#//lmao i love how despite revering GW

[honorhearted]

The look on Mat's face was snide -- no surprise there -- and for one brief moment, Ben spared him a cautious sidelong glance. After all, he didn't trust Cauthon not to drive a knife into his spleen (present injury aside).

“i hope you still have that letter, tallmadge. or else washington might dismiss you altogether. it was bloody important.”

The threat made him snort. If Mat actually knew the levels of his service, then he wouldn't be nearly so quick to throw out such accusations -- or perhaps he would. The man seemed relentless with his poor attitude.

"I still have it," Ben coolly assured him. "It's in my pocket. Do you truly think me so foolish as to discard potential evidence? It was the only thing worthy of note, not to mention, immediate value on your person."

Mat glowered at him -- his disdain wasn't exactly subtle -- and after a moment of hesitation, Ben finally turned and led the other man inside the tent. Washington was seated at his desk, bent over a row of documents that he was diligently perusing and applying notations.

Whenever he lifted his dark, appraising eyes, Ben was quick to offer a bow. "Your Excellency," he began, "this is Mat Cauthon...he claims you've been expecting him."

"So I have," Washington allowed. One of his faint, cryptic smiles came into place, and then he rose from his desk to better assess the other man. "It's my understanding that you have something for me, Mr. Cauthon?"

honorhearted​:

Although Ben’s initial instinct was to reach out and offer a hand, something about Mat’s quiet determination told him it would be best to remain silent, separate, until he’d become a little less grudging… Not that he could blame the man. Were he to presently be sporting a knife wound, he knew he’d be beyond contentious.

Thanks for the stitches?

Elliott laughed at that, incredulous while drying off his bloody hands. “And thank you for waking me up well past my bedtime,” he wryly returned. “Ain’t no harm done – not from you, anyway – but Tallmadge, you’d better have a damn good reason for running someone through the next time you come knockin’ on my door.”

“There isn’t a door on your medical tent,” Ben grumbled, to which the doctor made a dismissive snort.

“I’ll be on my way then,” Elliott muttered. “Take care of yourself, boy. Make sure that major doesn’t get all trigger happy.”

And with that, he was gone. Ben fell silent again while Mat started washing the blood from his limbs and clothes. Though after a moment, the other man stepped forward with his hand extended in introduction.

“You are the general?” Ben asked, incredulous. He looked down at Mat’s offered hand, but was far too astonished to reciprocate the handshake. “What could you possibly want from His Excellency? It’s as you said: he’s smart, so he won’t want anything to do with the likes of your band.”

“take me to him, will you?”

Ben didn’t like this. He didn’t trust Cauthon, and with a growing scowl, he ultimately decided, “Fine. But if you’re met with the end of a noose rather than an alliance, don’t say I didn’t warn you. As one of his aides, I am afraid I must insist upon being present at all times.” Nodding his head, he indicated that the other man follow. “Word to the wise? Take him seriously. His Excellency doesn’t respond well to those who believe America isn’t its own country, and that he isn’t a true general. But then, perhaps you already know something about that. Your reputation isn’t exactly stellar either.”

Sparing Mat a sidelong glance, Ben fell silent and led him the rest of the way across camp. All at once, Washington’s guards stepped forward to thwart their entry.

“It’s fine,” he assured them. “I take full responsibility of this guest. Please tell His Excellency that Major Tallmadge is here with the general of the Band of the Red Hand. Cauthon is requesting an audience.”

One of the guards disappeared into the tent to deliver the news, then after a few moments, he returned and nodded them in.

“Remember,” Ben instructed Mat, “be respectful. That’s the only advice I can give.”

he could handle nagging from a woman. a pretty thing that wouldn’t stop rattling on and on about something had one thing in her favor. a pretty face meant a month for kissing, too. and you could shut her up with a good kissing. tallmadge on the other wouldn’t shut up, wasn’t pretty, and mat would rather die than thinking of kissing him. so he went on and on about respect. washington demanded respect. well, he was sure that washington demanded order in his camp, any good general would. and that hadn’t exactly been what tallmadge had shown when he went swinging at him in the dark. 

clearly tallmadge didn’t know much. he didn’t know who he was. well, he knew the reputation that he had so carefully constructed for the band. everyone assuming and second guessing. in a war like this it was easy to get mixed up with who your allies were. real ones were hard to come by. especially when you were a bloody patriot. it looks like they caught him on a good day. because the last thing he wanted to do was get tangled up in a war. he would rather be sitting in some tavern with a pretty girl or two to dandle on his knee, dicing away that week’s pay. but here he was. and what did he get in return for this? well, tallmadge had stabbed him! 

the band was waiting for his word. the talk with washington was supposed to be quick. an exchange of information. washington knew that the band was on the side of the patriots. the people who mattered on this side did. he could say that. but he didn’t want to hear any more of tallmadge droning on and on about something that he hardly cared about. there was an eagerness in him to get this done, to get back to his men, to get moving where he was needed. 

a battle waited for them. a turning point in this bloody war, that’s how he viewed it. and they’d help the patriots turn the tide, they’d come out on the other side winning. his men always said something like that. crazy as it sounded but he had not lost one battle that he had led his men into. if tallmadge knew anything about respect maybe he might do himself a favor and show him a little bit. 

he gives him a glare before taking a step back so that tallmadge can go ahead of him. he can be bloody respectful when he wanted to be. for those who had earned. well, ben tallmadge can lead the flaming company if that’s what he wanted. puffing out his chest like that and acting like he knew better than him. that bloody knife in the dark proved otherwise. 

“i hope you still have that letter, tallmadge. or else washington might dismiss you altogether. it was bloody important.”