InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "He brought me flowers."

Will Stutely (sly_stutely) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2020-06-23 14:49:00

Entry tags:

guy of gisborne, robin hood, will stutely

WHO Will Stutely, Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne
WHEN A few days after this
WHERE Brooklyn, an abandoned dockside warehouse
WHAT Robin mounts a rescue
WARNINGS Violence, references to torture

The last time Bill's captor had left him, he'd secured the cuffs to a railing above head height. It was low enough, just, that if he stood perfectly straight against the wall with his arms fully extended, the chain still held a little slack in it. But the moment his shoulder slumped or his knees weakened - the moment he gave in to the pull of exhaustion - he'd feel the raw bite of the metal around his wrist and fresh pain would lance down his arms and back, jerking him back into wakefulness.

His captor remained a terrifying enigma, nameless, vicious, utterly impossible to predict. He'd disappeared without another word that first night, leaving Bill cuffed to a pylon and yelling obscenities to his retreating back. He hadn't returned until long after the sun had risen and begun another descent, long after Bill had shouted himself hoarse and discarded as hopeless every one of his desperate escape plans.

That visit, Bill had made the mistake of asking through cracked lips for a drink. His captor had paused, seemed to actually consider the request for a couple of breaths. Then he'd smiled nastily. Next thing Bill knew, a cloth bag was being pulled taut over his head, his shoulders were pinned, and he was drowning in an ice-cold flood of water.

Bill had not asked about food.

The questions were always the same. Which one was he? What was his name, his real name? What did he know about Robin Hood, about the old country, about the others? Mad, incomprehensible questions. Every answer he gave was the wrong one, and every wrong answer earned him another beating, another dousing in water.

As the days had blurred into each other, he'd felt himself growing delirious. Green curled at the edges of his vision. Sometimes he imagined coarse rope, rather than metal cuffs, gnawing into his wrists. Sometimes the rope was looped around his neck. And once, once his captor had seemed to loom over him clad in the most bizarre Halloween costume, a hooded thing of horse hide, with ears and mane sprouting from the crown. A laugh had bubbled out of him unbidden at the sight of it, and earned him another broken finger and a couple of cracked ribs.

And that jittering, buzzing sensation at the base of his skull, the one he'd tried for weeks to drown out with drink and schemes and action, now it thrummed through him with a persistent, urgent rhythm.

In these moments, in the silence between his captor's visits, Bill realised there was a melody to it. If he strained his mind toward it sometimes, he could almost make out the words.

His lips moved with the effort and unthinkingly he began to mumble along. "Tidings of... tidings... no, wait... hey down derry derry FUCK--!" His foot slipped, the cuffs bit deep, and the melody slipped away from him in the wash of pain.

"Fuck," he hissed.

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	sly_stutely 2020-07-08 04:22 am UTC (link)
	Will's patience was fraying at about the same rate as Robin's, and now it snapped. "Gee, I don't know, Rob, maybe if she wanted to? If she did it to hurt you or rat on us or for some other reason you didn't bloody bother to find out? Or how about if he fucked with her head the way he fucked with mine? Thought about that possibility?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

stealn_ur_richz
2020-07-08 04:36 am UTC (link)

Robin was ready to punch the air, a tree, or Gisborne's face. Robin played hero, he'd done his good deed, but he wasn't exempt from being a total prat. "Why can't even one of you be on my side."

Robin huffed standing up as Stutely managed to ask the right questions. "No!" He raked his hands through his hair and over his face. "I didn't think Giz was all that good at playing mind games." But he was, because he was more complex a villain than just the same old cutout.

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sly_stutely
2020-07-08 07:34 am UTC (link)

So the others had been against Marian's ousting, too. That spoke volumes more than any of Robin's addled attempts so far to justify it.

Will raked the fingers of his good hand through his hair, sighing. "Well, he is, mate. He is. He recognised me well before I twigged on him. He saw I was in a shit place and he used it, and soon enough I'm strung up in a warehouse being tortured. Just cos he's not as smart as he thinks he is, doesn't mean he ain't smart enough to stick the knife in where it hurts."

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	stealn_ur_richz 2020-07-08 11:53 pm UTC (link)
	"I thought he was always just a daft prick." Robin sat back down with a growl of disapproval. He wanted to stay angry, and his loathe for Gisborne was still paramount. "What did he say to you, that worthless wanker." Robin gritted his teeth and popped the string of his bow as if he were about to shoot another arrow into the night. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sly_stutely
2020-07-09 01:01 am UTC (link)

Will shook his head. He couldn't go there, not yet, not with Rob – and besides, Robin was deflecting. "Doesn't matter. Point is, you don't know what happened with him and Marian and you didn't ask. Use your bloody head, Rob, for fuck's sake!"

He drained the rest of the water and set the bottle down at his feet, wincing as his bruised and aching body protested. Another thought struck him then, and he glanced sideways at Robin. "And not for nothing, but what you're doing now? Turning on Marian, cutting her off cold? Might just be the exact result Gisborne wanted."

Will didn't know that, not really. He had no more idea than Robin what had happened, or why. But it was true their enemies only benefited from them being divided. And, more to the point, telling Rob that his sulking was playing into Gisborne's hands might just get him to bloody cut it out, if only out of pure spite for the man.

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stealn_ur_richz
2020-07-09 03:47 am UTC (link)

It was a matter of pride. Gisborne had not only slighted him, but had pressed Robin into a corner and poked him with his accomplishment. Marian for Gisborne was his accomplishment and he'd bested Robin. He'd bested Robin. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"For a guy with so little to say earlier, you certainly have a lot to say now." That was a jab but the defeat in his voice also proved he was right. Robin was not yet emotionally able to show he was weak to any of his men, he never could.

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sly_stutely
2020-07-09 04:59 am UTC (link)

Will snorted, twitched a crooked smile. "Yeah, well, for a clever lad, you can be a proper berk sometimes." He said it without any real irritation. He'd spoken his piece, and that was enough for now.

The exhaustion was bearing down on him now. Where had Rob said he was staying? Had he said? "Might be best if we continue this elsewhere, hey? State I'm in, we're like to get done for vagrancy."

(That, and he was in increasingly desperate need of first aid, a shower and passing out, and not necessarily in that order. Robin wasn't the only one who was good at deflecting.)

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stealn_ur_richz
2020-07-11 03:39 am UTC (link)

Robin snorted and picked up his bow. He would have had a smart remark but instead he gave Stutely a reassuring grin. Robin would get there on his own, he'd find his way.

"Yeah, mate," he held out his hand for Will, helping him to his feet as he grabbed his elbow and put his arm back around his neck. They walked a few feet and Robin stopped, "You know Little John might be a big help about now," Robin was small compared to both of these men, he'd showed off his skills and had Gisborne twisted and tied up for a while, but now Robin needed the help.

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