The Walking Dead: Return to Paradise

Chapter Sixteen: Stone Blind

Clementine stared at the moth that was fluttering around on the ceiling, it must have gotten in during the night looking for the light of the candle. She watched the tiny creature fumble it's way around the corners of the room, bumping into the walls. Violet shifted in her sleep next to her, Clementine looked over and smiled. It was morning, everyone else was already in the courtyard. After not sleeping much the previous night on account of the note and slogging through that day barely functioning, she and Violet agreed to sleep in even if it meant missing breakfast. Clementine was unfortunately used to waking up earlier, so she lay awake watching the moth go about its business.
Violet stirred next to her before slowly opening her eyes.
"Morning." She croaked, still not fully awake.
"Good morning." Clem giggled, kissing her on the cheek.
Violet stretched and nestled herself under Clem's arm.
"You're in a good mood today." Violet said.
"I am now that you're up."
"You're too fuckin' sweet, you know that?"
"Right back a ya." Clementine smirked.
Violet turned to face her and planted a kiss on her lips. She pulled the blonde closer, holding her in her arms. Mornings like this were Clem's favorite times. She loved the feeling of comfort and happiness that having Violet close to her brought, and for some reason it was exacerbated in the morning. They lay there for some time, not moving, not talking, simply enjoying each other's presence. After a while, Violet broke the silence.
"So, what are we doing today?"
"I'm going scavenging with Louis today, I don't remember what your job was though."
"Ugh, I do. Taking inventory." Violet scoffed.
"That's not so bad. It doesn't take long, you'll have more time to relax."
"I like keeping busy, I wouldn't know what to do with a whole day to myself anyway."
"Well how about this; when Louis and I get back, we should do something together."
Violet rolled over so she was on top of Clem, she wore a sly smirk on her face.
"Why Clementine, what exactly are you suggesting?" She said playfully.
Clem bit her lip, Violet had taken her statement in an entirely different context. But simply hearing the tone of her voice, Clem was quickly being won over to her way of thinking.
"Maybe we don't need to wait until later?" Clementine whispered to Violet.
"I don't have any problems with that." The blonde replied before pulling Clem into a kiss.

Minnie turned the knife over in her hands, feeling the weight of the blade. She held it beside her head, wound up her throw and let loose at the target. The knife sailed through the air with a whistle and embedded itself into the target just a few rings shy of a bullseye.
"You're getting good at that." Asim said as he walked past.
"Thanks." The redhead nodded.
She yanked the knife from the target and got back into position. She followed the same ritual she'd been using to practise for the past weeks, aim, wind up and throw. Almost as soon as she was about to toss the knife, the sound of a door opening distracted her. She threw the knife at the target, it flew past and became lodged in the tree.
"Fuck." She muttered under her breath.
Minnie turned to see who had thrown her off her rhythm, Clementine and Violet strolled out of the dormitories and took a seat at the breakfast table. Minnie watched them from across the courtyard, Violet's arm was around Clem's shoulder and they were laughing about something. She pulled the knife free from the tree and slipped it under her belt. When she turned back around, she saw Louis waving her over to the breakfast table. Minnie sighed, she didn't want to have to bear witness to Clem and Violet. Seeing the two of them together made her feel strange, she couldn't quite put her finger on what the feeling was. Unfortunately for her, her hunger surpassed the discomfort she felt, so Minnie joined everyone at the table.
"Hey Minnie." Clementine greeted with a slight smile.
"Hi." Was all Minnie could say.
She lowered her gaze, hoping to hide the fact that her face was now a bright shade of red.
What the fuck was wrong with her? Why couldn't she even have a simple conversation with Clementine without becoming a wreck?
She was handed a plate of food by Omar, some sort of mushroom based dish, and skewered a few of them with a chipped plastic fork.
"Hey Minnie, you're on scavenging duty with me and Clem today." Louis informed her.
Minnie was acutely aware of this fact, it was all she had been thinking about the previous night. She hastily finished her breakfast and set off back to her room to get her gear ready for the run.
She leaned her axe against the wall, being careful not to damage Tenn's drawing of her that was hanging on the wall. Minnie slung her rucksack over her shoulder, grabbed the axe and headed back outside.