Lay me down on a bed of roses

[indirectcause]

Who: Ben and YOU!
What: Arriving in Paradisa
When: 28th
Where: Lobby
Rating: PG13 kid has a mouth. Here be your spoiler warning for the game.


[Ben had never really thought much about how fast it takes for a bullet to do its work. Not until he needed it to, anyway. He'd heard the shot, but after that, nothing. It went fast, really fast. There was a vague feeling of gratitude as Kenny pulled the trigger, giving him a mercy he knew he didn't deserve from the man. He'd surrendered to the blackness willingly, no longer a burden to the ever smaller mish-mash of humanity that was their group.

The blackness doesn't last, and that's when he appears on the floor of the lobby of Paradisa, his letterman jacket covered in blood. His blood. Walker's blood. It's a mix, really. He takes in a panicked gasp, scrabbling at the floor and looking around in sheer panic. The alleyway is gone. The walkers are gone. So are Kenny and Lee. ...The pain too.

He glances down at his stomach, the metal that had been sticking out there, a final, horrible promise that he wasn't getting out of that alley is missing. His hand automatically goes to his head, his hair matted with blood (definitely all his own this time) but no hole. Did Kenny miss? He couldn't have. He brings his hand back down to stare at the blood for a moment, before turning to glance around him again, looking for any signs of life.

He's definitely not in Georgia any more]

What the fuck is going on?

Comments

[wolfchild]

Because it can. They're not dead anymore. You're not.

[indirectcause]

Oh.

[There might even be a touch of disappointment in his tone, just a touch. Lee had saved him from the bell tower in Crawford, had made it seem like he was WORTH being alive. But there was still a part of him that thought maybe the whole group would be better off if he was dead]

So this is...what? A second chance.

[wolfchild]

[ more of a cruel jape. she shrugs. ] I guess. Are you going to eat?

[indirectcause]

[Jesus, he really is so hungry. He desperately needs to get to the group but the chance of food...]

What sort of food do you have?

[wolfchild]

Anything you want. There's empty rooms. You can stay in one until you find yours. [ and there's baths there. no, she's not giving up on that yet. dude, you smell. ]

[indirectcause]

[He smells of wonderful things like... no he smells of dead people and blood. He really needs a bath]

How will I know which one's mine? [He was just pointed to the one in the motel, and after that, well, they slept where they could when they could]

[wolfchild]

It'll have your name on it. Come see.

[ arya heads up stairs, expecting him to follow. nymeria trots beside her. ]

[indirectcause]

[That sounds insane, but everything sounds insane right now. He casts a glance at those wide, open, unguarded doors, before starting off after her. Maybe he can at least find a weapon up there...assuming the walkers get here]

You know a lot about this place.

[wolfchild]

I've been here a long time. See? [ she points out the names on the doors. ]

[indirectcause]

[The names mean nothing to him, but he keeps his eyes open for certain names. Just in case]

How long is a long time?

[wolfchild]

A very long time. This one's empty.

[ she pushes the door open for him. ]

[indirectcause]

[He doesn't walk into the room proper right away, he glances up and down the hall, checking for trouble, then lingers in the doorway, eyeing everything carefully, making sure there's nothing lurking anywhere. Eventually, he's satisfied enough to step inside]

What's your name?

[wolfchild]

Arya. You?

[indirectcause]

I'm Ben. [There's a subtle pause here. She hasn't tried to kill him yet, or screw him over, plus she's a KID so there's a chance she's safe]

Thank you for your help.

[wolfchild]

The bath's through there. Get clean. I'll get food. Nymeria, guard.

[ the wolf turns and stands outside the door. ]

[indirectcause]

[Obedient wolf. Ben takes one last careful look around the room, before heading into the bathroom, he'll lock the door behind him, just in case. But dear god, he won't miss a chance to get clean, and asses whatever damage has been left on his body after the mess he came from]

[wolfchild]

[ bread, meat, cheese, an apple. they're not too hard to find. the clothes she steals from someone else's closet. they'll be big for him, but they're still better than blood-covered rags. she leaves the clothes in a little pile in front of the bathroom door and the food on the table.

she's not very good at explaining so once everything is set, she leaves. she shuts the door quietly behind her; nymeria and arya both return to their own rooms. ]

[indirectcause]

[When he eventually emerges from the bathroom (after lightly dozing for a short while, god he didn't realise how TIRED he was) he does look for the little girl and her wolf. But she's gone, so, shrugging, he takes the clothes and uses these couple of hours to regroup himself.

Thanks, mysterious child]