Thanks to everyone who expressed their enjoyment so far! I hope I can continue to give you a good story.
Please note though, that I don't actually have knowledge about plants. I'm making it up. Don't put strange vegetation in your mouth, kay?
Oh! And also, I'd just like to state now that the rating is subject to change. It's my first fic, so a bit of it I'm kinda winging. Hope you like it!
Evelyn finished helping the girls with the laundry and located Shane working on a jeep. He wiped his hands on a rag as she approached, "need somethin'?" he asked.
"Um, well, I was talking to Lori and Andrea and Amy about the camp and they said you didn't have a lot of medicine and things and, well, you see, I'm good with plants." She knew she was rambling, which was a little frustrating for her because she had always been so articulate. It made her feel so terribly awkward.
"Plants, eh? Well, maybe you could find some watermelon seeds or somethin'," he said jokingly.
"No," Evelyn shook her head, aware that Shane was making fun of her, "that's not what I mean. I can make certain remedies and things from plants."
He looked at her then with real interest, "you tellin' me you can make medicine from plants?"
"And soap," she added cheerily, since it was a fact that seemed to delight the girls. "But, of course, it wouldn't be as potent as actual medicine, but it can do some good." Evelyn slid her bag off her shoulder and rummaged inside it until she pulled out a small container of her goopy green stuff and handed it out to him. He took it and popped off the lid, squinting his nose at the smell. "It smells funny, I know, but I made it using plants native to this area."
"What is it?" he asked, dabbing a little on his finger.
"It's a slave for cuts and burns," she lifted her baggy black tank top and showed him the pink scars on her abdomen, "I got these about…" she thought for a moment, "a week and a half ago. I've been putting that on the scars everyday and they're pretty much healed. It's combination that, with it's particular properties and complimentary chemical reactions, speeds up the closing of a wound, while acting as a mild disinfectant. It also relieves burns." She dropped her shirt and took the container back when Shane held it out to her.
"What are you, some kind of doctor?" He asked, with what she dared to wonder to be slight awe, as he wiped the salve off his fingers.
"No, no, I'm not a doctor. I'm a librarian," she confessed.
Shane chuckled, "Who'da thought," he said, somewhat to himself.
"Andrea told me the Mr. Merle and Daryl Dixon go out hunting often. If I could go out into the woods with them, I could scavenge for some things and start creating a stock. It won't be state of the art, but it could be beneficial, and a good place to start. Also, I'm rather good with hunting, I could assist with that at the same time."
Shane ran his hands through his hair, and exhaled dramatically before pointing at her, "I'm going to put a lot of faith in you because these people need to be taken care of. Nothing personal, but I still can't trust you yet. You can go out with the Dixons, but you're still not permitted to carry your gun. I'm gonna have Daryl keep a close eye on you and anything that you make from these plants of yours, any 'remedies' or 'salves', I will see you use on yourself first, so I can make sure they're safe."
Evelyn nodded, "sounds completely reasonable," she agreed. And in truth, it was. She wasn't sure that, if in his place, she would handle the situation any differently. He was only looking out for his own and she couldn't be irritated at that. Although, she hoped that by doing this, it would prove her more trustworthy and reliable.
"Alright," Shane said, "let's go talk to Daryl."
Shane and Evelyn made their way to tent shared by both Daryl and Merle. Both Dixons were present and stood up as Shane came to them, Evelyn on his heels. "How y'all doin today?" Shane asked pleasantly. Merle spat and up close he looked like one of those tough, thick headed guys who purposefully sought out trouble. Dale's warning to steer clear resounded in her mind.
"Right as rain, Chief. What brings ya over?" Merle questioned.
Shane turned to Evelyn, "this here is Evelyn Jade, our newest member of the group thanks to your brother," he nodded at Daryl. "Y'all are gonna taker her out with you whenever you go huntin'."
"What for?" Daryl asked.
"Because," Shane pressed, "she says she knows how to make medicinal and practical things out of plants that we may be interested in."
A wide grin spread across Merle face, "well no shit," he said in a way that irked her, but she kept a stoic face.
"Daryl, I'm recruitin' you to keep a close eye on her."
"My day just keeps getting better and better," he remarked sarcastically.
"Aw, now don't be like that, baby brother," Merle said. "I wouldn't mind keeping an eye on her myself," he grinned at her in a way that made her uncomfortable.
"Plannin' on goin' out today," Daryl told her.
She nodded, "sounds good. I can help you hunt too…"
"Up to you two, if you want her bow in her hands or not," Shane told them.
"Don't matter, you can do what you want," Daryl said, standing up and shouldering his crossbow.
"I'd like to see the little lady take a shot." Merle said.
"Alright," Shane agreed. "Evelyn, Dale holds all weapons accounted for, you can get your bow from him."
"Don't take too long!" Merle shouted after her as she headed back to the RV. She found Dale on top of it, that seemed to be his designated job, and she shouted up to him.
"Hey Dale!"
"Oh, Evelyn! Need something?"
"Yeah, I'm going out with the Dixon's hunting. Shane says you have my bow."
Dale spared a look in the direction where Shane stood still talking to Merle and Daryl before climbing down. "Just wait one moment," he told her before going inside. She glanced back at the trio, but quickly turned when she saw Daryl staring at her. "Here you are," Dale held out the leather quiver, which she strapped on her back along with her bag, and her bow which felt familiar and comforting in her hands.
"Thanks," she said.
"You wanna leave that bag here?" He asked her.
"No, it's alright. I've grown accustomed to it. And it has things I'll need."
"If you say so," he responded.
Evelyn hurried back to the three men and offered a small smile. Shane gave one last curt nod, "alright," he said to the brothers before leaving. She passively wondered what they'd been talking about.
"Y'all gonna hold hands?" Merle asked, picking up his rifle, laughing.
"Pardon?" Evelyn asked.
"C'mon," Daryl said impatiently.
She followed them into the woods and they walked for about ten minutes before Merle spoke up. She gathered he was the chattier of the Dixon brothers, "So, Evelyn," he said, "I want to see how good your aim is," he turned back to her. "See that bird nest over there? Take it out won't ya?"
She looked at the brothers who just looked back at her, expectantly. She nodded and stepped forward a little, sliding an arrow out of its resting place. Evelyn nocked her arrow, took aim…and missed. The arrow collided with the branch and tumbled to the ground.
She heard the brothers laughing at her from behind, "maybe you should leave the huntin' to us men folk, yeah?"
She bit her cheek and stared at where her arrow hit the branch, when a flicker of movement caught her attention on a nearby tree. In one, fluid, fast motion, she nocked an arrow, pulled and released, a triumphant grin on her face as the bird dropped to the ground.
The laughing ceased immediately and Evelyn looked over her shoulder, smiling at the twisted looks on the brothers' faces. She flipped her hair gloriously and cat-walked to her prize. It was a small victory, but she believed it commanded her a little more respect. And the look on their faces was worth it. She'd known men like Merle and their mouths. Daryl, however, she believed was the milder of the two. He was rough and vulgar but there was more to him than there was Merle. At least, that was her hypothesis.
Evelyn picked up her arrows, wiped them clean with a rag in her belt and held out the fat bird. "Well, fuck me," Merle said, "that ain't too bad." He took it from her and tied it to a rope before laying it over his shoulder.
"Where'd you learn that?" Daryl asked her.
Evelyn shrugged, "instinct?" she offered. "The hungrier I got, the better my aim became."
Merle laughed and said something, but it was lost on her when she spotted a collection of familiar looking plants with small yellow flowers, "Hey, where you goin'?" Merle asked, "get your ass back here!"
She ignored them and crouched by the tree, sliding her bag off, undoing the brass buckles. It was a sturdy leather bag that her father had used in his "field days" as a scientist. Said it never failed him and so far, it's held up for her too. Evelyn pulled out a large, hard leather bound book with yet another buckle (she never understood what her father so much enjoyed about the combination) and flipped through the detailed pages. It was all handwritten by her father and he had given it to her once she showed a real interest in the subject. It was full of his accurate, artistic drawings, descriptions, uses and recipes.
She found the flower in question and sat the book gingerly on the grass.
"…the yellow flowers may be harvested and combined with various other specimens to produce various products. When combined with ground Saggius and Bourin's bark (properly diluted), it can act as a mild pain killer and sleep aid." Evelyn pulled out a fat, brown, padded roll and rolled it open in the grass. It contained many tiny little slots with small vials and pouches. She looked around for her knife before remembering she still didn't have it. Turning to the brothers, who eyed her curiously, she asked, "may I borrow a knife?"
"Yeah, here," Daryl handed his out to her without hesitation.
"Thanks." Evelyn felt around the plant to get a feel of which way it's roots were growing. When she was satisfied she knew the relative area in which to cut, she eased the knife into the ground, pulled it out and stuck her finger into the slice. She heard Merle make some crack about 'third base', but she was too in her zone to pay attention. Evelyn felt the tiny alteration in the soil, removed her finger and cut in a wide circle. The procedure was just as delicate as an operation, a fact most people didn't understand. For example, Merle got impatient and left, saying he would meet them back at the camp. Overall it took about fifteen minutes to uproot and harvest the exact parts that she needed based on their quality.
"You finally done?" Daryl asked as she gathered everything back up.
She handed the knife back to him, "yes."
"Good," he said and turned from her. He was silent, watching and she knew that was what you were supposed to do when hunting, but it was so dull that she had to start up some conversation.
"So, Daryl, what'd you do before all of this?" He didn't look back at her, so she sighed, going back to being studiously ignored when-
"Worked as a mechanic," he informed her.
"Nifty," she said.
He grunted, "guess so," he paused before asking, "what about you?"
"I'm a librarian. But I also waited tables for a little 24hr diner. We had a lot of truckers stop in, so it was books by day and tables by night."
"Don't look like no librarian," he told her.
"What do you mean?"
"Ain't they all old?" He kept his tone even, so she had no way of knowing if he was joking or not, but either way, she laughed so hard she had to stop walking and he turned around to give her a funny look. "What?" he asked her, as she was bringing herself down to giggles. Evelyn wasn't sure what was so funny about it, perhaps just how mundane the statement was compared to everything, but she hadn't laughed so hard in a while. Giving her a dirty look, Daryl told her she was too loud, to which she apologized.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she told him.
"Whatever."
Not wanting conversation to end there she asked, "is it just you and your brother?"
"Yeah," he said, "ain't got no one else."
"I'm sorry," Evelyn responded gentler than before.
"Where's your people?"
"It's just me," she confessed softly. "My father was in Atlanta when they bombed it."
"Why weren't you?"
She tried to take that with as little offense as possible. "He told me not to go. Bar up the house and stay there for as long as I possible."
"What made ya leave then?" he asked.
"The town was becoming infested and though I lived a bit secluded, it was only a matter of time before they migrated in my direction. Thought it best to leave while I could."
Daryl didn't say anything to that, just kept walking, occasionally stooping to inspect the ground. On their hike, he managed to take out small game and she was able to collect more plants, including the necessities to make a crude soap.
A few hours later they stopped at a small grassy clearing by a stream. She sat by the water and watched as he stood back against a tree, ever alert, and wondered if the break was more for her benefit than his own. As he was scanning the woods, she took the opportunity to inspect him. He was rigid, his posture commanding. She pictured him cleaned up, but she still couldn't fathom him being any softer than he was now. Evelyn wondered what kind of life he had that allowed him to adapt so easily to this one. She'd always been good at reading people, but he was like a puzzle, incomplete of all his pieces. It was clear in his face that there was more to him, somewhere buried deep under that hard-ass routine of his. She was in the middle of contemplating whether he was capable of sympathy or gentleness when she realized he had been staring holes into her and her probing notions.
Evelyn's face flushed with embarrassment and she scrubbed her hands in the cold water. She hadn't meant to be offensive or prying- she just couldn't help it. She felt her heart skip as the sound of his boots shuffled to her. Would he yell at her? Leave her in the woods? She was really too inquisitive for her own good and it always served to get her into trouble.
Evelyn stiffened as he crouched next to wear she sat, splashing water in his face. "I'm sorry," Daryl said.
She was taken aback, "what? Why?"
"About your father," he looked at her, his deep blue eyes trained on her and in that moment she decided that it was possible for him to be capable of sympathy and compassion.
Evelyn looked away from him, down to her hands, as tears welled up in her eyes. She would not cry. Not here. Not now. Yet, despite ordering herself otherwise, she blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek. Daryl put a hand on her shoulder, an action she didn't see coming. But his touch made her nerves crackle like electric.
She stood up as quickly as she could, wiping her face with her hands and regaining her composure. "We should start heading back," Daryl said.
Evelyn simply nodded in agreement and let him lead the way.