The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 29

The fire in the pit was burning low but had been banked well to keep it from dwindling out as the night went on. More people than Daryl had expected to show up had come out to watch the play. He figured either Rowan and Aaron were planning a much more professional production than their usual horsing around or the residents of Alexandria were more starved for entertainment than Daryl would have guessed. He was starting to feel a little worried for his wife, wondering if she had planned on having this many people show up to hear her act out a few bits of story in front of a firepit.

Deanna and Reg had set up camping chairs towards the back. Other people had also brought chairs or pillow to sit on. Carol and Tobin were spreading a blanket out over the well trampled grass. Maggie and Glenn were doing the same, while Rick and Michonne simply sat down cross legged in the grass with Michonne's large dog stretching out nearby.

Since Rowan and her father were both part of the play, Daryl sat with Nokake and some of the other wolves, having been unofficially taken in as part of their group because of his relationship with Rowan. Tank had tried unsuccsessfully to remain near Rowan while she was getting ready, but after she shooed him out from behind her trailer for the third time he hunkered down near Daryl with a dejected look on his face. Daryl spotted Olivia glancing around for someone to sit with since Eugene had been convinced to play some small roll in the play. He waved the woman over and was rewarded with a grateful smile. She sat down between Daryl and Tank, laughing when the large dog whined and crowded in close to her looking for sympathy.

Lily disappeared inside the teepee and not returned. Daryl guessed the dog had taken up watch over the sleeping children inside. Having her puppies had activated a strong mothering instinct inside the large dog and since then Lily had made it her personal responsiblity to keep watch over all the town's youngest and most vulnerable residents. She always came home to Rowan's house to sleep at night but it was not unusual for her to disappear for part or sometimes even most of the day. Later Michonne or one of the other mothers would tell Rowan that Lily had come to visit them.

Day was giving way to night and the sun was lighting firey streaks across the sky as it sunk lower into the horizon. Anticipation was building and the loud conversations that had been taking place around the outskirts of the firepit were fading as the light faded from the sky. A few people lit small citronella candles they brought with them or took a few squirts from one of the bottles of homemade mosquito repellent that were being passed around the crowd. A few other bottles were being passed around, more discreetly. Daryl rubbed a bit of the lemon scented liquid over his exposed skin, following it with a few deep swallows of the bottle that was passed to him next. He noticed Olivia passed on the liquor, leaning over Tank to hand the mason jar to Rick and Michonne. Daryl found himself wondering if she was just passing on it because she didn't care for the taste of moonshine or if they might be welcoming another new member to their extended family before the year was over.

Daryl had seen Eric and Aaron setting up and lighting lanterns so he guessed the group was waiting for the sky to darken before they started the play. Morgan darted through the crowd, causing a few people to holler at the large white dog as he trampled on or near their things with his muddy paws. Since Rowan's father was no where to be found he weasled in and took up a spot near Tank. Daryl shook his head at the dog's dirt covered muzzle, hoping that he hadn't been digging around in the gardens again. Of all the dogs in town, the only one that had a penchant for garden destruction was Morgan. He ate fruit from the berry bushes, trampled tomato plants and had a special passion for digging up anything that Rowan's father planted for himself.

The large white dog settled down just in time. Rowan and Aaron came out from behind the trailer, dressed in colorful costumes. Several people clapped while others hushed up the ones who were still talking amongst themselves. Daryl tried to remember the name of the character Rowan was playing but nothing was coming to mind other than a few lines of the poem she had been reciting in the bathtub as his hands stroked down the lengths of her freckled arms.

In the pathway of the sun,

In the footsteps of the breeze,

Where the world and sky are one,

He shall ride the silver seas

He shall cut the glittering wave...

After those few words Rowan had arched her back, the full tops of her breasts floating up and out of the lingering layer of soap bubbles. Daryl couldn't remember anything she said after that. He knew Aaron was playing the lead character. Rowan was playing his wife and Carl was playing their son. Enid was playing some sort of witch and Rowan's father was acting as the narrator. Daryl had seen a few costumes being put together but he hadn't seen the final result. Rowan was wearing a sort of medival looking dress. With her long hair and now fuller bust the costume flattered her and made her appear as though she was a real princess in a story, ready to be locked away in a tower to wait for her would be rescuer. Daryl found Aaron's look far more comical. The man had a bare chest under a vest that Daryl was fairly certain had been borrowed without permission from his personal wardrobe. Michonne had lent her sword to be used as a prop and Aaron was wearing it tied to his waist with a colorful scarf like he was some sort of deranged pirate ninja.

With all eyes on Rowan and Aaron, no one noticed that Rowan's father had crept around near the back of the crowd. When the man banged on the drum in his hands, several people jumped or gasped in surprise. Daryl noticed the man had positioned himself directly behind the blanket Carol and her boyfriend were sitting on and he wondered if that was intentional. Rowan's father was good controlling his facial expressions, but Daryl knew him better than most. He could see the man was looking rather pleased with himself for scaring Tobin and making the usually calm and composed man holler out in surprise. Carol was staring daggers up at Rowan's father and he was sure to smile down at her before he began with his part of the story.

Rowan's father had an accent that was appealing to the ear and a good strong voice for story telling. He banged on the drum one more time, giving Carol another wicked smile. Then he began.

"When Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, left to fight in the Trojan war his son was still a babe in his mother's arms."

As he spoke to tell the story, Rowan and Aaron acted out the physical representation of the words. Rowan rocked a bundle of fabric as if she held a pretend baby in her arms. It was really nothing more than a bunched up scarf but the tender way she looked down at it made it easy to give in to the magic of the story and believe she was really holding her infant son in her arms. Aaron wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against his naked chest before he kissed her. Daryl about choked on the second swig of liquor he was taking. No one had told him anything about any kissing and he had to remind himself that Aaron was very gay and probably didn't like kissing Rowan any more than Daryl liked watching him kiss her. This wasn't any more real than the bundled up scarf baby in Rowan's arms.

"They're really good, aren't they?," Olivia whispered, trying not to giggle at Daryl's reaction to the kiss. Daryl nodded and took another long pull on the brown bottle in his hands before he passed it on to the person on his right. Aaron kissed the fake baby bundle in Rowan's arms before he charged off very dramatically with his hand on Michonne's sword. After he was out of view, Rowan recited the poem she had been practicing earlier in the bathtub. Daryl had remembered the beginning right, but there were a few lines that had come after.

"...he shall cut the glittering wave;

I shall sit at home and rock;

Rise, to heed a neighbor's knock;

Brew my tea, and snip my thread;

Bleach the linen for my bed.

They will call him brave."

The feeling of a woman waiting at home, unsure if her husband was going to come back alive struck a cord with many of the people that were sitting in the audience. Daryl even saw a few of them wipe at their eyes. After the poem, Rowan's father hit the drum again.

"The war raged on for ten long years before the Greeks truimphed over the Trojans. Most of the Greeks that survived returned home to their families. But Odyesseus did not. His journey home took him another ten years."

As he spoke, Rowan acted out the part of Penelope. She put her hand to shield her eyes as she looked out over imaginary cliffs for her wayward husband. And when the part about another ten years was mentioned she flicked the long scarf out and twirled, letting it fan out around her until her imaginary baby was gone and Carl was standing next to her in it's place. Rick and Michonne clapped their hands in excitement. Pretending Carl was twenty was a bit of a stretch, but someone had colored in a fake beard and mustache on his face to make him look a little older. Rowan took his arm and they faced the small crowd together.

"When Odysseus failed to return home after the war, many unmarried men suspected he had died in the war or on the journey home. They moved into his home with the intention of courting Penelope, who's beauty and weath had not diminished during her husband's long absence. One even plotted to kill her son Telemachus to make it easier to force her into a martial union."

Eric, Spencer and Eugene had been elected to play Penelope's suitors. They bumbled out, kneeling down in front of Rowan, offering her flowers and trying to get her attention as she stood unmoved by their affections. Eric was playing the most evil of the bunch. He stood behind Carl, pulling a knife out and putting his finger to his lips to signal people in the crowd to keep quiet as he plotted to kill the boy. Most of the people watching hissed and booed at him, now fully invested in the story that was being acted out for them.

"Afraid for the life of her son if she openly refused her suitors, Penelope devised a plan to stall them in hopes that her husband would return. She claimed she would choose a suitor once she was finished weaving her husband's funeral shroud. Every day she would weave the shroud. And every night in the cover of dark she would pull her day's work loose from the loom."

Spencer knelt down, making his back into a chair for Rowan to sit upon. Eric held up the same scarf that Rowan had used as her pretend baby. Now it was her loom that she pretended to weave. When her father got to the part about her pulling the threads loose she yanked angrily at the scarf and then buried her face in it, pretending to cry over her missing husband. Like most people watching, Daryl was finding himself more caught up in the story than he meant to be. A few gulps of strong liquor swirled in his gut and started him thinking about Rowan and what might happen to her if her was the husband that never came back from a run one day. It made him sick to think about leaving his unborn child without a father.

"Penelope could only keep up her ruse for so long before her deception was discovered. The suitors demanded that she stop with her games and choose a husband from among them. Afraid for his own safety and that of his mother, Telemachus left his home determined to find his father."

The three man playing the suitors pantomined their anger. Eric even grabbed Rowan roughly by the arms and shook her a little. She broke away from him and hugged Carl tightly in her arms. He hugged her back before he charged off in the same direction Aaron had gone. Eric and Rowan grabbed hands and gave a little bow, mainly to remind people that they were only acting their parts. Then the four of them cleared out of the way to make room for the next scene that was going to take place.

"Odysseus had no desire to fight. During the ten long years the war waged on his wife and son consumed his dreams along with his waking thoughts. As soon as the fight was won he climbed aboard his boat and set sail for Ithaca. But fate would not allow him to reach his home so easily. A storm washed him up on the island of the witch Calypso. Laying eyes upon the only man she had ever seen, Calypso fell deeply in love with him. Using her magic, she kept Odyesseus imprisoned on her island for seven long years. During that time he was saved from the ravages of time but still thought of nothing but returning home to his family."

Daryl had been watching Rowan's father as he spoke but when a murmur rippled through the crowd he turned to see what had caught everyone's attention. Enid twirled out to do the dance she had been practicing with Aaron. The collective gasp had been caused by the extremely skimpy costume the girl had on. She looked more like a belly dancer than any witch Daryl had ever seen. The top she had on wasn't much more than a few scarves that had been strategically knotted to cover her breasts and the skirt was slit in a way that bared her legs from her ankles all the way to her hips when she spun or lifted her knee up. The dance steps that had seemed silly and comical to Daryl when he saw them being practiced in Aaron's living room took on a different mood in the flickering light of the fire. They looked sexy together and were very convincing in their lust for each other.

"Persuaded by the messenger god Hermes and by her own conscience, Calypso eventually released Odysseus. She provided him with a boat and the supplies he would need for the long journey home."

Enid took a bundled up scarf, which was meant to represent the supplies, and handed it to Aaron. Then Aaron took her into his arms and kissed her. Daryl snorted out a quiet laugh, thinking that it seemed the man wouldn't be happy until he made out with every woman in the place. Aaron pantomined, moving his arms like he was rowing away in a boat. Eric and Spencer waved a long scarf up and down in front of him to look like the waves of the ocean. Enid got up on her tiptoes with her hand held up to shade her eyes from the pretend sun. Once her make believe lover was gone from sight she lowered her head into her hands as if she was crying. Moving quickly and with good dramatic timing, she yanked a hidden knife from the waist of her flowy skirt. She raked the knife across her wrists, making quite a few people gasp in shock and suprise. For a moment even Daryl was wondering if Calypso's suicide was a planned part of the play. But after Enid dropped the knife she let two long ribbons of red cloth unravel down from where she had hidden them in her palms before she sunk to the ground.

Most people in Alexandria knew someone that had killed themselves since the beginning of the turn. Most had given up on life after the loss of a loved one. The scene hit home hard and there were sniffles and wet eyes that came along with the muffled applause that sounded when Enid stood up and took a bow after her scene was finished.

"On his way home once again, Odysseus's ship is driven off course by a storm. He and his men wash up on an unknown island where they are captured by a horrible beast with only one eye. The cyclops meant to eat them but Odysseus and his men escaped by blinding the beast with a wooden stake."

This part of the play proved to be much more comical, which was a welcome relief from the previous scene. Eugene played the cyclops and howled so loudly when Aaron pretened to poke his eye out that Morgan and Tank leaped up onto their feet and started howling along with him. Daryl and Olivia hushed the dogs up and Daryl pulled Tank over closer to him to keep the dog from running off to hunt down Rowan and ruin her play in the process.

"Odysseus had bested the beast but his vanity was his own undoing. As he ran from the cave of the cyclops he called out his real name to the beast, wanting the creature to know who had beaten him. The cylcops was son to the sea god Poseidon. In anger over his blinded son, Poseidon cursed Odysseus to wander the sea forever and never find his way home to Ithaca."

Aaron did the rowing act again. This time he went back and forth in front of the fire pit until he finally collapsed like he had given up. Eric appeared again in a slightly different costume that Daryl guessed was meant to signify that he was playing a different character. He handed Aaron a bag as Rowan's father narrated what was happening.

"Aeolus, the ruler of all the winds, took pity on Odysseus and gave him a bag containing all the winds except the west wind. This gift should have ensured a safe and fast journey home. But the greedy sailors on Odysseus's ship believed the bag contained gold. Just as the island of Ithaca came into sight, they opened the bag and all the winds flew out, blowing the ship back the way it came."

Enid came back out. She was wearing the same skimpy costume but she had a scarf draped over her head like a shroud. In the flickering light of the fire this gave her an unsettling eerie appearance. Spencer and Eugene, who were now playing the parts of Odysseus's sailors, came up and pretened as if they were taking food from her hands. After eating it they fell down on the ground and started rolling around like they had been poisoned.

"The new storm blew Odysseus's ship onto the island of the witch goddess Circe. She fed the sailors food laced with magic that turned them all into pigs. At Odysseus's request she agreed to change his men back, but only if he would agree to let her take him to bed."

Between the copious oinking from the two men that had supposedly been turned into barnyard animals and Aaron tripping over part of Enid's skirts and nearly dropping her on her ass, people were laughing hard in their enjoyment of the play. Stomach clutching laughter may not have been the intention of the scene but Aaron ran with it, scooping Enid up and tossing the girl over his shoulder. She pounded on his back for him to let her down and he responded by giving her a good solid whack on the behind, bringing on even more laughter from the people watching.

"Odysseus kept good on his word." Rowan's father spoke loudly in an attempt to get the derailed play back on track. People hushed themselves, not wanting to miss the next part of the story. "He stayed on Circe's island with her for a year. After this time she provided him with the directions he needed to get back home to his wife. He and his men avoided the island of the Sirens, plugging their ears with wax to avoid hearing the magical songs that would have drawn them in to crash on the rocks. Odysseus made it to the island of the Phaeacians, the only sailors with enough skill to get him home alive. In the cover of night, they delivered him to a hidden harbor in Ithaca."

Carl charged back out into view. He and Aaron shared a hug, making people smile and clap. A family reunion was always a welcome sight, even is it was only a pretend one.

"There Odysseus was reunited with his son Telemachus. Together they decided that the suitors must be killed. But given his own indiscretions, Odysseus was hesitant to believe that his wife has been as faithful as their son believed her to be. Odysseus disguised himself so that he might gain the truth from his wife before she learned of his return."

Aaron tossed the scarf over his head and bent down, shuffling as he walked. It gave him the appearance of being a tired old man. Rowan appeared again, rushing ahead to hug Carl before she knelt and offered some comfort to what Penelope believed was nothing more than a harmless old beggar.

"Odysseus had returned home in the knick of time. Urged on by her fear that harm would come to her only son, Penelope had agreed to a competiton between the suitors. The victor would win her hand in marriage. She challenged the men to string her husband's bow and shoot an arrow through a dozen axe heads in the hopes that there was not a man among them that could measure up to her wayword husband in terms of physical strength."

Spencer, Eric and Eugene each took a turn on the longbow they were using as a prop. Each of them pretended not to be able to pull the string back as Rowan clutched Carl's arm and looked on in horror. Aaron hobbled up, reaching for the bow. Eric laughed and kicked at him with his foot, knocking the man into the dirt. Aaron clambed back onto his feet, holding his hand out for the bow. One of the suitors handed it to him while the rest of them laughed. Aaron strung the bow and fired an arrow into a nearby tree. The shot was a good one and added to the illusion that the story was real. Daryl had given him a few lessons but he knew the man must have practiced since then to be able to make such a good shot in the dimming light.

Once he hit his target, Aaron tossed off the scarf and stood up straight. Carl ran to his side and they swung a few wooden sticks around. When they were done all the suitors were lying pretend dead on the ground. Rowan hung back, approaching Aaron slowly. When he reached for her she took a step back, as if she was scared of him. It seemed to take her forever to melt into his arms, and when she finally did people clapped like crazy.

Carl took a deep breath. He only had one section of lines in the entire play and he had written them down since he wasn't as good at memorizing poetry and stories as Rowan and her father were. The boy cleared his throat as he quickly unfolded the small piece of paper he had in his pocket, grateful when Rowan's father pounded on the drum in his hands to shut everyone up for just a moment longer so they could hear the end of the play. The writing was harder to read in the flickering firelight but Carl only needed the words as a reminder since he had made a good attempt at memorizing them.

Now from his breast into his eyes the ache

of longing mounted, and he wept at last,

his dear wife, clear and faithful, in his arms,

longed for

as the sunwarmed earth is longed for by a swimmer

spent in rough water where his ship went down

under Posiedon's blows, gale winds and tons of sea...

she too rejoiced, her gaze upon her husband,

her white arms round him pressed as though forever.

**I used the story of Cassandra as the story within a story in Under Your Spell and I wanted to do the same with this. How the Odyssey parallels The Wolf You Feed will become more clear as the story goes on. So with that, this chapter obviously contained some of the plot and even a few lines from the Odyssey. The story varies from the different versions of the books and legends and from movie to movie so I used a little creative license with it and left out a lot just so this chapter wouldn't drag on forever. The credit was given within the chapter so I don't think I need to give any more, clearly I did not come up with the story of the odyssey myself nor do I take credit for it. There was also a poem titled Penelope by Dorothy Parker included. Thanks to anyone that has taken the time to leave a review. I am still working on this story but I also have an AU (no zombies) story called Big Yellow Taxi that features Rowan and Daryl as the main pairing if anyone would like to read it. It's not completed but I am posting updates on it as well as my other WIP's.**