A Place Called Home [Tag A+L]

[Luke Scarlett]

Luke made a face, a combination of horror at the thought of stumbling across an old lady in her undergarments and irritation at Kate scolding him for his terrible manners. His mother had died when he was relatively young and so Luke had missed out on a lot years of having good manners drilled into him. With only Dan and Will to teach him how to behave some basic etiquette had fallen by the wayside. That was part of the reason he hated living in Scarborough with Auntie Annie, she was always hitting him across the back of the head when he forgot to say please or thank you and spitting into hankies and then rubbing them on his face.

"Is the Sheriff around much?" He asked a little nervously. He knew it was unlikely that someone as self-centred as him would ever remember what Luke looked like as he was just another nameless, faceless peasant, but that didn't mean it wasn't still a worry. Staying in Knighton was beginning to sound like less and less of a good idea. Peter might report him to the guards or they might just recognise him. Either way he ended up back in the dungeons, or worse hanging from the gallows.

"An apprenticeship? That sounds like I'm signing up for a lifelong profession." Luke was reluctant to do anything like that. As far as he was concerned living in Knighton was just a temporary condition and he'd be out of there as soon as he could convince Will to back down. He hadn't said it out loud but it must be pretty clear to both Allan and Kate that he had plans to join the outlaws and if that was the case then there was no point signing up to a promise of work that he couldn't keep.

"And I can't really afford to work for free, but taxes make it pretty hard for anybody to hire help." Luke kicked at the floor feeling thoroughly downhearted. It was probably childish and sulky of him to twist all the helpful suggestions Allan and Kate were making into reasons why his life was a tough one. He couldn't help it though, he wasn't feeling in a sunny and positive mood and right now for him it was pretty impossible to see anything going right for him. "I hate the Sheriff." He added sullenly, feeling the need to lash out at somebody.

[Allan A Dale]

Allan shrugged. Vaysey hadn't really bothered with Knighton in recent months, though he might do now that Marian was definitely in town and probably annoyed at someone taking over her turf. He wondered how Marian was going to respond to that, actually. Knighton was her birthright, to have it taken away like Guy's family had Gisborne taken from them... Didn't seem like a fair deal, whether she was an outlaw or not. Of course, Vaysey had been in town a few days before, as evidenced by the fact Will was still holed up at camp, with his hand in bandages, so maybe he was intending to come down more often? He shook his head a bit, this was all a bit too confusing.

”Might be he doesn't bother anymore, what with the new lord,” he mused aloud, trying to figure out what was going on. Why was he giving the land away, anyway? Just to annoy Robin and Marian? Probably, he always seemed that sort...

”Meh, I've gone through a couple of apprenticeships and then run away because I didn't need the accomodation anymore,” Allan admitted, not at all ashamed. Times had been hard, he'd needed a place to stay and he'd been young enough to get away with it. ”Don't have to be life long – you might find you're a bit cack-handed with a pile of iron, I know I was. You can learn some good skills though. Anyway, it was just a thought.”

Allan did indeed understand what Luke wanted – he'd figured it out pretty much as soon as Luke protested to his leaving. He couldn't blame the kid, really – Will was his last real close family member and he wanted to be near him as well as do something good for his hometown. Alright, so he couldn't relate but he did sort of get it. He also understood why Will didn't want him to join the gang. It would be interesting to see which one of them would win, especially if Luke was anything like his brother when it came to being stubborn. Allan suspected it was probably a family trait.

Luke was getting really down about working. It was all true, though, and there was nothing they could say or do to change that. Instead, Allan opted to try and cheer him up. ”It'll all work out, mate, it always does.” Not necessarily true, but worth a try.

”Ah, lot of people hate the Sheriff, but we've gotta put up with him for a while longer yet,” Allan nodded sagely, realising he'd probably said more than he meant to. The general public didn't know about the reasons for keeping Vaysey alive – that it was necessary until the King returned. He shrugged. ”Chuck some mud at a brat. Might make you feel a bit better.”

[Kate Miller]

It was true, the Sheriff never really bothered now Marian wasn’t in his grasp. Before he would have taunted and laughed at her expense over everything. Like with the little kids last year. Trading them for black diamonds. The thought of it made her feel sick. With Gisborne attacking Robin in his ‘invincible armour’. He still paid his visits though, with a hope that Marian would be there to torment a little bit more.

”Let’s hope not. Or maybe he’ll sniff around more to make sure he’s doing his job properly.” IT wouldn’t surprise her. Gisborne sniffed around so much towards the end of the previous reign that she could just put up with the Sheriff doing it now. She just wouldn’t go out in the square whilst he lurked – nothing please him more than beating on a helpless peasant – and she had had enough of men getting the better of her.

Kate had never had the need for an apprenticeship, having her mother’s trade to take up – the thrills of it – but she was good at it so what did it matter? She stopped herself from laughing at Alan. It was so typical. Pick up the skill then leg it when you did something wrong in the neighbourhood more like – not not needed the accommodation any longer.

”Nobody can afford anything any more. Let alone working for free. It’s a miracle people are wanting they’re clothes fixed by a professional for the competition. It’s not like I can charge them properly. That would just be cruel.” It would work out when the King came home and the Sheriff was ousted and Robin was back as Lord of Lockleys Manor. At the moment that didn’t really seem very likely.

”don’t we all,” she muttered under her breathe at Luke’s revelation. It wasn’t new – nobody had ever liked the rat. He was an evil, conniving bastard. It wasn’t new to hate him.

”Just make sure my father isn’t watching whilst you do that, all right?” she commented before sighing slightly and picking up some of the stuff Allan had brought for them – her family who appreciated the food, nobody would really appreciate the material except her.

[Luke Scarlett]

"Even if he doesn't hang around the new lord will probably be just as bad." Luke predicted gloomily, determined to spin everything in a negative light now that he'd worked himself up into a bad mood. Luke was quite talented when it came to professing doom, clearly brooding was another trait that ran in the Scarlett family. "Anybody given lands by the Sheriff must be rotten." He reasoned, so that Allan and Kate would know he wasn't just being grumpy for the sake of it, he had a justification too.

Luke couldn't help but smile as Allan spoke of abandoning his apprenticeships in the past. It was rare to get to hear about what Robin and the gang had done before they became outlaws as they were so fixated on the troubles now. It sounded just like Allan to be a scoundrel, he had been a thief after all. "I wouldn't mind farm work." Luke pondered the suggestion, maybe he should give what they were saying a chance, instead of just turning it down flat out. "So long as there are no cows." He wasn't fond of cows.

"I'm not going to pick on some kid just to make me feel better!" Luke protested, he had as strong a sense of justice as his brother. Besides it wasn't so long ago that Luke had been that kid. "If I'm going to be throwing mud at anybody it'll be a guard." He probably shouldn't be saying he was going to be causing trouble while he was here because it would somehow get back to Will. (Basically Allan would tell him.) And then Will would come marching down here and put him on the next cart to Scarborough.

[Allan A Dale]

(OOC: Allan needed the room! *pouts in defense*)

These two were a right pair, Allan decided. Couldn't they look on the bright side of life for a minute? Not everything was doom and gloom, and they weren't going to get anywhere just thinking about the negative things. Being down about everything was just going to make it worse, send them into a spiral of despair and end up with them letting themselves be hung.

Okay, so that was a worst case scenario, but the concept stood. No one had any money, he understood that well enough, but they were getting some help! Robin hadn't stopped helping since he'd gotten back, and while he knew it wasn't enough they could at least be positive about that. They did have help, and they could afford some things – they could get the food they needed to live on, surely that was good right? Allan knew he was being a bit hypocritical now – he'd done anything he could to earn more money, to set aside for the future – but there were things to be happy about! Kate had company, Luke wasn't dead; Will wasn't dead, which is what everyone had been worrying about, right?

Except now Luke was talking about how the new lord was probably rotten (really, people didn't seem to understand nobles at all, did they? Rotten was the norm; people like Marian and Robin were the exception to the rule that proved the rule was true). To be fair, he probably was, but that didn't mean he was going to be particularly unfair. If the bloke had any sense, he'd actually give his new villagers a break, if only to get the general strength up so he could work them harder.

”Maybe a farmer's been hit hard, has no kids or something to help him out,” Allan mused. It happened even in the good times. ”Not pleasant for him but handy for you.” Gee, was it just him or did he give off the impression of being a bit of a money grasping git, even going so low as to take advantage of people in a hard time? It was sort of true, but he wasn't been mean – he was being practical.

”I'm sure it's cheaper to come 'ere and have you do a bang up job than to do a half arsed one themselves and have to go out, buy more cloth, and spend more money on the clothes. It's all maths,” Allan declared.

This pair were no fun.

”I did say a brat. Brats deserve it,” he grumbled, crossing his arms in a mock strop. ”Just make sure you've got a door to dive into after you chuck it then, yeah?” Allan said to Luke with a faux-suffering sigh, and walked over to him just to ruffle his hair. Brave kid, really. People had been hung for less.

[Kate Miller]

No, looking on the bright side of life, in her current state of mind and situation, was not something Kate liked to do often. So what if negative thinking wouldn’t get her anywhere, it would do her for now – until such times as the world decided to get off her back and her father backed off and left her alone – then she’d start positive thinking – maybe.

”A few guys round here might be able to help you out. One of my friends could probably use a hand.” she smiled slightly. Jake Platt had been a great friend of hers for a few years now, he, like Luke, had lost both of his parents, but he was the eldest out of the pair of siblings; he had to run the farm and look after Emma. Maybe he could use a hand, she’d try and sort it the next time she saw him.

She smiled slightly, ignoring the pain in her lip as it tugged on the cut. ”But then if they fixed the clothes themselves the save all the money they could.” There was that optimism thing again. She tried to be positive, she did, she was all smiles and laughs whenever she could be, but it was hard to play happy-go-lucky all the time.

”Brat or not, it’s a kid. And Luke has a point, a guard is a bigger better target, even if it would in the end get you in more trouble,” and she’d know all about picking on guards. Having smacked one round the head with a hunk of wood two nights previously. Not that Luke knew that of course – neither did anyone. That was another thing she hoped didn’t get brought up again, if she saw that guard she was most probably get arrested for collaborating with an outlaw.

If only they knew. If she was going to get done for outlaw collaboration she might as well do it in style. She had already housed an outlaw, clothed the outlaws, and was now having a nice long chat with the same housed outlaw. She might as well go for protecting that same outlaw as well. As defenceless and idiotic as he could be.

”At least we’ll all get our fair share of food next Saturday, with that buffet calling all the locals to it, I can’t see anything happening but eating and drinking and drinking and eating. Can you?”

[Luke Scarlett]

"I don't know," Luke said reluctantly, looking at Allan a little warily. He hadn't realised the outlaw could be so ruthless, if he had to would he betray the gang to suit his needs? He hoped not, for Will's sake. He knew his brother and the thief were close, it wouldn't be easy for Will if his closest friend turned his back on them all. "I don't really want it to be a permanent job and I'd feel bad taking advantage of somebody if I had no intention of staying..." He shifted uncomfortably and lowered his gaze, not elaborating as to why he didn't want a permanent job. It should be obvious enough.

"Would you, Kate?" He asked, feeling a little more positive about his prospects if he had Kate looking out for him too. She was sure to have far more contacts in Nottingham than he did, considering he'd been away in Scarborough and he didn't know how things had changed. Of course there was still the little bubble of defiance within him, the part of him that longed to tell them both that he wasn't a kid and he could take care of himself. He didn't need charity from Kate. Luke knew he couldn't say something like that without being incredibly rude, Kate was putting him up the least he could do was be gracious about it.

Luke was slightly surprised that the two of them seemed to be encouraging him to throw things at the guards. He'd been expecting some kind of lecture on playing it safe and keeping a low profile. Well, he wasn't that surprised that Allan was encouraging him, the guy was a scoundrel through and through and Aunt Annie would never have approved of him. Kate had always been more protective though, but he supposed he should have known what she was capable of. She'd always been as up for adventure when they were kids as either Will or William.

"I know how to cause mischief without getting caught!" Luke defended himself, ducking his head as Allan tried to ruffle his hair. It was so annoying when people did that, he would have bet money that Will had told Allan to do it just to get on his nerves. He let out a breath of air in a small disgruntled huff and crossed his arms, glaring at the outlaw. Then he brightened as Kate mentioned the fair again. It was definitely the only good thing to look forward to, if only for the free food and drink.

Luke did a double take, his eyes flicking back to Kate and looking at her again, more closely this time. There was something... different... wrong. His jaw almost dropped when he realised what it was. Had he really been so wrapped up in his own problems that he hadn't noticed the bruise and the split lip. Both serious enough that Luke couldn't imagine they were caused by any accident. "Kate," He said her name shortly, worry tightening his chest. "What happened to your face?"

[Allan A Dale]

Ah, geez, what had he said to freak the kid out? He was looking at him like he was about to pounce or something. It wasn't like he was going to hand them all in to Gisborne or something. Now he felt guilty, and he didn't even know what he'd said to deserve such a feeling. He did, however, roll his eyes as Luke admitted he didn't want a permanent job. Wonder why that is? Allan thought sarcastically.

"That, mate, ain't up to me," he muttered, referring to Luke's desire to join his brother in the woods. "That's up to Robin and your brother." And it could very well take a lot to convince them - Robin would declare him too young, although he wasn't exactly a child and clearly could fight, and he was Will's baby brother. His only family.

Allan didn't think Luke would be making it into the gang anytime soon. He wasn't so sure he could blame the others.

It was good that Kate knew someone Luke could help out. It had to be better than any of his suggestions, anyway. And Luke seemed much more pleased by that prospect, too. He didn't mean to be treating Luke like a little kid, not really... He just seemed to emit that kind of aura.

Why were they both so keen on attacking guards, seriously? Allan wasn't exactly a good role model when it came to picking the right fight, but he was suggesting little kids to keep them safe. So it was mean, at least the worst that would happen would be a lecture from the kid's mother. "I'm not being funny, but would you two quit it? I'm not gonna be the one to go back to Will and have to explain why you're both doing the rope dance, alright?"

And Luke was glaring at him again. Geez, see if he was ever nice to the kid again.

"We'll see what trouble we can cause," Allan said, rubbing his hands together in glee. Oh, that fair could be so fun. And he already had an idea forming...

"What happened to your face?"

"Ain't you a nice lad?" he rolled his eyes, conviently forgetting his own reaction to Kate's injuries. He put on a grin and laughed. "But it's her own fault! Was she clumsy when you were a kid?"

[Kate Miller]

Sure thing Lukey, I’m sure he won’t mind, even if it is part time. she commented amazed at his current failure to say anything about her injuries, not that she wanted him to. She’d rather be saved the grief of being asked the bombardment of questions she knew was about to come her way, as soon as he did. The kid wasn’t an idiot, she wouldn’t be able to fool him for long.

Rope dance? That would have made Kate laugh, if it didn’t hurt to do so, she had no intention of being hung any time soon. Especially for something so petty. ”The time I get to Nottingham on the Sheriff’s accord is when I’m caught with outlaws in my house.” granted that was her own fault for letting Luke invite them in, in the first place. Clouded by his trusting judgement she let it slide. Her father on the other hand hadn’t let Allan’s presences slide. HE certainly wouldn’t if he knew exactly who he was, but again, he wasn’t about to find out any time soon unless Luke let it slip.

”You guys,” she said referring to the outlaws, ”Will never cause trouble without somebody knowing about it. It’s impossible! she refrained from laughing again, only out of the fear that she was crack the healing scab over her lip. She flinched slightly as she grinned that little bit to far, and that’s when Luke noticed.

”What happened to you face?” she heard him ask shocked. Charming.

”Always been that bit clumsy me. I slipped up by the well, had fun with the wall. It doesn’t like to be hit I’ll tell you that for a pinch of salt.” she said, she wasn’t about to answer any more questions on the matter. She knew she’d slip up.

”I guess you better be going, before my father finds you here, Allan,” she said, not wanting to hint in any way towards the fact that he had before. Luke may twig at something then. He knew her father was a protective guy, even a little over-bearing on any guy. He wasn’t about to add two and two and make five. He was smarter than the rest of the group gave him credit for. ”Thanks for the food, and the clothing, it’s a great help.”