paradisa | (no subject)

Entry tags:

clementine

(no subject)

[This evening, Clem is outside, a small puppy on the end of a pink leash beside her. It currently seems to be happier rolling around in the grass rather than listening to the little girl trying to get it to do a trick.]

Sit. Siiiiiit. See, like this. [She tries to push the puppy's rump down, but it thinks it's playtime and rolls around some more. It gets Clem to laugh.]

No, no... [Sigh.] Okay, maybe we'll play for a little bit. It's time for a break, anyway.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Clem looks up, smiling when she sees Joel. He seems better than the last time she saw him.]

Hi Joel.

[She picks up the puppy, bringing it over to him. Joel looks older and probably shouldn't bend down so far!]

I just got him. Wanna pet him?

[Much better. It's impossible to resist reaching down to pet the pup between the ears. He chuckles under his breath when the dog responds enthusiastically, stuck in play-mode.]

He's a good boy. Just young. You get some treats for him and you can teach him to sit in no time.

Copper, this is Joel. Joel, this is Copper.

[Introductions done, Clem sets the puppy back down. He was getting wiggly, anyway.]

Have you ever had a dog?

[Copper. Cute. Joel watches him roll around on the ground and feels the urge to crouch down and pet him some more, his gaze trained on the pup. Tommy had a domestic dog at the camp, but they were pretty rare overall. Pets were now associated with much more peaceful times.]

No, but I always wanted one. [That's a secret just for you, Clem.] Before everything went to hell, you know?

You could get one here. Or just play with Copper whenever you want.

Ah, I suppose. [A pause. He smirks at her a little.] As long as that's alright with you.

I don't mind. I think he likes you.

You think?

[That's it. With the owner's permission, he's bending down and patting that dog again to test that theory. When the puppy responds enthusiastically, nipping and licking at his hand, he laughs a little again.

Shit.] He needs somethin', like a toy. Want me to wish one up for him?

I was told we shouldn't wish from the castle too much.

Hm... [Yeah, he's heard something similar. Joel sobers up quick, frowning to himself even while absently petting Copper.] Do you know why that is?

[He's in argument with someone about it right now, actually.]

Sometimes the castle takes more in return. Like our losses.

Do you know what yours is yet?

[Long pause.]

Yeah. [Later, Copper. Joel stands and dusts off his jeans.] Shit. Not like it ever asked us what we thought about bein' brought here.

Yeah... I like it here, but I miss my hat. My dad got it for me.

[Just now, he's getting it. Only just now. Goddamn, he chides himself for being so fucking tempted by complacency that all he did was eat and sleep instead of ask more questions when he first got here. Intelligence, wasn't that supposed to be one of his and Tess' specialties?

He crosses one arm over his chest and pinches the bridge of his nose. Sorry, Clem, give him a second. The stupor doesn't vanish until it twigs for him that her loss was a gift from her dad. He's still not sure whether her parents are alive or not, but he lost hope about that from their first conversation and didn't want to ask.

The look he gives her is somewhat troubled.]

Sorry you had to lose something from him, kid. [Muttered.] I, ah. Mine's similar.

[Clem frowns, watching him.]

What did you lose?

[Lord, was he really gonna do this? He wants to deflect and ask more about her dad, but he's too worried that their situations are the reverse of one another.

Doesn't want to see the look on her face if he's right, but then again she'd mentioned him without pause. Maybe he wasn't. But if the castle took it from her... Joel folds his arms and shrugs a little, deliberately casual. On the inside his heart feels like lead.]

A gift. [He'd led himself into it, so he deals out a vague but truthful response.] Something I kept on me. From someone important.

[Clem knows when people are being purposely vague. Lee did it, sometimes.]

It's okay, you don't have to tell me. I'm sorry you lost it, though.

[Perceptive. Joel nods, grateful for the tact that this 9-year-old possesses.]

How does the castle know?

Magic, I guess. Sometimes it's not things, though. It's... well. My friend, he can't tell lies anymore. And another can't shoot anymore.

[His face screws up a little, confusion working its way through his features.]

Can't shoot? What happens if he tries to?

He just can't. It makes me really glad there aren't Walkers here.

I can shoot, though. [She'd protect him.]

[And now, surprise. The image of Clem holding a gun and shooting it at anything, whether it was a Walker or an infected or a person, it's not quite coming together in his head. She was even scrawnier and littler than Ellie, and much more polite.

But it was the beginning of end times back home for her. He knew that, so this was good news.]

You can, huh? Lee teach you?

Yeah. I've got good aim, too.

So we'll be countin' on you to pitch in if anything weird shows up. [A pause.] You meet a girl named Ellie yet, by any chance? A little older than you, kinda red or brown hair. Smartmouth.

Yeah, I talked to her over the journal. She's nice.