ic inbox

[backpacking]

❝ ... Uh. Yup! This is Ellie!
Leave your message, or... whatever,
and I'll probably see you around before I listen to it, honestly. ❞

[ BEEEEEEEP ]

Comments

[shivving]

[ He picks up on her hesitation, unspoken though it is, and pauses halfway to the door, looking down at her with a small frown. ]

Y'alright, Ellie?

[ Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to give her the journal, to make her think about all that again...but it had seemed to cheer her up a moment ago. Still, he doesn't leave quite yet. ]

[backpacking]

Yeah! [ She's fast to respond, straightening up. ] Sorry, I was just... thinking. About all this stuff.

[ It's partly true. Ellie blinks, then offers a weak shrug. ]

I'm fine. Okay?

[shivving]

Alright.

[ Still, he's hesitant to leave, if it means leaving her to stew alone with her thoughts. He glances around as if for inspiration, eyes lighting on the row of arcade games along the wall. ]

Y'know, you never did show me the big deal with those things.

[ Not that he'd ever actually asked, or anything. Beside the point. ]

[backpacking]

[ Ellie blinks, not immediately comprehending, just because... well, it's Joel. And he's asking about the arcade games. ]

About - Are you serious? [ It seems to cheer her again almost instantly and she gingerly sets down the journal before moving over to them. ] Yeah, well, I didn't think you wanted to see what the big deal is!

[ In fact, he may recognize some of the machines, which include games like Pac-Man and Galaga. ]

[shivving]

[ He didn't want to, particularly. But they're obviously important to Ellie. And...if it keeps her distracted and entertained, keeps her from dwelling on darker things, it's well worth it. ]

Not like I got anything better to do.

[ He follows her over, scanning the machines with his arms crossed over his chest. A few of them are vaguely familiar from his own childhood, though as he'd said, he'd never really gotten into them. Others are newer. ]

Go on, show me what it's all about.