Clementine woken up a few hours later, the temperature had drastically changed from warm to freezing. The teen found it to be difficult to move, the bullet wound constantly aching at her side.
If it wasn't for the french people, she probably would've bitten the dust by now... . She shook her head of that thought before gingerly removing the blanket, being careful not to inflict any more pain onto her wound.
Her left hand clutched at the injury, it provided slight relief. She went over to the tent flap and pulled it open.
She instantly saw the group of three, sitting over by a small fire. It was night, she could hear the crickets chirping around the area. She noticed the sound of sloshing, she turned and saw a river. It wasn't the same one that she used for a catching fish, this was a different one. The other side was a bit more further out and there was no way to get across.
"Hi," Berthe greeted, catching the teen's attention. "How do you feel?" She inquired as she got up from her spot, dusting off her pants.
"Fine," came Clementine's usual answer.
The woman refrained from rolling her eyes at the teen. She saw how she was holding her wound and how weak her posture was. She was hoping that the teen would gain more rest but obviously, that wasn't going to happen.
Clementine was wondering if she could leave now. If she could get her hands on her stuff again, she'd be fine. The perfect opportunity to leave.
"You... wanna sit?" Edouard asked.
"Sure." She went over to the group, noticing the quick eye movement of the man sitting inbetween them. Theodore? She internally guessed. He seemed distressed... must've been really afraid of her.
She sat down in front of the group, on the side opposite to them. They were in her line of sight at all times. Not that they would do anything anyways but she still didn't trust them.
There was silent tension in the air. Only the sound of fire crackling and the chirping of crickets could be heard. Over by a backpack, layed her items. Her hat and Shotgun. A sense of relief washed over her, more secure. At least she knew where her stuff was because if they decided to hide it from her... it wouldn't have ended well. For both sides.
"I-if you don't mind me asking but-uhh... what's your name?" Edouard asked.
She still hasn't decided on whether to just take her stuff and haul. She was conflicted about it. She wanted to just leave, get up and go but then where would she go? Her cabin was destroyed. Burnt to a crisp, quite possibly all of her weapons went along with it.
She felt a surge of anger seize her as she thought about it. All that effort, time, energy all went straight to the dumpster. It was a complete waste of time, gathering them. Suppose, she still had her Ithaca and bowie knife but what about all the other weapons!? All of them just gone like that!?
Aside from the infuriating predicament, she had nowhere to go and she was wounded; pretty darn weak too! No matter how hard she tried, she still lost too much blood and fainted because of it.
"Umm e-excuse me?" Came Edouard's voice, snapping her out of her thoughts. He was looking at her with a nervous expression on his face. "A-are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Excluding her trembling fists... . "My name's... C-clementine." She reluctantly told the group.
Edouard nodded. "Ah Clementine, nice name." Berthe smiled at the teen.
"If you say so..."
There was a pause.
"So... h-how'd you get shot?" The man asked, catching a glare from Theodore.
" I was shot by bandits."
"Bandits? You said you were on your own, yes?"
"Yes, I did." Clementine didn't have an issue with answering his inquiries. As much as she hated to admit it, they did save her. The least she could do was humor their conversations.
"So, you fought these bandits all on your own? How many were there?" Berthe was listening to the convo, interested in hearing what transpired. Theodore acted like he wasn't interested but he was.
"I... dunno, there was a handful. Didn't keep count."
"You... killed them all?" Berthe looked uncomfortable as she asked the question.
Clementine stared directly at her, past the small flow of the flames. "No, but I got most of 'em."
"Was... that when you got shot?" Edouard finished, his tone somber.
The teen nodded at him with a blank stare.
He sighed. "That means they're still around," he muttered to himself in French, a faraway look in his gaze.
"What?"
"Hmm? Oh nothing, just talking to myself..." Edouard trailed off. He decided that he was going to have to stay up and keep watch. Just in case if any of them, stumbled across the campsite. He sighed. "Well, you are more than welcome to stay here. Rest up, heal and then you can figure things out from there."
Clementine then felt a pinch of sadness. Grief as he said that. It reminded her of Luke, the very first time she met him. Well, you're more than welcome to stay here if ya want... .
In truth, she didn't want to join their group. She didn't want to join any group, she couldn't care less about who was in it. She just didn't want to be around groups.
After what happened with her previous one, Kenny, Luke... Sarah. Everything that had transpired, how they hurt her. How she hurt them? Mike leaving her to die, Bonnie blaming her for Luke's death...
Clementine impulsively killing Sarah.
She didn't want anything to do with groups. Someone would turn on her sooner or later. She'll stick with them for now but once she got her strength back? She's gone...
"I'm gonna turn in for the night." Theodore stood up from his spot, yawning.
Berthe soon got up after. "Me too. Feeling pretty tired."
"I'm gonna keep watch, just in case," Edouard interjected.
Clementine made no move to get up. She stayed seated, eyeing her Ithaca.
"You're not gonna go to bed?" The man asked.
She shook her head. "Nope, I've gotten enough rest. I'm gonna keep a lookout." They heard the zipping of the tents and the rustling. Theodore and Berthe had turned in.
"You... sure? I can-"
"Yes, I'm sure." She sternly said. She paused for a moment before ultimately deciding to get up to pick up her Ithaca and slowly plopped back down with the gun resting in her lap. "Perfect..."