candybox | In which the hurt/comfort genre is redefined as "hurt/sass"

In which the hurt/comfort genre is redefined as "hurt/sass"

It had been sloppy work, in retrospect. Reckless, Achilles would say. Which was why he was now sitting, bent double, behind a pile of crates in an alley, trying to stem the bleeding from his wounds. His head was throbbing, he had a bruised eye that was quickly becoming swollen, a shallow -- but bloody -- blade wound across his chest, and what had been either a bullet or grenade shrapnel that had grazed one of his arms. Connor was a mess, and he felt every inch of it.

The fight had been totally unplanned. He was passing through New York on business, intending nothing more than to run a few errands. No assassinations. But when he'd spotted a group of tax collectors harassing a poor family and threatening them with eviction, he couldn't help but intervene in the only way he could: with force.

What he didn't expect was for a regiment of soldiers, including Hessians, to join the chaos that ensued. Connor managed to escape with his life, but there was little now that he could do for that poor family. Yet another property would be appropriated to the Crown, and he'd botched his attempt to stop it.

Wincing, he struggled to his feet, one hand pressed over his chest. Somehow, he had to slip out of the city before he was discovered...

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Haytham had his own trouble with the watch. A brief plot involving the theft of a written missive and a dead courier resulted in a separate patrol herding him into the same alley. The difference was that he had avoided a fight entirely, and hadn't a scratch on him. He considered taking to the rooftops, but he wasn't sure there was enough time to climb without being spotted; they were looking for him nearby. In fact, there were more around than he expected. From one side he saw Redcoats in the distance. From the other, Patriots. Their proximity made for an incendiary tension; if they came any closer to one another, there would likely be bullets flying everywhere, but at least that meant he'd probably have an easier time slipping away in the chaos, if he wasn't the one spotted first.

But as he maneuvered to slip behind a stack of crates, he was surprised by a presence already there, nearly crashing right into his broad chest. He instantly recognized the white robes in a quick glance, and without taking the time to ask questions or establish why either one was there, he grabbed his son's arm and forcefully tugged him back out of view, into the long shadows of the crates.

"I am being followed, stay low," he finally explained, his voice just above a whisper. He figured this coincidental encounter was a lucky stroke; working with Connor, they could wipe out the detachment together, if they stayed hidden long enough to construct a good ambush. He was about to explain this, when he noticed his palm was strangely wet.

"...Connor?" he asked, looking at his hand, which was covered with blood, and then at his son, finally noticing the terrible condition he was in. Haytham's expression became a grim frown.

Connor really was getting sloppy. He noticed the other figure slipping into the alley far too late, by which point Haytham was already seizing him and tugging him back behind the crates. Of all the people he had not wanted to see, it was his father. He had hoped one of his recruits might be in the neighbourhood, perhaps another ally, but this just made things worse. Of course Haytham had brought trouble with him, and no doubt as usual he expected Connor to deal with it for him.

And then, of course, there was the risk Haytham might just finish him off if he saw he was a liability instead. Gritting his teeth and trying not to show pain, he shot him a guarded, mistrustful look. "...Father."

In the shadows he couldn't get a good look at the extent of Connor's injuries, but from what he saw, it looked bad. There was a lot of blood, which was obvious enough on white robes. He probably wouldn't be able to handle a fight right now. Or for a long while.

He sighed with audible annoyance, as if the injuries impeded him more than Connor.

"I suppose you won't be of any use in that shape," he lamented, unknowingly confirming at least one of Connor's suspicions, glancing around the corner of the crates as he measured the distance of their pursuers.

Edited 2013-10-08 15:09 (UTC)

Connor bristled at that reaction, even if it was an expected one. For all the times he'd saved his father's neck, Haytham could at least try to care beyond self-benefit. "I still have some shot remaining," he said, fingering his pistol. "If we must fight our way out, I can cover you."

Whatever course of action they chose, they needed to move quickly before they were boxed in on their position.

"Wonderful. You can drop at least two of them before over a dozen more have me surrounded," he predicted, gesturing impatiently with his bloodstained hand. "I saw Patriots down the other way. With a good deal of luck, they will spot each other first and make themselves distracted with their squabbling."

As he looked Connor over, he was concerned that the boy might be more critically injured than he could determine, but he did not show those thoughts. To Haytham, it seemed sentiment would have been more an obstacle than a comfort, and an impossible breach of the aggressive tension built on sarcastic remarks already established between them. Connor had not exactly been considerate about Haytham's beating by mercenaries.

Perhaps he would have been more considerate had Haytham not abandoned him to fight off those same mercenaries alone. At least they had only been trying to beat Haytham -- they had been trying to kill Connor.

He considered the suggestion, then countered, "Or they will unite to shoot us to pieces first." He wasn't willing to play the optimist and put his life in the hands a good deal of luck and yet another of Haytham's ill-considered plans, so he racked his brains quickly, casting his gaze about the alley for another escape route. They wouldn't be walking out. They wouldn't be going over the rooftops either, not with Connor in the bad shape that he was. Which meant...

"Follow me," Connor said, touching his father's elbow and rising again with difficulty from his hiding place. There was no time to argue or explain. He simply lined himself up with one of the windows, took the short run-up he could in the limited space, and dived through it, shattering the glass and landing into the building.

Connor's philosophy: if you can't go around or over something, go through it.

"Connor--"

He cursed quietly, but followed, half-certain that Connor was running towards death. The noise of the shattering glass would attract nearby soldiers anyway; he couldn't stay put now. He vaulted through the window frame, landed lightly on his feet like a cat, and quickly caught up.

In retrospect, perhaps breaking down a door would have been a wiser idea, because the shattering glass only added to his scrapes and cuts. There was little time to worry about that, however. Getting quickly to his feet, Connor forced his way out of the pantry he'd found himself in, into the hall, and shoved a woman aside who had been about to run out the front door and scream for the guards.

They emerged onto the open streets. Connor sprinted across, ducking into the cover of another alley and turning a corner out of sight. Only when he was sure they weren't followed did he pause, pressing a hand to his chest. The bleeding wasn't stopping, and it was beginning to make him feel light-headed...

"...I will look for a horse," he glanced up at Haytham, before doubling over on the pretext of catching his breath. In reality, he knew he wouldn't be able to make it much further alone, but he refused to admit that.

Haytham did not return the look. He was already moving ahead, swiftly stepping past Connor's hunched-over form.

"Good. You might want to hurry with that. I am not waiting around here."

If Connor said he could do it, he wasn't about to waste time arguing him out of it, as much as he doubted the boy's current strength. Coddling him would only slow the both of them down, he figured.

He sprinted ahead to a ladder bolted into the side of a building, jumping up and catching a rung above his head and scaling it in no time.

Connor levelled a flat look at his father's retreating back, only because he knew that answer was coming and resented it all the same. But no -- he didn't need Haytham's help, nor did he expect to get it.

Keeping his ears strained for any more approaching guards, Connor forced himself to get moving again, passing through the alleys, ignoring the stares of of a carpenter in the process of fixing up a fence around the back of a house. He had to keep going...

He reached the next street, recognising a familiar tavern on the other side of the street. Three horses were tethered there, but there was also a regiment of guards posted outside, no doubt to keep watch for any potential Patriots or sympathetic rabble-rousing. Then Connor's eyes flicked up to the rooftops to keep track of Haytham -- assuming he wasn't long gone already -- while he tried to wrack his brains for a plan. If he could just draw their attention to something long enough to grab a horse and make an escape, perhaps he could make it out of this.

A corpse dropped from the top of a building further down the road. Haytham had surprised a pair of redcoats staked out on the roof, savagely impaling his hidden blades through their necks before they could utter a word. Haytham was not visible from the street, but the heavy thump of the body and the terrified cries of a few nearby citizens drew attention.

He had spotted the horses as well, guessing that this was Connor's target, even though he couldn't see him from his position, and doubled back along the rooftops. Now that the guards were investigating the corpse of their companion, Haytham had an opening to leap down from the closer roof and land crouched on top of a saddle. The horse lifted its head in alarm at the sudden weight, but Haytham seated himself and gripped the reins short before the animal could panic.

Connor was surprised at the sudden opening afforded him, but he had no time to wonder at the fact Haytham was aiding, rather than impeding him, for once. Trying not to draw attention to himself by avoiding the gathering crowd as much as possible, he crossed the street and struggled onto another horse, offering his father a brief nod of thanks.

Or maybe it was just a nod of acknowledgment. Haytham had a long way to go before he would warrant any real kind of thank you.

An alarmed shout from one of the guards made Connor wheel his own horse around, spurring it into a brisk canter in the opposite direction before they could get a good look at him. A man covered in blood was going to attract attention, and he wanted to avoid another chase if at all possible.

"There you are. I wondered if you would manage to walk this far," he greeted dryly. Truly, it was miraculous that Connor had held together this long. Now that Haytham was looking at him in direct light, Connor only appeared worse. Would he even be able to stay on the horse?

But he had no time to engage in further sarcastic quips before the shout went up. He forced his horse around at the same instant as Connor's, and was soon riding side-by-side, digging in his heels for speed.

Connor didn't even have the energy to quip back at that one, too focused on riding, hunched forwards in the saddle to conserve his strength. He hadn't forgotten his father's hideout in the fort on the south side of the town, and while that might have been the most preferable direction for his father to head in, Connor was about as eager to walk back into that place in his present condition as he was to turn back around and hand himself over to the Redcoats.

Especially if Lee was there.

So he turned left into another street and veered north instead, deciding he'd rather take his chances in the wilderness. Another potentially reckless decision, but if he made it out alive, what did it matter?

Without explanation, Haytham headed in the same direction, apparently also interested in leaving the city for the time being. By now criers would be shouting their descriptions on every major block; it was an opportune time to leave on business, not trap himself within a stagnant fort and wait for the effects of bribery to spread.

He didn't seem to notice that Connor had little energy for dialog.

"I see you have been busy today," he noted lightly as he urged his horse ahead. He pulled a folded paper from his coat and waved it where Connor could see. "As have I. Once we stop, you may be interested in looking this over. There are a few details on redcoat movements in the coming month."

That was enough to get Connor's attention, and he sat up in the saddle to get a better look. Whether he was injured or not, any information on the war was his foremost priority.

"As soon as we are well clear of the city, we stop," he said, voice hoarse as he focused back ahead, gripping the reins tighter to keep himself upright. They were already reaching the suburbs, and as long as they could get through the outer gates without being apprehended, the rest would be an easy enough escape. Or so he hoped.

Haytham inwardly admitted that Connor's endurance was an admirable quality. Out of habit, he had not given him much credit. But he might have been mistaken about the extent of the injuries; he knew almost nothing about lasting wounds, only about the points of the body that made for quickly lethal results with a blade. Perhaps Connor was not as damaged as he thought.

He tucked the missive back into his coat. "Very well. We should be able to make it there without more trouble."

It was a combination of sheer endurance, and the wound looking worse than it was -- shallower wounds had a tendency to bleed a great deal, even if they weren't necessarily fatal in the short-term. Connor still knew he wouldn't be able to go much further before his body gave out, however, so merely gave Haytham a curt nod, then dug his heels in and urged his horse on.

It was only once they were clear of the town gates and a ways into covered woodland that Connor slid -- half-toppled, really -- from his horse, which whickered and shied uneasily, scenting blood. But Connor held the reins to keep the mare in place, bracing himself against the horse's neck as he clumsily tried to unfasten his red sash to use as makeshift bandages.

No, he still wasn't going to ask for help. Yes, he was being childishly stubborn, but pride wouldn't permit him to be anything less.

Haytham, observing silently out of Connor's line of sight, finally lost patience.

With an over-dramatic sigh, he stepped from his horse and took the reins from Connor's shaking hand to tie off on a branch, fixing him with a hard look shadowed by the front brim of his hat.

"I do not believe there is any fool in this country half as stubborn as you. I suppose you will pass out before you get it in your head that you need to have those wounds looked at."

If only it were simple. But the idea of leaving Connor to the ravages of crippling infection, incapable of assisting any cause, did not seem beneficial.

Connor's breathing was becoming more and more laboured and it was getting increasingly hard to focus with the more blood he lost, so he did not protest as Haytham took the reins from him. His horse whickered and made another bid to shy away as it was tied to the tree, however, forcing Connor to grab onto the closest thing -- Haytham's arm, in this case -- to stay upright.

His pride was never going to let him live this one down.

"I see... little other choice," he rasped. The closest settlements where he might get real medical attention were a long ride from here, and anywhere he considered a safe location was even further. "What... concern is it if yours?"

If Connor lived, it would benefit Haytham in the short-term. If he eventually succumbed to his wounds, it would benefit him more in the long-term. Whatever happened, his father had every reason to be no less indifferent than he had always been.

Haytham offered an irate glare. This was exactly what he expected-- Connor stirring an argument about his own condition. Maybe he knew better, since it was his own body, but with the way he swayed on his feet, Haytham doubted it.

"You are my son," he answered, exasperated, as if that explained the complicated nature of their relationship and motives.

He looked at his arm a moment, where Connor was clinging as if a chasm had opened below him. So much for not needing any help.

"Unless you want to die of infection, I suggest you remove your robes and sit down," he ordered, carefully extracting Connor's hold so he could walk back over to the horses. He investigated the saddles and bags until he came up with a pair of canteens.

Connor gave him a long look, a mixture of annoyance and surprise. Had he misread Haytham's intentions after all? Perhaps...

Despite his misgivings, though, Connor had to concede that Haytham had a point, so he sank to the ground, and began the long and arduous process of shedding his weapons before his robes could be removed. Slipping off his bow and quiver was the most painful part, and he had to pause as a fresh wave of stabbing pain and nausea wracked him.

Once everything was finally off, the last of his energy was spent, and he lay back with a groan. The extent of his injuries became more apparent. The wound on his chest was not as serious as it could have been -- Connor had been fast enough to dodge for it not to be fatal, but not fast enough to avoid the long cut reaching diagonally from one side of his chest to the other. Likewise the bullet wound on his upper arm had only grazed, not pierced, but it had gouged out a substantial amount of flesh nonetheless and was still bleeding heavily.

"I still wish to see that missive," he said weakly. He was nothing if not single-minded, even when badly wounded.

Haytham turned back to Connor with the canteens, pleased to see that his orders were being followed, for once. He smiled with false cheerfulness. "Good. I was hoping that if you intended to die, you would at least find a way to do it with more dignity."

He crouched by Connor's side and lifted the injured arm in hand to slowly pour water over the wound. Rivulets ran red around his skin, dampening the ground below.

"It is a shame Church turned out to be such a contemptible bastard. I do not personally know any other physicians, much less the practice itself. He fulfilled a valuable role, even if his goals aligned with profit more than principle. I should have taken heed to the signs much sooner. I suppose they were there from the very beginning..."

Haytham reminisced, more to himself than to Connor, not expecting a response. But it did raise the point that he could offer no real treatment, only attempt to hold him together long enough to get him to a real doctor.

He picked up the sash, and without asking permission, began cutting it into long strips.

For all that Connor had tried to give off the impression his wounds did not bother him, he hissed through his teeth and had to resist the urge to jerk his arm away as Haytham poured water over it, leaving the wound stinging. Then he closed his eyes, apparently ignoring Haytham's diatribe against Church. Connor knew physicians himself -- Jamie, but getting into contact with him would mean turning back around to New York -- or Dr. White, which would mean a long journey to the Homestead. With Haytham in tow, both options were out of the question.

"Hickey... was little better," Connor finally replied, opening his eyes and fixed them on his father. Did he need to elaborate? The ideology of the Templars concerned Thomas Hickey even less than they had concerned Church. He had been loyal because of the money, but could have just as easily become a turncoat to a higher bidder.

Haytham really needed to work on his recruitment processes.

As he began to tear up the sash, Connor pressed a hand to his chest with his good arm, trying to stem the bleeding as much as possible until the makeshift bandages could be applied.

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In which the hurt/comfort genre is redefined as "hurt/sass"

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