The Girl from the Ground - Season 1

Episode Six, Part 6:

Episode Six, Part 6: 
Smoke Signals 

Veer hurried through the forest, too caught up in her whirlwind of thoughts to pay much attention to her surroundings. There could have been someone from New Riders following her and she wouldn't have noticed, or she could have passed Elijah without even realising as she was too in her head. It was only when the sound of a branch breaking in the nearby distance managed to pull her from her focus, and she stopped in her tracks to look around, did she realise where she was. A little south of The Garden of Eden, near the base of the damns where she had last saw a friend.

"...Veer?"

The voice - already familiar despite only having heard it once before - brought a smile to her face. She turned around, looking through all the gaps in the trees until her eyes landed on her him.

Veer rushed over, engulfing Theo in her arms like she would her brother or a lifelong friend. "I'm so glad to see you," she said.

Theo lingered in the embrace, not sure where to savour her words or her affection more; both were foreign feelings.

"You are?" He pulled away after a moment.

"Of course!" Veer exclaimed. "I haven't forgotten about you, don't worry. I've just been trying to figure things out. You know how everything is at the moment."

When Theo didn't murmur his agreement or even seem to understand what Veer was referencing, she raised an eyebrow, beginning to suspect something.

"Or maybe you don't..." She thought out loud. "Theo, have you been back to New Riders since I last saw you?"

He shook his head, unsure if his answer would disappoint her. "You told me to stay here."

The ache in Veer's chest compelled her to pull her bag around, pulling out both flasks of water and any rations she could find. "Here, take this," she said. "You must be starving."

Theo was still hesitant to accept anything; his lack of offering in return felt selfish and wasted on Veer's kindness.

"Eat up," she encouraged.

As Theo tucked into the tin of rations - still a little warm from the metal container - Veer tried to argue against every reason in her head to not bring Theo home with her right then. If he had survived these past few days on his own, then surely he could survive a couple more. But Veer couldn't return to camp with someone from New Riders, and not Elijah; not when they were supposed to move their people into the Bunkers by the morning; not when she hadn't even had a chance to tell Eden about him, or Izzy and Harlow, or her family.

"How's your arm?" She asked, wondering if had started to look a little better after she had tended to it.

Theo wiped the crumbs from around his mouth, a little nervous to show her.

"Can I?" Veer asked, gesturing to his arm.

He nodded, holding his breath as Veer rolled up his sleeve, finding the delicate wrapping of her wound dressing completely destroyed. Instead, it was torn and messy and a clear display of Theo's attempt to do it himself.

"What happened?" She was already taking the bandage off of him, discarding it at her feet and searching her newly-stocked first aid kit for another. She had spares this time and made sure to use two to ensure it stayed put.

"I-I..."

"Hey- it's okay. It's okay. You don't have to tell me," Veer answered, taking the weight off his shoulders after seeing her nervous he was to say something. "I'm not mad, I promise. I just want to make sure you were alright."