The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 51

Carl and Enid walked back home together, their hands intertwined. Rick was still behind at Deanna's house helping her secure the woman they had brought back with them after the attack. The woman had swiped at Rowan with a knife. She hadn't cut her. But both Daryl and Rowan's father had been throwing rather epic fits over it. Since almost their entire group had been crammed into the camper together on the way back while they fought and argued, it made for some high quality entertainment. In particular for Carl, since he didn't care much one way or the other what they did with the women they caught. Spencer finally had to step in and play mediator to settle the matter and stop the arguing from escalating into actual physical fighting. He decided that they were going to take the woman to his mother and let Deanna weigh in on what should be done with her. This forced a temporary truce. But the moment Daryl drug the poor woman into Deanna's living room and tossed her on the couch like a rag doll, everyone started right back up screaming again.

Carl let Enid through the front door ahead of him, pulling the door shut behind them as quietly as he could. It was still early and if Michonne and his little brother were sleeping, Carl didn't want to wake them. Moose padded out from the kitchen. He pressed his wet nose into Carl's pant leg, sniffing at the blood that had dried there. The dog then gave Enid a quick once over before he turned and scratched at the door. Carl opened the door and let him out. When the door clicked shut the second time it woke Michonne. She was napping on the couch that faced away from the door. Carl hadn't seen her there when he walked in. She sat up and turned in their direction, the immediate concern clear on her face. They were back, but Rick wasn't with them.

"He's fine," Carl assured her, "he's still at Deanna's. He should be home soon."

Michonne let out a sigh of relief. Carl knew she hated staying home while his dad put himself in harm's way. She was one of their best fighters in hand to hand combat. But it was her and his dad's agreement that they didn't go on missions or runs together. One of them always stayed back with the baby. And since the little fellow in question was still firmly attached to Michonne's breast, at present the person staying back was her.

"You need me to get you something to drink?," Enid asked. Michonne shook her head. Her small son was actually sleeping in the bassinet next to her instead of on top of her for once. So she could get her own water or tea without waking him. Michonne smiled and thanked the girl. Enid had really impressed her since her son's birth. The girl was truly thoughtful and amazing, always helping her out with the baby. Unlike Michonne, caretaking seemed to come naturally to Enid. Michonne hoped she would put her instincts to good use and start training to work in their medical center. But that was a conversation for another day.

"You two must be tired," Michonne suggested, "Rick can fill me in when he gets back."

Carl nodded gratefully and headed for the stairs, pulling Enid with him. The last thing he wanted to do was rehash everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. He was filthy and his entire body was sore. Carl headed straight for their bedroom. But Enid stopped him with a tug of her hand and pulled him into the bathroom with her instead. They were both filthy. She didn't want to get into bed like that and dirty up the sheets and blankets. Carl followed her into the small room and sat on the lid of the toilet, tugging his boots and socks off as Enid adjusted the temperature of the shower water. She kicked off her own boots and peeled her socks off in the funny way she always did. She used the ball of one foot to hold the toe of the other sock in place while she yanked her foot out. Then repeated the process with the opposite foot.

The simple designs Rowan had painted on Enid's face were still there. She had a horizontal red stripe across the bridge of her nose that extended across her eyes and into her hairline on either side. A vertical stripe started under the middle of her full bottom lip and went all the way down her throat, stopping just short of her cleavage. There were two yellow dots, one directly centered above the arches of each of her eyebrows. Her hair was pulled up high and tight into a ponytail that pulled forward as she yanked out the elastic that was holding it in place. Enid closed her eyes as she rubbed at her scalp with her fingertips. She was wearing a tank top layered under a long sleeve t-shirt and she grabbed the hems of both and pulled them off over her head, dropping them to the floor next to her boots.

Carl wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as she reached behind her back to unhook her bra, freeing her breasts. Suddenly he didn't feel as tired as he had when he was walking up the stairs. He stood up quickly, yanking his own shirt off and tossed it in the pile Enid had started with her clothes. Once they were both bare, Carl pulled her into his arms. A soft cloud of warm steam was curling out around the shower curtain. The edges of the mirror were fogging up but Carl could still see and enjoy the image of Enid's firm backside as he held her naked body against his.

They were both usually a little rough with each other. Carl was always in a hurry to get at his girlfriend's naked body and get himself inside of her. And Enid followed his lead, groping and fumbling with his body the same way he did with hers. But a long, adrenaline filled night had exhausted them both. Carl held her gently, caressing his hands over her hips and lower back. She hugged him tightly before she pulled him into the shower with her. The water was almost too hot but she could feel it relaxing her sore muscles almost immediately. They took turns washing each other's hair. When Carl scrubbed her scalp with the pads of his fingers Enid felt like she had died and gone to heaven. It was almost as good as an orgasm. Her face paint washed off easily. But Carl's was mostly black and had dried on hard in a few spots. Enid used the corner of a washcloth, scrubbing as gently as she could so as to not pull at the sensitive skin around his eyes.

They kissed and caressed each other as the warm water relaxed their bodies. Enid suggested they go back to their room. She wasn't sure how much longer Rick was going to be at Deanna's but she didn't want him waiting on their sexual activites before he was able to take a shower himself. Carl cranked the water off and handed her a towel, grabbing another for himself. They padded quickly down the hall in their towels, their dirty mess of clothes and shoes forgotten on the bathroom floor. Having worked each other up almost to completion in the shower, they both found their releases almost immediately once they were on the bed together. Enid pulled the blankets back and they climbed underneath, still naked. She laid on her back, Carl on his side snuggling in close to her. He traced his hand over the curves of her body. It was getting harder and harder for Enid to keep her eyes open. Her body was clean. Her muscles were relaxed and her needs were fully satisfied. She was on the brink of sleep when something on the dresser caught her eye.

"Where did that giraffe come from?," she asked, pulling Carl back from sleep along with her. Enid collected stuffed giraffes. She had them lined up on top of her dresser. Most of them had been gifted to her from Aaron. He found them when he was out recruiting survivors to come join their group. But there was a large dark orange giraffe sitting in the middle of her other stuffies that she was sure she had never seen before.

"What giraffe?," Carl asked. He hadn't noticed anything out of place when they came into the bedroom. But Carl also didn't pay much attention to Enid's stuffed animals.

"The big one in the middle," she said as she pointed at the offending animal, "I'm sure I've never seen that one before."

Enid knew a new stuffed animal wasn't an overt threat. But it still creeped her out. Someone had been in their room when they weren't there. And she suspected this wasn't the first time. Sometimes the clothes inside her dresser weren't in the same place she left them. A few of her things had gone missing. It was never enough for her to be sure. Things could have just been misplaced. And occasionally Rick came in and picked up their room when he couldn't stand the mess that Carl was making. Though Enid seriously doubted the man would be rooting around in her underwear drawer. Someone else did that. She had no proof of her suspicions though. More of just a general uneasy feeling. But this was different. Enid was one hundred percent sure that she had never seen that giraffe before.

Enid pushed the covers back, prepared to jump from the bed and grab the offending animal. Carl grabbed her and pulled her back under the covers with him.

"Someone probably just left it for you," he assured her, "We can ask around later."

There were a million ways a new stuffed animal could have made it into their room. Eric and Aaron could have brought it for her. One of the kids could have left it and Michonne thought it was Enid's and put it away in here. Carl was tired and at the moment he didn't care how a stray stuffed animal had made it into their room. If Enid didn't want the thing, he would be happy to get rid of it later.

"You're probably right," Enid sighed. She was tired and it didn't take much convincing before she was burrowing back under the warm covers. Despite her physical exhaustion, it took longer than she expected for her to fall asleep. She couldn't shake the feeling that the stuffed animal in her room was one more piece in a weird puzzle that she didn't know how to solve.