Happy belated Christmas everyone!

I wrote this instead of sleeping so I don't know if it makes any sense.

Alexandria- the day of arrival-

Deanna was out walking around Alexandria and talking to some of the people when she heard the guards at the gate yelling and suddenly pulled away from the elderly man that she had been visiting with to go and see what the ruckus was about. Jogging up to the gate from almost a block away was a task. And she wasn't exactly physically fit due to her age and such. But she managed to get there fairly quickly enough to hear, "The kid! It's the kid! She's back!"

And felt herself instantly calm at the mention of the little warrior's return.

The guys guarding the gate to their community had already begun to open the door for the girl, thank god. Deanna thought as she finally reached them and did her best not to flop down onto the ground just to catch her breath. After the merciless teasing that she'd received from the girl the last time she'd done that, she was more than a little bit determined not to collapse.

If only to save herself from some more teasing and possible public humiliation since the girl would wind up giving her another piggy back ride back to her home. The kid had such a deceptively easy going manner about her that sometimes irked Deanna endlessly when she teased her while she totted her around like a sack of potato's.

The moment that the gate was open, Deanna straightened her spine as much as she could and stared at the teen and her...companions?

"Hey D," The teen greeted as she took a moment to allow the black clothing and the weapon that she always carried around to vanish so that she was unarmed- as according to Deanna's rules and walked forward. "Looking winded again." The girl said as she walked up to her and gave her a quick hug.

Deanna smiled despite the small comment that she would be retaliating for later, and hugged her back.

"Hello, little warrior. It's good to have you back with us again."

"It's good to be back." The girl said in a friendly manner. It wasn't exactly unusual for her to be friendly with people. Really it wasn't. But the teen wasn't usually so affectionate with people. Even one's that she had known for a while. So Deanna wondered if she felt something was just a little bit...off.

Maybe she felt the presence of the three newcomers and was simply curious? After all, it wouldn't be the first time that the kid had felt something off around their community and did something a tad bit out of character.

And Deanna had learned after the first few times such a thing occurred to pick up on the girl's ques since they normally spoke volumes as to what was wrong. But right now she looked and felt relaxed in her grasp. So maybe it was simply curiosity.

Still, as stupid as it sounded, asking was the best way to confirm or negate any anxiousness that had begun to well up within her. "Is everything okay?"

The teen hummed and stepped back a little bit more and closed her eyes for a moment, probably because she didn't want anyone to see or notice the subtle change in her normally warm amber eyes as they changed to gold. Deanna would admit to feeling something akin to terror, herself the first time that it had happened around her.

After that, she'd tip toed around the girl and rudely demanded answers that she simply hadn't felt comfortable giving to a stranger. Yet the teen had been oddly understanding about how scared Deanna had felt after that, and usually went out of her way to hide the subtle shift in her being so as not to frighten her again.

Which was something that Deanna both appreciated and felt strangely guilty about since she got the odd feeling that she couldn't exactly help it. The little warrior had at least explained some of the reason why the shift happened.

Which had gone a long way towards alleviating some Deanna's fears and concerns about it.

Finally she opened her eyes again and looked at the woman as she said, "You've made some interesting new friends, D." Ah, so she had been sensing them. Deanna thought to herself wryly.

"Yup. Some of our people found them the other day." She confirmed with a slight nod.

"One of them feels incredibly weak."

"The doc said that one of them was dying. We've been making plans to handle him once he passes."

"There's no need to do that," The girl said, her expression was an peculiar mixture of concern and...something oddly possessive. "I can help him." She said after a moment or so of silence.

"W-What?" Deanna asked curiously since she wasn't exactly sure what the teen meant. Sure she'd seen her do a lot of interesting things since they'd first met, and yeah, she had abilities that no normal person had. And usually she didn't tend to speak of them unless she really needed too. So to hear her say that she could save a total stranger that was on the verge of organ failure and particularly agonizing and messy death was just a little bit...random.

"I can save him." The girl said again, her tone was both firm and fierce. And it gave Deanna the impression that she would do what she wanted regardless of what the woman thought or felt about the manner.

If Deanna tried to say no, the girl would likely vanish and simply do what she pleased behind her back regardless of the possible risks involved. But on the other hand, she couldn't simply just say yes either.

No matter how gifted the girl was, she had mentioned suffering a backlash from using her abilities too much. And to be perfectly honest, the thought of her turning into...one of those dead- thingy's terrified her far more than the girl's possible wrath at being told 'no'.

Especially since she knew enough about her to know that the kid wasn't an malicious or cruel person who would risk innocent lives regardless of how pissed she got about something.

"Kid, I'm not sure that's-"

"Deanna," The teen aid her name firmly in a tone that made the older woman snap her mouth shut. It was the type of tone that she had heard from military personnel on a regular basis before the world had gone to hell. "I'm not asking. Even if you say no- I'll still do it. It's best to simply give in this time. The person that you're wanting me to let die is a friend. Practically family, really. And family is important to me, especially now." Deanna still didn't say anything since she wasn't sure that there was anything that she could say. Especially to something like that as the girl went on to explain in a softer tone, "I won't be reckless about it. I'll rest first. It'll make the backlash less...trouble for everyone."

"There's nothing that I can do or say to change your mind, is there?"

"Nope."

Deanna sighed but nodded her head anyways, "Alright. I can live with that. But on the conditions that you actually rest. Eat and sleep for as long as you can while the doc monitor's your friend's condition for more of a decline. And when you go to help him, I go with you."

"That's fair," The girl said with a curt nod before finally turning her head and motioning to Sasha and Ty, both of whom had already been disarmed. "These two are my new friends and would make excellent additions to the community."

"Fair enough. Now let's get the three of you settled in and get you all fed and stuff. I hope that you don't mind if you're new friends stay with you for the time being."

"I have no issues with that. Ty, Sasha- come on! We're going to get some food and shower and stuff!"