IVORY | Carl Grimes

eighteen - scintilla ;

carl had neglected to allot saskia what he presumed to be a small bout of information of the day prior's events, but which she believed to be very important and thus, she found herself infuriated with the boy.

"how could it have slipped your mind?" saskia interrogated carl, highly annoyed at the boy's pathetic excuse for her not receiving the truth in a timely fashion.

saskia was walking down the street under the sun with carl by her side. glenn was the only one awake when she had crept down the carpeted stairs as the sun rose, and he offered her a quiet smile as she passed. he was deep in a book and she did not want to disturb his well deserved quiet time.

glenn had endured more than the girl thought he ever should have to in the last few days, but both knew was inevitably unavoidable. the relentless search for truth had somehow caught glenn up in a web of lies spun by no other than nicholas himself. glenn clung to his story and so did saskia, whom were both backed by rick, and this should have left little to deanna's imagination regarding nicholas's testimony. unfortunately, saskia learned it was not that simple.

saskia had been released from the infirmary two days prior and maggie had willingly helped her settle back into their little house. the teenager had made the effort to visit tara with the woman the night before and held her hand for about an hour before her own exhaustion got the better of her, still in the midst of her own recovery.

"okay, okay." carl sighed as his lie caught up to him, "i didn't forget. i just didn't want you to have anymore to worry about!"

saskia stopped in her tracks. she looked into carl's remorseful eyes and felt all of the annoyance melt away. how could she possibly stay mad at him while all he was trying to do was protect her from more hurt? though inevitable, the teenagers had found a way to manipulate fate over the course of their lives that seemed only natural for them; pure and immutable kindness.

"i appreciate that, i do, carl," saskia began in a soft tone edging on understanding, "but i also need to know what's going on if i'm going to be a part of this group."

carl smiled bashfully, "but you are," he pushed, "always have been—since glenn found you in the forest."

saskia felt her breath catch in her throat and she blinked slowly, letting carl's words sink in. they had been so simply spoken yet so eloquent and her heart fought against the barrier of her chest. acceptance was a beautiful thing saskia brown soon began to realize. unable to overcome her emotions, saskia settled on a subtle nod, letting her eyes tell her story rather than her words.

"i'm sorry about your dad," saskia spoke up suddenly with a delicate frown gracing her face, "he might have come off a bit harsh and detached to the community from what you told me, but he was only trying to protect us."

saskia's words came in regards to rick's fight with pete, ron's father and the very doctor that happened to have just saved her life, and his accusatory words for deanna. he had apparently caused quite the scene in the town square while saskia had slept, blissfully unaware to trouble brewing. blood was unforgivingly spilled and glass stained with it as it shattered across the street.