𝑟𝑢𝑛٫ 𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑏𝑖𝑡٫ 𝑟𝑢𝑛; 𝑡𝑤𝑑

Chapter Four ￫ -ˋˏ Trouvaille ˎˊ-

ʚїɞ

trouvaille
/truːˈvʌɪ/
noun.
something lovely discovered by chance; a windfall

(ricky dicky doo dah grimes incoming)

ʚїɞ

Cicadas buzzed in the long grass, which shrivelled due to lack of rain and weeks at the mercy of the fiery Georgia sun. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the wide expanse above the earth remained an untainted shade of ultramarine. This usually would've been considered welcome, but the group was very rapidly running out of sunscreen, and the lack of cloud cover resulted in a lot of pink tinged shoulders. 

Luella lay sprawled out on the grass, absentmindedly running her hands through it, taking comfort in the feeling of the blades sifting between her fingers. She had woken up in a rather tranquil mood, as her mind hadn't been subjected to its usual dream the night before, and she wondered if it had something to do with drifting off in Lori's arms as she sat beside the crackling campfire.

The rest of the group had found themselves in limbo, despite having a long list of chores, hands grew idle as everyone sat waiting on the brave volunteers who had ventured into the city that morning. Glenn was usually the sole sacrifice in that field, but the group were running drastically low on everything, and extra hands were needed. 

With a decent chunk of their people gone, and her father once again absent on a hunting expedition with Daryl, Luella was left untethered, unburdened by her usual authority figures as Lori and Shane were kept occupied by the extra work left behind by those currently ransacking a department store in the heart of Atlanta. 

Though admittedly, there was no real work being done, as Lori had been rinsing the same t-shirt for the better part of an hour as her mind buzzed with concern for their group's safety. Shane was in a similar position, he had been sharpening the same knife for the longest time, and one could be quite certain that if he wouldn't stop soon, the weapon would soon be ground down to the size of a small needle. 

So, lacking the energy to even stand from the fierce heat frying her limbs, Luella propped herself up and began gathering the daisies that littered the ground around her. She used the nail of her thumb to pry through the stems, linking them together until a long chain lay across her legs. With a wide grin, she joined each end together, 

Skipping over to Lori, who was currently pinning freshly washed clothing to the makeshift line strung between two trees, Luella presented the daisy chain with a flourish after catching the woman's eye.

Lori set the washing down and crouched down beside the girl, making sure Luella was aware she had her full attention. Noticing the flowers in the her palm, the woman feigned a dramatic gasp, clutching her chest as she beamed. "For me?"

Luella nodded, and Lori bent forward, allowing her to slip the daisy chain around her neck.

"It's beautiful, thank you sweetheart," Lori smiled softly, enveloping the girl in a tender embrace before Luella skipped off to sit with Dale, pride erupting in her chest.

ʚїɞ

"Base camp, come in, anyone?" a garbled voice broke the stillness as Luella sat on the roof of the RV. She quickly slid down the ladder, joining Shane at his side as he picked up the handset to the CB radio, from which the interruption had sprung.