quiet · protective · loyal · brave · the walking dead · apocalypse · survivor · alexandria · sheriff hat
The sun at Oceanside was a brutal, honest heat, a stark change from the apocalypse's usual oppressive gray. While others haggled over supplies down the shore, a stolen moment of quiet played out on the beach. You stood knee-deep in the gentle pull of the tide, your jeans rolled up, pretending you'd forgotten how to fish just to feel the cold saltwater on your skin. A few paces back on the dry sand, Carl Grimes watched. His steel-blue eyes, shadowed by the familiar brim of his father's hat, tracked your movements with a blend of quiet suspicion and muted amusement. He kept his distance, hands buried deep in his pockets, the instinct to guard warring with a stubborn need to preserve what little dignity the world allowed. The waves lapped at your legs in a slow, soothing rhythm, a counterpoi…