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[focusrighthere]

[Immediately after he woke up, he began to panic. This was the wrong place to be. He was alone and some piece of shit took his watch -- his watch, Jesus Christ, why? It was broken, it wasn't worth anything to anyone but him. He swears under his breath and envisions a slow death for the party responsible while he moves through the giant castle like an angry shadow.

Normally he knows how not to be seen, but with the confusing events clouding over his judgment he's moving a bit too fast. It's huge in here. He's nowhere near Tommy's camp anymore, that's for sure. What he needs to do is push forward and search every area for Ellie, just keep searching until he finds the little girl he's lost somewhere along the way. Again.

If you are unfortunate enough to bump into Joel first, he's got a backpack full of weapons and explosives and a hell of a lot of snap judgments to make about anyone he might run into. It might not look like the start of a friendly encounter.

But he has no idea to expect magic from anyone or anything. You're all normal, fallible civilians, right?]

Comments

[silentrunning]

[Chell had put forth a challenge to herself today, to walk on her hands everywhere for one day. But when she sees Joel, or rather his shoes, and realizes how fast he's moving, she stands up and stares. Jesus, that man fits the description Ellie gave her! Well, honesty really is the best policy.]

Hey... Um. Your name wouldn't happen to be Joel would it?

[She asks softly.]

[focusrighthere]

[He's about as edgy and pissed off as he's ever been, so he figures the first person he sees should be pistol-whipped and interrogated as to what the fuck is going on here -- but even Joel has to stop short when the first person he sees is a woman walking on her hands.

The look in his eyes is no less murderous, but he pauses. Then he stalks forward when she faces him, picking up where he left off; carrying the air of a guy who might shove you up against the wall the first chance he gets and try to break something.]

Where's the girl?

[She knows his name, so she must know where they took Ellie. But he's as confused as he is angry, spooked about the unfamiliar setting and the unfamiliar people. Just what was this place?]

[silentrunning]

[Chell does know his name. And Ellie's. But she backs off a step.]

She lives here too... Um. this is Paradisa. I'll explain if you like. And no, before you ask, I didn't kidnap her. She just almost ran into me the other day looking for someone named Joel. And you fit the description perfectly.

[willrememberthat]

[Clementine just barely avoids getting in this man's way. Instead of getting angry, she takes a moment to look at him--and all his gear. It's not that unfamiliar to her, but she regards him with wide eyes.]

Um, are you okay?

[People don't usually walk that fast unless they're in a hurry to get somewhere.]

[focusrighthere]

[Well, this is the second time he's forced to come to a full stop and reconsider his plan. Is this one even in her double-digits? Joel's brow furrows up while he looks her over, his demeanor shifting from tense and violent to tense and conflicted.

What was a kid doing out here alone? Another prisoner? The same people who took away Ellie probably kidnapped her, too. That has to be it -- but something mighty weird was going on with this whole situation.

There's a pause before he's able to answer, one that drags on as he silently shifts through possible explanations.]

Not sure. [Finally, he settles on this. She doesn't seem frightened, so he asks:] Do you know where we are?

[willrememberthat]

[She nods.]

We're in Paradisa. You're new, right?

[People tend to have this certain confusion about them when they just get here. Panic.]

I can help you figure stuff out.

[focusrighthere]

[That name is drawing a blank. He gives her a look that clearly says as much, then looks to both sides, like he's expecting someone to pop out of a corner and subdue them for chatting too long.]

It's safe here?

[Joel takes a step forward and speaks under his breath. He's not totally buying it, but he can't read her demeanor any other way. The calm way she offers to help 'figure stuff out.' Shit. What if this was a trap?]

[threeweeksago]

[It had been nearly two weeks since Ellie first showed up in the castle, and in that time, her shock has faded into some sort of quiet listlessness. Oh, sure, there were things here to keep her occupied and interesting new people that she was willing to talk to, but it was still all... unfamiliar. Jarringly unfamiliar and that mixed with the loneliness she felt thanks to being separated from the remaining people she cares about - not just Joel but Tommy and Maria because they might as well be family to her now - had her constantly on her guard, and that was starting to wear at her.

So, of course, her thoughts come to a screeching halt as she turns a corner and there, at the other end of the hall, is the one person she's been dying to see for weeks now.]

Joel!

[And that's all the warning he gets before she runs straight at him, not even slowing down until she's right there and-

and socks him right in the shoulder. Not gently, but not without any serious force behind it either.]

Where the fuck have you been all this time???

[focusrighthere]

[After the choices he'd made, after the things he told Ellie just for the chance of living a normal life with her in a place where she might be safe, even if only for a little while, he's halfway out of his mind with worry to have lost track of her again. He didn't care that this, this mansion or whatever was so huge that he could barely stay mindful of the spots he'd already visited. He was going to find her.

But as it turns out, she finds him first. His head whips in the direction of that unmistakable voice calling to him and his feet are moving before he even tells them to, and they're both closing that gap as quick as they can just so --

Just so he can receive a hard punch in the shoulder when they meet. It stings a little, but he's startled by her question more than anything. All this time? He leans down to grab onto her shoulders on an instinct, anxious frustration morphing into physical contact. He's not sure if he wants to calm her down or yell at her for not being there when he woke up.]

Where have I been? Where did you run off to, huh? Do you have any idea -- [How scared I was? Joel trails off, angrily muttering his next words.] Ellie, what the hell is going on? How did we get here?

[threeweeksago]

[She can feel something twisting inside her, a lump curling in her throat as his hands fall on her shoulders, but the thing is... it's not a bad feeling. It's the feeling she got when she had seen him up and moving again after those weeks filled with uncertainty, the first thing she felt after she had been able to mostly reign in her emotions in the fallout of that fucking winter.

Utter fucking relief.

And god she just wants to let herself drown in that emotion but she can't because the longer she beats around the bush, the longer it's going to take to calm Joel down, and she'd rather not worry about him shooting the next person that turns the corner on pure instinct.]

Look, I know this is going to sound really fucking crazy and I won't blame you at all if you look at me like I grew another head or some shit like that. Because seriously, that's how I was looking at everyone when I first woke up here. It's how I still look at people half the time, actually.

[There's a pause, because she needs to prepare herself for his reaction just as much as he's sure to need her to take things slow.]

I've been here for two weeks now. I don't know how or even why, but we're stuck in this weird-ass castle that apparently impossible to escape from.

[focusrighthere]

[And he can sense it; Ellie must have a good reason for asking him where he's been all this time and he can tell there's something wrong with his perception of the situation from her reactions alone. Maybe he'd been out for much longer than he knew. And the place they'd ended up in, shit... everything was clean, perfect-looking.

So he searches her eyes and he waits. He waits when she throws up a disclaimer about how crazy this is gonna sound, shaking his head a little at it because he trusts her. He trusts her more than anyone in the fucking world. So when he tells her that they're stuck in a castle and it's impossible to escape, he-- okay, that was weird.

Joel blinks at her and straightens up. He keeps one hand on her shoulder, keeps contact like he's worried she might disappear again if he doesn't, and slowly processes what he's being told.]

Two weeks? [In the end, this is what he decides to focus on. She's been here for two weeks without him. Nothing was making any sense at all, but he has no choice but to believe her and that part felt like a knife to the heart.] I've been missing for two weeks?

[rightchoices]

-- Christ. You lost something?

[ Lee does not look like the survivor of a zombie apocalypse. He's in a button-up, slacks, books in his arm as he rounds a corner and spots Joel, and Jesus that backpack looks like it has to be heavy. Lee lifts his arm, palm out, a vague sort of greeting. ]

[focusrighthere]

[And again he freezes in place. By now he expected to be slamming someone's head against the wall and demanding answers, but there's no sign of military, infected, hunters or bandits. Nothing like that, from the looks of it. The people have a way of strolling these halls casually and without anything on them for protection. All this guy has in plain view is some library books, for God's sake.

Nonetheless, Joel shoots him a look that is somewhere between threatening and defensive. He's still edgy. It might take a little while to come down.]

That's one way of puttin' it.

[rightchoices]

[ That's a look that Lee recognized, and recognizes pretty well. He lifts both eyebrows, trying to lean back and assume a posture that's as nonthreatening as possible. No reason to provoke the guy. ]

What are you looking for?

[focusrighthere]

[It's working. He's confident that he might have the upper hand here, as well-stocked as he is, and it's helping that the guy doesn't seem to be itching for a fight. After reading his body language, Joel relaxes an iota.

An iota, mind you.]

I found the person I was looking for. [A fact that is also helping with the whole slowly relaxing thing. But, about his watch:] But I'm missing something that belonged to me.

[lara_the_explorer]

[Lara was at the grounds, getting ready to head out to the shooting range so she's carrying an assault rifle on her back. She took a second to appreciate the good weather outside, and noticed someone walking a little too fast than normal. She glanced to the side to see who that is...]

[focusrighthere]

[This is the first person he's seen with any kind of weapon on her. Joel tenses up on instinct and narrows his eyes when she looks over; he's fully stocked and well prepared to draw a gun if her hand so much as inches towards that rifle.

But he's going to wait a second instead of drawing first. He's learned a few things from running around the castle and talking to Ellie. He doesn't speak, just watches and waits to see if he can pass by her without any trouble.]

[lara_the_explorer]

[Lara turned and give a nod to Joel, acknowledging his presence and making herself appear non-hostile. It's not uncommon to see people carrying guns in here, she's one of those people after all]

You look like you're in a hurry.

[focusrighthere]

Just got here.

[If she's not new, she'll understand. His words are clipped and short.]

[indirectcause]

[Absolutely and completely normal, nothing weird going on here. He glances up as Joel moves past him, trying to step out of the way. Wow that backback sure has some dangerous looking things dangling from it]

Uh...you okay, man?

[focusrighthere]

Not really.

[He grunts the reply under his breath and pauses to give the resident a once-over, from a safe distance away. That's what they are, aren't they? Residents in this bizarre castle place. Not threats. His mind is still reeling from this apparent truth, though he's not quite ready to give anyone he doesn't know the benefit of the doubt yet.

So he gives the stranger the same pissed-off, dangerously defensive glare he's been giving almost everyone. Nice first impressions, Joel.]

[indirectcause]

[At least Ben seems well used to that sort of glare. You have to be careful with who you talk to, you never know who's just looking for a good place on your back to stick the knife in]

Sorry to hear it. [At least that is genuine] What's wrong?

[Not quite an offer to help, he'll figure out if he wants to do that once he knows what the problem is]

[batteriesarehard]

[After a few months of living through a zombie apocalypse, you end up cluing in to the signs of people who have had everything taken away from them and had to claw their way back up. She sees it in Joel when she rounds a corner with just enough time to get a good look at him before he's nearly running her over.]

Hey, whoa, it's alright. This place is safe.

[In a pair of jeans and a purple button up shirt, Carley is kind of definition of a normal, fallible civilian.]

[focusrighthere]

[By now it's safe to say Joel has accidentally threatened the lives of one too many fellow Paradisa residents who weren't looking to hurt him. He's cautious and paranoid, but he's not stupid; he's learning his lesson.

So when a woman who looks like the very definition of normal approaches him, no strange behavior, no weapons, nothing to tip him off, he forces himself to come down a notch. Joel keeps his distance and his default-not-so-friendly demeanor, but he doesn't look like he's gonna make any sudden moves without reason.]

Hard to believe, but seems that way.

[batteriesarehard]

[She leaves her hands where he can see them for now, not wanting to make herself seem like a threat when all she's really interested in is finding out what's the matter here, if she can help.]

I know what you mean. Strange place, all these people you don't know. I'm still settling in too, I only got here a few days ago.