doomsday. ( yellowjackets )

soixante-six.

xxx.

chapter soixante-six.
chapter sixty six.

1997.

xxx.

" Hey, you okay? " Tara asked as she approached Travis, who now sat back at camp, albeit a bit further from the shelters to keep some distance from the others. It was about an hour since whatever bullshit was going on in the woods with Lottie, and while Travis had appeared to have calmed down, his face still held sorrow.

The main reason Tara had rushed back over to him was that Akilah now stood beside him, one of the ducks from what Alex liked to call her 'petting zoo'. While she was sure Akilah wasn't going to harm Travis, it didn't mean she wasn't on edge regardless. Tara made eye contact with Travis first, then, upon his almost unnoticeable nod, she smiled weakly and looked to Akilah.

" Hey, I was just checking in on him. " The younger girl insisted softly, meeting the blonde's eyes. Tara wasn't sure if she and Akilah had ever even spoken to each other, but her gentleness was never a secret either way. She adjusted her hold on the duck before she shifted an inch towards Travis, " Do you want to hold Mortimer? "

His head finally raised to look at her, meeting Akilah's eyes for a moment, with not-yet-spilled tears in his, before he nodded. Akilah carefully lowered Mortimer, the duck, into Travis's grasp, offering a few soft coos to the animal, " It's okay, buddy. "

        Once Mortimer was safely in Travis's arms, Akilah straightened back up and wore a small, sympathetic smile. She patted Travis's shoulder and glanced back at Tara, who nodded to her gratefully, returning the smile back to her in appreciation. Akilah was still a sweet soul despite everything; she was often overlooked but she was still a vital part of their survival, after all, she had been the one to stitch Van's face up and help deliver Shauna's baby. She might have gone along with the group to chase down Natalie, but she had been the only other person to even think about saving Javi.

After she left, heading for the so-called petting zoo, Tara sat down next to Travis, eyeing the duck a bit skeptically as she held out a cup, " Here, it's just water, promise. "

Travis adjusted his hold on Mortimer to accept the cup from her, although he still peered down into it as though he didn't believe her. His eyes shifted back up to hers with the smallest of narrows. Tara's brows knitted together at first, until she realized he was messing with her. She let out a small breath of a laugh, " Jerk. "

She waited for him to take at least a single drink, taking the cup back from him once he did, sitting it on the ground by their feet. Tara watched the duck again, listening to it quack quietly as Travis whispered to it, " It's okay, it's okay. "

" I didn't take you for an animal guy. What a big softie. " Tara teasingly called, trying to cheer him up, though she was sure no amounts of banter would resolve the issue for him.

" Yeah, and you're staring at him like you think he's going to bite. " Travis commented back, a mildly accusatory look on his face.

" All things bite if you push them hard enough, you never know. " She insisted, then held up her palms to remind him, " I grew up Catholic, not on a farm. My parents wouldn't even let me dream of the idea of a pet, this is the closest I've ever been. "