eyes are momentarily owled by her confession … and except for the occasional groan, grunt or growl sounding in the near distance from one of the walkers, it is, for just a moment, quiet ( a first for jabber jaw here ). he shuffles awkwardly, merely blinking in response, cracking a sheepish, yet toothy grin ( bordering on grimace ) so as not to hurt her feelings, hand once again wrapping around to the back of his neck if only to console himself. but take it from the man, straight outta the horse’s mouth—— he’s dumb, but he ain’t stupid! though it takes him a minute, he catches on all right, and when he does? he laughs, a genuine laugh too — a real ha! ha! kind of relieved belly laugh that probably ricochets off the landscape a little loudly ( birds may have taken flight from trees ). had him goin’ there. meth! ❛ ha! heh-hey! that’s pretty funny. ya’ll should’a been a comedian! ❜ he observes once he’s all out-jollied.
❛ see now tha’s pretty cool, always wondered how they made all them movies with the weird creatures ‘n all, make it look like they’re acshully in outerspace. don’t s’pose they go ‘round usin’ movin’ poster boards and funny lookin’ costumes no more like they used to. so … whud end up happenin’ then, you just … stopped goin’ one day? ❜ he asks with a shrug, eyes laser focused on her face as she talks, particularly her lips and the way her mouth moved, the lithe contours of her jaw and cheekbones. he feels a gust of wind straight to the gut that temporarily disorients him … man, she sure is beautiful. he’s almost thankful for this whole zombie outbreak thing if it meant spending the last of his days with a girl like her. and when she refuses to look at him upon explaining what happened with her parents, it only autonomically magnetizes him closer, bewitched … carefully though, subtly, as though approaching a crying witch ( he’s seen what happens up close and personal when you disturb those things ). his expression is solemn, sincere, brows still bowing to convey his condolences … god only knows what it must be like to have to shoot your own parents. hell, ellis could hardly stomach having to shoot jimmy gibbs jr’s walking corpse—- couldn’t even, now that he thinks about it, nick had to do it — and he didn’t even hardly know him!
❛ man … that’s gotta burn an image in your brain, no doubt. i mean, i ‘magine it’s gotta be real tough havin’ to make sense of all that. ❜ he muses aloud, gaze diverting from her to absorb the severity of it all for a moment before he presses on, gauging her reaction before he starts again, ❛ you know … i know it won’t bring ‘em back or anythin’ like that, but … for what it’s worth, i’m real sorry … don’t think i could’a done it, not me. ❜ he shakes his head at the mere though of his mama on the other side of his loaded barrel, watching her turn from fleshy pink to grey, dull, lifeless … makes him nauseous… leave it to the master of segues to change the subject. ❛ truth be told, … .my stomach ain’t really even all that strong. i’s never good at huntin’. i always tried to take the animals home ‘stead ‘a shootin’ them. shit, i think i like animals better than people half the time … guess that bodes real well for me in the grand scheme a’ things, don’t it? ❜ after all, there were no people left.
the silence is strange , not often experienced in the presence of the little mister motormouth , but far from uncomfortable . she relishes the brief silence until it is broken by laughter ( oh , what a sound ! ) . shaking her head , jade hues roll skyward as she navigates the darkened path , always glancing into shadows to watch for approaching walkers . “ yeah , i would’ve really taken off as a comedian . ” despite herself , laughter of her own tumbles from her lips . reserved and quiet as a whisper , but there !
“ i always liked the old stuff . practical effects are what they were called . makeup and real sets . . . a lot of the time , for space stuff they actually made these super small models and would do claymation and stuff like that . ” like the sun , she lights up as she rambles on about long lost passion , words spilling from her lips without worry of the consequence . even the push for further information does not deter her shine . “ i sorta flunked out , actually . i got straight d’s my first semester and was planning on giving it another shot when . . . everything happened . ” the famous ultimatum ! college or a job at the local grocery store to save up for her own place ( she obviously was going to go with the one that kept her home ) . his approach is allowed when that shine is finally eclipsed by the dark cloud of grief , even welcomed by some small part of her that craved to finally give into the desire to cry .
“ yeah . . . not something you really forget . ” the splatter of blood upon her face , warm and thick before she was heaving barely digested dinner onto the sparkling tile of her childhood home . mom had always prided herself on a clean home , and there it was , covered in bits of bone and blood and her own sick . she’d heaved , sobbing between bouts of sickness for hours before the groaning outside finally spurred her to move . eyes blink away tears , fingers tight as they grip onto elbows , pulling in ever closer . “ i appreciate it , ellis . . . really . ” small , sad smile is offered as head turns to look into the warm gaze ( so focused on her , she nearly wanted to run away and hide ) . the change of subject is appreciated , lead followed as a wet little chuckle escapes her . “ yeah , i guess so . i was never big on hunting , but as an only child my dad always pulled me into it with him . i got pretty hand with a gun by the time i was a teenager . ”
