wolf / girl

// * @noralopez

— “ are you FOLLOWING me?” mason’s voice is light as he turns to see the very girl he expected to see: nora lopez. he doesn’t really believe she has really been following him, but his cockiness and surety is positive to get a reaction from her. he quirks up an eyebrow at her, smirk on his face as he leans back against the outside fencing of ailton, arms crossed over his chest. a picture of p u r e relaxed. “ … because, hey, i’m FLATTERED. who doesn’t want a pretty girl as a stalker?”

“Who could blame me for following the handsomest guy around?” Nora said dryly. It was obviously a JOKE, but knowing how cocky Mason was, he would take it seriously. Whatever, Nora rarely got to have any fun these days, and flirting was fun. It was light, pointless, freeing -- kind of like how she felt around Mason most of the time. “I’m probably like your dream stalker, huh?” She said lightly. “If we weren’t on the brink of death all the time, you’d be writing my name in notebooks with hearts all around it.”

With an overnight pack slung over her shoulders, containing water, one can of food and a few extra layers, it was obvious that Nora was going on a hunting trip that would take a few days. If the roles were reversed, she would be worried about Panda, too, but Nora preferred to play it cool. With a smile, she joked, “How could I get bit with someone like you around?” It didn’t feel like enough so after a brief pause, Nora added, “You don’t get bit either, okay? Or I’ll come kick your butt.”

❛    it’s    fucking    gorgeous    .    ❜    all    with    a    smile    ,    palms    waved    mid    drift    .    the    scenery    was    the    last    thing    she    concerned    herself    with    anymore    .    it    all    looked    the    same    now    ,    with    nature    reclaiming    what    was    hers    ;    with    human    involvement    all    but    dead    ,    who    would    fight    her    claim    ?    ❛    thought    you    might    like    some    company                         here    i    was    ,    worried    you’d    get    lonely    without    me    &    this    is    how    i’m    thanked    .    i’m    hurt    ,    truly    .    ❜    teased    ,    mocked    ,    all    in    good    fun    as  one    hand    came    to    rest    on    her    chest    while    the    other    pointed    at    the    arrow    tip    aimed    in    her    direction    .

The cabin that she and Gabriela had found was seriously amazing. Surprisingly undamaged, too, Nora noted as she looked around. There were a few cans of beans, one bottle of vodka and numerous ramen packages. “Do you think these things really expire?” Nora asked curiously as she broke into the bag of noodles. They smelled fine, and honestly, after four years without anything decent, Nora wasn’t picky these days. “I’m going for it,” she announced and plopped a huge mouthful of the noodles into her mouth. She moaned dramatically and exclaimed, “They’re sooooo good!” Yeah, obviously, Nora wasn’t too bothered by the fact that she and Gabriela had had to hunker down for the night to avoid a) walkers and b) the huge rain storm. “You know what I miss?” She asked before hopping onto the wooden countertop. “Just driving for hours without a destination. You think we could steal a car and gas?” It was a pipe dream, but sometimes, those were necessary.

                             profanities   fly   out   of   minnie’s   mouth   a   mile   a   minute   .   she’s   not   lost   anything   ,   nor   has   she   been   raided   in   the   night   ,   but   the   nastiest   cut   on   the   side   of   her   leg’s   opened   up   AGAIN   and   while   she   has   water   ,   it’s   not   the   kind   she   wants   to   use   on   a   wound   (   it’s   been   filtered   ,   which   is   specifically   reserved   for   eating   and   drinking   )   .   aware   of   a   river   nearby   ,   she’s   been   stumbling   clumsily   through   the   woods   toward   the   sound   of   running   water   .   she’s   been   lucky   enough   to   not   run   into   anyone   (   or   ,   anything   )   ,   at   least   ,   until   she   sees   a   hunter   from   a   nearby   settlement.   she   straightens   up   immediately   ,   leaning   against   a   nearby   tree   and   lifting   up   her   right   leg   .   ‘   no   ,   i’m   fucking   bleeding   ,   ’   she   replies   sharply   ,   craning   to   look   at   her   cloth   covered   wound   .   ‘   you   wanna   get   me   some   river   water   ,   or   are   you   a   fend   for   yourself   sort   of   person   ?   ’   she   asks   ,   handing   the   woman   a   flask   hanging   off   her   backpack   .

The wounded were always something that Nora was wary of. Most of the time, she was attracted to rogues, curious about how they survived without help — in someways, it was an attractive lifestyle — but rogues were also unpredictable. Since the injury was on the woman’s leg, Nora figured her odds of getting the upper hand were excellent and her compassion won out the second she handed Nora the flask. “I got you,” she replied, moving towards the river and filling the flask with water. “What happened? You need me to bandage it?” Nora asked as she handed the woman the water.

  he’d  spent  most  of  the  day  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  ;  washing  clothes  ,  cleaning  ,  trying  to  make  sense  of  himself  despite  the  dirt  .  it  was  often  he  found  himself  coming  back  ,  as  long  as  the  river  was  still  running  .  but  it  had  to  be  quick  ,  he  wasn’t  the  only  one  that  had  used  the  running  water  for  himself  .  traps  had  been  laid  along  the  shoreline  ,  tucked  under  leaves  and  pebbles  .  he’s  halfway  putting  his  shirt  back  on  ,  after  sitting  out  and  letting  them  dry  .  a  ruffling  through  the  bush  ,  and  another  person  startled  him  .  he’s  quick  to  lean  on  the  gun  tucked  between  his  trousers  .  chest  rise  and  falls  with  surprise  ,  and his  gaze  narrowed  on  nothing  but  habit  .  “not  exactly  -”  it’s  a  little  colder  than  he  meant  ;  but  the  realization  soon  hit  him  .  brown  eyes  touched  the  back  of  a memory  he  was  sure  had  been  long  forgotten  .  there’s  a  furrow  in  his  brows  and  immediately  —-  shoulders  relax  .  “nora  ?” it  couldn’t  be  ,  she  wasn’t  even  on  this  continent  ;  let  alone  somewhere  lost  in  the  woods  on  the  outskirts  of  texas  .  it  was  an  illusion  ,  his  mind  playing  tricks  on  him  .  maybe  an  apparition  from  not  eating  as  frequently  as  he  should  .  either  way  ,  she  wasn’t  real  .  she  couldn’t  be  .  

when  amelia  received  the  radio  message  that  her  daughter  left  camp ,  she  immediately  checked  on  the  citizens  of  the  saints ,  then  off  to  the  woods  she  went .  knowing  her  daughter  like  the  back  of  her  hand ,  amelia  let  her  instincts  lead  her  through  the  forest .  maybe  she  was  being  a  helicopter  mom  or  over-protective ,  but  nothing  important  needed  her  back  home ,  and  she  hadn’t  visited  her  daughter  in  a  bit .  half  an  hour  later ,  she  could  hear  the  rushing  water ,  and  feet  led  her  right  to  the  target .  “  oh ,  definitely .  such  a  breathtaking  world  we  live  in .  “  a  soft  chuckle  left  her  lips ,  stepping  closer  to  her  daughter .

It wasn’t often that Jesse got out beyond the borders of camp, but from time to time he escaped the pressures of leadership for a little change of pace; even if that meant helping out with dam maintenance or working with the hunters. It was what brought him outside the familiarity of Serotonin and into the fresh air - or, ideally fresh air, anyway. With the spreading disease, who knew what they could stumble upon. 

As he approached the rivers edge, he hadn’t expected to stumble upon Nora, but he wasn’t disappointed with the company. “Naturally,” he agreed to her words, arms folding across his chest and casting her a smile. “This what you do on your ‘hunts’, enjoy the scene?” 

Of all the people Nora could run into at the riverside, she was pleased to see that it was Jesse. Immediately, she returned his smile and placed the bow over her shoulder. “Yeah, I look for the prettiest area and hope I can find some meat there,” Nora joked. Normally, her hunts lead her to the city, raiding stores and cabins and warehouses, which was always bleak. Jesse knew that. “Is this what you do on your time off? Come to bug your favourite hunter for some company?” She teased, a fond note in her tone.

Water was crucial for every living creature, although the camps largely had that problem looked after. (Was it pragmatic that Nora always took stock of where moving water was located? The dams seemed effective, but Nora always wanted a backup plan.) But animals needed water to survive, too, and that’s what lead her to a river a few miles away from camp. Nora had set traps all along the riverside and was currently leaned against a tree, awaiting one of the traps to go off and dinner to be discovered. When she heard a rustle in the bushes, Nora immediately readied her bow and turned towards the noise. Snorting when she saw a person and not a zombie (thankfully) or an animal, she said, “Afternoon. Are you taking a break from the apocalypse to admire the scenery, too?” Obviously, that wasn’t actually what Nora was doing, but the river was awfully beautiful.

( lindsey morgan. 25. she/her. ) we spotted NORA LOPEZ-CHEN around toledo today, just another gear in the machine of the apocalypse. i heard she is a HUNTER for CAMP SEROTONIN. i guess it fits, seeing as she’s known to be + tenacious & + protective, as well as - impulsive & - emotional. they often have go by the chemical brothers stuck in their head while they work. i wonder if they’re prepared for what’s coming ?