James "Sawyer" Ford (nicknamesforall) wrote in freedomtownic, @ 2019-01-12 20:52:00 |
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Entry tags: | bea wilson (sweet_bea), ellie williams (_endure_survive), james ford (nicknamesforall) |
Who: Ellie, Bea and Sawyer
Where: The Welcome Center
When: Monday, December 31st
What: Ellie meeting one of her new guardians
Rating: Low
Status: Closed; Complete
Ellie had been in quarantine for over a month and honestly didn't expect to ever be let out into the population again, so color her surprised when she was told that someone had volunteered to be her guardian and that she was to meet them in the Welcome Center. Either she'd passed all the testing satisfactorily or this person (or persons) was taking a great risk. She hefted her backpack over her shoulder with a sigh. It felt lighter than it did when she arrived, which told her that a few items were missing. She could go without most of it, but the switchblade held a particular importance to her. "Do you think they're gonna be nice?" Ellie muttered to her escort, glad at least for a familiar face to be there with her in this transition.
"Dude. Chill." Bea told her, voice quiet but that hilariously constant arrogance still audible. "You got royalty on your side here. These people suck? You let me know and if need be me and The Mrs will take you in. And I'll make sure they know that if they aren't awesome as fuck to you? They risk having a pissed off princess send an army of monsters at them."
"One of the benefits of being your friend," Ellie replied, giving Bea a relieved half-smile. At least she'd made one friend being here. "You're not gonna think less of me if I start having a panic attack, right?" She asked as she took a breath. Being with someone other that Joel was freaking her out, okay?
"Nah." Bea told her, raising an eyebrow. "I'd be more likely to use it as an excuse to give you mouth-to-mouth. I defy you to think I'm kidding." She said, before looking at the man walking up the hall towards them. "Well hello, hot, scruffy, and muscular..." She looked at Ellie and blinked. "If it doesn't work out, he can take me in...."
Ellie snorted. "I'm sure he'd like to hear that." Given time she might tell Bea that she had a type and sadly Bea wasn't it. Not that she didn't like the ladies, but she definitely had a type. When the man approached she took in a breath. He looked like Joel's brother, Tommy. It probably wasn't Tommy. "Hi," she said simply, feeling like a complete dork.
Bea heard the breath and, adorably, wrapped a protective arm around the girl's shoulders, giving her a light squeeze. "Be brave, sweetie. It'll be ok, I promise."
Finally, Sawyer stood before them, looking his typical unshaven, jeans-and-tee self. Give him some credit, at least he didn't try to present himself as anyone other than who he was. "Hey, Short Round. Ready to start your new life?"
Ellie gave Bea an appreciative smile. She made a mental note to do something nice for her one day. When Sawyer called her Short Round, she smiled and relaxed slightly. She got the reference. So maybe this guy was kind of cool. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." She stepped forward and offered a hand to shake as a form of respect and a more formal introduction. "Ellie. I'm Ellie."
"Sawyer." He said, looking her over. While he didn't know every detail of the girl's life, he'd heard the basic gist of where she was from. This kid was a survivor. It was why he and Juliet were interested in taking her in. They understood her. "Hey. I know you're probably wound pretty tight. I may not know it all... but I know enough. And trust me... me and Juliet? We get it."
Ellie's back straightened. Her first instinct was to be defensive, to say that Sawyer didn't know the life that she'd led, but she bit her tongue. He was trying to build a bridge between them. It wouldn't do any good to burn it down before they even started. "What... what was it like where you come from?"
Bea silently took a few steps back, to give the two a little room to (hopefully) bond. Running a hand through his hair, Sawyer let out a long sigh... he never spoke about The Island to anyone other than those who lived through it with him. But he had to start somewhere, right?
"A plane I was on... it crashed onto an uncharted island. I don't even know how the hell to explain the crap that went on there... it was like Lord of The Flies on acid. Survival of the fittest... we had to find ways to live with little to no food and water. Then to survive against everything from a crazy group of people already living there, to this crazy-ass smoke monster, to sharks and damn polar bears. Time travel, alternate realities... a lot of us didn't make it."
Given her severe monophobia Ellie's first instinct was to reach for Bea's hand. Given time she'd probably cling to Sawyer and Juliet in just the same way. She listened to Sawyer's story. It sounded kind of fantastical compared to the life that she lived back home and yet the thing that she picked up on first? "I've... never been on a plane before. I had a dream about it once, which is weird, right?" She kicked at some imaginary dirt on the ground. "Maybe you could tell me about it all sometime."
"Any time you want, Squirt." One thing she'd learn fast: Sawyer rarely called people by their actual names. He had nicknames for everyone. "I just... I ain't gonna stand here and pretend my life's been worse than yours. That's a load of crap. Everyone's got their own tale, and yours is always worse because YOU'RE the one who lived it. I just wanted you to know that me and Blondie... we know what it's like to feel alone. To feel like you can't trust anyone or anything. And we ain't about to force you to do anything you don't feel comfortable doing."
Ellie fell silent. Truthfully, what he said really hit home to how she felt. Trust wasn't easy to come by back home, and feeling alone... she wouldn't wish that on her worst enemy (of course, she'd killed him, but still). "I want to be able to trust you, but I feel like you know that's something that's earned. Maybe that's something that we can build towards." Her voice was strong, full of conviction. She believed every word that she said.
"Damn right." Sawyer told her, reaching over to affectionately ruffle her hair. "That's one thing all three of us learned years ago: trust gotta be earned in this world. Right now? We ain't expecting you to come home with us, call us Mom and Dad, settle in for family night in front of the TV... we're just gonna give you a safe place to live, give you whatever we're capable of, and let whatever happens, happen."
Ellie wrinkled her nose at the hair ruffling, laughed and shook her head from side to side, trying to get him to stop. The laugh was a good sign. She nodded as she listened, feeling like maybe this would work out after all. She glanced over at Bea and gave her a 'I got this' nod, then looked back at Sawyer. She glanced him over, nodded and said: "Okay."
Bea smiled to her, before glaring at Sawyer and mouthing the words "hurt her and DIE". Sawyer gave that 'so-smarmy-it's-charming' grin of his, before nodding to Bea and guiding Ellie out. "C'mon. Let's hit a few stores and get you some things before we go home..."