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[willrememberthat]

[The voice that speaks into the journal is somewhat unsure, but probably a little familiar to some residents. It's a little lower, a little deeper, but still obviously Clementine.

It feels like a long time since she used this thing.]

Hi, it's me. Clementine. I went home for a little bit. I'm back now--and I'm really sorry if I worried anyone.

[Ellie especially, but she's sure the girl will speak up and she can apologize.]

I know that people can go home and come back and still remember this place, but can it happen more than once? [Going home used to be her biggest fear. She really doesn't want to worry about going home again.] Has anyone here gone home twice? The temporary trips.

... that's all. It's good to be back.

Comments

filtered

[focusrighthere]

[Oh, shit. Joel's been keeping it together, for Ellie's sake if not just because that's what he's used to doing, but when he hears this voice coming through the journal his heart breaks a little. She went home. From the sound of it, she's been there a while. Exactly what they talked about once, what they were worried about.]

Clementine? You alright? Can I come see you?

[Might already be on his way.]

4ever

[willrememberthat]

[--Joel. Clementine feels immediately guilty. She can only remember bits and pieces about what they talked about in Florence, but all the bad things they worried about came true.

But it's not like she could say no to him visiting.]

I'm alright. [She's yet to see a healer about her arm, but it's cleaned, stitched, and bandaged up securely under her sleeve. The pain is manageable.] And, uh--yeah. I'm in my room.

a-a-action

[focusrighthere]

[He's gotta see it for himself, that she's awake and she's okay. The door to her room squeaks open slowly. Joel's not sure what to expect, but his first instinct is always to expect the worst. His face falls a little at the sight of her-- she's grown, to match her voice. She looks so different.

Shit. Has it been years for Clem? He hesitates where he's standing in the doorway, somewhat speechless at first.]

Hey. [That stupid soft edge whenever he talks to her is back. He takes another step inside, shutting the door.] We missed you, kiddo.

[willrememberthat]

[There it is. That look Clem knows she'll be getting a lot for a while. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she doesn't quite fit the decor of the room. Bright colours and plenty of things to keep a young girl busy, but this Clementine has a hard time looking at them. She doesn't color. She doesn't have tea parties. She just survives.

The journey from nine to eleven hasn't been a kind one.

Yet she still musters up a small smile for Joel. She's always liked him. He was honest. He understood.]

It's good to see you.

[She's sorry she hasn't done better than this.]

You can sit, if you want.

[She motions to the spot next to her.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[She sounds older. Interesting.

Tess sounds remarkable disinterested, regardless.]

You sure have a way of making people worry.

[indirectcause]

[Thank god, she's awake. Ben lets out an exhale, this, at least, was something]

Hey you, glad to see you're back.

[So glad. He has a thousand questions to ask her, but he hangs back on them. He'd rather her talk in her own time, about the state of home]

[willrememberthat]

[Oh, Tess. Clementine already knows she's not going to tell her about all the ways she's screwed up in the past few years.]

I know. It wasn't my plan.

[willrememberthat]

[Ben. This is--strange. It's been a long time, and while she knew he was dead before, this time around she knows. Christa and Omid filled her in on what happened when they went to go find her.

It's hard to make her memories of home mesh with her memories of Paradisa.]

You're coming to visit me, right?

[She's been hiding in her room since her arrival, rarely far from Lee, and not too sure how the others would react to her being older and so very different from that nine year old girl that was here. Ben, though--she definitely wants to see him again. She's missed him.]

[dog_eat_dog]

No one's blaming you. Both you and Ellie should have been more careful, that's all.

[Not that Tess thinks Ellie has any responsibility for Clem, either, but it sounds nicer than "way to get clobbered, kid."]

How much older are you?

[willrememberthat]

I just... wanted to play in the snow with her.

[It's almost hard to recall. Hard to imagine her doing now, too.]

A few years. I'm still not a teenager.

[Christa kept better track of the date, but Clementine never really cared to ask after a while. It's not like they had any anniversaries of good things to celebrate.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[So old enough to know better on a lot of things. Tess sighs. She's trying to be nice.]

Give it time, you'll be a teenager eventually.

[willrememberthat]

I got a little taller, at least.

[Still not tall enough, but maybe one day she'll get there.]

When I was back home, I didn't remember anything about Paradisa. I wish I did.

[dog_eat_dog]

Yeah? Why's that?

[willrememberthat]

[Maybe she would have never left her gun on the sink. Maybe she would have forked over her hat.]

I think I'd have been tougher, faster. After meeting you, Joel, and Ellie.

[dog_eat_dog]

Well, it's easy to complain about me until it's useful, right? Shame it didn't carry over.

[willrememberthat]

It is. Yeah.

[She misses Christa.]

I just don't want to go back again. It's too... too weird. [Making everything make sense again sucks.]

[indirectcause]

[An entire herd of walkers couldn't keep him away]

Of course I do. Are you in your room?

[focusrighthere]

[She's not just older, she looks more worn down in a way that is familiar and unsettling at the same time. It makes sense, with her spending some time to grow into that environment. Joel's sorta relieved she came back at all, alive and with all her limbs intact. (He's not about to forget what happened to Lee.)

And he wishes he had an answer for her original question, about going home again. There's a paranoid part of him that thinks this might be one of many trips back home for Clem, because why not? Back home she would either spend years as a survivor or she'd die. The only two options. He's frowning until she smiles at him, his face relaxing as he takes a seat next to her.

Oh, man.]

It's good to see you too.

[He always seems to find nice words for Clem, but his voice is subdued. He knows she's been through the ringer without her having to say anything and it's obvious.]

You made it back. [She doesn't have to do better than that.] How long has it been?

[dog_eat_dog]

Who really wants to go back even once, let alone twice? Avoid roughhousing and keep yourself safe and hopefully you can avoid another vacation from hell.

[willrememberthat]

A couple years, I think. [She looks down at her hands when Joel sits. They used to be soft, but now there are tiny little calluses and scars from cuts that often went ignored. Time was easier to keep track of when Christa was pregnant, but since then...]

I'm eleven, I think. Maybe almost twelve.

[It's strange to sit next to someone who is familiar, but not.]

It doesn't really matter.

[willrememberthat]

Forget ever going outside again.

[willrememberthat]

[She gets Ben a little more, now. With so few, she's expected to know what to do and do it well. But she's the one always lagging, always messing up. It's hard.]

Yeah. I'm here.

[indirectcause]

[His world is a shitty place to be in and he'd hate to think she was slipping into the same traps he did. Still, that's the sound of his door opening]

I'm on my way.

[And it doesn't take long before there's a knock at her door. He ran there]

[dog_eat_dog]

Mmhmm. Sounds about right.

[lucre]

[ Lucrezia tells herself it must only be a sore throat, something innocuous like that. Not age and experience and too much grief for one so young. No little girl should have to come back to such a home. ]

Did the cookies please you? I was unsure-- I hope they did.