01. [Action]

[smallsurvivor]

[Clementine woke with a shudder, body jolting itself awake. She hadn't intended to fall asleep, and particularly not in a place like this. It was a wide open forest, far from the confines of a safe place. She must have been careless, probably exhausted. It was a miracle she woke up with her face still intact! Before she could do anything, there were certain important points that needed to be thoroughly examined. Her arms, suddenly bare (why bare? She'd been wearing two shirts when she was last awake!), didn't seem to have any visible bite marks. Nor did her legs. She was sore around her shoulders, though. Had she been bitten there?? She'd have to find a mirror to be sure.

Or other survivors. Clementine was supposed to be looking for Christa and Omid. She hoped they weren't dead. Moreover, she hoped she wasn't dying. Whatever happened before, staying here was a bad idea. Lee didn't give up everything just so she could forget what he said! She just needed to keep her gun close and--

Oh gosh. Even her gun was missing! She'd have to try to find an abandoned store with some other firearms. And then she'd potentially have to find a way away from whoever cleaned her up and changed her clothes. They were probably really nice people with good intentions, but what if they weren't? Ever since the walkers started shambling around, she'd thought she knew who was trustworthy. But now most of the trustworthy people were dead. And she was on her own and nobody was going to look after her and why wasn't her gun anywhere??

She needed to get moving. She'd go off on her own and she'd figure out where she was and why she was there and then retrace a trail back to Savannah. Christa and Omid were the last semblance of family she had left. They had to be somewhere. Clementine needed them to be somewhere. She needed them to be alive. She needed to touch their faces and gauge the life in their eyes and make sure nothing terrible happened. It was possible that the people who cleaned her up were still alive, but it was just too risky to try to attract anyone's attention. If she came across a pencil and paper, she'd just have to leave a thank you note instead.

At least the river was a landmark. Rivers led to oceans right? If Clementine followed the river far enough she'd have to run into the ocean, which was right next to the Savannah area where she wanted to be. Everything would work itself out. It just had to work itself out. More than enough bad things already happened.

Feel free to encounter Clementine anywhere on her journey. Perhaps she'll find you in the forest going about your business. Maybe you'll spot a silent pint-sized person peeking at you from around a corner near the outskirts of town. Clementine knows better than to approach. Walkers respond to sound. It's important to stay as quiet as possible.]

Comments

[originaljackass]

A what? [He looks at Babe and blinks.] Oh, you mean that thing? I dunno, he just started following me again. Nah, it's because I have this. [He lifts up a briefcase and pats it along the side.]

[smallsurvivor]

What is it? Is it safe to touch it? What's its name?

[And she really wants to be interested by the mystery briefcase, but there is a blue thing that may or may not be a cow.]

[originaljackass]

I dunno what his name is, but I think he's some kind of blue pig. Go ahead and touch away. He doesn't bite.

[Seriously, the pig-cow thing just follows him everywhere.

Meanwhile, Babe is currently sitting there, oblivious to the conversation, imagining himself as the host of ESPN.]

[smallsurvivor]

[OMG. PERMISSION TO TOUCH!!!!!!!!]

[Clementine reaches a slow hand out to the animal, lightly brushing her fingers along its hide and quickly jumping back in case it decided to start biting right then and there.] Is it yours? You should name it if it's yours.

[originaljackass]

[Babe seems slightly more content, but it's possible that's just because he was daydreaming about himself saying something very clever.]

He's not mine. He just likes to tag along. I tend to have that effect on people.

[smallsurvivor]

Well. Maybe he thinks you're a nice person. Animals know these things.

[originaljackass]

Probably. [He crouches down to be closer to her level.] I'm Jack Horner. [He holds out a hand to shake.]

[smallsurvivor]

[She reaches out to give his hand a solemn shake, the way she's seen grownups do. Kenny says that people judge a man by the way he shakes hands. And she's not a boy or anything, but maybe people will treat her better if she can shake hands too!]

I'm Clementine.

[originaljackass]

[A few things occur to Jack about this situation. First of all, bastard as he is, he can't just ditch a little kid in the woods. It's kind of a pain, but he's obliged to help her. But on top of that, there are perks. Chicks love a guy who is good with kids. And it couldn't hurt to have a little runt singing his praises.

Yeah. He's got this.]

Well your feet must be cold, Clem. Tell you what, how about I let you borrow my coat and I'll give you a ride into town? That way none of your toes fall off.

[smallsurvivor]

They're a little cold. But I don't mind! [She just assumes there's no alternatives, and she's certainly not about to take something that doesn't belong to her!]

Is it okay to borrow your coat? Won't you be cold?

[originaljackass]

[He went ahead and pulled his coat off. Sure, it was kind of a nice one, he'd shopped in the store for awhile to pick it out, but he could be generous. He went ahead and started pulling it around her.]

I don't get cold that easily. People didn't call me Jack Frost for nothing.

[smallsurvivor]

[She slips her arms into the coat without further argument, snuggling gratefully into the warmth left from his body heat.]

Thanks, Jack. This is really nice.

[He's got an animal and a caregiver streak? Jack may have to pry her away with a crowbar.]

[originaljackass]

[She loves him. Chicks are going to be all over him. Best day ever.]

It's Italian. Now how about you hop up on my shoulders and I take you into Luceti?

[smallsurvivor]

[The blue not-cow helped a whole lot.]

Well. If it's all right with you. [She knows she should be more careful about wandering away with strangers, but the animal would know. Oh, she hopes he's not going to try feeding her people for dinner.]

What's a Luceti? Is that still in Georgia?

[originaljackass]

[With a blue cow and an adorable little kid, no one will be able to resist his charms. He'll be unstoppable.]

Sorry, Clem. This isn't Georgia. You ever watched Wizard of Oz? Where Dorothy ended up in another world? Well, it's like that.

[smallsurvivor]

I love the Wizard of Oz! [It comes out as a burst, but then she shrinks down and lowers her voice.]

What kind of other world? Is there a yellow brick road?

[originaljackass]

[Okay, even he had to admit that was kind of cute. And if he thought it was cute, just imagine what women would think!]

It's a world filled with all sorts of people. Some of 'em good, some of 'em not so bad. But your old uncle Jack can look after you. We don't need any color road, because I already know exactly where everything is.

[smallsurvivor]

[Wait. Back up. Does this mean--??]

But. Everyone's alive? There aren't any walkers here?

[originaljackass]

I dunno. Everyone's alive, but what's a walker. Are you from Star Wars?

[smallsurvivor]

No. [She's only really familiar with Star Wars as a title of some thing grownups talk about sometimes. Her mom and dad had the DVD, but she'd never been very interested.]

And-- you know. When someone dies and then their body gets back up and starts moving on its own.And if they bite you then you get sick and die too.

[originaljackass]

Oh, what. Vampires? I dunno, I think we had one or two of those. Don't worry, they're pushovers. We'll be fine.

[smallsurvivor]

[Blink.]

Vampires aren't real.

[originaljackass]

First of all: Yes they are. Second of all: You're being confusing. Stop that.

[smallsurvivor]

Are you just trying to scare me? It's not nice to scare kids, you know.

[originaljackass]

Hey, I was doing the opposite of that! Whatever these Walkers are? I can handle them. No problem. I used to fight giants. A bunch of undead losers walking-- oh, zombies. [Duh.] Yeah, we don't have those here.