Sleeptalking - [Tag Luke + Will]

[Allan A Dale]

Allan had taken the long route back to the camp, in order to clear his head a bit. The night before had been fun; he hadn’t really done anything quite so… honest in a while. And he felt it had been honest, for the most part, although he probably oughtn’t tell the gang all the sordid details (not, he mused, that there was actually anything sordid). Either way, they wouldn’t approve and he’d never be let out of the camp again.

He thought about the gang a little. How he admired Robin for being so brave, and so compassionate, and for giving up a life of luxury to help people he didn’t even know. He watched John struggle every day, trying to comprehend the pain a father feels when his child is taken away from him, when his wife is in love with another man, and although Allan knew he would likely never know that exact feeling, he tried to comfort John and cheer him up when he got into a funk.

He thought about Much, and how much the former manservant, now absent Lord of Bonchurch, made him laugh so hard, and how jealous he was of his close relationship with his master, and how often he wished he had such a close friend (and once he did have, and once again he might gain, but for now that particular song had been sung to its unfinished end, and where the tale would finally go he wasn’t sure). He thought of Djaq, and how she made such a brilliant man, and how he wondered what her secrets were - she was so closed, despite how much time she had spent with the gang now, and he so badly wanted to tease each and every secret from her, one by one until he’d unravelled the mystery that was Djaq, and he would know her better than he knew himself. He did so hate to be left in the dark.

And this, inevitably, brought him to Will. Had he gotten out alright? How hurt was he? What had Guy, or Vaysey, done to him? Was he bleeding to death while Allan took a casual stroll through the trees, crying desperately for his brother, clutching his hand as his body spasmed in pain, trying not to cry out as Djaq tried her hardest to heal him-?

The poacher shook his head, and began walking faster.

Eventually, and after a very interesting minute in which he nearly got caught in yet another trap laid by Will, he made it back to camp and was disappointed to see how quiet it was. He had left quite early, so he wasn’t surprised to see most of the gang was asleep, but some part of him had been hoping that Will would be awake and well, ready to greet him as he walked in to the leaf covered base. Instead, he was greeted by silence and the sight of a young lad hunched over the prone, pale form of Will Scarlett, clutching his hand tightly.

Allan looked on for a moment, struck by how sad this picture was, and he hoped that he wouldn’t remember it. Luke looked so tired, as if he’d spent all night awake, holding on to Will’s hand so desperately, stroking the back of Will’s hand. Allan could see, looking over Will, that one hand was a bit tender, at least - he had bandages over it, slightly pink in places, and Allan knew that meant it probably had to be changed. He didn’t know if Luke was squeamish or not but that was beside the point. Luke was exhausted. Allan looked around the room and saw his small bedroll, slept on for the first time in ages just two nights before, had no occupants.

He walked up behind Luke, carefully, silently, and laid a hand on his shoulder.

”Get some sleep,” he half suggested, half ordered. He had an inkling that maybe Luke would respond to an older, potentially wiser person right now. ”I’ll watch him till you get back up, ok?”

He hoped Luke would agree. He had some things he needed to say to Will, whether he was awake or not, and he wanted to say them without an audience, for a change.

[Luke Scarlett]

Djaq had not spent long at Will's side, but it was still long enough to set Luke on edge. He'd watched her carefully peel his brother's shirt upwards revealing already darkening bruises across his torso, painful looking blemishes across his usually pale skin. He'd seen her beckon John over to lift Will off his cot so she could reach round and wrap long strips of almost white cloth tightly around his ribs. Through all of this his brother had not stirred and it was this that scared Luke more than anything, distracting him from Much's patient words about how to prepare the rabbit and causing him to burn his fingers on the cooked meat more than once.

She'd already tended to the ragged cut on Will's hand, although Luke had not watched her actions too closely as even thinking about the blood seeping freely from the wound made him feel ill. When Djaq was done tying off the bandages around Will's chest, and Little John had laid him back onto the bed, she began to collect together her things, putting them away with a clinical efficiency. Then she rose, warning them not to disturb him, and left the camp. Luke looked at Much and Little John, daring them to try and stop him from returning to his brother's side.

And that was where he had remained, knelt beside Will's cot, holding tightly onto his uninjured hand and watching his brother sleep. He hadn't budged when Much had finished the food and he and Little John had sat down to a rather subdued meal, Much filling John in on the details of the days events. The giant of a man allowed Much to speak, remaining quiet throughout much of the exchange, and when he was finished eating he retired to his corner of the camp to his bed loud snores punctuating the air not long after.

Much had remained awake for longer, seeming restless and watching the entrance to the camp with worry lines creasing his forehead. Robin and Marian had still not returned and while Luke suspected that the two of them had found somewhere to spend the night in privacy, his admiration for Robin too great to believe that anything bad had happened to them in the castle, it must still be unsettling for Much. The feeling must be similar to the constant burn of fear Luke had felt when he hadn't even known if Will was still alive.

Eventually Much gave up waiting and went to bed too, sleep coming to the man much slower than it had John as it was only after an hour or so that his soft whistling snores joined those of his fellow outlaw. Several hours later Djaq returned, it was too dark for Luke to see her expression as she checked on Will as the fire had burned down to an ember glow, but she did not do anything to him so his condition must have at least have been stable. Then she left for her cot too and Luke was left to his vigil, shifting every so often to prevent his legs from cramping. His fingers were still wrapped around Will's cold hand the pad of his thumb brushing across the back of his brother's hand as though remaining here was a comfort to the elder Scarlett boy and not just a way to ease his own worry.

In the darkness Luke felt his eyes drooping with sleep. His head dropped forwards several times as he almost drifted into dozing but every time he jerked back awake, rubbing at his eyes to try and clear the fuzziness from mind. He watched his brother's shadowy figure, heartbeat speeding up every time Will shifted slightly in the hope that he was stirring. Light slowly filtered into the camp and even though it was much brighter Luke was still having to fight off sleep.

He was so absorbed in his brother, all other sights and sounds muted by his weariness and concentration, that he didn't realise Allan was there until the outlaw laid a hand on his shoulder. He started, fear rising in him until he realised who it was. “But Will...” The protest died on his lips as he followed Allan's gaze over to the unoccupied bedroll. The thief's expression was not unkind and he realised he wasn't sending him away out of a selfish wish to be with Will but because of a concern for Luke himself.

He nodded, rising slowly to his feet, the muscles in his legs twinging as he had remained still for so long. ”Ok,” He said quietly, finally letting Will's hand drop from his grasp and allowing himself a final glance at his sleeping brother's face. He turned to make his way over to Allan's bed but stopped before he got more than a few paces.

”Allan?” He looked back at the outlaw, a kind of uncertain neediness in his expression. ”You will wake me won't you? If- If anything happens.” He had to know that he wasn't going to miss his brother waking up. His lips set in a grim line as he considered the other possibility. He wouldn't forgive himself if he slept through the loss of his final family member. He hunched his shoulders and crossed his arms, trying to offer himself some sort of comfort. It wouldn't happen. It couldn't.

(OOC: Sorry for everyone I godmodded in the post, I figured since they were only little things y'all wouldn't mind that much. Uber post number one down. Only several more to go!)

[Allan A Dale]

Allan patted him on the back as he got up, ready to help him if it was needed. He was glad he put up no resistance; the kid was shattered. When Luke was on his way, he sat down in his place and looked at Will. He wondered if he was comfortable, and what he was dreaming about, if anything.

His head jerked up at the sound of his name, and he faced Luke. The boy- no, the young man looked so insecure, like he expected something awful to happen.

Allan remembered the pink stain.

Oh.

”You will wake me up won’t you? If- If anything happens.”[/i]

”Of course,” he nodded. But only if he thought it was really important. If he didn’t have to wake anyone up, he wouldn’t. They all needed their rest; it had to have been a hell of an exhausting day for them, emotionally and physically. There was no reason to disturb them. ”Just go sleep, Luke.”

Allan sat quietly, listening to the breathing (and snoring) from around the camp, and especially to the breathing of Luke. He didn’t want anyone to be awake, he was embarrassed enough as it was. He looked around and wondered where Robin and Marian were, then shook his head – they were fine, the gang wouldn’t be sleeping if they were missing, or captured.

He fiddled with his cloak a little, unsure if Luke was still awake or not. By himself, admist the sleeping outlaws, he couldn’t really tell how much time was passing. He busied himself with fetching some more white cloth for bandages and unwrapped Will’s loose hand carefully, not wanting to wake him up. He didn’t look peaceful, exactly, but nevertheless he probably needed the sleep. Allan dropped the unravelled cloth to the floor and studied the injured hand, gasping a little. A blade had gone clean through the top of his hand, and Allan had to resist the urge to run his fingers over it, see how deep it went. His fingers brushed the underside of Will’s hand, feeling the callused skin from years of whittling away at wood, and they caught on the exit point of his wound.

The blade had actually gone all the way through his hand?

Allan felt a stab of anger and unconsciously grasped Will’s hand a little tighter. Who had done it? He wasn’t surprised, and he wasn’t hurt, exactly – he was just angry. If he were honest about it, he’d been expecting a lot worse. What with the unsuccessful attempt on King Richard’s life, Marian’s failure to die at Gisborne’s hand, Allan’s own betrayal, Robin surviving once more… He’d been expecting the first of them to be caught to be killed there and then, no questions asked. What would the point be, keeping any of them alive? They wouldn’t tell them anything, and the others wouldn’t betray the rest of the gang. Allan didn’t include himself in the list, unsure of whether it was because he thought he would betray them again to save his own hide, or whether he just thought he’d be dead the moment he set eyes on Guy.

He hoped it hadn’t been Guy who had stabbed Will. Over the time he’d spent in the castle, he’d grown to respect the leather clad noble, and realised that much of his apparent villainy was merely misplaced anger. He had nothing else to live for; Vaysey was his only key to power, to wealth, to any sort of life for himself, and so he had to do as asked. But he knew, from the capture of the children, from his love for Marian, from simple little things, that he wasn’t quite as bad as he seemed. Sure, he liked stabbing people a little too much it seemed, but everyone had their vice.

The world wasn’t made of black and white, as he’d tried to tell Robin once upon a time. It was shades of grey. It was just up to Guy to get out of the darker shades.

Allan shook himself out of his musings. He needed to bandage Will’s hand back up, and started doing so gently, wadding the beginning end against the palm of his hand and wrapping it round carefully. He remembered a time he’d been stabbed in the leg years before, during a game of poker when he’d been caught out cheating, and rubbed the scar absently. It had hurt, but a village healer had told him to apply alcohol to it and change the cloth on it regularly, to stop infection. He hadn’t applied any alcohol to Will’s wound, but he trusted Djaq had already seen to fighting any infections.

He tucked the end in neatly, just between his finger and thumb, and settled Will’s hand down on his knee, putting his own over the top of it. He threw his cloak over Will, in case he was cold (and Allan knew that being cold when you were ill or injured was horrible), and paused afterwards.

He was turning into a real mother hen.

He chuckled at that thought, thumb rubbing the top of Will’s hand absently, reassuring himself that it was still there, that Will was still there – they were all still there. He was thankful for that.

He listened for a moment, to see if anyone was awake, but not a sound was heard; it seemed he was the only one awake, for now.

Good.

He shifted himself closer to the bed, just in case someone woke up and overheard him (because that would be embarrassing), and rested one arm next to Will’s prone form. He smiled sadly at his friend, batted his leg gently in admonishment.

”What did you go do that for, you bloody pillock?” he whispered. ”We coulda just walked out of there, but no, you had to go be the bloody hero and now look where it’s got you!”

He paused, and sblack personed. ”Guess Little Will won’t be getting any attention any time soon.”

He shook his head, still laughing at the thought and what Will would have done had he heard such a statement – turn red, maybe, kick Allan in the shin like his little brother did, maybe even retaliate with some quick witted quip. Will had gotten more vocal since he’d been away, it seemed from their last conversation.

He sighed, let go of Will’s hand long enough to run his own through his hair. The man was asleep, why was this so hard?

”I don’t believe you, Will,” he eventually muttered. ”When you said you forgave me. How can you? You were so angry at me, it hurt. A lot more than when Robin punched me.I mean, we used to be really close, you know?”

He laughed a little, self-deprecating. ”You were going to take me home to Auntie Annie, remember?”

He put Will’s hand back down on the bunk, and leaned back, looking at his own hands, dirty and rough. He twiddled his thumbs, looked up at Will, who was still lying there, asleep. Then he went back to staring at his hands, the ceiling, anywhere else.

”I don’t see what you can see in me. I mean, Djaq said I am a good man, but I’m not. I’ve done some really bad things. Worse than you know. An’ I’m not proud of it, but it’s a fact of life, innit? Everyone does things they wish they could take back.”

He shifted. ”I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry, and I’m failing at that. I’ve… I’ve never had to think about other people. I’ve never had to think about the consequences before, really. And I want to promise… that I’ll do my best to not screw up any more. I don’t promise to be perfect, but I’ll try to.., be a better man, and a better friend.”

His gripped his knees.

”I’ll give you a reason to forgive me, Will.”

He started laughing, a little too loudly, but quickly quietened down and giggled to himself instead. He looked around, hands stuffed into his mouth, and checked. No, it looked like everyone was still asleep. He was still alone here. He latched on to Will's hand again, squeezing it tightly to reassure himself that Will was still here, and Allan wasn't alone, not really.

”Maybe I am starting to sound like a woman. Comes from spending too much time around you, I reckon.”

[will]

(Since Alsa loves my Will & Jane I'm gonna do tad bit more !..though i sense I'll be playing Ghosty!Jane in the future aint that right Alsa? XD)

It had become silent between the two Scarlett's and Will actually liked it. Just seeing his mother well...he guessed alive made it feel like she never died in the first place. Like the past five years under the reign of Vaysey as Sheriff of Nottingham was just some nightmare that he had finally woken up from. He just wished that it was true but he knew deep down when he would wake up the nightmare would just start up from where it left off.

"William, its time" she said looking back at her elder son. Breaking out his thoughts Will looked at her "Your leaving?" he said with raised brows. "No, but you are" she said with a tiny sad smile. "Oh..." nodding lightly he looked down suddenly wishing that he wasn't. "We will see each other again William, I promise" smiling she leaned forward and kissed his forehead lightly before pulling back with a smile.

"I love you William" Jane said lifting a hand to tuck some hair behind his ear. "I love you too" he said with a tiny smile while looking at her and noticed she had tears in her eyes. Before he could say anything she lifted a hand to stop him "Wake up" her voice sounded a little odd but he quickly understood why it did. As soon as she said that he suddenly felt tired again and fell back against the bunk he had woken up from before.

-------

”I’ll give you a reason to forgive me, Will.”

The first thing he could hear was wind blowing against trees outside of the camp. But slowly everything around him started to come back to focus. The soft noises of near by snoring that he guessed was the gang. He heard a voice but sounded a little echoy like he was in some sort of cave. He quickly noticed when he started to wake up was that there was warmth in his hand. He didn't have the energy to move it so the second best thing he could was move his fingers a little. It was simple enough get ones minor muscles working it would make the rest follow suit.

(bah short

[Allan A Dale]

(OOC - Indeed I do.. XD Looking forward to more Jane~! I say we stick to shorter posts now, get more covered quicker!)

Allan jerked upright when he felt Will’s finger move, and for a moment he though he had imagined it, when he felt the muscles twitch again. His heart seemed to stop beating for a moment, and…
Yes, there it was again.

Will was waking up!

He kneeled down beside his friend, keeping hold of his hand and placing the other on Will’s shoulder in case he tried to sit up. He didn’t know what injuries Will had, and didn’t want either of them to risk injuring him further. Besides, it probably wouldn’t take much effort to keep Will lying down. He felt a little resistance against his palm, but Will quickly settled back down again.

Allan moved his hand from Will’s shoulder to rest it against his forehead and checked the man’s temperature. He didn’t feel feverish, so he calmed a little and stroked his hair back from his face instead.

”Hey there, mate,” he whispered, smiling so widely you’d think it was his first Christmas. He pondered getting up and waking up Luke or Djaq for a moment, but decided it could wait a minute. He wanted to see how much Will had heard of his little speech. While yes, he had been apologising, he wasn’t quite sure he was actually ready for Will to hear it. ”How ya feeling? Need some water?”

[will]

Finally gaining what strength he could muster he opened his eyes and was greeted by pale blue eyes looking at him. Which Will knew only could belong to one person. "Allan?" his name came out a little horse due to being asleep for so long and not swallowing. He attempted to sit up but was forced back down lightly by Allan. Will guessed it was probably for the best considering what he had gone through. The last thing either of them wanted was for Will to hurt himself more the he already was.

”How ya feeling?" "Like I fell down a hole" Will said with a tiny smile while looking at the older outlaw. "Need some water?” the brunette outlaw simply nodded before he glanced around the camp a little. His eyes drifted towards where Allan would be sleeping and noticed a smaller body resided in Allan's bunk.

"Luke" Will couldn't help but sigh knowing that all Luke had done since they had got him out of the dungeons was worry himself to death because he had fallen asleep before Djaq could help him. Turning his head back to Allan he raised a brow "Is he alright?".

[Allan A Dale]

Allan nodded as Will said his name. He was awake, properly awake; good. He wasn’t sure he would be able to deal with it if Will hadn’t been coherent. He was bad with sick people, and children, and women. He wasn’t, he mused, very good with many people.

”Like I fell down a hole,”[/i] Will had replied. Allan chuckled. Yeah, he could have guessed that. Although, to Allan, it looked like he probably felt a little worse. Like being tortured by madmen.

”Looks like we’re having a bad week eh?”

Allan stood up to fetch Will some fresh water, and was disappointed to find they were running low; someone would have to go fetch some more soon. On his way back, he saw Will looking at his younger brother, looking worried. He turned his head to face Allan as he settled back down next to him, kneeling once more, and helped Will by holding the cup to his mouth. He doubted Will would be able to hold the cup himself.

As Will drank, Allan replied. ”He’s exhausted. I think he stayed up all night, worried you’d disappear if he took his eyes off you. I kicked him off to bed when I got back here.”

He shifted guiltily. ”He asked me to wake him up when you woke?”

It was less of a statement and more of a question. Did Will want the fussing attentions of his brother, and Djaq (as Allan ought to inform her that Will was awake too)?

[will]

Will was thankful for the extra help for the drinking of the water. His throat felt didn't feel all dry like before so talking was probably going be much easier on himself. Hearing Allan mention a bad week Will couldn't help but roll his eyes at the older male "I have had better". Sighing Will looked down to bring his hand wounded hand to eye level for a second. The bandaging was new from what he could tell and didn't want to unravel it yet.

He already knew what was the bandaging was covering. He remembered the first time he had woken up in the dungeons he couldn't move a finger let alone his whole hand. Shifting his glance to Allan for a quick second he bit down on the inside of his mouth before slowly but surely he was able to make his hand curl into a fist. Course it hurt but looking past the pain he was able to move his hand. He smiled to himself before he slowly uncurled the hand.

”He’s exhausted. I think he stayed up all night, worried you’d disappear if he took his eyes off you. I kicked him off to bed when I got back here. He asked me to wake him up when you woke?”"No let him sleep, I'm not any where I will be here when he wakes up" Will said looking over at the sleeping form of the younger Scarlett boy. He felt guilty for putting Luke through the worry. Will could guess it was like watching their mother slowly die but instead of their mother it was Will.

[Allan A Dale]

”I have had better.”[/b]

Allan chuckled at that, taking the cup back off Will when he had finished his drink. He stopped laughing as Will raised his hand to look at it, and clenched his fist. He panicked slightly. Was he supposed to do that? Was Djaq going to kill him when she woke up?
”Er, might wanna just let it rest mate,” he said nervously, taking Will’s hand and lowering it back down. ”I don’t want to risk death by Djaq again just yet, thanks. I like my gut having no holes.” He patted the hand a few times to get his point across - stay there.

He shifted round, sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the bunk, and stretched his legs. He’d been sitting for longer than he thought and was slightly stiff.

Allan was slightly relieved that Will wanted to let Luke sleep, although if the kid found out Allan hadn’t woken him straight away, he knew he was probably going to be subject to another kick. He rubbed his leg at the ghostly memory of the sharp pain and smiled. At least he knew what he wanted, he supposed, and he wouldn’t be able to blame him; even though now Allan realised there was probably no danger of Will’s deteriorating once he’d left the dungeons, he could understand the worry. It was normal.

From the look on Will’s face, apparently he needed reminding of that. He turned his head so he was looking at the carpenter.

”Oi, no guilt tripping today, got it?” he mock-scolded, waggling a finger at Will. ”He was gonna bloody worry whether you got gutted by Guy or stood on a splinter. It’s a brother’s right, that is.” An image of Tom flashed before his eyes, and he pushed it away; he could give Tom some time later. Allan stretched a little, lowering his arms and grinning up at Will.

”Besides, if you’re gonna go and bloody rush off to have Gu- Gisborne wallop you round the head, you gotta take the consequences.” He flailed his arms a little to emphasise his next point. ”And you call that fighting? I think I’ve seen a chicken wield an axe better than you did!”

Not that you’ll be using them any time soon, he thought, eyes wandering to stare at the bandage again. Who had done it…?

(OOC - and now off to work. Wish me luck? xD And enjoy the Silver Arrow Contest! You'll have to catch me up on what I miss when I get in~ Save me something to do!)

[will]

”Oi, no guilt tripping today, got it?, he was gonna bloody worry whether you got gutted by Guy or stood on a splinter. It’s a brother’s right, that is.”"I'm not guilt tripping" Will said looking at Allan with a tiny scowl. Will wasn't very good at lying so it was pretty clear that he was feeling guilty that he made Luke worry. If anyone could notice his horrible lying skills it could be Allan. Last he checked Allan was a professional at lying he just some times had to be careful not to trip over his own lying sometimes.

”Besides, if you’re gonna go and bloody rush off to have Gu- Gisborne wallop you round the head, you gotta take the consequences.” "What I did was best then all of you getting caught Allan" he said with a tiny sigh before he tried to sit up once again. Though soon as he tried he figured out why Allan had forced him to lay down again. With the sudden movement caused his ribs to shift making a wave of pain show itself. Making sure he didn't show any pain for it he laid back down again.

”And you call that fighting? I think I’ve seen a chicken wield an axe better than you did!”"Well I don't think I have to worry about wielding an axe anytime soon" he said lifting his bandage hand up again. "Anyways, I think Luke did a good job back at the dungeons more then I did in Knighton" Will said with a tiny proud smile. "I guess those years before I was outlawed paid off" Will had taught Luke some basic axe skills when they were younger under the watchful eye of Dan Scarlett.

[Allan A Dale]

Allan rolled his eyes. If Will wasn't guilt tripping, he was the King of England. But he wasn't going to pursue it. There was no point - the lad was a god awful liar, despite Allan's best attempts to teach him otherwise, and he figured Will would always be that way. It was who he was, at the end of the day, and part of Allan was glad that Will wouldn't change.

"Yeah, I guess," he admitted, rubbing his head slightly. "But I still reckon we coulda gotten out of there rather than get you caught and go through all this, y'know." He winced as Will moved, and started to shift in order to make him lie down again but stopped - there was no need, he'd figured it out for himself. Ouch.

Allan winced once more, nodding, gulping. He had to ask, he couldn't bear not knowing. "Uh, who did it? You know..." he trailed off, feeling rude. Will probably didn't want to think about it right now. He pondered the thought of Luke fighting, and nodded. He approved. He wasn't surprised, really; his brother had been in trouble and the lad wasn't exactly incapable, and he was a Scarlett. They were stubborn gits. He wondered if Luke would be better sticking with axes or if he ought to get hold of a sword, or perhaps even daggers; one of the nobles had a pair Allan had been eyeing up during his stint in the castle, and he didn't think it would be difficult to get hold of them...

Allan stopped those thoughts. He didn't know how long Luke was going to be with the gang; knowing Will, he wouldn't want his brother in the line of fire, so to speak. To be honest, Allan wasn't bothered - the kid was old enough, and had proven he could look after himself; that was enough for him. But he was the last member of Will's family, and he could understand that.

Allan was a little surprised, although he knew he shouldn't have been. "You taught him? I'd figured it was your dad..."

"I probably ought to get Djaq to come take a look at you," he mused, not making any effort to move at all. He didn't want to. The gang needed their rest. He was quite enjoying his own rest, if he were honest, and was dozing off where he sat. He absently scratched his elbow, itchy from the new clothes, yet to be worn in.

[will]

"Uh, who did it? You know...""I didn't catch his name" the brunette said with a tiny shrug while looking at Allan. "From what I can remember he was jailer or something" everything from the dungeons was still in little hazy in his head. He guessed it was because of the knock to the head that he didn't remember a lot. "Guy asked me where the camp was, I didn't tell him" he said with a tiny smile knowing that Guy had also asked Allan where the camp was but he never told the leather clad noble where it was.

"You taught him? I'd figured it was your dad...""Well we both did" he said with a tiny nod. "I just taught him the little things that my dad didn't want him to learn" which was true in a sense. Will had taught Luke where the varnable places were on a person's body to cause minor or if need be major damage. Dan had only taught Luke the simple things to defend himself if need be. Will on the other hand wanted Luke prepared if anything happened.

"I probably ought to get Djaq to come take a look at you,""No it's alright le--" Will was cut off by the sound of some groaning in their sleep. Which made him automatically look at the younger Scarlett sibling. When their mother passed away Luke was plagued by nightmares because of it. Jane Scarlett had passed away in her bed and Luke had been the one to find her cold, still form in bed. Both Dan and Will were woken up by the younger boy's screams because of it.

Will quickly put to-to together in his head and figured Luke was dreaming about instead of finding their mother dead it was him. "Allan wake him up" he said shifting his glance from the groaning boy and back to older outlaw.

[Allan A Dale]

Allan near enough sighed with relief. He wouldn’t mind trying to kick this other guy’s head in. His breath did hitch slightly when Will mentioned Guy’s name, and he smiled at Will, an fake smile; it was good Will hadn’t told anyone, but Allan nearly had.

Nearly.

That was close enough.

Allan was surprised to hear Will had gone against his father’s wishes, and yet at the same time he had half been expecting it. From his last (quite literally) encounter with his father, he’d proven there was some kind of unresolved tension between the two - that of a father unwilling to realise his child was no longer a child, but as much of an adult as he was himself. It was a sad thing to see, especially as it was practically the last conversation he’d had with his son. Allan found himself wondering who had taught Will these things, but he was quickly distracted.

His head whipped round to his bunk, seeing the younger Scarlett curled up in a ball. He could hear a slight groaning, but wouldn’t have gone over to check on the lad without Will asking him to. He had seen the concern in Will’s glance and figured something was up, so he scurried over to Luke and placed a hand gently on his shoulder, shaking him. He moved it to brush the lad’s hair away from his face and was surprised to find him sweating. Grimacing, he wiped his hand on his trousers and spoke as softly as he could. He knew how horrible it was to wake up to an annoying voice.

”Luke? Lukey? Come on mate, time to wake up.”

He felt guilty for not waking up the boy sooner, like he had promised, but he had needed the rest. Although, thinking about it, it didn’t look like it was a refreshing nap for the poor orphan.

[Luke Scarlett]

Luke was back at his childhood home, the familiar sounds of Locksley village murmuring in the background, although when he tried to turn the world was a blur of scenes that didn't quite seem to fit together. The ramshackle wooden house stood out in it's detail, everything from his youth depicted perfectly down to the grain of the wood and the little knothole that was just the right height for peeking through on the rare occasion that Luke and his brother had been sent away so that their parents could talk in supposed privacy.

He ran a finger over the blemish in the wood then pushed the door inwards, entering his home with a joyous grin on his face. Mother would be pleased to see him, he felt like he hadn't been back here in so long! Luke scampered through the main room, past the workroom because if father was in there he wouldn't want to be disturbed, to the bedroom. Jane had been resting a lot recently and the room was kept dark a lot of the time so she could sleep. Luke crept inside approaching the bed cautiously so as not to wake his mother if she was sleeping. He could see her pale form laying peacefully on the straw mattress, her hair fanned out on the pillow and her eyes closed in rest.

Luke reached out to touch her cheek and frowned, her flesh was unusually cold under the warmth of his fingers. Her skin was discoloured to an ashy grey and as he moved his hands to her shoulders to try and shake her awake he realised the deathly cold had spread through her entire body. He grasped her shoulders perhaps a little tighter than he should and shook gently, not wanting to shock her awake. ”Mum?” Luke asked tentatively and when she didn't rouse he shook a little harder. And then harder still, her head lolling backwards and forwards and tears prickling at his eyes that refused to be blinked away.

He dropped her from his grasp suddenly, running from the room. Dan would know what to do, Luke's father was his hero (aside from Will) and he always knew. Bursting into the workroom he spotted his dad bent over the table, probably working on some carving. ”Father!” He cried, voice tight with barely contained fear. ”I can't wake her.” He knew he sounded incoherent, but he was desperate. Dan hadn't moved, hadn't even looked up as his son entered the room.

”You have to he-” Luke was cut off from his plea as his hand brushed his father's shoulder, trying to get his attention. The touch had dislodged Dan from his seated position and the nightmare began anew. His dad was slumped forwards on the table, his eyes open and glassy, blood staining his shirt around a gaping wound in the man's back.

Luke gagged, whimpering and withdrawing his hand. Somehow the sticky liquid of his father's own blood had got on his hand and he stared at it horrified. A choked sob broke free of his throat as raw panic set in. He turned disorientated and stumbled from the house, tears streaming freely down his face and nausea roiling through his stomach. Will... he needed to find his brother...

Will Scarlett was lying face down in the dirt. Battered and bruised, cuts littering his face and arms, a deep, bloody knife wound marring the palm of his hand. Luke staggered over and collapsed to his knees beside him. Despairing sobs shook his body as he clutched at his elder sibling's bloodied shirt. They were all gone. All of them...

”...Lukey...”[/i] A hazy voice broke through the fear. Luke sat up with a start, his head colliding with Allan's. Pain blossomed in his cheek and he clutched at it, movements still jerky and his heart rate erratic. Luke looked about wildly, not really taking in his surrounding, his mind still on the dream.

”Will?” He yelped, his face was wet with tears and the rest of him was soaked in a cold sweat. Ignoring the hand that Allan still had on his shoulder Luke scrambled to from the outlaw's bed and rushed to his brother's cot. He flung his arms over his brother's torso, the angle awkward as Will was still lying down, and buried his face into his brother's side still crying uncontrollably. Will was dead... he just knew it.

[will]

From where he was laying Will could not really see what was going on. That was until Luke woke up and his head collide with Allan's. Stunning the older outlaw for a couple seconds while Luke rushed from Allan's cot and to where the older Scarlett boy was. Will didn't have a lot of time to react to Luke placing himself on him so it caused the wind to be knocked out of him. The extra pressure to his chest hurt but he wasn't going to express it knowing it would probably freak Luke out.

"Luke, Luke" Will said with a tiny smile before lifting his good hand to rest it on top of his younger sibling's head. "I'm alright" looking over at Allan for second Will couldn't help but laugh lightly knowing that Allan was probably still seeing stars from the hit that Luke had caused. Smiling Will shifted his glance back to Luke and lowered his hand from Luke's head and went moved to his back.

Giving the younger boy's back a couple small pats to effort to calm him down. "Luke, look at me" Will knew it was only way for to calm Luke down as far as Luke knew he probably thought he was still dreaming. When Luke finally raised his head to look at him Will smiled "I'm okay".