Heterochromia Iridum

I reached 100 follows! That's not a lot compared to so many other stories, but I was pretty excited about it ahaha. So here's a quick update as a present. Whee!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters associated with the franchise. I own the plot to this story and any original characters you may see, like Katty or Calum.

Chapter 9: Dove

It was still early, Daryl thought as he squinted up through the brush of the trees and at the sky. They hadn't been out there long, just to discuss potential plans and updates in Alexandria without the prying eyes of the other residents. It was laughable, the fact that they did so under the farce that Carol needed more gun lessons.

Daryl's lips turned up slightly in a smirk as he recalled the image of Carol in a pink floral printed sweater hitting headshots on every Walker in the area. They were originally going to take them out manually with their knives, but Carol had stopped and reminded them again that, like last time, she needed to actually use the gun to make it look like a lesson took place.

Carol had, again, offered Daryl a firearm that she had stolen from the armory. Daryl, again, had refused. He had declined the offer for multiple reasons; first and foremost because if he had accepted it, the gun would feel like a seal of approval that they would take Alexandria. Daryl was just now getting used to the idea of being a recruiter alongside Aaron, and he wasn't nearly as gung-ho as Carol and Rick were with the possible plan. Sure, they did what they had to do to keep each other safe. That hadn't changed, and Daryl would do anything for the misfit family they had collected. But getting rid of the Monroe family almost felt like slaughtering children, considering how inexperienced the residents were.

After all the fucking people that had unnecessarily died, Daryl was foolishly hopeful that they could try to avoid anymore deaths.

They quickly talked about some other issues, too, while they were out. Daryl and Aaron had found another couple bodies strung up, all either painted crudely in blood or outright carved with a 'W' into their foreheads. Men and women, whoever was doing it didn't discriminate. They had been miles and miles from Alexandria at the time, so Rick wasn't too concerned. He felt that there were more important issues, than a couple off the grid whackos. It itched at the back of Daryl's mind, though, that something bad was going to come of it.

Glenn had also slowly started to take over leadership of the group of supply runners. Daryl had snorted at that fact.

"Finally," he grunted with an annoyed roll of his eyes. Aiden was a moron, and he had wanted to knock his fucking head off ever since his fight with Glenn, even more so since he had disrespected Kat like he had. She had put him in his place, but Aiden had still been sighted, sulking around, complaining at anyone who would listen about either Glenn or Kat. It mostly consisted of Nicholas, but some of the useless, gossipy women that Carol put up with would listen occasionally with sympathetic sounds and faces. It made Daryl grind his teeth and took everything in him not to shoot a bolt in his ass, like Kat had suggested a few days ago.

Kat was another story. Daryl pinched the bridge of his nose as they slowly walked back, thinking about the face that kept worming it's face into his thoughts.

"She's observant," Carol had said with a laugh. Apparently, Kat had called Carol out point blank about the lie that Carol had been living. It made him grin to himself, that she had been suspicious when everyone else had blindly accepted the mask. Shortly after, he had regretted finding the fact amusing, when Rick and Carol had turned their own amusement at him.

"You two seemed cozy yesterday," Carol had commented lightly, and Daryl didn't like the irritating smile that resulted on both of their faces.

"Ain't cozy with nothin'," Daryl denied instantly, the skin of his thumb between his teeth to cover the scowl that wanted to come out.

He still wasn't sure about Kat. Half of him wanted to avoid her. She was new and different and smiled too often at him for Daryl to ever be able to say he was comfortable. But Kat was easy to talk to and thanked him often for shit he wasn't sure he had ever been thanked for before. She reminded him to stay safe when he left out with Aaron and it wasn't nagging or whiney; Kat seemed like she genuinely wanted him to come back safely. She made him feel appreciated and important and always seemed interested to talk to him.

It didn't made sense. Daryl knew he wasn't even remotely a good conversationalist. He didn't get why she made such an effort to get him to talk. She was entirely too pretty to be interested in him, so Daryl supposed that it was just that Kat was friendly and didn't mind slumming it with rednecks like him. She had gotten along well enough with Merle, which confirmed his previous thought instantly. Daryl was annoyed with himself that it didn't bug him as much as it should.

It was even more annoying, how much Daryl liked her company. He liked sharing cigarettes with her, he liked how she said his name, and he liked how easily she blushed. Kat had an expressive face; it wasn't ever that difficult to tell what she was feeling.

"Seemed cozy, sittin' there sharin' smokes," Rick casually commented as he readjusted the stolen gun in the back of his pants. Daryl shot him an irritated look.

"What, now yall spyin' on me? Great," he snapped, and hoping that his irritation was covering for the red tinge on his cheeks.

Rick held his hands up in mock surrender. "Not spyin', brother. You two were on the porch in plain sight. Just an innocent observation."

Daryl made a 'tch' sound and stomped ahead a few paces.

"So, are you going out with Aaron again today? We should probably start marking off where those 'W' bodies are found, just in case," Carol mused to the other two. Rick hummed in agreement at the suggestion.

Daryl, however, cringed. He briefly considered lying, but figured when he got found out, they would be even more suspicious.

"Kat asked to go huntin'," he muttered, feeling defeated. He knew the two of them meant well and were just ultimately glad that he wasn't still moping around like he was when they initially arrived. It drained him though, the incorrect assumptions and innuendos. He wasn't sure if he was interested in Kat past the obvious lust, but the comments were just a reminder that she wouldn't look twice at him in that way.

Rick and Carol were silent behind him for a stretch, but Daryl could feel the looks they were shooting both him and each other. He rolled his eyes.

"Sounds nice," Carol chirped brightly. "Secluded, private, you get to show off –"

"Knock it off," Daryl groaned.

"We only tease because it's obvious she's into you," Carol sighed and explained patiently, as if she were talking to a child.

Daryl shot a scowl over his shoulder at Carol, and immediately disregarded her blatant lie. "Nah," he countered shortly with a wave over his shoulder.

Rick snorted. "You should see the way she looks at you."

It continued on like this for a while, and Daryl decided to tune them out. Kat was friendly and had an ability to make anyone feel like that. It wasn't different with him.

"You should teach her to shoot," Rick said, and the serious tone perked Daryl's attention. He slowed his pace slightly to walk beside Rick and Carol again.

"Ain't no teacher," he replied and quirked an eyebrow at Rick.

"Should start. The power is levelling out and goin' down, so Glenn's organizin' a group to head to a nearby warehouse for spare parts," Daryl nodded in acknowledgment, but failed to see how this had anything to do with Kat. She hadn't been out on a run since all that shit went down with Aiden, and he was glad for it. He could keep an eye on her in here.

"Alright, but what's that got ta do with Kat?" Daryl asked, fixing Rick with a level stare.

"Glenn said last night he was going to ask Kat to go with them. She's small, fast and –"

"Who else is going?" Daryl demanded with a growl. He knew he was being rude, but Daryl had a bad feeling about the run already.

"Glenn, Tara, Noah, Eugene," Daryl sent a confused look at Rick, which the other man caught. "Eugene knows what to look for," he supplied easily. Rick explained the potential timeline of when they'd go, and Daryl frowned to himself. It was around that time that Aaron and himself had planned another recruiting expedition, and they'd be either in and out often or gone altogether for a few days. He couldn't go and keep an eye on her.

"Nicholas and Aiden as well," Rick added carefully at the end of his explanation, and it almost seemed like an afterthought. Daryl knew it wasn't, as he glanced at Rick's face to see him cautiously watching Daryl right back.

Daryl took a couple deep breaths and tried to refrain from seeming like he gave too much of a shit about it. He ran a hand roughly through his hair and chewed the side of his cheek.

"Yeah, I'll try ta teach her."

He saw a funny smile lift on Carol's face and quickly turned away before either of them had the chance to send another teasing comment his way. He was quickly becoming annoyed with the idea of Aiden anywhere near Kat again, and needed to focus to avoid snapping at them.

Rick and Carol both seemed to realize the change in Daryl's mood, and backed off for the time being. They chatted to each other amiably for the rest of the short walk back to the front gate of Alexandria, and left Daryl to his thoughts.

Nicholas and Spencer were manning the gate, and Daryl shot a scowl at the former of the two as they passed. Fuckin' coward, Daryl thought angrily as Nicholas purposely avoided his gaze to stare at Rick and Carol. Spencer reminded them to return the gun that they had taken from the armory for Carol to 'practice' with, and Rick waved him off.

"I got it Spencer, don't worry," he called at the older Monroe son as they left in the direction of the houses. Daryl considered bypassing the main house and heading for Kat's to wake her up. It was still pretty early, and he had told her that they wouldn't leave at dawn anymore, so he assumed her to still be asleep.

The appearance of her sitting on the porch steps next to Glenn made him raise his eyebrows. They were sitting quite close, and Daryl clenched his jaw slightly. It was a knee jerk reaction, even though he knew there was no way Glenn had any interest whatsoever in Kat. The kid was head over heels for Maggie, always had been, and they still acted like a newly married couple. Daryl was thankful that they didn't live in the same house as him, and that he didn't have to listen to them fuck constantly anymore. He scoffed, remembering the countless times at the prison, when they would either try to be quiet and failed, or would sneak off together.

Still, the sight of Kat and Glenn, sitting beside each other, knees touching and laughing loudly, made his eye twitch. Daryl hadn't made her laugh like that before. He vaguely remembered Maggie complaining playfully to Glenn that Kat and her husband had the 'same awful sense of humour', so Daryl conceded that this was probably nothing new to anyone.

Daryl didn't mind Kat's humour, he thought to himself. It was odd, having someone around who was still able to crack jokes in the dreary, sad life of the apocalypse. It was a welcome change.

The two of them noticed their approach, and Glenn waved lazily at him, Rick and Carol. Kat wiggled her fingers in an awkward wave, and Daryl felt his stupid heart speed up when he noticed Kat's eyes locked on him.

"You should see the way she looks at you," Ricks words replayed in his head and he flicked his gaze over Kat's face quickly. It didn't look anything special to him. There was no smitten, cross-eyed with love look that Maggie always stared at Glenn with. She looked happy, but then again, that was normal for her.

Other than yesterday, Daryl reminded himself. Kat was slightly out of it yesterday, and had attributed it to her being a 'broody female' as she had put it. He had been caught off guard when she asked him if he had ever been in love, and even more so when he found himself responding honestly to her instead of grouching an avoidant response. Daryl had also been surprised when she admitted she didn't love that guy she was with at the beginning of it all. Most of the women that he knew, even before the apocalypse, were quick to declare their love. Not to him, but he heard a few women tell Merle that exact thing the morning after his one night stands.

"I'm jus' that good, Darylina," Merle would taunt.

Glenn and Kat both got up to greet them, and Daryl swept his eyes down Kat's form quickly. She had gained a few pounds since she had been here, and it looked good on her frame. Her breasts almost looked too big for whosever bra she had borrowed, and those black jeans she always wore were starting to fit her better. Daryl remembered appreciating the shape of her ass a bit more than usual yesterday as she walked away with Carol, and rubbed a hand across his face to try to clear his mind of the image.

"Good morning, loves," Kat drawled lazily in her mellow accent. Daryl felt a short chill run up his spine at the greeting. Fuckin' British people.

"Mornin' Katty, Glenn," Rick nodded at them both.

"How'd you sleep?" Carol asked Kat. Her eyebrows shot up, and Carol continued. "You were out of it yesterday, thought you might have been tired." So he hadn't been the only one to notice the difference in Kat, Daryl thought interestedly.

Kat reached a hand and scratched the back of her neck. "I always have sleep problems; nothing new," she waved off in a dismissive motion. Daryl frowned slightly at the new information. He wondered how bad exactly these 'problems' were. "I just didn't want to chin wag with those women much longer, sorry Carol," she added with a grin. Glenn snorted and Carol nodded in an understanding way. Daryl was just wondering what the fuck a 'chin wag' was.

"Where did you lot get off to then?" Kat inquired and flicked her eyes between the three of them. Daryl thought she sounded especially British this morning, and a small voice taunted that he liked it better.

Carol twirled the handgun around her fingers in view of Kat. "The boys were helping me get used to firing a gun. It still scares me, but the early morning lessons help a lot," she explained in a well rehearsed lie.

Kat sucked her lower lip briefly in between her teeth as she looked over Carol for a moment. Daryl had heard about Kat basically confronting Carol yesterday, and was curious how this would pan out.

"Interesting, because you look right at home holding it, Carol," Kat observed as a smirk slid onto her face. "Almost as if you'd been using guns for a few years now."

Beside Kat, Glenn screwed up his face as he attempted not to laugh. Daryl bit the inside of his cheeks again and he heard Rick clear his throat. He glanced at Carol to gauge her reaction.

Carol was smiling slightly, but declined to give anything away. "Well, I'm used to other people firing them, just not me," she countered. It almost looked like a game between the two at this point. Carol and Kat both had matching amused and skeptical looks painted on their faces, and neither seemed to be intent on giving in.

"Ah, I see. Makes sense," Kat clipped at Carol, who responded with a nod.

"Right. Well, I'm sure you and Daryl want to get going, so I'll just go see if Judith is up yet," Carol supplied and stepped away from Daryl's side. "Rick, you coming?" she turned to him expectantly.

Rick glanced at Daryl, amused. "Yeah, I should see what Carl is going to do today," he excused himself, leaving Daryl standing there, facing Kat.

Glenn stepped back a few paces to be in line with the other two traitors.

"Don't forget to wear protection."

The reminder was spoken in such a serious tone, it made both Daryl and Kat gawk at Glenn, completely slack jawed.

"Katty has to grab her gun from the armory still," Glenn clarified, and Daryl felt his fingers twitch as the instinct to strangle the younger man appeared in his brain.

"Oh, here, take this one," Carol quickly supplied, and handed her gun to Kat. Kat took it gingerly, the stunned look still evident on her face.

"Okay, see you two later," Glenn waved them off and the three of them turned and walked up the steps to the house. Carol looked over her shoulder at them both with a grin, and Daryl scowled. Couldn't have made it more obvious they left to talk about them, could they?

The scene had happened so fast, that neither of them thought to be embarrassed until now, when they were alone. Daryl, who had been teased all morning, didn't really care at this point. He was delighted when Kat's face flared up though. She was prettier when she blushed, he admitted to himself with a smirk.

"Ya ready?" he asked and gestured to her backpack on the ground behind her.

"Uh, y – yeah," she spluttered and quickly turned around to grab the forgotten bag off of the ground. Daryl noticed she had her knives strapped to her thigh and the other machete hanging off her hip again. Her face was still red when she turned around, and Daryl found that he couldn't hold back the mocking grin he reserved for her.

"Never knew how red yer face could get," he snorted a laugh at her.

Kat laughed, embarrassed, "Shut it," she groaned. "You can't tell me that it wasn't embarrassing for you at all."

Daryl shrugged, "What was embarrassin'?" he asked innocently, fixing her with a cocked brow.

She stared at him incredulously, and then shook her head, stunned. "You suck," she laughed lightly.

They started to walk back in the direction of the gate. "Don't get yer panties in a bunch, girl. 'Sa joke," he chided, heading towards his bike sitting along the wall.

"I know," Kat responded, sounding more calm and less embarrassed. "Plus," she continued, "Who said I was wearing panties?"

Daryl, usually graceful on all terrain, stumbled on his own two feet slightly and stopped walking altogether in order to stare at Kat.

What. The. Fuck.

"The fuck?" He found his voice finally, and narrowed his eyes at Kat. Daryl could feel a blush creeping up on his face.

Kat had continued walking when he had stopped, but now she slowed her pace and turned to look at him. "Never knew how red yer face could get," she mocked in his accent, and Daryl rolled his eyes. It was a pretty good imitation, not that he would ever tell her that.

"What'd I say 'bout doin' that voice?" Daryl grouched at her as he tried to regain his composure. How did Kat turn the tables so quickly; less than a minute ago she had been the one embarrassed and he had been laughing at her. Unbelievable.

"Right, I forgot. You're the only one allowed to have a sexy accent," She reaffirmed to herself and continued walking. Daryl inwardly groaned as he rubbed the new blush off his face. She was in a playful mood, and he silently signed a prayer to a god he didn't believe in. Seeing that he would surely die today, maybe he should start believing.

"We ain't walkin'," he called at her as she strode towards the gate importantly.

Kat dumbly turned around to see Daryl loading his bag and crossbow on the side of the bike so that there would still be room for Kat on the back.

"Oh, ok," was the simple reply and Kat trotted over. Daryl glanced at her apprehensively.

"Ya ever been on one before?" The last thing he needed was her freaking out on him.

"Used to have one back in California," she stated, "It was like a crotch rocket though, just easier to drive and park on the street and stuff," Kat explained at Daryl's surprised look. "Nothing like this."

Daryl grunted. "Same thing, basically." He saw her nod out of the corner of his eye, and wondered why she looked nervous if she had been on a bike before. He shrugged and hopped on the front of the bike, immediately regretting his decision to do so after he felt Kat slide on behind him. She shuffled around a bit, rearranging his stuff on the side so she was more comfortable, and Daryl visibly tensed. Kat was practically grinding behind him and Daryl felt his body respond in very inconvenient way.

"Stop movin' so much, we'll tip," he snapped, irritated at himself and her at this point.

"We're not even going anywhere yet," Kat snarked back at him over his shoulder. "I'm just trying to –"

Daryl rolled his eyes and kicked the bike to life. Kat squeaked a girlish noise and Daryl barked a laugh, the sound of the engine covering it.

"Ya gotta hold on," he said, an impatient tone to his voice that made Kat scoff. She didn't make any move to hold onto Daryl, so he jerked the bike forward shortly. Kat snapped something that he assumed was rude and encircled his waist with her arms. She had to scoot forward slightly to be able to do so, but Daryl noticed Kat felt stiff and awkward still; all her muscles were tensed from what he could tell and she was leant away from him.

"Won't the noise scare everything away?" she called out to him from behind.

Daryl turned his head slightly so that she could hear his reply. "No game nearby, gonna drive out some and then we'll walk," he explained, and pushed the bike forward easily while Spencer pulled the gate open for them.

It took about ten minutes of driving before Kat finally relaxed. She was now completely pressed against him and had her face turned and rested on his upper back. Daryl still wanted to get away from her, but it was more comfortable then her previous tension. He actually hadn't minded riding with her. When he turned, she knew how to lean so the transition was seamless. Kat didn't seem to be scared of the ride, it appeared to be something else that had made her nervous, but Daryl was glad that Kat got over it. It made the whole thing less painful.

All too soon and not soon enough, they reached the point that Daryl had intended to start at, and he cut the engine. Daryl gracefully hopped off of his bike, and then glanced at Kat, who hadn't moved. He hesitated briefly before holding a hand out to Kat.

She snapped out of the daze that she had been in and glanced down at Daryl's outstretched hand. After she returned his grip, Daryl practically pulled her smaller form off of the motorcycle. His lips quirked slightly when he noticed how much shorter she was than him.

Her weird, different colored eyes were staring up at him and Daryl was reminded of part of the reason why 'Kat' was so much easier for him to remember, instead of 'Katty'. She reminded him of a feline, if he was being honest. Other than the few times he had seen her drunkenly stumble, Kat was lithe; agile, nimble and quick. She didn't stomp when she walked like a lot of other people, and even now, as Daryl was covering the bike up, he could see her making an effort not to snap twigs or stumble. Her stare especially reminded him of a cat, and he resisted barking another laugh as she cocked her head at him.

If she was a cat, did that make him a dog?

He swung his crossbow from his shoulder and loosely held it; Daryl didn't expect to run into anything for a while. Other than squirrels and probably Walkers, the noise of the bike would have scared off anything big.

They walked for a while and he had been pleasantly surprised at how quiet she tried to be. Kat didn't try to talk to him, she didn't hover too close or too far; she was just close enough that Daryl didn't mistake her for any sort of game or Walker. Kat weaved in between bristles and foliage, and Daryl was secretly irritated that she wasn't more disruptive. Then he would have had an excuse to be so fucking distracted by her presence. As it was, he had no reason to be so aware of her and anything that she was doing, the way she would run a hand through her brown hair to toss it out of her face, the quiet exhale she would do every now and then, how her hand hovered over her knife wrap around her leg like she was going to –

Thump.

Daryl started slightly and his attention snapped to his left. A squirrel was imbedded on the lower portion of the trunk, stuck through its chest. He frowned at it, annoyed he hadn't noticed it as quickly as she had.

Kat didn't say anything, and he strode forward quietly to remove the squirrel from the tree and chucked it at her along with the knife. She had offered the other evening to carry the kills, so Daryl decided to tease her and take her up on it. Kat had brought along a drawstring bag to shove what she could into it, and pulled a face at the dead rodent as she added it to the other two that were in the bag. Daryl had caught the other two, so he didn't feel completely shown up.

This went on for a few hours, and they hadn't found anything past a couple fat squirrels and a rabbit, all of which Daryl was thankful that he had caught. The last thing he wanted was for Kat to think he was incompetent.

Daryl froze as a familiar noise filled his ears; it almost sounded like a buzzing, and he turned quickly in the direction it came from. Kat was standing there, her eyes focussed on something in the grass, and he felt his heartrate pick up as he recognized what would initiate the rattling noise.

"Kat, get –"

Before he could finish his sentence, she had couched slightly and thrown both her arms forward to grab something and tug it towards her bent body. Daryl panicked and swung his crossbow away onto his back and drew his knife. The last thing he needed was Kat to get bit by a venomous snake in the middle of the woods. Daryl jogged forward with his hunting knife out and frowned in confusion when he reached Kat. She had somehow manoeuvered so that now she had one hand clasped over it's face and the other further down it's body. Daryl flipped the knife around in his grip and lunged to take care of the problem, but Kat had a different idea, apparently.

Crack.

She folded the snake's head dorsally over it's back, effectively snapping the rattlesnake's neck – spine – whatever it was. It was large, the end of it limply dragging on the ground as Katty shuffled the drawstring bag off of her shoulder to add the snake to the pile.

Katty looked up in time to see Daryl's stunned and annoyed expression.

"What?" she asked casually, huffing the bag onto her shoulder. It was full now with the snake in it, and Daryl narrowed his eyes at her.

"Ya could've gotten bit," he snapped at her. "Should've left it ta me."

Katty was a mixture of wanting to laugh and grouch right back at him. Snakes were easier for her to kill, as opposed to fluffy bunnies and friendly squirrels. She still would if she had to, survival was survival, but Katty felt better about grabbing the scaly hunk of meat instead of the furry woodland creatures. Daryl had obviously been concerned for her safety, but Katty also didn't want to put up with macho bullshit.

"It's dead, isn't it?" she questioned with a lift of her brows at the redneck.

"Yeah?" he sneered at her, and Katty bristled at his tone. "What d'ya think we could've done if it had bit ya," Daryl continued. "It's venomous. Ya could've died."

She resisted rolling her eyes, knowing it would just make the grouchy man irate.

"You could've sucked out the venom," Katty pointed out jokingly, which only seemed to anger him more.

"This ain't a fuckin' joke, Kat," he hissed, and she felt slightly bad. Katty was well aware that when things got scary or serious, she often used humour as a coping mechanism or distraction technique. She always had, even before the apocalypse, and apparently the presence of Biters did nothing to dispel that lackluster quality.

She sighed, "Look, Daryl, I –"

A twig snapped behind and to her left somewhere and they both froze. The familiar smell of decay filled her nostrils and before she could react, Daryl had taken a few quick steps forward and pressed them both against the tree.

Katty was ashamed to admit that even in the presence of serious danger, with death and decay lingering as what sounded like five or more Biters ambling towards them, her mind was focussed on other things. Namely, the feel of Daryl's hard body slanted against hers, and the woodsy, masculine scent that was now covering her. It wasn't her fault; he had his arms encasing either side of her head, and there was really nothing she could do but angle her head up and stare at him.

The Biters grew closer and their groans and growls got louder, and Daryl instinctively moved closer. One of his legs was pushed in between hers and he pressed himself hard against her and Katty let out a small, embarrassing moan. Daryl was leaning against the tree on either side of her face on his elbows now, and quickly moved his hand to cover her mouth.

Katty's head was still tilted upwards, and their eyes locked. Blue on blue and green, Katty gulped as she tried to read the expression in his eyes. They were darker than normal, and they made her stomach clench and churn excitably at the emotion that she refused to name. It excited her, and Katty could feel herself become wet.

She felt Daryl inch backward and away from her, and Katty was suddenly hyperaware of the stumbling dead that were still close by. Katty quickly reached out a hand and gripped her fingers around the top of his pants and his belt, pulling Daryl flush against her once more. The friction made her whimper, and Daryl pressed his palm tighter against her mouth. She tried to clench her legs together, but Daryl's leg was still snug in between hers so Katty only succeeded in grinding herself on his thigh. A string of curse words sailed through her mind as she bit the inside of her cheeks to resist making more noise. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

The noises from the Biters grew further away, and Daryl turned his head to the side to check it out. Thank god for Daryl's hand on her mouth, or she might have attached her tongue and teeth to his throat. The hunter decided the coast was clear, so he pried himself off of her and practically jumped away. Katty was left propped against the tree, wondering if her legs worked enough to step away.

"Ya alright?" he mumbled, eyes raking over her quickly.

Yeah, aside from my drenched panties and throbbing pussy, Katty thought sarcastically.

"Just peachy," she quipped, and winced when her voiced sounded slightly high pitched from nerves.

She watched him chew his bottom lip for a minute as he stared at her, scrutinized her with his eyes, and then shook his head slightly.

"C'mon, we're done," he muttered, and starting walking away.

"What, already? But –"

"We're headin' back some, where the area is more clear," Daryl interrupted, and Katty scrambled to keep up with his pace. He was still graceful and silent, even with the fast steps, and Katty fought to have a similar quality step.

"I thought there wasn't any game closer," she reminded, and Daryl tossed her an amused look over his shoulder.

"Ain't huntin' anymore. Gonna see how much ya really suck with a gun," he mocked, and Katty blanched. She was hoping she could charm Rick into giving her a few lessons, not Daryl. Glenn had talked to her this morning about going to a warehouse with the lot of them, and she figured she would need to brush up on her shooting before hand. Just in case. On the off chance that she ran out of knives and luck, Katty didn't want to be the reason that someone died.

"Aw, fuck," she groaned, and Daryl let out a short, rough laugh.

The walk back to the motorcycle and the ride back seemed entirely too short, and she hadn't even gotten to enjoy being pressed up against Daryl once again. Too focussed on her impending failure, she supposed.

Soon enough, they were walking again, and Katty reached into her backpack, the one that didn't carry the dead animals, and grabbed a bottle of water and a couple protein bars. She tossed one at Daryl before taking a drink and passing him the bottle when she was done. He grunted something that sounded like thanks, and Katty bit back a smile. Daryl was certainly gruff.

They came to a clearing with a wooden fence a distance away, and Daryl motioned for Katty to drop her packs. He downed the rest of the water and then walked over to the fence, depositing the plastic container on top of the wooden beam along with a few others that were on the ground there.

"C'mon then, let's see whatcha got," Daryl taunted as he reached her again. Katty rolled her eyes. She could already tell this was going to go over great.

Katty cleared her throat and grabbed the gun out of the front of her waistband. Raising the gun in what she hoped was a confident manner, but Daryl scoffed beside her already. She scowled at him, and he shook his head.

Katty yelped as Daryl kicked a foot between her legs, shoving her feet farther apart. He then wove a finger in her belt loop at the back and then put a hand on her upper back, pushing slightly.

"Lean forward a bit, helps with the kickback," he muttered behind her.

Katty shot a few times, flinching each time. In between shots, Daryl kept adjusting her grip or her stance, but his arm would always drop to string his fingers in her belt loop again. Katty wanted to blame Daryl for making her nervous, but she knew she wouldn't have hit the bottle either way.

It took a few more taunting comments and jeers at her expense before she snapped at Daryl again.

"Well, fucking show me properly, Daryl," she barked at him and ignored the narrow-eyed frown he shot at her. Katty stepped back and into his personal bubble once more before she grabbed one of his arms and then the other, trapping herself in between them. She shoved the gun into his hands and then waited.

"This ain't how ta teach someone," he grumbled.

"Nothing else has worked, just try it," she said, her voice less angry and more defeated sounding.

Daryl paused for another minute before he sighed and reached for her hands again. Putting the gun back between hers, Daryl covered her hands with his and pointed her arms properly once more. He muttered a few instructions in her ear and stooped down for a second to check her aim.

"Yer aims good, just gotta not flinch," Daryl commented, and Katty relaxed more since he didn't sound annoyed or impatient with her at the moment. "Relax, just breathe."

Katty was reminded of the breathing tip that Calum had given her over a year ago. Pausing at the top of her natural breath, and with Daryl's own pointers, she fired again. By some miracle, Katty didn't flinch or shut her eyes, and she watched the right most bottle disappear off the fence.

"Keep goin'," Daryl grunted in her ear, and his hands drifted off of her wrists and slid down to her hips. Katty resisted doing a stupid dance at the fact that she actually hit something that was relatively far away, and focussed on the next bottle. She repeated the same actions, and was pleased to see the next bottle down the line fly off at she connected with it.

Daryl squeezed her hips with his large hands, and Katty took that as a prompt to go again. She repeated the motion with the rest of the targets, only missing once more before they were all gone. Daryl hummed in approval before he left her side to stack some more targets. This went on for a while, her firing and Daryl replacing the bottles. Katty was nowhere near perfect; after the first round she basically missed half the time. But in comparison to before, it was a jump in improvement. She no longer flinched as violently and Katty was starting to get used to the recoil.

Soon, they both grew bored of the lesson. Daryl was laying in the grass, his head propped up on Katty's backpack. He occasionally had been calling corrections out at her, but for the most part, Daryl's attitude during the lesson had improved the same as her shot had.

"Should head back soon," he called at her, and she agreed. Katty's mood had improved as well, and she glanced over at Daryl. She wondered if her being playful would piss him off, but then again, she didn't really care.

"Maybe we should try a different stance," she commented, and Daryl raised his eyebrows at her.

Katty put a hand on the front of her pants to grip her crotch and then used her right to hold the gun sideways as she shifted her weight. She felt badass and entirely ridiculous.

"Stop fuckin' around, no wonder ya suck," Daryl chastised, but his voice lacked any bite that the words should have carried. "Think everythin's a joke." He grumbled.

Katty ignored the disgruntled redneck and shifted her stance once more. She pretended she had a second gun in her other hand and quickly drew both guns from each side of her hip.

Daryl snorted. "What was that?"

"I'm shooting from the hip and keepin' it real," Katty replied as she repeated the motion.

"Okay there, John Wayne, I think that's enough," She could feel his eye roll directed at her but just sent him a cheeky grin in response. Daryl wasn't exactly smiling, but the amused glint in his eyes was enough to satisfy Katty for now.

The energy between them was calm and amiable as they walked back to Daryl's bike after collecting their stuff. Katty kept knocking her shoulder into his as they walked, which Daryl would imitate every now and then. He didn't reciprocate the motion as roughly as Katty kept doing, but she could see his lips turned up in a smirk whenever they budged each other, even if he tried to hide it.

They were much closer to Alexandria than before, so the ride was short. It was late afternoon when they arrived back, and the people manning the gate had changed as well. Noah and another woman were on watch, and Katty waved at Noah as they passed. Daryl parked his bike next to the wall and the other vehicles, mumbling something about going to Aaron and Eric's later to fix a ticking noise he noticed.

Same as last time, he held a hand out to her and practically lifted her off of the bike. Katty could have gotten off without any help, but she wasn't opposed to having the hunter aid her descent from the motorcycle every now and then.

They chatted about everything and nothing at all while they walked the short distance to the main house. Tara, Rosita, and Maggie were standing outside between the two houses and waved at them both.

Daryl held a hand out to her. Katty stared at it blankly.

"Hand the bag over. I'll start cleaning 'em," he offered at her confused face. Katty nodded and slipped the heavy drawstring bag off of her shoulder and passed it to him.

"Thanks, you're a dove," Katty chirped at him, and because she knew it would piss him off, she swatted his butt quickly. The growl and murderous look that Daryl gave her in return almost made her laugh. Katty though, a woman of composure and grace, held in the laugh while he stalked off and into the house to presumably grab some tools or supplies. Or it might have been to just get away from her. Katty wasn't quite sure.

When the door shut behind him, Katty cackled to herself. Feeling eyes on her, she looked up to see Tara, Rosita, and Maggie, all in the same spot as before, gawking at her.

"What the hell just happened?" Tara asked incredulously.

Katty tried to keep a straight face as she walked over to the trio of women. "Hey," she casually greeted. "How's goes it?"

"What was that?" Maggie asked bluntly, a suspicious look on her face.

Katty shrugged innocently. "A friendly arse pat between friends?" she supplied weakly.

Rosita let out a laugh and shook her head. "You're nuts."

"What'd you guys do out there?" Tara asked, and Katty ignored the suggestive undertone in her voice.

"Some hunting, a gun lesson," she explained with a shrug. "Nothing super interesting."

"So he let you handle his weaponry?" Maggie asked, her eyebrows bouncing up and down.

"Sounds like a long, hard day," Tara continued.

Katty was now choking on her spit, and she wished she had something to throw at her friends. A rock, food to distract them; anything really. Rosita took her hand gently between both of hers. Foolishly, Katty looked at Rosita hopefully, waiting for her one true friend to save her.

"Come, my child, lets go find Gabriel," she said calmly, and Katty cocked her head at her.

"What? Who's Gabriel?"

"He's a priest. You need God after all that premarital sex, sinner."

"I fucking hate all of you."

The laughter that followed was an indicator of how long the rest of her day would surely be.

A/N: Surprise update! I wanted to get this chapter out originally by this weekend. It made me giggle, so I hope you enjoyed it. Very Daryl-centric.

Please feed a writer and leave a review.

-Submechanophobia