[It's a bit of a trek, but she sticks with him, even as he shakes his head, laughs faintly, and tells her the dead taste wrong. Over crumbled pavement and new growth, into trees reaching higher and past old human wreckage they go. They reach a slow-going stream, one he's not all sure existed before but certainly does now. The water is far from pure but it's clean enough for them and it still glistens in the creeping dawn.
She winds up meandering past him, like a toddler, fascinated by a new and shiny thing. It's the first time he's ever thought of one of the other dead as endearing. She doesn't hesitate to wander right into the water. She plays, though he doubts it's fully her intention so much as sensation being new and unusual.
He takes the time to kick off his boots and roll up his pants. She won't care about being soaked, but he would prefer his own boots not to be soggy. He wanders in after her, feeling cold, feeling mud. He comes to her side to tilt his head and try and see what she's looking at. He works out well enough.]
It's you... That's you... [A pause.] But... a new you...
no subject
She winds up meandering past him, like a toddler, fascinated by a new and shiny thing. It's the first time he's ever thought of one of the other dead as endearing. She doesn't hesitate to wander right into the water. She plays, though he doubts it's fully her intention so much as sensation being new and unusual.
He takes the time to kick off his boots and roll up his pants. She won't care about being soaked, but he would prefer his own boots not to be soggy. He wanders in after her, feeling cold, feeling mud. He comes to her side to tilt his head and try and see what she's looking at. He works out well enough.]
It's you... That's you... [A pause.] But... a new you...