Down the Rabbit Hole (Matthew/Francis Past)
Feb 23, 2018 14:00:53 GMT -5
Post by Matthew Williams on Feb 23, 2018 14:00:53 GMT -5
“Turn you out?” he repeated, a bit surprised that that thought had even crossed Francis’s mind. They were blood, the only family either of them had up until Iris entered the picture, and it wasn’t like his brother was the deplorable sort of pirate with no remorse or conscience. His heart was good, intentions as well outside of pirate business, and he had done the best he could over the years since their parents’ passing to look out for him. “... I may have built a new life here, but I would never try to keep you out of it because of your ties to that old life I led too. Please don’t worry about that.”
“Besides,” Matthew continued with a soft chuckle, “I don’t think you’ve moved up the ladder enough in that lawless world for housing you to be dangerous. I haven’t seen any wanted posters.” Admittedly he kept an eye out for that, not wanting to see Francis’s notoriety rise to that point. Having a bounty on your head and your face posted all over would make avoiding people wanting to kill you a whole lot harder, and he wanted his brother to live.
Truthfully, the bigger risk was that the wrong people would find out about Matthew’s own deeds, from his time as a pirate. Iris knew, but understood that he was trying to put it behind him & live honestly. Others may not be so forgiving.
... Not that he would burden Francis further by voicing that, since he really didn’t think his brother’s presence would put them at risk. His brother wouldn’t have come here if he thought he’d been followed or was being targeted, and he didn’t want to put the elder through worrying about inconveniencing them more than he probably already had, all by himself.
Instead, he heard the other out. It wasn’t all that strange of a request, seeing that Iris had done the same for him when he’d chosen to try to shake off the pirate life. He’d sometimes have gruesome nightmares from that time, and shoot up in the middle of the night, wild-eyed and not fully aware of being safe in actuality. She’d helped calm him down and reassure him then, and still did from time to time, though thankfully those dreams came to him less and less now.
“I can do that for you. It helped me to have someone do that for me, when I left. Maybe just set your knife out of reach, during the time I stay. You’re devilishly quick with that thing,” he teased, confident that with weapons set a safe distance away from being grabbed in a sleepy panic, he could match his brother if he grabbed him reflexively and calm him down.
“Besides,” Matthew continued with a soft chuckle, “I don’t think you’ve moved up the ladder enough in that lawless world for housing you to be dangerous. I haven’t seen any wanted posters.” Admittedly he kept an eye out for that, not wanting to see Francis’s notoriety rise to that point. Having a bounty on your head and your face posted all over would make avoiding people wanting to kill you a whole lot harder, and he wanted his brother to live.
Truthfully, the bigger risk was that the wrong people would find out about Matthew’s own deeds, from his time as a pirate. Iris knew, but understood that he was trying to put it behind him & live honestly. Others may not be so forgiving.
... Not that he would burden Francis further by voicing that, since he really didn’t think his brother’s presence would put them at risk. His brother wouldn’t have come here if he thought he’d been followed or was being targeted, and he didn’t want to put the elder through worrying about inconveniencing them more than he probably already had, all by himself.
Instead, he heard the other out. It wasn’t all that strange of a request, seeing that Iris had done the same for him when he’d chosen to try to shake off the pirate life. He’d sometimes have gruesome nightmares from that time, and shoot up in the middle of the night, wild-eyed and not fully aware of being safe in actuality. She’d helped calm him down and reassure him then, and still did from time to time, though thankfully those dreams came to him less and less now.
“I can do that for you. It helped me to have someone do that for me, when I left. Maybe just set your knife out of reach, during the time I stay. You’re devilishly quick with that thing,” he teased, confident that with weapons set a safe distance away from being grabbed in a sleepy panic, he could match his brother if he grabbed him reflexively and calm him down.
