paradisa | 1st Arrow [Action]

[Oh man. Oh man this was not good. Not good at all. Last night had been one of those rare nights where Ellie actually got a good night of sleep, a mercifully dreamless sleep where she wasn't haunted by the Infected or the hunters or the faces of all the people she had known and lost.

So of fucking course something had to happen the next fucking day. The morning had started so nicely, and then suddenly everything kind of went weird and she woke up in... wherever the fuck this was. Not cool. What's even less cool is that she woke up alone. Outside of That Incident at the resort in winter, she can't remember the last time she woke up alone. Even in the present, Joel always hung around their tiny little cabin at least until she was awake before heading off. So... being alone in a strange place with no memory of how she got here? That sent a clear jolt of panic lancing through her.

Not even stopping to really absorb her surroundings, Ellie takes off running with no real direction.]

Joel? [She's trying not to sound panicked, but she's not doing a very good job of it.] Joel, where are you, you asshole?!

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[ And that catches his attention, too. ]

'Infected'? What do you mean by that?

The... Infected. [Duh???] Look, I don't know if there's some crazy scientific name for those freaks, but that's all that anyone ever calls them.

[She raises an eyebrow.] How do you not know what the Infected are?

.. this is a different world. An entirely different one, and not everyone here comes from the same place. [ He waves a hand again, as if to signify that, yes, he knows it sounds completely fucking insane, too. ] It's hard to believe at first, but - the Infected. Can you describe them to me?

[Christ... reading about the time before the infection hit was weird enough. But hearing about places that never got hit by the infection in the first place...? That's just. Sort of impossible to comprehend by this kid who was born after the end.]

Uh... yeah, sure. They used to be humans, taken over by some weird fungus shit... it makes them crazy. Makes them attack an infect other people. And the longer they're infected, the less human they look - 'cause it starts growing out of their heads - and the harder they get to kill.

[At that, Ellie can't repress the smallest of shudders. Ugh, fucking clickers and bloaters...]

[ Lee just frowns when she shudders, suddenly and vaguely uncomfortable. Goddamn. It wasn't exactly like what was going on in his world, but it was close enough for discomfort, and he just shakes his head mildly as he waits for her to finish. ]

We've got walkers. No fungus involved - at least, not as far as I know. But none of the people who die stay dead.. not just the bitten ones.

[ Another pause, and he deliberates on this next part: ]

.. it's safe here. From them, at least.

Walkers? That's it? Where I'm from, they're Runners. Pretty fucking fast too. And they're only the first stage... they get worse the longer they're around.

... You say people turn into those things when they die? That's... [She frowns a little. For some reason, she's reminded of that conversation she had with Sam that last night in Pittsburgh. Oh, Sam...] ... Lucky them. The Infected are alive when they start to turn.

[ Lee holds his hand against his own throat for a moment, unconsciously, but his wince of empathy is pretty apparent. ]

Jesus. Sounds like you come from a pretty rough place. You alright? Right now, I mean - there's a clinic nearby if you're hurt.

No shit.

[There's no hostility at all when she says that. It was just her way of agreeing with him.]

Nah, I'm okay. I was in a safe place before I got dragged here. As safe as a place can get with those things and scavengers out there.

There's a kitchen on the first floor. And you'll probably have a room somewhere here, too - just look for your name on the door.

[ He can let someone else bring up the 'wishing' thing -- she's probably overwhelmed enough as it is. ]

Look... there'll probably be a little journal in your pocket, somewhere. Part of what comes with being here. You open it up and write my name - Lee, by the way, I'll see it and do what I can to help, alright? Same goes for Clementine. She's a good girl, she's been here a while. I think you two probably have a lot in common.

Oh yeah? How so?

[Hooold on. A journal? Ellie had dug through her pockets to make sure that nothing had been taken from her earlier - and yeah, her switchblade was definitely still there - and she didn't find a.... oh, wait.

She reaches into the pockets of the thin flannel overshirt she's wearing, and sure enough, pulls a journal out.]

... Ooookay, I'll bite. How am I supposed to talk to you through this? What, is there some kind of mailman that has to run through these halls delivering messages all day?

It's confusing as hell, yeah, but -- just write my name, alright? L-E-E. Whatever you write or say after that will only show up to me.

[ His tone is soft, as if he realizes that she's probably not going to take this seriously. ]

Just give it some time, alright? Everything here will come to you.

Wouldn't it be better to just use... I don't know... a bunch of walkie-talkies or something? [ELLIE NO.] Seems like it'd be way less trouble than this weird magic crap.

[She sighs, then tucks the journal back in her pocket.] Yeah, right, I'm sure it will. I just gotta endure. Like always.

[ And he just stares down at her for a second, brow creased, as if trying to figure out if she.. has somehow... said that on purpose...

Finally, Lee just shakes his head. ]

Not the biggest fan of walkie-talkies, actually. The journals work just fine.

... Really? [She's really not sure whether to be amused, confused, or weirded out by that statement.] Any reason why? Kinda seems like a weird thing to not be a fan of.

Just do me a favor and trust me on this one, alright? [ He doesn't sound especially angry or irritated, at least. Just vaguely exasperated. Why did it have to be walkie talkies? ]

[... She knows there's probably a story there, but after being with Joel for so long, she knows better than to keep prying when a guy makes it clear he doesn't wanna talk.]

Sure. Got it.

[ He's sorry, Ellie - he doesn't mean to be an ass, and he half-smiles apologetically at her. ]

Good luck finding your friend.

[Pfft, this isn't being an ass. This is all goddamn polite compared to the people she's hung around.]

Yeah, thanks. [There's a pause before she speaks up again.] If you see him around at all... tell him Ellie's looking for him, okay?

Yeah. Of course - I'll make sure to do that.

[ He flashes her a brief smile, and then heads out. Good luck, kid. He'll keep an eye out for you!! ]

1st Arrow [Action]

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