Sorry for the delay folks. I didn't even start writing this one until the May 6th due to some personal issues within my own life and am JUST now getting this out. Working full time, raising two kids, and repairing a marriage is time consuming. This is my outlet to all of that. Anyway, I'm still around. Don't give up on me!
Anyway, hope you enjoy the continuation of the talks. I'll do my best to capture the true essence of their characters. Though, admittedly, no one can write them like their creators can. On that note, I owe nothing.
...
He stepped through the woods quietly. His ears hearing every sound around him and his eyes sharp for any movements. He held his crossbow up and ready to fire at any moment. This was his favorite part of a hunt. Nothing was or could be said, the only thing you could hear were the sounds of the forest and the chirping of birds. Even when he was being taught to hunt by his dad and uncle, even when he messed up, there was always silence. Sound would scare away any potential game and therefore nothing would be worth jeopardizing a meal. After the hunt, his wrong doings were punished severely.
He had been out for nearly an hour with no trace of anything around. The woods seemed dead as even the birds had gone silent. He sighed heavily and began to make his way back to the house. He thought back to his dream as he walked. He remembered his grief more than the pain of Rick tearing him open. He remembered the shame that he had failed her. He remembered the overwhelming sense of loss as he realized she was gone again.
He pushed it from his mind and focused on the fact that she was here and he would not let her go again. He would not lose the last person in this damned world that he cared about. Instead, his thoughts wandered to him cupping her face and tracing her lip. Why had he done that?
Cause you're sweet on the farmer's daughter, lil brother.
He ignored Merle's voice and trudged on. When he began to see the house in the distance he noticed her small figure sitting on the porch, knife in hand. He groaned silently and contemplated heading off into another direction to hunt more. That plan was abandoned when he watched her rise from the porch and head closer to the opening in the woods. She had seen him. He stopped walking, daring her to come to him. She accepted his wordless challenge without hesitation. Her eyes were soft and dark when she reached him.
"No luck?" She asked.
"Na, nothing out there at all. Not even walkers." He grumbled.
"I saw a stream a little ways away. Come walk with me?" She didn't mean it as a question and she didn't wait for a response before she took off to her right. Daryl was taken aback by this new side of her. He decided not to open his mouth and follow wordlessly, his body on alert for anything.
The walk took about ten minutes and she led the way the entire time. He waited for her to get lost, to get mixed up in the woods, but she never did. She was confident now. She really, truly didn't need him anymore.
When they arrived she sat down on a large boulder close to the creek's edge and began to hum softly. He watched as she picked as little pieces of rock and grass that was lying around and throw it into the running water. He became annoyed at her actions immediately.
"You drag me out here so I could babysit you sittin' on your ass tossin' stuff in water?" He voice was a sharp whisper.
"No," she looked over her shoulder with a smug smile and turned back to the water. "I brought you here because I knew you would follow me. And because I told you we weren't done talking."
"What's with you now, girl?" He wanted to tell her that she acted like a stuck up college girl now but that would seem too emotional. She spun around and faced him, her eyes were hard and near black.
"You weren't there. I had to learn how to survive on my own. I got to thinkin' about Andrea and how confident she was. I saw how she looked when she knew she could survive on her own. Even when she came back to the prison after we all thought she was dead, we knew she was scared but she was still strong. I'm not a little girl anymore and I won't act like it again!" She shouted.
"Keep yer voice down." He growled back at her as he brought his face close to hers. She glared back at him, challenging him to respond. "You wanna act like her? Not a great role model." He spat back. "She got herself killed 'cause she couldn't get blood on her hands. Couldn't do what was right." Beth seemed to consider this.
"You think things would have been different if she had? You believe that the rest of them would have just let her go and give up on us? On the prison?" She dropped her eyes and picked at a blade of dead grass. Daryl sighed and ran his hand through his hair as his eyes swept their surroundings.
"Don't know. Maybe. Maybe not." Hearing and seeing nothing, he allowed himself to relax slightly. He moved to lean up against the boulder she sat on. They were silent for a while as they considered each other's words. Finally, she broke the silence with a gentle touch to his arm.
"Tell me what you did after I was taken." Daryl tensed instantly and she dropped her hand just as quickly. He didn't want to tell her he had lost his mind, and that he hadn't quite gotten it back.
"Nothin' to tell. I hunted, slept, and tracked till I found ya." He hoped that she would let him off that easily. He knew better.
"What did you plan to do if you didn't find me? Or anyone?"
"Hadn't thought of it." Liar Merle muttered. Don't tell her ya wanted to give up. She'll laugh at ya. Call ya a pussy.
"Oh." She whispered. "Tell me about the dream." She was pushing him. He groaned.
"It was a dream. Nothing more. I told ya I hadn't found ya. S'all."
"Why were you screaming?"
"Why do ya want to know so bad? You think you can fix me? I don't need fixin'." He growled back at her. She stiffened at his outburst slightly and relaxed back into the view of the water. He pushed off the boulder and paced around behind her feeling like a caged animal. Finally he spoke. "Rick was one of 'em. He ripped me open. Felt real." He kicked at the dirt on the ground and looked over her head to stare at the water. "Also felt right. Like I was getting' what I had comin' to me." He noticed her turn her head and look at him with a questioning look. There was more she wanted to say, to ask, that much was obvious. But she didn't. And he was thankful for just a moment. She did, however, reach out and grab his hand and pulled him to sit next to her on the rock. He hesitated for a moment and then allowed her to pull him to her. He crossed his legs as he sat down next to her, his crossbow placed neatly on his lap and ready if needed, and a flutter in his stomach at the fear of what might happen.
She waited until he seemed comfortable and then tucked her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder. It was a small offer of comfort that he wasn't anticipating. He looked over at the top of her blonde head resting on him and sighed softly. They sat quietly for a long time.
"I'm sorry I told you I wouldn't need you." She whispered.
"Ya don't."
"That's not true." She raised her head and looked up at him. "I am stronger than I was before. But that doesn't mean I don't need you. I need you to be a friend, not a guardian." He thought about her words for a moment and gave her a half nod and a small smirk. She smiled fully and brightly at him before laying her head back on his shoulder.
"We should head back. The priest'll be getting worried." He voice betrayed his intentions and he coughed to cover the hitch it made.
"Do you think they could still be alive?" She murmured. He untangled his arm from hers and wrapped it around her waist without a second thought. He ran his thumb over the exposed skin at her side. He felt her shudder. He tried to tell himself he was only trying to comfort her.
Ya keep tellin' yerself that, lil brother. We both know what'cha thinkin'.
"No trace of 'em in months. Don't look good" He said as he dropped his hand in defiance to Merle. She sighed and looked up at him with fresh tears in her eyes.
"Couldn't you, just once, lie to me?" She laughed slightly as she said it and started to wipe away a tear on her right side. Daryl realized all too late that he had taken care of the tears on her left. She stared intensely at him, waiting for him to say something or make a move.
"Why would I lie?" His hand dropped slowly down her face and down her neck. As he brought it back to rest in his lap his hand brushed against the small hairs that were hanging from her pony tail on his fingers. "Ya said ya wanted a friend. Never had many before but don't think that falls into the description." She nodded with a small smile that was lined with regret that he couldn't understand.
"You are right, we should get back." She jumped down from the boulder and headed back to the forest line. He sat for a moment before he began to follow her. Just as he stepped down he heard twigs snap in the distance to far away to be Beth but close enough to be a problem. There was something out there. He pulled his bow up, ready to shoot if needed and ran after Beth. She was a few yards ahead of him but it didn't take him long to reach her.
"I was wonderin' if you –"He wrapped his hand around her mouth to silence her and curled her body with his arm up against his chest.
"Shh." He pulled her down to the ground and released her mouth. She didn't protest or ask questions. She trusted Daryl; if something was out there he would know. His eyes scanned the area around them and his ears were sharp to pick up anything. Finally, he heard the familiar groans of a walker. It was out there and getting closer. She heard it now, too.
He put his hand out to her silently telling her to wait as he stood and walked towards the noises. Beth stood and unsheathed her knife and hunched back down, waiting for an all clear from Daryl. After a few minutes she heard the familiar sound of the crossbow firing and a thud as the walker hit the ground. She smiled at how sure Daryl's aim was.
It was then that she realized her focus was centered solely in front of her and once the threat was gone her senses widened to the areas around her. The familiar snapping of twigs alerted her to the walker just at her back. It was quiet, though. There was no tell-tale groaning or moaning. Beth was too startled to scream. Her body reacted before her mind and she jumped up and pushed herself away from its clawing arms and snapping jaw. Her foot caught on something on the ground and she fell back, her head hitting a rock as she did. She moaned as her vision blurred. She heard the walker get closer to her but she couldn't focus her sight on it.
"Daryl!" She tried to scream but it ended up coming out as a pathetic whimper. She tried again and again with no luck until she felt a deformed hand grab her arm. She struggled to pull away but the pounding in her head and the blinding white light was distracting her escape.
"BETH!" His voice was just as panicked as it had been the last time they had been in danger. There was desperation in his voice but she couldn't tell where he was. The rotting hand pulling at her arm was gone and she barely made out the sound of bodies crashing together and flesh being stabbed before everything went black.
AN: Sorry again for the delay. Life is just so insanely hectic right now that I'm only able to right when I can. It's also very possible that there could be some errors and I apologize. I just needed to get this posted before I drove myself crazy over it. I hope I still have everyone's interest! Let me know what you think!