Will out on a Forest Walk (OPEN)

[Will Scarlett]

Will just had to get out of the camp for awhile. It wasn't that he didn't like it. After all, he had built it, so outside of the things that he saw that needed improving, it was pretty good in his eyes. He had found out that long ago that the big drawback to being a carpenter full-time would be that he would indoors working much of the time. He found out, actually, that he was just as much a woodsman as he was a carpenter and a builder of things mechanical. So he had given his mates the excuse that he needed to scout out some timber and beech fronds for some needed repairs that he had to venture out.

Of course he would need those items eventually, but walking about in Sherwood was always good for his thinking processes, as long as avoided people in other outlaw groups. It had been some time since they had returned, but they had found pretty much the same country they had left, with Prince John and his minions still in certain control of .... everything.

Actually the situation that they had found in Britain was quite secondary for Will. The fact of the matter was that he was confused. At least for the moment,his thoughts clouded his mind so that he did not see the beauty of the forest around him. From when he had been first shown the wonders of Sherwood he had marveled at the different hues of greens and browns, and the various ages and types of vegetation. H e had realized that the forest was a fragile plays, just as the poor .... the people who were oppressed by many of the nobles were fragile and had to be protected. The neglect of the poor was what often rattled Will's cage the most .... what he found the most unforgivable.

That was one of the problems he had always had with Robin Hood. It was not a problem with Robin as a leader, but as a noble. How could he have abandoned his responsibilities here and run off to the Holy Land. Would it have made a difference if had stayed he didn't know. Rightly or wrongly he had often been jealous of Robin .... mainly because of Marian. With time he had grown to accept that she was always beyond him, and that Robin and Marian were destined to be together, but he knew he still had some bitterness just below the surface about that. But as long as they were all fighting to protect and defend the common poor, it would be all right.

He had pretty much given up on being close with any woman, and then there was Djaq. He had thought that they were serious about one another. But he wondered if it was meant to be. If they were going to be husband and wife would it not have been best to stay in the Holy Land, or was there never going to be a place, because of their differences, where they would ever feel safe? Was she having the same kind of doubts as he was, or was it possible that she didn't think about him in the same way he thought about her. Maybe, he thought, it would be best to put off any thought of being together until they were all out of danger and Britain was no longer being threatened by people like the Sheriff and Prince John.

Finally, he found the stand of good softwood that he had been searching for, and he began to chop some of the low-hanging fronds away with his 'little chopper'. He became so engrossed, though, with his work that he did not hear the footsteps that were coming up behind him, from a person who had been walking parallel to his own path.

[Robin Hood]

Robin heaved a sigh when he had finally gotten a chance to free himself of the camp. No matter how many or how few gang members were occupying the camp, it always seemed to be brimming with people, who were busy with their own assorted duties. Most always, Robin liked it that way. It was good to be surrounded by people who you, in truth, considered as your family, even if they were ignoring you in their work.

But occasionally, he had to get away from the madness. Besides, he had to get out of everyone's ways. He seemed to be having to doge out of the way of too many people today, so he figured he should give them some space. Also, the calming serenity to Sherwood Forest on a day like this always drew him out into the sun. To walk among the trees, pretending that nothing was wrong in his life. Pretending being the keyword.

He had a few drop-offs to do anyway. In and around the towns and villages, many villagers were starving, poor, ill and in need of his help and aid. With a shoulder bag full of a few pouches of money, a few loaves of bread, and some herbs and medicines that Djaq had given him this morning, Robin was on his way to the village that was always first in his mind.

His home.

He was lost in his thoughts when he heard the sound of wood being chopped slowly. It was nearby, and was a sound that was known all too well as belonging to the famous carpenter called Will Scarlett.

A smile spread over Robin's face as he spotted the man, stooping over a good piece of wood and seemingly quite taken in with his work. For a moment, Robin hesitated, wondering if he should interrupt his seemingly busy friend. But finally one argument won out.

"Will." Robin said cordially as he situated the bag on his shoulder and walked closer to Will, the smile spreading further on his face.

[meh, it's not that good, sorry! ]

[Will Scarlett]

(It was just great ... don't worry about it)

Will realized, in-between chops, that he absolutely had had to get away from the camp. He was just not the type of person who could take on large crowds of people. He liked his interactions to be one person to be one person at-a-time, or at least in small groups. The solitude of the forest, strange as it might seem, was quite comforting to him. The quiet also allowed him the space and time to think through the things and people that often bothered him. Robin was, in many ways, an enigma for him.

Some days it felt like they were almost like brothers, facing danger and challenges, and others he was jealous of him, when the noble/peasant division was most obvious between them. He knew, deep down, that it all came back to Marian, and how jealous he was of how things always seemed to work out for Robin. He shrugged to himself, pretty much accepting his fate whatever that would be. At least Robin was a friend much of the time, and who could ask for more? Besides, Will knew that nothing made him happier than to work with the wood in the Forest. So, at least for this moment in time, this was the happiest that he'd been all day.

Sometimes Will wondered what they all thought of him, but most of the time he did not. It didn't really matter he reasoned. They should all know that he was loyal to the group and to each one individually. He had always been good in figuring out how things work, but not real good at what made people tick. he was there friend and they could count on him, and that should be enough,, he reasoned. Finally, he broke through the haze of his thoughts, and realized how beautiful a day it had become, at about the same time he had freed the piece of wood he had been working on. He stepped back to admire the forest and the sunny day, remarking on the piece he had just finished, "Now that should make a fine piece of wood to whittle on," he exclaimed.

Suddenly he heard the familiar voice of Robin call his name. Quickly he turned along, with a slight smile that turned a bit quizzical, upon seeing the sack laid across one of Robs shoulders. "I didn't expect to see you out here Robin. We're closer to Locksley than we are to camp. You wouldn't be on a mission would you?," his smile becoming wider once again.

[Robin Hood]

Robin took a moment as he listened to Will's axe chopping the wood perfectly to take in once again the day. From the sun's rays dotting through the vibrant green leaves of the trees as their branches tossed in the gentle breeze. Beautiful. Simply beautiful. This was the kind of day that reminded him of the times before he had taken up the fight for freedom in Nottinghamshire. The days before he had even gone to fight in the Holy Land. The days he still missed...

He gave a small chuckle when Will asked about the mission. Robin then gave a cock of his head and gave a small shrug.

"You know me too well, my friend." He let the smile linger a little on his lips as he watched what Will was doing. "And why ever are you out here all alone working?" He strode forward, situating the bag on his shoulder and casting his eyes up to the sun for a moment.

He then looked back down to Will. "Are you working for a cause or...just needed to get away from the madness in the camp, eh?" He let another chuckle escape his lips as he lightly clapped his hand on Will's shoulder.

[meh...sorry it took soooo long too! I've been so busy lately, so have a little patience! ^^ ]

[Will Scarlett]

Will found his relationship with Robin to be quite complicated and confusing. They had been separated just enough by class and age so that their relationship had always been a more difficult one than most. Robin, of course, had been the son and grandson of a landed Earl, and Will the oldest son of the village carpenter. But, they had both been children, and as children they had grown up playing together. So, sometimes there had been no division between them, but especially as they grew older, the separation of class had forced an unnatural space between them.

They were quite different, actually. Robin had never known a stranger. He could strike up a conversation, and joking with anyone, but he was now an extrovert who was subject to introspection, much more now, Will thought, after going through the experience of the Crusades. Will was just the opposite. In many ways we was a lonely figure, someone more comfortable chopping wood in the forest than being in the midst of the gaggle of a mob. However, if properly stoked, especially if some vulnerable person or group was being assaulted, his sense of justice could veritably explode.

So Will was a quiet man, but one with a strange and uncommon intensity that could suddenly burst forth. He liked Robin, and more importantly perhaps, had respected Robin, both as a person and as a nobleman. However, he could also be jealous of him and his position, especially when it came to Marian. On this day, however, the relationship did not seem to be one characterized by nobleman and peasant, but as two appreciative woodsmen of the shire, and this was when Will could give Robin his most welcoming and honest grin.

Robin had indeed come across him at a good time, since Will had just finished separating the piece of wood that he wanted to work with, but more as a woodworker than as a carpenter. Will assumed that Robin had learned a lot about him in the short time since they had gotten re-acquainted. “Well Robin …. I did remember that you were a fellow who liked to have a grand time, but also had a sense of duty. And on a day as beautiful as this, perhaps we can mix those two. The sack, my captain is a good clue that you are in a giving mood this day. Of course, as always, I would be willing to assist in such a work …. the pleasantness of the day would just add to the pleasure, don’t you think? It does surely remind me of better days, when my family was whole, and before you went traipsing off to the Holy Land. I would be glad to accompany you if you wish, unless you had planned to have Marian along,” suddenly frowning. “In such a case I would be more than willing to let you enjoy yourself in her company, while I would find something constructive to do elsewhere.”

Will really did not want to interfere if Robs was planning on an outing with Marian. While he waited for an answer he thought it best to change the subject slightly, and answer one of Robin’s original questions.“Ah Robin, you know me just as well as I know you, perhaps better. There is just so much that I can take of the clamor of the camp, especially when it becomes crowded as it did this morning. One can’t even think sometimes, let alone be heard by the mate just next to you. I have found, especially since my parents have both died, that I need some quiet time to think things through. I know that my losses are not as huge as the death and destruction you have seen, but we must all deal with loss and death in our own ways." Will returned the gesture and said, “But today is not a day for so negative thoughts, its far too brilliant of a day. So, what is you wish, Robin, my friend?,” he asked while leaning on the large axe he almost always brought with him.