thoughts meander like restless wind. ( open )

[innig]

Who: beth greene + you!
Where: the orchard and the gardens
When: 3/5
Rating: pg-13??
Summary: beth arrives! and is confused! and then explores some fun places
The Story:

The Orchard.
[ the handles of the surgical scissors dig into her palm as she grasps them tightly, closes her eyes, and steps out of dr. edwards' office. but her foot doesn't hit linoleum as expected. no, it lands on something soft, and the scent of watered down antiseptic immediately disappears. beth's eyes fly open. this... is not grady memorial.

for a moment, her heart is in her throat. is she dead? did something happen and she has amnesia? is she hallucinating? because last she checked, she was nowhere even close to an orchard and this--this is incredible. but, no. she still has the scissors. still feels the dull pain of her blackened eye and the stitches in her face. maybe she's seeing things, but the tree feels real enough beneath her fingertips. the small apricot she reaches up to pluck from the branches has weight to it. smell. taste.

a small noise of pleasure escapes beth as she bites into the ripe fruit. when was the last time she had fresh apricots? probably before everybody got sick and the dead started walking. which, come to think of it, is something she should be looking out for. all she's got is her little scissors, but she can run if she has to.

she doesn't yet, though. instead she walks as quiet as she can through the trees, munching on the rest of her apricot as her wide eyes take in everything. once she reaches the end of the orchard and can see the mansion in the distance, she pauses. ]

What on earth...? Where am I?



The Gardens.
[ once she gets her bearings, gets the run-down on this weird place she's ended up, beth explores a bit. pokes around the first floor of the mansion. smiles at the sight of the music room. but ultimately, she ends up in the gardens.

it's kinda funny that even having spent however long on the run with daryl, camping out and moving from place to place, it's still so nice to be able to stay outside. the roof of the hospital didn't really count. she'd still been stuck in that awful place that smelled like rotting flesh and long-dead fires. nothing like this. laying down in the grass, sun and breeze on her face, is so nice she doesn't even mind the chill that comes with the last gasp of winter and earliest days of spring.

she hasn't changed out of her scrubs yet. hasn't gotten the cast on her arm seen to or any of the rest of it. she will. eventually. when she's a little less wary of the magic in this place maybe. for now, she's perfectly content to run her good hand over the grass and hum to herself.

maybe this ain't a good place. but right now? she can't help but feel a little relieved. ]

Comments

[innig]

[ her brain catches on 'we' but before she can ask who all 'we' is, the last part of what michonne says knocks her breathless. ]

They come back for real? Not as walkers?

[ beth's a good christian girl. she believes that in the past there was actual resurrection of the dead every once in a while. that some people thought there was gonna be a real resurrection of the dead in the future and not... what they got. but this blows her mind. ]

That sounds too good to be true.

[thesamurai]

Not as walkers.

[ But everything comes with a price, and she lets out a breath. ]

You can die five times. Each time takes a day longer to come back. After the fifth time, this place takes somethin' from you. A part of what makes you, you. We've never figured out what that is, though.

[ But hey, Michonne's close. Not that it's a good goal to have. ]

[innig]

That's horrible.

[ and, really, horrible seems like an understatement. ]

It almost sounds like this place is punishing you for dying or somethin'.

[thesamurai]

This place needs us. Our memories. They're like gas for a gas tank. When we die, it's a big fill up.

[ But that's really all she knows about it, and she doesn't want to spread the things that are just rumor and speculation. Looking at Beth, she as to say something before she keeps going and looks back out at the garden. ]

I took care of your dad. Made sure.

[ Made sure he wouldn't be a gasping head until he turned to dust. It's the part that broke her to the point of not being sure she'd be whole again. ]

[innig]

[ beth inhales sharply and looks away, out at the garden. her dad... she's tried so hard not to wonder what happened to him after. it was just easier than having her mind spin in circles over it. this is the closure she's been wanting but never thought she'd get.

she has to blink rapidly a few times to clear the tears away, and take a steadying breath before she can speak. ]

Thank you. [ a tremulous smile spread across her face as she lets out a choked, wet half-laugh. ] It sounds kinda weird, but--that makes me really happy. Knowing that he's not just sitting out there, and that it was one of us who did it.

[thesamurai]

[ Michonne reaches out for one of Beth's hands, holds onto it tightly for a minute before letting go. ]

I wouldn't let him stay that way. Ever.

[ And she knows he would have done the same for her. No question. There's a pause in the conversation now, where Michonne isn't sure how much to offer up, so she waits for the questions she knows will come and tries to brace herself for them. ]

[innig]

[ beth squeezes her hand back. takes a few deep breaths to steady herself and to sort out her thoughts. everything's whirling around in her head like a tornado, and calling all this overwhelming would be an understatement.

but there is one thing she wants to know above everything else right now: ] You said we weren't the only ones to get out. Who else made it?

[thesamurai]

[ For a second she's not sure if she should list the people who died later, not necessarily during the escape. But then, it's not like she'll see them again.

Fuck. ]

Rick, Carl and Judith. Carol. You already know I did, Daryl did. Maggie did, too. Sasha.

[ There are a lot of names missing from that list. People we never got the names of but also Tyreese. Micah and Lizzie. But she decides she can't lump Glenn in with everyone else. ]

Somethin' happened after. We all found a place, up in Virginia. And it was good for a while. But there's always someone like the Governor, and this guy. He's worse.

[ Michonne pauses, swallowing hard. ]

He killed Glenn.

[ She'd mention Abraham, but Beth never had the chance to meet that group, so she focuses on what she does know, leaving out the gory details. ]

We're fightin' back. With everything we have, we're fighting.

[innig]

[ there's no holding back the gasp, though she tries to cover it with her hands. and so much for holding back tears. her eyes go all misty, first at the news of who's alive and then at the news of who isn't. ]

Oh, god.

[ she knew, somewhere deep down in a place she tried to ignore, that the odds of everyone in their group surviving were slim. but she'd always thought glenn and maggie would be okay. they're smart. tough. but more than that they're family. ]

I can't believe... Oh, Maggie must be devastated.

[thesamurai]

[ Michonne waits, nodding slowly. More devastated because after Glenn, she had no husband, no sister. But there is still something. ]

She's pregnant, Beth. She'll be okay because she has to be. She's a fighter and she's strong. One of the best leaders we have now.

[innig]

[ a watery smile crosses her face. ]

She is. And I'm sure her tryin' to boss me and Shawn around all the time when we were younger is coming in handy now.

[ look on the bright side. she has to look on the bright side or all this is going to overwhelm her.

speaking of-- ] I'm gonna be an aunt?

[thesamurai]

[ Her face stays as stoic as it ever is, and Michonne nods, with a barely-there smile. ]

Yeah, you are.

[ Because there's no damn way that baby will grow up without knowing about her. She knows it, she knows Maggie wouldn't let it happen. ]

Judith's walking, talkin' now. Blonde hair with little curls.