For a moment, she thought she saw him look surprised. However, a blink later, he was narrowing his eyes at her, and she threw any notion of surprise out the window. It must have been her imagination. "Happy late birthday.” She said with a small smile, something about the mood of their conversation keeping her from being too enthusiastic. “How old are you now?”

Her words were something Dahlia had often told him, and he found himself throwing her a surprised glance. The reaction was quick, however, before he let his face go blank again. Green hues narrowed at the girl as he considered her question, too tired to not answer it and push her away - yet too tired to speak at all. “Was a week ago.”

His grins didn’t put any of her doubts to rest. In fact, his whole confident attitude had her believing already that she was going to lose this bet. She’d still fake her own confidence and reassurance regardless. “Are you suggesting we change the time limit till tomorrow night, then?” Sage jumped on his words, faking sincerity to make it seem like she really would be okay with changing the time. She only faked it for a moment, however, before her grin - which had shrunk - grew again.  “Cause we can totally do that too if you’re so confident in your abilities! Just say the word.”  

“One week? Boy, you really are underestimating me here, girly,” he grinned. If he were to have been honest with her, he’d have told her that he had no idea how to go about somehow winning his current target. He would have told her that there was something extremely different about this person - yet something that was all too familiar to him. But she was just a stranger whose name he didn’t even know, and he was hardly ever honest with his own brother. “It’s far more than enough time,” he easily lied, a smirk growing on his face as he watched her expression. “Just you wait, I’ll know that name by tomorrow afternoon.”

She was hesitant again, after hearing his words. The subject of being alive had been one of importance to her since the world’s turn, and at a comment like his, she couldn’t help but give her opinions. “Being alive’s different from living.” She choose not to elaborate any further on that. “Oh.” His reason to keep up with the dates was similar to hers then. She looked out for her birthday too, among other things. “Is it soon?”

“It’ll keep me alive too.” He didn’t know what was keeping her around. There was absolutely no reason for her to remain a part of the conversation unless she wanted to test his limits. Luckily - or maybe unluckily - enough for her, they were far higher than was usual for him. “My birthday,” he continued, realizing he hadn’t given a direct answer. “That’s why.”

She didn’t miss the fidget. That and his words once again caused her to wonder what happened to him in his past and wonder what he had to suffer through before he made it here. “Worryin’ like that won’t do ya any good. It’ll just ‘cause ya more stress and paranoia than necessary.”

“Walls can fall, Blake.” 

“Breaches, too. Bandits, hunters.” He glanced ddown at his hands, watching them fidget for a moment. “Infected gettin’ through,” he finished in a mumble. 

“Oh.” She repeated, this time around with less surprise then before. “Okay. I was curious about the whole situation with her, I just didn’t want to overstep my bounds, ya know?” She confessed, sheepishly lifting one shoulder with her words. “I’m sorry to hear that, regardless. A mother shouldn't just... leave her child.” Granted, she didn’t know if the mother did willingly leave, if this was full on abandonment, but she could only assume, since Declan was the one with the kid now. With the turn of the conversation came genuine surprise on Sage’s part. “A guard, huh?” He looked the type in terms of physical appearance, but she still couldn't help the surprise. He was just too cute to imagine patrolling the borders handling guns and other weapons. “I’m sorry you don’t like your job. But your efforts are definitely appreciated. You’re keeping us all safe.” His little remark on remembering her caused her to grin and cock her head slightly. Instead of commenting on it, though, she only lifted her eyebrows at him. Her tone of voice, which had just been appreciative and softer, also shifted into something lighter as a result. “I’m a medic, yeah. Mostly deal with the smaller wounds and injuries, since the other medics are more qualified than me. Pretty decent work, I’d say. Can’t really complain on my part.”

“Ah - don’t think anything of that,” he said, noticing her reaction to his mention of Mina’s departure. “Nothing major happened, we just…didn’t see eye to eye anymore.” He shrugged. Explaining the absence of his child’s mother was almost a habitual event, having been so since day one with Demi. He let the conversation take a turn for the better, nodding along as he listened to Sage speak. Her logic made perfectly enough sense for him, as it was one similar to his own. He just never applied his own to himself very often. The question caught him off guard. He hadn’t realized that, through their whole conversation, he hadn’t thought of asking anything like it. “I - no, actually. I gardened before, but never anything like growing anything edible. I just never had a talent for that,” he answered, pursing his lips as he thought iit over. “I’m a guard, mostly doing daily patrols on the inside. I don’t…like the job, exactly. But it’s what I ended up with when I got here.” He paused and furrowed his brow. “What about you? I…think I’ve seen you around medics before, but I can’t be sure. I know I would have remembered seeing you before.”

thea and felicity feeding baby sara (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Considering the fact that she had no intention of telling him her name without the bet, and the fact that nowadays there wasn’t much to offer when it came to bets, she supposed the new arrangement definitely made things more interesting.  “No, I think that deal works perfectly. Though, I do have one thing to add aside from benefits of winning.” She added as a thought came to mind. “We need a time limit. Can’t go and give you weeks to try to seduce this guy, cause that just wouldn’t be fair. How about...a week? Just one, to try and bang this guard. That seems like more than enough time to me, given your extraordinary skills, no?” Her words near the end dripped with sarcasm as a smile took hold of her lips. She honestly thought a week was pushing it, if he had already been working an angle on this guy before this bet. How close was he? Could he complete the bet that night? With nothing better to do nowadays, would he focus on solely trying to nab this guard in his free time? She didn’t know, but she offered up the week nonetheless.

“The night with the guard, and your name,” Rick corrected, falling into an easy stance as he crossed his arms over his chest. His expression told all - he found the fact that she thought that was everything there was on the table extremely ridiculous. There was nothing Rick loved more than raising the stakes. He was an adrenaline junkie, after all. And now that he was stuck behind walls, he would take whatever risk he could - even if it was as small as letting some kid have something over him. “If you win, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing I didn’t get laid and don’t ever have to tell me your name. Unless you specifically want to. Though I’m good with just calling you baby face now. … Anything else you’d like to add?”

“You still worry about dying that often? Even now, inside the walls?” Sage was walking on so many eggshells, she wasn’t even sure if she should have questioned him. She was just so nervous of him blowing up at her again. But she had to keep the conversation going, and honestly, if she hoped to someday make amends with this guy for whatever awful thing she did to him to make him hate her so much, she’d need to not be scared to ask him simple questions. Plus, she was genuinely curious of the answer.

A small shrug lifted his shoulders. He wanted to get angry, to turn her away. His silence changed nothing in the fact that he still wanted her nowhere near him. But there was nothing for him to lash out at. Nothing to rationally call a reason. At least not yet. “Just to have somethin’ to do,” He tapped his hands against his knees before leaning back a bit, letting his eyes focus on Sage’s face. “Y’know other than worry about dyin’ ever fuckin’ day.”

His words threw her off. Up until this point she had assumed his family unit’s life was good before the spread of the virus. Now, his words mixed with the frown, made her think otherwise. “Oh.” She let slip out, tempted to get some concrete answers, but unsure if she wanted to see that small little frown of his grow if she did. She left those thoughts alone for now. The return of his smiling made her grin as well. “Average non-florist seems just about right.” She agreed with a laugh. “Nothing wrong with being ‘over-fascinated’, if that’s even a thing. Which I don’t think it is. You just love flowers a whole lot. Probably made you great at your job. Speaking of jobs, though, what is it that you do now? Are you a farmer?” She guessed, assuming since he loved flowers and used to work with them, farming would be his best suited occupation. 

He faltered at the word ‘cute’. The only thing he found remotely cute about himself wasn’t even a trait of his own, but a connection. That connection was Demi. Otherwise, there was nothing Declan saw about himself that was even close to fitting the word. “Demi’s mom used to say I look like one of those construction workers in the movies, before little Button was born. Never said much to me after, but,” he shrugged, slight frown shifting back to a dismissive smile. Speaking of the abandonment never had been easy, though it wasn’t something he ever put off. If it was something he could deal with, knowing that it wouldn’t affect any others, he spoke of it. Though never while Demetria was around. As she spoke, he curiously nodded, watching her move before finishing. He never expected people to know very much about what he considered interesting. It was a selfish thing to do. “Nah, you have enough knowledge to be an average non-florist,” he teased, grinning at her as he rubbed his hand across his cheek. “I’m just…overly fascinated by them, I’ve been told.”

His description, though it helped her rule out some, didn’t lead her to any conclusions on who it was he was talking about. She’d just have to watch him and his guard interactions afterwards. Or she could just ask, which is what she’ll probably do. If she decides to take the bet, that is. She still hasn’t decided yet. “Hmmm, well. I’m warming up to this. Just a few last questions. Only thing you’re getting out of this if you win is a night with a cute guard, and holding this over your head for me if I win, correct? No other prizes?”

“He’s one of the younger ones - kind of awkward…a t least he was the times I talked to him. He’s pretty cute, actually,” he continued, tilting his head at her as he spoke. He furrowed his brow, the image of a blushing Chip popping into his head for a split second. A smile almost grew on Rick’s face. The thought was hastily shaken off as he blinked, clearing his head to refocus. “You doubt me, and I’m more than sure that I’ll do this. We’ll bet about it.”

“Why are you keepin’ track?” Sage clarified, her voice neutral. She knew why she was keeping track. She still had days she wanted to celebrate, or at the very least acknowledge as they came around. He, however, might have another reason. Maybe it was to keep track of important dates like her, or maybe because he just wanted to know how long it’s been since the last time he asked for such information that could be argued as being trivial nowadays. Thanks to her limited knowledge of him, it could honestly be anything. 

“Why what?” His eyes landed on her at the question. He didn’t know what she meant behind it. She could have either been questioning his statement or why he had been keeping count. He sighed and bit the inside of his cheek, waiting on an answer. Though he would have initially turned the cold shoulder because of who she was, he found himself unable to - almost far too emotionally drained to do anything.

A comment like that was begging for some sort of town slut remark, but Sage held back on that, keeping it in the back of her mind in case it had more use another time. Instead she zoned in on the bet, narrowing her eyes at his proposal. A bet involving a third party could have its up, and it could have its downs. She needed more details. “I’m interested. Elaborate.” She commanded, some part of her mind already running through the guards, aimlessly trying to figure out which one he could be talking about.

“Hit multiple of every occupation, if they’re interesting enough.” This girl was someone Rick wanted to keep around, even if he didn’t know very much about her. In fact, the only accurate thing he knew so far was that she was young and pretty. But she was amusing, and Rick needed that. Someone to keep the air light when all others failed. He watched her for a moment, taking in her interest as a push forward - a push to continue. “What kind of bet? Well, the only kind we can have while zombies are lurking and I’m still kicking. How about a bet concerning how long it takes me to nab this guard?”

She wasn’t expecting him to speak. If he did, she didn’t expect him to say anything other than an insult or a demand for her to disappear. The fact that he said something different took her by surprise, causing her to glance sharply at the man beside her. For the sake of keeping the peace - however temporary it was - Sage decided not to voice any of her opinions on his first statement for the time being. She focused elsewhere. “Why?”

Oliver watched the girl for a quick second before glancing down at his clasped hands, fighting the urge to let them fidget. “Keepin’ track is kinda pointless these days, but I was doin’ it too,” he mumbled. 

“...No problem.” 

“Great. Useless information, then. … Thanks.”

You’ve been flying so high Avoiding the road Pretending not to feel alone…

“...S’the twenty-sixth, I think.... Been tryin’ to keep track.”

“Do you know what day in April it is? I lost count a while back.”