Daryl passed back through the gated into Alexandria by sunset. He had been hunting most hours of the day lately. its more comfortable for him that way. As he walked in a casual pace towards the house he shared with his family, and as the rabbits he killed swung from a string by his side, he thought of what he saw out there today. He was unusually late and it is already dark out by the time he reached the steps by the front door because he simply lingered outside thinking.
He has been assigned a job; to recruit people, good people, and bring them to live here, to survive longer. What Aaron asked of him was partnership, and he understood that. But part of the job was to be sure these people were trustworthy before Aaron and Daryl initiated communication, or even before they make their presence known. That part was a bit unclear. Daryl was weary and doubtful as he tried to understand what was asked of him, to understand the point behind doing it. It was all blurry to him since he first saw Aaron at the barn when they were out there, it only stopped confusing him today, when he saw them. At that thought, Daryl changed his pace and destination, and went for Aarons house instead.
When he reached the door, he knocked and sat down by the steps outside. After a few minutes, and little sound of shuffling footsteps, Aaron opened the door. He smiled politely when he looked up,
"hey, Daryl " he greeted the man with a nod and stepped outside to stand by him at the top of the steps.
"Hey" Daryl briefly replied.
Aaron realized that Daryl liked it brief. "I see you got me my rabbits" he teased lightly.
" Yeah, here" Daryl smiles a bit and handed him the string of rabbits.
" Listen, man. About tha' job ya asked of me.."
he started, looking at Aaron with determination. "I saw some people while I was huntin' , jus' cuz this time I wen' a bit further than usual, and I think we should check 'em out, watch 'em, ya know, like you did with us"
Aaron was momentarily surprised at how fast and easy Daryl got in the mentality of the mission he was handed. Maybe he'll really be a great partner with this job. "yes, we can do that, we'll see if we can start a scouting soon,
what about them made you want give them the chance?" Aaron was curious, because he wasn't home that long for someone to pop up in the area without him knowing.
Daryl thought for a moment before he looked up at him,
"they're good, I ain't that sure 'bout it, but I think they'll do us a lot o'good here"
he answered, although it wasn't that detailed, he had a good feeling about them.
"how many?" asked Aaron.
"two" replied Daryl instantly.
"Tell you what," Aaron started, "the two of us will watch them, see what we see, and maybe because there's just two of them, the conversations they'll have will let us know better whether to trust them of not, so listening to what they say will be important..
Alright, I'll take this up to Rick and Deana tonight" he continued " I'm guessing by tomorrow we'll have to check our traveling supplies, see if we .."
Aaron stopped and thought for a minute, then he looked at Daryl
"How did you see them settled? Is there urgency for us to reach them?" he inquired professionally.
"naw, they're fine on their own fo' now" Daryl answered getting up of his feet "I didn't get close to 'em, I don't think they have much supplies, tho"
"Then are you alright with leaving tomorrow?" Aaron asked, he brought them home a few weeks ago, so he's excited to see how this partnership would work.
"Yea, I'll wait for ya by dawn" Daryl informed him as he walked down the steps to the sidewalk "see ya"
"Ok, good night!" Aaron replied. He walked inside as Daryl figure disappeared into the neighboring house.
"You think they moved a lot since yesterday?" Inquired Aaron as they stopped their vehicles after a while of driving.
Daryl thought about the time he saw the man and the women walking in the wood. He realized that he hadn't seen them sit down, or rest, they just kept walking, when they started killing a few walkers he noticed it was late and so he left them.
"Nah, they were on foot, couldn't have gone more than a couple o' miles"
"Were they near the safe zone?"
"naw, they were even walkin' the other way, you see tha' street there?" he pointed at a road not far from them, it stretched toward their left away from their safe zone.
After a few minutes of walking they got close to the spot Daryl last saw them. Then they started paying more attention to their surroundings as to not accidentally alert the couple.
Aaron was impressed by the amount of patience Daryl had each time he tried to track them down but failed and kept trying to find other leads. It was a powerful thing to have, patience, he thought.
Daryl started slowing down then dropped to a crouch behind a thick tree trunk and motioned for Aaron to do the same. " There, ya see 'em? Far left" pointed Daryl. There were two figures walking side by side in an unhurried pace, weaving along the thick trees. The distance didn't help with much of the details, but Aaron can see the man and the woman weren't weak or scared. As they walked occasionally glanced at each other. They might be having a conversation but the only way to hear it is by getting a bit closer and using the equipment.
Daryl walked quietly and cautiously stalked the couple, keeping safe distance but close enough to get more information. He noticed the women started walking in front of her companion instead of walking side by side. Every few minutes, the man would touch her back in shapes, draw circles and lines, and the woman would respond by looking or turning right of left, It seemed as a way of communicating. A very smart one at that, but it also felt personal, like they know each other very well.
"Do you think they're a couple? They aren't talking much" Aaron commented, though they haven't used their listening equipment yet.
"Ye I think so" Daryl guessed, " I think they're lookin' for food now, maybe when they stop walkin' we can use that eavesdroppin' thing"
Aaron laughed internally at the name; he knew Daryl understood why he was listening in on them back before they met, but he also knew Daryl didn't approve of eavesdropping in general.
In an hour of walking, Aaron noticed that the couple managed to shoot down some game without stopping, and after a few, they sat down across from each other, with their back leaning on tree trunks. It looks like they started eating their kills right away. "Are they eating their food raw?" Aaron knew he would never do that, but he know what surviving takes and how it changes people.
"Yea, it's better, cuz they don't got shelter for now, so maybe they don't wanna risk startin' a fire" Daryl suggested as he sat down at a safe distance so he can keep watching them. Aaron started setting up the listening equipment, it wasn't that advanced, nor complicated. It just did the job, he thought.
The couple seems to be silent for a few minutes. Aaron gave Daryl the left part of the headset and waited while listening to random crunching sounds of the woods.
"What are you looking at?" came a soft voice, the woman, Aaron guessed, sounded amused rather than angry. Her and her companion where looking at each other for a moment.
"I know, and you look just as creepy" said the women after a moment as she whipped her mouth with her sleeve. She sounded like she was smiling.
They ate quietly for a few minutes, and Daryl decided to pay more attention to watching them more than listening. Maybe they're not the talking type, he thought.
"You're still hurting, Hades." Said the woman to her partner, Hades. The couple seems to stop moving their hands and just sits there keeping eye contact, until Hades broke it and looked down. The woman sighed and stood. She started walking to the man. When she stood above him, her feet between his bent legs, she crouched down to eyelevel with him. Then she grabbed Hades' bag and took something out. "Show me" she requested calmly, keeping her eyes on his.
Aaron was afraid that maybe that man, Hades, was bit, or scratched. The man seemed tall, and capable. So maybe that's not the case, he thought. His questions were answered when Hades lifted his dirty shirt, to show the woman his abdomen. He had a long gash across his side that seemed a recent injury. But the distance kept Aaron and Daryl from inspecting everything with detail.
The woman then proceeded to apply some sort of medicine, maybe a heat cream, to the other side of his stomach. Daryl guessed the man injured his ribs too. After a minute, the woman handed Hades a bottle of water and waited for him to hand it back. Aaron suggested that being injured was the reason why they didn't hear the man say one word yet.
"Sleep, I'll stay up" the woman, we are yet to hear her name, Aaron thought, shifted to sit next to her companion while she talked. Hades seemed to point with his hands, and move them in motions lazily, Aaron whispered " sign language" to Daryl, who nodded and went back to watching.
It would make sense now, Hades isn't deaf; he's mute. And as it seems, he doesn't always need sign language for his partner to understand him. Daryl guessed that's a good trait in companionship.
"But I think we have time, what you don't have is the energy to keep walking" the women seemed to understand Hades' signs and answers softly, "it's not going anywhere anyway, why not rest"
The woman sat closer to her companion and pulled him to lean his head against her shoulder. Hades looped his arm with hers and kept his hand around her wrist on his lab.
Aaron noticed that Daryl stopped listening, and simply sat down to watch them. Maybe they'll rest for now, Aaron thought, as he started to put down his headset. He saw the woman look down at her companion, so he put his headset back and listened.
"I still think we should've went back for the firearm cabinet, you know I can pick locks" the woman whispered. Hades simply looked up at her for a moment then leaned back down and closed his eyes.
"I get it." the women smiled, "maybe I get greedy in shops that type"
"We need some sharpening tools next time, your machete used to paper-cut, now it just tickles" whispered the woman. The man laughed quietly, and nudged her with his elbow. "Sleep, now" she said calmly.
"Maybe they encountered bad people, resulting in the man getting hurt" Aaron said.
They sat still, watching the man and the woman rest, though the woman was clearly awake. Daryl thought for a moment, the man's wounds did not cripple him or hinder his movement; they didn't even notice he was hurt when they were walking. They both seemed capable and unafraid. Aaron and Daryl were discussing what they know so far, when the woman began turning her head looking sharply at her surroundings.
"shh" Daryl lifted his hand motioning for Aaron to be quiet. They watched her look around for a long while, until she relaxed her neck and leaned her head back on the tree truck. Her eyes were still open, looking cautiously at anything and everything.
After a few moments, she seems to have decided that this was enough rest for now, as she slowly took Hades' hand away from her wrist which instantly brought him back from only a couple of hours of sleep. He lifted his head to look at her, then at their surroundings. He seems to understand why he's awake, and began collecting his pack.
"I felt something, or heard something while you were asleep" the woman said, as she stood and dusted her clothes. Hades turned to look at her.
"Don't look at me like that, you know I can tell if I started hallucinating" she said calmly sounding almost bored, looking at him for a moment before going back to surveying the woods around them.
Daryl and Aaron looked at each other strangely, if she is attentive enough to notice them within only a few hours, she's either incredibly useful, or very, very dangerous.
They decided to wait until the couple walked on, to give more distance between them, just in case.
"We should talk to 'em soon, if we watch 'em for too long they ain't gonna trust us, now that the girl already has her suspicions" Daryl said once the couple were further away. He stood to pick up their stuff, and handed Aaron the earpiece.
"What if they're dangerous?" Aaron asked.
"I don't think so, but if they are I'll take care of it" Daryl said, "we can talk to 'em tonight, pretend we're just survivors looking for the same shelter, see what they do"
"Yeah, and when we're sure, we'll ask them if they'll come back with us" Aaron added.
Hades' POV
Sometimes, Hades' wonders if he is that much of a bad actor that he can't hide the little flinch he got every few minutes of walking, But he can't really measure his acting skills on Eris, she knows him too well.
As he walked beside her, he reached for her hand as he slowed his pace, he never felt the need to sign for her, she knows. "I know" she said, as she rose on her toes, and he felt her kiss his jaw.
He was tired; they hadn't found shelter since the four men jumped him. He was worried, as calm as Eris can be, she has been the one to pay attention and stay alert the whole time since. He stopped to catch his breath; it was too hot it might burn.
"I was almost going to say that winter was coming soon. Maybe Helius read my mind" Eris joked while wiping a sleek of sweat from he face with the bottom of her shirt.
Eris and her lame Greek god jokes, Hades thought. He let out a breathy laugh. She looked at him. Her features calm and loving. He watched her eyes with the same affection, until suddenly her eyes flicked to his right fast and back to him within seconds. Hades stood straight and turned, he saw at least over seven walkers dragging their feet, releasing chilling sounds. They are scary in general, but Hades can't help but feel a thrill for action surge through him. He was getting ready to attack when Eris grabbed his pack with her right and grabbed his arm with her left.
"No, too many to quietly get rid of them" she said. She never sounds panicked, he thought briefly. He nodded, and they took off in the other direction. He saw a house, more like a cabin up a hill. He switched his arm and grabbed hers instead.
He pointed at her to stay at the door until he cleared cabin. She slapped him on the rear just as he went through the door. There goes the serious face, he thought smirking a little. He lifted his Axe in an attack stance, and walked in. he had just cleared the entrance room and a bedroom, when Eris ran inside.
"Survivors" she whispered with her back against the closed front door. He furrowed his brows, asking her how many.
"two" she answered quickly, "they're taking care of the dead but more are coming"
She breathed deep and looked at him dead in the eyes. "We are going to help them" she said.
The way she said it told him she decided this for the two of them, not for the two strangers. Also meaning she isn't sure they can be trusted yet. He nodded.
He noticed Eris go into the kitchen; she went through drawers quickly, walking back with a handful of kitchen knives. "I won't get too close" she said, he can see in her stance she was going to help out from afar.
"Maybe I'll have to bring them here. Be ready, they're still strangers" she said quickly and disappeared out the door.
Ridiculously reckless, he thought, as he cleared some space between the front door and the furniture in the entrance room. He dragged an armchair to the middle of the room, sat down, dropped his Axe on the floor between his knees, and secured a gun in each hand, and waited.