AN: Here we go, another short chapter setting up a few of the things that are to come. I've been working on planning out some scenes for this, though, and there might be another chapter coming fairly soon.
I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Michonne putting an abrupt stop to his plans to butcher the hog had left Daryl trying to figure out other ways to blow off a little steam. A trip outside the community was always good for that, though, and they had a lot of things that they needed to consider and get going with.
Seeing everyone leaving…watching them rolling away…was a stark reminder that his own group would be moving forward and they needed to get their acts together and get everything ready so that everything and everyone was as prepared as was humanly possible. They didn't want time ticking away and then all of a sudden they were stuck, the ground thawing again and needing to get moving, and they hadn't finished everything that needed to be done.
He'd made his way, first thing, and found Glenn working in the fields alongside Beau and more than a handful of the others. They were working off steam, maybe, like him, but he had other plans for them.
Daryl sent Glenn off on a run, assuming he might take Maggie or he might choose someone else to go with him, to get together fuel.
They'd already decided that with the cutting of the trees that they needed for sawing planks, they were going to use a chainsaw to down the trees. They could cut the planks by hand, even though it would inevitably take a good deal of time and effort, due to the shortage of fuel caused by their supply being exploded in the earlier attack on the community, but downing the trees could be done quickly and efficiently by chainsaw.
Daryl moved, once he'd sent Glenn to get started on his assignment, to Beau and told him that he wanted him to come with him. He had things he wanted to talk about and things that he wanted the boy's advice on since Beau knew the woods around that area even better than Daryl did.
And they'd set out, quickly informing Carol as they passed by headquarters and she was working on lunch, that they were leaving the community, and that Carl was tagging along for shits and giggles.
The Walkers were starting, now, to reach an annoyance level of mosquitos. They came, almost always, in pockets of two or three. In such small numbers, they weren't really all that dangerous, especially since Daryl and his companions matched them in number, but it didn't mean it wasn't still a nuisance to have to deal with the growling, snarling assholes while you were trying to do other things.
Daryl watched, down near the water where they had ended up on their walk, while Carl took down the small parcel of Walkers that had most recently come to investigate what they were doing and he pointed toward the trees he'd been talking about earlier.
"So I was figurin' these was good to take out…pretty decent size…helluva lot better'n some of the scrubs on up closer to home…"
Beau looked at up at the trees, scrunching his face.
"Yeah they alright, but them 'cross the water's better," he declared, putting his hands on his hips.
"You forgot the damn key words, though…'cross the damn water," Daryl said.
Beau looked back up at the trees.
"These is tall enough…but'cha ain't gettin' more'n a couple good planks out not one of 'em…better them 'cross the water," Beau declared.
Daryl almost chuckled to himself. The older Beau got, and the more settled into things he seemed to get, the more opinionated he became.
"The creek narrows out," Carl said, interjecting his opinion. "Right up there…you can step across it…"
Carl pointed in the direction he was speaking of.
"Wouldn't be nothing for Blue to drag the trees across there if he's up to dragging them all the way from here…" Carl offered. "We cut them there…drag them back…we can get all we need back to the community as fast as it can be pulled."
Daryl chuckled to himself and scratched at his chin. He nodded his head, looking across the water at where the two boys were indicating the better choice of trees was to be found. From what he could see, they really weren't wrong. Size wise, the area had more to offer, probably because the proximity to the water gave the trees more of what they needed.
Daryl shrugged.
"Protection? Ya thought about that?" He asked. "We get out here cuttin' shit down with chain saws an' we ringin' a damn dinner bell."
Beau hummed at him and nodded his head.
"Bring everybody out we can spare," Beau said. "Set up points…in a circle…shouldn't be too hard to keep 'em off whoever's cuttin' or loadin' up."
"Keep a couple of groups on this side with the stock," Carl offered. "Piece of cake…there's hardly anyone in our group that can't handle two or three Walkers at this point…except maybe the kids…Emma…Haralee…"
Daryl sighed and nodded his head.
"Looks like y'all done got this shit figured out," he said. He couldn't help but smile, though, at the two boys…boys he supposed he should eventually start thinking of as men, but today wasn't that day. "Let's head on back…see if we can't find somethin' to mark some of the damn trees with…get this show on the road tomorrow with the sun."
Carl turned first, heading in front of them and sidestepping off to go and kill a Walker that had gotten itself somewhat tangled in a patch of briars. As he came back, stepping in front of Daryl, Daryl reached out, clasping him on the shoulder in silence as a way of showing his admiration for the fact that Carl was growing up…and he was growing up well in Daryl's opinion.
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
"What are you doing?" Michonne asked.
Carol looked at her, surprised, and paused.
"I thought I was getting lunch ready…was I supposed to be doing something else?" Carol responded.
Michonne took her hands off her hips and grabbed the rag wrapped handle of the cast iron pot that Carol was half carrying and half dragging toward the house…the other apparently inside since no meal in this community was prepared in one single pot, no matter the size of the restaurant stock that they'd picked up.
"You know what I mean…" Michonne said, not looking at Carol. "When are you and Ty planning on telling anyone? I know how much you hate to give up any kind of authority…but you need to start designating more jobs around here...we can spare people a couple of times a day to haul stuff around."
Carol followed Michonne into the house and Michonne was immediately greeted by the smell of the other pot of food that had been brought into the kitchen, where she immediately took the one she was bearing and put it down, and the sounds of the tiny daycare that was being run, at the moment, by Muh, Haralee, and Emma.
Michonne started moving the stacks of bowls closer to the pots for when people started arriving in expectation of food, and Carol leaned on one of the counters near her.
"I don't know when we're going to tell everyone…" Carol said.
"Tonight…dinner," Michonne offered, filling her own bowl and settling back against the counter to eat where she stood.
Carol made a face at her and Michonne raised her eyebrows at her.
"Not good enough?" Michonne asked. Carol didn't respond and Michonne nodded her head. "Then tonight at dinner…" she said.
"I don't need people to hover around me…" Carol offered. "I can handle the food…I already steal people from the fields and everything else to go for water."
Michonne nodded her head.
"And you can steal them to bring in pots too," Michonne said.
The stew was good, though it was too hot to eat as quickly as she wanted, and Michonne picked around it with her spoon, fishing out the vegetables and draining the water off, knowing well by now that it was the liquid and meat that would scald your mouth most completely if you didn't wait for the food to cool.
"When I was pregnant," Michonne said, "you stayed stuck to me worse than my mother ever did when I was a kid…"
Carol made a sound like she was going to protest, and from the stance she took, Michonne knew that was what she had in mind. Michonne smirked and cut her off before she could even begin.
"I'm not saying I'm mad about it," Michonne said quickly. "I'm just stating fact…you stayed on my ass. And it's time for me to return the favor. Apparently you know perfectly well what's good for me…"
Michonne stopped a moment, chewing through a particularly large hunk of carrot that she'd burrowed out.
"And you know what's good for everyone else around here…but you seem to not have a clue what's good for you," Michonne said. "So I'm appointing myself to remind you. And I remember there being a distinct amount of bitching that followed me around when I decided to carry anything heavier than my own child…so you get someone to move the pots for you…and get someone to move the wood too if you're bringing a load…"
Carol furrowed her brows at Michonne like she was trying to decide if she was going to argue and Michonne almost chuckled. It was pretty much a known fact that the bossier a person could be, the less they could tolerate anyone telling them what to do.
"And the boxes…you're bringing food over from storage…someone else can do that if it's a heavy box," Michonne said.
She smiled in response to the annoyed expression that her friend was making.
"Is there anything else?" Carol asked, some bite to her voice.
Michonne nodded her head slightly.
"And you can bag that attitude, before it ever blossoms into all its glory," Michonne said, pointing her spoon at Carol.
Maybe she'd enjoy this a little more than she should, but she could get, at least in some way, a little something of payback for all the times she'd wanted to choke Carol for telling her what she could and couldn't do, what she should and shouldn't do.
She'd known then that the only reason she'd done it was out of concern, but that didn't make it any less annoying to have someone following around and judging what you were capable of. And now the shoe was on the other foot. Michonne didn't feel like she was being ridiculous with her demands. Carol was pregnant, and she hadn't too long ago suffered a rather serious injury…it would do her just fine to let people help her a little with some of the more physically challenging aspects of the jobs that she took on throughout the day.
Michonne nodded her head, remembering a little more to the fun and games that she'd been subjected to.
"And don't think I'm not going to have a couple of those concerned conversations with Ty that you had with Daryl…" Michonne said with a smirk.
Carol frowned and set to work straining some of the stew and putting it out on the saucers that she let cool for the children. She cut her eyes at Michonne, but she didn't respond.
Michonne chuckled.
"Don't look at me like that…" Michonne said. "I'm only doing this because I care…besides…I'm also going to be nice enough to offer you my maternity clothes, which you were kind enough to alter for me…and I'm going to pass you the can of grease…since I think you're now its rightful owner."
Carol moved the saucers to the table so they were out of the way to cool down to temperatures that the children could easily handle without risk of getting burned and she dipped out a couple of bowls of food, presumably for those that were babysitting and for herself.
"Fine…" Carol said finally. "You win…I bow to you…you're in charge."
Michonne almost choked on the laugh that rose up in her throat and met with the stew that was on its way down.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Michonne asked.
Carol made a face.
"You win, you're in charge," Carol said.
Michonne chuckled again and nodded her head.
"I thought that's what you said…it's just that it didn't sound right, coming out of your mouth," Michonne offered, allowing a little sarcasm to flavor her words.
"Yeah, yeah," Carol muttered, finding herself a spoon.
In something of an act of irritation…whether genuine or not…Carol dipped her spoon into the stew and immediately brought it to her mouth. A second later, shock registering on her face, she, with no care for decorum at the moment, spit the stew back in her bowl, cursing silently.
The act brought another round of laughter from Michonne.
"By the way…the stew's hot," Michonne commented, completely ignoring the look that her snark had earned her.