"Tash, you and Ben go running today, we've got a new Greenie coming up." Minho's voice was loud and clear as it greeted Tasha. She ate her breakfast with the other Runners, seated by Ben, who nudged her leg. There was a pause and he followed up the sentence. "Tash, stay with him. Don't run off." Tash nodded once and rolled her eyes, but flashed a brief smile towards Ben, who grinned back. They both took their plates back to Frypan, who nodded at them, before heading to the map room.
"Should be a good day." Ben and Tash jogged to the gates, getting ready to explore their assigned sector as the rattling of the cage indicating that they were only a few minutes from meeting the new Glader. It was a slow start day and Minho could have chosen anyone to go running, but he also knew Tash and Ben were the least curious of the runners to meet the Greenies, so he gave them some liberty as they were the only ones running that day.
"Give 'em hell." Tash smirked to Newt as they passed him on their way, she was tightening the straps on her pack and he dragged his gaze from the cage to the runners. He snorted out a laugh and gave her a mock salute, continuing with his work, overseeing the vines.
"I'm going to check out this…" Ben's voice drifted off as he slowed to a jog; they were close to the end of their run and Tasha slowed beside him. She cocked her head to one side and followed his gaze to where there was a crack in the wall, big enough for a hand to fit through. The bottom seemed dark, but there were pinpricks of light leaching through the crack; Tasha could see why it interested him.
"Give me a yell when you're done." Tasha had debated internally on whether she should stay with him, but decided to get the last few portions of the run done and head back when he was ready. Ben nodded, breaking off and moving over to the crack.
"I won't be too long." He called over his shoulder and Tasha lost him as she turned a corner. It was a few minutes later when there was a yelp of pain and a few minutes more before Tasha came racing around the corner, back to where Ben was doubled over, hands clutching his stomach.
"Something shucking cut me." Blood was seeping down the front of his shirt from his stomach, a hole in the fabric with a small wound in the centre.
"You OK?" She asked, kneeling beside him, at eye level with his stomach, assessing the wound.
"Yeah, it was probably just a rock." He huffed out a laugh, but watched Tasha rip off the hem of her shirt and use the medical tape in her pack to attach it over the wound. Once he was properly bandaged, she stood, brushing off her knees and nodding once.
"Then let's go. It's getting late." She told him, a small smile on her face at her own ingenuity. Ben wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her, silently thanking her. "Let the Med-Jacks take a look, you don't want to get an infection."
"Thanks, Tash." He chuckled, letting go and jogging back to the entrance of the maze ahead of her. Tasha, upon exiting the maze, almost stopped dead, face to face with Chuck, whom she didn't really talk to, and the Greenie; a tall, brunette watching her and Ben with a curious expression.
"Hey Chuck, new Greenie?" Ben's eyes flashed over the Greenie before moving back to Chuck, acknowledging the new person's presence. "How does it feel to be promoted?" Ben smirked at Chuck as he ran past, Tasha speeding up to move away from the scene as Chuck grinned back at Ben and dipped his head.
"Feels pretty good." Chuck called back to Ben, who shook his head, amused, and ran to catch up with Tasha. it was no secret within the Glade that Tasha was incredibly antisocial around everyone but the runners. She had heard some of the others talk about how she would be useless in most other jobs because of that. She didn't care, on the contrary, she rather believed it. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Gally's shouts of 'calm, calm down, calm' garnered the attention of the entire glade. Tasha's attention snapped towards him, and saw a crowd gathering around the builder and the Greenie.
"You head to the Med-Jacks, I'm going to see what's happening." Tash told Ben over her shoulder, who nodded solemnly. She made her way over to the gathering at a light jog, where the Greenie was backing closer to the entrance of the maze which was likely to soon shut, unaware of this and heading further into the likelihood of being squished. He looked like a frightened animal surrounded by people.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?" He shouted, and Tasha narrowed her gaze, trying to determine if he was a threat to anyone. She gravitated towards Newt who was edging closer, his arm outstretched, trying to calm the Greenie down as Tasha was weighing up whether or not she could forcibly drag the Greenie back.
"Just calm down, alright?" Newt asked him, watching the Greenie with concern and subtly moving himself in between Tasha and the Greenie, not enough to be noticeable to anyone else, but enough to let Tasha know that he wanted her to back off.
"Why won't you tell me what's out there?" The Greenie shouted back, his arm gesturing wildly to the doors. Tasha peered into the maze and sighed deeply. This kid didn't have a clue.
"We're just trying to protect you, man." Alby told him, walking slowly beside Tasha and Newt, voice calm and level, his hand out, mirroring Newt's.
"For your own good." Newt added. Tasha's face was blank once more and she could almost see the Greenie begging to run away, like she had. She felt her heart twinge and she realised she was feeling pity for the guy.
"You can't just keep me here." He told them, anger and indignation thick in his words.
"We can't let you leave." Alby told him, his voice turning from calm to serious as the Greenie edge even further backwards.
"Why not?" He demanded. There was a pause, a baited breath, the crowd standing still and waiting. Then, the slow, grinding thump and gust of wind that accompanied the closing of the doors. The Greenie turned, slowly, to witness the stone move in its fluid, heavy motion. Everyone watched in silence, fear and horror evident on the his face as he saw the thick doors closing. Tasha, thinking no-one was noticing her, squeezed her eyes shut, forcing her body to relax as she felt her stomach turning; remembering her night in the maze and Newt's look of hopelessness as the gates shut. She felt a soft pressure on her hand and opened her eyes to see Newt focused on the Greenie, but his hand wrapped around hers, giving her a comforting squeeze. Tasha let out a small smile and squeezed his hand back, before focusing once more on the person in front of her.
"Next time," Gally began, interrupting the silence. Newt dropped her hand, attention turning once more to the Greenie, "I'm going to let you leave." He stalked off, past Tasha, who punched him in the shoulder without warning. He made a hiss of pain and clutched it, all eyes turning to the pair of them in the otherwise silent group.
"Slinthead." She hissed, gaze steely. The one thing she unashamedly hated was people (usually Gally) threatening others with a night in the maze over trivial things. This, of course, created friction between herself and the builder. Neither of them were interested in talking it out, both preferring to physicalize their distaste of the other.
"Shuck off, Tasha." He spat back, shoving her shoulders roughly. Tasha glared at him. Alby approached the Greenie, having witnessed and subsequently ignored the interaction between Tash and Gally, as he usually did, and lay a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Welcome to the Glade." He told him, an almost defeated edge to his voice and Tasha smirked, clapping her hand on Newt's shoulder, indicating that she was going to probably run around the glade until the urge to strangle Gally in his sleep died down. However, Newt's eyes widened and she could see him deliberately misinterpret the gesture.
"Ah, Tash, this is the Greenie." Newt sprang into action once Alby had left, when the Greenie was left staring up at the doors of the maze with horror in his eyes. He turned sharply on his heel and blinked rapidly, faced with Tasha and Newt. Tasha held out her hand and shot Newt a death glare, not caring that she was meant to be pleasant to the newbie.
That wasn't a cue to introduce me. The glare said, and Newt shrugged. The Greenie shook her hand uncertainly, glancing from Newt to Tash.
"Greenie, meet Tash." Newt avoided Tasha's eyes. "You'll have to excuse her; she doesn't like people." Tasha sent Newt a withering look, which he also, pointedly, did not look at. The poor Greenie looked so confused. "Just give us a sec', OK?" Newt grinned at the Greenie who frowned, but nodded. Newt pulled Tasha away, the two standing close enough to hear the other's low voice; it was intimate, Newt's hand still on Tasha's wrist, heads close together. The Greenie could even see Tasha's smile as she talked to Newt, the smile of complete ease around another person.
"Where's Ben, is he OK?" Newt asked. Tasha's eyes flicked towards the Med-Jack hut before flicking back to the Greenie opposite, and down to the grass.
"Med-Jacks. Just a scratch." She told him, Newt dipped his head, nodding. With this new information, Newt's tone became lighter.
"You going to the bonfire?" He murmured, one eyebrow raised. Tasha nodded, smile on her face and she sensed that he got all the information he needed, that the conversation was at a close. "Don't kick Gally in the face again, OK, love?" Newt's voice was louder, enough for the Greenie to hear, as Tasha took off towards the homestead. He gave her a small smirk and Tasha rolled her eyes, leaving to deposit her gear by her hammock and report the crack in the maze to Minho. As she walked away, however, she turned and gave a small wave to the Greenie, who waved back, bemusedly. Newt laughed, watching Tasha leave as he joined the Greenie by the doors once more.