#˗ˏˋ ── [ answered ] ꜝꜝ

[pcketknves]

[ paths crossed ] ; a continuation from here for @pennedbymoxiee .

it'd always been pretty easy to tell whether or not someone was bullshitting her . the lilt of a voice , the fear of being caught in a web of lies ; neither of those things present within the woman that was nearly a victim to ellie's wrath . for a moment still did it seem as though hesitation stirred within , the corners of a weary and dry mouth twitching ever so slightly before sucking back a click of disappointment the tongue against teeth .

" okay , " a heavy sigh , though one wouldn't be able to discern if it were out of disappointment she couldn't use this one for info or if it were out of relief she could let her guard down a smidge . " so you're not a wolf ; the hell are you doing all the way out here ? it's not smart — got these so called " scars " running around on top of the wlf and the infected . "

thick were the humidity that seemed to only increase with ellie's incessant pacing back and forth as though she were trying to gauge in her mind where to go from there . gaze never leaving the dirtied tops of canvas sneakers , she'd stop suddenly where dirt and debris would shift 'neath the soles of worn down shoes . with a small pivot did she regard the woman with a steeled gaze , finally being able to take in the view of what could have either been enemy or companion .

" joel — , " she'd pause , eyes quickly shutting as she turned her head away briefly . to speak of his name brought upon her memories she didn't want to relive and a guilt she continued to pile on her like pounds of dirt 'pon a grave . " he used to tell me about the other countries out there in the old world — you're not from here , are you . "

much less a question than it were a statement ; the accent gave it away . her hands found their way to the stable hills of her hips , her mind yet again the tipping scales as she weighed her options . fear and the general distrust of others told her to jump ship ; abandon the idea of strength in numbers , but the crushing desire to not be alone willed her for invitation . a quick and skillful once - over took in the other's arsenal ; prepared despite not being from the U S of A .

" that's not a bad arrangement of shit you got , " her tone lighter now ; as though to apologize for her otherwise vicious behavior from earlier . she'd had the bad habit of never apologizing unless she truly meant it — a sign of her authenticity and her dislike for lying . " given you haven't been bitten yet or at the very least shot dead . . . makes you one of the rare ones . "

another brief pause ; a moment of caution , though she'd thrown it to the wind rather quick .

" ellie , " a bloodied and dirt - riddled hand reached out — what was the point in lying , anyway ? " looking for a girl named abby . got big ass muscles and a braid , you seen her ? "

anything was better than nothing .

[pcketknves]

[ partnership ] ; a continuation from here for @pennedbymoxiee .

never the question on whether or not lara could handle herself ; ellie had seen it all with her own two eyes not yet viciously taken from her by the hands of anyone bold enough to try . in all of her time trying to survive , she'd found the living more inhumane than the infected . executions , torture methods she'd only seen in the various films she'd watched with joel — humans were the monsters . yet even still with the confidence did ellie find herself wondering if her permission would backfire one day .

one day wondering if she'd lose lara the way she lost him . wondering if she'd be just as helpless to stop it as that day a year or so ago .

" if at any point you wanna turn back around , " she'd murmur , her voice clear despite . anxiously would her hands fidget with one another , tracing the paths of old scars and new scabs . " i won't blame you , but i have to see this through to the end . "

wasn't long before they'd be gone on foot ; it'd be some odd few days before they could be remotely close to abby's last known whereabout . for so long had ellie been tracking the woman like some sort of bloodhound , noting every last location and the precise pathing . from the surface and the outside looking in was it a clear obsession — the need to rid herself the guilt of being helpless to save joel . if she could right that very wrong and solely live with the thought she'd murdered dozens to make it happen , she could live with that .

" i should've done it then , " she'd break the vocal silence , listening to the odd crunch of gravel and the shift of tall grass against her legs and beneath her feet . " i had the chance to beat the shit out of her . . . wanted to make her pay . don't know why i stopped — guess i thought doing it wouldn't have brought him back . she was scrawny as shit , too . fuckers that caught her really did a number on her . but it didn't feel right — i wanted her to fight back . i got nothing out of beating a kicked animal . "

maybe it was a bit much , but if ellie were anything , it was honest .

[pcketknves]

[ bloodied ] ; a continuation from here for @pennedbymoxiee .

how many times had it been ? how many times were it that someone had to take care of her ass where she wanted nothing more than to be able to take care of herself ? was it even so bad to have someone care ? joel cared , and it got him six feet under with a face ellie could barely even recognize . couldn't dare to remember what he looked like before it all .

in her ears was the irritating screech the tinnitus of a post traumatic induced daydream with a far off look in her eyes that they'd glossed over . it'd drowned out her surroundings if only for a moment , her lashes fluttering ever so slightly as her fingers halted in their pursuit of that loose thread . parted , cracked lips breathe out what she'd often times wished was her final breath , her heart the calmest it'd felt all week .

british - ladden accent the harmony to bring her out of her dazed stupor , olive 'pon an otherwise concerned face . ellie had grown to love staring at her ; made her feel safe . made everything feel worth it . could remember the last time she'd felt this way — before dina left the farm with jj . for once , back then , things felt alright . but then she'd lost it all and brought to fruition her greatest fear of being alone .

having lara by her side made her wish not to make the same mistake , but . . .

" yeah , " hoarsely . exhausted . shaky hands would find purchase within one another curled tight against her chest as she'd roll off to her right , allowing lara the easy access to the injury . in the brief silence there against their uneven and untimed breathing did the words wish to spill from her lips : ' you're not going to leave me , too , are you . '

selfish to ask it , selfish to have wanted dina to stay , back then . it were a year since then but it still felt brand new — the wound that couldn't be carefully stitched closed with careful hands .

please , don't leave . i know i have a lot to answer for , and i know i'm a monster , but please , stay .

[pcketknves]

[ bargaining ] ; a continuation from here for @fireandblvvd .

" yeah , i . . . i don't know . "

she'd only ever been uncertain in perhaps three parts of her life ; her blooming feelings for riley , her pining for dina , and the hefty weight of joel's lie about her immunity . in the very instance of where she sat drenched in cold sweat did she find herself uncertain for the fourth time in all her twenty years of living . couldn't be sure if this is how her life was going to be forever — haunted by things she couldn't will away no matter how hard she thought she could .

bruised and battered hands balled into fists with the hope to grasp onto some semblance of sanity that she had left — whatever was left untouched from flashing images of joel's reckoning . with a soothing exhale and the tight knit of brows pressed together to bridge the gap of anguish and strength did ellie find her grounding , olive depths peering back up toward a familiar face .

" i can't let this go , " a soft whisper - crack like chipping paint from a home her surrogate old man left behind with things undone as though he'd come back . " i can't let him go — they have to pay . i have to make things right ; they can't just get away with this . "

there was a pathetic sniffle like a small child trying to console themselves — just like she'd always done ; right before she'd have to grow up so fast . the back of a damp hand would swipe 'cross the bottom of her nose , her throat dry and stinging like nettle needles . hopelessly her glance 'pon oren ; something pleading there as though begging — asking if things would be okay .

if she'd be okay .

[pcketknves]

[ patterns ] sender drawing random patterns on receiver's skin ( v. ) i would like to imagine that ambrosia would do this from time to time . as a way of distratcing v from the inevitable that is looming over his head . racing small things like flowers or hearts onto his inner arm or the top of his hand . quietly , without many words . but the intent is seen in the expression on her face . maybe it would happen late at night , a time when ambrosia finds even herself worrying about the future .

tenderness were like a lover long lost where love letter lay left behind with words too late to be spoken . in a far off memory just beyond his fingertips could he vaguely remember such gentility , though like the sands of time would it trickle into nothing . against the bleak and dreary sky did the warmth of the sun dare to peek through , beaming small stream against cotton all too thin to shelter their eyes from its light .

her touch was something that taught his heart and mortal frame a new feeling that he could only hope would follow him in his reunion with urizen . absentmindedly had he copied her own thoughtless ministrations , slender fingers following up the length of her arm and back down at a pace so soft he'd inevitably lull himself back to sleep if not careful .

" struggling in my father’s hands , striving against my swaddling bands , bound and weary , i thought best to sulk upon my mother’s breast , " he'd murmur , his voice worn down from exhaustion and with the desire to rest his eyes . " i have nothing left ; if urizen is not stopped , this world as you know it will be no more . sacrifice , though difficult , must be made even in the toughest times . "