#silenceofthesparrow

[stardust--and--flames]

@silenceofthesparrow

           "Hey, Jake! Wait up!" Addie handed off her basket of vegetables she was carrying to one of the mess hall workers and trotted over up to the man. She'd seen him walking by the garden, and took the opportunity to try to talk to him while he was alone. Though, really, it seemed like he was alone a lot. Even though he'd come into the compound with a group a few weeks back and took them up on their offer for him to stay there for a while, she always seemed to catch him off by himself. She wasn't very sure how often, or if at all, that he mingled with others, but then again, she had her own chores to deal with so it wasn't like she could just follow him around.

     "Hey," she greeted him as she got closer, smiling. "I saw you walk by, and I thought maybe you'd like a little company?" She rarely got this bold on her own. But since she'd caught him looking her way, she figured she had nothing to lose. Plus, he was kind of cute now that he wasn't covered in about a month's worth of dirt. And even if he didn't like her in any special sort of way, she could at least try to be friends with him.

[stardust--and--flames]

Welcome To The Motel California || Tyler & Iris

{ @silenceofthesparrow || continued from here }

Tyler couldn't help but chuckle at her comment. "Beautiful? Nah. Handsome as hell? You bet." His teasing was accompanied with another chuckle. "I'm glad you keep busy. Hate to think of you as one of those sad Victorian women siting by a window, just staring out of it while waiting for her husband to return from some ocean journey or war or whatever." Another laugh rumbled up from his bare chest before he inhaled deeply and exhaled completely. "Sadly, dear woman of mine, we must leave our chambers and toil in the sun to repair the barriers that protect our land from the hordes of ravenous beasts that wish to devour your beautiful body." It was all he could do at this point to keep himself from rolling in laughter at his own silliness. But he was caught in the mock drama and it was far too entertaining to him to stop now.

[stardust--and--flames]

And Baby Makes Three || Tyler & Iris

{ @silenceofthesparrow || continued from here }

"It's okay," he insisted again, pressing his cheek against her forehead. "It's gonna be tough, sure, but we have friends here. A home. People might not agree with this but they won't abandon us. We'll be just fine."

Tyler tried his best to believe his own words, and part of him did. Both he and Iris worked hard to help their community and keep it safe just like everyone else did. He didn't really think they'd abandon one- or in this case, two- of their own just for getting pregnant. A baby was a rare thing these days, and despite the dangers having one posed, he was fairly certain that most of the others in the compound would agree that it was still a blessing.

"You're going to have learn some patience now, Wildcat. Whether you like it or not. Babies take a lot of it." His hand dropped back down to her stomach, part of him already wishing to feel the life inside. "And keeping your cool so you don't raise your blood pressure too high. There's a lot of little things that have to be kept in check so we can ensure you'll have a healthy baby." He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, hoping to pull the both of them out of their worries and back into a better mood. "But it'll be fine. You have me to keep you under control."

[stardust--and--flames]

My Family, My Life || Tyler & Iris

{ @silenceofthesparrow || continued from here }

"The buildings with an 'X' spray-painted on them have been cleared out, both of walkers and most supplies," Tyler informed Iris as the walked down the middle of the deserted street. He wasn't thrilled to be out in the open with only her to watch his back, but that was only because of her current condition. Pregnancy aside, there was no one else in the world he trusted as much as her to watch his back. For all their arguments on the subject, they made an incredible team when they were together. "Pretty much the only things left in there are random pieces of furniture we haven't brought back for some use or another," he continued, glancing down the alleyways as they passed. He was glad everything was still quiet and clear of walkers, making their walk to the jewelry store closest to the compound quick and easy. "Alright. It's definitely been looted a couple times, but there's still some stuff to look through. And if you don't find anything here, there's a couple more places we can try." And with that little speech, he swung open the door, marked with a dark green spray-painted 'X' on the dingy glass, and gestured for her to enter first.

[somecrazylads-a-blog]

@silenceofthesparrow | liked. For: who fits best! :D

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“I wish these fuckers only came out at night like the zombies in I Am Legend,” is the first thing Michael mumbles after several minutes of silence. He’s pressed against a wall, ears trained on the slightest of clicking sounds he hopes he won’t hear coming from the room they need to pass. He’d be drowning in his own nervous sweat if the surprisingly cool breeze didn’t help cool him down.

But even then, he can barely feel it unless he’s paying attention to it. Because he and his current companion don’t need to charge into the room the fucking clicking sounds are coming from sporadically. But they do need to walk past it. And for Michael, without knowing how many entrances this room has, how may clickers they’d be walking past, and how quickly they’d reach them at the slightest of sounds, it’s one of the most nerve-wracking tasks he’s been up to all week. And, as always in this world, it’s been one hell of a wee. He turns his head to look at the other, a deep breath filling his lungs. “Do you see anything?” he mouths.

[stardust--and--flames]

[ @silenceofthesparrow || continued from here ]

The sun was just starting to set when the pair crossed perimeter fencing of the farm. Taking the trail worn into the dirt by the caravans and other nomadic groups reduced their chances of being shot before they could reach the large farmhouse in the middle of the property, and Tyler's good standing with the residents of the farm ensured they received a warm welcome when they came closer to the house. As soon as they reached the gate of the front yard, Miss Helen, who owned the farm with her husband Gerald and was in her mid-sixties though she got around nearly as good as someone half her age, was hurrying out of the house to throw her arms around Tyler's neck with a squeal of delight as if he were her son or grandson. After they'd embraced, Helen turned her attention to Sam, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the blonde. "Who is this?" she cooed excitedly. "A lady friend, Tyler? You've never brought a girl here before."

"This is Sam," he answered with a slightly embarrassed smile, motioning Sam forward. "She's a friend from the Dolan Farmstead." He paused for a moment, frowning as the memory of what happened to the settlement drifted back to their minds. "Um, anyway, we need a place to stay for a bit. Get patched up and such before I need to get back to Bunker Hill to take care of a few things. Do you mind, Miss Helen?"

"Of course, not! We're always happy to have you stop in for a visit!" The older woman rolled her hands, motioning for them to come inside the old farmhouse, soft brown eyes looking them over with a hint of concern at their ragged appearances. "I'll boil up some extra hot water so you two can have a proper bath, and I'm certain we've got something in that old chest that will fit you both so you don't have to put those dirty clothes back on." She kept to her ushering all the way through the door, stopping only to cross over to the fireplace and stir the contents of a good-sized black cauldron-style pot hanging from a hook coming out of the brick. "Supper will be ready soon. It's just stew, but it'll fill you up and get you to feeling right again." Then she went through the house and out the back door to the fire pit behind the house to add more water to the larger cauldron pot and stoke the fire.

Tyler smiled to himself, then looked over at Sam and nodded his head in the direction of the stairs before crossing the room and going through the doorway to the partially-boarded up sunroom where a few extra cots and beds had been set up for guests. In one of the corners was a pair of old wooden storage chests. Tyler opened up one, pulling out a couple of blankets and tossing them onto the closest bed, before digging through the other and coming up with a few articles of clothing for them to change into. "You can take the first bath," he told Sam softly as he handed her some clothes he was pretty sure would fit her. "Miss Helen will show you where everything is. And if you prefer your own bed, I'll make one up for you. We'll be fine here. No worries. Okay?"

[stardust--and--flames]

Hey, Brother || Tyler & Jacob

[ @silenceofthesparrow || continued from here ]

Finding the reservoir after six days of nervous travel was lucky. Discovering that it had been privately owned with a still-intact and sturdy eight-foot-tall fence surrounding the property was beyond fortunate. It took less than a day for the group to unanimously agree to stay. They had fresh water continuously supplied by a creek that branched off the nearby river, the sections of fence-line that crossed over the creek still allowing fish to swim through but nothing larger, a variety of fish in the ten-acre lake, about twenty additional acres of land for them to use for crops and building, and the five-bedroom house was certainly a solid starting point for a small, controlled settlement.

A short month and a half later, and the fence-line had a barbed wire top and dozens more reinforcement posts, the dock had been repaired and reinforced, a couple small shed-sized buildings had been erected for some members of the group so not everyone was crammed so tightly into the main house. Tyler and Jacob had become closer in the process, being two of the small handful of members who were healthier and stronger so they were depended on more to gather supplies and do security patrols while the fence was being reinforced with extra posts and another layer of wire, which made the former lawman grateful to have another person to talk to and keep him from dwelling too much on his past mistakes and regrets.

But that didn't mean he'd forgotten them. Sleeping was still a daily struggle. He missed Iris fiercely, and worried about her even more when he was left alone with his thoughts. He knew she was strong and brave, but she was heavily pregnant, and that imposed limits onto her. It slowed her down and exhausted her faster than normal. And though she acted like it didn't bother her much of the time, Tyler knew it did. And now that it was well after time for the baby to have been born, he was tormented with added thoughts of her out there with an infant to take care of. And as much as he didn't like the thought of leaving this new settlement he'd helped establish, Ty knew he couldn't stay. If he had any chance of finding any sort of resemblance of peace, he was going to have to try to find her again.