With the sun just barely making an appearance Aava and Daryl picked up the trail again. They hadn't been following it long before the skies began to darken and the wind picked up. Daryl groaned and looked up at the sky silently pleading with the weather not to take a turn for the worse. It turned out his plea fell on deaf ears as the first rain drops fell from the sky.
"Mother fucker," Daryl muttered.
"I agree," Aava sighed "what do you want to do?"
The rain was light now but they both knew that this could turn into a full blown storm.
"If it gets heavier it'll wash the trail away," Daryl said frustrated, "best head to that cabin we saw couple miles back don't want to be out here if this gets bad."
So with that the pair back tracked on themselves moving a lot faster than they had been when following the trail. Daryl was furious that they had to give up on the first real lead he had. He could feel his anger swelling inside of him but chewed the inside of his cheek to focus it. He certainly didn't want a repeat of last night and take out his rage on Aava.
The rain continued to pelt down on them proving they had made the right call. The rain made the terrain harder to navigate and it was coming down so fast Daryl's vision was obscured. His foot made contact with a slick rock causing his feet to come out from underneath him. Instinctively he put his hands down resulting in his palms being ripped on jagged rocks.
"You ok?" Aava asked as he heaved himself up.
"Fine," Daryl muttered ignoring the stinging in his hands.
When the trees began to thin out the cabin they found earlier came into view. Cabin may have been a bit too strong a word Aava thought. In reality it was little more than a shack with one room and very few supplies. But considering she was soaked to the bone Aava greatly appreciated the little hut she stepped into. The single bed was on the far side with a chest resting at the foot. A small stove was in the corner with two cupboards resting on the wall over it. A dusty rug was in the middle of the sparse room. Aava made her way to the chest hoping to find towels but found ratty blankets instead.
"Better than nothing," Aava sighed handing one to Daryl.
"What are you doing?!" Daryl asked in alarm as Ava began to peel off her wet clothes.
"Well I'm not going to stand here and freeze," she said wrapping the blanket around her to take off the rest of her clothes. Eyeing her wearily he pulled the blanket around himself to do the same. Even though her bra and panties were drenched she left them on, Daryl just might keel over if he saw those articles of clothing being added to the pile she thought. Wrapping the blanket around her twice she tied it sharply in a knot at the front to keep her makeshift dress secure. Aava glanced at Daryl who had the blanket wrapped around his waist and his black shirt still on. What caught Aava's attention though was the awkward way he was holding his hands; slighty out in front of him with his fingers spread. Suddenly Aava remembered the fall he took.
"Let me see," Aava asked gesturing to his hands. When he refused to move she sent him a look that left no room for arguing.
"You're like a mother hen, you know that?" Daryl muttered giving in. Aava just smiled at that and examined the palms of his hands. The left was just lightly grazed but the right was cut deep with a few stones still embedded in his skin. Taking the water bottle from her bag she poured it over the cuts hoping to remove most of the grime.
"Waste of water," Daryl grunted through clenched teeth. Letting his hand drop Aava picked up her blade and cut a strip off of her blanket. Retaking his hand she gently wrapped the cloth around his cut. Daryl watched her work beginning to feel uncomfortable with the attention she was giving him. As soon as Aava secured the material he ripped his hand away from her and strode to the opposite side of the room. The sound of rain pelting off the tin roof filled the room as Aava sat down facing Daryl. Daryl was clearly uncomfortable, he continued to fidget as he leaned against the wall and Aava couldn't help but smile at him.
"You often strip down with men you don't know?" Daryl snapped at her feeling defensive and he couldn't quite figure out why.
"I don't make a habit of it," Aava shot back with her eyes narrowed. The silence grew heavier until Aava let out a sigh.
"You're not a bad man Daryl. Believe me I know what bad men look like and you aint it."
"You don't know me woman."
"So tell me," Aava said simply. Daryl regarded her for a moment before dropping his head.
"Who's Merle?" Aava prompted gently. Daryl didn't raise his head and Aava didn't think he would answer.
"My brother," Daryl said suprising her "got left behind in Atlanta. He was being an ass and the others cuffed and left him on a roof. Went back to get 'im but we were too late. He cut off his hand to get outta the cuffs, cauterised his own wound and left."
"I'm sorry," Aava said after the end of his story. His face remained stoic but his voice betrayed him; thick with emotion and pain.
"Toughest bastard you'll ever meet my brother is, he's still alive," Daryl said.
"I'm sure but I'm sorry that he's not with you anymore," Aava replied.
"S'ok," Daryl nodded quietly "What 'bout you? What happened with you and Hershel?" Daryl asked.
"That's a long story," Aava said with a small chuckle.
"Well we won't be going anywhere for a while," Daryl said with a small smirk.
"Things with me and dad were always tense. He used to be a big drinker, never around much and he could be a mean drunk. Not violent just an ass to my mom. And then every morning he'd promised never again to go near a bottle but he always did. Then when mom died things got worse," Aava spared a glance at Daryl to find he was watching her intently, "I didn't help to be honest, turned into a real troublemaker: skipped school, stayed out late, alcohol anything really that would piss off my dad. Poor Maggie had to listen at us screaming at each other, the tension in our house was unbelievable. When I started going out with Jackson things settled down for a bit. See he was the pastors son, I think dad thought he could bring me back to the light," Aava said rolling her eyes "Not bored yet?"Aava teased him.
"Wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know," Daryl replied.
"Well when I got pregnant I knew dad would hit the roof. Wanted me to give the baby up which I wouldn't agree to. So he tossed me out. Jackson was no better. Gave me abortion money and told me if I told anyone that it was his he would deny it. So yeah that's how I'm a disgrace to the Greene family," she told Daryl with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"'M sorry," Daryl said.
"It's worse for Claire. Growing up knowing that her father and grandfather didn't want her was hard for her. Still is," Aava said sadly.
"Hard for you too," Daryl told her seriously.
The skies began to clear with the rain slowly coming to a stop. With a shared look they began to pull on their slightly damp clothes. Standing outside Daryl could tell there would be no hope in finding the trail again. Aava came outside to meet him and saw the frustrated look on his face. Giving him a small smile of comfort they both began the trek back to camp.
"Next time it's my turn to ask a question," Aava informed him lightly.
"Next time," Daryl confirmed with a small smirk while swinging his crossbow in front of him and making his way through the trees.
Claire Greene felt physically ill. Dale had kindly offered to let her sleep in the RV instead of at her camp by herself but was anything but rested. Maggie and Beth convinced her to take a shower and despite feeling clean for the first time in days she was still incredibly uneasy. Ricks son, Carl, was deemed fit enough to make his way outside. Rick asked Claire to stay with him while Lorie did some chores but Claire knew it was supposed to keep her mind off her mom and Daryl's disappearing act. Even though her mind was preoccupied she did enjoy spending time with Carl. The pair had similar interests and spent a long time debating over which superhero was superior. When Lorie returned Claire was free to worry herself sick again. In her mind Claire wondered how Carol dealt with this feeling gnawing away at her and her respect for the woman increased. When the rain began everyone huddled together on the porch of the farm house. Glenn and Maggie were sitting closer together than necessary but even the sight of possible gossip couldn't tear Claire's mind away from her mother.
"Your mom's fine," Maggie told her when she sat down "my big sister kicks ass, she'll be back in no time."
The longer the rain poured the more everyone's concern began to rise. If they were caught in the rain a number of things could happen to them. Rick tried to remind everyone that there is every possibility they are safe and waiting for the storm to pass same as them. The time crawled by, the storm passed and it looked like Claire was set to spend another night without her mother.
"Look," Rick said facing the camp who were seated around the fire "tomorrow Shane and I will look for Daryl and Aava. We'll check the grid they were meant to be in and see what happened so that means that Dale will be on watch while Andrea-," Rick stopped talking when he saw T-Dog stand up on the RV. T-Dog raised the binoculars to his eyes before he turned to face the camp with a smile on his face.
"Never mind then," Rick said then relieved his eyes flickering to Claire who stood up as she caught sight of the two figures approaching.
A/N Longest chapter yet! Thank you to everyone who followed or added this story to their favourite list-it means a lot. I just want to thank Sevvus and mrskaz453 for reviewing. I was seriously considering deleting this but your reviews encouraged me to keep going. How was Daryl and Aava's interaction? Suggestions? Thank you for reading and please leave a review.
