exsiliumlogs | CLOSED: we're alright

Date & Time: August 10, early morning lasting to who knows.
Location: Random encounter around the city.
Characters: Ellie, Joel and Tess.
Summary: The trio gets back together by some work of a higher power. It'd be better if it could stay that way, huh? Trying to ask 'wanna move in with us' is more difficult than it should be.
Warnings: Swearing and possible mentions of violence. Likely spoilers for The Last of Us for the conscious.

[Should have known that being in a new place wouldn't break her sleeping habits. Tess is out and about the city, memorizing locations from shops to good places to lay low in case things get bad. Just like back in the Quarantine Zone. She's gotta figure out a way to keep busy, keep her mind off things. Checking the tablet probably wasn't the best thing.

Not when it says it's been nearly a week since she's last seen either of those two. Her hand hovers over Ellie's name to give it a call but Tess stops, shakes her head and puts it away. It's too early anyway, and maybe with how long it's been, some things have changed for them at least. Shoving the tablet away and slipping it back into her bag, she slings it over her shoulder and fixes herself. Just before she starts back down the street though, Tess checks underneath her shirt, tugging her jacket away.

The scars are still there, and they're still a damn annoyance. Both to look at and physically, judging by the ache she feels just by looking at them. A short sigh and she starts in another direction.]

Alright, this way should...

Threaded | Flat

[For the first time in recent memory, Ellie's clean. No grease in her hair, no dirt smudged over her freckles. It's a strange feeling, but one she can get used to. Showers? Warm water? Pretty awesome, even if she and Joel are stuck in temporary housing which means communal showers.

Mornings, however? Not Ellie's favorite, she's beginning to realize. It takes her a long time to shake off her dreams--nightmares, sometimes--and she drags her feet along the damp ground, unusually quiet, at least until something catches her attention and chases the bad away. Sometimes, she dreams about being in a cage. Sometimes, she's riding Callus. Other times, there's a hand shoving her face into the floor, a heavy weight on her back. Sometimes she wakes up with a barely concealed jolt of fear, and she hates it.

Another reason to loathe that fucker.

She loops her thumbs through the straps of her pack as she walks with Joel, watching him from the corner of her eye. He was fine. No longer did she worry about him bleeding to death. It was good to be out and about with him again, even if her mind kept wandering to this and that, because this was familiar. This felt right, even if they were in some place full of magical people and super heroes. Pale purple half-moons have formed under Ellie's eyes from hours spent staring at the ceiling instead of falling asleep. It's hard to do, even if they're relatively safe. Those fucking dreams.

With a yawn, Ellie stretches her arms over her head.]

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