SIXTH SHOT

[dog_eat_dog]

[Three weeks.

Tess is approaching three weeks in this place and most of it has been spent recovering, both from physical injuries and twenty years of near-constant struggle. She's shocked she doesn't look twice her actual age after life in a world ravaged by infection.

It's been three weeks of sleeping and eating until she pukes –– not a hard feat, with a stomach used to being unsatisfied. Three weeks of finding delight in stupid little things like owning a stick of deodorant that isn't dried out, having underwear that doesn't have shot elastic and stains, and three weeks of almost compulsively running her fingers through her hair just to fixate on how clean and shiny it is.

Next to a well-groomed, well-fed populace, she feels utterly insane.

Sitting in a recliner by the pool in lounge pants and a hoodie, Tess balances her journal against her knees and writes:]

9/16

Things to be grateful for today:

1. Hair elastics. Lost my last good one three months ago.
2. Washing machines.
3. Fresh peaches. The big white ones, so juicy you could practically drink it.
4. Soap.
5. Good company.
6. Fresh bread!!

Comments

[willrememberthat]

[While Clem spends a lot of time with Lee or Ben (or Carley or Molly nowadays), she sometimes wanders off on her own. They're adults, and sometimes she knows they don't want to babysit her. It's okay. She likes wandering around the castle, and she likes going to the pool if only to stick her feet in the water.

She doesn't see Tess until she's toeing her shoes off by the edge of the water.

Oh.]

Hi...

[It's quiet, hesitant, but Clem can't just pretend she's not there.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess looks up when the girl comes in, but she stays silent until she's noticed. Then she manages a bare smile, polite if not insincere.]

Hey.

[willrememberthat]

[Clementine watches Tess as she rolls up her jeans, high enough so that when she sits on the edge, they stay dry. She's always careful to keep her clothing dry and clean.

She wonders if Tess has a gun with her, and if she'll try to get her to take it apart again.]

Are you going swimming?

[threeweeksago]

You forgot "7. Constant supply of hot water."

[dog_eat_dog]

That goes hand-in-hand with soap, I think. I feel like I'd forgotten just how many freckles I have until coming here, where I can take a shower every day. Twice a day.

[Ellie would know now, Tess is a shower hog.]

[threeweeksago]

You forgot? Man, I didn't even know I had freckles until coming here.

[scaler]

[That's a list Molly can get behind.]

How about "anything that doesn't come in a can or a plastic wrapper"? Covers all your bases in the food department.

[dog_eat_dog]

[A laugh]

I swear to god, in this place, I refuse to eat anything that does come out of a can pre-made. I mean, twenty years ago I still thought Kraft Dinner would never lose it's appeal, but now? I won't go near the stuff.

[scaler]

Yeah, can't blame you. Don't know why anyone would, anyway -- this place practically shoves better options down your throat.

[Which isn't to say she doesn't have the shittier options. Good god christ almighty she has them. It's nearly debilitating, the urge she has to pick the shelves clean every time she walks into the kitchen.]

[putuporshutup]

[Meg hasn't heard many other people express gratefulness to be here, but she can identify. She doesn't really need any of the castle's conveniences to survive, but after being tortured in hell for over a year, you're damn right showers are heavenly.]

I don't think we've met, but you sound like you've seen some shit.

[dog_eat_dog]

I don't see a point in hiding the chip on my shoulder.

[The figurative one, anyhow.]

Tess. You are?

[putuporshutup]

Meg. And neither do I. I just haven't run across many other people who are happy to be here, but I'm guessing their alternatives are better.

Dictated

[pastina]

Ve! Those are some really great things to be thankful for! Though I would add pasta...

[Here, have a sugary sweet little tot happily examining your list.]

Re: Dictated

[dog_eat_dog]

Sick of pasta, to be honest. Anything on a non-perishable list is something I'm tired of.

Dictated

[pastina]

[He gasps. How could such a thing be???] Sick of pasta? But why?

written; (beautiful but small scrawling letters SORRY TESS)

[ensorceler]

How gladdened I am to see there are people who still know to be thankful for their daily bread and loved ones.

[ And soap. Anne looooooves soap. ]

Will your list differ on the morrow?

my phone ate this one :'(

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess has to squint a moment, but she's got it.]

You know things are insane when I'm the thankful one.

And in this place, sure. I can find something new to appreciate every day. I won't be updating the castle on the rest of it, though.

[ensorceler]

I suppose that might become tedious, but there is no shame in keeping your gratitude between you and the Lord.

[bronwe]

Fresh bread. Fresh bread is good to be thankful for.

[dog_eat_dog]

It is. Especially the good quality stuff, not the heavy shit with soft crust.

[bronwe]

Crips on the outside, soft on the inside?

[ Food talk. Good stuff. ]

action aww yeah

[molotov]

[And now, an absurdly attractive woman in a ridiculously skimpy swimsuit and stilettos walks in. She is carrying a baby bear.

A baby bear in swim trunks. That picture is a dog because sane people do not put baby bears in swim trunks.

Molotov is not a sane person, obviously.

She ignores Tess, unaware of who she is. After kicking off her shoes, Molotov and her bear head into the shallow end of the pool, where her bear happily paddles around her.

THIS IS SO NORMAL!]

Re: action aww yeah

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess looks up when Molotov enters; the bear is ridiculous, but it's really Molotov herself that gets Tess's attention. That long, lean body, toned but needlessly thin, tiny waist and giant tits.

Tess remembers a time where she might have seen beauty in that kind of body, aspiring to be supermodelesque and all that. Now, though, she sees it as a grotesque emancipation of a woman's body. Skinny means starving. Skinny means underfed, less likely to survive.

In her oversized hoodie and lounge pants, Tess feels sloppily put together. Hair in a messy ponytail, the last of her facial wounds still healing — a big scab right across her cheek. Christ, Tess doesn't even know how well she cleans up at this point.

And then there's the fucking bear.

Unimpressed, she'll say one thing:]

Really? A bear in the pool?

[silentrunning]

[Someone has decided to add some stuff to Tess's list.]

• Sugar for those fresh peaches.
• Coffee
• Sunshine
• Nice summer breezes.
• Stars

[dog_eat_dog]

Oh christ, coffee. How could I forget coffee? If I had no self control I'd be drinking it like water.