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Carl watched the two newest members of the town walk around with Jared showing them where everything was. This was their first actual day in the town and all he knew was that Maggie and Carol brought them a care package with things to eat and fresh clothes.
"Don't trust them?" Rick's voice startled his son as he rested his hand on their shoulder. "Do you?" The former sheriff pondered the question for a moment before answering. "I'm about to find out." Rick moved away from his son who held his baby daughter in his arms and approached the trio.
"Rick!" Jared's voice grasped the man's attention as he neared them. "This is my sister Pandora, and Troy Otto."
"We've met." Pandora's voice was low recalling the morning's early events. "That we have." There was a moment as Pandora and Rick sized each other up neither knowing how to feel about the other yet. "Pleasure, Troy." The man greeted the taller lankier young man.
"I'm Carl." The group looked to the boy who approached a baby held in his arms, "And this is my sister Judith." Carl didn't trust them but he figured that he had decided he was giving this place a chance, that the people here had accepted him and his group so he should try and except the two before him.
Pandora's eyes widened looking down at the blonde angel in the teen's arms. "Sorry for staring I-I just don't remember the last time I've seen a baby." Troy looked down at the woman, he'd never seen this side of her before, sure he had seen tender sides of her, he saw one earlier when he had kissed her, which they had yet to talk about, but never before had Troy seen such adoration in the girl's eyes.
"It's alright, I was just going to take her down to the playground if you want to come." Rick raised his eyebrows at his son's offer but a small smile graced his face as he watched the woman's eyes light up, he watched as her once feral attitude became something else. That same light he had watched enter so many of those in his own group as they too soon settled into the area. "That sounds, like a freaking dream. Count me in kid." Pandora chuckled gripping Troy's forearm.
"You going to be okay?" She asked to which the man nodded. "Yeah, he's got us!" Jared said with a small grin, Troy looked so out of place standing next to Jared as the latter's face had a large dopey grin displayed across his features. The sandy-haired man nodded softly as he watched Pandora leave his side and walk down the road with the boy in the Sheriff's hat.
"Come on Troy, I think Deanna has a job for you."
--
Pandora stood next to Carl as he pushed his baby sister on the swings, she was barely moving and her legs were a bit squished in the child seat but that just means she eats well, which was a good thing in Pandora's eyes.
"So Rick's your dad?" Pandora asked softly. "Yeah, Jared's your brother?" The woman nodded. The two remained silent neither really sure what to say to the other. "How'd you meet them? Jared and Calum I mean." She paused as Judith started to fuss. "May I?" She asked, Carl, nodded as the woman gently grabbed his sister out of the swing and headed to a bench.
"Well we found them nearly beating each other to death, I think that it had something to do with you, in all honesty." Pandora looked up from Judith who was sat on her lap the girl's tiny hands entangled in Pandora's hair. "But I guess my father saw something in them because he offered them to come with us." Carl paused looking to the woman next to him. he saw how clearly tired she really was, bags on her pale skin. Scars littered her skin. Carl thought he saw a tattoo on her shoulder but couldn't really tell. "They're good people." Carl added with a firm nod. Pandora sighed thinking of her friend whom she still didn't know the whereabouts of. "Jared is definitely a leader."
Pandora scoffed with a small smile that Carl was glad to see instead of her gloomy expression. "I think you mean bossy." Carl laughed at that and nodded. "He's always been bossy, ever since we were younger." Carl listened as Pandora told him a story from their childhood.
The boy may not know Pandora or Troy very well but he could tell she wasn't a bad person, she had probably done some bad things but everyone had, hell, he shot his own mother. Carl couldn't help but smile as he listened to Pandora's very detailed story of how her brother shit himself in a Walmart once when they were 13. It was obvious to the boy that she had a dark sense of humor and was probably hilarious but this world had most likely buried that deep down. This world had stripped everyone's innocence away and as the days progressed it was harder to tell who was corrupt before all of this and who was forced to become that way.
"Hey, you two!" The pair's gaze drifted from each other to the woman approaching, Deanna. Carl could visibly see Pandora tighten up, her smile dropped and her eyes could turn someone to stone. Judith must have felt the change as she soon started to cry. Quickly the woman handed her back to her brother.
"Hello, Deanna." Pandora's voice was sharper than it was when she was talking to him. "I just spoke to Troy, I have him on guard duty in the tower, now I would like to talk to you. I've been watching the tape trying to read you, and I've been having an exceptionally hard time. Which is rare for me." Deanna paused and looked at the woman before her. "I would like you to join Rick and Michonne as constables."
"You've just met me, and you want me to discipline your people?" Pandora stood up so she had the height on her. "Look after." Deanna corrected, her reptilian eyes staring the woman into submission.
"Beats working in a kitchen or doing laundry." Pandora muttered. "Yeah I guess I'll do it." She spoke up louder this time. "Great! Also I'm hosting a welcome at my home tonight for you and Troy, had one a few weeks ago for Carl's group and I thought it would be nice to have one for you." Pandora cringed at the thought. "I want you to be there." There wasn't room for denial as Deanna squeezed her arm and walked away.
Carl waited till Deanna was far enough away before he spoke. "Yeah, that'll be hell for the two of you, at least with us there were enough of us that the attention wasn't on one person for too long, besides Judith here of course." With Deanna's presence gone Pandora get herself relax as she turned to Carl with a grimace.
"There's no way out huh?"
"Nah not a chance, here's a baby to help you feel better." The two laughed softly as the boy handed his sister to the woman. Judith coo'd and giggled as the two headed off to look for Troy, Jared and Rick.
Carl wasn't sure why but he had taken a strong liking to the woman. Maybe it was because she didn't immediately look at him like a weak little kid, or maybe it was because she seemed realistic about what the world had come to, but Carl was sure about one thing, he was sure he'd be able to trust her soon enough.
A'N
Out with another chapter, yay!! But anyways I'm not sure if this story is getting worse or better I would love feedback because I'm just spewing bullshit at this point lmao like I have Ideas I just have to get to them which is a process of trying to make chapters interesting when nothing big is happening
But on another note I'm trying to give Pandora and Troy relationships outside of each other and for some reason I feel like Carl would be their friend maybe even have a little crush and Pandora or something, who knows. Anyways any and all feedback is lovely I'll probably have another update up today or tomorrow!!
