forrest-riley

[forrest-riley]

Ben watches the lad sway and they both reach for each other simultaneously. He helps him find his footing again, blinking in surprise and his brow knit in concern.

“I highly doubt it won’t. The decision isn’t mine to make, but… unless we can find an administrative position…” Ben trails off, realizing his words might be a little too unkind, telling Forrest something he already knows.

Forrest was beyond humiliated.  It was bad enough that everyone in camp knew what had happened to him, but this was a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from.  He tried to put on a brave face and pretend everything was fine, but he was terrified of his present condition and he knew there was little hope that he could return to his old life, but he had to believe there was a chance or he would have nothing to live for. 

“I know,” Forrest said quickly, “I know, and I’ll be looking into my options once my superior officer returns to the camp, but until then I just need to keep fighting.  Everyone thought I was going to die, but I didn’t; no one though I would ever walk again, but I did, so if people think I can’t come back from this, it just tells me that I will.  I came here to fight for my country and I’m giving up and going back home because of one training accident.  Is that what you would do in my situation, Major Tallmadge? Is that what any self-respecting soldier would do?”

He had been warned that he might experience mood swings as he recovered, but he hadn’t expected to go from embarrassed to furious quite so quickly.  He knew he was disrespecting an officer, but the anger, fear and frustration he’d been repressing for weeks exploded out of him before he could stop himself. 

[forrest-riley]

Mini-Hiatus Notice

Without going into the long version of this story, I’m adopted and in December of last year I got in touch with my birth mother for the first time and I’m going to be meeting her for the first time next week.  A week from today actually.   Obviously, this has been an emotionally overwhelming experience and I’ve got a lot on my plate already without adding this on top of it, so in order to stop myself from getting too burnt out, I’m going to put Forrest on the back-burner briefly, probably just for the next week.  I’ll be around on Discord, so message me if you’d like that, and I likely won’t be logging out of Forrest on my phone, so I’ll be in touch, I just need to take a few things off my plate until I’m past this next experience. 

[forrest-riley]

Mini-Hiatus Notice

Without going into the long version of this story, I’m adopted and in December of last year I got in touch with my birth mother for the first time and I’m going to be meeting her for the first time next week.  A week from today actually.   Obviously, this has been an emotionally overwhelming experience and I’ve got a lot on my plate already without adding this on top of it, so in order to stop myself from getting too burnt out, I’m going to put Forrest on the back-burner briefly, probably just for the next week.  I’ll be around on Discord, so message me if you’d like that, and I likely won’t be logging out of Forrest on my phone, so I’ll be in touch, I just need to take a few things off my plate until I’m past this next experience. 

[forrest-riley]

Mini-Hiatus Notice

Without going into the long version of this story, I’m adopted and in December of last year I got in touch with my birth mother for the first time and I’m going to be meeting her for the first time next week.  A week from today actually.   Obviously, this has been an emotionally overwhelming experience and I’ve got a lot on my plate already without adding this on top of it, so in order to stop myself from getting too burnt out, I’m going to put Forrest on the back-burner briefly, probably just for the next week.  I’ll be around on Discord, so message me if you’d like that, and I likely won’t be logging out of Forrest on my phone, so I’ll be in touch, I just need to take a few things off my plate until I’m past this next experience. 

[forrest-riley]

Mini-Hiatus Notice

Without going into the long version of this story, I’m adopted and in December of last year I got in touch with my birth mother for the first time and I’m going to be meeting her for the first time next week.  A week from today actually.   Obviously, this has been an emotionally overwhelming experience and I’ve got a lot on my plate already without adding this on top of it, so in order to stop myself from getting too burnt out, I’m going to put Forrest on the back-burner briefly, probably just for the next week.  I’ll be around on Discord, so message me if you’d like that, and I likely won’t be logging out of Forrest on my phone, so I’ll be in touch, I just need to take a few things off my plate until I’m past this next experience. 

[forrest-riley]

//I owe starters and stuff to people, but I might not be able to get to them today, I was planning on it, but my daughter was nice enough to share her stomach virus with me, so I’m just going to go lie on my bathroom floor for a while and die.  I will hopefully be back tomorrow

[forrest-riley]

A request for information!

I’m attempting to figure out the kind of religion Forrest would be involved in, and I’d like to do some real research on it, but there’s so much out there it’s all a bit overwhelming.  So if any of you guys have any resources or any knowledge about what denomination or whatever it was called that was common for families living in Virginia during the revolutionary era, that would be awesome!

[forrest-riley]

Ben smiles, trying to be encouraging. He admires the lad’s conviction. “I can understand the restlessness, at least to an extent. I took a musketball in my right shoulder,” he gestures to it with his left hand. He knows it isn’t the same, but how else can he relate?

“But… Look after yourself, at the very least. Alright?”

Forrest gave him a small smile, every soldier he’d met since regaining consciousness had told him a story of one injury or another and he could appreciate what they were trying to do, but the injury he received was the least of his worries at the moment.  External injuries healed with time, but when the brain was affected, nothing was certain and the camp doctors were unwilling to say whether or not he would even return to his original state and so he got little comfort from the stories he was told.  “I will, sir,” Forrest said.  

He turned to leave, but was hit with a sudden wave of lightheadedness and dropped the food he was holding, grabbing on to the only thing close enough to stop him from hitting the ground.  A moment later, when his vision was no longer swimming, he realized that he’d taken hold of the Major’s arm and he let go immediately, glad it was dark so that no one could see how deeply he was blushing.  “I’m so sorry, sir,  I didn’t mean to...I just got dizzy for a moment, I promise it will never happen again.”  He meant it too, he decided in that second that he would rather collapse on the ground in front of everyone than let this happen again.

[forrest-riley]

eleonora smiled when she went through her mail and nearly dropped everything when she had gotten a letter from forrest. how she missed him already and it had only been a few weeks. her heart was pounding as she opened the letter and read his words, excited as to what he would tell her.

she had read the letter a dozen times before she finally replied, a never leaving smile on her lips as she wrote her words down for him. she was slow to admit id to herself, but she did fall for him. he was diffrent, did not pry. she love it about him. yet, when giving her letter of to the post, she couldn’t help but wonder what he will think when he found out that she wasn’t so average like most camp followers. when he saw her big estate, the plates they were eating off, the silver cutlery. hopefully he wouldn’t think her posh.

my dearest forrest,

i must admit that i have missed you dearly since the day we parted and hoped to hear from you soon. i am relieved to hear you made it home safely and in good health, as well as your brothers as well, that is what is most important.

my heart did explode when i read your words, and i can’t wait until the day we meet again, to see you once more would make my day surely less boring and more exciting as i too, feel quite lonely without you. as of that, i would love to invite you and your family over to new york, if you would like to come. there is enough space for all of you and i would love to get to know your brothers, their families and your parents. and mainly to see you again.

be aware, that you’re welcome here any time no matter what. i am counting the days till we spend the night under the stars again. until then, stay out of trouble and don’t do anything that’ll cause yourself harm.

yours truly,

eleonora

Forrest, in order to keep his mind off of waiting for Elle’s letter, had tried to stay busy, but that entailed a lot of being forced to visit doctors all over the state with his mother, none of whom could do anything to help him.  He did some work with his father and brothers, made a quick trip into Williamsburg to see his brother, Field, but they didn’t have much in common anymore, so they talked a bit and Forrest went home, sad, but understanding that his wishes of Field returning to their family were childish and he needed to move on.  He spent time with his nieces and nephews, slowly started attempting to get over his fear of riding horses again, but he still found himself waiting for the next mail delivery every day.

Finally, her reply arrived and Forrest read it a dozen times before sitting down and drafting his response immediately.

My dearest,

Receiving your letter was the best thing that has happened to me in weeks, being home with my family has been wonderful, but all I can think about while I’m here is being with you.”

“I’ve started preparing for a journey already, but as I’ve been informed by my mother, we are no longer an army camp and are therefore bound by the rules of society, rather than those of the army, and it would be improper of me to be alone with you in your home.  I had never thought of this, and after a discussion with my brother Grove, the two of us will journey to New York together, rent a room at an inn and he will turn a blind eye any suspected “impropriety” we might get up to.

You and I know full well that we would never do anything inappropriate, but it’s important to do things the right way so that there can be no objections to our relationship.  I will send this letter out first thing in the morning and I will likely be on the road within several days, I will see you soon, my dear.

All my love,

Forrest

[forrest-riley]

Forrest cracked a smile at that, he didn’t know the Marquis well, but he’d heard of the man’s fondness for food, and Forrest wouldn’t fault him for it if the food in camp was more than just “barely palatable.”  Forrest was known to sneak off to where the camp followers stayed, as their food was always better than anything available to them on their side.  “It’s alright, it’s not urgent, I can just leave this here for him.”

He nodded at her and smiled, “Yes ma’am, I’m the aide around here, I do whatever work is necessary, unfortunately I’m not high enough in rank to do the translating myself, though I could if they needed me to, my French isn’t great when I speak it, but I can read and write it just fine.  I appreciate the offer, but I’m fairly certain I’ll be executed if I show these to anyone other than the person their intended for.  Normally I’d be up for it, but I feel the end of the war coming and I don’t want to miss it because I couldn’t obey a direct order.”

Closed Starter for forrest-riley

Alice looked over the aide, and almost groaned in frustration seeing he had no news of Lafayette, but rather the same problem she was having. Lafayette was always nowhere to be found. 

“I haven’t a clue. My money would be on dinnertime, however. It’s one thing he never seems to miss, no matter how many times he’s avoided being seen during the day,” she mildly snapped. In truth, she was rather hoping this war would be over soon so that this might not become a regular occurence. Or at least she could go somewhere other than camp and escape this endless lonesome boredom.

Alice looked at the message in his hand. “…Private Riley, correct?” She had learned most of the aides names over time, having sent most of them to do errands at some point or another. “Well, if Washington wants something done quickly, he should know not to entrust that task to my fiance. Just give me the document and I can have it translated in five minutes tops in Lafayette’s handwriting, and no one will be any the wiser.”

[forrest-riley]

look, hamilton is great and everything but I’m pretty sure lin manuel miranda’s crowning achievement and most hashtag relatable content is that one vine where he’s lying in the grass going “come on brain, think of things, come on brain, be so smart”

[forrest-riley]

Truly, this kid deserved a reward when Caleb was back on his feet. He’d taken a shine to Forrest, but this really sealed the deal. He was sure a little bit of drink would quell the throbbing in his head. “I’d love that,” he confessed. “Name your price, and I’ll have it done as soon as I’m able.”

Forrest grinned, “Just promise you’ll reciprocate when I inevitably end up in this position myself, that’s all I need, just sit tight for a minute.”  He turned and returned to his tent where he’d hidden his stash to keep it safe while he was away all day and then quickly snuck back in and handed it to Brewster.

“Just try not to drink it all, okay? It’s literally all I have.”

“I think that has to be a record sneeze sequence.”

“Guh…” Caleb sniffles a little and frowns, then crumples up his handkerchief and flops back against the cot. “It definitely felt like one. It’s been like this for two days already.”

[forrest-riley]

Forrest closed his eyes, her skin felt pleasantly cool against his hot forehead, and it was almost impossible for him to focus on what she was asking him, but he was able to rally a bit and answered, “I’ve felt unwell for a few days, but I so rarely feel well anymore I didn’t pay it much mind until I woke up this morning.   I tried to work through it, but I don’t think I can carry on with work today.”

After looking down for a moment, Forrest gave her a small apologetic smile, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to worry you, I just didn’t know where else to go, the last thing I want to do is go back to the medical tent, I’ve spent more time there than anyone I know, I don’t want want to go back.  I can go back to my tent and lie down, I didn’t mean to bother you.” 

“I feel feverish.” - @forrest-riley

Turning to stand face to face with him, a frown formed on her lips. He looked awful: pale, beads of sweat forming on his brow…how could she not tell that he was falling ill?

Reaching for his face, she brushed his hair back before checking his temperature with the back of her hand. The difference between the temperature of her skin and his made her worried. “Poor thing,” she sighed, dropping her hand. “Did you wake up and feel like this?”

She prayed that whatever he was plagued with could be cured with some sleep and broth. Betsy only knew so much about sickness. All she could offer was what she had: a bed, a little extra care, and herself. “Really Forrest, you always have me worried about you.”

[forrest-riley]

Her face lit back up with the assurance that he was doing well. Though most everyone in camp worried her, Forrest was always on the top of her list. “But you promise me that you are feeling well?” She questioned, still not entirely convinced of his reply. “Besides being tired? No sickness? Nothing more that I should be worried about? You know I worry.”

Leaving her questions to be answered, she thought it was only fair to give him a response. “And, well…like you, I have done nothing of much interest,” she began, pressing at the wrinkles in her skirt. “Mending, sewing, making clothes, making flags…” the seamstress trailed off.

Realizing she had not fully answered his question, she shrugged, her bright smile still remaining. “Everything that you imagine a seamstress doing…that is exactly what I am doing.”

“I’m fine,” Forrest insisted.  “I don’t get into much these days, I run errands and try to avoid horses, that’s pretty much my whole life here in camp.”  He smiled, “I promise I’m feeling well and there’s nothing to worry about it, I’m actually thinking about grabbing a nap before my brother gets back from work tonight, if they didn’t send him back to the tent already.”

“You’re really good at what you do though, I mean, that’s how we met, every officer here sends me to you when they need something mended or made for them.  You’re phenomenal, I wish I had some sort of talent like you do, instead I just...run errands all day long.  Either way I’m glad there’s someone else here I can talk to, someone else who isn’t running around living the glamorous life of an officer.” 

[forrest-riley]

[forrest-riley]

//It’s my roommate’s birthday today and I asked her what she wanted to do and she said, “It doesn’t matter as long as it’s not too expensive.”  So...I went to the dollar store and got about $10 worth of ridiculous little kid decorations, I found a $4 bottle of wine, a crappy movie from the $3 bin at our local Walmart, and a friend who works at a local pizza place is hooking us up with free pizzas.  I’d say I’ve taken “Not too expensive” and ran with it.

The best part is, I got a cake, had the bakery write “Good Luck in Prison, Richard. See you in 5 years!” on it, and they printed me a fake clearance label to put on the cake box so it looks like I spent a dollar on it.  

[forrest-riley]

Send “📂“ for a random yet completely useless headcanon I have