His first instinct was to freeze at the words, eyes swept over the amber and violet-dotted concoction, and questionable tactics of whatever it was she happened to be doing at the time. It didn’t exactly look appealing and for a split second he pondered faking some dire allergy but clearly that plan was going to fall through when he came up short on what it was he was supposed to be feigning possible anaphylactic reaction to. Well, damn.

“Ah, not especially.” Honesty being the best policy certainly didn’t make for friendly vibes at times and he was trying to work on not coming off as socially inept lately so Nathan sighed and relented. “Maybe. Depends. What is it?” Trying being the key word really, generally it was mostly hit or miss, the latter being far more prevalent in his efforts.

“nuh uh, you lost your chance now, bud.” cj childishly (and pettily) brings back the jar to her chest, eventually laying it down on the table in front of her. “you’ll gotta wait until the next time i’m feeling generous.” 

“look, i’m just saying. if we make it out of here alive, and the world goes back to normal, then i’d want andy samberg to play me in a movie.” he tipped the little mason jar of hooch he hated (free alcohol was free alcohol) to his lips. “i just think he’s funny, and handsome.” @finishqstarters​

☠  —  don’t  open,  dead  inside  !  oh,  wait  !  that’s  just  nico salvatore,  you  know,  the cis male general member  in  the  atlanta  community  ?  he is  twenty-five years  old  and  looks  a  lot  like  adam dimarco,  but  i  mostly  just  see  them  wielding  garden shears.  now  that  you  mention  it,  i  don’t  think  i’ve  ever  seen  them  without  their  moleskin notebook filled with jokes.  which  makes  sense,  since  they  seem  to  remind  everyone  else  in  their  group  of  late-night snack runs,  open-armed hugs,  and a tattoo of the comedy and tragedy masks.  well,  hurry  up  and  let  them  in  !  we  can’t  leave  them  for  the  walkers  !  —  (  mel.  26.  PST.  she/her.  )

at  first,  eugenia  didn’t  know  what  to  make  of  it.  ‘  if  i  didn’t  know  any  better,  i’d  think  you  were  brewing  potions.  ’  a  small,  barely  audible  scoff  escaped  her  lips  as  they  quirked  up  into  the  faintest  smile.  once  she  was  able  to  register  the  golden  liquid  as  honey,  the  pieces  fell  into  place.  she  was  unsure  if  she  wanted  to  try  it  after  promising  herself  a  quick  onceover  of  the  grounds,  but  it  couldn’t  hurt.  quality  inspection  did  serve  a  purpose  after  all.  ‘  only  on  the  condition  that  you  try  it  with  me.  i  don’t  think  you’re  a  double  crosser,  but  i  can  never  be  too  safe. ’

“know where i can get some wolfsbane?” she laughed in response, continuing the topic, “would you rather be a werewolf, a witch or a vampire?”

when eugenia requests to try it together, she’s quick to oblige. smearing the infused-honey on a piece of toast for either one of them, she hands it over.. “only thing you gotta be worried about around me is bitterness, and maybe the smell of weed. i promise.” she lifts up her (literal) toast. “cheers?”

THIS WAS THE SINGLE LAST PLACE SHE WANTED TO BE. as kai’s eyes scanned the width and height of the walls, she felt a similar anxiety rising in her throat. she hated everything that the mountaintop meant to her right now. it meant failure. it meant that whatever forces pushed her into declining the previous offer (that her ex girlfriend had taken) were long forgotten in a desperate attempt to find a smidge of safety for her well being. “yeah, cj. claire. whatever you guys… call her. i know her. can you just like, get her out here? i can show you that i know her. please.” kai’s tone is the perfect level of pleading that makes her stomach churn. there’s a fear in her body that she could vomit at any second while she waited for claire, her claire, to be in her line of vision once more. 

and then it happened. 

cj’s body collided against hers in a force that she hadn’t expected, and to be frank, she hated it. she didn’t want a grand reunion with the girl that she used to have trouble even making eye contact with. she wanted her ticket to the mountaintop and that’s it. however, she needed to ensure that the others could vouch for the drama free relationship that kai would be bringing into the community - so with that in mind, kai wrapped her arms tightly around her ex girlfriend’s waist, pulling their bodies closer to one another. it was a confusing feeling, naturally. on one hand, it felt like kai was finally home. but on the other, she felt suffocated already.

in a moments notice, kai was granted access into the group and she allowed her feet to move into the safety and comfort of the community’s walls. however, once eyes lifted from staring down kai and her actions, her body drifted away from cj. “we need to talk, okay?” kai said, her voice hushed and suddenly colder than their grand reunion before. 

accepting the bid to join the mountain community had been cj’s way of pushing an ultimatum: she had asked (begged!), of course she had asked, for them to come too. and what had she been met with? kai’s resistance; kai demanding her parents to stay; kai telling her to leave.

why did she expect this time around to be any different? why even let her guard down and give herself an ounce of hope when it had been months, and even the stupid cell phone in her pocket couldn’t procure an email/text/anything from her parents to give her something worth living for.

when kai drifts away, cj drops her hand off the woman’s shoulder as though burned. “nah. you need to talk,” she responds, hates the way her voice cracks, because the last thing she wants is her asshole ex to see how she’s affecting her when it seems like kai’s already written her out of the story.

but, it would be alien for cj not to care. for all the hours she spent alone in the water surfing, solitude had never been a sought out pastime. even when she found herself amongst the waves for hours alone, her head was never empty and kai was never far away. she knew the moment she’d return to land that kai would be there. on the sand, watching her; in their bed, sleeping; in her mind, reminding cj how much she loved her/them/this/everything. (and she still lived there, rent free, occupying every what if that pained her.)

“   tomorrow ,   i think.    got  anything  specific  in  mind?   ”       tori  dips  another  cracker  into  the  honey  and  then  passes  the  little  jar  and  the  rest  of  the  crackers  back ,   humming  thoughtfully.    laughter  has  faded  for  the  most  part ,   but  amusement  is  still  plain  in  her  eyes.  

“   what  does  georgia  have  to  brag  about  …    lots  of  trees ,   red  mud.    and ,   you  know ,   probably  a  ton  of  walkers  around  my  area  now.    it’s  a  real  winner.   ”

she lets their fingers brush, leaves her hand a little too long for the task when tori passes back the jar. she grins, almost a little shyly, running a hand through blonde hair before responding, “ i’m going a little stir crazy around here — can i tag along? it’s almost the holidays. how sweet would securing some canned cranberry be?”

with minimal risk for the community, she’s excused with a small reprimand to keep her stash of weed out of the greenhouse, because kids are getting curious about “skunks.” so, she does exactly that. listening to the music saved on her iPhone (which she charges with a solar-powered portable battery charger), she doesn’t hear when one of the scouts comes by to ask if she can come to the community’s entrance. 

“huh?” she responds, pulling the ear buds out and letting the string lay around her neck in place. “a girl looking for me?” she’s genuinely clueless — a testament to how hard she had fought to keep her thoughts of life before the mountaintop buried.

the scout gives cj no answers to her questions, just tells her, “dunno. she just said she knows you.” and as the entrance comes into view does she realize she knows her. knows her so damn well.

if claire’s heart didn’t rule her body, then the prevailing thought in her mind of not your problem anymore would have made her turn around. instead, her doc martens crunch the ground underneath her as she takes the lead in the marathon to be at kai’s side instantly. muscle memory guides her arms around the girl’s shoulders and neck into a crushing hug. the height in between them still like two puzzle pieces falling into place. her hands eventually drop to cup kai’s face, fingers unaware of where they should rest. cj’s thumbs brush at the expanse of kai’s cheeks, brown eyes fastened on the curve of her features with the utmost worry. it’s a re-union that must look sweet to onlookers, but.

❛  you  know  the  last  time  someone  asked  me  that  and  i  fell  for  it,  it  was  madaelyn  asking  me  to  taste  a  playdough  creation  when  she  was  six.  ❜  it  was  a  sweet  story  but  the  humor  fell  a  little  flat.  some  days  more  than  others  the  state  of  the  world  weighed  on  beka’s  shoulders  and  while  cj  wasn’t  the  person  she  was  looking  for,  she  was  the  perfect  person  to  fill  a  little  bit  of  time  with.  laughter  came  easier  with  cj  than  most  and  while  making  friends  wasn’t  a  high  priority  on  beka’s  list  but  keeping  them  was.  raising  a  brow  as  she  moved  closer,  beka  extended  her  hand.  ❛  alright,  hand  it  over.  you  know  how  much  i  love  passing  judgment.  ❜

“well?” cj raises an eyebrow, turning back to give beka her full attention. “did it suck?”

CLAIRE GRINNED AT THE OTHER – endeared by that little pet name of hers as she approached. she knew her and cj shared the same name, but it was kind of like second nature to use the other’s nickname at this point. ❝ rereading the same thing for like… the tenth time, ❞ she chuckled, tucking her book under her arm. ❝ i could use a walk though, want to join? i’ll be impressed if you can catch those almonds in your mouth while on the move. ❞

“which is?” cj inquired, craning her head ever so slightly to try and get a peek at the book in claire’s grasp. “you’ll have to let me borrow something to read — all i’ve been chilling with is these plant directories, and my brain’s melting. all weeds are starting to look the same to me.”

“down,” cj follows after her. “where ya thinking? i saw some nice daisies growing on the south side of the camp.” 

reggie had been out on patrol for most of the day, her bones ached, but that was something she learned to ignore at this point. moose followed loyally in toe, which was something the brunette was thankful for: he provided a sense of home for her. she didn’t know what she would do wi - - “woah, buddy !!” her soft voice called out after the mastiff RUSHED , tail wagging like a helicopter lifting off as he bounded towards claire. “ hey, you know you don’t have to ask us twice.” she grinned to her roommate, knowing she too had a surprise for the blonde. she began eyeing over the source of sweet aroma that filled her senses, letting a soft hum, almost bouncing in excitement over trying it. “ i doubt it could possibly suck, in the case it does ? i found a bit of a treat on patrol that could save it.” she reached into her pocket to pull out a two pack of york peppermint patties, you could feel how misshapen they were from the heat through the package - - but it would do. 

moose greets her before reggie, and it’s both a testament to cj’s build and quick reaction that she doesn’t get flung off the bucket she’s claimed as a chair. an arm wraps around him instantly, tethering him to the ground as his tail furiously wags. her other arm just narrowly manages to save the jar from escaping her grip, placing it abruptly on the wooden table that doubles as a cleaning and testing area. 

“let that energy allllll out,” cj pats the dog’s stomach, prompting him to lay down. “i could use the sleep tonight,” she joked, knowing that while moose could be a rambunctious dog, he was never a bother.

tori  hates  that  warmth  spreads  through  her  chest  at  the  words ,   and  she  only  hopes  to  god  that  she  isn’t  blushing.   jesus.    and  then ,   when  cj  continues ,   the  blush  dissipates  and  she  laughs  instead ,   leaning  over  to  give  the  other  girl  an  elbow  to  the  ribs.     

“   jesus ,   no ,   i’ve  never  had  that.    sounds  like  an  la  thing.    yeah ,   yeah ,   they’re  clean.    scout’s  honor.   ”       she  eyes  the  jar  with  mock  wariness  for  another  second  or  two  before  giving  in  and  dipping  one  of  the  crackers  in.    the  taste  is  a  pleasant  surprise ,   to  say  the  least.       “   oh   –   it’s  good.    shit.   ”    

“ouch!” she reacts dramatically, pretending to lose her balance by wobbling on the bucket. “clearly those extra scouting missions have been good to you.” which, reminds her. “when are you going out next? pantry could use a replenish.” and because she could never not be annoying, “and since lavender honey seems to be a hit... i’m sure another batch is necessary.”