"Hey, Jasper!" Jasper perked up as he heard his name being called by a familiar voice, jerked out of his thoughts about Killian's morbid, twisted scars. His lips twitched into a small smile as he saw a redheaded young woman walking over, her curls bouncing as she tackled him into a hug. She was half his size, but still managed to make him stumble with the impact of sudden affection.
"Hey there, Gingersnap." Jasper said, ruffling her auburn hair. It was soft to the touch, but he was careful not to get his large hand tangled up. "Gotten into any trouble while I was gone?" Jasper asked suddenly, lowering his voice with a mischievous grin. The woman's name was actually Aubrey, but Jasper liked the nickname 'Gingersnap' better. He knew as well as anybody here that Aubrey had a sharp tongue, but definitely not as sharp as Killian's.
"Of course I did." Aubrey said with a jovial laugh, high-fiving Jasper as she did. Her nose scrunched up when she smiled, which was definitely what made her enthusiasm almost infectious. Her green eyes darted towards Killian, who was still waiting for Jasper to bring him dinner. Jasper could see Killian's foot tapping impatiently. "So, who's your friend?" Aubrey asked, wiggling her brows. "Anybody special?"
Jasper snorted with amusement. "Well...he's special alright." He muttered, watching as Killian turned to glare at Aubrey, before ducking his head away and tearing up a leaf he'd found on the ground. "Just watch your tongue around him, he's a bit of a hothead."
Aubrey nodded and said, "Ah, one of those. I heard Cohen muttering to Tom about how he might be...difficult." Jasper knit his dark brows together, with a deep frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. Cohen was muttering to the group leader about Killian already? What for?
"I can't see why," Jasper said irritably, lifting his head above Audrey's to keep an eye on his friend. Killian has successfully torn apart the leaf and was now idly breaking up a stick. "Killian hasn't done anything wrong." Jasper shook his head, "I'll talk to Tom about that in a bit, right now I've got to bring Killian his dinner."
Audrey raised a brow, "Well if you want to go talk to Tom now, I could bring it to him."
"Don't bother," Jasper shook his head, then had to run his hand through his hair tuft to keep it out of his eyes. "The guy won't eat anything anybody besides me brings him. He'll think it's laced with either drugs or poison, maybe both." Jasper phrased the sentence as a joke, but deep down he definitely knew that would more than likely be Killian's thought process.
Aubrey didn't seem to think much of his 'joke' and shrugged, "Whatever you say, big guy." Jasper silently thanked Aubrey for not pressing the matter any further. If the group was going to trust Killian, then possibly being aggressive towards another group member probably wouldn't be a good idea. Unfortunately Jasper had a feeling that with Killian, arguments and maybe even a fight would eventually happen.
As Aubrey walked away Jasper gave her a simple wave and said, "See you later then, Ginger." She gave him the finger with a playful and challenging glare. Jasper scoffed, feigning offense, which soon turned into a small chuckle. "Now," He muttered to himself, "Food." The camp was set up very hastily, with blankets and tents laying around in no order. In total there were about twelve other group members, not including Jasper and Killian. Jasper knew some better than others. Mostly it was Aubrey, Darren, Cohen and Tom. But the rest of the group seemed to respect Jasper, perhaps a little more than one another.
What Cohen had told to Tom unsettled Jasper for several reasons. Tom was the group leader, and anything that happened usually went by his say. Darren was more like a second in command, and if anything happened to Tom he would take over as the new group leader. They weren't devoid of any criticism though, and Jasper had seen arguments among the group break out and spread like a wildfire. That was when he normally came of use as the voice of reason. Jasper tried his best to be fair with everybody, and perhaps that's why he was respected among the group, but not necessarily super close friends with anybody. Especially now, when a lot of the group were unsettled by his decision to leave and search for survivors.
The campfire was where they put the available food out, or anything people were willing to share. There was bits of cooked rabbit out, which Jasper wouldn't have seen as very appetizing a few months ago. But now that everybody was hungry, the two hunters of the group--Samantha and Casimir--were very well liked. Nobody got on their bad side, for fear of having their dinner privileges being taken away.
Jasper didn't want to give Killian anything too heavy that might make the younger man more sick, so he just took a granola bar from the pile and a water bottle. Walking back over to Killian, Jasper heard the satisfying crunch of dying leaves beneath his heavy boots. The chill in the night air gave Jasper a spring in his step; Fall was one of his favorite seasons, and it was approaching rather quickly. Though, the group would need to raid some sort of clothing store for warmer garments sometime in the near future. Fighting off biters would be hard when you were frozen to your bones or sick with hypothermia.
Killian's hazel eyes glanced up as Jasper sat next to him, handing over the granola and water bottle. "There you are," Jasper said. "Bon appétit, monsieur." Killian greedily snatched up the food and immediately tossed off the wrapper, hungrily breaking off a big bite and swallowing it down with a big gulp of water. "Careful," Jasper warned, "If you eat too fast you'll get a stomach ache, or you might just get sick again." Killian glared as usual, but did slow himself down.
"What took you so long?" Killian mumbled through the granola bar, eyeing Jasper curiously. Jasper was surprised, and pleasantly so. Killian wasn't normally so inquisitive. In fact, he'd only ever seen the younger man act suspicious instead of curious. Could it be possible Killian was starting to trust Jasper more now? That was an impossible question for Jasper to answer. Killian was too unpredictable, and there wouldn't be any definitive proof of either option.
Jasper shrugged, "I got caught up in talking with Aubrey. She was that ginger you glared at earlier." Killian nodded, keeping close to Jasper. The larger man had no idea that Killian was so...shy. Aggressive and off-standish yes, but the younger man seemed very uncomfortable about the circumstance he'd found himself in. Killian wasn't shy in a meek way though, it was more of a stone-cold-silence sort of shy.
"Why don't you go introduce yourself to the rest of them?" Jasper asked, tilting his head to the side with an encouraging smile. His smile faded when he watched a glimmer of uncertainty flicker across Killian's expression. "I'll go with you," Jasper offered.
Killian's lips parted, unsure of his decision. The other man finally just ignored Jasper's offer by nibbling on the corner of the granola bar and avoiding eye contact. "No? That's alright, there's always tomorrow." Jasper said, not being able to hide the sympathetic tone in his voice.
"There are so many people here," Killian finally managed. Even though everybody besides the two keeping watch were settling down for bed, Killian still seemed paranoid; his eyes flickering back and forth between the group members. "Jasper...how can you trust all of them?"
Jasper was quiet for a while until he said, "Well, I don't really know." He shrugged, and a small smile crossed his lips. "But at least I have you to keep my idiotic optimism in check, yea?"
Killian snorted with amusement and sighed, "I'm too tired to be mean right now. But just wait until tomorrow." Killian's voice trailed off into an incoherent mumble, and with a jolt Jasper realized Killian had almost fallen asleep.
Jasper steadied Killian again and said, "Hey Boy Scout, I think it's time you get back to sleep." Killian's lips stretched into a big yawn as he nodded. Jasper watched as Killian huddled up in his jacket and shuffled back to the security of his tent. Jasper was about to go speak with Tom, until Killian mumbled from inside the tent, "Are you gonna sleep outside? Cause I'm not moving."
Jasper chuckled, "Sure, if you'd be so mean to kick me out of my own tent."
"You know I would." Killian replied a bit too cheerfully.
"Fine," Jasper said. "Get some sleep, you need it."
"Shut up then." Killian snapped, "And maybe I could."
Jasper chuckled softly once more before turning away and heading over to Tom. The group leader was a large man, even larger than Jasper. Jasper wasn't quite sure what Tom had done for a living before the biters had come along. Part of him didn't want to know, because depending on what it was, it might change his opinion on the other man.
Tom was keeping watch first that night, along with Casimir. Usually two people at a time kept watch; if one of them would start to drift off, the other could wake them up again, until they woke the next person. Jasper silently dreaded the moment somebody would wake up Killian for the next watch.
"Tom, can I talk to you for a second?" Jasper asked. Casimir has been in the middle of saying something, and the young man broke off to shoot a vicious glare towards Jasper. Casimir rolled his eyes and stalked off without a word. Jasper wanted to apologize, but he had something more pressing to attend to now.
Tom stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking a bit peeved but not saying anything about it. "Of course Jasper," He rumbled. Tom's deep voice was pleasant to listen to. "What's bothering you?"
Jasper knit his brows together, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. He nodded towards Killian's tent. "Aubrey told me that Cohen was saying something about Killian. I wanted to know what he said and what you're thinking."
Tom was quite obviously taken aback. He'd never seen Jasper so serious before. The man cleared his throat and said, "All Cohen told me was that the boy was difficult."
"'The boy' has a name." Jasper muttered irritably. He wasn't exactly sure why he was being so defensive of Killian, all he knew was that he was defensive of Killian. So he would do what any good friend would do—protect them. Alas, Jasper forced his head on straight. Getting annoyed wasn't going to help anybody. "What are you thinking?"
Tom sighed softly. "Jasper, I know you traveled with him. But can we really trust Killian?"
"That's not the question," Jasper said softly. "Not for him anyways. The question is whether he can trust you." Jasper knit his brows together, "Killian saved my life when he had the best opportunity to run. He helped me find the group again. He decided to stay when I gave him an out."
Tom's eyes were indecisive, and he closed them for a few moments. He was quiet for what felt like forever, until he finally spoke. "Alright then, Jasper." Jasper let out a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. "But I'll tell you boy," The man added sternly, "He's your responsibility. You brought him in, so if he hurts anybody—you'll be the one to take him out—one way or another."
Jasper ignored the sickening nausea building up in his stomach as he replied evenly, "Of course."