AN: Hi there. Another chapter for you! There's a time jump here.
I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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"I'm saying we go ahead and butcher him," Tyreese said across the wagon frame he was working at with Daryl. "That cow's going to drop that calf before too long and anyway it's not like he's going back to that again…once they mate with a cow, they don't go back."
"Reckon you right," Daryl admitted.
Things in the community were busy, but they were running well. Since the incident with Mercedes…something none of them talked about, but Daryl wasn't sure that no one thought about it…there had been nothing to so much as disrupt them and they all probably looked, from a distance if God was still watching them, like worker ants rushing to get things done before time ran out on them, all of them keeping a ticking clock in their minds of each moment that passed and drew them closer to running out of time…whatever that might really mean.
The bull in question was the same one that they'd found a long time back…but the animal was about as ornery as ever an animal was and it had broken out its fence twice lately, running through the community and making all of them look like rodeo clowns because none of them were as skilled with the bull as they might like to pretend they were.
And the old cow they had was as covered as she was liable to get. And they'd agreed that when they knew that the mating they'd set up had taken, they were going to butcher the bull and start putting the meat up for later. With him breaking out recently, it just looked like that was the best thing to do anyway.
"Reckon I'll talk to Beau when we break…" Daryl said. "See if he wants to help me out…gonna be a big job butcherin' that beast."
"Well…I can help," Tyreese offered, nonchalantly.
Daryl glanced over Tyreese's shoulder as Carol came near them, carrying in her hands the small boxes of nails that they'd requested at least half an hour before.
"I found the nails…" Carol called out as she neared.
Tyreese stopped what he was doing and Daryl followed suit, appreciating the break for the moment.
"Speak of the devil," Daryl teased, ignoring the questioning look that Tyreese was giving him. "Ty and me was just talkin' about that old bull…how it's time to butcher him…and he was saying he's gonna take up his way of living…time to move on from you…"
Carol shot him a look. She knew he was teasing, but part of her teasing back was always pretending to be bothered by whatever he threw at her.
"He's just being an asshole," Tyreese said when she reached him, handing him the boxes of nails.
She leaned up and pecked him on the lips quickly.
"I know he's being an asshole," she responded, shooting another look at Daryl. "That's all Daryl knows how to be…but you better watch it. I'd hate for any rumors to reach Michonne."
Daryl chuckled at the threat.
Carol stepped back and admired their work, though she'd seen it at intervals as they went along.
"This looks good…it looks real good," she said. "I saw what Beau's been doing with Carl and Jimmy on the…base…or whatever…"
Daryl nodded his head and wiped some of the sweat from it with the handkerchief he dug out of his pocket, sitting back on the ground to take full advantage of the break being offered to them by Carol's presence.
"I've got a question, though…" Carol said.
"Shoot," Daryl responded, her face indicating that it was a serious question and not just the continuation of teasing.
"Well…how are you…or when are you…going to put this on what Beau has?" Carol asked, absentmindedly rubbing at the clearly developing proof of the baby they'd long been teasing was just a figment of her imagination.
"We're going to take it over there," Tyreese offered for Daryl. "And we're going to lower it down into place…secure it then."
Carol nodded her head.
"Wouldn't it be easier to…take it over there now? Before it gets any heavier?" Carol asked. "Or any…bigger?"
Daryl looked at the part that they were responsible for and then chuckled to himself.
"Get'cha ass outta here with ya damn good ideas!" He yelled at her. "Fuck! We were just fine until you said that!"
Carol chuckled and shrugged.
"Sorry…it's just that we've been discussing it…and we didn't know if there was a reason to do it this way," Carol said.
Tyreese laughed.
"The reason is that it's the first idea that came to us and you were too busy gossiping about it to point it out until now…" He said.
Tyreese shook his head.
"I better get some of the others," Daryl said with a sigh. "Start gettin' this thing moved."
"Can I borrow Ty for a minute?" Carol asked. "I'm sorting through that last load you brought in of hardware stuff and I've got at least three boxes of things that I don't even know what they are…"
Tyreese looked at Daryl and Daryl nodded at him.
"Go ahead…gonna take a bit to get ready anyway…and bring the long damn nails back with you when you come, we gonna need them sooner rather than later…but don't take too damn long," Daryl said.
He got to his feet.
"You might be sorting shit…but we all know what the hell else you doing and sunlight is limited," Daryl finished.
Neither Tyreese nor Carol merited the comment with a response other than the snort and snicker that came from Tyreese as he turned and started to walk off with Carol. Daryl took one last look at the project that needed to be moved and then set off to find others who might be interested in switching jobs for a little while.
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Muh had some pretty good ideas…though you were never sure what she was doing until she just put you into the position that she wanted you in.
And that's how Michonne and Lisette ended up, side by side, scooting their way through the fields on old cushions from what was probably outdoor furniture instead of straining their backs the way they had been.
Unbeknownst to them both, the little owl eyed woman had been watching them from wherever she was hidden and knew that every now and again they had to stop, stretch their backs, and grit their teeth against the strain in their muscles. And they'd both been confused when she'd come shuffling along, all children capable of walking following along behind her in a chain, holding hands, like ducklings, and offered them both a cushion and told them that a moment spent moving their position was far preferable to the tragedy of breaking a strong back.
And such a simple thing was making the work a lot more pleasurable than it had been before. Michonne was almost embarrassed to think that they hadn't thought of it themselves.
"I think the mountains is the best idea," Lisette commented. They'd been talking about the latest decision that the group had made on where they were going. They were committing to heading north to the mountains and they were beginning, with the maps that Glenn had found, to map out something of a route for themselves to realistically know what they could expect as far as travel time and difficulty. "When we came through Virginia…it was…I don't want to say the safest I felt…but it was something like that."
Michonne hummed her understanding. You hated to really say you ever felt safe on the road these days, but there were places and times when you felt safer.
"I think it's a good choice," she said. "I've been back and forth and up in the air about all the possible routes…but I really think we could find something there worth making into something. Something even better than this place…"
"Does it make you nervous?" Lisette asked. "Thinking about travelling? I mean this place…it's really nice."
Michonne laughed low in her throat.
"I don't think that nervous even begins to cover it," Michonne admitted. "But…we built this from nothing but an abandoned housing development. We can do it again. We've all learned so much more than we knew even when we got here. We can build something better, I think…maybe become completely self-sufficient so that we never have to move for lack of supplies again."
"Being on the road," Lisette said, "it's a hard life."
Michonne hummed her agreement again.
"It is…I've been on the road a few times since this whole thing started," she said. "But I think…it's going to be easier with a group this size…and it's going to be better knowing that it's just temporary. We're not trying to keep going forever. We're just trying to keep going long enough."
"Do you think that everyone is going to make it?" Lisette asked.
That was the million dollar question in Michonne's mind. Was everyone going to make it?
The realistic side of her said that no…they weren't going to make it. Not all of them…some would fall along the way from one disaster or another.
But the optimistic side of her wanted so badly to believe that they would all make it…that they could somehow beat the odds and cover the ground safely together…that she allowed it to drown out the negative thoughts more often than not.
But she could be honest with Lisette…because in the time that she had spent getting to know the woman, she found that she was someone who responded well to honesty…and she was someone who would never feed your false hopes nor dash them to the ground exactly. She would simply take what you said at face value and move on, leaving everything untouched and undamaged.
"I think that…maybe some people won't make it," Michonne admitted. "But I would never dare to say who…I don't want to put an expiration date on anyone here."
Michonne chuckled.
"Except Muh…we know she has an expiration date because she's so excited about it that she reminds us over breakfast…and lunch…" Michonne added.
Lisette echoed the laugh.
"It seems odd to be so excited about something like that," Lisette said. "But…I think I understand what she's doing too…"
"What do you mean?" Michonne asked.
"Well," Lisette ventured, "she doesn't fear death…and that's a beautiful thing. But what's even more than that is that she's teaching, in her own way, us not to fear death as much…our own or anyone else's. Think about it…you almost feel guilty wishing that she wouldn't go when she believes it's her time because you see that it's something so…wondrous…to her."
Michonne smiled and nodded her understanding.
It choked her up sometimes when she seriously considered the thought of Muh passing. For having known the woman so little time, she felt like losing her would create a hole that she couldn't explain in the lives of all of them. But she understood what Lisette was saying as well, because Muh spoke of her "death day" like a child might speak about their birth day or about going to Disneyland, and you almost hated to think that your own selfishness would deny her something that could bring her such happiness…just to have her with you.
"Talk about something else?" Michonne asked softly.
Lisette scooted, having reached as far as her arms would allow, and Michonne followed her so that they were repositioned side by side.
"OK," Lisette offered, "what do you think about Jimmy and Junior?"
Michonne chuckled.
"The twins?" She asked.
"They're not twins…are they?" Lisette asked, doubt coming into her voice. It only served to make Michonne laugh again.
"No…not really…but I call them that. They came together…they're together a lot…they're both skinny, long limbed white boys…the twins," Michonne offered.
Lisette laughed and nodded her head.
"OK, the twins…what do you think of them?" Lisette asked. "They're both in some kind of…male Olympics or something…trying to get Calista's attention."
Michonne laughed.
"They're good boys," Michonne said. "Really, they are…Calista would do just fine with either one of them, it just depends on who interests her more. I think…if I were choosing…I think that Jimmy would be more my…type, I guess?"
"Well, I never thought either of them would be Calista's type…but I guess that things have changed," Lisette commented.
"They have," Michonne admitted. "I don't know…at least not for sure…that anyone around here could say that who they ended up with was their type. I don't know…maybe Beau and Libby?"
Now it was Lisette's turn to hum as she mulled over the comment and probably did, just as Michonne was doing in her own head, a run-down of the couples that the community boasted.
"Everyone finds someone, don't they?" Lisette asked after a moment.
"If it's available," Michonne said. "But the funny thing is…"
She paused a moment, thinking over her comment and deciding that she was going to commit to it.
"The funny thing is that for all the couples here…no matter how or why they started," Michonne said, "it seems like they've all found love…real love…for each other. I can't say that I remember it being like that before all of this."
Silence fell between them for a moment, but Michonne could tell from Lisette's furrowed brow while she worked that she was thinking over what Michonne had said. Finally she spoke.
"Maybe it's because now we don't take things for granted that we did," Lisette offered. "And maybe, now, the things that used to be important…they're just not anymore."
Michonne agreed with her.
"The things that society thought was important…they're not important in the absence of society…" Michonne said.
Lisette laughed.
"Very deep, Mrs. Lawyer," she teased.
Michonne echoed her laugh.
"It's true, though. Before all of this," Michonne said, "I had a very specific idea of the kind of man that I required…the way that he should look…how he should speak and act…even the kinds of things that he should appreciate."
Michonne paused and then continued with another chuckle.
"I had very specific rules for myself too, you know? I had this idea of who I was and who I had to be…and I couldn't do anything to jeopardize that. I couldn't do anything that might let other people think I was anything besides the picture I had painted in my head of the perfect me," Michonne said.
"But things changed…" Lisette tossed in.
Michonne nodded her head.
"Things changed," she echoed. "And I have to admit…for everything about this…about all of this…that I hate? There's so much more that I actually love and appreciate."
"Glory, glory, we found peace at the end of the world," Lisette announced, her face reflecting the teasing nature of her comment.
"And if we're lucky, we hold onto it," Michonne declared, picking up her cushion once more to scoot farther along the ground.