Ledge [Lee Everett]
It wasn't a side of Tommy he really saw coming, not until they were practically ordered out of his office anyway. He'd been nice or at least tolerable towards himself and Clementine up until now. Nothing had happened yet, and there was still no telling what kind of 'resolution' these guys had in mind for this whole ordeal. He figured Joel being there would help, but every time he spoke it looked like Tommy was just getting more agitated. Something had to be going on between them, brotherly quarrels maybe? Nonetheless it was nothing Lee would be sticking his nose into. As the four of them filed out of Tommy's office, they found themselves at the courtyard. He guessed for now they did have a bit of free time to chew up before Andrea decided to roll up on them.
"Well, that could've gone better." Lee sighed as he decided to accompany his rump to a nearby stone bench. Rubbing his face slightly before taking a moment to think. "We got through it, though. For now, at least." He spoke after a brief pause, surely if Tommy had a punishment he would've given it by now? Unless he was dancing around it in favour of Andrea's opinion. The thought did strike Lee if Tommy really knew what he was going to do about this. Would you even know what to do right now if you were in his position? Probably not.
Dot [Ellie]
Ellie stood behind the bench Lee had sat himself on, leaning over it with her arms resting on the top of the bench. Hearing Tommy's reaction had been enough to leave her feeling far more anxious than she'd felt after the fight had happened, and rightfully so. From what she knew about Tommy, and the first impressions she'd gotten of him, he seemed like a good guy, more than capable of being reasonable, but now she wasn't so sure. She knew she wasn't going to get out of this without a scratch, but she silently hoped that Lydia got what she deserved too. Even Carl seemed to see the fact that Lydia was acting very hostile towards them that night. She glanced towards Carl and Lydia as they disappeared down a street, presumably going home, or… whatever. She was grateful to him, for what it's worth. Had he not said anything, they probably would've gone on for a lot longer throwing the blame around.
Still, that doubt about what Tommy was going to do plagued her mind, and she looked between Lee and Joel with a worried gaze. "You don't think he's going to kick us out, right?"
Ledge [Lee Everett]
"Nah, I'm sure Tommy isn't like that. Especially over something this petty." Lee spoke as he attempted to swiftly downplay the question. He knew if he cracked and started showing concern, that was a free pass for Ellie and Clem to start worrying too. The truth was he wasn't all that sure. Whatever would happen next, he'd just deal with the shit as it came. Getting kicked out within a day of arriving, it sounded like the start of a bad joke. After a brief moment, Lee seemingly looked behind him, nonchalantly checking his surroundings just in case Andrea or Tommy were approaching. Luckily, the coast was clear before he looked back to Ellie.
After seeing the outright hostility in that office, Lee felt like he knew the situation slightly better now. "Between you and me, I'm starting to see what you meant about that other girl. She really has it out for you guys, huh?"
Art [Clementine]
Clementine frowned immediately at Lee's implication, glancing away in evident scorn. Yeah, no shit! She thought frustratingly, the urge to retort that way only scarcely suppressed by the violent gnash of her teeth. Lydia… god, just the thought of that pompous grin of hers had Clem's blood boiling. The fact that she got away after spitting on Ellie and choking her only serving to make her even more furious. She tried to calm down to moderate success, bringing the tip of her hat closer to her eyes, her gaze unmoving from the ground they walked on. "I can't stand her," she told him, that same anger from before inducing the girl to forcibly shut her eyes.
Clementine's fiery gaze was directed at Lee next, something of an impulse to defend herself coming over her and steering the girl's every action. "She was acting like an asshole the whole night-!" Clem argued adamantly, staring down her guardian.
Kentucky [Joel]
"Yeah, Lee's right. He won't kick us out." And Joel believed it to. Not only was Joel his brother, having seen each other through thick and thin, but Tommy knew that Ellie was the cure for all of this. He couldn't kick out humanity's saving grace, could he? Of course he couldn't. Tommy was a smart fellow, even if he was running a tight shift around this place. It was admirable, the leadership qualities that Tommy projected from himself now. Joel couldn't help but feel a little sentimental, and a little bit anxious. His attempts at consoling Ellie were soon to be for naught, of course, as evicted her from his life as just another note in the story of Joel.
They began to discuss Lydia, but Joel was losing track of their conversation. He didn't have time for young drama with a teenage sociopath who was making the lives of two young girls hell. Way to generalize, Joel. That voice in the back of his head gnawed at him. The one that had been brought about after she left him and her there all by themselves, with only Joel to raise her. There had been some serious issues back then, but Joel had learned to overcome them with a better understanding of the teenage girl's psyche. But what was it all even for, with a few bullets able to ruin all hope he had for her? He grimaced, rubbing at his chin. His mind fluttered back to the conversation now, and he actually began to listen for once. "She's just scared. I don't think of you, but she's scared of herself."
Joel sighed, a little bit of compassion for once perhaps surprising even himself. "At least, I read that in a book once."
Art [Clementine]
Clementine's attention was snatched in a moment's notice by Joel, who for once sounded like he had something… not grouchy to say. She didn't particularly get what he meant by Lydia being scared… or, well, scared of herself...? But there was something else he said, something that had her smirking even in the thick of all that anger.
"You read books," Clementine deadpanned, shooting an amused look at the stone-faced smuggler, Joel. Of all things, she expected a guy like him to make a hobby out of murdering strangers, or stealing from other people, not... reading. Nothing like what mom used to read me, I bet...
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel reached behind his back, scratching his head. "Yeah, sometimes. Mostly just books about uh, psychology and stuff. I never really had time for reading." Too much work to be done. It was an awkward position to be thrown in, to be humanized by this group of people. He supposed he cared for them now, not just Ellie, but all of them. It was such a... eerie feeling. He sort of smiled; maybe this place was good for him? But then again, he was letting himself care a little bit too much now, wasn't he?
Shadow Dot [Tripp]
Tripp had made his way towards the courtyard quickly after Andrea radioed. Just fast enough to not break a sweat, and his eyes focused on the group amassing in the courtyard. His attention immediately went to the girl without the baseball cap. She was definitely the one. The immune one. Waving them down, he approached them with a semi-serious look on his face, looking towards the girl before focusing on the older gentlemen. "Name's Tripp. I work security around here. Andrea radioed me over, wants the doc to look over the girl." His gaze then focused on the girl, who seemed obviously anxious. He lowered his voice, making sure he wasn't heard by anyone walking past them. "Tommy's apparently told 'er that you're immune."
Ledge [Lee Everett]
The relaxed vibe was promptly interrupted by a man with a big blonde beard and a southern drawl in his voice, who suddenly waved them down. He figured at first it could be in relation to the whole kid drama, but this was unexpected. Immune. Just like it had before, that word caught him off guard. Guess Joel had to spill the beans when he talked to Tommy. Lee exchanged an awkward glance with Joel, he really didn't know what to say. This one wasn't really his call. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, looking towards the Texan next to him. Lifting himself up off the seat, he crossed his arms as he approached Joel, whom had an expression on his face that Lee wasn't sure was reluctance or just the usual look he gave strangers.
"With everything that's gone down this morning, maybe it's best we just comply with 'em, make this easy." He suggested to Joel in a hushed tone, although with how that man operated who knew how he'd take the advice.
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel swallowed, staring at the blond man. His hands withered into fists, nails digging into skin. Some sort of instinctive protection swarmed him, a type of primal threat revealing itself to him. Another person; it was strange to be confronted by another man of this size who didn't want to bash Joel's head in with a pipe. He listened to him first, and then to Lee. So Tommy had let the cat out of the bag, hadn't he? Joel regretted it somewhat; but it showed that Tommy was at least considering taking Ellie off of his hands. Something that plagued his mind, but gave him some sort of nihilistic hope for the future. Not a future for him, but a future for the girl. He couldn't care less about a theoretical cure to save mankind; it's not like it'd change anything.
"I reckon he would say that, wouldn't he?" Joel grimaced, crossing his arms. "Alright, that's fine. C'mon Ellie. let's get you checked out."
Dot [Ellie]
Ellie's gaze bounced between Lee, Joel, and Tripp in quick succession, gulping down the lump forming in her throat. Guess the jig was up. Tommy, of course, knew she was immune, and now Andrea did, and now this guy, too. As Joel decided to let the guy take them across town, Ellie shrugged her shoulders, sighing under her breath. Sounds like she didn't have much of a choice.
"Don't worry, the doc just wants to see the bite," Tripp's words were directed towards her, as if trying to reassure her. "We 'aven't seen anyone who's immune, so… y'know. It's a historic moment, for all of us."
"Does anyone else know?" Ellie found herself asking, taken aback by the man's use of 'all of us'. She didn't know how she felt about a large group of people knowing about her immunity. Joel's statement from months ago rang in her ears, and the odds that someone in a large community like this doing something drastic to 'get the cure' was too high for her to be comfortable with.
"Just whoever knows in your group, Tommy, Andrea, the doc, and myself. Strictly confidential."
Good. Ellie gulped, taking a moment to mentally psyche herself up. "Alright," she breathed, scratching her arm nervously. "Lead the way."
While they walked, her mind focused on the meeting. Despite the fact that she knew the weren't going to be staying here, she didn't really want to be reprimanded, though she knew that she wouldn't get out of them. She just hoped that this whole thing with the doctor wouldn't take too long, so she could just… go back home, listen to her Walkman, and wait for Andrea to show up with their sentences.
The roads become less crowded as they reached the furthest edge of the community, where the houses and shops that lined the main street opened up to reveal an expansive hospital that dominated the northern corner of the town. Most of it seemed to be run-down, boarded up and left abandoned, while what appeared to be the main building remained intact and in about as good of a condition as she could expect. Tripp had already diverted towards it, leading them straight to the front door, which led into a lobby. As they approached the glass door, Ellie found her eyes widening as it slid open on its own, just in time for Tripp to enter the building.
"Whoa…"
To say that she was impressed would be an understatement. Never, in her entire life, had she seen a working automatic door. It was something so trivial, almost menially so, but she couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face. She found herself stopping in place as the others went inside, the door sliding shut behind them, if only momentarily. For a moment, she thought back to those sci-fi movies she'd only seen bits and pieces of, through half-open doors of the other girls' dorms, and, in a moment of child-like glee, she approached the door, waving her hand in front of it as if she was trying to telekinetically open it. As it slid open, she let out a victorious squee, quietly whispering "Fuck yes!" under her breath as she entered the lobby.
10:38 AM
Ledge [Lee Everett]
This place, he was expecting a run down old building or maybe even an old house that they'd just decide to label an infirmary. However, when the door slid open by itself, Lee knew this was beyond what he could've ever imagined. Every shopping centre he walked into, every grocery store. It was like a gush of memories from those times… The fact that they had most of the electricals working on their own was impressive.
This was way more advanced than any community he'd ever seen. Staring in awe at his surroundings and just how clean this place was. It wasn't long before Tripp led Ellie off down the hall. Crossing his arms and standing in the hall, he paced around, looking at various billboards and signs they had up. Watching the people go about their daily business as he checked the place out. This felt weird to him after so long, so he couldn't even begin to put together how alien this must've felt for Clem. It was so easy to try and pretend everything outside was normal being in here. That's right, there was an outside with infected and a whole heap of other shit ready to gnaw at your boot. The minutes ticked by as himself, Clem and Joel waited in the lobby, and before too long, Ellie was already heading back down the hallway from which she disappeared into. "Thumbs up...? We in the clear?" He spoke with a tinge of relief. Hoping that the doctors wouldn't kick up a fuss or have any issues over Ellie's… 'condition.' But so far that didn't seem to be the case.
Dot [Ellie]
Once Ellie had been able to leave, her lungs decompressed, a sigh of relief like no other. The doctor, Eleanor, was nice enough, and didn't freak out as much as Ellie had expected her to. The whole ordeal was relatively short, thankfully, once the woman had been reassured that the bite was, indeed, not recent. As she strolled through the halls back to the lobby, finding Lee standing next to a broken down soda machine, and the others milling about the lobby, she answered Lee's questions with a hesitant nod, shrugging. "I'm apparently not a threat, so that's… nice, I guess," Ellie spoke in an even tone, although a tinge of sarcasm seeped into it. "They don't really have the 'expertise' here to figure it all out, so… looks like we still need the Fireflies." Wherever they are.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
"Yeah… looks like we do, don't we?" The Fireflies, it was all he could think about back in Pittsburgh. After finding this place and experiencing it in full, now he was finding it hard to give them a second thought. Obviously it was worth it, to get there. For Ellie, it was all that mattered, that part was clear enough. There were high stakes at play here, on one hand it might be worth it to see what the Fireflies had set up, and if they didn't like it, they could always come back to Jackson, right? It seemed like they were done here, and after a brief pause Lee spoke again to address the current issue, exchanging looks between the three. "Look - uh, guys. We're actually out of food, checked this morning, and I don't know about anyone else but I'd like to get something to eat soon." He cleared his throat, before directing his gaze towards the three. "I got a few things to sort out, might pick up some general stuff on the way back to the house. Maybe while I do that you guys can check out the food markets here? See what they got?"
Art [Clementine]
Suddenly, it wasn't just them - Joel, Lee and her - who knew about Ellie's immunity. That's how it'd been for the longest time, and with no real sign of change… so to have that bombshell hit her the way it did, when it did… it made Clementine understandably nervous, even in spite of Tripp's many assurances. They were heading back to the infirmary next, and Clem made sure to tag along, if only just to make sure they wouldn't… dissect her friend or something.
Even after seeing it for the second time that day, that moving door by the entrance still had her totally stumped. It was the first thing Clem recalled asking the doctor while she patched her up, the woman's answer being just as mystifying: something about pressure sensors and cogwheels. Either way, it was a door that fucking moved on its own, and it was both sort of creepy and really cool at the same time. Unlike earlier that morning, Clementine simply and calmly walked past it with her hands shoved in her pockets, feeling a rush of satisfaction when the doors magically slid out of her way.
The waiting that followed was the worst part, even quick the way it was. She didn't say much either way, the nervousness emanating from the meeting earlier still all encompassing and pretty much paralyzing. When Ellie walked out of Eleanor's office and made her way through those empty and oddly clean hallways, the relief was more than apparent in Clementine's eyes.
Lee mentioned food and, to be honest, right then and there, lunch felt like the absolute last thing she wanted to have, even if her stomach audibly disagreed. The girl nodded all the same, partially piqued by the prospect of keeping herself busy for a little while, at least until the punishments came rolling in. With a sigh, Clem made her way to Ellie's side, staring at the fungi-ridden bite in her forearm for a tad longer than she intended to.
"It doesn't still hurt, does it?"
Dot [Ellie]
Ellie winced as Clementine asked her about the bite, instinctively scratching at the thing before lowering her sleeves. Best to make sure that no one else saw it. "It didn't really like getting prodded, that's for sure," she replied through an uneven smile, shrugging. "It hurts every once in a while, but… not so much, anymore." She glanced towards Joel and Lee, her stomach churning as it dawned on her just how hungry she was. "Food sounds awesome, by the way. I think I'm gonna head back home, though. This morning has left me exhausted. Just… bring back something good, okay?" She let out a half-chuckle, looking between the two adults and Clementine. Anything but another can of beans. I'm getting sick of those.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
And with that, Ellie was out of sight. Lee fully intended on following suit. After catching a glance at one of the makeshift calendars they had slung up on the wall, he had his own things to sort out. Preferably with Clementine not around, so he hoped Joel would be able to take one for the team here, keep her occupied whilst Lee made a few enquiries. It had caught him way off guard, if not for what he saw... he probably would've almost forgotten… even though he vowed he would try not to ever again after Savannah. He needed this to be a surprise, at least for Clem. With Ellie gone, that left Joel and Clementine on food duty. He slowly walked backwards, waving off the two of them. "I'll see you guys back at the house, won't be long." He spoke in an attempt to dismiss himself as well, he knew it might've been a tad weird, but he could explain it after all was said and done. Lee exchanged a short glance between the two before making his way towards the exit, not really intending on giving either of them the time to make up any excuses.
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel watched Lee and Ellie leave, the only two left behind being Clementine and the man himself. He hadn't said much during the infirmary ordeal, unsure of just how he could help in this situation. It was a relief when they left Eleanor's office, of course, but then he had been swept back up into stress. Lee and Ellie had dismissed themselves quickly, and the implications from Lee were quite obvious. Joel looked down at the girl, squinting. "Hm." He sighed at first, glancing off ahead at them at Lee and Ellie. He considered just walking after them; but that would be childish, wouldn't it? Just because he didn't know Clementine that well? "Come on, I think the market's off this way." With that, he led her towards the market.