storybroken | [event: flashback]

[The title does lend weight to the seriousness of the situation, and James turns to give Robin his full attention, his brow slightly furrowed as he listens.]

I've met such men before.

[He sighs, glancing out at the trees.]

Just not usually in such a prominent position. Of course, my father isn't likely to take the word of outlaws.

[The look he throws Robin then is ironic, but it makes it clear that while the king might not, James isn't above taking what knowledge Robin gives him under consideration.]

[ His lips quirk, a sardonic twist. In the firelight and darkness, Robin looks older than his twenty years would suggest. ]

Ironic, but I knew taking this position meant losing the weight of my words where it counted. [ He shakes his head, taking another long drink. ] Thankfully, this is the time for action, not words.

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Often actions alone speak loudly enough.

[And if all that James has heard is true, Robin's actions will speak loudly indeed. The prince hasn't seen enough to make a firm judgement yet--he'll need to meet with Prince John himself for that--but he does know which way his instincts are beginning to lean. And they're not with Prince John.

[Which is why he ends his words with a soft, sincere smile in Robin's direction before taking another mouthful of his drink.]

[ Robin's smile expands into something more jovial. That sounds like the best he's going to get out of the prince's favor for now, and there's nothing left to do but let the night pass. ]

Speaking of actions... we still haven't figured a way to deal with our little tie.

Haven't we? I thought that's what we were doing now.

[He lifts the mug and tilts it thoughtfully as if to peer inside.]

I imagine if we drink enough this will begin to taste good.

[ Robin laughs. ]

That takes quite a bit of drink to get to that level, but it does happen...

[He sneaks a sidelong glance and a smirk.]

I'd wager our contest that you'll get there before I do.

[ He scoffs, tipping back another large drink. ]

We'll see about that.

I imagine we will.

[James downs the rest of his mug in one fell swoop and pulls the mug away with a smirk at Robin.]

[ Robin follows suit quickly, then calls for someone to retrieve more drinks. Two men stand up, look at each other, then both rush to the kegs in order to grab twice as many drinks as requested. It's easy to see what the prince and their leader are up to, and by the time the servers are back with the mugs, several other men are paying much closer attention.

So the night goes, a contest between two leaders with nothing to higher than their own pride on the line. There's an actual reward, sure, but at this point it's about more than that... to Robin, anyway. His men cheer him on, roar with support and laugh with the spirit of the competition. James doesn't do too poorly in gathering his own small set of fans, either, despite Robin's obvious advantage. Once or twice, Robin pauses just long enough as if to catch his breath or brace himself, then continues; war wasn't always the most happy of places, but the soldiers definitely appreciated their brew and Robin has learned to do the same. Even so, he's off-kilter tonight and already worn from the day's work. He suspects James to be in similar straights, so at least they're still on even keel.

By the time Robin is fairly sure he's nearing the end of his stamina, he manages to sneak a glance toward James. He couldn't possibly be doing much better by now, right? ]

[Unfortunately for Robin, he isn't the only one who'd seen war, and even if James hadn't he still often snuck into the soldiers' barracks for social time when he was younger. Of course, that doesn't mean James isn't equally as weary after the day, so Robin's right on that score.

[Unlike Robin, however, James doesn't seem to be showing much sign of his drunkenness--outwardly, anyway. His pace is so nonchalant that it's easy to believe he's not having any trouble at all, since he doesn't seem to be needing to pause in the least. By the end he's propped up with one elbow against a log, one leg bent, and is wearing a small, absent smile while he picks up his next mug. He sees Robin and grins, toasting him with the mug before swigging it. The way he's lying and acting is so casual you'd think he's not nearly as affected as Robin is even at this late stage.

[It's a good thing they're not seeing out of his eyes, because to tell the truth he's not entirely certain it's Robin he's toasting.]

[ Robin giggles to himself. Oh, this is great. If James isn't going to back down, then neither is Robin and then the both of them are going down with the ship. Only there's no ship... but, as Robin tips back the last of his drink and begins overbalancing off the back of the log, he realizes they're definitely going down.

Thunk.

While Robin's special brand of luck means he didn't end up with anything spilled out all over him, it also means he didn't see James go down first. He's going to have one hell of a headache in the morning to go with his sore arm and rapidly bruising ego. ]

[James drains his mug and leans his head back against the log to gaze up at the stars, still with that silly absent smile on his face. He does hear the giggle and the thunk, but he really, really can't tell if he actually heard it or not. Even so he chuckles out loud, because if he did hear it, does that mean he won?

[Except suddenly his eyes are closed and he has no idea what that happened. His eyes are closed, and this log is comfortable, and his mug is empty--oh yes, the prince is asleep.]

[Will had been watching this entire fiasco with a sigh and rolling his eyes every so often as his uncle-cousin and the prince Robin brought with him did their stupid drinking contest. Once both men were down for the count, Will made his way over to Robin, moving his mug out of the way before picking the younger man up and carrying him in his arms almost with ease.

He glances over at the sleeping prince before looking around for someone. When he spots him, he gestures with his head in a "come here" movement.]

Little John, I'll take care of Robin and put him away for the night while you can take care of his royal drunkenness over there. We'll need to keep an eye on him, so perhaps a night in the mud at the center of camp is the best place for him.

[There are a few grins and chuckles from the surrounding men, but Will's already heading over to Robin's tent with Robin still in hand. He's got to make sure his arm is okay before he can let his cousin continue on sleeping, of course. Will knows that whatever Little John decides to do with the prince will be good enough and keep him from trying to cause trouble.]

[ Little John grins widely at the suggestion. ]

I like the way you think, Will.

[ He moves to unfasten James' sword and hand it off to another man, then pulls the prince carefully up over his shoulder. The man isn't injured, nor is he family, and so the potato sack treatment is what he gets. (James should be glad he isn't being dragged out.) John moves near to the center of the camp, where the area can be seen from almost any angle, and sets James down in the center. It's the best way to keep him from running off without being noticed. John does, however, retrieve a spare blanket to spread over the man haphazardly before going to check on the cousins.

Robin, for what it's worth, only lets out an instinctual whimper as his arm is jostled and pressed lightly against Will's chest. He doesn't wake, and the pain soon settles into the oblivion of the ale. Whatever hiccups or coughs that come are softened by the archer's quiet breathing. Although he's pretty far gone, when Will begins to treat his arm, crusted with dirt earned over the day and night, he reacts, gasping and trying to struggle to awareness. ]

[As if James is going anywhere until at least morning. He hardly even reacts to being picked up, except to sigh and shift a bit when John sets him down, and then instinctively grip his blanket when it's thrown over him. He is very heavily asleep, in case they didn't notice.

[So he doesn't really notice that he's sleeping in the middle of the camp on the hard ground, right next to the patch of what would be mud if there'd been any rainfall. As it is, if he rolls over at any time during the night he's going to wind up in it. Though that's likely going to be the least of his worries when he wakes up.]

[With Robin's arm in hand, Will was trying to be as gentle as he could while still cleaning and taking care of it in a precise and quick manner. When Robin starts to stir, a hand gets placed on Robin's chest gently for a moment to try and let him know that he's not getting attacked in his drunken stupor.]

There's no reason to panic, uncle. It is only me. I'm merely fixing that scratch the princeling decided to see fit to give you. There are rumours floating around about him and I'll have to share them with you when you're actually aware of it. Can't have you missing out on good information when you can hear it at a later time.

[But that doesn't stop him from going on about little things around the camp that happened while Robin was out finding himself a prince to play with. While he continues speaking, he finishes up bandaging Robin's arm and makes sure to get him settled in bed so he won't wake up later in too much pain.]

--And I believe that should be it for you, uncle. I'll see you when I wake up in the morning. With some of my hangover cure for you and your princeling.

[So he'll leave Robin's tent and go do whatever he needs to do until Robin and James wake up with terrible headaches and he has to make them hangover cures.]

[ At the sound of Will's voice, the touch of his hand, Robin begins to settle. Words themselves have no meaning in his deep sleep, but the cadence of safety coming from someone he recognizes and trusts allows him to stop struggling.

He doesn't know the situation, yet his arm hurts and that should be enough to prod him awake; Will's presence is all that keeps him calm, reminders of a time when they were younger, when they had so much less to worry about. It's... nice, and Robin's breathing turns even, contented that Will is obviously ahead of the game again. ]

[James is oblivious to it all. To everything. Even when the dawn comes and the camp starts to wake up, James remains fast asleep on the edge of the mud-puddle, hand curled loosely in the edge of the blanket and face resting against his other palm.

[It's not until it's getting on to midday and the sunlight starts shining through the canopy that James begins to stir. It beams in his eyes and he instinctively frowns against it, turning to try and avoid the light; but he can't get away from it, and the discomfort drags him out of sleep. Not that wakefulness is somewhere he wants to be anyway, because once he reaches it all he can feel is his aching body and throbbing head, and with a groan he rolls over, putting his head in his hand as if that will help stop the hangover.

[He doesn't notice the fact that he is now technically lying in a dried-up mud-puddle. Or that he's in the middle of a camp. Let him wake up first pls.]

[Somehow, Will has impeccable timing on starting to make his hangover cure because he notices James is starting to wake when he's getting everything in his small pot to mix together and let sit for a few minutes. Once it's mixed, he walks over to the prince and nudges him with a foot, possibly attempting to roll him over.]

It looks like you've returned to the land of the living, princeling. I'll have something for your hangover in a few minutes, but until then, get yourself woken up fully so we can have ourselves a nice little chat until Robin wakes up.

[The sound and sudden nudge makes James flinch and moan, and he gropes automatically for the hilt of his sword. When he can't find it he cracks his eyes open and looks blearily up at the man standing over him, squinting and shading his face against the sunlight.]

Wha ...?

[His voice comes out croaky and he makes a face, suddenly certain there's fuzz growing on his tongue. Surely that would explain the dryness in his mouth. Even so, he manages to lever himself onto his elbows and squint at his surroundings--which is when it finally sinks in that he is, yes, in the middle of a camp, without a tent in sight. And that there's a mud-puddle beside him. And under him.

[He's cognizant enough to know that he'll feel embarrassed later, but right now his head hurts too much for him to care. It takes another minute but he manages to sit up, still holding his head, and focusses on one phrase.]

Hangover medicine?

[Letting out an annoyed sigh, Will waits impatiently for James to sit up so he can speak to him properly. This would be the part where we say Will is a polite host, but lol this is the guy who had James be dumped into a mud puddle.]

Yes, hangover medicine, but you'll have to wait a couple minutes until it's finished. Now, until then, you're going to be answering my questions.

[Hey, cut him a break, Will, He's got the hangover of all hangovers! Pressing a hand to his face, James takes a deep slow breath, trying to centre his mind through the pound in his head and the roll of his stomach. What does become clear is that he's apparently going to get interrogated while he's hungover, and despite himself he feels a ripple of incredulous amusement.]

May I at least have a hand out of the mud first?

[There's a moment where it seems like Will is considering the pros and cons of assisting him, but he eventually holds his hand out so James can take it to help himself up. He's not a complete dick, after all, and he has yet to find any proof to outright hate him.]

Now why don't you tell me who you are and what you're doing here? I know you're a prince; your horse gave that away quite easily.

Thank you.

[James manages to not need to lean on Will to steady himself once he's up, but he still closes his eyes and keeps very still so he can orientate himself and stop his head from spinning. Then he opens them and gives Will an odd look, his eyes a bit tight with the headache.]

So did Little John. My name is James; my father's the king of Lakesee. But before I answer much more than that, I'd like to be able to sit down. Which one's your tent?

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