[Those days on the boat are like a distant memory. Clementine came back to the time she was in and was forced to endure her usual life.
For her, it's been awhile. She's taller, more like her pre-teen self. Her hair is the same, kept short just like Lee taught her and when she appears, at first she doesn't realize her scenery has changed. She turns, to snap a retort.]
Still. Not. Bitten.
[Her voice is lower, her expression one of unbridled anger. Her left sleeve was caked in more blood than the rest of her, as though she's injured.]
[He's seen that look before in a child just as young as this one. The familiarity of it makes him pause when she turns, not sure if the anger is directed at him or at the world.]
I can see as much.
[His voice is gentle and calm and he fully expects her to get even angrier for it.]
Is that blood your own?
[He asks, because he knows it's very likely that it's not.
Since, after all, the last time he'd seen a child like this was in a mirror.]
[Clementine isn't locked in the shed anymore and he's not who she was expecting. She takes a step back from him, watching him carefully. Her eyes leave his for a moment as she glances at her arm and back at him.]
[He doesn't move to touch her or even close the distance between them at all. He doesn't quite understand what her worry about bites is, but that can wait until he's sure she's not too badly wounded.]
[He's not sure what peroxide is, but she seems to have the situation well enough in hand. He reaches into his robes and pulls out a small, neatly tied bundle of fabric, removes a few strips and hands them to her.]
I'll give you any help you need. Don't worry about being a bother.
[She takes the bandages from him and pushes her sleeve up. The gash in her arm is brutal. A gaping wound that's been stitched with five loops, poorly spaced apart. It's going to leave a huge scar. She starts wrapping it with the bandage.]
You seem very worried about being bitten. Does that mean something different in this place?
[It's not something he's noticed himself since waking up here, but that doesn't mean he hasn't missed something. He's not sure if she's one of the other people who's been magicked here or not. Her clothing isn't the same as what he's seen on the townspeople, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's not from another island.]
[Clementine backs away. She's not sure where she is, not yet, and she can't stay there with him. She doesn't answer his questions, she just steps back until she's comfortable to take off at a run, into the woods on the island.]
[After very little consideration at all, Ja'far decides to follow. It's the exact sort of thing he would have screamed his lungs out at Sin about 12 years ago and here he is doing it himself. The irony isn't lost on him, that's for sure. Still, because of that foul-mouthed little brat he'd been and how things turned out for him, he can't just let Clementine go off on her own.
When he catches up to her, he doesn't approach her immediately, but doesn't make an effort to keep his presence hidden.]
[Climb? He could probably jump that. Instead, he just stops at the bottom of the tree.]
There's no need to run. I don't know what it is that you're afraid of, but you'll be at at disadvantage facing it alone. Do you even know where you are?
[She is, relatively. She drapes the branch over her legs and slouches a bit. Clementine is quiet, she can wait. In the meantime she's looking around. She hasn't exactly seen this forest before. She isn't sure where she is, but she doesn't hear any zombies. That's a good sign. At least, they'll get Ja'far first.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 05:58 am (UTC)From:For her, it's been awhile. She's taller, more like her pre-teen self. Her hair is the same, kept short just like Lee taught her and when she appears, at first she doesn't realize her scenery has changed. She turns, to snap a retort.]
Still. Not. Bitten.
[Her voice is lower, her expression one of unbridled anger. Her left sleeve was caked in more blood than the rest of her, as though she's injured.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 06:28 am (UTC)From:I can see as much.
[His voice is gentle and calm and he fully expects her to get even angrier for it.]
Is that blood your own?
[He asks, because he knows it's very likely that it's not.
Since, after all, the last time he'd seen a child like this was in a mirror.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 06:33 am (UTC)From:It's mine. It's not a bite!
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Date: 2013-12-26 06:38 am (UTC)From:[He doesn't move to touch her or even close the distance between them at all. He doesn't quite understand what her worry about bites is, but that can wait until he's sure she's not too badly wounded.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 06:41 am (UTC)From:I need a bandage. Do you have any?
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Date: 2013-12-26 06:48 am (UTC)From:I do, but you'll need to wash the wound out first so that it doesn't get infected. We'll need to find some water.
[If she rejects him, he'll give her the bandage, of course, but he can't bring himself to just leave her.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 06:51 am (UTC)From:[Clementine holds out her right hand for the bandage. She seems a little less guarded.]
I just need some help and I won't bother anyone else.
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Date: 2013-12-26 06:57 am (UTC)From:I'll give you any help you need. Don't worry about being a bother.
[And since she's at least not openly hostile--]
My name is Ja'far. What's yours?
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Date: 2013-12-26 07:01 am (UTC)From:I'm Clementine.
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Date: 2013-12-26 07:13 am (UTC)From:That's going to leave a very big scar. What happened?
[She's not eager to speak, but he's afraid that she'll go off on her own if he doesn't keep her talking.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 07:15 am (UTC)From:I was bitten by a dog. Just a dog.
[She finishes and uses her teeth to tie the knot.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 07:21 am (UTC)From:You seem very worried about being bitten. Does that mean something different in this place?
[It's not something he's noticed himself since waking up here, but that doesn't mean he hasn't missed something. He's not sure if she's one of the other people who's been magicked here or not. Her clothing isn't the same as what he's seen on the townspeople, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's not from another island.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 07:24 am (UTC)From:[Clementine drops her sleeve and glances at him again.]
Thanks. For the bandage.
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Date: 2013-12-26 07:33 am (UTC)From:You're welcome. Where will you go now? I assume you're by yourself?
[He'd at least had the rest of Sham Lash when he was her age. They'd tended to keep an eye on him whether he wanted them to or not.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 07:37 am (UTC)From:[Clementine backs away. She's not sure where she is, not yet, and she can't stay there with him. She doesn't answer his questions, she just steps back until she's comfortable to take off at a run, into the woods on the island.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 07:57 am (UTC)From:When he catches up to her, he doesn't approach her immediately, but doesn't make an effort to keep his presence hidden.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 08:00 am (UTC)From:Never let yourself get trapped.
There's a low hanging branch and she grabs onto it, scrambling up the tree slowly. Hopefully he can't climb.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 08:04 am (UTC)From:There's no need to run. I don't know what it is that you're afraid of, but you'll be at at disadvantage facing it alone. Do you even know where you are?
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Date: 2013-12-26 08:08 am (UTC)From:I got what I needed from you. Just let me go.
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Date: 2013-12-26 08:15 am (UTC)From:[He's not budging.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 08:17 am (UTC)From:Just let me go. I don't want any trouble.
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Date: 2013-12-26 08:22 am (UTC)From:[He won't, but she doesn't need to know that.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 08:23 am (UTC)From:[Well she can just wait him out. Clementine isn't budging from the tree.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 08:25 am (UTC)From:[He sits down at the foot of the tree and folds his arms in his sleeves.]
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Date: 2013-12-26 08:30 am (UTC)From:(no subject)
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