ᅠ easy… i’m joel. where you coming from, kid .ᐣ ᅠ

ᅠ nun— .ᐣ… whatever. you ought to be careful ‘round here, kid. i would’ve put a bullet right between your eyes if i didn’t see what you were first. ᅠ

ᅠ ( glare. ) i’m not going to shoot a kid. but you’re making it really hard not to… you with anyone else .ᐣ ᅠ

ᅠ ( with that, joel almost immediately retrieved his gun with it pointed towards michael and scanned his surroundings. ) i’ll ask you again. are you / with / anybody .ᐣ ᅠ

ᅠ i’ll check that for myself, actually. follow me. move it. ( it was the middle of the forest— it’s easy to spot a human. but he didn’t want to make any risks. joel peered behind trees, fallen trunks… etc. ) ᅠ

ᅠ ( after assuming everything was clear, the man sighed in relief. he still held his gun in his hand, never letting his guard down. ) i’ll be frank with you, kid. i don’t trust you one bit. around here— you’re getting too close to being arrested. ᅠ

ᅠ ( oh, and he’s / heavily / armed. a hunting rifle and crossbow in both of the holders of his rucksack. and joel’s only holding a revolver right now. ) oh, i’m / sure / you don’t. what are you doing so close to… never mind. ᅠ

ᅠ who does .ᐣ look, do you have anyone to go to .ᐣ i have somewhere i can take you to. but you have to keep your mouth / shut / about it. ( miller / finally / pointed the gun away from michael, but still had it ready in position. ) ᅠ

ᅠ you kids better still hold promises these days. ( joel dryly chuckled, more as a threat. it wasn’t a real genuine one at that. ) so, you following or not .ᐣ your choice. ᅠ

ᅠ ( the man could swear he could hear a sense of pain in the boy’s voice as he assured him / nobody was with him. / joel quietly muttered an okay, shrugging a shoulder to motion to follow. ) don’t fall behind. i jog and never walk. ᅠ

ᅠ ( the silence was like an ache between them. neither of them trusted each other. nothing was really loose and awkward, this atmosphere they created was tense and guarded against each other. ) don’t try anything funny now. if you do, you know what’ll happen. ᅠ

ᅠ / easy... / i’m not insulting you. if i did, you’d know. ( the noise of hunger emitting from the boy’s stomach caught the man’s eye. he stared for a moment until looking away to ask, ) you starving .ᐣ ᅠ

ᅠ ( joel completely brushed michael’s comment aside, instead focusing on his first reply. ) suit yourself. but there’ll be food at the place i’m ‘takin you to. ᅠ

ᅠ can’t tell you. think of it as a… surprise. ( joel grimaced. he wasn’t so good at lightening the mood with someone he didn’t know well. ) ᅠ

ᅠ ( …nor was he good at starting conversations. joel cleared his throat, just trying to seem / friendly / for a certain someone. ) so, uh… see any other hunters out here .ᐣ ᅠ

ᅠ …good. ( with that, joel whipped back around. his guard was tensed and he approached michael closer, yet kept his gun low. ) are there kids your age out here .ᐣ you / told / me you were alone. ᅠ