Ellie was most drawn in by comic book stores though. Seth knew a lot about them, even recognized some of the comics by their cover alone. No Savage Starlight was found in these stores however, to most of the group's dismay. It was fun, listening to Seth talk about the story line to most of the comics. Some of them had the most ridiculous plots, but most of them were pretty fun.
And the more they traveled, the more Ellie learned about them, and even a bit about Joel. Joel had mentioned his daughter to Seth one night without anyone provoking it.  Seth and Joel were cooking together, and it was almost like it brought him some comfort to have a fellow father near him. Someone who could understand the fear of losing their child, but also understanding the pain of a familial loss.
"I think Sarah and them would have gotten along." Joel said suddenly and the two stared at each other in silence.
Seth had heard about Sarah from Joel in passing. He knew that she was dead, and that she was Joel's daughter. Hearing him say that did bring Seth a weird sense of comfort. As if he was approving of Seth, Ace, and their daughter.
"Me too." Seth settled.
When they finally hit Wyoming, Joel kept up on the lead, but he seemed a little hesitant to actually go further — it was almost as if he was dreading it. They could feel it in his slower, more deliberate movements.
And this was when Joel finally decided to announce that he and his brother were not necessarily on good terms. Maybe not even on terms.
"If we get turned around at the door, I'm beating your ass, old man." Ace decided, wiping his face of sweat.
"I'll damn well let ya." Joel assured him. "But I don't think Tommy would do that. I don't think so, at least."
When they approached the riverside and came up to the dam, Ellie and (Y/N) both seemed pretty curious about it
"What's that thing?" Ellie asked and pointed.
"It's a hydroelectric plant." Joel said. "It, uh, turns water into energy."
"A hydra... what?"
"I've heard about these." (Y/N) chirped. "Basically the energy from the river current provides a source of energy!"
A prideful look crossed her face, almost as if she was happy to deliver that information to the group, and Ellie nodded as if she understood. The two girls shared a look before Ellie finally gave up on the act and sighed.
"I have no clue how that even works." Ellie said decidedly.
"Well, everything on the planet Earth provides energy, it can't be destroyed, so it gets transferred over and over again. And water is one of those things that is constantly providing energy just by moving! And, if I remember right, basically, they make the energy into electricity just by the water's natural movement!"
"Ah." Ellie said, obviously still not getting it.
"It's so cool how things like this work." (Y/N) continued. "I mean, who would have thought of something like this? You know?"
"I guess when you put it like that, it does sound kind of cool." Ellie said decidedly and rubbed her chin in thought. "But, uh, how do we get around it?"
"We could swim it?" Seth suggested, "Looks easy enough, the water is deep, but we should be able to pass."
"I, uh, can't swim." Ellie said uneasily.
"I see." Seth said and rubbed his forearm. "Well, nevermind on that idea."
Joel already seemed to have a good idea. He twisted a valve that was nearby to see what would happen, and to everyone's surprise, it seemed to bring a crosswalk halfway across.