𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 , carl grimes

𝟎𝟎𝟓. 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭

       Leanne Blake adored her daughter, more than anything in the world, and would go to great lengths to ensure her safety

From the beginning, the mother knew she wasnt born for survival, especially not in a world that had fallen into shambles. Alas, without her ex-husband and son, the only ones Leanne thought were capable, she had no choice but follow government guidelines

Those in power in Wisconsin were just as fucked as the undead that walked the earth, wanting nothing to do with the few still alive if there wasnt nothing in it for them. The Wisconsin QZ was nothing but a compound, those inside test subjects for the military's experiments

Leanne knew that her daughter would never live in a normal life again, despite the talks of a cure originating all across the USA, but there was no way she was going to let her settle for a capitalist lifestyle in the QZ

That's how they ended up in Woodbury, hours from the city they called home for almost a decade, with Philip Blake, the biggest creep Leanne had ever met

Alas, he was family, and in times of crisis, family protected each other — It was a given, an unspoken rule that Malaya Blake never seemed to grasp

When she ran off, under the shadow of darkness, Leanne grew frantic, not willing to lose her daughter. She had Andrea, her brother-in-law's newfound love, and her partner Michonne to thank, absolutely sure that the latter was May's accomplice

The mother was desperate to send out a search party, and to her suprise, Philip agreed, sending out Merle and a couple other soldiers to look for the lost daughter and the samurai

Nothing of use came out of the expedition — Well, apart from Merle kidnapping two of his ex-group members, prompting a raid and a full-blown civil war to brew

Leanne was on the sidelines during the raid, locked inside her home with a pistol for protection. But, she was an observer. She watched. She saw everything. Including Michonne, and then she knew

Malaya was out there, and best bet is she was with this new group

Merle had mentioned the town of Statenville, where the search party had concluded with the capture of Maggie Greene and Glenn Rhee. Leanne found herself wondering how far from the town their new enemies were holed up, and if Malaya was with them

Like mother, like daughter. The night after the raid, she too left under the cloak of darkness. As one of the leaders of Woodbury, Leanne knew of all the ins and outs, some of which the guards were unaware of

As the sun dawned over Georgia, casting shadows as far as the eye could see, Leanne was on the move, body weak but mind strong as she urged herself to find her only daughter

She had remembered Merle's mention of the town of Statenville, a rough 13 miles east of Woodbury, and after walking for the majority of the night, an old sign came into view, on the left side of the road, covered in green moss

Leanne had then allowed herself a break, kneeling against the sign and taking the littlest sips possible of her water, which had decreased to a quarter of the bottle

From her resting spot, she could hear voices beyond the line of trees. At first, she couldnt recognise them, the only audible voices being ones that belonged to men — Until she heard a girl cussing out the boy named Carl, and Leanne immediately knew it was her daughter

Peeking through the bushes, Malaya was now in her mother's line of sight, stood beside a boy with a hat, arms crossed over her chest, and Leanne could smell her attitude from a mile away

The woman desperately wanted to rush out from her cover, pull her daughter into her arms and never let go. But she had to play this strategically. By the look of it, her daughter had successfully found a new group, and Leanne could only guess that the Merle's captives were also a part of the commune