3 months later
"Is that the best you can do?" Clary taunted as her and Carl circled each other, cocky smiles on both of their faces. They had been training for what felt like mere moments, their sparring fast paced and aggressive yet really lasting for a few hours. "Hit me with your best shot, Clary. I can take you." Clary sent the boy a wink. "I'll go easy on you." Carl scoffed, his small smile never leaving his face as Clary made the first move.
Swinging her sword, Carl was quick to deflect her strike. As he counteracted her swing, making his own motion to swing at her, she used her small frame to dodge it. She saw him set his stance, heavier on his right foot as he swung the blade in his left. Using his off-balanced footing, she jabbed towards his right. She was surprised when he deflected it, his smile growing. "Good, you're learning." Carl squinted towards the girl. "You trying to distract me, Dean?" Clary shrugged, her face not revealing her intentions. "Maybe. Is it working?" Clary asked with a smile, to which the boy shook his head with a laugh.
As their swords collided, she was able to guide them to arc above the two of them, slipping her blade away from his she was able to aim it at his throat. She smiled cockily, ready to claim her win until she felt his foot slide under her own, causing her to fall on her back. He was quick to straddle her, holding her down with his hands holding down hers. "Well, would you look at that. Looks like I win," Carl gloated, the girl under him allowing her eyes to meet his with a raised eyebrow. "You're getting cocky, Grimes." Before Carl could answer, a voice sounded as footsteps neared. "Yeah, that probably ain't the best thing to do Carl."
Hearing Daryl's voice, Carl looked to where it had originated from. Using the distraction, Clary thrusted her hips up, pulling him forward. As he fell, losing his balance, she grabbed his arms before using the moment of his fall to pick herself up, leading to her on top. Writhing under her, he groaned. "You're heavy." With a smirk, she laughed. "And you just lost." Carl playfully rolled his eyes before she moved from on top of him.
As Clary held out her hand, Carl took it before the two of them looked towards Daryl as he chuckled. "I thought you said he was getting good, Jo." Carl scoffed, looking to the girl as she raised her hands in defeat. "Oh, he is, but you can never beat the master. Unless you're me." Clary looked to Carl, a smirk on her face to which he responded with laughter, pushing her playfully. She rolled her eyes with a small smile before looking back to Daryl. "What's up?" Daryl shook his head. "Nothin', just passin' by. Getting ready for that run tomorrow—" Clary took a step forward. "You sure you don't need me to go? I can get someone to cover my watch." Daryl waved off her words. "I'm sure, Jo. But you did good, letting us know about that farm, let's just hope it's still got something." Clary nodded before the man departed, Clary turning to Carl as he smirked. She raised an eyebrow before gathering her stuff.
"So, since my dad or Daryl don't need you, and your watch is early tomorrow morning, we still going outside of the walls tomorrow?" Clary looked to Carl, putting on the button up over her tank top that she had been wearing before she had taken it off for training. She nodded her head, sheathing her sword. "Yeah, and hopefully Enid will be too. After Olivia caught her sneaking out last time, she's been on lockdown. Hopefully she can get away." Carl nodded before gathering his own stuff. The two began walking towards their respective homes before they departed with small waves and walked into their homes.
Opening the door, she was surprised to Maggie on the couch, reading a book while Glenn stood in the kitchen, a glass in hand. Their eyes averted to the door as it shut, seeing the girl walk in with a smile. "Hey, how'd training go?" Glenn asked, watching as the girl shut the door. "Carl's getting better, the adjustment is still hard but he's pushing through it." Turning towards Glenn, she saw the man nod. "Should we expect him beating you anytime soon?"
Clary scoffed. "Of course not." Glenn laughed at the girl's words as she sat on the couch, kicking her feet up and laying them on the table. Maggie pushed her feet off with her own, giving a not-so stern look before speaking. "No feet on the table." Clary looked to the woman, "But—" Maggie shook her head. "No, buts." Maggie have her a smile before the girl shook her head, looking to Glenn who raised his hands in defeat. "Hey, I'm middle ground. Don't bring me into this." Clary laughed, laying down on the couch before grabbing a book and reading for a while.
As night began to fall, the three of them ate, talking about the little things that had happened during their day before heading upstairs for bed. However, Clary didn't stay in her room with the intention of sleeping. Upon her desk sat a leather journal that hadn't been opened for more than a few moments at a time, not to do anything but rather to catch small glimpses. She would read her past entries, smiling at the memories they produced or even faltering at the nightmares they included.
More delightful were the drawings, usually holding the images of people she had cared for or people she had lost. She had never found herself writing or drawing until she was perfectly contempt, a feeling she hadn't felt until about a month and a half since Alexandria had been invaded. She remembered the feeling had arose after a walk she gone on with Carl. It had been nothing special, simply the two of them walking the streets of Alexandria as he tried to get used to life without an eye. She remembered his moments of weakness where he told her she didn't have to be by his side as he was only becoming a burden. She never listened to him, simply assuring him she cared enough to stay before she helped him heal in any way she could.
With that moment in mind, the knowing that she felt mostly at peace within the walls, she sat at her desk before opening the leather bound book. Writing a few short journal entries, she soon came across an empty page before drawing the scene that she had seen just hours earlier, which included a smiling and laughing Glenn and Maggie. She did so for a while, only stopping when her hand ached or she wanted to gaze at other drawings or entries to remind her of the peace she felt. Her eyes glanced on many images, some of her past such as the first image of her father. She always wondered what happened to him as she had been young when he had gone. It was always easier to assume he had passed on, but she never quite knew. The only reason she knew or even remembered his likeness was the drawing of the image and the pictures she had salvaged.
Thinking no longer to her father, she looked upon the images of her mother and sister, of Leon and Layla, of Millie. She could tell from her journal when she started caring deeply about those within Alexandria as the images of the people closest to her transformed into those from her current community. Images of Maggie and Glenn, Enid and Carl, Daryl and even Rick filled her pages, along with other members she had grown to care for.
However, as she thought back to the images, eventually turning back to the current image of the couple that cared for her that she had been working on, she stopped. She heard a slight noise, which grew louder as it happened again. She brushed it off, believing it to be the overgrown branches of the tree by her home. However, as it happened again and became louder, she turned towards the window as it was where she believed the noise to be coming from.
Standing from the desk, she made her way over as the same noise happened again, a small rock hitting the glass making her realize what it was. A smile graced her face as she knew what would welcome her on the other side, the girl opening the window only to get hit with a pebble in her stomach. She heard laughter and looked across to see Carl with his top half hanging out the window. "I'm sorry—" Clary rolled her eyes, kicking the pebble away before turning towards the boy. "Do you just have a rock collection on your room?" Carl shrugged. "A couple, just in case." Clary laughed until she saw the underlying worry in Carl's features. Her eyes softened seeing the look. "Are you okay?" Carl nodded softly. "Yeah, I just— never mind. It's stupid—" Clary shook her head. "Hey, I told you I'm here for you, no matter how stupid it is. What's up?" Clary saw Carl look gratefully to her before he took in a deep breath and spoke softly. "Do you think I could come over? I— I can't sleep." Clary nodded, knowing full well that Carl had been having bad nightmares that led him to not sleep or not even want to sleep.
Knowing of her own bad dreams, Carl found comfort talking to her, the two speaking usually during the day whether it be after training or going to his home when his father wasn't there."Should I go all ninja and climb the tree or—" Clary shook her head, laughing slightly. "Front door. You're not very good at climbing that tree if I remember clearly." Carl rolled his eyes playfully as the two remembered a time where he had tried to scare her, climbing the tree to knock on her window. Except it turned into a rescue mission when a tree branch broke and he got stuck on the roof. It had been a good laugh, she thought, and a memory she would never let him live down.
Pulling away from the window as Carl did the same, Clary looked around her room to see it as clean and orderly as usual. She flipped the page of her journal, seeing the empty spot where two images had been. Her eyes then fell past the journal to the desk where the images had now resided. Although her drawings were quite accurate in catching likeness, there was nothing Iike the feeling she felt upon seeing true photography. One of the oldest was that of an image that was taken when Clary was young, around four years of age. She was seated on her mother's lap, her older sister sitting besides them as her father stood behind her mother. Smiles were on all of their faces, making her wonder what had happened to that family. Not wanting to think of the why or the what if's, Clary stepped away and made her way out the door. She was quiet as she went downstairs, trying not to wake the couple, before opening the door. She saw Carl, his hands in his pockets as he looked to her. Holding a finger to her lips, he nodded before stepping in to which she closed the door after him.
Following the girl, Carl walked up the stairs and into her room. It wasn't the first time he had been inside, the two of them and Enid hanging out inside before going outside of the walls. As he sat down on the bed, he turned to the girl. "Thanks, Clary. You being here for me matters a lot to me." Clary brushed off his thanks with a shrug. "Of course, I'm sure I'm a bit easier to talk to than your father." Seeing her small smile follow the joke, Carl nodded. "Well, you're still a bit intimidating—" Clary rolled her eyes with a smile, pushing him playfully before she sat besides him on her bed.
After a moment, Clary moved towards her nightstand, opening the drawer before pulling out a small, silver rectangular piece. Carl looked confusedly at it as she held it to him. "It's chocolate. Carol snagged some for her cookies and had extra, so she gave some to me. It's for extreme emergencies." Carl raised an eyebrow. "So I'm an extreme emergency now?" Pushing the chocolate towards him, she let out an exasperated sigh. "More like in need of sugar. I think it's scientifically proven to make you happier." Carl scoffed. "Right, because the science that matters is about chocolate and not about how the undead are able to walk the earth, right?" Clary cocked her head to the side, giving him a look before he laughed softly, taking the chocolate from her hand. He snapped the already small piece in two, giving the other half to her.
As the two ate their pieces, savoring the small amount of sugar, she tucked her legs under her before facing him. "So, what's up?" Carl shrugged. "I can't just see you? If you didn't know by now, you are probably one of my only friends here." Carl looked to the girl, seeing her nod dramatically. "Well, I know that—" Carl scoffed, causing her to laugh. After a few moments, he turned to her and positioned himself in the same way she had. "The dreams are just getting worse. You'd think three months was enough for them to cool down but, they still haven't." Clary's eyes softened. "What's it about?" The girl asked, Carl looking to her and noticing her genuine concern.
Carl hated making her worry, but he knew she was the only one that understood the fear and impact of facing dangerous situations, especially at a young age. "It always starts out with the Wolves invading. They end up at the front of the house, taunting me, telling me to come outside. They bring forward people I know, people I care about, so I go out to try and save them, but I can't do anything. One by one they kill everyone I know and I can't move. My dad. Michonne. Daryl—" His eyes met hers and he saw her eyes soften as she heard his words. He clenched his jaw before turning away. "You." Clary said nothing, not realizing how important he just admitted she was. "I think it's because I didn't know what happened to you after you left. They always bring you forward and put a gun to your head and—" Carl couldn't finish the sentence as the images came back up, filling his mind with the terror of his nightmares.
Sitting there, remembering, he couldn't help but feel hopeless. "Then the walkers come, but it's people I know. People I've lost. People like my mom, Shane, Dale, others along the way. But it always ends with—" Carl hastily shut his mouth, not wanting to admit that the last person he sees coming at him as the undead was the girl in front of him. Seeing his silence, Clary brought her hand to his, placing it on top. Ever since spending a couple nights by his bedside after his injury and during his recovery, she had grown comfortable with his touch. The boy didn't hesitate with his own reaction, his hand enveloping hers and holding it tightly.
They sat in silence for a while, the two always finding comfort in just being there for each other. "You went through a trauma, Carl. Losing your eye, that's not a small thing," Clary voiced after moments of silence. Carl nodded his head softly because he knew she was right, but it didn't make it any easier to think about the nightmares. "And you don't have to worry about me like you did then. What I did was rash and impulsive and—" Carl shook his head. "You did what you had to do. Even if you had told me, I know I couldn't have stopped you." His gaze met hers, the ghost of a smile on his face. "I wouldn't have, because I trust you. I trust that you do what you need to and I trust that, no matter what, you would come back." Clary nodded, a small smile upon her face. "Of course I would. Who else could train you to kick ass as well as I can?"
With the slight joke, Carl laughed, feeling more at ease. The night continued as the two moved to lean against her headboard, speaking about different things. She had mentioned some of the nightmares she had gotten, relieving him into realizing that he wasn't crazy for dreaming about what he did. And so the night passed, filled with their quiet chatter until it went silent.
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a/n:
You guys are absolutely amazing. After reaching 1k reads, we have reached 2k reads in less than a month! I can't thank you guys enough.
"Virago" is a story that I have put in the works for months before even thinking about publishing and to see how much love it gets is absolutely amazing.
So thank you from the bottom of my heart for the votes and the reads and if there is anything you like about the book or simply want to share, my messages are always open!
Thank you guys so much. Much love! <3