child’s play ⊚ nicholas and roxy
xnicholaslancaster·:
—moments ticked away slowly whilst expecting to listen to an explanation for the reason both regarding the state of her and behind her unexpected visit. thought concerned, Nicholas was not going to push her to hurry it up and out with it; generally, he was a rather patient man, even when he could be rather impatient when it came to certain matters. there was silence in the room for a few moments, and he discreetly aiming solely in allowing Roxy a little while to collect herself before she could tell him what was really going on that had her so rattled up. nothing could prepare him, however, for the words she uttered.
Natalia Lowe…one of the children is missing.
“since the morning?” it was not really a question even if it was spoken like one. fuck, fuck. he thought, over and over. he damn well knew they had security, they had rules, this shouldn’t have happened. even though the first real question that popped into his mind, flashing, was why was he only being told now. it was hours since morning and the child, had she been able to sneak out of the camp in some way, could really be anywhere now. or worse. but looking at her he deemed it was not worth it to berate her about it now, they could do their best and look for the child in hopes of finding her well and alive. so he took in a quiet breath and nodded, more to himself than her, as he was conducted a plan in mind. “where did you last see her?” he question, voice calm. he needed to make a clear layout of where she could possibly be, the direction she could have headed, all little crucial details in finding her. but it did not help that it was so damn cold outside today. he was aware that both the girl missing and her older sister were orphaned, so there was no point in asking if anyone else had looked for her.
Lancaster made quick work in picking out so stuff before putting on a jacket over his t-shirt. and then he looked for one to give to her, for she looked like she had taken her fair share of freezing for the day. handing her a jacket he spoke. holding her gaze for a second, he sighed quietly. “hey, we will find her…” he sounded reassuring, and though he was not certain that they would and if they do find her what state she’d be in, he wanted Roxanne to not feel solely responsible for what happened. “Calypso,” he called to the dog and she rushed to his side, ready. “let’s go.” the leader then nodded, petting her head a little before moving to open the door.
the warm air had soothed roxy’s chapped throat, and she managed to swallow what little saliva her mouth had somehow produced. fuck, she swore. fuck, fuck, fuck. “i last saw her when i dismissed the children from their lessons today,” roxy answered slowly as she reached for the words, teeth still chattering with every uttered consonant. “around maybe ten-thirty?” her mind buzzed. “eleven? shit...” her cursing was harsh and uncharacteristic, but roxy was reaching, hard, for the answers she knew nicholas needed. “around th-then. the kids went to play tag or hide and seek and-”
she watched with a creased brow and solemn eyes as nicholas zipped from one room to the other, slipping on an extra layer over his tee. she could tell from his expression that he was both deep in thought and listening intently. “i had hoped to find prints in the snow but i’m worried it’s too late,” she admitted. she had been searching for over an hour, and the amount of time that had passed since natalia had been seen was far too great. the sun had already trekked down to the horizon, turning the landscape into grayscale.
nicholas pushed something into her frozen hands, and roxy was taken by the tenderness of his voice. he could easily have given her an earful, but his understanding nature had somehow compelled her to try again. despite her broken spirit, she gave a fierce nod, taking his jacket and slipping it on. roxy took in a deep breath, despite the protest from her freeze-dried lungs, trying to find her bearings as nicholas had made his way to the door with calypso. now that she had asked for help, the mission seemed less daunting, and more possible. with a slow exhale through pursed lips, roxy tried to expel the anxiety that plagued her.
looking at nicholas, she gave another nod, this time adding a determined, yet hopeful, smile that said ‘i’m ready’. the little girl couldn’t have gotten far on her own, and the odds of either of them encountering a walker was next to nothing in these weather conditions. though she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was still the one responsible, roxy had a new determination to fix it.















