Hershel motioned for Rick and Shane to place Randall on a clean table that Patricia had set up in the barn. The plan was to fix up this guy's leg, which I was surprised about. I honestly thought it should be amputated, but Hershel said he would be able to fix it. The boy would walk with a limp the rest of his life, but he'd fix it up for him. It took about two hours of giving fluids, pain medications, antibiotics, and sewing to get Randall's leg in good shape... well in as good of shape as it was going to get. Patricia and I got him settled a little more comfortably in the barn while Hershel went off to discuss what the plan was with the group at the house. I didn't want to deal with what was going on in the house. I know I will never get away from arguing, but I wasn't going to sit around and listen to it willingly unless if others needed my opinion. From the way things looked after people were leaving the house, the conversation didn't go well. People were unhappy coming out of that house and tensions were high. Patricia and I gave uneasy looks to each other as we prepared for what Hershel's plan was for the next few days.
Hershel said that it was going to take about a week for the 'prisoner' to be able to walk on his own. This was giving me the perfect time to take things easy. Hershel was back in better spirits and was making frequent visits to see Randall and sitting with Beth, trying to cheer his daughter up. This was the main problem that brought Hershel down was seeing his daughter so miserable looking. Beth didn't talk at all during the time. She rarely ate or drank anything so Hershel kept her on the IV fluids to prevent dehydration, but Beth would be fading much quicker if she doesn't get to eating soon.
During this week I was planning on going hunting. We were low on actual meat and I could only deal with fruits and vegetables for so long. I was never a vegetarian and hell would have to freeze over before I became a vegan. Thankfully eggs were coming out in the basket loads. There was just something about meat. No one was out processing a cow or pigs, so deer and small critters just fine right now. I did miss bacon though… and a nice juicy hamburger from time to time too. I had my back pack on and made my way out of the house, waving in Maggie's direction in the kitchen. The brunette grinned and waved back to me, knowing that she'll see me back in a few days. Things seemed pretty quiet on the farm as Jimmy and Hershel ran around fixing the fence or other things on the farm. Rick's group seemed to be pretty tame too the only voices being heard are Shane, Rick, and Dale, trying to decide what to do with Randall in the barn. Shane wanted to kill the guy and I didn't really blame him. He was a threat after all.
As I got to the forest on the outskirt of the farm I pulled out my bow and made my way into the wood. I just needed to make my way a few miles out so I could sit up in the treetops and wait for a deer. I'd do my usual routine and set my traps for smaller game then climb into the tree and wait for deer. As luck would have it though, I spotted a buck a ways away and froze in an attempt to stay quiet. Pulling out a bow and setting up, I gently pulled the cord of my bow, sucking in a breath of air, took a step forward, and instantly deflated seeing the deer jerk it's head up and begin to move. It didn't get far though as its body dropped to the ground, dead, with an arrow through its head. I gaped, knowing that this meant someone else was around and I drew up another arrow, panic beginning to set in. I felt someone grab my arm which held my arrow and flinched, then moved to strike with my bow until another arm grabbed at me. I began struggling, feeling a hard body pressed against my back and a harsh growl. "Calm down, girl!" Hearing the rough tone of voice I immediately calmed down. Looking behind my shoulder, my hair obscuring my view, and emerald eyes met topaz once again. My body relaxed this time and when it did Daryl instantly released his hold on me, practically pushing me away to put space between us. "Why the hell did you grab me like that?" I almost yelled, glaring up at him. His eyes squinted into a glare as he bent down to pick up his crossbow. "If I hadn' ya would've shot an arrow at me!" He yelled back, walking over to the dead deer and pulling out his arrow. "Now get outta here. Yer scarin' off the animals." He groused setting up his crossbow again. I noticed the squirrels and rabbits that were strung up and hanging off his belt. Seems like Mr. Dixon has been busy this morning. "Yeah and it was probably you that scared that deer away." I murmured causing him to shoot a look in my direction. "With you walkin' 'round here in the woods I heard you steppin' on every fuckin' branch and set of leaves a mile away. You're too loud. Why're you even out here anyway?" He asked, waving his hand out to indicate why I was in the woods. "I'm tryin to fuckin hunt, but you're takin my game!" I slung my bow onto my back and crossing my arms under my chest. He let out a rough laugh. It was a strange and almost scraggly sounding. "You can't expect to hunt with you bein' all loud an' shit." I only huffed, rolling my eyes. He shooed me away, waving his hand, basically telling me to get lost. There was no way I was leaving this. He practically stole my game! He owed me. "The least you could do is show me how the hell I'm supposed to go about doing this then." I suggested, smirking as he turned his glare to me once again.
We stayed quiet for a moment, just glaring at each other. "Teach me, so I don't have to hide in a tree for three days at a time waiting for a deer to come by. Show me. That's how you'll make up for taking my kill." I smiled sweetly, walking up to him, and cocking my head to the side, pony tail falling over my shoulder. He just continued to glare and shaking his head furiously, definitely not liking the idea. It's worth a shot. I continued to walk up to him until I was standing in front of him, continuing my sweet, and very fake, smile. I watched as he brought up his thumb to his mouth, biting the skin around the nailbed. Was I making him nervous? I took a couple steps closer, my chest practically running against his arm and making him jump slightly and give me a worried look. I pouted my lips, the smirk still showing in my eyes. Blue orbs traveled to my lips momentarily, before the man took a step back and shaking his head. He just growled, turning on his heel and walked towards the deer, not saying a word. I took that as a yes and smirked, following after him to help him with the deer. We didn't speak as I assisted him with the deer back to his camp. It didn't take us long to get back to his camp which was a blessing. It usually takes me twice as long to bring a buck back to the farm by myself, but we were able to knock it out in no time. We just set the deer down, close to where he frequently made a fire and he took off his crossbow. "So when are we starting?" I asked, chipper and smiley, knowing it'll get on his nerves. "Early morning. Before suns up. If you ain't here I ain't teachin' ya shit." He groused, taking off his long sleeve and cut, revealing his iconic cut off shirt. I smirked, nodding my head, triumphant that I had won.
I couldn't sleep that night. I was tossing and turning, impatiently waiting to go out to hunt. I had come back after only having been gone for about seven hours which surprised the hell out of Maggie at first until I explained what went on. She could only give me a twinkling smile which made me glare as I made myself scarce in the house, not wanting to deal with interacting with the others. Now as I was laying in my room, blankets thrown off because of how hot it was, I could only wait, my mind running wild. I guess I was waiting longer than I thought because I noticed the sky beginning to turn pink. Cursing loudly, I quickly changed into my jeans, grabbing my pack throwing it on my back, bow slung around my arm, handgun strapped to my hip, and a long sleeve shirt dangling around one of the straps to my backpack so I could put it on once I got out there. Rushing down the stairs I ran out of the house, trying to catch the surly man in time before he left.
I was so excited to see that Daryl had not left yet. He looked like he was about to though so I made perfect time. He had on a sourpuss expression like he always did and I knew he was not happy to see me coming up so late. I stopped in front of him, breathing hard, hands on my knees as I leaned forward to catch my breath. "Shit…" I heard the man mumble, slinging his crossbow on his should. "If you were any later I'd have left yer ass." He grumbled, a look of what I could only equate to amusement at how I was breathing hard. I finally stood up, glaring at him and trying to hide my smirk. I pulled up the strap on my tank top up into place, dropping my pack onto the earth. His eyes watched my movement and he seemed to look me over once before looking up at my face. "Why'd you bring your pack?" Hearing his question, I quirked a brow at him, cocking my head to the side. "Why not?" I questioned back. He just shook his head, motioning for me to follow after him. I pulled on my long sleeve, then my bow and followed after the man, leaving my pack behind.
I followed him a ways into the forest, probably about three miles, not running into anything. No wildlife. No walkers. It was very quiet actually. Not paying too much attention I ran right into the man's back, almost falling on my ass. Daryl whipped around so fast I really lost balance this time and landed right on my ass. "Ow…" I murmured, glaring up at him while he glared down. "Pay attention, princess." He groused, helping me up off the ground. Who the hell was he calling princess? I noticed that every time he touched me he would immediately pull away and give us distance. Daryl didn't seem to be keen on physical contact, which surprised me and also upset me a little. I had been dropping subtle hints that I found him attractive. Not that I felt he should comment or act on them. I was just expecting him to at least not act like I had the plague.
He pulled his crossbow in front of him, readying an arrow. I pulled out my bow with an arrow that I had in my quiver that was attached to my compound bow. It was a nifty little attachment that Maggie had brought back from one of her runs with Glenn. It made things easier on me too and I didn't have to worry about bringing around my pack like I did in the beginning. I could only carry five extra arrows on me, so I had to make them count and reuse whatever I shot out. He was in front of me suddenly, making me look up at his harsh gaze. What the fuck is his problem? "Do as I do, step where I step, and don't make a fuckin' sound." He said, turning around again and walking slowly.
His steps became much quieter compared to the sounds he was making almost stomping out to our location. He walked towards a tree, crouching down and staring at the ground, using his fingers to run along the cold dirt. "C'mere." He grunted, motioning with a hand for me to walk closer. As I did he took my wrist in his calloused hand and yanked me down. At least this time I didn't fall on my ass. The feeling of his hand around my wrist made me squirm as I crouched next to him, our bodies very close. "Feel this." He whispered, opening my hand and putting it to the dirt gently. I could feel the indent of earth beneath my fingers and noticed the tracks; hoof tracks. Looking directly at them I could notice them clearly and nodded my head. "Deer tracks." I murmured, looking up at him. He only nodded his head, releasing his hand from my wrist. "You can see and feel the tracks easily, meanin' they're fresh. Later in the day they'd be hard to see and you'd have to get at an angle." He murmured, pulling on my shoulder lightly to get me to look at the tracks from a different angle like he was saying. I had a side view of the tracks now, with them still being very easy to spot. I knew that the angle would help view older ones as the sun would pick up on the indents later in the day. I only nodded my head, turning to look at him and blush at how close we were. The smell of him, not horribly unpleasant, invaded my nostrils. He smelled of earth, sweat, and something else. Something musky. Maybe just his own smell. He seemed to notice how close we are too as his cheeks tinted pink and he removed his hand, standing up quickly and once again giving us space.
I stood up too, trying not to be too fast in my actions because I knew he'd get upset by it. He motioned for me to follow him again as we made our way through the forest. He'd point out things here and there, telling me what I should look for when I was out hunting and reminded me time and time again, silence is key. With him ranting about keeping quiet I grabbed his arm, shushing him. He only glared at me until I got close, making him extremely uncomfortable, pointing with my bow in the direction of a deer in the distance. Daryl looked on, squinting his eyes at the deer that was there, while I pulled up my bow, aiming my arrow. Daryl took a step back, watching me as I prepared to take a shot at the animal. "Pull back a little more on your arm." Her murmured, grabbing my elbow and pulling. I wanted to glare. I knew my way with a bow. I didn't need help from him. Especially with this. "Shove off asshole." I growled at him. Just as I was about to take a shot the deer ran off, making me want to scream. I turned to Daryl, eyes filled with fury wanting to blame him for the deer running off, but he had his back turned to me and crossbow was up.
This didn't look good. I pulled up my bow again, standing next to him and eyeing him. He was serious and scanning the area quickly. "That deer ran from somethin'." He murmured, motioning for me to keep close to him as I began following him, keeping an eye on our rears while he took point. "Keep quiet. Geeks might be 'round." He whispered as we began making our way in the direction we came from. Hunting at this point seemed be out of the question at this point and we decided mutually and without conversation that we needed to get back home. I heard growling to my right and both Daryl and I seemed to point our weapons in the same direction. There was only one of the zombies coming towards us, his face half ripped off and teeth snapping. I sent my arrow flying into the head of the walker, smirking at Daryl. "Don't ever try to correct my form again redneck. I know how to use one of these." I barked out as I jogged to go run and get my arrow from the zombie's head. I'd have to mark it because I don't think using this arrow to hunt deer would work now. No one still knew how this virus worked, but I didn't want to contaminate any food I ate. As I was about to stand up when I heard another groan. My eyes shot up watching as another one of the dead practically ran at me, but it dropped to the ground as another arrow sunk itself in the walker's head. Looking over my shoulder I watched as the older man lowered his crossbow, glaring at me. I decided to be nice and grab his arrow too, yanking it out of the head. Daryl met me halfway, taking his arrow back from me, cleaning the arrow with his red rag he kept in his back pocket, before setting it up again. "Thank you." I murmured, receiving a nod from him.
We didn't see any more walkers and he resumed his teaching. We eventually did get a deer and he even got a few squirrels. It was beyond me how he got them. They were too fast for me to even see and even if we were quiet he seemed to have an eye for them. I helped him carry the deer back to camp and deposited it where we left the deer the night before. "Alright. Let's get to cleaning it." I shook my head, giving him a look of bewilderment at his comment. I had never cleaned a deer in my life and I really didn't want to. Shaking my head, he only glared, the brick wall chimney which held a pack of his own. Reaching inside it, he pulled out two knives and attempts to hand one to me. "Oh hell no. I am not cleaning this thing." He walked close to me, grabbing my wrist again and placing the knife in the palm of my hand, making me close my hand over handle. "Calm down. I'm showin' you how, so you're not doin' it alone." I appreciate the fact that he was showing me how to do this. He was taking the time out of his day to do it which surprised the hell out of me. I really thought he would have fought tooth and nail to get me to leave him the hell alone yesterday, but this was nice. It was something other than him ignoring people and trying to get away from others. Daryl seemed to only ever talk to myself or Carol.
I actually found myself having fun butchering the deer. I was used to healing wounds, not making them. It made me seem like a surgeon in some weird way. I don't know if I would enjoy doing this alone though. It's not my cup of tea. Daryl was making it fun though. He kept calling me princess every time I voiced a complaint about the job and as much as I hated the nickname, it was growing on me. As we finished up I looked down at the blood that was on me. I had originally rolled up the sleeves of my shirt, but they had fallen down in the process. Daryl on the other hand just seemed to wipe his hands on his shirt as he went along. I took off my long sleeve, wiping my arms and hands on it. I didn't know whether to wash it or throw it away, but it had a place on the ground for the moment. I caught Daryl watching me for a while and once I had caught him he quickly averted his eyes. "Whatcha starrin' at arrow?" I asked, making him quirk a brow at me and with a red face. "I was uh, jus' lookin' at yer tattoos s'all." He said, looking down at the cuts we had just made from the deer and wrapping them in clean cloth. I did have a few on me. My vegvisir compass that was on the right inside of my forearm in all black ink. A lot of people asked me about this one, especially when I was working at the hospital.
Walking over to him, I held my arm out, allowing him to see it. His blue eyes looked to my green ones, before looking down at the tattoo. He looked so confused by it, that it made me giggle. "It's called a vegvisir compass. An Icelandic rune. It means 'guidepost' and I have always liked cultural and magical symbols, so I thought 'why not?'. It's supposed to symbolize a compass to help a person get through tough times. I… I had a bad run with drugs and abusive or lowlife boyfriends that, I felt that this was a good tattoo to get. Plus, it looks pretty cool." I explained watching his eyes transfer from my own orbs to my tattoo. The lines of the tattoo crossed and intersected, and each line within the symbol was supposed to be a way to obtain, keep out, and take in energy needed to push someone in the right direction. "Also, I'm alive in this walker infested world, so I guess it's working." A quick uplift of the corner of his mouth made me smile.
"I obviously got this one because I'm a nurse. I got it when I graduated with my BSN." I went on, pulling down the left strap of my tank top and bra to reveal a single heart beat rhythm made of flowers of different colors and types with the words 'healing is not linear' by the different waves. The top of the R interval always poked out of my tank tops so I wasn't just flashing it to show the whole piece. He seemed to like listening to me explain them anyways… at least that's what I got from him not telling me to shut up yet. His face tinted red when I pulled the straps down, but his face went back to a normal color as I had explained the tattoo. He pointed with his fingers behind his left ear. "Why the hearts?" He asked, surprising me slightly. My hair usually covered that one up, but I had a row of different colored tiny hearts behind my ear. This one had me blushing because it was slightly embarrassing to explain the hearts to someone. "U-um, well when I was in high school my roommate introduced me to a… video game and well, that's why I have the hearts. Because of that videogame." Daryl let out a chuckle, quirking a brow. "I wouldn't take you for a nerd." That comment only caused me to blush even more. Oh if only you knew… I had a few other tattoos that hinted to how nerdy I was. I usually made up stories for my other nerd tattoos and couldn't understand why I wanted to tell him about my tattoos.
"Well let's get this meat to tha house. We don' want it getting' bad." Daryl turned his attention back to the meat we had wrapped up. I grabbed my backpack and slung on my bow before grabbing some of the deer meat we cut up. We made our way back to the house in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable to walk with him. I found out the deer he got yesterday, he handed the meat over to Rick's group besides keeping some for himself. So the same thing happened here as well. He kept some for himself while the rest would go to the house, or Hershel's group I guess we could say. "Thank you… for teaching me today." I said to Daryl on the back porch after we put away the food. He was getting ready to head back to his camp for the night and I needed to thank him. I feel like words aren't enough for this, but it's the only way I can think of. "No problem nerd." Daryl said, walking down the steps of the porch with corners of his mouth turned up.