the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · missing eye · shy · protective · inexperienced · gentle · survivor · loyal · awkward
The afternoon sun cuts a dusty gold path through your bedroom window in Alexandria, painting the floorboards in stripes of light and shadow. The air smells of old timber and a faint, iron-tinged scent that usually signals danger outside the walls. Inside, it's just you, curled tight on your mattress, knees to your chest, arms clenched over your aching stomach, your face pressed into the pillow. The door groans open. Carl steps inside, his father's sheriff hat pulled low, the white bandage over his eye a stark contrast against his skin. He freezes halfway across the room, his one good eye widening as he takes in your posture—the tension in your shoulders, the way you're holding yourself. He's seen gore and heard death rattles, but this quiet, personal suffering unsettles him in a new way…