SWEAR TO ME.

          nursing her hand, ellie looks around for the source of the voice for a panicked moment -- her grubby face and torn clothes often sparked concern in well meaning but utterly wrong adults, and she isn’t about to be dragged along to a homeless shelter for the fourth time that week. when she finds the individual, she smiles a little tightly: a boy, possibly younger than her, offering something to stop her bleeding.    ❛  uh, thanks ? it’s not that bad -- i’ve had worse.  ❜    

          squinting through the darkness, too impatient to let her eyes adjust, the youth sticks out a hand to steady herself against a softly humming wall and leans into it, already feigning injury. more often that not, someone would extend a helping hand to a dirty and starving girl who could barely stand -- when empathy is a wildcard, one must learn to play dirty. coughing harshly in her fabricated state, ellie passes a muddy hand down her face and cries out again.    ❛  yeah, i -- i think i’m lost, and shit out there is super fucked; i’m ellie, can you help me ?  ❜    stepping forwards, ellie stamps into a puddle to establish her newfound limp, a small whimper passing her cracked and bitten lips. anything would be better than  the strange headcrabs and hunters outside: her recklessness is overlooked, just this once.

          at this unabashed display of kindness, she shrinks back a few steps, blueberries coming to rest in her slightly shaking hands. head turns suspiciously, eyeing her exit and any obstacles quickly and carefully. the last time she had accepted help from a nigh stranger, she had almost been eaten -- forgive her initial unease.    ❛  um, no -- i don’t think i --  ❜    both hands go up in defence, and she has to choke down her flight response. 

          inspection of the wound is punctured frequently as the younger glances at her companion, eyes bright with intrigue and interest. her own hands are safely held underneath her sleeves, fingers twitching in sympathy and discomfort. her own injuries held their own stories, but there’s no telling how he would react should she reveal her bite.    ❛  whoah, nelly... it’s gross, no offence, but at least it wasn’t a fatal shot, huh ?  ❜    

          sympathy, kinship – this girl cannot be much younger than her, and yet here ellie stands, fingers shaking somewhat, stance aggressive, all too prepared to take her things to save her own life. she had been taught self preservation from the best, a smuggler she had long since accepted as her mentor. breath comes out in a steady and thick mist, lips vanishing into a thin line as the auburn haired youth shifts on her feet.    ❛  tell me about it, kid. life isn’t fair, huh ? c’mon, don’t make this way harder than it needs to be.  ❜    

          tweek, while not being a friend, has become exceedingly familiar to her lately. she knows more about his coffee than most do – more than his real friends, she suspects. with inquisitive and somewhat confused eyes, she watches his frantic workings, switches and buttons lost to her gaze as he grinds and makes enough of the drink to kill a large mammal. brushing at her nose, ellie takes an uncertain step forward, grimy hands clenched by her sides.    ❛  uh, can i – let me help out, come on.  ❜     

          ❛  ellie.  ❜    too late, she ponders the idea of a fake name, cursing her fatigue and slow mind under her breath. shifting from foot to foot, she glances first over her shoulder and then around her new companion -- being out in the open in such a rough part of town was dangerous for her especially. she seemed to have a knack for angering those twice her size.    ❛  so it was a murderer, huh ? wow. not really surprised, y’know how it is.  ❜    tone is dull and lacks concern or fear, which is worrying in itself.

          eyes roll spectacularly, a show of her impatience and immaturity. ellie had grown up in all the wrong ways -- her ability to understand people still lacked. folding her arms tightly across her chest, the youth huffs indignantly, foot tapping a neat staccato as he talks.    ❛  are you gonna make a habit out of taking shit i say personally ? ‘cause it’s gonna get real boring, real quickly. listen, man, i appreciate it, but it just sounds like pity, and it’s bullshit.  ❜     

          it hurts to laugh, but she does anyway, a small chuckle that scratches at her raw throat and sends her skin all over goosebumps. tugging on her sleeve as she takes another step forwards, ellie ponders lying -- it wasn’t strange for her to settle with someone for them to snap on her that very night and send her running.    ❛  who didn’t ?  ❜    comes her counter, a jest with no real punchline as her nose begins to bleed again. she knows it’s impossible to be truly benevolent in a world like this one, but she hopes for a spot of empathy in this boy who could easily match her age.    ❛  i’m a bit fucked, dude. got anything spare to help a chick out ?  ❜     

          doubled over, ellie tries to muffle her laughter behind her hands. childish pranks weren’t always the best idea when both parties were heavily armed, but occasionally, she and clementine were due to act their age -- a small freedom, but a much needed one.    ❛  c’mon, clem -- it was fuckin’ funny.  ❜    voice turned jovial, eyes brighter than usual, the youth lets herself feel young.

          only once before has she felt this weighted, like every limb was lead and she had been thrown into the sea. only once before has she had to stare hard at her turning hands to keep from spilling, nose stinging unpleasantly with years of unshed tears. only once before has she had to stare a parental figure in the eye as they talk of struggles and surviving, a word that came into play so much when she was concerned. mankind’s hope, the cure – she has been called so many things, but none so tender as daughter.    ❛  yeah, i know, but…  ❜    a telling pause -- the immune girl imagines death for the umpteenth time, finds the idea just as appealing as usual.    ❛  it’s fine.    ❜