(1942-08-27) Another Low
Another Low
Summary: On a day of Sunday dinners and rest, Roderick Boyd has a drink and gets mean.
Date: 1942-08-27
Related: None.
Players:
clifton..lucietta..roddy..

River Front, Higsi
Sun Aug 27, 1942


The Watauga River flows right along side Watauga Drive. In some places it seems quite deep, in others shallow enough to walk across. The bank slopes gently down toward the river and flattens out before the water, making this an ideal spot for fishing.

Weather:
It is summer. The weather is warm and clear.


Early evening in Higsi found Clifton once again in town, but this time without his camera. He had stopped back home to drop off the camera as well as the bag of treats from the bakery. After helping out some on the home front, he had come back into town in time to catch the early starts of sunset. Finding a nice quiet place by the river front, the Walker had placed his satchel under his head and laid on his back. Eyes are closed a moment as his thoughts wonder on who knows what. It was peaceful, for the moment at least.

<FS3> Lillie rolls Empath: Success.

Sunday is a day for family dinners; for quality time, for many denizens of Higsi. Even the clusters of old fellows who like to fish alongside the Watauga have elected to be at home today. But there are some, to whom, Sunday represents a time for tying one on. A certain someone got started 'early' even. Roderick Boyd started at the Gallows and found himself getting bored fast… or maybe the 'hero' vibe had since worn off. One as insecure as Roddy always needed that reassurance and this evening, he found none. Even the remembrance of shooting that Walker bastard in the skull hadn't charged him. So he had left the dive bar and made for the riverfront; a walk would help, even when feeling so mean.

It had only taken fifteen minutes; fifteen minutes for 'Something Else' to happen… and not in the fun way. Adrenaline and fear had sent Roddy running quickly.. leaving behind only one person upon the bank of the river.

Which brings us to the present, where Lillie O'Clery is walking alone. She is fancied up as per usual following a visit with Tilda… but something is off. THe reclining Walker may hear her light footsteps approaching indirectly.

Clifton does loft a brow, despite his eyes staying closed, hearing the approaching footsteps. He had either been down the river enough or not here long enough to overhear any kind of disagreement. Either way, the sounds of somebody else does get his tension up enough for him to sit upright. Looking over in their direction, his tense form eases as he sees who it is. "Lillie. Hey…" Something was…off though. "Everything okay?" He asks with a furrowed brow now.

Blink, Lillie startles. Which is an odd thing: usually she is much more aware of who she sees, and normally she would quickly realize it's Clifton and be happy to see him. But she freezes like a scared rabbit and jolts for all of half a second, her eyes looking to the left and right before settling upon the Walker. Her sense is all a'jumble after whatever happened, because something did happen. Her hair is a flaring thing behind her slight shoulders, left long and loose and it looks as if she mussed it somehow. Her clothing — a fitted black pencil skirt and delicate ivory blouse — looks okay… at a distance. Her hand is up against her collarbone abruptly, and finally.. finally she notices Clifton and hears his voice.

Lillie cannot speak, her face crumples with upset and she stands awkwardly, sobs beginning to escape her.

As soon as he takes in her expression as well as the sight of her hair and attire, Clifton is up and in a fast step towards her. Bag left forgotten for the moment, he moves with arms open towards her a moment before jerking them back hesitantly. Would it just freak her out more? "Hey…Lillie. Hey…c'mhere." His arms move forward again, but he'd let her close the distance. Okay. Who did he need to kill?

<FS3> Lillie rolls Mind: Failure.

Mercifully she does not flinch again, only watches the Walker with those big eyes and her lips working as she tries to calm herself down. Of course this goes over like a lead balloon and her features fall again, breath hitching and mouth trembling as words fail and she gives into another series of sobs. Seeing Clifton there with arms open, taking care not to startle her further, is enough and she pads forward, all of her stress from previous days bleeding into this 'awful thing' that happened and she simply cries her heart out for a time, easily enfolded now that she has conceded to being held. The response of anger on Clifton's part — the question on who needs to 'die' — washes over the Empath briefly but does not hold fast. She's just so rattled.

"B—B…" She hitches, breathes. C'mon Lillie, focus. Her neck tilts as if she is trying to prevent pressure from touching a certain part of it, closer to her collar. What could this be now?

"Boyd.. Roderick.." She coughs out.

To the best of his ability, Clifton keeps his form from tensing as he hears that bastard's name. No. This wouldn't help right now. He could deal with Boyd later. Right now, he had to be here for Lillie and make sure she was alright. "Shhh it's okay. I've got you. It's alright…" A hand moves up and down her back in a soothing attempt until he notices her head pulling in an odd direction. "Lillie…what…" He stops himself, focusing on keeping his tone calm. "Let me see your neck…"

As always.. always always.. Clifton is safe. Lillie does not blubber and cling though, she just stands there and draws in his presence. His words are absorbed too; it's his words especially that ground her. Is she aware of that attempt to keep calm…? Perhaps. There's just too much happening in her head, now, to focus on what her sense fields. Her bottom lip shakes again and she breathes deep.. deeper. She can be felt shaking like a leaf and to see her attire is to see the vague marking of dirt along the junction between her neck and shoulder. She was grabbed by a palm roughly and held, it appears.

Carefully unbuttoning enough to reveal her collarbone — she's still decent — there's an angry red patch with five distinct darker lesions that are… most certainly fingerprints. Lillie does not have large shoulders, and the marking is encompassing.

"I hit him—" She whispers, eyes brimming. "He was yelling at me."

Clifton sees the red of her shoulder…and has to stop himself from seeing red in anger. His head lowers a moment as he bites his lip, form tensing. However, for the moment, he just pulls her into him and into a more encompassing hug. "You're safe. He's not here." If he was stupid enough to show up again Clifton would make sure it was the last decision he ever made. But for now, focus on Lillie. He couldn't just run off and leave her like this. Clyde would never forgive him. Hell, he'd never forgive himself. "Had he been drinking again?" Not that it made it okay either way, but it was details he'd need for when he relayed this all to Clyde.

That anger… Lillie did not see the lowering of his head, or the biting of his lip.. but God above, she felt it. The sense may be weak and scrambled but the Walker's desperately-restrained anger sizzles through her psyche, quick as a heartbeat. Lillie shudders once and moves to fix the buttons, her brow furrowed. "I need to sit.." She says gently, sounding calmer.. but not looking it. "H-he ran.. after he did this.. grabbed me." A pause, she wipes a tear quickly. "He was drinking and he found me j-just up the way… quite a ways. A-about a half hour ago." She explains shakily. Assuming she is let go when her body moves to sit down, Lillie anxiously sets herself down into a patch of grass, close to the Walker's bag.

She looks up at Clif again, looking both achingly vulnerable and there.. in bits… tiny sparks of emotion… angry. "He caught up to me and s-started talking… saying things to me. He went too far and got too close.. i-I could smell the liquor… so I hauled off a-and…"

A slender hand extends, her right one. The palm is still livid with redness, from the strike to Boyd's unshaven face. But look closer, there's bruising beginning to slither across her knuckles. He grabbed her there too. "I slapped him. Hard.. t-then.."

The Walker does indeed move to give her room to sit down, waiting for her to be seated before sitting himself and staying beside her. Protectively. Yes, she was the Alpha's heart and that was part of it, but they had been friends long before Lillie and Clyde had gotten together. Even before she and Jesse had. She was one of the first, if not first, friend Clifton had made in Higsi and with that history came loyalty. Letting her vent and explain what had happened, he stays quiet, but keeps his attention on her.

Poor Clif has had to deal with a lot in his association with Lillie: the severe breaking of his younger cousin's heart and all that has come to pass with Clyde in-turn. But there's plenty of good in between and Lillie can 'feel' that protectiveness. That loyalty. Here's the best part of being an Empath: it's a language that speaks to her beyond words and even beyond actions, however telling both may be. She breathes again, feeling her strength return though she cannot quite get her eyes to stop streaming. Her voice, however, is stronger. Fiercely accented, but no longer broken and weakened. In fact, here comes her fire; Lillie may not be big and scary but there in her watered-down voice is every single one of those years where she could have grown up in her home Ireland. All of the steadfast strength to be found in that promise.

"That son of a bitch!" She cries out, voice shrill and sharp, before she dissolves again into a few sobs. Hands lift to rub her face as she leans into Clif some. "That chinny son of a ditch-dwelling bitch!" The Empath cries, her hurt boiling over.

Calm… she watches Clif again, eyes wide and wet and hurt. "A-after I hit him, he had this awful look.. before I could move he had me.. he grabbed me. B-but the things he said Clif… how can this man be able to walk free i-in this.." She trails off.

Clifton lets her lean into him as she releases her frustrations against Roddy. "He's a miserable bastard and miserable bastards only feel better by making others more miserable than them…" He frowns, form still tense but he keeps one arm around her. Perhaps to assure her and himself both that he wasn't leaving. No chasing after Roddy. Yet. "What did he say? Did it have to do with you talking to us?" meaning the Walkers. "Or was it more of him trying to make passes at you? What else did he do or say?"

"W-we never got along… the only time Roddy was ever fool enough to make 'passes' at me was back when he met me as a waitress." She explains gently, two lines of tears glistening alongside her nose. Lillie is one of those jerks who can cry 'pretty', even when she's been terribly shaken up. Just the right amount of color, intense eyes, no snot or blotchiness… lucky bitch. But that's neither here nor there. "Back before I really got to know Jesse." She adds, to further place the timeline.

Grateful for her friend's proximity, she looks up at his face again even if Clif is either looking away or down. She is obviously glad that he has stayed with her. "I'm staying at Pine, u-until that.. possessed boy is dealt with. He came to me and said… 'living at old lady Ellis's house again? Failed at keeping your own place?' .. o-or soome garbage like that. It bothered me at first but then he got worse.." Lillie looks down at her knees, quivering still beneath her skirt. "Called me a Walker whore.. still can't get my nationality right." Lillie tries to laugh, but shivers. "He truly does dislike me, which I could care less about… but…"

She shrugs, then winces with a little moue of pain.

Listening to her as she explains everything, Clifton is still tense, but manages to keep further frustration from showing. Until the whore comment. His head lowers again, the arm that is not around Lillie forming a fist by his side. However, looking back up and seeing her wince in pain with the shrug he furrows a brow. "He's an asshole…and you know the worst part about assholes? All they do is stink and spew shit." Clearing his throat he looks down again a moment before back to her "You want me to go get Clyde? Would having him with you make you feel better? I can take you back to where you're staying first." He offers.

The 'shit' comment causes the Empath's lips to curl up tremulously. "He's an asshole with influence, I-I'm afraid…. for me to even go to the Sheriff, he would find a loophole… what scares me is that he can still be capable of such violence.. t-though he looked startled after and ran away. B-but he's sweet on Miss Styne.. w-what if he.. ever…" Suddenly her eyes brim again and Lillie heaves a quick sigh. Focus. Her eyes watch Clif's clenching fist of all things.

"I don't give a damn what he thinks of my a-association with you and your kin. It's when he went on to insult you all further that I got angrier. B-by then he had my hand, after I struck him. He hates Walkers. I wish I could tell you what it f—-what it felt like to see his face. He held my hand like a demon, Clif…" Lillie whispers, watching his profile. "I kicked him in the leg next and hollered, I-I don't remember what I said next… but then he grabbed my shoulder and just dug in. I had to scream at him i-in order for him to stop…"

This is said with finality; the conclusion to her tale. Lillie's brow furrows. "He hates Clyde… hates him…. I'm afraid if Clyde is told and h-he goes after Boyd, something will happen…" She looks down sadly, corners of her mouth quivering.

"Lillie. Look. It's no secret to us what Roddy thinks of us. The whole town hates us." Aside from Lillie of course and a small handful of people. As for Clyde going after Roddy and all the risk of what could happen? If only she knew! "Well the only other option is to keep this from Clyde. I don't see either of us being able to pull that off effectively for many reasons." They both cared about Clyde. He wasn't stupid. The list goes on and on and on! "So I guess the real question is, would you rather tell him or do you want me to?"

It never gets old to Lillie… anyone who voices dislike or hatred for the hillfolk, she actually flinches. It has always been that way, starting with Jesse and yes, extending to the blind Walker even still. To all of them. As far as Lillie is concerned they are a people who are getting by and doing what they must do in an area where she could never follow, for whatever reason. Even flirting with that thought only brings the young woman more discomfort and she shrinks a bit, considering. "I do not like keeping this from him, and I won't." She says gently, scrubbing her face with a shaky hand. "I worry if I tell him initially, I-I won't be able to stop him from going off and seeking Boyd out. I can't even imagine what could happen.. the Boyds have guns in their house, Clifton, and if Clyde.. h-he…" She presses her face into her hands, shoulders rolling once——she cries out, reaches for the bruised one.

"Y-you.. please… tell him. Tell him that Boyd is drunk again, and mean.. you have a better chance of getting Clyde to keep calm." Understatement. Lillie looks at him imploringly, her eyes so very emotive. "I need to get home…." Hesitation. "B-back to Josie's. But I so terribly want to be home, where Roderick cannot hope to be close to me." She whispers to herself, though somehow she doesn't think he will be sniffing around her anytime soon.

Lillie knits her fingers into her shock of tousled locks, and looks pensively toward the river.

Clifton again listens and watches Lillie as she vents. As she worries. He feels awful for it. Angry. Sad. "I'll tell him. Promise." Reaching for his bag he pulls it over his head for the strap to rest across his chest and on one shoulder. "Come on. I'll walk you back to Josie's." Pushing to stand up he offers her his hand.

The young woman remains seated for a bit, hand resting upon but not rubbing her shoulder. It's still too tender. How will she pass this one off to people? Then there's her hand, still bruised from the troubled man's initial grab at her. Both of these things will hurt terribly come the morning, and look worse. Lillie's brow furrows again and looking at Clif's hand, she reaches forth with her unhurt palm and grasps it, pulling herself up. "I'm so sorry, Clif… for all of this.. this trouble." She whispers. "I-I shouldn't have hit him, incensed him… but he was so close and so vile." She admits, fixing her skirt and looking at the Walker sadly, the breeze flicking a chunk of her reddish-brown hair.

He felt vile too; she cannot tell Clif this, or anyone. People would think her mad. The rage in Roddy was sharp, acrid, pointed. Her skin erupts into gooseflesh despite the warmth and she nods slowly. "Josie lives close… i-it's not a long walk. I'm so.. so sorry.."

Clifton would suddenly just pull Lillie into a hug again, "Never apologize for standing up to a bastard like Roddy. Understand?" Pulling back from the hug then he keeps his hands on either of her shoulders, his eyes making contact with hers. He'd then manage a small smirk "And please. Stop apologizing for coming to me with stuff or seeing yourself as a burden. You're my friend. I'm glad you come to me with it."

Pulled into the hug, Lillie cannot help it.. her eyes fill with tears almost immediately and finally, despite her sore body, she hugs the Walker in return. A tremulous sigh, and she pulls back gradually. "Thank you." She says, looking Clifton right in the eye. "From the very bottom of my heart." Follows quickly, before she pulls back and picks up the purse that she had dropped. Gingerly she slings it over her unbruised shoulder, and as the two turn to start on their walk to Josie's… Lillie sniffles a bit and considers.

".. i-it felt really nice to slap him." She says softly, as they make their way toward the town.

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