Sitting on the edge of the fountain...

[bravelittlehero]

Who: Clementine...join her!
Where: She is sitting on the edge of the fountain.
When: The afternoon of October 6th
What: Clementine has arrived.
Warnings: Possible talk of death/zombies/blood...
Style: Going with the flow
Status: Open . Very open. 

Clementine was sitting on the edge of the fountain, her journal resting on her lap. She'd woken up in this strange place near a fountain not too long ago and since then, she has been sitting on the edge, reading the journal with fascination. Well as much as she could read. Some people used bigger, more complex words than she knew, like the welcome page. She couldn't read where she was, but she was pretty sure it didn't say Georgia. 

She was, in a word, filthy. Her dress was covered from head to toe in what looked like caked, dried blood. She smelled like someone who was a lot less than alive. Thrown on top of it was a red hoodie, one that had seen better days and had quite a few bloodstains itself, just not as bad as the others. 

She had currency in one pocket and her gun in the other. She looked out at the people, watching them. They hadn't been friendly, not at all, but they still moved like they were alive. Where was she? What would Lee do in her situation?

Comments

[hostclubshadowking]

But he wouldn't ask her to do that. After all, there was no way of knowing if she'd been given anything or how much, and... Discussing financial matters was impolite.

He entered the room, approaching the stained clothes. Those, he'd get rid of later. "It's nothing too fancy, but I found this for you."

As he's speaking, though, he sees not the journal... but the gun. That puts a whole new spin on the clothes she was wearing. What had this girl seen before now? Who would give a child a gun?

[bravelittlehero]

"It's clean. I like it." Clementine nodded her approval. Now that her baseball cap was off her head, it was evident her hair had been hacked away rather unprofessionally at some point. She hadn't washed it yet, she was waiting for the water to cool before putting it on her head.

[hostclubshadowking]

He'd leave her to her bath in a moment. But seeing that gun... he couldn't help but wonder. Still. He should let her clean up before bombarding her with questions.

"My room's three doors to the right, okay? Once you're done and dressed, come knock and we'll see about getting you a room, too."

[bravelittlehero]

"Okay." Clementine nodded. She paused a moment before deciding to ask him what she was thinking. "I can't stay with you?"

[hostclubshadowking]

For just a moment, Kyouya's face betrays the surprise the question causes. He hadn't really considered that. But, as soon as he says it, he can hear himself in it. Asking his older sister if he could crawl into bed with her after a nightmare.

This wasn't the place to want to sleep alone. Especially not for a kid, he considered.

He smiled and gave a nod. "Sure. If you want to, you can."

[bravelittlehero]

It wasn't that, not exactly. It was just that when Lee spirited her away from her house in Atlanta, he hadn't let her out of his sight afterwards. Clementine was feeling a little lonely, and she missed Lee a lot. Whether or not she made the right choices were weighing on her in a small way.

Clementine nodded though in return. "Okay. I'll come soon."

[hostclubshadowking]

Kyouya offered a slight smile and left the room, closing the door behind him. It was just a night or two. Until he found her a crew to take care of her. He couldn't just leave a kid here to fend for herself, now could he?

...That maybe -- just maybe -- he missed looking after someone wasn't a thought he was willing to indulge.

[bravelittlehero]

Clementine took a little while longer, until the bath water got cold and she was sufficiently pruned. She pulled the dress over her head and tied her hair back just like Lee taught her. She put on the baseball cap and then picked up her belongings before padding down the hall to knock on the third door on the right, just like Kyo said.

[hostclubshadowking]

"Come on in." Of course, even as he said it, Kyouya opened the door. He smiled a little as he got a look at her. Much better all cleaned up. What he'd seen of her hair was... unfortunate... but he had no skills there. But the dress. "I'm glad it fits. It looks cute."

[bravelittlehero]

"Thank you!" Clementine said again, because it was polite and she felt so much better now that she was clean again. She liked being clean much better than being dirty.

"It's nice." She nodded. It was a nice pale shade of green, which was a step up than the white her other dress had been, which had been impractical at best.

[hostclubshadowking]

Kyouya shut the door, going to sit on the bed. In the month he'd been here, he'd abandoned much thought of changing for bed. What he wore in the day was good enough to sleep in.

"How old are you, Clementine?"

[bravelittlehero]

She set her things down on an open surface, figuring he wouldn't mind too much. She kept her clothes separate from her other items and turned to face him again.

"I'm nine. I just had my birthday."

[hostclubshadowking]

Nine. A nine-year-old girl. Kyouya swallowed a little and nodded toward her things.

"You know how to use a gun?"

[bravelittlehero]

"Oh, yep!" She grinned. "Lee taught me how to use it."

Her smile faded though and she looked at the floor at the mention of that. "He said I'm real good at it."

[hostclubshadowking]

A sensitive topic, but... one he needed to satisfy himself on. So, Kyouya patted the bed near him in silent invitation for her to sit with him.

"Who's Lee?"

[bravelittlehero]

Clementine crossed the distance between them and sat down on the bed. She was distracted momentarily by how soft the bed was underneath her. It was really awesome.

She poked at the comforter a few times, maybe avoiding the topic just a little bit.

"Lee is...Lee was..." Clementine wasn't sure how to say it. What was he really? "My friend."

[hostclubshadowking]

A friend. That... really didn't tell him a lot. Especially not thinking about what a child might consider a "friend." So. Deep breath. He had to keep pushing on, and he knew it.

"Why did he teach you how to use a gun?" He kept his voice quiet, as gentle as possible. He didn't want to upset her, no, but... he wanted to know. Maybe even felt like he needed to know.

[bravelittlehero]

Surprisingly, that part was a lot less upsetting. "He showed me how because the walkers are really dangerous." She paused for only a moment. No one else seemed to know what she was talking about.

"Walkers are dead people who don't die, they get up and walk around and try and eat you. But Lee said I have to protect myself too, in case he..."

Clementine trailed off there. That was the problem, wasn't it?

[hostclubshadowking]

Dead people who don't die. Get up, walk around, try to eat you. It sounded like every horror film. And every zombie movie. But those weren't--

Then again, they'd all been kidnapped and brought to a set of islands by a ghost pirate and told to find a lost treasure. What was real was actually quite different than he'd always assumed, wasn't it?

But it was so hard to imagine. To rationalize. To be anything other than a scared little girl justifying what she saw. But he couldn't bring himself to actually dismiss it. So, instead, he focused on something else.

"Do you... think he might be here, too? Just somewhere a little different? We can look tomorrow, if he might be."

He'd looked at his friends, tried to find them.

[bravelittlehero]

"No..." Clementine said softly. She sniffled a bit and a tear slid down her cheek, despite herself.

"Lee can't come back again."

[hostclubshadowking]

...Ah. He ought to hug her, he considered. He knew it, actually. But, instead, Kyouya just laid a hand on her back, near her shoulder. His voice was very quiet.

"I'm sorry, Clementine."

[bravelittlehero]

"It's better that way." She whispered, reaching up to wipe her cheek. "It's better he's not walking around like mom and dad."

[hostclubshadowking]

Better when someone was at peace instead of still suffering. But hearing that... No parents, it sounded like. And this Lee gone. And now she was here. He couldn't just leave her and hope for the best.

"We'll... we'll look around tomorrow. See if there are any boats you like or people you want to go with." His voice caught a bit in his throat. He didn't know how to handle this situation. So... better to just stick with this. "If... if we don't find anyone you like better... You can stay with me."

[bravelittlehero]

"Okay." Clementine nodded. She wiped her eyes one more time and gave him a little smile.

"That sounds good."

[hostclubshadowking]

Kyouya managed a small smile in return. "Let's get some sleep, okay? Today's been a pretty long day, and tomorrow's not going to be an easy one either."

He wouldn't actually be asleep for awhile himself, but it was easy enough to light a candle and look over the journal that way while the girl slept.