Adjustments

"You're late."

Carl looked up to see Adonai sitting like how he used to sit watch when they were living at the prison. He had his escrima standing upright like a staff and was leaning on them for support while occasionally scouting with the binoculars that he carried with him since before he joined them. His leg dangled down like he was relaxing but Carl knew that there was a purpose for it. And it was lying in the grass, panting happily.

It was a means for Krav to use as a stepping stone. Carl watched as a demonstration how Adonai hooked his foot into a step and the dog used it to get up to where the man was and was ready to charge at the enemy. It looked like a pretty neat trick but it was just one of many that Adonai trained Krav to do when they were faced with walkers or other people. It was one of the unique things about the man that was like a brother to his dad and an uncle to him.

Sighing, Carl replied, "I was practicing the TP that Denise said I should do."

"Good," Adonai said, not looking down at Carl. He gave a final look before swinging his leg over and jumping to the ground. "Then it should make today's session interesting." He gave a grin at Carl.

Carl knew what that meant. "Dad thinks that you're insane for insisting on this so soon after… After what happened."

Adonai walked over to where he had put the escrima he had made for Carl. He picked them up and tossed them at the boy and watched with amusement as he caught them deftly. "PT is working out," he joked.

"Yeah," Carl muttered. He looked around and then asked, "You sure you want to do this, Uncle Adi?"

"Worried about advantage?" Adonai turned and looked at Carl with a bemused expression. He gave a flick to Carl's nose and grinned wider when Carl caught his finger. "You shouldn't. I've been teaching you since the prison."

"Yeah but…" Carl knew he had to make a better argument. He watched as Adonai walked back over to the pack he took with him everywhere and pulled out a bandana and folded it to make a blindfold. He realized what he was doing and burst out, "You're gonna blindfold yourself?"

"Well," Adonai replied as he finished folding the bandana, "Your depth perception is compromised and you're learning how to work with what is left. Me? I've had to learn to rely on my other senses since I did a lot of travel at night and you know I used to be an Israeli soldier. So… this is practice."

"You really are crazy, Uncle Adi," Carl countered with a chuckle and a grin. He positions the escrima in his hands and held them.

"That's what your dad said when I sent Krav to look after you guys and I ran through the herd at the farm alone." Adonai was grinning as he positioned his escrima between his legs and brought the bandana up to his eyes.

"Not to mention what you did at Woodbury and here," Carl said in a joking tone. "Still amazes people what you can have Krav do."

"My secret." Adonai finished tying on the bandana so it covered both eyes. He picked up his weapons and pointed one at Carl and finished, "And one you're going to learn next."

Carl rolled his eyes in good humor and smirked when Adonai told him not to roll his eyes at him. He shook his head and twirled the weapon in his right to adjust to the feel of it. He moved to stand across from Adonai. "Yeah, sure," he said as he backed into position. "Slave driver."

The only warning Carl got was a chuckle before Adonai whirled on his heel and followed through with an overhead strike. Carl blocked and was ready for the next one. He knew this routine well since Adonai did teach him. They had gotten to the point where they could hit so it hurt but no serious injury and definitely no death.

It had his dad worried at first since Adonai was strong and could kill with one blow. He used his escrima to fight before resorting to the sword he had found when he took his sister south, trying to find respite and some sense of order. They had seen it and Carl knew that his dad knew that Adonai would protect Judith with his life. Carl liked Adonai and, while he could get frustrated with the almost passive nature he had, he could see how the man would offer advice to his dad about what to do and to calm a tense situation.

The familiar sting of the stick striking his upper arm, brought Carl back to front and center. He noted that it had hit his left and looked up to see Adonai grinning at him and saying, "Focus, Carl. And I'm not able to see you."

Carl nodded since it was true. He tried again and managed to hit Adonai with enough force to sting but not injure. As far as he could tell, they were essentially love taps. He adjusted and took a swipe and blinked as Adonai backed away with the tip coming within inches of his nose. He almost didn't manage to block the strike that would have broken a forearm. The dull clunk of wood gave the hint of how hard it was.

Carl jumped back to take a breath and study Adonai. He needed to change his strategy. He saw Adonai looking at him, waiting for him and realized he was using his other senses. He could hear when Carl made a move. Carl tested it by tossing something to the left while making it sound like he was moving in that direction and saw Adonai's reaction. He came up with an idea and decided to put it into action.

It was a trial but it was one that Adonai had been teaching him to do; how to walk through the outside without drawing noise and attention. It was a hunting thing but also a means of survival since noise attracted walkers. It would start out with one and then more came and then you were overrun. At first Carl thought it was silly but now it was proving to help him out. He noted Adonai's look of confusion as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

Carl was able to sneak up on Adonai and deliver a few blows on his arms before he learned and adjusted. It just made the fight more interesting and it took an interesting turn. He started changing up from his usual moves and he could tell that it surprised Adonai but the man didn't give up and neither was he. He just kept going.

It was completely a surprise when Carl found himself at the better end of victory when he knocked Adonai's escrima to the side and pointed one at his throat and held the other in a defensive position. He kept his eye narrowed as he looked at Adonai as he held his hands up in surrender. His breathing was heavy as he caught it.

"Nice work, Carl," Adonai said.

Carl relaxed as Adonai removed the blindfold. It was then that he noticed that there were people watching. He relaxed and twirled the weapon in his hand. "I got lucky, Uncle Adi."

"No," Adonai replied shaking his head while smiling at him. "You saw how I was compensating for loss of sight and took advantage of it. Plus, you started getting why I move the way I do when outside." He put a hand on Carl's shoulder, "It was good."

Carl looked up at the grin Adonai was giving him. He nodded with a smile on his face. "You know that we don't have to do this much anymore. Not after what you and dad and the town did."

"I don't have to but…" Adonai shrugged as he walked over to pick up his weapon. He checked them and twirled them before putting them in the holder on his back. "I'm a soldier at heart, Carl. It's what I do and sometimes I can't help but anticipate the other shoe dropping. It's never really that case."

Carl frowned a little as he folded up his kit. He slung the pack on his shoulder and started following Adonai and Krav. "But you manage to settle in like the rest of us. You can live as normal as it can get."

"A personal choice and…"

"Because of Beth?"

Adonai paused to look at Carl. Carl knew that it was hit or miss if someone mentioned Beth. Everyone from their original group knew that Adonai and Beth had been together. It was cute in a way but also unusual since Adonai had a tendency to rebuff advances and yet Beth had been persistent and… It had been a hard blow when she died and Carl knew that Adonai had been there when it happened. Even though they were demoralized at that point, Adonai was the one that remained practical about the whole thing.

Carl looked at the man that was an uncle to him and added, "I'm sorry. It's just… You don't have to be the soldier all the time."

Adonai looked at Carl and smiled at him, "I know." He turned to look in the direction they had been heading in. "I miss her. I know she would be asking me about things that would matter to her but I wouldn't see a point to answering."

"Like giving your name?" Carl grinned as he joked.

"That was for security purposes," Adonai replied with a grin as he looked at Carl before continuing in the direction they were heading. "I didn't know you and I was suspicious of people. Still am, which is why I ask the right questions."

"The kind that have people laugh."

"Now who is the wise ass now?"

They laughed as they made their way to the chain link enclosure that that had been put up a bit makeshift and looked like they were going to collapse but Tobin assured them that they would hold. They were greeted by the yipping sound followed by a bored yawn. Carl saw at least four puppies that had black shading like Krav since he was a German Shepherd and it was mixed in with some gray and white shading, obviously from the mother. Carl paused when he realized what it was and pointed at her, "Is that?"

"Yep. She's a wolf," Adonai said as he approached quietly and kneeled in front of her and extended a hand. "Couldn't avoid it when Krav made friends." He petted her as she sniffed his hand. "And you're new lesson."

"What?"

"You're gonna help me train them."

Carl blinked at Adonai as the man grinned at him. His dad said that he was crazy at times but he was a good man. Carl couldn't deny it but even he thought that the man did things that didn't make sense until the moment of truth came. If they were looking for normal and consistency, Adonai Hakimi was one of those things. Even though he was erratic with whom he taught certain things, it was consistent and normal. Looking at it, Carl was sure damned glad that he was a part of their people. He was certainly glad that he was there to protect Judith.

Looking at the man, Carl took a breath and nodded. It was strange but Adonai seemed to get that he wanted to live as normal as possible and was teaching him to be ready for anything but treated it like a workout. This just seemed to be one more thing except it was training dogs like Krav was trained. "Okay," he said, "Though I think you're better at it."

Adonai laughed at that, "Adjustments, Carl. That's all it is."

Carl chuckled as he stepped forward. "Right."

A/N: Another one shot looking at Adonai Hakimi but this time with Carl. Set after the deadly stand at night against the walkers in Alexandria. Review if you like the character. Enjoy.