The sight of their smiling faces caused to grow a lump in her throat. A stinging feeling behind her eyes alerted her and snapped her back to reality, as she suddenly noticed a shadow in the corner of her eyes. The hunter glanced briefly at the scientist, and she wondered what he was thinking about in this particular moment. The first night outside in the tent had been horrible; Helena had expected this to be easier, but truth was, that today's world was not a world fit for her. Due to staying inside at all times, she hadn't gotten a chance to learn about survival. Her only weapon, was her mind and its knowledge.
Though Helena had outdistanced herself from the group, she still observed them. She kept a log about them, which included their habits and their behavior towards others. She had even tried to guess their past life, not bothered by the ridiculous accuracy she had included. Helena had to keep herself busy somehow, when she wasn't busy with finding a possible solution.
"Ya know, it ain't gonna help to stare at dem photo's all day."
His voice was sudden, blank. Was it an attempt to comfort her? She figured not, so instead she only shrugged. "Get ready. Yer gonna learn how to use a weapon and to kill a walker." the hunter said, ignoring the reaction from Helena on his attempt to help her. Daryl didn't want to, but the last thing he needed was to ring the damn dinner bell because of Helena's crying. It wasn't as if he gave a single shit, but he wasn't gonna let her die because of her own stupidness.
Helena closed her log and got off the porch she'd been sitting on all morning. Following Daryl, she tried her best to avoid the eyecontact from the group. She could feel the compassionate glares, which annoyed her, to put it mildly. They all gave her looks as if she was helpless. The worst part was, that she was indeed helpless; if it weren't for Daryl, she would've been even more desperate.
The walk through the forest was quiet. A comfortable silence lingered between the two of them; Helena with both her hands hidden in the pockets of Daryl's jacket—which she'd grown very fond of; she wore the jacket all the time now, without even bothering to ask Daryl about it. He didnt seem to mind really, since he'd managed to get a new one for himself on a supply run.
Daryl had a cigarette hanging loosely between his lips. His heavy crossbow was resting in both his hands, and Helena took notice of the holster clipped on his belt. She felt anxious about even having to think of using it. Let alone, against a dead person. A person that was once warm body with a beating heart. As if on purpose, Daryl caught her glance at the gun. "It ain't that bad." he said simply with a smirk. Helena rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say. It looks natural on you." she replied. Realizing what she just said, she shook her head. "Not that I'm trying to say you're some kind of murderer or anything. I just, er, well. Crap. Nevermind."
The redneck raised his eyebrows, as if he was waiting for her to clarify those words. Helena already knew, he wasn't going to drop this anytime soon if she wouldn't explain her comment further. "It's just.. You look more accustomed to the apocalyptic world of survival than me. I've got nothing, expect for wits. But these wits aren't going to get me anywhere." she rambled, frustrated, rather with herself than the person walking next to her. She sighed again. "Zombies aren't going to hold up and debate biological matters with me."
Lowering her eyes to the ground, she shook her head awkwardly. Before she could see what his reaction was, she heard him burst out into laughter. His raspy voice sounded throughout the forest, and Helena was afraid his sound might attract unwanted attention. Not that she was bothered by his laughter. It was actually a quite nice sound to listen to. Automatically, she smiled, whilst shaking her head.
They continued to walk in silence for a good 20 minutes. Occasionally, Daryl would hold up his hand, as a sign for her to be quiet so he could listen to a possible target. The whole time, Helena felt extremely nervous; the fear of her accidentally murdering both of them because she couldn't work a gun was stuck in her mind.
