Catrina was alone and scared but she didn't let that distract her. She couldn't. When the dead were walking around you didn't focus on fear, you focused on survival. Catrina didn't want to die so she pushed her fear aside and trudged on through the woods. It was night time and the sound of the dead could easily be hidden by all the bug sounds. That's why Catrina hated the night. She always got attacked at night. She didn't know how long she'd been walking but at some point she heard voices. A man's and a woman's. Catrina hadn't seen living people in a long time so she crept toward the voices. She stayed quiet as she peeked out through a couple of bushes, not wanting to get caught. The man was muscular, had dark brown hair, and was carrying the coolest looking crossbow Catrina had ever seen. The woman was smaller than him but looked somewhat strong and had pretty blond hair. They were talking about the blond woman wanting to die while a living dead hung from a tree. She was telling the man she'd give an answer for an arrow. When the man sent an arrow straight into the dead thing's head Catrina gasped loudly. She didn't mean to and she pressed her hands over mouth, worried that they or that a dead person had heard her. She missed what the woman said but she knew it wasn't a good answer. The man said so. Said it was a waste of an arrow. Problem was, he was looking towards Catrina as he spoke.
Catrina knew moving would get her caught so she stayed still. As the man and woman passed her though she started to wonder if being caught wouldn't be so bad. Not all people were bad like some of the ones in her last group...right? Catrina was so caught up in her internal debate that she didn't notice the man and woman sneaking up behind her until the man's hand was clamped down over her mouth and he was hauling her to her feet.
"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down!" Daryl said as the little girl kicked and struggled in his hold. He could understand why she was struggling, he was a big scary guy who had just grabbed her and covered her mouth. He had to do it though; they couldn't have her screaming and attracting Walkers. "I said calm down! Do you want Walkers to find us?!" He whispered to her harshly. That seemed to calm the girl down considerably though she looked confused and was still pulling at his hand. "Listen, we're not going to hurt you. We just wanna talk." The girl looked up at him and for a second all Daryl could think of was Sophia and how she probably felt as scared as this girl looked. He shook off the thoughts though. "Now I'm going to let you go but you're not going to scream and you're not going to run away. Got it?" Daryl told the girl.
The girl nodded and did as she was told when Daryl released her. She looked back at Andrea who Daryl had passed his crossbow to before focusing completely on Daryl. She seemed to see him as the bigger threat. Smart girl. He couldn't help but frown slightly at her. He'd thought she was Sophia until he'd been sneaking up on her. He'd hoped that she was but no. Sophia didn't have long tangled black hair and she didn't have big green eyes either.
"What's your name?" Daryl asked. He was a lot gentler now and it surprised Andrea who was alternating between looking around and looking at Daryl. Who knew the guy could actually seem gentle? Maybe it had to do with the girl looking like a frightened rabbit.
The little girl looked like she wanted to look at the ground but she kept her eyes firmly locked on Daryl like she expected him to try and kill her. Maybe she did expect it. Not all people were nice anymore. "Catrina. With a C." She said quietly, barely loud enough for Andrea to hear.
"Pretty name." Daryl said. Catrina smiled at him which brightened her face considerably. She seemed to realize what she was doing though because she quickly frowned again. "How old are you Cat?" Daryl asked, shortening her name without a thought. He wasn't surprised at how nice he was being to her. He'd always gotten along well enough with kids. The only reason he barely talked to kids anymore was because he didn't want to get attached.
"No one ever called me that." Catrina said, scrunching her nose up childishly. "They called me Trina. I didn't like it." Daryl smirked slightly, thinking it was kind of funny that a kid could still get bothered by a nickname in this world. "I'll be thirteen when it starts getting cold." She told him, seeming to remember that he'd asked her a question.
"Wow. You're almost an adult." Daryl said jokingly, smiling. Catrina smirked but gave the man a slightly annoyed look. She'd heard plenty of adults say that same thing to little kids and she was not a little kid. She had to make the man know that too or else they were going to have some problems. Daryl knew immediately what had annoyed her and he smirked, it was amusing when kids acted grown up. "Do you have a group around here?" Daryl asked, deciding that it was a good time to ask a more important question.
The girl's whole demeanor seemed to change. Suddenly she seemed so much older and so much darker. "No. They're dead." The girl told them, glaring slightly. She sounded closer to sixteen than thirteen then, her whole being changed by what was probably the loss of everyone she cared about.
Daryl glanced back at Andrea, exchanging a look with her. The little girl looked weak and seemed nonthreatening but that was clearly not true by the way she looked now and by what she had said. It didn't matter how long her group had been dead, any little girl that could survive in the woods with Walkers for even a day had to be tough. Daryl hoped Sophia was tough. "Alright, sorry. You seen a girl about your age wandering around out here?" Daryl asked, using a less gentle tone for this girl who clearly wasn't just a scared little kid.
"No." Catrina replied harshly, folding her arms over her chest. Daryl glared down at her but couldn't help but be slightly amused by the attitude. She reminded him a bit of Merle, hot headed and quick to be mean when feeling a bit threatened. "Why? Did you lose someone?" Catrina asked, sounding a bit more concerned.
"A girl named Sophia. She's blond and was carrying a doll. You sure you ain't seen her?" Daryl asked. Catrina shook her head, telling him she hadn't. Daryl let out a huff before turning to Andrea. He took his crossbow from her and slung it over his back before looking back at Catrina. "You coming?" He asked her. The little girl looked shocked and she stared up at him, mouth agape, like he had just said he was a dancing Russian bear. "We've got a group and at least some food. When was the last time you ate? You look like you're nothing but skin and bones." Daryl told the girl.
"Do I have a choice?" Catrina asked. She looked extremely hesitant and almost ready to run.
Daryl shrugged and motioned for Andrea to start walking. "Sure you do. Personally, I don't want a snot nosed little kid following me through the woods but that's not up to me." He said as he followed after Andrea. He walked slowly though, making sure the little girl who was taking tiny steps after them could still see him. "Besides, you look smart. I'm sure you can figure out which option's better." Daryl added, finally looking away from her.
Go with the slightly scary but seemingly trustworthy man and the blond lady or stay and possibly get eaten or starve? Catrina decided to follow the man and the lady. She ran (had to with her little legs) and caught up with them. Without thought, she slipped her hand into the man's. That's what her cousin had always told her to do if she was afraid of getting lost. Just grab the hand of the person you trust and they'll get you somewhere safe. Catrina wasn't sure if she exactly trusted the man (she had a hard time trusting anyone) but she knew he was trustworthy enough for her to follow.
Daryl tensed in alarm when the girl took his hand but didn't force her to let go. When he'd gotten lost in the woods as a kid if some trustworthy person came and offered to take him to safety he would have grabbed their hand too. Daryl looked down at the little girl, taking in how small and light she was. Slow too compared to them. They didn't need to be searching in the dark much longer, there was a strong chance they'd end up dead, so he stopped a moment and lifted her up onto his hip. She made a protesting sound but seemed more surprised than bothered. Daryl had a feeling she'd protest more if she didn't instantly start to fall asleep in his hold. How long had this girl been on her own? Had absolutely no one been watching out for her so she could sleep?
"I'm not a snot nosed little kid." Catrina mumbled sleepily when she remembered the insult.
"Sure you're not." Daryl said, smirking. Catrina hit him very lightly against the back with a half closed fist, too tired to form a verbal reply. Daryl chuckled and repositioned her slightly so he wouldn't drop her. Andrea gave him an odd look a few minutes later and he realized he'd been quietly humming one of Merle's favorite rock songs to put the girl to sleep. "What? I'm putting her to sleep so I don't have to hear her talk." Daryl told the woman. He was lying of course and he was glad the girl wasn't awake to hear him. Easy to destroy self esteem and all that.
Dale was still awake when they showed up and he climbed down from the top of the RV to meet them. "Is that—?" Daryl shook his head, knowing what the man was going to ask. "Well who is she?" Dale asked.
Daryl shrugged nonchalantly. "Some kid we found in the woods. Think she's been on her own for a while." He answered. He looked around for some place to set her down and debated taking her inside the RV. He wasn't sure if that was a good idea though. Carol might think Catrina was Sophia and get her hopes up. There was no other place for him to put her though except in the chair Dale had left abandoned and he didn't think leaving her alone in a chair was a good idea. It was a bit too cold for her to be in nothing but a tee and some jeans while sleeping outside. "Hey Andrea, you got an extra blanket?" Daryl asked, nodding to the girl he was holding so she'd know why he wanted one.
"Why don't you just hold her Dixon?" Andrea questioned as she headed towards the RV. "I mean, you're doing so well with her already that I might even mistake you for a daddy." She teased, shooting him a joking smile.
Daryl scoffed but sat down in the chair, putting his crossbow down beside him and shifting the girl to his lap. He heard Andrea chuckle before heading into the RV. "She's right." Dale, who Daryl hadn't realized was still paying attention, said. "You look like a natural dad." He told the other man. Daryl simply scoffed again.
Andrea came out of the RV a few seconds later with a blanket. She draped it over the little girl and Daryl, smirking the whole time. Daryl ignored her, adjusting the blanket so that it covered the little girl whole and provided him with some warmth as well. She really was much too thin and fragile for her age. He wondered if she would have gotten any sleep tonight if they hadn't found her. "Carol's asleep. Who's going to tell her we found a girl but not Sophia?" Andrea asked, putting her hands on her hips. She looked stressed.
"I'll tell her in the morning." Daryl answered, his eyes focused on the woods in front of him. He glanced down at Catrina who was snuggled against his chest, selfishly stealing body heat from him. She'd probably been alone for a decent amount of time and she'd survived well enough. Couldn't Sophia have done the same thing?