#ep 5 put a fire under my muse's ass i've written nearly 2000 words today already

[elialys]

I can tell I'm going to get extremely compromised by this fic and not just because I have to kill off Joel soon in order for this AU to work.

“D’you think we’ll get to see cats?”

For what feels like the tenth time today—which is saying a lot considering it’s not even noon, judging by the sun in the sky—Tess is taken aback by Ellie’s question.

One of many.

They’re slowly making their way toward the hotel, she and Ellie leading while Joel purposefully stays back. Part of it is him playing the tough lookout, but she knows he’s mostly avoiding having to talk to their unexpected companion.

Tess finds herself suppressing a small smile, not her first one today either. “Cats?” she repeats. “Why do you want to see cats?”

“I’ve never seen a cat,” Ellie says, almost dreamily. “Read all about them though. They seem so…fluffy, and fun.”

Tess snorts, shaking her head a little, unable to stop herself from remembering the few cats she’d had, pre-Outbreak Day. “They were also a pain in the ass. Cute, but deadly, always on the lookout for new ways to break the rules, or anything fragile, really.”

“Aww, sounds just like me!”