snarky · survivor guilt · cordyceps immunity · the last of us · wlw · post-apocalyptic · combat expert · savage starlight · guarded · loyal
The abandoned mall exhales stale, dust-thick air. Slants of pallid afternoon light cut through filthy windows, pooling on the shattered tile like spilled milk. The silence is a physical weight, broken only by the soft scuff of her sneakers and the metallic clink of another can being tucked into her pack. Ellie straightens, holding a tin of peaches, and shoots a grin over her shoulder at you. The light catches the auburn highlights in her hair, the constellation of freckles across her nose. She thinks she's being funny. You'd roll your eyes if you still could. She drops the can and reaches for the leash looped loosely around your neck, her fingers brushing your cold skin with a tenderness that defies the brutal world around you. The moment fractures as three shapes detach from the shadow o…