#it might be an analy-fic if i lean the right direction

[ericsonclan]

Search For the Bracelets

Summary: Another fic trade I did with @king-of-clubs98 :)

Word Count: 1000+

Read on A03: 

Willy could tell something was wrong as soon as he saw Anali’s face. Hurrying over to the picnic tables, he plopped down and was about to get straight to the point when he noticed the problem. There was no pink or yellow tinted bracelet on Anali’s arm. Usually there was one or the other but today it was bare. Without a symbol for the pronouns of the day, Willy would have to ask directly. “What are your pronouns today, ‘Nali? And where are the bracelets?”

“She,” Anali murmured, clearly still lost in her own thoughts. “And they’re missing,” Her hands shook nervously, Willy guessed from the stress of being without her bracelets. Anali never went without them. She’d had them since she arrived at Ericson and was quite attached. Besides, if something was lost in this apocalyptic world, chances were you’d never be able to get another.

Willy watched his friend for a moment, his eyebrows sympathetically knit in concern, before standing up with his hands on his hips. “Well then, we just have to find them! The hunt begins!” He was about to speed off in the first direction that struck his fancy when a thought struck him. “Oh, where did you see them last? We should probably start there,”

“I don’t know,” Anali groaned, carding her fingers through her hair. “I went hunting with Aasim yesterday, came home and helped Omar with dinner and went to bed after Louis’ game night. I didn’t even think to look at my arm that whole time! Stupid! Stupid!” She whacked her head in annoyance as if that would shake the lost memories out into the light.

Willy immediately grabbed her hand to stop her. “If it was a normal day for you, then we’ll just follow your normal route! First we’ll ask Aasim if he’s seen anything. Do you know where he is?”

“Well, he’s not on watch or out hunting so there’s only one other place he could be,”

---

“Your bracelets?” Aasim looked up from the garden patch he was currently working, wiping away a bead of sweat and leaving a smudge of dirt on his nose in the process. “I didn’t notice they were missing when we went out hunting and I’m sure I would have. Whichever one you’re wearing always clinks while you walk,” He looked over to Ruby who was busy at work picking herbs. “What about you, love? Have you seen them?”

Ruby shook her head, looking up sympathetically at Anali. “Sorry, Sug. I haven’t seen them. But I’ll be sure to keep my eyes out and give you a holler if I spot them!”

Aasim watched Anali with concern, his older brother instincts clearly on alert. “Are you gonna be alright?”

Anali looked unsure but nodded, looking away.

Willy gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, we’ve only just started our search!”

---

Heading back to the front yard, they ran into Omar and Zason who was helping move firewood in preparation for their next meal. Hearing Anali’s predicament, they dropped what they were doing and helped give the area round the cauldron and the firewood a thorough search. No luck. Zason’s usually cheery expression drooped as he saw Anali’s distress. “If you like, I could try to gather some craft supplies and make you new bracelets. I promise they’d be totally awesome! We could add beads, glitter-”

“No,” Anali shook her head, her hands fidgeting once more. “Thanks, but… it just wouldn’t be the same. I need those bracelets,”

“And I’m sure you’ll find them,” Omar replied calmly, his voice as soothing as always. “Zason and I will keep looking for them wherever we go,”

Willy nodded, gently taking Anali’s hand once more. “Thanks, guys! We’ll see you around!”

---

On their way through the yard they stopped to inform A.J. who was on lookout duty of the missing bracelets as well. The boy seemed excited at the thought of a scavenger hunt for the bracelets, but his guard duty came first and foremost. He solemnly promised to look as hard as he could as soon as his shift was over. Thanking AJ for his future assistance, the pair headed toward the school to continue their search.

On their way there, they spotted Clementine and Violet up on top of the belltower. Willy ran up towards the structure, cupping his hands over his mouth and calling out. “Hey! Have either of you seen Anali’s bracelets?”

Both girls leaned forward from their spots seated on the edge of the tower. They looked confused and called back in unison, “What?”

“BRACELETS!”

“Baking mitts?!” Clementine shouted.

“That can’t be fucking right,” Violet retorted.

“BRACE-LETS!!”

“Mace kits?”

“Clem, how could that possibly be it?”

Willy looked down, feeling dejected. The conversation was going nowhere. This time it was Anali that took his hand. “We can ask them later once they climb down. Let’s move on for now,”

“Willy nodded, a small smile crossing his face. If Anali wasn’t giving up, then he wasn’t either.

---

The pair scoured the entire front yard. The tire swing, the graves, the picnic tables, they searched them all. The bracelets were nowhere to be found. With no success outside, they headed inside to the dorms. They tore apart Anali’s room searching for the bracelets then checked Aasim’s room, Ruby’s, anywhere they might have been accidentally dropped. The results of the search of the rooms and hallways was the same: zilch. Wearied by their continued failures, Willy and Anali headed toward the admin building. Perhaps their luck would change there. And there was still one last person to ask.

Entering the main hall, the pair could hear the sound of familiar piano music. They headed toward the music room together, cracking open the door to find Louis completely absorbed in playing one of his newest songs. Walking into the room, both of them waited for Louis to finish up so they could ask him about the bracelets. But the song just kept going and going. Willy started to wonder if it had looped and Louis was planning to play the same song for the entire day. Unable to wait any longer, Anali tapped Louis’ shoulder. He let out a startled yelp, his arms flailing. Before either of them could catch him, Louis had lost his balance and fallen off the piano bench.

“Sorry!” Anali exclaimed, wringing her hands in contrition. “We didn’t mean to scare you, but we’re looking for my bracelets. Have you seen them?”

Louis waved off the apology, a good-natured smile on his face. Sitting up, he signed a single word – “couch”.

Willy shook his head. “We already checked the couches outside. They weren’t there,”

Louis looked surprise at that answer. He signed more, looking between the two of them. “Anali took the bracelets off for the game. Maybe they’re under the pillows or on the ground?”

“That’s right!” Anali’s eyes widened at the memory. “I did take them off for that one game, the one where we all held hands and tried to untangle ourselves. But I put them back on right after! Or at least, I thought I did…”

“Let’s go outside and check again!” Willy was off like a shot, Anali right behind him. With a confirmed location for the missing bracelets, they searched the couches with renewed vigor. They pulled up the pillows, flipped over the couches to check underneath, even dug through the firepit with some half-burnt sticks. Still nothing. They had searched everywhere, asked everyone. The bracelets were nowhere to be found.

Anali plopped down on the edge of an overturned couch, her head lowered in despair. “If they’re not here or the yard or the dorms, they must be outside. And that means they’re lost for good,”

“No, it doesn’t!” Willy declared, unwilling to give up. “If they’re outside the walls, then they must be along the hunting path you and Aasim took. We’ll head out tomorrow at first light, retrace your steps and find them right where they fell off. Just wait and see!”

Anali looked up at Willy, offering a weak smile before her eyes turned to the sky. It was staring to grow dark out, the sun beginning its daily descent. They had wasted almost an entire day searching for the bracelets.

“Guys! Guys! Guys!!!” A.J.’s voice brought their attention back to the yard. He was running toward them, elated and almost out of breath. Coming to a stuttering halt in front of them, A.J. paused to catch his breath before beaming up at the older kids. “I did it! I spotted Anali’s bracelets!”

Willy’s eyes practically bugged out at that news. “What? Where?”

“They’re up in a nest on a tree by the wall! A bird must’ve seen them and thought they were cool. C’mon!” Without waiting to see if they were following A.J. ran off. Anali and Willy jogged after him, following A.J. up the guard tower where he had temporarily left his post in the excitement of his discovery. Picking up the binoculars, A.J. looked through them once more to find the location of the bracelets once more then handed them off to Anali. “They’re right over in that tree!”

Anali guided the binoculars where A.J. directed. A smile broke out on her face when she spotted what he had. “They are there! Right over in that tree!”

Willy let out a whoop of celebration. “I knew we could do it!” Then he paused. It was late, beyond the time the older kids had said was wise to go beyond the walls. He could wait till tomorrow and shimmy up the tree to get the bracelets, but after searching for so long and knowing exactly where they were, he didn’t want to make Anali wait that long. Borrowing the binoculars, Willy looked over at the tree. It wasn’t that far from the wall. Maybe if they just…

---

“Willy, Anali what in tarnation are you doing?” Ruby’s voice was taut with anger and fear as she watched the pair atop the wall, Anali holding onto the seat of Willy’s pants as Willy dangled precariously off the edge and reached out towards the nest.

“We’ll just be a minute, Ruby!” Willy called back. “We’re getting Anali’s bracelets!”

“Anali, Willy,” Aasim’s voice was firm. “You get down from there this instant. It’s not safe!”

“He’s almost got it!” Anali called back, glancing down at her brother before gasping as her grip on Willy’s pants slipped. She quickly corrected it, holding Willy’s shirt as well as his pants now, but not before earning the horrified gasps of everyone inside the yard.

“Guys, Aasim’s right!” Zason called, standing directly beneath the wall and looking deeply concerned. “It’s too dangerous. Besides, you could’ve asked me for help! I have long arms!”

“You would have dropped straight off of the wall and splatted on the ground,” Omar replied dryly. “A walker pancake,”

“I’m gonna help too!” A.J. declared, crawling up from the watchtower onto the wall.

“Like hell you are!” Clementine shouted, racing forward to stop him.

Willy stretched his arm as far as he possibly could, ignoring all the chaos in order to focus on his goal. He could almost reach the bracelets. He was half an inch away, maybe less. “Anali, let go of my pants! Just hold my shirt!”

“Seriously?!”

“Just for a second! Trust me!” He could tell Anali was hesitating, but a moment later amidst all the shouting and screaming, she did just that. Letting go of Willy’s pants, she held onto his shirt alone. Willy immediately dropped farther forward, his face hovering directly above the nest. The bracelets were in reach! Thrusting his hand forward, Willy snatched them both up. “Now pull me back!” He was yanked back all too fast, his arms flailing just as Louis’ had minutes ago. “Woah!!”

But Anali was ready to break his fall. Her hands wrapped round his waist, she helped steady Willy, making sure they were both stable before letting go.

“Nice, catch, ‘Nali!” Willy spun round with a bright smile, holding out his hand. “Tada!!! Told you we’d find them!” In his hand was the pair of bracelets, one pink one yellow, their tinted metal glimmering faintly in the waning light.

Anali looked at them in wonder, as if not believing they were really there. Then she snatched both of them up, placing one on each arm. Her hands were shaking again, but this time it was with joy. “We did it! We really did it!”

“I told ya!” Willy threw his arms round Anali, jumping up and down with elation. “We did it! We did it!”

“Get down from that wall NOW!” Aasim bellowed, his tone deadly serious.

The pair stopped in their merrymaking, offering apologetic waves down to Anali’s very concerned older brother before making their way back toward the watchtower to get down to the ground. Their hands were linked as they walked, Anali in front and Willy behind her. Willy felt his heart swell with pride at the sight of the bracelets gently clinking on Anali’s arms. It had been a crazy, frustrating, seemingly hopeless day. But in the end, it had all been worth it. Anali had her bracelets back.

#twdg #fanfic #twdg willy #rusim #twdg louis #twdg clementine #twdg violet #twdg aj #twdg omar #twdg aasim #twdg ruby