You're Too Young To Be So Broken

"Open Up A Little..."

Avoiding the herd was proving to be tougher than Clem thought. Mariana had done a good job of tracking how fast they were moving and from her calculations they were moving a lot quicker than expected.

"We were supposed to be gone by now, but Javi just had to stop in that stupid junkyard."

She had been signing about her cousin for quite some time, clearly she was proud of him. Clem had to admit she would be too if one of her family members too if they had made it this far. She paid attention to the signing as much she could while trying not to get too distracted from her surroundings.

This area wasn't a safe space for her clearly, those stupid wanted posters were damn near everywhere but Mariana didn't seem to notice. Clem really didn't know how she felt about the girl, they had just met but she clearly didn't have any malicious intentions, not yet at least.

"He wanted to look for more supplies, I told him we were well off for at least the next week or so, but he wasn't convinced."

He seemed to be stubborn from what Clem was gathering, or maybe he just wanted to make sure his people were well off either way he got himself in a horrible jam. It was then Clem remembered almost getting hit by a truck, though she didn't get a good look of anyone inside but from what Mariana was explaining there was no doubt in Clem's mind that the truck she had crossed paths with had to be the one carrying Javier. Plus there was no one really operating vehicles anymore so the likely chance of some random person driving through was slim to none.

"I think I saw him, earlier today, being carried away." She didn't really know how Mariana would feel hearing that information but she signed it anyway. It had been a while since she was around people, her social skills needed some work.

"Pretty sure you did, they drove off in the direction you came from...I think, not sure." She shrugged thinking over how quick everything went wrong. One moment they're all laughing together and the next they were separated, Javi had been pistol whipped and bound and Mari had been run out of the junkyard and into an oncoming herd.

"Everything happened so fast, it's crazy really." The more she thought about it the more she could feel herself getting emotional and the last thing she needed or wanted was to be crying in front of a girl she wasn't sure even liked her or not. There was also the fact that she didn't know her, she was traveling with a stranger hoping the girl wouldn't get tired of her and put a bullet through her head. Though maybe she should try to get to know her, especially since they were going to be around each other for some time.

"So you got a name or what?" Her shoulder playfully nudged Clem, sending her a nice smile as she awaited an answer. Clem looked up at her from petting a very needy Cocoa, her eyebrows raised. Had she not introduced herself? She thought she had a while back...?

She inwardly groaned, shaking her head, the small action making Mariana chuckle a bit. "Clementine." The capped girl finally introduced herself, still embarrassed for forgetting to. "Sorry, I haven't been around many people lately."

Mariana laughed, her head thrown back which only served to confuse Clem. Did I say something funny? Did my hands look weird? Her mind raced with possibilities, her anxiety starting to bubble to the surface until Mariana put it to rest.

"Yeah, I can tell you're as stiff as a board!"

Clem took slight offense, though she really didn't know what she meant. Was she walking funny? Her legs did feel a bit stiff and she swore she hadn't felt a thing in her pinkie toe since yesterday. Shit.

"I like it better this way." Was all she said, her face frowning. Cocoa nuzzled at her hand again, urging her to continue her petting. Clingy Kitty.