that you decided to be a pure and utter bitch to the one person within this Family that Elizabeth considers as a close friend, you did it in a public fucking setting.  You were gifted with the spirit because you were good at your act.  I assure you that the spirit will punish you in it’s own way for causing hostility within it’s family.  But the spirit is not whom you should worry about, because it’s all about giving second chances.  Elizabeth is not.  If you were a man then I’d have no choice but to show you where Elizabeth learned all of her tricks from, but since you are not I cannot touch you.  Yet.  I’ve no issues with you being a bitch.  In fact I admire your audacity.  But this Family has survived as long as it has because it’s been thick with unity, and the moment that unity is broken on such a public scale the family will turn against you.  All of us who have been here long enough have seen death, and all of us who have seen it have looked the other way and realized it was for the greater good.”  By now his poker face had turned into something else.  Lawrence very rarely showed this side of his personality, but the one thing the two things he hated most were disloyalty and unneeded drama.  Erin had succeeded in accomplishing both. “I highly advice you to just hear what I said and not act out against me.  Hate me if you wish, but do not make enemies with the one man who can sway Elizabeths mind in any which way he chooses.”<br/><br/>Erin had gotten the worse of it because she had been the antagonist.  But it didn’t mean that the person she’d antagonized about as bad as any would get a green card because he’d been drawn in.  Lawrence respected Kepler because of his traits, but respect didn’t give a person the right to act outside of their boundaries.  “And as far as you go, Kepler.  I respect your loyalty to Chloe, but your feelings do not in any way give you the right to overstep your boundaries.  You are here to protect the family from outsiders, and to protect the family from<strong>violence</strong>within itself.  And even within the family, you are the person who steps in after the fact.” Though the words were chastising, he spoke them with respect.  His next words came with the same tone the other two had received. “But no one in the Family has the ability to kick someone out of absolutely any room other than Elizabeth herself.  You’ve done nothing more than cause more contempt between all of those involved in this idiotic argument.  Do not allow your affections to cloud your mind again, because you’re incredibly loyal and valuable to this family.  I would hate to see your emotions get the better of you and have you removed.”<br/><br/>Lawrence pushed the pads of his fingers against the wounds he’d caused in his own hand to do everything he could to stop the bleeding.  This entire breakfast had became a fiasco that would surely have long term implications, and he wanted nothing more than to just get up and leave.  But he knew that doing so would simply seem as though her were running from his words. “Kepler, I actually advice you to leave.  But not alone, take Chloe with you as I am quite sure that she will need someone to calm her down.” His eyes moved to Erin. “The quicker you leave the better for you.  I will not step foot from this room until you do, because one more outburst will have me waking up Elizabeth.  She can be a bitch at all times, but hung over she will make you miss her bitchy side.” Once again he didn’t look towards Olaana.  She was going to be the one to pay for this. “And Olaana, you will not leave until I do.  Do me a favor and keep Erin in check while she remains.”