.:✿｡☾ elspeth allaway

 he  watched  as  the  girl  provided  tulip  the  love  she  almost  NEEDED  constantly,  jokes  on  him  for  raising  such  a  brat.  he  listened  to  the  girl  but  was  UNFAMILIAR  with  the  camp.  he  knew  names,  faces  —  not  camps.  but  even  the  services  he  provided  weren’t  always  ASKED  by  camps  but  rather  rouges  like  himself.  he  nodded  his  head,  ❝  i’m  john  and  this  is  tulip.  ❞  he  replied,  grin  now  dissolving.  ❝  the  sun  setting  soon  and  i  think  axel  and  elliot  would  like  you  home  soon.  ❞  he  added  eyes  meeting  the  horizon  line.  ❝  would  you  like  me  to  walk  you  home  ??  ❞

❝ lemony snicket is cool n’all — like, i got KINDA bored after book nine. ❞ he admitted while looking at the book in the girl’s hands. he shrugged his shoulders as his CURIOUS expression transformed into a smug grin. ❝ but the greatest young adult saga is… hold on —  ❞ he slung his backpack in front of him and dug inside where he retrieved a copy of THE CRIMSON CHRONICLES written by mommy dearest. ❝ the crimson chronicles by dahlia quill but i like to call her mom. ❞ his chin lifted proudly especially as he pointed at the now faded golden sticker in the top right corner. ❝ see that ?? that’s a printz award sticker. that’s a really big deal. i’ll let you borrow it sometime but it’s about zombies n’stuff which is kind of funny since they actually ended up becoming real. ❞ 

        “well i haven’t read it,” she replied, frowning at his COCKY grin, “if it’s so GOOD then why haven’t i heard of it?” she sassed back, crossing her arms across her chest. “i never saw anyone with those books and my dad’s library was the size of the one in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - with ladders and everything, and i never saw it.”

Her lips formed an O shape, lips CURLING with realization. Best friend – it’d been some time since Beatrice had had one of THOSE. The detailed description of the man flowed perfectly from the little girl’s mouth; words carefully entwined and laced together to create the image of a LOVABLE man. “He sounds…NICE,” Beatrice supplied, feeling rather empty-handed. Her fingertips brushed past her forehead and pulled stray hair behind her ear. The IDEA of a grown man being best friends with a little girl was bewildering, but she’d already seen so many STRANGE things – another to add to the list wasn’t really groundbreaking. “Where is Axel now?” She found herself asking, both out of GENUINE curiosity and caution. 

“Is that the one with the aunt?” Ashley questioned, trying to recall it. “I think i liked that one. The puzzles and stuff… I always had a soft spot for Violet, myself. I wished i was nearly as smart and creative as she is.” She said with a small laugh, before shaking her head, turning her attention back to the girl before her. “Well i for one, appreciating the non-biting thus far.”

Beatrice hadn’t ASKED the teen anything, really – just given her a CURIOUS look after she’d walked in on the reading stranger. She was…confused, to say the least, but humored the girl regardless. “Oh – uh; who’s Axel?”

                         ❝ oh, i’ve heard of that, ❞ daphne remarks, staring at the book in the other girl’s hands. ❝ i’ve never actually read the books or watched the movie though, which SUCKS because i probably will never be able to, ❞ she shrugs. ❝ which book is it ? ❞

               .:✿｡☾   M O O D B O A R DS.    POST-OUTBREAK                                                  (  hellstate task; 009. )

 there  was  no  intent  of  killing  today  even  if  the  cohaire  ca-415  strapped  in  front  of  him  was  a  bit  OFF  PUTTING.  he  needed  to  walk  tulip  because  he  knew  that  the  little  beagle  pup  sensed  that  her  owner  was  PREPARING  for  a  new  house  guest;  a  brother.  name  ??  TBA  —  the  little  girl’s  reaction  to  the  dog  caused  a  small  smile  to  grow  on  his  pale  complexion.  he  nodded  his  head,   ❝  of  course. ❞  he  knelt  down  to  the  girl’s  eye  level,  he  ADJUSTED  his  rifle  to  rest  behind  his  back.   ❝  she  loves  being  rubbed  behind  the  ears.  ❞  he  too  gave  tulip  a  pat  before  looking  back  at  the  girl.  ❝  are  you  out  here  all  by  yourself  ??  ❞

            italia couldn’t help but watch as the girl trembled. she wasn’t as fixated on the knife she held in her hands as she was at the tears in her eyes. even if it was because of debris, or because she was scared. her eyes wandered outside, the sun now setting completely over the area. and it seemed like the loud groan had been distracted by something else, as it became fainter. she didn’t have time to argue with her, or to kick her out. it wasn’t the best way to approach the situation anymore.

            she closed the door, shushing the girl. “it’s too late to go out there now. sun’s gone down and the dead are about to get more active.” hand reached up to close the window blinds of all the small windows, locking the one the other had climbed into. “you can stay here for the night. there’s a bucket of water in the freezer. clean your eyes out with it. leave your knife on the counter.”

           it didn’t bother her to leave her knife on the counter - slipping it into it’s hard leather sheath.   her old one had been a tiny pocket knife, and axel bought her a new one to protect herself.   she’d never used it. she didn’t want to use it, not really.      she moved to the freezer, scooping a small pool of water into her hands and draining it into her stinging eye.   it took a little bit of time but for a few “is this where you live?” she asked after a moment of incredulous disbelief, “it doesn’t seem too... SAFE.”

“I didn’t make the rules, kid.” Elliot said, picking a sturdier branch and hanging herself upside down, knees locked and a lit cigarette dangling from her plump lips. She was the babysitter that parents didn’t want, but the kids kept requesting. Though with that thought considered, she was never the one asked to mind anybody’s anything, especially their kids.Her sister had been the trustworthy one, and she just the deviant who knew how to have fun. “In fact, I don’t think there were any rules.” Said thoughtfully, a drag taken from her cigarette as she swayed gently watching the world from her new upside down perspective. “Who says you can’t reach me? You’re not even trying.”