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“So, this siege at Richmond.” Violet asks carefully, wondering if it brought up bad memories. She watches the baseball hat-clad girl tense a little, her eyebrows furrowing as she meets Violet’s gaze.“What about it?” Clementine replies, voice guarded and rough. Violet had noticed that she gets like this when talking about her past, she’d seen it during the card game especially. Just how much has this girl gone through to be here right now? Violet can’t imagine what it’s like outside the safety of the school.“Was it like… this?” She doesn’t quite know how to word it, “Like, defending yourself from enemies outside?”“Actually, I was a part of entering the city.” Clementine’s tone is lighter than before, her shoulders relaxing, “Richmond had been overrun by walkers, we had to save who were left.”That piqued Violet’s interest, “How?”“Well, we rode on a Loader, managed to get the gates open. Patched the wall up.” She replies, shrugging, “It isn’t as exciting as you think it is.” The blonde is surprised at how nonchalant Clementine acts, did anything faze the girl anymore?“The survivors?”“Survived,” The brunette pauses, “Mostly.” Her amber eyes darken and that’s a sign for Vi not to press her further.“Right.” Violet looks back to the map of the school, filled with notes and doodles in Clem’s handwriting. It looks cute, despite the drawings of barbed wires and spikes.They toss ideas back and forth, already making and trashing strategies. Where everyone should be located at the exact point in time, what their plan would be if Lilly and her group broke through. Possible things they should be careful of when facing them. This is when Violet realizes that Clementine has really picked up some things from being out on the road, she can already plan out how situations can happen, what things can go wrong. It’s morbid but she admires Clem’s readiness for anything and everything.“They have a surplus of guns for sure.” Clementine warns. Violet remembers yesterday, when Lilly had a gun to the back of her neck. She felt so… impulsive, she wanted to shoot the adult but when Clem told them to run… She just trusted the girl and she doesn’t know why.“And we have… bows and bombs.” Violet shakes her head, sighing at how fast things have spiraled out since Clementine came. But she wouldn’t blame it on her, it’s all Marlon’s fault. “Clem, I’m just… this is all so crazy. Marlon’s fucking dead and now we have these assholes breathing down our necks, and I’m the leader?”Clementine gives her a look that makes Violet want to melt down to her boots, “You’re doing fine, Vi. We’ll push through this. We have to. It doesn’t matter that you’re the leader, because we’re all in this together.” That gives her a semblance of comfort, Clementine’s convicted tone makes her feel something she hasn’t had in a long time. Self-confidence.“I’ll be here to help you every step of the way, okay?” The brunette smiles, the warm light of the candles making her look even prettier. Violet can’t help but smile back. It was hard not to.God, here Clem was planning for a goddamn defenses and Violet’s busy making heart eyes at her. Fuck, what has gotten into her?“T—Thanks, Clem.” Violet looks away, “I needed that.”“Anytime.” The brunette’s voice is soft, like a gentle breeze on her skin, “There’s no need to carry all the burden by yourself. Trust me.”What burden does she carry? Violet wonders, seeing the scar above her eye, knowing Clementine had numerous scars she hid under her jacket from the times she had stretched or positioned in a certain way. The one time she removed her jacket and rolled up her sleeves because it had been soaked wet from falling into the river while fishing, Violet saw the pale, stitched up scar on her left arm. She didn’t comment about it, but she knew Clem felt uncomfortable with having it out in the open.But Violet didn’t care about scars, she cared about the wounds it left on Clem’s psyche. She sees how tense the girl acts around Rosie, how she recoils when Louis playfully punches her on the shoulder sometimes.“I have a gut feeling we should reinforce the gates more, just in case. We should also start gathering bricks for Aasim’s idea.”“Sounds good to me.” Violet nods, taking a mental note to handle that in the morning. “I’m sure there are a few bricks lying out back, I’ll have Mitch check.”Clementine purses her lips, Violet can almost see the gears turning in her mind as she stares determinedly at the map, grasping for more ideas to bolster their defenses. She aches to lay her hand on Clementine’s, which was so close to hers. She wonders if her hands would feel rough or smooth in her grasp.Violet lets out a sigh, “I think that’s all we can do for tonight, Clem.”“I guess.” The brunette’s tone is uncertain.“You should get some rest. No point in planning all this if we’re sleep-deprived.” Her eyebags weigh heavily under her eyes, how hypocritical Violet is.A heartbeat of silence.“You’re right.”Clementine lifts her hat to run a hand through her curly hair. Thick and wild, unlike Violet’s. She can see the weariness in Clem’s features, she looks mature despite being younger than her. It doesn’t surprise Violet but it does make her sympathize for the brunette.She just wishes this all goes well.“Night, Violet.” Clem gives her a small smile before leaving the room.She listens faint steps retreating down the hallway.Goodnight, Clem.