IVORY | Carl Grimes

sixteen - nefarious ;

a/n;
this is a really long chapter, and just as a warning the amount of gore and graphic material might be disturbing to some readers! if you can imagine 5x14 of twd, you know why. there are a few words of foul language, as well. read at your own risk!
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"that's everything?" glenn inquired to the whole group but more specifically to tara.

saskia was not known to beg. acceptance was an art, much like patience, and saskia had come to embrace both. however, the last few days were different. she knew in advance that a run group was going outside of the walls soon and every fragment of her yearned to be a part of it.

saskia first went to glenn and maggie about her decision, not looking for permission, but instead advice. she had grown to expect the latter from the two and was surprised when they denied her the former. she predictably put up a fight and was eventually able to sway both them and deanna to permit her going with glenn and the others on the run for supplies.

the mission was simple. eugene had run it over with them. all they were to do was gather pieces to fix an electrical board that had fried in the solar panels in alexandria. the specifics did not matter to them, frankly. saskia took a good look at the part and kept the task at hand in mind as she readied herself to embark on the run to the warehouse that nicholas had earlier suggested.

"all right," he muttered more to himself than anything, stress encompassing his tone as tara shot him a quick thumbs up.

"all set?" maggie asked her husband quietly, running a hand along his arm in an effort to calm him down.

glenn merely hummed in response, leaning into her touch as he ran a hand through his hair. saskia watched the couple as she sat on the edge of the opened back next to noah whom tara was currently teasing. a nervous habit of hers had come into the light; her fingers relentlessly tapped their own symphony on her knee which had already begun to bounce.

"you got this," maggie reassured her husband with a smile, "you always do."

"yeah," glenn absentmindedly responded as he leaned in to give his wife a quick kiss, taking in the feel of her lips on his.

"daylight's burning, lets go!" aiden orders did not fall on deaf ears as the others fastened their pace to find place in the truck.

"saskia!" maggie called promptly, beckoning the younger girl over to her with a quick motion of her hand in the brunette's direction.

"you be safe, okay?" maggie locked eyes with the girl, looking down at her with a visage marked with softer expressions.

"always am," saskia returned with a tight-lipped smile, pushing a shorter piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her ponytail. "i promise i'll come back to you in one piece, alright?" saskia reiterated her point to maggie as she saw the worry lines map out her face.

"you better." maggie quirked a small smile and pulled the girl into her side, offering her a snug embrace and planting a kiss on the crown of the girl's head.

glenn and saskia gave the woman one more smile each and departed from her, entering the back of the van to join noah and tara. saskia let her head fall to rest on the van's hard wall as one of aiden's obnoxious mixes roared through the radio. noticing her tension, tara rubbed saskia's knee and patted it once before letting her hand drop back down to to her side quietly.

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