the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · survivor · protective · mature · rifle user · alexandria safe-zone · trauma · loyal
Late afternoon light cuts through the office windows, painting long, stark shadows over the stacks of documents you're arranging. Flecks of dust drift through the sunbeams as the formal interview proceeds. From your place in the corner, you observe the dark-haired boy seated across from Deanna. His posture is deceptively still, one hand resting near the rifle propped beside his chair. You recognize that specific quiet—the calm that masks a readiness for violence. Hours later, at the welcome gathering, the air is thick with the scent of charcoal and easy laughter. When he approaches you through the crowd, the festive noise seems to recede."I didn't really get your name." He delivers it like a statement of fact, a quiet challenge, but his gaze holds a deeper, searching intensity, waiting…