The others walked by slowly, eyeing the two at the picnic table. Eyeing the way Daryl pointedly swung his knife back and forth at Alana, telling her to do this, don't do this. The squirrels had been soaked in water, making it easier to clean them. He ran through the instructions once, cleaning his own squirrel as she watched. He made incisions at the tail and head, then one in front of the hind legs. Picking up the squirrel, he pulled back on the skin and slowly it slid off both ends. He chucked the skin to one side, the naked squirrel to the other side. He was about to start on about cleaning the insides when he looked up at Alana. She was brushing the fur of the squirrel upwards, trying to find just the right spot to make her first incision. She picked a spot and looked up at Daryl, waiting for his approval.
"Make sure not to cut the meat, do that an' it's ruined."
She made a small incision. She ran the edge of the knife over the spot till she could see the meat. When Daryl nodded at her she smiled, flipping the squirrel around to work on the head. She waited again for his approval before making the incision. Laying the squirrel sideways she slowly made a cut in front of the hind legs. Leaning back she waited for Daryl to inspect it. He leaned forward a bit, looking over it. He elongated the cuts to make it easier to peel the skin off. Flicking his knife at her he told Alana to pull the skin off.
He figured at this part she would want to stop, once she'd have to get her hands dirty. But there she sat, peering at the squirrel, feeling the skin, trying to find a good grip, blood collecting under her fingernails. She grasped onto the head tightly as she pulled the other section of skin off. Tossing it to the side she tangled her fingers into the back legs and tail, trying to a get a decent grip. The front took a bit longer to get off, but it eventually joined its other half. She held the naked squirrel in her hands, rubbing its little hands in hers. Its eyes were staring wide at her and if she held it just right she could catch her reflection.
Turning the squirrel around and placing its feet on the table, a finger pushing its head up to Daryl, Alana asked, "What now?"
With a bit of hesitance Daryl handed her another squirrel; another skinny one. She would still pause and wait for his approval whenever she wasn't sure of her work, and he always nodded back at her.
"How did you learn to do this?" She asked nonchalant.
"Merle taught me."
Glancing around the camp Alana caught more than one pair of eyes dart away. "Are you the only one who does this?"
"Only one that knows how to hunt."
Wilhelm walked up then, carrying two bottles of water. He looked down at the pile of wet squirrel skin, making a face. Alana held a piece up, waving it at him.
"Would you like me to make you a hat?" When he took a step back Alana threw the skin at him. He slapped it away, cursing something in German.
"You can open your own bottle," he told her as he opened Daryl's bottle and set it back down. Alana shouted after him, blood and fur covering her hands. She cursed under breath, yanking hard at the skin of her current squirrel. As if to rub it in, Daryl took a swig of water, setting it down with a thud. Staring daggers at Wilhelm's back Alana reached over and grabbed Daryl's water. He froze, the squirrel held in the air as he was about to pull the skin off.
He saw the looks Dale and Andrea were giving him and Alana. "You sure you wanna drink after me? Might get cooties or something." He shifted uncomfortably under their stares, yanking the skin off both sides.
Alana choked on the water. "Cooties? I'm more concerned with getting bit…so don't bite me." She eyed him with overdramatic anger before placing the bottle back next to Daryl, picking up another squirrel.
Out of the corner of his eye Daryl could see Andrea walking over to them, hands shoved in her back pockets. Alana looked up quickly at her, smiling, before focusing on her squirrel.
"Hershel's given us some potatoes, Lori just wanted to know when we should start them." She had only given Alana a quick glance; she was focused on Daryl, a worried, dark look on her face.
"Well not till we're done with the meat, shit, why you in a hurry to eat?" Daryl stabbed his knife into the table, ripping the skin off a squirrel. Andrea didn't say anything else, stepping back and walking away. "Fuckin' nosey people," Daryl murmured.
Alana's ears perked up. "Huh?" She looked over to the RV, where Andrea had gone. She was deeply focused on skinning the squirrels as Daryl had showed her, not wanting to ruin any.
"It's nothing," Daryl told her. "Hurry up and finish that last one so we can clean them out."
It didn't slip past Alana that Andrea never went to the house, where Lori was. She saw that Daryl had tensed up when Andrea approached, but thought better than to ask him why. She was sure she already had it figured out.
Without instructions Daryl cut into a squirrel, pulling the sides apart and digging out the entrails with his hand. He tossed them into the pile of skin. He always left the heads on, even though he was the only one who would pick the meat off of it. Everyone else ignored it. Waste of good meat. Come winter they wouldn't be wasting it.
Looking up Daryl saw that Alana had wrinkled her nose up at the sight of the entrails. She reached over and poked at them with her knife. She started asking what this and that was; Daryl answered the first two times, then told her to stop stalling and pick up a squirrel for herself.
She leant over the table to watch as he cut into another squirrel, watching as he dug around to get everything out. Trying her hand at it she made the cut. Putting the knife aside she took a breath before shoving her hand in.
Daryl nearly laughed at the silly noises she was making. Almost sounded like she was squealing. She flicked her hand, the entrails flying to the ground. She watched as goop slipped down her fingers. Squinting at something making its way down her index finger she looked to Daryl.
"What's that? Is that…?"
"Shit."
Alana groaned before looking around. "Where's Wilhelm? I'm going to throw this at him." When she didn't see him in sight she went back to cleaning the squirrel out. Daryl's pile of entrails was bigger than hers, leaving her unsure if she had gotten everything out. Huffing she stood up and walked around to the other side of the picnic table. Now that they were getting to the messy part she didn't feel much like leaning over the table and soaking up squirrel guts with her shirt.
Daryl looked up at her like she was about to slap him. She jerked her head to the side. "Move over." He barely moved a few inches. She either took no notice or just didn't care for she quickly sat down next to him, brushing up against his shoulder. She bent down, looking at his squirrel, then back at hers. She dug at hers, digging bits out, until it looked as clean as his.
Holding the sides open she awaited for his approval yet again.
"Grab two more," he told her as he picked up the gutted ones and put them to the side. He kept glancing over at her as they cleaned the squirrels, but her head was down, focused completely on tearing the entrails out. At one point she reached over and grabbed the bottle of water and Daryl froze as if she had slapped him. After taking a drink she held it up to him. He shook his head quickly. Alana reached back over and set it down, then went back to gutting her current squirrel.
She was tiny, sitting next to him, hunched over like an old hag, digging into the squirrels and tossing the entrails to the side. She'd slip in and out of German, mocking the squirrels in high-pitched voices. When she felt Daryl staring at her she stopped.
"I never liked the Chipmunks."
Wilhelm came by again out of nowhere. He sat at the edge of the picnic table across from Daryl, watching as they dug in to each squirrel.
"Having fun?" he asked Alana, a coy smile on his face. He had his bug-eyed sunglasses on again and she couldn't tell if he was looking at her or Daryl.
"I'm pretending each one is you. Quite relaxing. I name this one after you." She held one up then flicked its head with a finger. He grabbed the side of his head in mock agony. Chuckling he twitched his head to Daryl.
"He doesn't talk much, does he?" Wilhelm asked.
"No, but he's more paranoid than a schizophrenic. Keeps flinching. Watch." Alana reached over again for the bottle and on cue Daryl stiffened for a second.
Wilhelm shook his head, picking up Alana's bottle and opening it. He held it back when she reached out for it. "This is what you get for drinking his," he told her as he placed it on the edge of the table next to Daryl. "Anything I can do to help?" he asked Daryl.
Daryl stopped and looked around. He hadn't brought a bucket of clean water. "Get some water to wash these off in." He would have rather sent Alana to do it, but that option was out the window now with Wilhelm there.
Wilhelm nodded. "I'll see if I can use the kitchen," he said, tapping the table. He stood up and walked away. He looked back just in time to see Alana reach around Daryl's backside to get the new bottle. He could hear Daryl ask her if she was a camel, a hint of frustration in his tone. Alana made some remark about paying him back.
As he passed the RV he saw Dale looking over at the picnic table. "Looks like he has an apprentice," Dale said. Though his words were friendly, Wilhelm could hear the concern in his voice. He stopped and looked back at the two of them.
Shrugging his shoulders Wilhelm said, "It's good for her, it'll keep her busy, make her feel needed. I'm sure Daryl will appreciate it. Later on she can teach me." He continued walking to the house before Dale could form a reply.
The older man wasn't sure if Daryl was capable of appreciation. Though she wasn't his to worry over it didn't stop Dale from doing so. Much as he hated to admit it to himself, the group was divided. He just hoped in the end that Wilhelm and Alana were on the right side.
Wilhelm knocked on the door before walking in. Rick came out from the room Carl was in. When he saw Wilhelm he held a hand up in greeting.
"Do you know where Hershel is? Wanted to ask if we could borrow his sink to wash the squirrels in. They're clean, just have to give them a last bath."
Patricia peeked her head out from the kitchen. She was wearing an apron, preparing dinner for the Greene family. "You can bring them in, just be sure to clean up after you're done."
Rick and Wilhelm smiled at her, thanking her.
"There's some pots and stuff in the RV. Dale can grab something for you to carry them in," Rick offered, walking out onto the porch with Wilhelm. When he caught sight of Daryl at the picnic table he squinted to figure out who was sitting with him.
"Asked him to teach her how to clean them. Thought it would be useful. And it'll take a bit of weight off Daryl. She must be good, I told him he could send her off if she butchered them," Wilhelm chuckled. At the strange look on Rick's face he asked, "What is that for? That look. Everyone has it. Dale, Andrea—Andrea even walked over there, then hurried away after Daryl said something. And I've seen Glenn staring over at them, T-Dog, hell even Shane poked his head out from the house. What does your group have against him? You all act like he's going to slit her throat."
Rick sighed, running a hand over his face. "He…has the misfortune of being associated with his brother."
"Merle."
Rick nodded. "He isn't Merle, but, it's not that easy to see past that. He just isn't the easiest to get along with."
Wilhelm nodded his head towards Daryl and Alana. "Seems pretty easy to me." Stepping down the porch he said, "I'll go get the squirrels."
When he got to Daryl and Alana they were just standing up. He held up a pot that Dale had given him. Alana held her hands out at her sides, unsure of what to do. When she saw Daryl bend down and soak his hands in the bucket of water used to soak the squirrels she walked over and did the same. He removed his hands quickly, streaks of blood still on them. When she was done she shook them, watching as Wilhelm pushed the squirrels into the pot.
"Be back in a few," he told her.
Alana looked at Daryl and nodded. "So I pass the test? Do I get to skin more squirrels?"
Daryl chewed at his thumbnail, shrugging. "You're pretty decent." When he noticed the blood still on his hands he wiped quickly at his mouth self-consciously.
Alana beamed at him. "Well next time bring me Bambi." With that she walked off, back to her tent. She kicked her boots off at the entrance before going in. When Daryl walked past to go to his tent he peeked in quickly, just a quick turn of his head. She was curled up atop a sleeping bag, a flimsy pillow over her head.
Grabbing a rag from his tent Daryl wiped the rest of the blood from his hands, eyes resting on the Cherokee Rose. After a moment of hesitancy he grabbed it and headed over to the RV; Carol was inside, rearranging everything.
Alana had slept up until dinnertime. Crawling out of the tent she sat on the ground, pulling her boots back on. She looked round as she laced them up. The group was all outside aside from Lori and Carl. Dale had brought out a couple of folding chairs. There was a large rock that Glenn was sitting on. A dead tree log had been rolled over near the fire pit as well.
The picnic table had been washed off and Carol was mashing up the potatoes; she made sure none of the utensils touched the table though. A stack of plates was in front of her and she started setting them out, placing a large helping of the mashed potatoes on each one. The squirrels were roasting over the fire while Dale kept an eye on them.
Everyone was getting up and grabbing a plate as Alana made her way over to join them. Carol had set her plate aside and was carrying two over to the fire where Dale placed a roasted squirrel on each one before she carried them off to the house for Lori and Carl.
Wilhelm was standing next to Dale, commenting on the makeshift spit he had made. As Alana picked up a plate Carol was making her way back. Wilhelm held out two squirrels for them. Carol turned back and took a sit over at the picnic table. With a quick look around Alana saw that all the seats had been taken. She and Wilhelm were the last two still standing. Shane slouched in a folding chair, along with Dale, Andrea, and Daryl. Glenn was on the rock, Rick the log. Wilhelm joined Rick on the log. Alana walked over towards him and took a seat on the ground. She was between him and Daryl, who had pushed his chair back a bit from the group.
Dale made idle talk as he was prone to do while everyone ignored the fact that Alana was sitting on the ground while they all had a seat and Wilhelm remained standing. Carol was in a sort of haze, her mind no doubt drowning in thoughts of Sophia. She had taken the spot at the picnic table likely to be alone in her own way. Alana had no desire to intrude.
"Saw you skinning these little guys," Dale said to Alana, making small talk. "You did a great job." He held up his squirrel, a chunk of it already eaten.
"Just trying to help," she said, poking at her mashed potatoes. She was eating them first since it wasn't easy to balance her plate in her lap.
Dale nodded. "Well I'm sure Daryl will have you skinning more squirrels in no time. Maybe even some rabbits. You know, we could get some vegetables from Hershel and have rabbit stew if we're lucky." Everyone agreed with comments and mumbles.
"Have you ever caught a deer?" Wilhelm asked, looking over at Daryl.
Daryl swallowed the bite of food in his mouth. "Got one a while back, but a geek started gnawing it." Wilhelm took the term to mean one of the walkers. Zombies. Seemed strange to call them zombies, like it made them unreal in some way. More like the movies. And this wasn't the movies.
The group became quiet as they thought back to their old camp and everything that had happened there.
"So you have a crossbow?" Glenn asked, his eyes bright.
"I don't really know how to use it," Alana admitted. "I just grabbed it, thinking it might be useful. Haven't really had the time to practice with it. Too busy trying to survive."
Rick cleared his throat. "We all are. Maybe now we can actually breathe, relax. We've got a good thing here."
The group ate in silence afterwards, two or three breaking off in their own conversations here and there. Wilhelm would listen in, nod his head at the appropriate times. Alana sat on the ground, head down as she ate. Dale stood up and gave everyone a second squirrel. Alana held her plate up and thanked him, holding onto the squirrel as she lowered her plate, not wanting it to slip off.
As she began to tear into the meat she saw Maggie approaching from the house, a small stool in hand. She said hello to the group as she walked over to Alana.
"Saw you sitting down here and thought you would like this, the cushion is sorta flat, but a right deal more comfy than the ground," she said, holding the stool out to her.
Wilhelm thanked her as she placed the stool down to Alana's left. She thanked Maggie as she took the seat, catching Daryl shifting in his chair.
"A couple of ya can use the shower if you want tonight. Towels are under the sink," Maggie said before heading back to the house.
She wasn't that much further off the ground on the stool, but Maggie was right that it was more comfy. And at least now it was easier to balance her plate. Carol walked around with the pot of mashed potatoes, giving everyone a second helping. Alana noticed how she came to her and Daryl last, giving them bigger helpings than everyone else. She was grateful and made sure to savor every bite.
As the group members finished eating they each got up, heading over to the picnic table where they left their dishes. Carol had a tub of water waiting to wash them in. After dumping his plate Rick came back over to the fire.
"I think Daryl and Alana should get shower privileges tonight. They cleaned the squirrels, I'd say they earned it." When no one argued, or at least when no one vocalized their disagreement, Rick nodded over at Daryl and Alana. "Alright then. Tomorrow morning we'll pull the maps out Hershel leant us and head out to look for Sophia." Rick looked back over at Carol as he said the last bit. The woman smiled slightly. "We'll figure out what everyone is going to do and where they'll search tomorrow morning. Night everyone."
With that Rick headed back over to the house to join Carl and Lori.
Alana was the last to take her plate over to Carol. The woman smiled warmly at her. "You're going to go look tomorrow? Your brother said you were."
It was news to Alana, but she agreed with Carol. "Can't hurt to have someone else out there looking for her."
"Wilhelm said he's going to go back to the house him and Daryl found. They left a message on the wall for Sophia to stay there." Alana nodded. "Said you and Daryl are going to take your truck and search the other houses too. Thank you. You never met her, but I'm sure she would like you. Thank you for looking for her."
"It's no trouble," Alana told her as she rubbed her arm. "I'd want people looking for me too."
Carol looked around, the group was far enough away, but she lowered her voice anyway. "I'm sorry. For how they treat you and Wilhelm. I don't care what they think, you're good people, just like Daryl. I'm glad you showed up when you did."
Alana was unsure what to say, so she excused herself, saying that she should take that shower now, didn't want to go to bed with a wet head.
Heading over to her tent she saw Daryl laying on his cot, twirling an bolt in his hand. She bent down to look in.
"I'm going to take my shower, I'll let you know when I'm done." Daryl mumbled something and nodded.
She grabbed a set of clean clothes from her tent and made her way to the house.
The house was quiet. Everyone was settling down for bed though the sun hadn't gone down yet. The world had gone back to sleeping when the sun went down and waking when it came back up.
When she found the bathroom there was already someone in there. Rick walked by and said it was Lori. She was exhausted and wanted to take a bath. Alana smiled and said it was no problem, that she would just wait out in the living room.
She curled up on the couch and caught herself nodding off. She woke up when Lori came and shook her shoulder.
"Sorry," she said, "lost track of time." She smiled sheepishly at Alana who only laughed lightly.
Alana looked outside and the sun was getting ready to disappear for the night. She did her best to hurry in the bathroom. She was happy to see that Lori had left a pack of shaving razors out along with shampoo and soap.
She couldn't have been in there for more than half an hour, but when she came out the house was dark. Dale was likely already up on his perch on the RV. She walked back to the camp with a towel tossed on her head. Daryl had already zipped his tent up and the light coming from his lantern was turned off. Alana tried peeking in through the mesh window, but could barely make him out. She unzipped the entrance and crawled in, shaking his shoulder.
He woke with a start, hand reaching out for his crossbow. Alana held her hand up in a calming gesture. He looked a bit perturbed that she was in his tent.
"What do ya want?"
"You can take your shower now. Lori got in there before me so I had to wait. I made sure to leave you hot water." She snapped her head down when she heard the splatter of water; her hair was dripping all over the place. She patted the area with her towel before wrapping her hair up in it. Crawling back out of his tent Alana waited for him to come out.
Following him back to the house she waved at Dale atop the RV.
Daryl kept looking back at her, a scowl on his face.
"What you followin' me for?" he asked her.
"My hair is still wet and I don't want to soak my pillow. I'm going to sit in the house till it's dried enough. Besides, the couch is, sadly, more comfortable than my sleeping bag."
At that statement Daryl felt shameful for having a cot for himself. He still felt guilt over not offering his chair to her earlier during dinner. He could handle the group treating him like crap, but when he saw them doing the same to her and Wilhelm it got to him. It was like looking into a mirror. They'd done nothing but try to help and no one appreciated it. Atop all that, what irked him the most, was that the group only appreciated him now that Sophia was missing, now that they needed his skills to find her. And even then he could tell that they didn't have much faith in finding her. They had plenty of hope, but hope doesn't get you very far. And these people easily gave up on hope.
Reaching the house, Alana led the way in, showing him where the bathroom was and even pulling out the towels for him. She showed him where everything was; she had found an electric shaver in one of the drawers. She spun around right before leaving the bathroom, pulling something from her back pocket.
"We have a whole stash of these, little travel kits." She held out a mini toothbrush and toothpaste to him. "Little bit goes a long ways, but don't tell anyone. Wilhelm is obsessed with his toothpaste. He's a toothpaste hoarder," she giggled. Daryl did her best to smile at her. Stepping out she closed the door and headed to the living room.
Again she nodded off on the couch, curled up in the corner. As Daryl left the bathroom he froze, seeing her. He had walked out without a shirt on and instantly dodged back into the bathroom. The scars didn't bother him any, not when no one was looking. He just hated it when people started asking questions. And he'd be damned if he let any of these people know that he had insecurities.
In the bathroom again, Daryl realized he hadn't even brought a clean shirt with him. He wrapped his towel around his shoulders, but it didn't help any. He could see the scars on his torso peeking out. Angrily he threw the towel to the floor.
He could just walk right past her. Not wake her. Head back to his tent and go to bed. He had no obligation to wake her up. That's what he'd do, walk right past her.
His plan was going well until he opened the screen door and it cried out on its hinges. His entire body tightened when he looked back and saw her slowly sitting up. She didn't pay him much attention; pulling the towel off her head she checked her hair. It was as dry as it was going to get. Sighing she stood up and shuffled over to Daryl.
"Let's go to bed," she yawned, rubbing his shoulder as she slipped past him and out the door.
He kept a distance back from her as they headed to the tents. She waved lazily up at Dale on the RV. Daryl could see the stern look the old man was giving him. Here he was, heading back to the tents after taking a shower, no shirt on, with Alana who had already taken her shower and had no real reason for walking out with him.
Daryl mentally cursed at himself.
He didn't need this shit. Especially from Dale, grandfather to all.
Alana hadn't had such peaceful sleep in forever, didn't matter that it was on a couch. It was beyond better than her sleeping bag. Still walking, she was already nodding off again, thinking of the couch. She walked right up to Daryl's tent and started unzipping it. Before crawling in she saw the cot and shook her head. She stood back and looked at the tent.
"Not my tent," she mumbled. Turning round she eyed Daryl tiredly.
Stifled laughter caught Daryl's attention and he looked over at Alana's actual tent. Wilhelm was sitting just inside, reading a book. He came out and helped Alana over to their tent.
"Think she's funny now, you should see her when she's drunk, like a baby discovering it has hands," he whispered. He waved at Daryl and said goodnight before heading back in to the tent.
Just before he fell asleep Daryl heard Alana mumbling. He couldn't be sure what all she was saying, but he was pretty sure he heard, "His cot is mine."