driftfleet | Starships were meant to fly

The last couple planets weren't really bonfire material. The last one was covered in snow, the one before that had cannibals, and the one before that was evacuated.

[ So it's been a trip all around, Maggie. He's glad they're doing it now. He perks up, just remembering something and nodding to his bag sitting by the leg of the picnic table. ]

I forgot, I brought something for this. I know it's not quite the same as a s'more, but it'll be close? [ He definitely brought a jar of marshmallow snow from the last planet. ]

I'm still so glad I didn't have to fight cannibals...

[She shakes her head, smiling a bit when he presents the jar.]

What are those? Marshmallows?

[They look it, a least. She scoops up a nearby branch, bending it until it snapped in half and handing him a piece.]

Let's see how they measure up.

[They could taste like utter garbage for all she knows.]

Something close to it. It's snow, and when it gets warm, it's kind of tacky like marshmallow. Tastes pretty close to it, too.

[ Unscrewing the lid, he scoops a bit out with his fingers and skewers it with the stick. Or... as best as he can, anyway. Hopefully it doesn't melt right off. ]

The locals said that it tasted different depending on where it came from, but I didn't notice anything different.

Hm.

[Maggie takes some of the marshmallow stuff and puts it on her own stick. She was a bit skeptical it would actually stay on the stick.]

Let's try it. I doubt it'd be bad at all.

[She gestures to the bonfire, ready to lower her stick over the flames when he was.]

You first.

Alright, here it goes.

[ He puts his stick over the flame, and for a moment, it looks like it may work. The flames lick the sides of the marshmallow blob, but then disaster strikes and it slides off from around the stick and lands with a sad plop at the bottom of the fire. ]

So much for that idea.

[Don't mind her for laughing at the sad marshmallow blob burning at the bottom of the campfire.]

So much for that idea is right. Where's Daryl with some a fresh animal when we need him?

[Still, the companionship is nice even if the marshmallows are useless.]

[ He can't really help but laugh at it, either. It's funny, and not at all what he pictured. Why make a mountain out of a molehill? Instead, he just scoops out a bit more from the jar with his fingers and eats it that way with a shrug. It's still good, if unconventional. ]

I was just thinking that. It would be like before, when we were all on the road.

[ He's quiet for a few moments before glancing back at Maggie. ]

I miss Daryl. And Enid. [ He doesn't need to say he misses his dad, because of course he does. ]

Mm. I miss it a bit. When it was just us, getting by. This place just makes me think of the Prison.

[She nods, looking thoughtful when he mentions Daryl and Enid.]

I miss them too.

[Trying to bite back the emotion that followed - the aching grief that had become her only constant of late - she leans forward to stoke the fire. It burned hot, the warmth touching her skin and making it take on an orange tint.]

We'll see them all again, I'm sure.

[She had to have faith that they would. Just as Glenn had promised to find her. She couldn't give up on that.]

We will. If not there, at least when we go home- though it would be nice to see them here again.

[ It's not really fair that they all get stuck here away from home, but the fleet does have its perks every now and then. The stability is nice. Carl fiddles with the stick in his hand, poking at some stray embers in the fire. ]

Yeah it would be nice... unless someone shows up and we can't tell them what we know without them getting upset.

[She imagines none of them would take Glenn's death or any of the others they might not know. Daryl's case had been different, she knows. He had known more than them and it had hurt him to have to think about it or that they were real and safe.]

At what point should we tell them? If they’re going to find out eventually, why not be honest? Being confronted with something you don’t have warning about is just as bad as being lied to about it, isn’t it?

[ It’s definitely something to think about, and he knows how much it had hurt Daryl to be around he and Maggie, who had no idea what was about to happen. ]

I know it is. I just - what if Glenn or... or Beth, or even your mom or someone else, comes here? How are we supposed to tell them?

[She would absolutely never want to lie to Glenn or Beth, but the thought of seeing how crushed they would be was too much.]

I guess it doesn't matter. No one's been here but us for a while now.

[ His shoulders slump and he nods with a small hum. He really doesn't want to think about either of them being stuck in the fleet, and especially not his mom. One person he really doesn't feel like confronting for fear of what she'd think of him. He's had that conversation in his head a hundred times. ]

If they didn't know, I'd fuck that up from the start. [ He gestures to the half of his face covered with gauze. ]

[Maggie immediately reaches to touch his cheek in a reassuring gesture. She could only imagine how he felt having such a striking reminder of how much things had changed the last few years. She might not be his mother, but she knew Lori well enough to know that nothing he could ever do or say would ever change how much she had loved both him and Judith.]

No, you wouldn't mess anything up. Sure it'd be a story to tell, but that's fine. The way we all are now is fine.

[Negan had changed so much for her the day he'd killed Glenn. Would he even recognize who she was anymore? Would Beth or her father?]

[ Carl leans into the touch briefly, trying to offer a smile, but it ends up falling short. It's a nice thought, but he knows what's in his head, the darkness that lurks there that no one else is privy to. ]

It's probably better that it's just us.

Edited 2018-03-29 02:01 (UTC)

Starships were meant to fly

Bonfire!!

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