Life Goes On || TWDG Season 5 Fan Fic

History Repeats, or So We Are Told

The sun had risen again, as it did day after day. Clementine awoke with a start to the sound of a knock at her door. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she whisper shouted to the visitor. "One minute!" AJ was apparently sound asleep in the bunk besides her. Poor little guy had stayed up late waiting for her. She smiled, getting up and stumbling out the door, trying not to make too much sound with her crutches. Upon closing the door behind her, she was greeted with Javier's sorrowful expression. He cleared his throat. "Hey Clementine.." Her face twisted into a sour expression. It was too early in the morning for this. She sighed. "Hello, Javi." He leaned against the wall. "Look I.. I'm sorry. What I said was out of line." He chewed the inside of his cheek anxiously. "You uh.. you raised a good boy." He said, nodding to the door. "I shouldn't have blamed you.. Alvin Junior helped me realize that. It was never your fault. It was no ones fault but this fucked up world." He looked to the ground as Clementine spoke. "I know it wasn't my fault, that wasn't what pissed me off." He looked up, puzzled. "It's the fact that even after all this time, you're searching for a scapegoat for your fucking problems." She was tired of being sympathetic. "We've all lost shit, Javi. Maybe if you actually managed your emotions instead of spilling random dead's blood whenever you feel anything, we wouldn't be here." He was a bit taken aback. "Clem I'm trying—" She looked down. "We both know that that little girl needs her father. At least I have enough fucking brain cells to teach AJ about feelings rather then focusing on the past and seeing him as a symbol of what's fucking gone." She took a deep breath. "Just.." She paused. "Just cut her fucking hair, for fucks sakes." With that, she stormed off.
Javi stood there in shock. That had gone.. horribly wrong. He knew she was right, though. AJ opened the door a crack. "So?" He looked down at him. "You heard everything?" AJ nodded. "Of course I did, and she's right." Javi scowled. "Why is she always right?" AJ shrugged in reply. "I dunno.. she just is. I've been meaning to ask.." He shifted out the door uncomfortably. "Can I.. talk to M.. Mariana? My old friend.. well, he didn't make it and.. and I like making friends! She's a bit younger but.. that's okay!" Javier crouched down to his level. "Of course, buddy. Maybe you could teach her some stuff." AJ nodded, grinning, and burst into a little happy dance before dashing off into the yard: leaving Javier alone in the hall.
Outside, Clem was greeted by the usual smiling faces. It looked like some of the group had disappeared to go hunting, fishing, or scavenging. Willy, Louis, Clay, Viola, and Evelyn were all off gardening: trying to make something of the seeds that had been sitting in the greenhouse for god knows how long. It had been a few days since the arrival of the caravan, and everyone for the most part seemed to settle in. According to the days schedule, AJ was supposed to be fishing with Violet and Henry, while Antoine, Marty, and Jessica were all hunting. Rosie had taken a liking to Jessica for some reason. She claimed it was because she used to be a vet, but could an animal really sense that? Anyway, long story short, Rosie followed her everywhere now. AJ was a bit sad about it, because he loved Rosie, but decided to keep his mouth shut on the matter. Ruby and Aasim were on watch, of course. Those two were practically inseparable. Christa sat with Mariana on the swing, laughing and smiling, AJ next to them. Clem approached, confused. "AJ I thought you were still asleep!" He jumped a bit and smiled sheepishly. "I got up!" She laughed, giving him a one armed hug. "Aren't you supposed to be fishing?" He shrugged. "I think they left without me, so I decided to hang out with Christa and Mariana!" She nodded, smiling to Christa. "Good morning." Said Christa, half pushing Mariana. Clem smiled. "Good morning." She looked to Mariana, then to AJ. "Are you two getting along well?" Mariana giggled, speaking softly. "I like AJ.. he's silly!" "He sure is!" Said Clementine in reply. "Alright, I'm going to go check our inventory for food." They all bid her a due and she was off again. It was a busy day: lots to do. She guessed that every day could be identified as busy. It had to be that way to survive. Then again, there were some days where they had enough stock that they didn't have to fish or hunt, and on those days everyone usually spent time together and just relaxed. She saw Javi leave the admin building and approach the trio she had just stepped away from. Clem didn't want to be intrusive, so she decided to continue on her way. She went to the room that they kept their food in. It was one of the rooms that looked practically untouched. The paint was peeling in some spaces, but the room wasn't very extravagant to begin with, so it wasn't much of a change. It was previously an old storage room: but the kids had looted it time and time again, so it was practically empty. All the contents of the shelves had been taken, used, or burnt: as well as any packaging. Now, the only things that adorned the shelves were jars of food from the station, a handful of random seasonings that Omar tried to savor to the best of his ability, and the few weapons they had remaining in stock. A few bows, some knives, a hand gun: anything else was consistently handled by either one of the kids, or was lost during the raid: such as Marlon's bow. She shuddered at the memory, glancing down at her stump of a leg. She took a moment to count the jars. They had a decent amount left, but considering the growth in their population, it would go much faster. She sighed. It may be time to venture out further then they had previously. She feared what they would find. Clementine was very much over all the conflicts and close calls. 
Lost in her own thoughts and concerns, she didn't hear the door open. "C..Clementine?" She heard a voice call her name and whipped around, startled, only to find Mariana standing before her. The young girl flinched at the sudden movement. Feeling bad, Clem relaxed and greeted her. "Mariana, right? I uhm.. I don't think we've talked much." The young girl nodded. "Daddy told me about you.." Her voice was soft but assertive. "He said.. I should talk to you.." Clem nodded awkwardly. "Well.. what do you want to talk about?" She said, raising an eyebrow. Mariana shifted uncomfortably. "He said that I should ask you to teach me to.. sur-survive? I think that's what he said.. He's never taught me much.." Clementine smiled. "Well, I'm not doing anything right now. Do you wanna start learning?" The little girl smiled, nodding with excitement. "R-really?" She laughed. "Of course! We can get you some better clothes, maybe teach you to fu- I mean.. mess up walkers.." She reached out and touched the girls long, matted hair that lay in waves down her back. "And take care of this." Mariana frowned. "B-but.. I like my hair.." Clementine smiled. "It can still be just as pretty short." The young girl nodded. "Okay."
Clementine reached over to the table with the knives, steadying herself. "Hm.." She pulled a small, familiar blade. It was a good size for her, but also just right to get walkers. And.. cut hair. Smiling, she turned to her. "Okay, let's take care of that mane of yours." Mariana followed Clementine outside and sat on a bench with her hands folded in her lap. "Hmm.." Christa approached the pair, AJ by her side. "Ah, doing some cleaning up?" Clem smiled to her, nodding. "Didn't you cut my hair once?" Christa nodded. "Yeah.. I mighta messed it up a bit." AJ smiled triumphantly. "Clem's never had to cut my hair!" She laughed. "Just you wait, goofball. Pretty soon it'll be too long." She returned her attention to Christa. "Do you by any chance have a hair tie or two?" She shook her head. "Not any besides the ones in my hair.. maybe one of your friends has one." She gestured to the duo coming through the gates: Vi and Henry. Henry carried a bucket, presumably filled with fish, while Violet wielded her cleaver. Upon seeing her, she put away the weapon and walked over. "Hey, guys." She gave Clem a kiss on the cheek. "What's up?" AJ gave Vi a hug and apologized for missing the fishing duty. She shrugged it off. "We're cutting Mariana's hair!" The young girl glanced back and gave a sheepish smile. "Vi do you have any hair thingies?" Clem asked, focused. Vi paused for a moment. "Minnie.. Minerva used to have them. I'll go see what I can find." Violet left the group, entering the building. Clementine sighed. She didn't mean to bring up the past or hurt Violet indirectly. She looked down at the table.

That being said, no one could run from the past.