“ what's wrong? ” the question is carved alongside wood, fingers fine lining the exposure of. its core is barely damp, not sun dried like the outside. a pause follows, sits between them awkward and stiff. eyes only flutter toward @3demos, where they're slouched over and picking clean more branches to dry out. she’s learned the usefulness of busy hands, watching joel carve out ugly pieces of wood into something fine and useful. will only shrugs, shoulders falling back into something guarded.
ellie stops her work, setting aside her knife and what’s half craved. making arrows is better than supply picking, could even do more damage than a bullet if it’s shot properly. she's trying to teach him. she shifts from where her back was pressed, palms pressed to the ground in order to bring herself closer. “ your brow furrowed. you can't fool me. ” denim to denim now, she peeks to better see the expression settled in his face and forcing wrinkles. he looks just as exposed as the wood she freshly carved, sap daring to bleed out.