GUARDIAN, TLOU

5.

Jo sat on a thick branch in the woods, Joel had been gone for a while, and Ellie was asleep, next to her. The teen had her head resting on Jo's lap and the woman had to fight every inch of her being, as to not stroke the girls head, comfortingly.

She held the fedra soldier's gun in her hands, aiming it in front of her in case they came across any of the living, Jo hated most of the rouge groups, they were vile creatures.

Her head snapped up at the sound of a boot on a stick, swivelling her arms around to aim at the intruder, relaxing once she saw it was Joel.

Due to her quick movements, Ellie awoke under neath her, groaning as she lifted herself into a sitting position, pulling her knees to her chest. She half smiled at Jo before looking back at Joel, "You want your jacket back?"

He shook his head, staring away from the girls as Ellie began to speak freely.

"I've never been in the woods. More bugs than I thought."

Jo cracked her knuckles, "Be glad you weren't bitten by a mosquito, those things are annoying little shits."

Ellie pulled a face, seemingly stuck with something on her mind. With a heavy sigh, she lifted her head to look at Joel, "Look, I've been thinking about..."

"I don't want your sorries," Joel grumbled.

"I wasn't gonna say I'm sorry. I was gonna say that I've been thinking about what happened. Nobody made you or Tess take me. Nobody made you go along with this plan. You needed a truck battery or whatever, and you made a choice. So don't blame me for something that isn't my fault."

Jo raised her eyebrows, almost proud of the girl for standing up for herself. She bit her lip as she awaited for Joel's reaction, surprised by the soft nod he gave the girl instead of screaming back into her face.

***

An hour or two later, the group walked side by side on a mounting pathway. Ellie was situated between the two adults who carried their guns, ready for any attack.

She couldn't help but notice the similarities between the two; constantly stone-faced, always ready for a fight, quick on their feet, sarcastic, easily irritated (though it was mostly due to her questioning), and old.

While, Jo was obviously younger than Joel, there was no doubt she was at least in her late forties. Ellie wasn't sure about Joel's age but knew it was quite old, she was yet to ask him.

The teen began to feel sweat drip from her head, the scorching sun glaringly down at her and forcing her body into wanting to collapse at any moment, desperate for shade, "How much longer?"

Joel checked the area, again, "Five-hour hike."

Jo internally groaned at the thought, her back was going to be in half by the end of it.

Ellie nodded, thoughtfully, "We can manage that." She looked around the space with a hint of worry, "You've gone this way a lot? No Infected?"

"Not often, no."

Seeing both Joel and Jo's consistent, roaming, eyes, Ellie questioned them, "What are you looking out for?"

"People," they chorused.

"Oh."

Just when the grouchy adults thought her questioning was over, she spoke again, "Are Bill and Frank nice?"

Joel looked down at the girl in slight annoyance, "Frank is."

"How'd you get that scar on your head?"

Joel sighs, peeking up at Jo subtly for a moment before directing his gaze to the ground.

Ellie caught his movements, laughing, "What? Is it something lame? Like you fell down the stairs or something?"