No plot really, just character and relationship development. *shrugs*
oOo
Glenn had brought back some books for Diana on the first supply run some days back. One was a big atlas of human anatomy that she had yet to crack open and the other a paperback about nutrition.
Diana had her nose currently buried in the latter, reading rapturously like her life depended on it. She sighed dejectedly and let it fall to her lap, her finger marking the page. "Guys, I miss peanut butter," she announced to her family, as if saying it would satisfy her craving.
Irene looked up from the shirt she was sewing up, one eyebrow raised. "I told you to stop reading that book before meals, filha. You'll make yourself unnecessarily hungry. Read it once you're full."
"But I'm never really completely full, plus I'm learning so much." Diana raised a knowledgeable finger and read out loud, "You know that peanut butter has vitamin E and B6, magnesium, and potassium. It can decrease the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions." She looked up and licked her lips. "Yummm. Delicious and nutritious."
From her spot lying on the blanket by the fire pit, going through her polaroid pictures, Alice spoke up. "You ever stop to think if Beyoncé's still alive?" From peanut butter to Beyoncé. Diana sometimes wondered what Alice's thought process was like. Not that she was any better.
Irene laughed and inspected her work on the shirt. "You've got some strange priorities."
Diana gave a soft chuckle in response. "I hope so. I mean, imagine teaming up with Queen B," Diana said, head already in the clouds. Actually, the possibility of meeting a huge celebrity in these circumstances was pretty low, but she could dream.
Felix paused in his bat swinging and joined in. "There's a higher chance she's dead, though," he said nonchalantly. "Now my man, Abel, that's a brother I think coulda made it out this far." He smiled smugly and tapped the bat on his shoulder.
Diana closed her book, done for now, and solemnly joined her hands in her lap. "A moment of silence for Beyoncé, baddest bitch in the game," she said in all seriousness.
Alice sat up and joined her hands in prayer. "We hope you slaying in the afterlife," she said with eyes closed.
Felix snorted and mumbled an 'oh my fucking God' and then said, "What about zoo animals?"
Alice gasped, fully offended, and her hand flew to her chest. "You wanna compare Beyoncé to zoo animals?"
"Shut up," Felix laughed and came to sit next to Diana by the fire pit, dropping the bat at his feet. "No, like what happened to them? Are they out roaming free or you think they're gonna die in their habitats? You think animals can become zombies?" Those were good questions. Felix, the animal lover, there you go, folks.
"Who the hell knows," Sam said with heavy breath. He took one final swing of the axe and threw the chopped timber into the fire pit. Then he went around Alice and Diana to slowly creep up behind Felix. "One of these days a zombie lion's might crawl into your tent and eat you alive!" he yelled out and tickled Felix's sides, his weakest spot. Sam laughed out in victory when the boy yelped and flinched away from his hands.
He cleared his throat. "That didn't scare me," he said, trying to regain his composure.
Sam smirked and crossed his arms smugly. "A real lion would've."
Felix sighed in mocked anguish. "You know, times like these I wanna go to my room and play some Destiny 2 or a nice, relaxing round of Pokémon. Try to catch some shinies and shit, but, ya know, circumstances..." he clicked his tongue.
Irene folded the shirt in her lap and stood up to put it away. "All this happening and you still only think about your video games," she sighed.
Felix widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows in defense. "I'mma never play video games again. Lemme at least mourn them, woman!"
Diana felt the same about her phone. If only she'd bought that solar charger, maybe she'd still be able to do something on it, even without internet. What if she asked Glenn to see if he found one on his next run? Wow, stroke of genius.
Sam clipped Felix on the back of the head, some of his locs swung and hit him in the face. "Don't fucking call your mother that."
He rubbed his nape and looked up at his dad. "If she's not a woman, what is she then? A monkey impersonating a person?" Felix stood and swung his weight from foot to foot while scratching under his armpits like a monkey. "Oooh oooh aaah aaah!"
"You're stepping over the damn line." Sam gave him a dad look™. Irene walked over to him a tapped him on the arm with a calm shake of her head and a disarming smile. If there was one thing Sam demanded from his children, it was respect. He was extremely intolerant towards disrespectful behavior.
Felix smirked and stood to give his mom a quick hug, which she retributed. "It's a joke, pai, chill." Then he laughed in sudden realization and pointed to his sisters. "It's just a prank, bro!"
Diana and Alice laughed with him at the reference.
Diana's stomach gurgled and growled in pained hunger. She laid her hand on top of her belly with a sheepish smile. "So, mami, about lunch…"
Irene put her hands on her hips. "What'd I tell you?" "What'd you mom tell you?" Sam accused at the same time, one arm going around his wife's waist.
Sam tackled lunch, forcing his wife to sit down and relax. It was one of the things Diana loved about her parents' marriage, it was an actual marriage. They divided chores. Housework wasn't something that her dad scoffed at and deemed women's work. They were equal in everything. Diana always knew that was how she wanted her marriage to be. If she ever got married.
Irene pushed Felix's locs away from his face while the boy swatted at her hand in protest. She told him they needed to do something about his hair, since it was getting too unmanageable. Jokingly, she said she would come into his tent at night and would cut it all off.
With a frustrated huff, Felix said he would be moving away from home camp since one parent threatened him with a lion and the other with scissors, so what kind of parents were they. All his comment brought him was a bought of laughter at his expense.
That meal's conversational topic centered around Quarry Gossip™. Alice had ingrained herself so deep into Lori's daily life, helping with tutoring and playing with the kids, that she'd gained the woman's trust in no time. That meant that Lori would gossip with her and then ask her for her vote of confidentiality.
Sure, Lori, keep believing that.
The Lobos always minded their own business and didn't interfere with someone else's, but gossip meant the latest news. Who knew if any otherwise seemingly useless piece of information might not tip them off that a shitstorm was about to break out. It was the best way to stay alert while keeping the guise of nonchalance.
After lunch, Sam was called away by Morales. They'd learned of his expertise in construction and had recruited him, with much effort, to help improve some of their structures. So far he'd used the materials at hand to build them a shower cabin with the complete privacy of a working door. Plus, he'd had some great ideas on how to improve the security of the perimeter with some anti-zombie contraptions. That was their current pet project in the making.
Irene cleaned the dishes with a wet rag and complained that it was Sam's turn to do the laundry. Since he was gone, she'd be the one to have to do it. She sighed deeply and used that tone of voice mothers used when they were trying to subtly hint toward something.
Alice, Felix, and Diana all looked accusingly at each other, trying to communicate per telepathy and force the other to help.
Then, Diana stood with a cheeky grin, giving her siblings hope for a second, and announced that she had to go to archery practice. Her mom excused her and turned to Alice and Felix for help.
Diana got her bow and left home camp with curses of foul play being thrown at her back and a smirk on her lips.
oOo
Diana took the long way to the clearing, taking time to appreciate the sudden breeze on her skin and let herself get lost in thought. She picked some flowers absentmindedly and thought of Glenn.
He'd left for another supply run that morning and it was fair to say, he'd been less insecure this time around. He knew his way around the city better than anyone and he was quick on his feet. Their farewell had also been way less dramatic this time seeing as her confidence in his skills had only grown since the first time. Still, her heart felt somewhat restricted by the thought of him alone out there.
He'd been given another list of what to look out for. This time, she'd added her own items to that list. Any medical equipment was a given, but she'd underlined her dad's and Alice's medication. Those were most important.
And although it wasn't on the list, she hoped he found a solar charger and some peanut butter.
She stopped to rip a blue flower from its long stem to add to her handful, then another for behind her ear. She felt like a forest nymph whenever she wandered through the woods alone and with the bow at her side, the effect only multiplied.
The bow hummed on her shoulder, as if it had sensed itself in her thoughts. Diana turned them to her almost daily practices. According to Daryl, she'd been making good improvements. She'd also been dreading her interactions with him less and less. He was much more agreeable, that was true. But even when he argued with her, it was all very light-hearted. He never did or said something that would hurt her.
She had feared that the atmosphere of the practices would turn weird after her whole pretentious 'your parents were fucking shitty so I'mma make up for it by becoming your friend' and the hug. But she realized that things would only be awkward if she made them awkward. So she saved up social energy for practices so she could put all her charisma into their interactions.
Diana thought it was working so far.
oOo
When she reached the clearing, Daryl already awaited her, as usual. Did the guy even eat lunch? Did he just inhale his food just to have the satisfaction of always arriving before her? He was chewing on another yellow flower. There was the answer. The guy was so hungry he resorted to eating flowers all the time.
Well, the aesthetic was on point, though. He always looked softer like that.
He threw away the head of the flower and stood from his seat on the boulder as she walked up to him. "Took you long enough," he said. His eyes followed her as she set the flowers down next to his crossbow.
"Sorry, late lunch today." Diana shrugged apologetically. Her brow furrowed in thought and she turned to Daryl. "Actually, you wanna eat with us someday? We can't make you a good traditional meal like a feijoada or something, but uh… you could get to really know my family better?"
Daryl appraised her, his eyes narrowed and always so blue. "I don't think they'd like that. And what the hell's a…"
"Feijoada?" Diana supplied, a smile of nostalgia blossoming on her lips.
Daryl nodded. "That."
Her mouth started watering and her eyes almost rolled back. "Oh man, it's a bean and meat stew that you eat with rice. It's… it's so good. Fuck, I miss food from before." She rubbed her belly and added, "Today, I'm on a peanut butter craze."
"I should get y'all a nice piece of venison," Daryl said with half a smile and watched Diana expectantly.
She crossed her arms indignantly, jostling the bow from her shoulder, and sighed in mocked exasperation. "I already said I'm sorry about that, alright? It won't happen again."
"I'm just sayin', ya coulda eaten well for days." He left it at that with a teasing tone and beckoned her to the middle of the clearing to start practice.
Diana followed with a soft smile.
oOo
Since he'd noticed apparent improvement in her form and aim, Daryl decided to fast forward her training.
Diana was just a natural genius. It wasn't as if she'd been practicing almost every day after self-defense and in the evening just so she could have the advantage. Nah. She was just naturally good. Good old talent.
Daryl had decided to try moving targets. They didn't have any real gear available, so he threw rocks in the air and Diana had to try and hit them. So far, out of the dozen he'd thrown, she'd hit an average of zero. Good old talent.
Her incapability to do anything right brought about some old friends named intrusive thoughts. They repeated themselves like a mantra over and over in her mind. They became harsher and harsher with every failed attempt and she felt her self-esteem decay and her self-hate double and triple.
The best way to distract herself was to talk.
"Hey, so, I know what your spite with Shane was about," she started. Alice really was a great source of gossip. She hadn't approached that issue since it first caused strife between them. But now, she figured enough time had passed to mention again. They were on better terms now even if he and Shane remained relatively rocky.
Daryl scoffed as he bent over to get another stone. "You about the only one didn't know."
Diana rolled her eyes and made a mocking face. "Sorry for not caring about what goes on in other people's lives. It's called minding my own business, you know? Finally learned how that works." Oh, the lies.
Daryl gave a soft chuckle. "Ya feelin' feisty today, huh?"
"I'm good humored," she said in mocked seriousness. With one brow elegantly arched, she gave him the palm of her hand with a flourish. "Don't mock me, good sir, I beg of you."
Daryl walked behind her and said, "So long it don't mess with your form."
Diana felt his close presence at her back. Then the warmth of his breath on her neck as he looked over her shoulder. Her breath hitched and her body tensed instantly. He must've noticed the change. His hands came to rest on her shoulders and he lowered them gently with a whispered 'that's it' near her ear. It caught her off guard.
Her chest became tight and warm. She nodded a choppy thanks as sweat broke out her every pore.
"I'm-" she cleared her throat. "I'm the Queen of multitasking," she said and shot at a random tree just to release the frustration. Daryl rarely initiated physical contact. It felt different than when she did.
From off to the side, Daryl said, "Then catch this."
"What?" Diana turned too slow and took a canteen flask to the boob. "Ouch! Boi, mas que merda?" she called out. She resisted the urge to rub her injured boob like she normally would and bent down to pick up the offending object.
Daryl joined her and nodded at the flask. "Drink up."
"Thanks," Diana said and shouldered her bow to unscrew it. She was about to drink but took a whiff and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Water wasn't supposed to have a smell. "What's in this?"
"Just water. What, want me to clean it up for ya?" Daryl lifted the hem of his shirt to clean the mouth of the flask. Diana politely averted her eyes from his exposed skin and snatched the drink from him. If only to drown out the heat in her belly.
"Gimme that. There's no need, you don't disgust me." She took a swig and immediately blanched. Her face screwed up and she stuck her tongue out. "Bleh, tastes so weird." It tasted slightly strong, like spiked water.
"Yeah, used to have bourbon in there," Daryl said casually as he took the bottle back.
Diana furrowed her brow and her lip curled. "And you didn't rinse it out? Daryl, what the fuck?"
The corner of his lips lifted and he made a noise of amusement as he took a sip.
Diana slowly shook her head accusingly at him. "Hey, but back on track. From what I've heard, he thought you and Merle should hunt for the camp. That was it, right? But you've been doing that since we arrived here, so I didn't get what the problem was."
"Motherfucker thought he could order me around like I'm his dog," Daryl hissed between clenched teeth and screwed the flask closed. He glared into the distance and she was glad she wasn't on the receiving end.
Diana raised her brows in understanding and nodded slowly. "Oh. So it was more how he said it than what he said, that it? 'Cause, I mean, you guys hunting, I thought that was nice of you. And it's for everyone's benefit, right? Like, the way I'm the nurse, you're the hunter, it's our contribution?"
Daryl remained silent, his appraising eyes on her. Diana stared back. She always cowered when people held her gaze for a long time, it was time to change that.
"Is it… is it the gratitude that's, you know, lacking or something? 'Cause my mom told me to say thank you for the rabbits from yesterday. My dad made a wicked roast."
"I don't give two shits about gratitude." He looked away, deep in thought.
So that's what it was like when Diana became distracted with her thoughts in the middle of a conversation? It was really fucking rude, she had to stop doing that.
Whatever was going on in his mind, he seemed conflicted. "Do you… wanna talk about it?" It didn't hurt to offer.
"No," he said swiftly, blinking out of his trance. He gestured toward her with a tilt of his head. "Rather focus on what you're doin', you're making too many mistakes."
"Fine," Diana said dejectedly. She hadn't meant to pry. His tone of voice put a dent into her hard-earned confidence, deflating her just a little.
oOo
Diana practiced in silence for a while. Daryl would throw rocks in the air and she would shoot at them. With his corrections and tips, she was making slow but sure progress, now for every five, she hit at least one.
Her arms got tired from holding the bow above shoulder height for so long and she asked for a break.
They sat together in quiet.
Diana felt Daryl's eyes on her. She faced him with a questioning tilt of her head and a raised brow. Her eyes followed his hand as it hesitantly neared her face and touched right above her ear. He adjusted the flower there with a delicate touch that made her skin tingle.
Their eyes met briefly. He pulled his hand away and cleared his throat. Silently, he offered her the flask and she took it with a quiet and polite 'thanks'. Her heart was beating a little fast.
Diana took a small sip and the taste of tainted water caused her to spit it back out, erasing the softness from the atmosphere. She wiped her wet chin on her forearm and glanced at Daryl. "God, how can you even drink from that?"
"Ain't that bad." He took the offered flask and took a long swig. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and told her matter-of-factly, "Your arms get tired too quick. Ya gotta build up your upper body strength."
Diana threw her head back and groaned in exaggerated exasperation. "Man, for real? That's like the weakest half of my body."
"I noticed," Daryl commented lightheartedly.
She scoffed with a lopsided smile, her tongue poking out to lick her lips in incredulity. "You getting fresh with me, Daryl?"
She still couldn't believe that they were getting along so well. She knew she was an agreeable person who could virtually adapt to anyone, but it was nice to know it wasn't just her making the effort. Some insecure part of her told her she was still only just annoying him and added itself to her intrusive thoughts.
Daryl gave a small chuckle with a quick tilt of his head and took a sip.
Diana smiled and played with her hands on her lap. "You gonna go hunt afterward?" she asked.
Daryl chucked the flask at the foot of the boulder and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Yeah, what about it?"
Diana smiled cheekily. "About that venison…"
He looked back at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Now you don't mind it?"
Diana straightened her back haughtily and put her nose in the air, but her mockery was ruined by her carefree grin. "I'm a very hungry woman with chronic Eisenmangel, uh, thing, that thing, with the low iron in the blood. I need my meat." What she wouldn't give for Carne de Porco à Alentejana or Rojões or Cozido à Portuguesa. Her mouth was watering just thinking about it. Then she asked, "What's your favorite food, Daryl?"
"Hmm? I'll eat anything." He slowly leaned back and shrugged.
"No yeah, but like your favorite dish." Diana shrugged loosely. "Like… like something that your mom used to cook or something," she suggested pensively.
His gaze became sharp and he averted his eyes from hers. "She ain't never cooked much." His tone of voice left no room for further discussion of his past.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Tough topic, no touching. She should've known better. She had a bit of a picture of what kind of parents his had been. But not even cooking for your child? That was just neglectful.
She was considering rubbing his back in a comforting manner, but decided against it. He might take it as pity and she didn't want that.
"Why you wanna know?" He narrowed his eyes at her, back into suspicious mode.
"I'm just curious," she said casually and lifted one shoulder. She crossed her legs at the knee and leaned forward to rest her elbows there. She propped her chin on her hand and tilted her head towards Daryl. Absentmindedly, she reached up to comb away some hair that had stuck to his forehead from the sweat.
She knew Glenn's favorite dish. So why not Daryl's? She knew a lot of Glenn's favorite things and he knew hers. It was somewhat of a bonding moment for them. Even if it felt useless to Daryl, the act of sharing something personal meant a lot to her. It meant his trust.
Plus, Diana was desperate to ask him about his favorite color because of none other than the fact that she hoped it was green. He looked like a green kind of man.
It was ridiculous how childish she could get.
Daryl leaned just a little bit away from the touch and lifted one shoulder. "A thick steak with roasted potatoes is alright."
Diana nodded appreciatively with a raised eyebrow. "Mmhm, pretty solid. I think I'mma have to go with Brazilian Feijoada. Nothing else compares, really."
"You're pretty sold on that one," he commented. "Must be good."
"Yeah…" Diana bit her lower lip and looked into the distance, her thoughts turning to food again. Then shook her head of it and asked, "What about your favorite color?" She couldn't resist the pull.
"You playin' twenty-one questions or what?" he asked and raised an eyebrow.
Diana's brow pulled down in a quick confused frown. "I've only ever seen that in movies. That's not a thing we do." Then she straightened herself and smiled distractedly. "I'll go first. Mine's blue like…" she trailed off and looked around. Not like the flowers she'd picked. Not really like the sky. She looked back at Daryl and inched closer to his face. Yes, like that. "Exactly like your eyes."
He stared at her, his baby blue eyes jumping on her features. She saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. He glanced down and she noticed she'd been picking at the threads from the hem of his shirt and released it. She leaned back. "What about yours?" she asked and tilted her head. "I think green when I look at you, like the forest."
"Yeah, it's… it's green." He swallowed again and Diana's eyes followed the movement.
She smiled widely and slapped his leg. "Really? Man, I am good. I think I might be a little psychic, you know?" She winked at him with a click of her tongue. If that could be called a wink. She didn't really know how to do it right.
"Yeah," was Daryl's simple response.
Diana bit the inside of her cheek pensively. "Okay, what about-"
Daryl interrupted her by standing up abruptly. "Your arms still tired?" he asked and stretched his own from side to side.
Diana frowned in confusion and then shrugged limply. Her boob hurt more, to be honest. He had not thrown gently. "What? Oh, not anymore. Should I-"
"Keep practicin'," Daryl interrupted once more. Her eyes followed as he bent down in front of her and handed her the bow.
She took it with pursed lips and a curt nod. The weight of her mistake made her conscience heavy. "I'm sorry," she said to his retreating back.
He looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowed. "For what?"
Diana looked off to the side and lifted one shoulder. "I was… I was prying, wasn't I? I'm sorry."
"It ain't that." Daryl walked back to her and inhaled deeply. He rubbed his temple and then shrugged almost dejectedly. "Look, ya already know I ain't staying long. Ya ain't gotta waste your time and energy on me. Should spend it on practice, where it's useful."
Diana understood where he was coming from. But she'd also made a very pretentious promise to herself regarding his person that she wanted to see kept. So…
She reached out for his hand and grabbed it gingerly by the fingers. His hand involuntarily molded to her touch, his fingers curling slightly around hers. She looked up at him from under her lashes and said, "But I don't mind spending my time on you."
It didn't cost her anything more than just a longer rest to charge up her social battery. It was nothing. She could practice and befriend him, one didn't mean the sacrifice of the other. She was done with undervaluing her friends.
She grabbed his hand with both of hers and massaged his palm lightly with her thumbs. Their eyes never left each other. Until Daryl pulled his hand away and cleared his throat. "You should still practice."
oOo
By the end, exhausted and noodle-armed, Diana took the flowers she'd picked and offered them to Daryl. He eyed them with a raised eyebrow and a glance at her. "What you want me to do with that?"
Diana sighed and motioned for him to take them, but no luck. "You know, as a payment, kinda. Or thank you. If you don't want all of them, here…"
She took one of the yellow ones she'd seen him chew and coaxed it between his lips. They parted easily and touched the tips of her fingers. "One for the mouth," she whispered, "the other…" She opened the breast pocket on his shirt and hid a blue one in there, identical to hers. "…for the heart." She finished by flattening her hand against it and gave him a lopsided smile.
In the first part, I wanted to showcase a typical family moment and how they function together because their dynamics are so important in this fic.
I wanted to clarify why Daryl's so contemplative about the hunting issue here. He felt conflicted cuz he'd been treating it like an obligation, bc he didn't owe them anything and whatever, but Diana put it in a different perspective. Does that make sense to u as it did to me? Idk, tell what u think.
These Dariana moments, huh… How they feeling to you?
Also, got any theories until now? I wanna hear about all conspiracies a-brewing.
