#ghosthaunt: five.

[doomdays]

@ghosthaunt, alden nods,  thinking of all the people he met who had made this place their home since the beginning,  watching as it evolved into something better and better.   ❝  oh, yeah.  y'know,  the suttons were brought here immediately.   got them and their son safe before things got too bad.  the barrington house was a historic museum,  FEMA opened it up to a safe zone.  well,  they abanonded it shortly after,  but the people here,  they still made it work.  whole lotta people here who have been here the whole time.  i s'pose i woulda been a lot better off had i found this place first,   before i ended up where i did,  but i got here eventually,  huh?  so,  that's all that matters to me. ❞   he looks back at him,  his head tilting to the side with curiosity.  ❝  you run into many communities out there?  know you were out there for a while ---  guess i don't know how far ya traveled in the process.  ❞   he's just a kid;  maybe some other place would've taken him in   (  or maybe it just took a special person to give him reason to come.  )    he scoffs,  waving him off.   ❝  well,  sure,  but---  whatever it is you're lookin' for,  i mean,  surely that's gotta be worth it,  huh? ❞

[moonexile]

@ghosthaunt,  five’s permission to finally relax is something that luther has taken wholeheartedly --- something he hasn’t done much of in the past decade. it’s been so long since he’s been comfortable, in any sense of the world, yet without the responsibilities and expectations that used to suffocate him --- it’s almost like there’s a real sense of peace here.  he can almost pretend things are perfect now.  yet there’s a certain amount of anxiety that comes with waking up to see his older brother’s bed empty, their other brothers still sleeping peacefully in their perches.  they’ve been through unimaginable things in these last few months  ( days, for five )  and now feels like the right time to actually forge a real family,  so seeing five’s bed empty brings him back to a time when he used to still believe they were one:  just before five left, got lost in time, and their world started to turn.  five has vowed to take it easy, and luther wants to believe that’s possible for him,  yet his mind spins with questions --- is he still here, or did he find reason to leave them behind?  and if so, could they blame him?  he gets dressed, never one who was any good with stealth, clumsily making his way around their room until he’s off to the one place he could expect to find him:  the bar.  he lets out a soft sigh of relief when he sees him there,  though he may not admit to him the  ( now ridiculous )  worry he had.  arm rests on the counter, and he looks over to him, nodding his head.  ❝  thought i’d find you here. ❞  relieved to find you here.  ❝  what happened to actually getting a good night’s rest?  couldn’t sleep?  ❞

[doomdays-a]

@ghosthaunt   ❝  if you don’t like it,  you can be honest.  i can understand,  ❞   she tells him,  well aware that not everyone gravitates towards art the way she always has.  she hopes that in some way,  it’s been relaxing enough to him.  given the vague details aaron shared with her,  it seems like five could really use that break  ---  and that’s exactly what tracy’s here for.  he’s been to her class a few times by now,  and this is the first time she’s really checked in with him,  trying to give him enough time to process it all first.  ❝  gracie ---  she says she likes drawing with you. ❞  her indication that she knows he’s at least doing the work;  she just doesn’t know where he stands on it.

[buildhope]

@ghosthaunt​    ╱   ❝  how’s that feel?  ❞   he asks after handing over the knife that he handcrafted for five,  perfectly engrained with the number at the handle so that everyone would know it was his.   ❝  if it’s the right size and right fit for ya,  i can have ya a few more made by the next time i come for drop off.   aaron says you know how to handle yourself pretty damn well.  i believe it, ❞   he encourages with a bright grin,  arms crossing over his chest as he looks him over.   ❝  y’ever think about anything else?  spear?  bow and arrow?  ❞

[doomdays]

@ghosthaunt   +   though his daughter hadn’t taken many trips far from home and he had vowed never to be without her outside the gates,  it was different this time.  he hadn’t planned to get caught up at the fair before returning home, but it was easier to justify sending his two kids on their way back home knowing they were together.  if gracie had five, then he didn’t have to worry  (  much ---- he’d always worry, but if he was going to settle his thoughts in any way, having five to accompany her was enough.  )  he’s a few hours behind them as he finally arrives back at home, only to be met with dread when scott tells him their caravan was stopped when they had to clear a small herd, and something happened with gracie.  he was already heading off into the direction of his home before he could get the full story, needing to see his two kids before he could focus on anything else.  he rushes to and through his home, up to her room first only to find no one there.  ❝  gracie! gracie---?  ❞  he mumbles, frantically turning back to the hallway and hurrying over to five’s room now, relieved to find her safe and sleeping peacefully,  her arms clutched around her brother’s as her head rests on his shoulder.  ❝  gracie,  ❞   he mutters quieter this time,  moving over towards the bed,  his hand quickly and gently rubbing over five’s head as a silent greeting of relief, before it moves to gracie’s, fingers running through her hair softly as he looks her over, confirming she’s safe.  ❝  oh,  ❞  he mutters under his breath, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead,  examining her briefly before he brings his attention over to five, repeating the action and bringing his hand to the back of his head before kissing the top of it quickly.  he drops his hand to his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze as his eyes lock with his.  ❝  are you okay?  i heard there was a problem---  that she almost  .  .  .   what happened? ❞

[doomdays]

@ghosthaunt,   aaron didn’t have to worry about waking her early;  she was already up,  tugging at his blanket to get him out of bed long before,  all because of the surprise they had planned for five.  on the kitchen counter is a plate of cupcakes,  ingredients retrieved by aaron who went door to door for the past week trying to gather them all.  joining them is a large drawing from gracie  ---  the three of them,  five in the middle,  ‘ the raleigh family ‘ written in big, colored in letters at the top,  an arrow pointing to five reading ‘ my brother. ‘  there’s a card next to it,  one with scribbling of aaron’s own inside it,  that he had to force himself to hold back on.  if it weren’t for knowing that five isn’t all too welcoming of these sentiments,  he would have written a longer message,  but he tried to keep it five-approved,  with a short,  sweet message:  ‘ five,  it’s been the best year welcoming you into our family and getting to know you.  i love you, son.  glad you’re here. ‘  

when he hears him coming down the steps,  he encourages gracie to wave her the ribbon on a stick she had made for the occasion,  both of them smiling wide as five steps through the kitchen.   ❝  surprise!  ❞   gracie beats him over to five,  immediately standing on her tip toes to pull him in for a hug.   ❝  happy birthday!  ❞  she shouts,  bringing a small chuckle from aaron as he tires not to overwhelm five too much.   ❝  it’s a thing we do here.  we don’t always know when someone’s birthday is,  ❞   he notes,  nodding to gracie.   ❝  but we know when you come into our lives.  and,  well,  today is your day.  one year of living here,  one year of being part of our family.  i know,  i know,  you probably think it’s silly,  but  ---  we wanted to do something special for you.  so,  like she said,  happy birthday.  ❞   gracie grabs his hand,  pulling him towards the counter to encourage him to look at his gifts.  aaron brings his hand up,  rubbing his shoulder gently.  ❝  i don’t know how you celebrated back home,  but  ----  i figured large surprise parties weren’t your thing,  so it’s just the three of us today.  ❞   meaning,  he has no other plans,  he doesn’t intend to leave them.  it’s their day,  for their family.   ❝  how’s that sound?  ❞

[doomdays]

@ghosthaunt  ↺  “we can keep our histories to ourselves.”

that’s easy for him to say,  because he doesn’t seem to have a reputation hanging over his head with people thinking the worst of him just because he’s still alive and allowed to be here at all.  the people of alexandria have gotten better about welcoming lydia,  but she’s not naive enough to believe that they’ve completely accepted her presence here.  she still sees the hesitant glances she’s given,  the way people scoot away if she sits,  how no one ever seems to include her in their trips or their groups,  afraid of some inevitable betrayal they’re so certain will happen.  people don’t expect anything good from lydia,  but they seem to expect so much from him ---  how smart he is, how strong he is, how capable he is.  she likes to think she’s all those things too, but no one’s willing to give her the chance to prove it  ---  and if they are, she’s too scared to let them down.   ❝  everyone knows my history,  ❞   she mumbles,  looking up at him quickly,  then down again.    ❝  or---  they think they do.  they think they know,  and they think what they want.  can’t change their minds.  ❞   she frowns,  thinking about the way he settled in these past few months.  he has a family,  just as she does.  that doesn’t mean he’s always so warm and cozy with them,  just like her.  she knows they may not be so different.  she is also making assumptions about what it’s like for him,  assuming that those high expectations of him are better than the low ones offered to her.  ❝  m’sure everyone’s told you ‘bout mine anyway,  ❞   she mutters,  eyes focused on the way her stick digs into the dirt.  ❝  you tryin’ to get away from yours?  ❞

[doomdays-a]

@ghosthaunt   /   he waited for gracie to get to sleep before showing five what he gathered today while out on a trip.  for good reason,  because what he wants to reveal isn’t up to him to share with gracie  ---  it’s about five and his own comfort level,  something he wants to go over with him first and foremost.  he sits down next to him,  sitting between his legs on the floor as he looks over.  ❝  i found something out there today  ---  something i want you to have.  ❞   he smiles,  shrugging his shoulders.  ❝  well,  actually,  i found it years ago.  before you,  before gracie.  i didn’t take it back then because i didn’t have a kid of my own to share it with,  but now----  i thought we might get some use out of it.  i figured if i was ever in the area again,  i’d check it out.  and,  i was.  ❞    he finally reaches down into his bag to pull out a lightly torn,  faded comic book  ---  one of five and his siblings,  a story he hasn’t personally read yet,  intent on waiting for five’s approval.  he hands it over to him with a soft smile.  ❝  i didn’t want gracie to see it yet and get too excited,  just in case.   it’s up to you if you want to share it with her.  and if not  ---   at least you have it. ❞