° Open re-arrival

[thesamurai]

Who: Michonne, possibly you
Where: Roof, Grounds
When: April 17th
Rating: R for mentions of violence and most importantly, death of a child.
Summary: Michonne's back. Again. Tell a friend.
The Story:

[ She's back. And for the first time in all of the coming and going she's done in the three years she's been in Wonderland, this is the first time she's not pissed at leaving in the middle of something. As she stands on the rooftop, holding a letter in one hand and a walkie-talkie in the other it's the blink of an eye and slow realization when her setting has changed. Alexandria becomes Wonderland, the smell of the dead is almost startlingly gone, and the memory of everything she's built in this place comes back.

I don't want you to be sad after this.

Closing her eyes, she drops her chin to her chest and lets out a breath as her eyes move over Carl's letter to Negan. It wasn't going to work. It was never going to work, hoping that his words might inspire some kind of truce. But she had to try, for him. She had to try and make it right. Staring out at Wonderland, she lets herself have a single fleeting thought, that Carl could come here. That he could come here and have a life and be a kid for a little while. But every time he does show up, he leaves in a matter of days or weeks. Still, she'd do a lot to see him again, to say the things she didn't because she couldn't believe she was losing another child. She'd vowed never to get close again, and yet somehow there'd been Carl and Judith and Rick, and here she is: carrying Carl's letters in her back pocket, grieving when he told her not to.

You're gonna have to be strong for dad. For Judith.

The rooftops of Wonderland have always seemed busy, so when she hears the door open behind her, she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. Folding the letter carefully, she tucks it into her back pocket with her own letter and then stands and waits for whoever's arrived to either join her or go do their own thing. Her walkie-talkie is still in her hand, the static lightly hissing.

For yourself.

Later, on the grounds, she sits by the garden she made last summer, the beautiful dahlias a reminder of everyone she's lost both here, gone to their own worlds, and at home. With the letter Carl wrote for her out now, in her hands, she reads it over and over again, face tense and tears right there at the rim of her eyes but not falling. When the letter drops, she looks at the flowers, speaking, not to anyone, just to Carl. ]

We're going. We're going now to make it better. I'm here right now, but there? We're ending it with Negan. And I promise - I promise you - Judith has me. She'll always have me. World's gonna look good. I'll fight for it, for you. For her. We can be how we were. We will be.

[ She doesn't realize it, if anyone overhears, and she goes back to the letter in her hands. ]

Comments

grounds

[ofletters]

[ He'd spoken to her near the dahlias, once. Unfortunately, everyone's always losing people, and so there's always need to remember them.

Sam is here with someone in mind, but he stops when he sees Michonne, debating whether or not to disturb her. ]

... Hey. [ He hovers, saying without saying that he'll head out if she wants privacy. In the meantime, though, he notes her expression and tries to look... sympathetic. Supportive.

Whatever she's talking about, it's clearly a sensitive and emotional subject, and all they can really do is be there for each other, in Wonderland. ]

[thesamurai]

[ There's always a strange sense of relief, to see familiar faces when she gets back, to know some people have stayed the same. Folding the letter up, she takes a breath and lets it out, managing some kind of smile. ]

Hey, Sam. I miss anything good in the last week?

[ She doesn't expect people (save for one) to just know she was gone, so that's her way of introducing it, letting him know she left. ]

[ofletters]

Uh... not that I can remember, though it all kinda blends after a while.

[ After nearly five years. Yeesh. ]

Been back home? [ He tests lightly. ]

[thesamurai]

Makes sense.

[ And it does. Same shit different day, every day. Then, she lets out a quiet breath and nods. ]

Yeah. I was there a couple weeks, maybe. Maybe not even that long, felt like longer.

[ She pauses for a beat, closing her eyes for half a second, remembering the event that brought the neighborhood they'd tried so damn hard for to Wonderland. ]

We lost Alexandra. Most of it, anyway. Got burned out.

[ She's just...so tired. ]

grounds

[spiritofgoodness]

[ Snow hears it. She hears everything and because she knows her it makes her heart break as she closes her eyes. She's gotten to know Michonne because this is the person Regina loves, and that makes her family as far as she's concerned. So, to know she lost someone makes her step forward and kneel next to Michonne, resting a hand on her shoulder as she speaks softly. ]

I'm glad to see you again. Does Regina know?

[thesamurai]

[ Michonne looks up at Snow and nods a little. ]

First person I went and saw. But I needed to come here. Before I get wrapped up in being inside, not comin' out for a while, I needed to come out here, say what I needed to that I didn't get a chance to say at home. Never will.

[spiritofgoodness]

[ Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Snow sits carefully and crosses her legs. ]

You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. But if you'd like to talk, I'll be here for a while.

[ She's afraid Michonne is going to tell her that she died, and then she's afraid of what that will do to Regina. ]

[thesamurai]

Only person I've said it out loud to is Regina.

[ Wonderland isn't currently on fire, so that's a good indicator that Michonne herself is physically fine. ]

Home is never easy for me. I know what it is, what to expect, what I go home to every time. But somehow it always gets a little more fucked up each time.

Grounds

[oneagainstall]

[Gren enjoys the grounds of the mansion. They're such a far cry from the endless noise of New York. You could almost forgive the whole kidnapping thing, for the moments of peace they offer. Almost.

He recognises Michonne and heads over, head canted to one side. ]

I mean, I know the fuckin' flowers in the story talked, but I'm not sure these ones do. Probably not the best conversationalists, ya know?

[thesamurai]

[ Michonne looks up, remembering their first meeting and shaking her head. ]

Needed to speak my mind. Sometimes you don't need anything to talk back.

[ She just needed a place to go before trying to settle back into life here. ]

I left again. Just got back.

[ If he remembers their previous conversation, that's four times, now. ]

[oneagainstall]

Whatever works for you, I guess.

[Gren does remember, letting out a low whistle. ]

Fuck me, they like shoving you back and forward through the fuckin' revolving door, don't they?

[thesamurai]

Guess so. Not sure if other people come an' go as much as I do. I won't claim it, not yet. Maybe I'll ask.

[ She looks over at him, wondering how he'd fare in her world. She wonders that about everyone. How long would anyone last? ]

You get your shit together in regards to being here yet?

[ He'd been so angry the first time they met - understandable. But everyone has to come to the same conclusion eventually. ]

[rightcall]

( Clementine has noticed Michonne's absence. Her stuff was still here, but they come from such a shitty world- They both know that going back means being subjected to Hell. There's no other way to put it. She likes hanging out on the roof. Sometimes she'll stand up on top of it, breathing in the fresh air.

She doesn't expect to find Michonne there, but her stomach does a few knots as soon as she does.

Still she manages a smile even if there's concern and worry in her eyes. It's just so damn good to see her again. )

...You're back.

(you can do action or prose, w/e works! <3)

[thesamurai]

[ When Michonne sees Clementine, it reminds her first that if it can happen to Carl, it can happen to her. It doesn't matter how much you survive or how much you do for others. One second, one decision, can change everything.

Wrapping Clementine up, she just holds onto her for a few moments, clinging, really, before the static is too annoying to let go on and Michonne turns the walkie-talkie off, letting out a breath. ]

Only been a few days.

[ Maybe only two or three, really. It feels like a lifetime. ]

War's on. He took out our neighborhood. All of it.

[ She's told Clementine, filled in the blanks about Negan so she doesn't elaborate much. ]

That was him. On the walkie.

[rightcall]

( Clementine winds her arms around Michonne too, hugging her tightly, sensing Michonne needs this. Hell, Clementine does too. There's always a chance that someone won't come back. Even if their stuff stays, there's a chance, and she doesn't trust it.

She worried. She worried she might die or might lose too much. Her eyes close, and she stares up at her, shaking her head in- in denial of how it all went to hell (and understanding too. it always does go to hell). )

Fuck.

( There's an apology. There's pain for Michonne, and there's anger too, rising up after the rest, building in between her rib cage. She's angry on her behalf, on the behalf of those Michonne loves. )

What the hell does he want from you after he already took so much?

[thesamurai]

All of us dead.

[ It's not an exaggeration, it's not her being dramatic. ]

I was talkin' to him on this before I showed up here. [ She gestures at the walkie-talkie and clears her throat. ]

Told me it wouldn't be over until all of us were dead.

[ Michonne hands over the letter then, to let Clementine read it. Carl was her son, adopted, but no less her family. She thinks of Clementine the same way, with the same drive to protect, to guide. The letter begins: Negan. This is Carl. I got bit. I was just helping someone and now I'm gone. ]

He tried. Broke into Negan's camp to try and talk to him. Stood up to him. Even after he died, he was trying.

[ Her voice breaks, and she clears her throat, looking up and out at Wonderland, at the view. ]

Roof

[jivitadana]

[Minato went out on the roof on occasion sometimes to practice violin, sometimes to just get a glimpse of the view, sometimes to think about home and the last place he had been which was a rooftop. It was more of the latter today as he arrived there without an instrument but just with whatever was on his person on a normal day, mp3 player and all.

He didn't expect though to see Michonne there. He had the fleeting thought that this was the first time he'd seen her here, and he bowed his head slightly in greeting.]

I hope I'm not interrupting.

[thesamurai]

[ Michonne clears her throat and turns off the walkie-talkie, useless now in Wonderland. ]

No. Just got back, is all.

[ Now, she folds the letter back up, tucking it in her back pocket. ]

One minute I was on a roof in Virginia, next I was here. Blink of an eye.

[jivitadana]

[So she had been gone. Minato wished that he knew sooner that she had been.]

I don't know if anyone gets used to that. I'm glad that you're here though.

[In that it was nice to see a friend, not that he wished this place on anyone who didn't want to be here.]

[angewiesen]

[It wasn't uncommon for Jean and Michonne to cross paths in Wonderland, going from here to there, and they'd exchange brief pleasantries. Usually nothing that substantial, just hi's and how are you's. Still, he could tell when something was different, and he paused for a moment to observe what she was doing.]

Michonne? [He didn't make out her words, but he still heard her speaking to herself.] Something up?

[He hadn't noticed that she'd been gone. It happens so often around here that you just can't keep track of every person that disappears.]

[thesamurai]

[ She pauses at that, quickly making sure the letter is tucked away before looking up at Jean. ]

Not really. Nothing here, anyway. Just got back a couple hours ago, is all. Re-orienting myself. Anything good happen in the last week?

[angewiesen]

Oh. You had a "vacation," huh? [You could hear his quotation marks. Going back to either of their worlds was definitely not a vacation.] No events last week. People are still hemming and hawing about the Queen's declaration of war. It's good to be prepared, but at the same time, I seriously doubt she's going to wage any sort of conventional war against us.

How long did you have in your world?

roof;

[thecourier]

[It's funny, really, how often he comes up here now to find that someone else had the same idea. It isn't too unusual to find more than one person up here, separate and silent in their own thoughts.

Dan is up here for the relative peace and quiet. What he finds is Michonne.]

Oh, hey.

[They cross paths enough that he noticed she was gone, but he couldn't have said for how long. He glances over his shoulder, back inside the mansion, but decides on heading over to her instead.]

... Y' okay?

[thesamurai]

[ A variety of responses runs through her head as she tries to decide what she wants to say. The walkie-talkie at her side is still hissing static of a world gone now, frozen until she gets back. She finally takes a breath and turns off the useless device before looking at Dan. And still, she doesn't know what she's going to say. She never used to worry about it, a woman of few words. Now, she feels like she owes him something. He's one of the people who cares. ]

Tryin' to stop a war I know I can't. Now I'm here again. Same shit the last two times I left an' came back. Only this time there's a war coming here, too. I've had about enough.

[thecourier]

[He smiles, though it's tight and without humour.]

We got a sayin' back home. 'War never changes'.

[They could have stood here in silence and it wouldn't have fazed him in the slightest. From his perspective, Michonne owes him nothing, and he's only lucky to be one of the people that she'll give the time of day to.]

Guess it's true wherever y' go. Can't say I ain't had enough of it, too.