Harlow pov
Just as the sun sets, I sneak upstairs to check on Izzy only to find she is still fast asleep. I begin to debate whether I should just let her rest some more or wake her worrying that if she does not get up now, she wont sleep tonight. Ultimately however, I decide to give her another hour and if by then she still hasn't resurrected herself I will wake her up for dinner. The selfish part of me thinks it would be better if she slept now and stayed up later because then I wouldn't need to lie with her during the night whilst fighting off nightmares.
The other more reasonable part of me wonders if I ought to be concerned about how much Izzy has been sleeping. I bite my lip as I look at her blanketed form and resolve to get her into a proper sleep routine starting tomorrow. But for now, I will let her catch up on the rest she has been deprived off most likely since Eliza died.
Tip toeing out the room with posy following close behind I leave the door open a crack so that light from the hallway peeks into the bedroom. this way if izzy wakes up she is less likely to panic at being alone in the dark. When I pass carls door, I cannot help but glare at it with a frown. I needed him today and he just disappeared without so much as a note.
I have half a mind to just march downstairs and ignore him until he comes to me but my need to see if he is okay overrides my pettiness. Besides, we are a team whether he likes it or not. However, as I ought to have expected, when I knock on his door I receive no answer.
With a frustrated huff I decide I do not care in the slightest for the idiot's privacy so I let myself into his space regardless of his absence. My mood only sours further when I find his room stubbornly empty. I am just about to storm out when a cold breeze ruffles my hair. Turning, I find that his bedroom window is wide open despite it having been closed this morning when I last checked.
Suddenly I am on high alert at the possibility of someone potentially having broken in to the house and posy must have sensed the shift in atmosphere because I hear her low rumble of a growl and she pushes forward to prowl in front of me, hackles raised and ready to strike at any sudden movement. Following her lead, I take out my knife and we both stalk over to the offending window.
I hold my breath apprehensively as I peer out into the open air only to sigh exasperatedly when I see what, or rather who, is outside. Relaxing my shoulders with a frustrated groan I reach down and scratch posy's ear whispering "its alright girl, its just carl."
Climbing out the window I find my feat firmly landing on the rickety patio roof overlooking the wilds of the garden. Carl, I find, is sitting at the roof edge with his knees to his chest and back facing towards me.
If he hears me come out he does not show it, remaining as stationary as the stars that dapple the indigo sky. I frown as I notice the distinct lack of a sheriff's hat on his head that I used to hardly see him without. Maybe he lost it or perhaps he outgrew it. for whatever reason the thought makes me mournful like the hat itself is something to grieve. Perhaps it is.
taking a final glance back at posy who is unable to climb out the window I whisper "Back in a minute," to which I get a huff and what I swear is an eyeroll in response. Can dogs even roll their eyes?
Each step I take as I walk over to carl causes the elderly wood to cry and shudder beneath my feet. I know carl must be able to both feel and hear me approaching yet his back remains stubbornly faced towards me. once I reach the end of the roof, I shakily lower myself so that I'm perched on the edge about a meter or so away from carl. Together me sit like two birds on a wire, gazing down at a world that cannot reach us.
The sun has sunk nearly all the way beneath the horizon and the garden breathes gently in the cool breeze. the leaves have steadily begun to paint themselves into a cacophony of reds, oranges, and yellows, appearing to have set the world ablaze. I admire that about trees, how they are always the loudest just before the world strips them bare. As if to say, 'look at what your taking' 'see that you will miss.'
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In The Bird Song | TWD
FanfictionHarlow rose was a child who lost everything at the hands of the monsters around her long before the world fell. She was a girl cast aside and locked away for pleading guilty to a crime she felt no shame about committing. "Never be ashamed" her siste...
