Eve didn't get much sleep but the next thing that woke her up was the sunlight of daybreak.
Judith was sound asleep as Eve propped herself up on one exhausted elbow, ignoring the irritating injuries she sustained for umpteenth time. Daryl would be mad if he knew but she's gotten so used to pain now that she barely even remembered that she took a beating, if it wasn't for the unusual rug-burn feeling on her arms to remind her. The burn seems a little worse than when she received it but so many other things were happening, her nerves were probably overridden and just ignored it until now.
Pushing herself to sit up, her thumb and forefinger automatically held Judith's tiny palm between them and Eve let out a short, breathy laugh. She couldn't sleep alone after all.
Her eyes creased fondly as the corners of her lips pulled up in a gentle smile at the little one.
'Thanks for keeping me company, kiddo.'
Eve lightly pressed her lips against Judy's hand and carefully extracted her fingers, setting the little monkey's hand on her tiny tummy and stood up, stretching the soreness from her arms and listening to her back crack like pop rocks.
Eve went through her normal routine of reequipping herself, checking her clip, checking the sharpness of her blades - which could use a few passes with a whetstone - and then slipped on her backpack.
Eve hefted the basket up, being careful not to disturb the child and carried her silently down the stairs, placing her back at Rick's bedside and went out to their supplies.
Eve got stock of what they've got yesterday, so she only grabbed a few things that they won't miss and tucked them into her backpack, mentally trying to recount what Daryl keeps in his bag. He usually has a full water bottle but with two of them they're gonna need at least two, so just in case they haven't found anything, she grabbed a spare water bottle and dug into her backpack to shake her own canteen. It's mostly full, so if Daryl's bottle is empty, she'll refill it. They've got plenty of water so it won't even make a dent.
When the supplies were ready, Eve set off, closing the prison door behind her as quietly as she could.
The sky was a deep azure blue, with scattered clouds as she trekked down to the first gate, passing the overturned prison bus where Michonne had decided to stay last night.
She glanced through the window as she passed it and the samurai was fast asleep, with her weapon by her side.
Eve couldn't help taking quiet amusement in the thought of them collecting ancient warriors; a ninja and a samurai, and mused about which one they'd collect next as she made her way through the outer path enclosed by the double layered fences, all the way out to the part they cut a hole in when they first got here. It felt like weeks had passed but truthfully it hadn't really been that long. Keeping track of the days hasn't been a priority.
Eve watched the orange slowly returning to the lush green surroundings, making her way across the little wood bridge that goes over the small creek that runs outside the fence and moved into the woods; a path she's familiar with, as it's the one she & Daryl usually take to go hunting early in the morning, the few times they've been able to since they been here. There's a lot of rabbits in this area, so it never took them more than an hour or two to catch a few and head back. A great relief from their constant food hunt and diet of rubbery squirrel (an unconscious shiver ran down her spine) from the winter times.
It took only a few minutes to get up the little hill to the tracks and stop in almost the exact spot where the 3 of them first spotted the prison, then she sat down and waited.
Time ticked by slowly but not slow enough it seems, soon sunrise had long passed.
All throughout the hour she reasoned with herself that they were on foot, they probably couldn't make it all the way back so quickly, and Merle's more stubborn than a mule, even if Daryl didn't tell him about their arrangement, he might resist heading this direction simply because the prison was over here.
It didn't quell her worries but a reasonable explanation was better than being steeped in anxiety. Of course it was only a temporary fix for her feelings but she left the supplies anyway, and resolved to bury the worry deep inside her heart. If he doesn't show up tomorrow, then she'll worry.
With the sun up, she can't stay any longer. The others should be waking up now. They've got a long day ahead of them.
When she got back inside, breakfast was already being made and Beth had retrieved Judith from her crib, feeding her while Carol was making food.
It didn't take long for the smell to lure people from their beds after a restless night and all through breakfast, Glenn shot anxious looks at her, just like the night the two of them met after she saved him. The same feeling he had back then, of not knowing what to do but knowing something had to be done, until he finally couldn't take it anymore and asked, "So what's the plan?"
Merle couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Damn little brother, you actually went and got yourself whipped. Must be some mighty fine ass. It's always the quiet ones who are freakiest."
"Man, shut up already!" Daryl swung around all of a sudden, his tolerance finally hitting its limit. He's already in a bad mood because it's well past sunrise and they're nowhere near the prison because Merle keeps fighting him on where they are, much less which direction to go.
"Ooo, seems I hit a nerve." Merle's eyes sizzled with snide mirth, like he's having the time of his life with this but Daryl can tell that he's angry. When Merle's angry, he makes vicious jokes and mocks but you should really be concerned when he stops.
With that in mind, Daryl growled, "Asshole" under his breath and turned around, rolling his eyes and stomped through the forest instead of his usual careful step. Regret swarming him like a cloud. He should've dodged Merle's question about his relationship with Eve, he knew Merle wouldn't react to it well but it was gonna happen sooner or later. He thought it would be better to get it over with, now he knows what a stupid idea that was. He would've been better off just not answering and let Merle be an asshole by himself.
"How long's that been goin on, huh? Since Atlanta? What, you get yourself some tail and forget about the cardinal rule, bros before hoes? Ey, talk to me boy! I bet you missin' it already."
Like a dog with a bone, Merle was relentless but Daryl stopped replying and stopped reacting to the aggravation after a while, he was so angry he couldn't even speak if he had wanted to.
He was right about one thing though. Daryl was really missing Eve and her quiet disposition, now.
After a ridiculous amount of time — like a half a day, Merle finally got tired of his own voice and Daryl breathed a sigh of relief. Being separated for so long, Daryl almost forgot what his brother was like. His tolerance for this shit is a lot lower than it used to be. He can't remember the last time he was the target of his vicious mockery [points to anybody who knows what that term is from] but he couldn't help the deep sigh in his heart.
He's sadly a bit proud that after a while he was able to just roll his eyes and redirect Merle's attention to something else, like he'd been doing most of his life.
As soon as Daryl mentioned breakfast, that's exactly what happened. He's glad his old tricks still work, but unlike before, it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Merle is relentless when he locks onto something but once he's let it go and his attention has moved to something else, he seldom goes back to the previous topic. His memory ain't that long. It's all crammed up with every insult under the sky ready to be fired from the cannon of his mouth. He's lucky he lost his hand and not his tongue or Merle would truly have lost his mind.
A few traps and failed attempts to catch breakfast later and Daryl was frustrated. So much so that he didn't even have the energy left to roll his eyes anymore, standing here keeping watch while Merle answered the call of nature.
He'd gotten so used to expressing himself that he'd just done it naturally when he was with Merle but that didn't last long. He forgot how exhausting Merle was to be around and so he didn't even notice when his own quiet disposition came slipping back; falling back into old habits of keeping his mouth shut and not voicing what he's got to say but the difference now was, he was overly aware of how uncomfortable he was.
It felt….. wrong. Everything just felt wrong and it put him on edge even more than he already was. It doesn't help that he can't stop thinking about when the Governor is gonna attack the prison and whether or not they can get back there in time.
"There ain't nothin' out here but mosquitoes and ants." Daryl complained, fed up with this and trying to get rid of the itchy feeling in his heart.
Merle spoke the way someone would to an impatient child. "Patience, little brother. Sooner or later, squirrels bound to scurry across your path."
At the mention of squirrels, Daryl opened his mouth to point out that she doesn't like squirrel and right as the syllable was about to leave his mouth he realized his near mistake, but Eve's name was already on the tip of his tongue and his mouth stumbled into a similar but slightly different first word, "Even so that ain't much food."
"More than nothin'." Merle thankfully didn't notice his near slip and just took it as Daryl complaining.
"Better luck goin through one a them houses back on the turn off."
"Is that what your new friends taught ya? Hmm?" Merle zipped himself up, turning around. "How to loot for booty."
Daryl ignored the obvious attempt to make this about him and Eve again like he hadn't even noticed. "Man, we've been out here for hours. Why don't we find a stream, try our luck with some fish."
"I think you're just tryna lead me back to that road, man. Get me over to that prison."
'Yeah 'cept you won't just GO already.' Daryl was too tired to argue, so he just went with it. It's not like it can get any worse, it's already gone as badly as possible. "They got shelter. Food. Pot to piss in, might not be a bad idea."
"For you maybe. Ain't gonna be no damn party for me."
"Everyone'll get used to each other." Daryl looked through his scope, distracting himself. He knows it's mostly wishful thinking but Eve said she'd try to convince the others, he can't help hoping to high heaven that she worked one of her miracles and managed to convince everyone in one night. He knows it's only a matter of time before they'll listen but he doesn't know how long he can stay out here with just Merle.
"They're all dead. Makes no difference."
Daryl stiffened imperceptibly.
"How can you be so sure?" He concealed his worry well but it ate at his insides more fiercely than any walker.
"Right now. He's probably hostin' a housewarming party, where he's gonna bury what's left a your friends." Merle spit like a true redneck from the deep south. "Let's hook some fish. Come on." Merle walked past him.
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