"If he's such a decent guy, then why would he get mad at me being out here? Why do we have to keep sneaking out?" Rachel frowns.
"Would you stop with the constant questions. You're supposed to be learning shit, not asking about the governor. Now pay attention," Merle says.
"Sorry. It's a pretty simple question though," Rachel adds.
Merle sighs deeply and turns to her. "He's keeping people safe. You've seen how many people we got at Woodbury. Wouldn't be even close to that number if it weren't for the governor. Now focus will you, cos you're getting on my damn nerves."
"Sorry," Rachel smiles. "Ooh, that's pretty," she says, reaching out a hand. Merle slaps her hand away. "Ow! What was that for?"
"It's Poison Sumac ya idiot, Jesus Christ!"
"Well how was i supposed to know?" Rachel says.
"If you was listening instead of asking questions every five seconds, you'd know," Merle scolds her. "If you're not gonna take this seriously, then i ain't gonna waste my damn time anymore."
"I'm sorry. I am taking it seriously, and i appreciate it, i do," Rachel assures him.
"Good. Now go take out that biter," Merle points.
"What biter?" She asks, turning her head.
"The one bout to show up through those trees anytime now. Also the one you didn't hear because you're too busy yapping," he frowns.
Rachel turns her head, and sure enough, a biter makes it's way through the trees. She doesn't give herself time to over think. Rachel heads straight for it, taking the knife from her belt. She holds out her arm, and as it goes to bite her, she plunges the knife into it's skull. Rachel wipes the knife on her over knee sock and tucks it back into her belt. She'd taken her clothes out of the trash the same morning she'd killed her first biter, and she had felt much better for it.
"I don't like the word biter," she says as she heads back over to Merle. "We should come up with something cooler. Like.. creepers, or nippy little bastards."
Merle chuckles lightly. "Shut the hell up. Come on, you're supposed to be finding something to eat."
Rachel rolls her eyes. "It's not my fault that everything's bloody poisonous. We wouldn't have this problem back in England. Saying that, there probably wouldn't be much to eat other than berries. Those grow everywhere. Couldn't walk ten feet through the woods without coming across a blackberry or raspberry bush. They grow almost as much as dandelions, God I hate those things," she grimaces.
"What? Dandelions? You can eat those," Merle says.
Rachel turns to him as they walk. "Bullshit."
"I shit you not. Taste real bitter, but you can eat the entire thing. Boil em up, takes the bitterness away, and, you can drink the rest. It's good for ya."
Rachel shakes her head. "That sounds disgusting."
"Maybe, but that's the difference between life and death. You're hungry enough, that shit's gonna taste like a five course meal."
Rachel continues on, trying to find something to eat. "What about that?" She points at some red berries.
Merle shakes his head. "You don't wanna eat that, that's nightshade."
Rachel huffs, dropping her shoulders. "All this looking for food is making me hungry."
"Well i guess you'd better find something else you'll starve," Merle says.
It's ten minutes before something catches her eye. "Oh you have got to be joking?" Rachel frowns.
Merle laughs. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Pull those babies up and have yourself some dandelion tea.
"Do i have to?"
"You said you was hungry, so eat," Merle grabs a branch off the floor. "Come on, i'll show you how to light a fire." He sets out the branches and takes a pair of glasses from his pocket.
"You going to read me a story or something?" Rachel jokes.
"Funny, shortie. But no, you're gonna use this to light it, right after you've filled this up," Merle hands over a metal pan.
Rachel frowns. "With what? There's no water here."
"There's a river bout ten minutes west of here," he passes her a compass.
Rachel's eyes widen. "What if i get lost? Or i come across a herd of nippy little bastards?"
"I'm calling veto on that, okay. That name sucks ass. And you'll be fine, use your instincts," he pats her on the back.
"Yesterday you said i didn't have any instincts."
"Well prove me wrong then, shortie," Merle smiles.
Rachel looks at him, her heart pounding in her chest, then she nods.
She walks off, keeping an eye on the compass. Her eyes flit constantly from the compass to her surroundings. Sweat covers her temples, both from the heat and from raw fear. She hears movement in the distance. Rachel panics and drops the pan, turning in the direction she came. She stops herself, knowing full well that if she goes back empty handed, Merle will be furious. So she stands her ground, taking her knife shakily from her belt. A deer comes out into the clearing, a big one. Rachel breathes a sigh of relief. The deer looks her way for a moment, then goes back in the direction it came.
"I did it," Rachel announces proudly, as she makes her way over to Merle, placing the pan of water on the ground. "Well, i say that. I got halfway here, and dropped the pan. Had to go back to refill it."
Merle smiles at her. "That's a beautiful story, shortie. How bout we get this fire started?"
Rachel nods as she kneels beside him. "Why can't we just use matches?"
"Cos you might not always have matches. You gotta learn to use what you can. Now, you're in luck, cos there's just enough sun coming through the trees. That's why i put the fire here. Take the glasses," Merle hands them to her. "And put a little drop of water in the centre. Then focus between that and the sun, until you get a little dot. You wanna make it as small as you can, go on."
Rachel puts a drop of water on the glasses and does as he tells her. She holds her hand out for a minute. "You're not going to give me anymore advice?"
"Nope, you'll get it on your own."
"I don't know, nothing's..," she sees smoke out of the corner of her eye. "Bloody hell! It's working!" A look of amazement crosses her face.
"It sure is, shortie."
She carefully places on more tinder as it lights before her eyes. "I did that," Rachel announces proudly.
Merle nods. "Come on, i'll show you what to do with these," he points at the dandelions. Rachel grimaces just looking at them. Merle chuckles lightly. "You can eat these raw, you wanna try one?"
Rachel raises an eyebrow. Seeing it as a test, everything seems to be a test with Merle, she takes it from him. Rachel doesn't give herself time to think about it as she pops the head in her mouth, pulling it off with her teeth. She pulls her face. "Jesus fucking Christ!" She mumbles through a mouthful of dandelion.
Merle laughs. "You'll be alright after that. Desensitized yourself, this'll taste much better."
"Hmm," she grimaces, trying her best to chew quickly.
They sit side by side, sipping the dandelion tea.
"Not too bad. Much better than chewing on the bloody thing raw," she smiles. "It'd be much better if we had some meat to go with it. I thought you'd be teaching me how to hunt?"
Merle turns to her. "First of all, you don't even have a weapon to hunt with. And second, hunting isn't for everyone. It's best you learn the basics, shortie."
"Can't i use your gun?"
"No, you can't. Not for hunting. You don't even know how to use one for starters," Merle says.
"I won't if you don't teach me," she reasons.
"You find your own weapon, and i'll teach you how to hunt, that sound fair?"
Rachel nods. "Yeah," she smiles. "It does."