Intercomm: Ready
Title: Ready
Author: secretchord
Word Count: 666
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Sheriff, Davina
Spoilers/Warnings: 2x01
Summary: Vasey deals with the aftermath of the events in "Sister Hood."
Disclaimer: I do not own Robin Hood BBC.
He spent the night on the floor, on his back, just staring at his birdcages.
The moon was bright. It's light sat across his belly in one thick band and disappeared somewhere into the middle of his room. Occasionally his eyes followed that silver path into the shadows, followed it to its end, where it merged into black and he could feel an echo of that darkness inside.
He looked back up, at the bottoms of the birdcages. The creatures inside made little nestling noises every once in a while. But mostly they were silent. And he was silent. And the shadows crept closer. And the moon was cold on his skin.
And Davina was still dead.
And he stared, and listened, and breathed.
She had always been the most beautiful thing, fair-haired and green-eyed, tall, fine-boned. Exquisite. In their younger years, she had refused suitor after suitor. “My mind is made,” she'd told him once. “I won't marry.”
He hadn't scolded her. He hadn't even been surprised. Only intrigued. “Why so?” he'd asked.
She had tossed her hair, smirked. He remembered the firelight sparking in her eyes.
“No man would be good enough. Don't you agree?”
“Yes,” he said to the sleeping birds.
They did not respond.
He shifted, curled into himself. The torn window papering fluttered in a breeze he couldn't feel. The quiet sank into him. It was heavy inside and around him, like oil - spreading, saturating. It pressed in. He couldn't breathe. He rolled onto his back and inhaled, but the air left him again in a shudder and a spasm, and in a bizarre rearrangement of his world he was on his feet and swinging at the birdcages, ripping at them, until feathers and sharp squawks surrounded him and he had one of the birds in his hands and he crushed it, ground the life out of it as his heart pounded and his eyes stung.
The other birds were still shrilly chirping, but he ignored them, ignored the ones that had escaped and were flapping madly in the darkness. He stared down at the broken thing in his hands.
And held it to his cheek. And felt the softness against his skin. And felt the emptiness inside it.
“Are you going to say goodbye to Mum?”
He scoffed.
“She's already forgotten us. You shouldn't waste any more time thinking about her.”
“Her face looked bad. It was all...sunken in. Gray. I hate it. I hate her. She's so disgusting, and I hate it!”
“Good! She hated you! Now you have two choices, Davi. You can stay here with her and watch her rot, or you can pack your things and come with me. But make up your mind quickly. I'm not staying here a minute longer than I have to.”
She wilted for a moment under his sternness. She looked lost, abandoned, and his patience started to wear. But her back stiffened. She raised her chin, and despite the tears glittering in her eyes, her voice was firm.
“I'm coming with you.”
Stated like a queen giving a royal decree. He touched her cheek.
“Good girl.”
A breath of a smile crossed her mouth, but in a moment it was gone, and so was she, gone into the back room to gather her life together and put it in his hands. He looked at the door to his mother's room, ajar, letting out her gasping, wet breaths -
He strode over and slammed the door shut. Beyond, he could hear the woman on the other side moaning out his name, then screaming it...
Movement caught his eye. He turned, and saw his sister staring at the closed door.
She was shaking, eyes wide and hollow, just barely holding on to a shred of courage. He grabbed her hand.
She offered him a tremoring smile.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Yes,” he whispered to the stillness in his hands.
Author: secretchord
Word Count: 666
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Sheriff, Davina
Spoilers/Warnings: 2x01
Summary: Vasey deals with the aftermath of the events in "Sister Hood."
Disclaimer: I do not own Robin Hood BBC.
He spent the night on the floor, on his back, just staring at his birdcages.
The moon was bright. It's light sat across his belly in one thick band and disappeared somewhere into the middle of his room. Occasionally his eyes followed that silver path into the shadows, followed it to its end, where it merged into black and he could feel an echo of that darkness inside.
He looked back up, at the bottoms of the birdcages. The creatures inside made little nestling noises every once in a while. But mostly they were silent. And he was silent. And the shadows crept closer. And the moon was cold on his skin.
And Davina was still dead.
And he stared, and listened, and breathed.
She had always been the most beautiful thing, fair-haired and green-eyed, tall, fine-boned. Exquisite. In their younger years, she had refused suitor after suitor. “My mind is made,” she'd told him once. “I won't marry.”
He hadn't scolded her. He hadn't even been surprised. Only intrigued. “Why so?” he'd asked.
She had tossed her hair, smirked. He remembered the firelight sparking in her eyes.
“No man would be good enough. Don't you agree?”
“Yes,” he said to the sleeping birds.
They did not respond.
He shifted, curled into himself. The torn window papering fluttered in a breeze he couldn't feel. The quiet sank into him. It was heavy inside and around him, like oil - spreading, saturating. It pressed in. He couldn't breathe. He rolled onto his back and inhaled, but the air left him again in a shudder and a spasm, and in a bizarre rearrangement of his world he was on his feet and swinging at the birdcages, ripping at them, until feathers and sharp squawks surrounded him and he had one of the birds in his hands and he crushed it, ground the life out of it as his heart pounded and his eyes stung.
The other birds were still shrilly chirping, but he ignored them, ignored the ones that had escaped and were flapping madly in the darkness. He stared down at the broken thing in his hands.
And held it to his cheek. And felt the softness against his skin. And felt the emptiness inside it.
“Are you going to say goodbye to Mum?”
He scoffed.
“She's already forgotten us. You shouldn't waste any more time thinking about her.”
“Her face looked bad. It was all...sunken in. Gray. I hate it. I hate her. She's so disgusting, and I hate it!”
“Good! She hated you! Now you have two choices, Davi. You can stay here with her and watch her rot, or you can pack your things and come with me. But make up your mind quickly. I'm not staying here a minute longer than I have to.”
She wilted for a moment under his sternness. She looked lost, abandoned, and his patience started to wear. But her back stiffened. She raised her chin, and despite the tears glittering in her eyes, her voice was firm.
“I'm coming with you.”
Stated like a queen giving a royal decree. He touched her cheek.
“Good girl.”
A breath of a smile crossed her mouth, but in a moment it was gone, and so was she, gone into the back room to gather her life together and put it in his hands. He looked at the door to his mother's room, ajar, letting out her gasping, wet breaths -
He strode over and slammed the door shut. Beyond, he could hear the woman on the other side moaning out his name, then screaming it...
Movement caught his eye. He turned, and saw his sister staring at the closed door.
She was shaking, eyes wide and hollow, just barely holding on to a shred of courage. He grabbed her hand.
She offered him a tremoring smile.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Yes,” he whispered to the stillness in his hands.