Visiting [Tag Lukey and Kate]

[Luke Scarlett]

"I know how you feel." Luke mumbled awkwardly as Jake turned away from him, obviously trying to hide how upset he was. He pulled a hand from his pocket so he could lay it on Jake's shoulder, but just let it hover uselessly in the air as he lost the confidence to complete the gesture. He clearly didn't want Luke to know the conversation had brought him to tears and comforting him would only confirm that he'd noticed.

Luke winced as he realised what he'd just said. "I know how you feel." Had been one of the phrases he'd hated more than any other after Dan died. It was used by ignorant people who'd obviously never suffered before, and now Luke had done so, the words slipping out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop them.

He looked at the floor, staring at the ground as Jake probably hated him right now. His arm dropped away from it's almost comforting position to hang limply at his side. He picked nervously at a loose thread at the hem of his shirt and risked a glance in Jake's direction. So far he hadn't made a very good impression on the young man and he doubt Jake would ever want to be friends with him now.

(OOC: Gawd, sorry about the shortness... and the lameness... I fail today.)

[jakeplatt]

“I know how you feel” Jakes breath hitched in his throat as he heard Luke’s apparent attempt at comforting him. So many people had been to offer their condolences to him and Emma, but few had even attempted to sympathise. He wasn’t sure how to feel - on the one hand he was angry that Luke should presume to understand him, but the fact he was trying must count for something. Then he realised - how could Luke be feeling the same thing as he was? Had he lost his mother too?

Jake caught a glimpse of Luke hand dropping down to his side as he turned back to face the young man. He wondered vaguely what Luke had been doing before he turned back round. If he had lost his mother as well, perhaps he really was feeling the same way Jake felt now, but Jake honestly felt he was alone in the world. Sure, Emma had just lost her mother too, but she wasn’t the one that suddenly had to take care of everything. Of course, he’d been the man of the house for the past two years, but this was different. Even when he’d been caring for his mother during her sickness, she’d still been there. Now she was gone and he had to cope with it all himself.

Looking at Luke almost made Jake start crying again, it was as if his sympathy was too much. All the kindly, pitying glances he’d got straight after his mother had died had only served to make him feel angry, but Luke’s unexpected understanding really got to him. He bit his lip, holding back the emotional flood that threatened to bust its damns at any moment

“Your mother.” he started, without really thinking “I take it she’s- she’s” He waved his hand, unable to articulate it “As well.” he stared determinedly at the ground after saying it. In his bid to keep his emotions at bay he’d come over callous and uncaring. Great.

[Luke Scarlett]

"Yeah." Luke said quietly. "It was a while ago now." He admitted, although he was sure Jake knew that didn't make it any easier to talk about. Luke watched him carefully as Jake stared at the ground, the two of them were more similar than he'd initially thought. They were both stumbling through this conversation rather awkwardly at any rate.

An uncomfortable silence fell and Luke tried to think of something to say. He didn't want to dwell too much longer on the subject of their parents as it was clearly a painful one for the both of them but he was afraid that if he just switched topics it would seem like he didn't care that Jake was upset. "Umm..." He mumbled. "Kate probably won't be much longer. She said she'd come and get me when she was done." He explained lamely, knowing it was a very weak diversion.

Knowing that talking about Kate wouldn't only be a momentary distraction he turned the conversation in the direction of the outlaws. It was always something to talk about, whether they were hated or loved people generally had some kind of opinion of them. ”Have the outlaws ever been you your village?” He asked curiously. He figured Jake might have seen his brother around at some point, but he would wait until he knew what the man thought of Robin Hood and the gang before admitting to being related to one of them.

[jakeplatt]

Despite his own emotional anguish, Jake’s heart went out to the boy in front of him. He’d answered Jake’s blunt question unfalteringly, even though he too had lost his mother. It made Jake feel ashamed in a way, that he was still bursting into tears about it when Luke seemed to be coping perfectly. Admittedly, Luke had just said his mother had been dead for a while, and Jake’s had died but weeks ago, but Jake’s father had been dead for years and that still cut him up inside.

He stared at his feet, trying to stop himself turning red again. He really had been enjoying Luke’s company - still was, really, the two of them seemed to have a lot in common, even if half of it was horribly morbid - he just wished he hadn’t broached the subject of their parents. He should have known he wouldn’t be able to cope with it yet.

He glanced over at the Millers doorway as Luke reminded him of the reason he’d actually come to Knighton in the first place. In some ways he was glad Kate would be out soon, but in others he wished she’d stay at her needlework a bit longer. Even though the conversation had taken a nosedive, he would like to get to know Luke better, or at least leave him with a good impression. He didn’t want to go now and have Luke think he was- well, he wasn’t sure what he didn’t want Luke to think he was. Morbid, maybe, or sissy. Whatever it was, he didn’t want Luke to think badly of him.

His fear was alleviated, however, when Luke mentioned outlaws. Clearly, he was continuing with the conversation, so couldn’t be that unimpressed with Jake. “Not that I know of” He started, cautiously. If he wasn’t ready to talk about his parents, he certainly wasn’t ready to talk about his desire to be an outlaw. He supposed Luke must sympathise with him, if Will Scarlet really was his brother, but he didn’t want Luke to think he was talking to him just because of who he was related to “We had a lot of help when our crops failed last year, but that was mainly form other villages. Robin Hood had only just returned then. I guess he had bigger fish to fry” He hoped he hadn’t sounded to bitter when he said that - true, the outlaws hadn’t gotten involved much in supplying Nettlestone with food, but Jake felt churlish for begrudging them it.

[Luke Scarlett]

"They do everything they can you know." Luke said a little tightly, feeling the need to defend the gang's actions. They couldn't help every peasant in Nottingham, even if Robin tried to, and Jake clearly had the support of the other villages anyway. He looked at Jake and smiled apologetically, he didn't want to seem like he was snapping.

"Your farm got through it though, right?" He asked, concerned, if Jake was still struggling then he would send the outlaws in his direction. He probably wasn't supposed to use the gang to favour his friends, and he already considered Jake a friend, but he couldn't stand the thought of something bad happening to him. Well, worse than losing his parents.

"Robin's gang went to the Holy Lands recently you know." He said, not willing to let the subject of outlaws drop just yet. If it did Luke wasn't sure what they would talk about and at least he'd be able to contribute some gossip that Jake most likely hadn't heard and it would even be true. "My bro-" He froze realising that he'd almost let slip that Will was his brother. It wouldn't be very impressive if he blurted his relation to the outlaws to the first practical stranger he spoke to. "I, uh, or so I heard..."

[jakeplatt]

Jake flinched at the rebuke form Luke. He knew he was being entirely discourteous about the help from the outlaws - the did do their best, it wasn't as if they had to help people out, they did it out of the kindness of their hearts, even though the sheriff wanted them dead because of it - but he was still feeling slightly shaken up from the talk of his mother, and liable to sulk. It was an awful habit, but one he never seemed to have grown out of. He restrained himself from retorting with something rude, as he probably would have done with Emma. She knew what he was like and just told him to stop being silly. He doubted Luke would do the same, and he didn't want Luke to think badly of him, especially now they'd managed to get on a lightly more cheery topic of conversation.

“I know” He replied with a sigh. He smiled gingerly at Luke in an attempt to show good will, although his heart wasn’t really in it. He was beginning to worry that he’d already put Luke off him enough to warrant the end of the conversation, but his fear was alleviated somewhat when the boy asked about the farm. He seemed so genuinely concerned that Jake was taken slightly aback. It wasn’t often that you found such compassion form strangers. Well, you got help from people in your village, even if you’d never done anything but passed the time of day with them, and the outlaws would help you even if they didn’t know you. And he supposed Luke wasn’t really a stranger any more. Then again, he might only be asking because he was worried about his job.

Jake tried to push such cynical thoughts from his head. He wasn’t generally cynical by nature; usually he was an idealist - it was just when he got in a bad mood that the cynicism came out, and he didn’t want to be in a bad mood with Luke. “Just about” He replied, letting the smile come back to his face in full force to show it was a joke “We’re mainly a dairy farm - milk, butter. Eggs, too.” He explained “But that’s not dairy, obviously” He added, realising his mistake and not wanting Luke to think he was idiotic enough not to realise that eggs weren’t made out of milk. He talked about the farm amiably, but with no real passion in his voice. He’d never wanted to be a farmer, but after his father had died he’d had little choice in the matter. Everyone had to make a living, his Mum had said, he couldn’t swan about writing poetry his whole life. He’d been born a farmer, and that’s where he’d stay. He’d cried and cursed and sulked at the time, but he‘d slowly grown used to it - his knowledge of the farm was out of necessity rather than desire.

Luke’s referral to Robin Hood by just his first name gave Jake a little thrill of excitement. So the two were on first name terms? He’d known Luke was related to an outlaw ever since he’d heard his surname, but he hadn’t realised that he was in contact with them at all. Most of the time, when a member of someone’s family got outlawed, they just disowned them, but he supposed things had change since Robin had come back from the Holy Land. And now he learnt that they’d been back there! Jake was full of questions - Why did they go? Were they going back? Were they here to stay? What had happened? - but before he got a chance to even think of forming a coherent sentence, Luke let slip about his brother.

“It’s alright” Jake replied as reassuringly as he could “I knew you brother was an outlaw since you told me your name. Everyone knows Will Scarlett” He wondered immediately if it was the right thing to say. When he’d first heard Luke’s name he’d not said anything, worrying that the boy would be offended that he thought of his brother before him - was it really any better now? They’d only been speaking for a few minutes and he wasn’t sure he knew Luke well enough to broach the subject. Then again, he’d just told him everything about his parents, perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad.

[OOC - what's this? Uber Jake post? What is the world coming to!]

[Luke Scarlett]

Milk... Butter... But that meant cows. Luke began to look a little nervous. He still hadn't recovered from his trip on horseback when they were rescuing Will and as far as he was concerned cows were just fat horses. Sure they were supposed to be more docile but that didn't mean they couldn't accidentally trample a person, especially if the person was fiddling around milking them. When Jake had said farm work he'd pictured a field and digging or something like that, where the worst that could happen would be getting a bit dirty. He smiled nervously at Jake, but didn't confess his fears, he didn't want the man to kill himself laughing. It was a little stupid, he'd faced several armed guards at the castle, but that was different, he'd done it to save Will. If a cow was threatening to trample his brother he'd probably jump in then too. Luke suppressed a bout of snorting laughter, sometimes he surprised even himself with the strange tangents that his mind could go on.

He gave a nod of relief as Jake mentioned eggs. Maybe he could start off small with the chickens and work his way up to cows. He didn't want to ruin his one and only prospect of work by refusing to do any of the tasks set for him. Jake spoke of the farm with about the same enthusiasm Luke had felt about carpentry. Their father had always been trying to teach him and Will about the trade and while his elder brother picked up the skills needed easily and quickly Luke had no such luck. He'd struggled to concentrate on the quiet and absorbing task of carving wood, preferring instead to think about the next game he could play with the village children, which had often resulted in him almost losing a finger when the knife slipped. Eventually Dan had given up, deciding instead to pass on all his skills to Will. It hurt to think that he'd been a failure in his father's eyes and he wished now more than ever that he'd shown more interest in the family trade.

He understood where Jake was coming from though, when you had your heart set on something else it was difficult to be stuck in the mundane. It was part of the reason he was so annoyed at being sent back to live with Kate after only a taste at life as an outlaw. It was especially frustrating when as far as Luke was concerned he'd proved himself capable. ”Do you run the whole farm?” He asked curiously. He wanted to keep Jake talking, find out more about him and maybe get the chance to show that he sympathised. It certainly sounded like a lot of work running a farm and most people were older and more experienced before they were loaded with the responsibility of lands and the family business. It made him appreciate the fact that he had Will to look out for him all the more, not that his brother had chosen the most traditional of routes by becoming an outlaw.

”Oh.” Luke said a little flatly. Just once it would be nice to meet someone who didn't know and admire (or hate) his brother. At least it eased the worry that Jake might turn him in to the authorities. If he'd known all along that Luke was related to an outlaw all along then, if he was going to, he would have done something about it a long time ago. ”Well it comes with the job doesn't it.” He said a little sheepishly. He should really be used to people knowing Will by now, but living in Scarborough had meant he was so far away from the action that people didn't make the connection. Mainly because the rumours had been blown so far out of proportion that people didn't really know who the outlaws were.

”But yeah, when Will's not trying to send me back to Scarborough, which is most of the time, he tells me what the gang have been doing.” Luke puffed out his chest a little proudly. As far as he was concerned he'd earned his boasting privileges by having a famous outlaw brother and he was going to use them.

[jakeplatt]

Jake misinterpreted the worry on Luke’s face as some kind of scorn, and immediately felt foolish for his mistake with the eggs. He cursed himself, he really did need to think before he acted and not let words just tumble out of his mouth. It was difficult with Luke around, though, he just wanted so much to talk to him, to keep the conversation going, that he let himself say any old thing. In hindsight, that wasn’t the best of plans, as he’d already offended the younger boy by being curt about the outlaws and didn’t want to do it again.

In all honesty, Jake didn’t often find people he could talk to. Emma was always there, but it was different with people you were related to, you couldn’t talk about all the same things you could with friends, and when you did talk, it was always not in the same way you’d talk to anyone else. Most of the people in Nettlestone were more concerned with the next harvest than the teachings of Plato. It wasn’t that Jake didn’t care about whether or not the crops grew, it was just that there were other things he cared about, too.

He mentally sighed when Luke asked him about the farm. He’d finally found someone to talk to, he didn’t want to be stuck in the mundane. He gave a reasonable answer, though, not wanting to insult Luke by changing the subject. And at least it was difficult to say anything offensive when you were talking about farming “Yeah, for the most part. My sister helps out a bit, but she’s only young. I don’t want us both to be stuck milking cows our whole lives” Jake knew that sentiment was futile - if you were born to a farmer, you became a farmer, to a weaver, a weaver, to a miller, a miller. Only the lords and ladies got to do what ever they pleased. They could be one thing one day and something completely different the next. And the outlaws, too. Hell, they’d just been to the Holy Land - Jake had never set foot outside of Nottinghamshire.

Luke’s response to his mention of the boys brother made Jake curse himself again. He’d gone and said the wrong thing again, hadn’t he? Luke seemed so disappointed and deflated that Jake couldn’t help but feel guilty. The boy seemed to recover soon enough, though, and just shrugged it off. But if he was anything like Jake, he was just putting on a brave front - and that made Jake feel even worse. He really did need to learn to keep his big trap shut.

It seemed a bit odd to him that Luke was being proud about Will trying to send him home, but he supposed he must have been trying to find something good about the situation. Jake didn’t blame him - if someone had discouraged him, he’d want to turn it around to his advantage. But he never usually did. He was more likely to get consumed by what had been said to him and feel down about it for ages.

However, the other part of Luke’s sentence hadn’t escaped him - so he knew all the goings on of the outlaws? That was amazing. Jake couldn’t stop himself from gawping slightly, totally enthralled by what Luke was saying. He was still feeling decidedly guilty, but even just talking about Robin Hood had him buzzing like a hyperactive bee with a personality disorder. “Really?” He replied, awestruck “Do they- what’re they- I mean, wow!” In his mind he knew he sounded entirely stupid, but his mouth only seemed capable of incoherent babble

[Luke Scarlett]

Luke couldn't pretend he knew a lot about farms and what running one entailed, but he knew it was hard work. The farmers that had hired his father to repair or build the wooden equipment were always strong men, with muscles developed from years of manual labour. Jake didn't seem like the type at all, he couldn't imagine him working the fields all day, or even milking a cow for that matter. "It must be hard..." He said quietly, not wanting to discourage Jake but needing to let him know that he understood it wasn't easy. Before Vaysey he'd had a path set out for him too, in the family business whether he had a talent for carpentry or not. Now though, Luke half wished he had that certainty and familiarity back.

"You've never thought about selling the farm?" Luke asked. If it wasn't what Jake wanted out of life then he could use the money to fund a different path for himself. But it probably wasn't as easy as just exchanging some money and handing over the reigns. There must be a reason farming ran in families like other professions did. "I mean once the Sheriff is gone and things are better again." It was unrealistic to think that anybody would have the money to spare to buy a farm the way things were right now. He did however have a childish and possibly naive belief that it would improve when Vaysey was overthrown and the King returned.

He couldn't help but be infected by Jake's enthusiasm about the outlaws. While Luke got irritated that all people only ever recognised his brother and never himself there was also part of him that couldn't help feeling proud that Will was part of Robin's gang. They inspired people. He grinned broadly and even chuckled as Jake stumbled over his words in his eagerness to get a question out. "I'll tell you all about them." He assured Jake, still amused. "But we can probably go and see if Kate isn't busy now, that way she can fill in the gaps because I've been away a while." Luke explained taking Jake's arm and dragging him over towards the Miller's home.

[jakeplatt]

Jake shrugged at Luke’s comment on the difficulty of farm life. It was hard work, made all the harder by how much he resented it, but he didn't want Luke to know that. For one, they'd already discovered that monopolising the conversation with depressing subjects just made things awkward and upsetting, and he was enjoying talking to Luke far too much to let that happen again. Plus, the boy had offered to work for him, he didn't want to scare him off.

Jake cocked his head to one side when Luke mentioned selling the farm. It wasn't something he'd ever considered before. Perhaps it was because he'd been born there, grown up with it. It was difficult to contemplate the one place you've known all your life suddenly not being there any more. Well, of course it'd still be there, he thought to himself, just not his. That didn't seem right some how. As much as he disliked the farm and the work that went with it, it was still his home.

Luke's comment about the sheriff stopped him thinking about it too deeply, though. He snorted in response, before clapping his hand over his mouth seconds later, realising how rude that must of sounded. His cheeks coloured again, and he hurriedly apologised "Sorry, I didn't mean to- sorry" He looked sheepishly at the ground, but thankfully Luke didn’t comment on it, and he was saved any further embarrassment by being dragged off to talk to Kate. Maybe Luke was just trying to get him to be quiet, but the promise of hearing about the outlaws quenched his fear somewhat.