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Ruby was offered a stall in the stables for Athena, and she gratefully took it. That meant they would all be safe and that was more than she could even think to ask for. After everyone who wanted to had met Loki, Ruby made her way with her animals to the barn.
"Ruby! Wait, I'm really sorry, but we do need your weapons," Rick called, jogging after her.
She sighed, hoping he had forgotten but nodded acceptingly. She would relinquish her weapons now she had Loki by her side. He would protect her almost better than she could protect herself.
"Sure thing, Sheriff," she commented easily.
She grabbed her bow and her arrows and handed them to him next came her hunting knife which was strapped around her waist. She handed over her machete which was attached to Athena's saddle and finally a small handgun. He raised his eyes at her and she shrugged.
"Can't be too careful, right?"
He nodded his head and she smiled and walked off with Athena.

Ruby walked into the stable, surprised but pleased, to see two other horses in the barn. There was a bay gelding in the stall at the front and a chestnut mare next to him. She led her into the final remaining stall and immediately uncinched the saddle, pulling it off Athena's back. She draped the saddle on the stall door and Athena gave a big body shake. It had been a couple of days since the saddle had been off and not just loosened. In the feed bin there was a flake of hay waiting for her and Athena began to munch on it.
"Nothing ever stops your appetite does it?" she laughed to Athena.
She pulled Athena's bridle off her and draped it over the seat of her saddle before unstrapping the protective leather boots from her legs. She dug into one of the saddlebags and pulled out one of the two brushes in there. She slid it onto her hand and began to vigorously brush her down. Weeks of dust, dirt and mud from riding across the country side started falling off to reveal Athena's true golden colour.
"Been too long since I could give you the treatment you deserve, hey girl? Isn't the apocalypse such a downer?"
Loki lay in the corner peacefully, allowing himself to rest, and she smiled at the sight of him sleeping soundly.
"Been awhile since we've been able to get a good sleep hmm?"
Ruby continued to chatter and comment on things idly to Athena while she brushed her until her arms ached and her coat gleamed. She even got her hair brush out and brushed the tangles and twigs out of her mane and tail.

"Ruby?"
Ruby poked her head out over the stall door to see Maggie. She had learned that Maggie was one of Hershel's two daughters, Hershel being the man who owned the farm.
"Hey," she called out conversationally.
"Just wanted to let you know dinner's going to be ready soon," Maggie called out warily.
Despite most of the group meeting her and having no weapons she knew the group was rather intimidated by her. Excluding Daryl, but she doubted he was scared of anything. Even walkers were treated with more contempt than fear by him.
"Thanks, Maggie. I'll see you out there," she answered.
"Okay. I'll… I'll see you," Maggie replied.
Ruby nodded and packed away her brush, she wiped off her hands on her jeans and stepped out of the stall. She called to Loki and he was up and by her side in an instant. She gave him a look over and decided he could go without his pack and his protective breastplate. She quickly pulled off both and gave his body a good rub where the gear had been laying.
"C'mon, time for some dinner," she encouraged him.

Together they walked over to the group of people circled around the fire. She took a seat out of the way and slightly back from the fire. Loki lay on her feet, keeping them warm. She could see Carol handing out plates with food on them and her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten in a day and the smell of food was making her hungrier than she thought she was. Despite how hungry she was though she didn't feel right about going up and taking a plate, it felt… rude, almost.
Thankfully she didn't have to dwell on it as a plate of food was shoved in her lap and a body threw itself down on the ground next to her. Ruby looked over to see Shane sitting next to her. He was the man who had commented on Loki being a wolf. He had been Rick's partner on the force before the apocalypse and for some reason thought this made him someone she wanted to talk to. Loki looked up at his arrival and growled lowly in his throat as a warning.
"So, wolf huh?" Shane commented, eyeing Loki warily.
"Yeah. He's my muscle," Ruby said uneasily.
She shifted slightly closer to Loki and Loki's growl rumbled louder.
"You gonna call him off?" Shane asked her bluntly.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"He won't attack, he's just warning you," she said quietly. "Thanks for the food."
Shane eyed her just as suspiciously as she had him and shrugged.
"Looks like you need it."
She couldn't deny that. Since the apocalypse had started her once curvaceous body had trimmed down to nearly half the size she had been. Her own clothes had long since stopped fitting her and everything she now wore had been stolen. She finally had that skinny look society had pushed for and she hated it. Ruby looked down at her plate of stew, away from Shane, and picked out a piece of meat offering it to Loki who eagerly snapped it down.
"Don't think we really got enough meat for that," Shane said a hint of coldness colouring his tone.
She narrowed her eyes at him and while staring at Shane gave Loki another piece of her meat. Her expression simply said to try stop her. No matter how hungry she was Loki always got some of her food.
"Don't ya get your panties in a twist Shane. Got plentya meat," Daryl grunted from behind them.
Ruby turned behind her and then saw Daryl throw down some squirrel carcasses in front of Loki's nose. The wolf eagerly snapped them up and crunched loudly on the bones. Ruby looked up at Daryl in surprise and gratitude. Anyone that fed her dog was in her good books.
"Thank you," she said quietly, giving him her first smile.
Daryl shrugged, not meeting her eyes.
"Eat ya food," he grunted and walked off to take a seat on the other side of the fire, away from the people.
Ruby looked at him in confusion before turning back to her food and finally popping a piece in her mouth. She couldn't keep back the moan as the flavour hit her tongue.
"Who cooked this?" she asked Shane.
Shane scowled.
"Carol," he muttered.
"She's really good," Ruby commented.
"Yeah," Shane said shortly.
Ruby shrugged and kept eating, if he wanted to have a rod up his ass he could have one.

"How long you been out on your own?" Shane asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Since just before the apocalypse," Ruby answered.
"What were you doing before the apocalypse?" he asked her.
"I had a holiday and I was trying out some survivalist skills. Guess the world took it just a bit too seriously," Ruby joked lamely.
Shane raised an eyebrow at her.
"Guess that was lucky," he commented.
Ruby shrugged. She didn't really call it lucky, it meant that when she got back everyone was gone. She never got to say goodbye to her family or her friends. In fact she had no idea what had happened to them. She got back home after spending three weeks on her own, to find the farm deserted. All the animals had been released, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, dogs—all gone. Her parents were nowhere to be seen and their truck was gone.
"So, how did you guys get to here?" Ruby asked, trying to take the attention off her.
Shane proceeded to explain how he had been in Atlanta, Rick in a coma and how he, Lori and Carl, Rick's wife and son, all met up with Carol, her husband and daughter, before settling near a quarry. He told her about the other survivors and about meeting Daryl and his brother Merle. He explained about how they were going to go to the CDC and about how they nearly got blown up. He told her all about their journey to the farm, Carl getting shot and about his trip to the FEMA trailer where Otis, a farm hand, had saved his life.

As they chatted Ruby felt her guard come down slightly. Sure, Shane had been rude about her giving Loki some meat but she supposed it was that they were used to rationing for themselves. Not everyone understood the bond between her and Loki. That said, she was still slightly off put by Loki's growl at Shane, but he had finished his squirrels and wasn't making a peep so she wondered if maybe he was just grumpy from hunger.
Carol came by not long after and collected her plate from her.
"Here, I'll help wash up," Ruby began to offer.
"Nonsense. Sit, sit. Relax. I feel like you haven't done much of that," she said kindly.
Ruby gave her a rueful smile.
"Not really. It's been pretty non-stop," she admitted.
Carol gave her a knowing smile and reached down to give Loki a pat. He snuffed lightly and gave her a slight lick on the hand, making the two women smile.
"He does like you, and I have to say, that stew was the best thing I've eaten all year!" Ruby complimented.
Carol smiled brightly and looked down at Loki.
"Thank you. It's mostly thanks to Daryl, he provides all the meat and he found a jar of herbs and spices a week or so back," Carol said deprecatingly.
"Be that as it may, I could not make something as delicious as that. My squirrel would be as tough as rubber and I would probably give someone oregano poisoning," Ruby laughed, slightly over exaggerating.
Carol didn't seem to mind as her smile grew. She took Shane's plate wordlessly and gave Loki another pat before collecting up the rest of the plates.

"So where are you camping for the night?" Shane asked her.
"I'm gonna stay in the barn with Athena and Loki. I'll feel too exposed and uncomfortable to sleep if I don't," Ruby answered easily.
"Shame, I was gonna ask if you wanted to camp next to me," Shane commented.
Ruby's smile fell from her face and her discomfort returned. It crawled up her spine making every muscle constrict and her shoulders tense.
"Sorry, I just figure there's no point considering I'm leaving tomorrow, best to just be on my own," she mumbled an excuse, hoping it would pacify the larger man.
His dark brown eyes looked into hers and he nodded.
"I get it. But if you get lonely, that tent is mine," he smirked at her, pointing to his tent.
She nodded awkwardly and dropped a hand into Loki's fur, trying to calm herself down. She turned her gaze back out into the fire and as she did so she noticed Daryl's eyes flicking indeterminately between herself and Shane. She quirked an eyebrow at him and he glared at her before storming off into the night like a petulant child.
"Jeez, what's eating him?" she asked Shane.
He just shrugged.
"No one knows with him. He's got issues," Shane snorted derisively.
She snorted unflatteringly.
"It's the damn apocalypse, who doesn't?"

After another half hour of sitting by the fire and chatting to Shane, Ruby had well decided that it was time for her to go to bed.
"I'm gonna go hit the hay," she said tiredly to Shane after stifling yet another yawn.
He laughed at her choice of words considering where she was staying.
"If you need anything, you know where I'll be," he reminded her.
She nodded awkwardly and stood up.
"Thanks for talking, it's nice to chat with someone that talks back," she said with a laugh.
"My pleasure," Shane smirked at her.
She gave him a small but awkward smile and walked off to the barn, Loki trotting along beside her. She opened the stall door and was pleased to see that Athena was sleeping. She unclipped her swag from the back of the saddle and unrolled it in the furtherest corner of the stall. After a moments deliberation, she took her boots off and neatly left them by her feet before wriggling into her bed. Loki crawled up on his belly next to her and she smiled drowsily as an odd sense of safety encased her. She hadn't felt any form of safe in months and now she was. It was nice.

She wished she could say she woke up late and enjoyed a long, luxurious sleep in in a safe area, but she couldn't. She tossed and turned all night and every couple of hours she would wake up with a cold sweat from her nightmares. Finally, at around five in the morning, Ruby had decided she'd had enough trying to sleep and just decided to cut her losses and get up. As she moved around in the swag she nudged Loki, waking him up. Loki yawned next to her his hot, smelly breath waking her instantly.
"Good morning," she grumbled.
She stretched out her arms and back and cracked her joints.
"God, does that feel good," she murmured.
She began to idly pat Loki and sighed deeply. She climbed out of her swag and pulled on her boots. It had been a long time since she had been able to sleep without boots on. Out in the woods she never knew when she had to make a quick exit so she just decided to save herself the inconvenience and left them on. She didn't even want to think about the state or smell of her socks. She reached into her pack which she had dropped by the stall door the day before and pulled out a light jacket. The early morning was quite chilly and was giving her goosebumps. She knew it was going to be far too early for all of the other people to be awake and it would be hours before she had to lead them on the trail of Sophia. She looked down at Loki and realised she could do a little bit of hunting, to help the group that helped her. She may not have her weapons but she had Loki and that was more than enough. She smiled to herself and picked up Loki's protective collar and breastplate. He stood patiently as she did it up on him and she quietly let herself out of the stall, leaving Athena behind. They would be better on foot.

She jogged out of the barn with Loki hot on her heels. Once outside, she had to stop to admire the view in the early morning the property just looked unreal; like something from a fairy tale. The sky was in that odd blue-grey transition shade and the morning birds were just beginning to sing. In an odd twist Ruby almost felt at peace and half-wished she could stay to wake up to this sight every morning. She shook her head, dispelling the thought and began to jog off towards the woods again, berating herself mentally. There was no way she could stay in this group, they had their own set up and she would just be in the way. She was far too volatile to be in a close knit community.

She and Loki made good time to the woods and once under the cover of the trees she turned to him.
"Hunt," she instructed.
He immediately began to trot off ahead of her, his head swaying this way and that, trying to catch a scent. She silently followed after him, choosing each step carefully to make as little noise as possible. All at once Loki disappeared ahead of her and she crouched low, so she wouldn't disturb his hunt. She could lightly hear him running ahead after an animal and after a moment he stopped. His footsteps were light back and he dropped a rabbit by her feet.
"Good boy," she praised, lavishing him with pats and soft crooning noises.
He grinned up at her and she sent him on his way again.

They returned to the camp an hour later with six rabbits.
"Where the hell've ya been?" Daryl's voice came, pissed off, from by the RV.
She gave him a sickly sweet smile and held the six rabbits up.
"Hunting," she answered.
He frowned as he took a rabbit from her. There were no marks, no blood, nothing tainting the meat.
"How'd you manage that?" he asked, his curiosity seemingly outweighing his annoyance.
Ruby smiled proudly down at Loki.
"This little champion right here. I taught him to snap their necks as opposed to tearing them apart. He's better than any arrow and he very rarely misses," she bragged proudly.
Daryl looked down at Loki but gave nothing away on his face.
"Good boy," he said finally.
Ruby was surprised when Loki's tail gave the slightest of wags. Loki very rarely responded to anyone that wasn't her. She watched Daryl as he inspected the rabbit's neck. Loki had an excellent sense of character, much better than her own, and he clearly thought this redneck was someone worth knowing.
"Not bad for a mutt," he mumbled, bringing her out of her reverie.
Ruby watched as his hand came down on Loki's head. She half expected him to bite Daryl but to her astonishment Loki leaned into his hand, taking the affection.
"Lucky. Most people are just tolerated," she commented idly.
Daryl looked up at her and shrugged.
"He knows I fed him last night, that's all," he grumbled.
Now that made sense. Loki was very food orientated, and intelligent. Daryl was probably right; Loki associated Daryl with food.

Daryl's eyes scanned her contemplatively.
"Y'know how to skin and gut right?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes, who did he take her for? Some pansy ass city slicker?
"Of course," she replied.
"C'mon," he grunted.
She paused before following him to a spot a little ways away from the camp. There was a small tarp on the ground and a set of small knives by it. Ruby settled herself next to Daryl, sitting crosslegged with an intrigued expression.
"How d'ya skin them?" he asked her.
Ruby grabbed a rabbit and held out her hand for a knife. He reluctantly gave her one and quickly she demonstrated how she skinned a rabbit.
"Not bad. This is the easiest way though," he said and showed her his way of doing it.
She was impressed with how quickly and efficiently he'd done it. He was clearly more experienced at it than she was. She let him do the rest watching carefully and taking note of each incision, pull and twist. Daryl quickly gutted one too and asked to see her technique. She showed him and he gave her a few pointers which would really come in handy.
"Thanks for showing me a few tricks," she said quietly.
He avoided looking at her and shrugged.
"You need to know if you're gonna live alone," he muttered.
She shrugged.
"Still, you didn't have to," she mumbled.
He just grunted and began slicing into the meat. She watched him curiously, before understanding swept through her. She smiled widely as he pulled out all the bones from the meat and gave them to Loki, along with the insides of the rabbit. A wave of gratitude coursed through her and she couldn't stop herself. She leaned over and gave him a light, one armed hug. She felt his whole body tense up and she quickly pulled away knowing she was making him uncomfortable.
"What was that for?" he asked her tensely.
His blue eyes stared into hers searching for any sign of malice, a trick or mockery.
"Thanks for taking care of my dog," she answered.
He looked away from her and shrugged.
"He may as well eat what we can't."
She opened her mouth to say something when Shane came walking over.

"Ruby, can I talk to you?" he asked.
She looked up as Loki growled lightly. She turned back down to Loki frowning in confusion. She was surprised that Loki would react so negatively to Shane after just having eaten. She wondered if maybe Loki knew something she didn't about the man, and that troubled her slightly.
"I… sure. Just give me a minute, okay?" she replied.
Shane nodded and waited patiently.
"You okay to do the rest of these?" she asked Daryl.
He just grunted and gave her a venomous look. She was shocked and instantly pissed off with his mood change. She had done nothing to warrant such a hateful look.
"What the fuck ever. Don't know why I even bothered," she spat back at him.
He scowled and began pulling harshly at the rabbit's insides, clearly telling her that he was ignoring her.
"Don't take it personally. He's kinda just like that," Shane assured her, leading her back to the camp.
"I don't care, I just don't want to deal with it," she grumbled.
Loki came up from behind her and pushed his way between the two of them, making Shane frown and Ruby laugh.
"Are you jealous?" she crooned to Loki.
He huffed lightly and Ruby laughed again. Shane looked at her oddly.
"He's not used to sharing me, in three years he's never had to fight for my attention. I wouldn't be surprised if he was jealous," she explained lightly.
He nodded but eyed Loki warily. She couldn't say she blamed him, Loki had many features of his wolf father. The long, gangly legs, thick barrel body and powerful jaws. His size didn't help either, he nearly reached her hip height—much bigger than your average dog. Anyone who didn't know dogs well enough would definitely think he was pure wolf.

"So what was it that you wanted to talk about?" she asked him.
"I just wondered if you had thought about staying longer than a night," he asked lightly.
She felt that familiar unease creep through her spine again and she sighed, thinking that maybe she should set him straight. She stopped and faced him, her green eyes meeting his dark brown ones.
"Look, I don't know if you mean to imply what I think… but if you are, then I just want you to know I'm not interested. I don't want anything to do with anyone," she told him kindly but firmly.
She saw his eyes darken slightly but he nodded once stiffly.
"I'm not interested in you either, I just thought you'd be a good fit for the group," he said coldly.
She winced, now she had insulted him.
"Well, I just assumed and you know what they say about assume, right? It makes an ass of 'u' and me," she rambled nervously.
Shane gave her a perplexed look and she blew the air out of her mouth.
"Look, I'm sorry. I just… With what you were saying last night I just assumed, and I wanted to set you straight before I hurt you or made things awkward," she explained honestly.
He gave her a long even stare as if trying to judge whether she was telling the truth or not.
"Thanks for being straight with me, even if I am disappointed," Shane forced a laugh.
She gave him a light smile and then shrugged.
"It's the right thing to do, right?" she replied awkwardly.
Shane looked moodily off into the distance.
"Maybe so, but not everyone does the right thing any more," he said grumpily.
She pressed her lips together not knowing what to say in response.

Rick came up to them and nodded to Shane whom nodded back. She could detect a hint of animosity from Shane and it confused her, weren't they meant to be best friends?
"Mornin' Ruby, could we have a chat?" Rick asked.
"Sure thing, Sheriff," she said amicably and waved to Shane as they walked off together.
"I wanted to ask you something," he said quietly, he sounded almost pensive.
She gave him a sideways look and gestured for him to continue.
"I spoke with Daryl last night. He said you didn't have a place to stay or food. He also said he was pretty sure you were alone," Rick started.
Ruby shifted uncomfortably and jammed her hands in her pockets. Loki picked up on her agitation and nudged her gently.
"Your point?" she asked.
She winced as she came across more aggressively than she had intended to.
"He also mentioned you were rather handy with a blade," Rick continued, ignoring her outburst.
"So, what does that matter?" she asked, annoyance colouring her tone.
"It means I want to ask if you'd like to be a permanent member of this group. We could use someone with your skills, and hopefully we're going to stay on this farm. Walker-proof it up a bit and make a real home here," Rick said bluntly.
She stared at him in surprise, before a frown crossed her face.
"You want me to stay? You don't know a thing about me! I don't know a thing about you guys!" she asked suspiciously. "What if I don't want to stay?"
"Then we'll give you some provisions and you can be on your way. But I would really like you to reconsider. We can offer you protection, a steady source of food, water, a safe place for your animals," Rick pointed out.
She looked down at Loki by her side, and thought about Athena who was finally unsaddled in a safe stall.
"I don't know… I'm not exactly a team player," she mumbled.
"Just… think about it. Take Daryl out and when it comes time to separate… I hope you'll consider staying," Rick said calmly.

She looked at him and wondered what on Earth he wanted from her. People just didn't give out stuff and safety for free. Everyone has a price.
"What would you want from me?" she asked him.
"Your skills in combat. Your hunting knowledge. In return for safety we would expect that you help keep the safety. Patrols, keeping watch, going for supply runs, that kind of thing. Hunts would be good, only Daryl knows how to hunt and it would be good to keep the pressure off him," Rick admitted.
That sounded better. She would be a hired hand basically. The knowledge that it would be a fair exchange settled her wariness a little bit. As long as there was reciprocation things tended to work out and people who were useful were less likely to be kicked out of groups.
"I'll think about it. I will," she promised him after thinking it over for a minute.
"That's all I ask," he smiled and walked away.
Ruby shook her head in bemusement and looked down at Loki.
"What do you think buddy?"

She joined everyone for breakfast that morning, instead of hiding out. If she was going to stay she wanted to get a feel for the people in the camp. She was okay with Daryl, Carol, Rick and Shane, but there were many others she needed to become familiar with. She took her plate of rabbit stew and chose a spot between a burly black man who looked to be in his thirties, and an older man in his seventies.
"Hi, I'm Ruby, this is Loki," she said as she sat down between them.
The black man looked over and gave her a kind smile.
"Looks like we got something in common. I'm T-Dog," he commented, holding a small piece of rabbit out for Loki.
Ruby gave a small laugh at his nickname and turned to the older man.
"I'm Dale," he replied to her and gave Loki a tentative pat.
"So, you shot down Daryl's deer?" T-Dog asked her.
"I would like to get the record straight about that," Ruby responded primly. "That deer was mine. I was the one who killed it. His bolt came later."
T-Dog laughed and Dale gave her an amused expression.
"Anyone game enough to kill something Daryl was hunting is good enough in my books," T-Dog assured her.
Ruby smiled at him and felt herself relax. Loki was relaxed around the two men and that said something to her. Even though she didn't know these men, she felt like they didn't want to hurt her.

"I heard you're taking Daryl up to where you saw Sophia last?" T-Dog asked.
"Yeah, we're headed up along a ridge about north, north east of here," Ruby explained.
Breakfast was well over by now. Ruby was now in a group with a few of the survivors who were going looking for Sophia. The group consisted of herself, Daryl, Rick, Shane, T-Dog and Andrea. Dale was there as well, mostly so someone back at camp knew their whereabouts.
"Any changes of plans?" Rick asked her, looking up from the map.
She knew just by looking at him he was talking about whether or not she was staying with the group but she wasn't sure just yet.
"None so far as I can see," she told him, meeting his eye.
He nodded once and she saw Shane look between them curiously.
"Hey, can I join?"
Ruby turned to look at the newcomer, not recognising their face. It was a young boy, looking to be about seventeen years old. Acne marks littered his face and she had give a wry smile. She was certainly glad her acne-prone days were over. Despite his young appearance, he looked honest and determined and she had to give him credit for that.
"Jimmy. Hershel know about this?" Rick asked, concern in his voice.
Ruby evaluated the young kid as he smiled confidently and nodded. He was eager, he looked keen to do his part and that was okay by her.
"Yeah, yeah. He said I should ask you, and I wanna help. I know the area pretty well," he pressed.
Rick exchanged a look with Shane, who shrugged at him, before giving a reluctant nod.
"He can come with us," Andrea said to Rick.
Ruby hadn't quite gotten the measure of the blonde woman yet. She wasn't exactly nice, but not exactly nasty either. More… indifferent than anything.
"Thanks," the kid responded gratefully.

Everyone turned back to the search grids set up and Ruby noticed a few other places had been marked on the map.
"Okay—" Rick started before he was cut off.
"Look, I just wanna say it okay. None of what Daryl found really screams 'Sophia' to me," Shane said, shaking his head.
Ruby looked at him confused and she could see Daryl start to bristle.
"Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse," Shane persisted.
She could see everyone shuffling awkwardly and frowning with each other and she wondered why he was saying such things. It was clearly getting everyone's morale down and pissing Daryl off. It seemed counter-productive to the whole situation.
"Anyone includes her, right?" Andrea spoke up coolly.
That was the moment that Ruby decided Andrea was okay.
"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high," Daryl pointed out, a slight edge coming into his voice.
He gestured to about his chest height and Ruby had to agree it was looking promising for the little girl.
"With my help too, maybe those tracks will guide Daryl to her," Ruby put in helpfully.
Shane glared at her and she was taken aback to see that directed at her. She steeled her gaze and glared back at him. She was not going to be burned at the stake for trying to help.
"It's a good lead," Andrea persisted.
"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again," Rick said encouragingly.
"No maybe about it," Daryl spit out. "We're going by horseback up to this ridge here. I'll get a birds eye view of the whole grid. I'll find her."
"Maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there," T-Dog laughed.
Ruby stared at T-Dog blankly as the rest of the group gave a small chuckle.
"Chupa-whatta?" she asked, confused.
"Chupacabra," Dale corrected her, his eyes searching her face before rifling through the gun bag. "Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra."
Ruby was still confused and Jimmy gave a rather loud and unflattering snort.
"Whatcha brayin' at, jackass?" Daryl snapped to Jimmy.
"You believe in a bloodsucking dog?" he asked, amused.
"You believe in dead people walking the earth?" Daryl shot back, shoving off the car and gesturing for Ruby to follow.

Ruby quickly caught up to Daryl and fell in step with him.
"So, we doubling again?" she asked teasingly.
He gave her a glare, clearly not forgetting the trotting incident.
"Not fuckin' likely," he grumbled.
She gave a small laugh and opened the barn doors for them. Daryl went to the chestnut mare next to Athena and she sighed as she looked at her stuff. Her jacket was draped haphazardly over the stall and her swag was still on the floor. She could almost feel Daryl's eyes on her as she shoved her jacket away in her bag.
"You gonna stay?" Daryl asked quietly.
Ruby pressed her lips together and shook her head as she thought back to Shane. His proposition to keep her company at night, then Loki's reaction to him; before thinking about how he had glared at her, essentially telling her that her opinion was not wanted.
"I don't do people," she said finally.

She gave Athena another brush down before throwing her saddle back on. She carefully wrapped up her legs in her boots before sliding the bridle over her head. Ruby rolled up her swag and brushed off the sawdust still stuck to it. She attached it to the back of her saddle like yesterday and swung her pack onto her back. She grabbed Loki's pack as well and strapped it up securely around him.
"Ya makin' a mistake," Daryl said to her.
Ruby bit her lip as she gathered up Athena's reins.
"Maybe, maybe not. It's my mistake to make," she replied quietly, leading Athena out of the stall.
Daryl studied her as she easily vaulted onto Athena's back. After a moment he followed suit and clicked his horse forwards, leading them out.
"I need to get my weapons back off Rick," she called to him.
"Dale'll have them," he told her shortly.
She nodded, indicating she'd heard him and nudged Athena into a trot over to Dale.

"Ruby, what can I get for you?" Dale asked as she arrived at his RV.
"My weapons, please. I'm heading off," she told him.
He nodded with a small frown and dug into a duffel bag he had nearby. He pulled out all her weapons and she strapped them to herself and Athena.
"Hey, be safe out there. And… you can come back, you know. We'd welcome you," he said persuasively.
She gave him a kind smile and reached her hand out to him. He took it and she gave it a squeeze.
"Thank you Dale," she said softly.
He gave her a small smile and handed her a small plastic bag. She looked at him in confusion and opened the bag to see a couple of cans of tinned ham, two fruit cups and two bottles of water.
"It's not much, but should get you through a day or two," he said quietly.
She knew Rick said they would give her food, but saying and doing were two different things entirely and she felt tears prick the backs of her eyes. She hadn't met anyone as truly kind and generous as these people since before the apocalypse and she was just truly grateful.
"Can ya hurry it up? I've got a little girl to find!"
Trust Daryl to ruin the moment.
She snorted unflatteringly and stuffed the supplies in her bag.
"Thank you Dale, I hope I will one day find a way to return the favour," she said to him, hoping that he knew just how touched she was by his actions.
He smiled and nodded before stepping back and allowing her to leave.

She turned away from him to face Daryl.
"Ready, redneck?" she asked, trying to hide the fact she had been close to tears.
He rolled his eyes and slapped his horse's flanks with his reins, quickly accelerating into a canter. She snorted as Loki yipped in excitement next to her.
"Hup! Hup!" she called out and gave Athena a small kick while clicking in encouragement.
She leaned forwards over Athena's neck as she raced to catch up to Daryl. She felt that same lightness fill her veins as she enjoyed the feel of the wind in her hair and the steady hoof beats of her horse beneath her. Despite the head start Daryl had given himself the older chestnut horse was clearly no match for Athena. As they raced across the fields she drew Athena in close to Daryl and playfully leaned over and flicked his ear.
"Watch what ya doin', woman!" he shouted back at her.
She turned to him and gave him a playful grin.
"I will if you can catch me," she teased and encouraged Athena on faster.
She pulled ahead of Daryl easily and Loki raced along slightly behind her. Loki was fast, not quite as fast as Athena, but enough to pull ahead of Daryl. She knew once they got into the trees she'd have to pull up, but for now she wanted to enjoy the open flat land.

They hit the trees not a minute later and she pulled up on the reins, waiting for Daryl. Unfortunately he was a lot closer than she had anticipated and he nearly crashed right into her.
"Goddamn it, ya idiot! What ya doin' just waitin' in the trees like that?" he yelled at her.
She rolled her eyes.
"Waiting for you," she replied sarcastically.
He just grumbled something insulting and gestured for her to keep going. Ruby rolled her eyes and clicked Athena forwards.
"Go figure, the redneck can't take a joke," she muttered.
She felt his eyes glare into the back of her head but she brushed it off.

"So what's the plan once you find Sophia?" Ruby asked him as they rode onwards.
"Rick wants to stay. Reckons it could be a good place to hole up," Daryl replied, coming up to ride beside her.
She glanced over and she could see his eyes taking in all the trees. She assumed it was more than that; that he was taking in all different geographical markers but he was obviously seeing much more than she was.
"Hole up for how long?" she asked curiously.
Did Rick have a master plan? Did he know something she didn't? Did he believe in a cure for all this madness?
"Dunno. Long as he can," Daryl responded.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"What I think don't matter," he muttered.
She wanted to press it but she understood not wanting to talk so she stayed silent. She chose to take in all the sights and sounds around her. It reminded her of when she used to take Athena out for weekend rides. The peace and trilling of the birds always settled her and helped her think.
"It's almost like nothing's ever happened out here," she murmured quietly.
It got her to wondering about her riding companion and she wondered what he would be doing if it weren't for the apocalypse.
"What would you be doing right now, if the apocalypse hadn't started?" she asked.
He gave her a sideways look and narrowed his eyes at her.
"Dancing with the Queen," he said sarcastically.
She rolled her eyes.
"Forget I asked," she snapped back.

She kicked Athena forwards into a trot and silently began to pick her way back to the ridge.
They rode on in silence until she noticed two dead trees that had fallen into each other, their branches forming a spider web.
"That's the spider web of trees I mentioned," Ruby said, pointing to the trees.
Daryl nodded and looked around them.
"Sophia!" he shouted.
The sound of his loud and distinctive voice echoed for what felt like miles and it actually made her jump as it cut through the relative silence of the trees. It felt like he was ringing a damn dinner bell.
"Daryl, you're gonna attract every damn walker for miles!" she hissed.
He glared at her.
"If ya gonna give me that damn shit about not tryna find her like Shane then ya can just fuck right off!" he shouted at her.
"For fucks sake, I'm trying help you find her! But she was way up ahead, and I thought you'd wanna be able to track without worrying about a bunch of walkers tryna eat your asshole!" she snapped angrily.
She didn't know what was these people's problem today. Any time she offered help the men would shoot her down and act like she had ruined their life.
"Don't you worry about me, Princess. Just fuck off and live your lonely life," he sneered.
She shook her head and kicked Athena forwards. She would take Daryl to the ridge where she saw Sophia and then she'd fuck off and be done with their shit.
"Can't believe I almost considered staying with you lot," she spat venomously as she rode off at an easy canter.
She heard Daryl cuss at her as he had to focus on catching up.
"You're a fuckin' bitch," he spat when he caught up.
"And you're an asshole," she growled, not looking at him.

Up ahead was a rather sharp bend which would lead to the rock near to where she had seen Sophia.
"You were thinking of staying?" he asked suddenly.
"For half a second, but honestly, between you and Shane? I'm much better on my own," she snapped.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, pulling his horse in front of hers blocking the track and forcing her to stop.
His blue eyes bored into hers angrily, demanding an answer. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"I don't owe you shit," she spat. "Move your horse."
"Shane do something to ya?" he asked, a level of seriousness hiding under a thick mask of frustration.
She narrowed her eyes in confusion at him. What the hell did he even care?
"Trust me, if he did something to me, he would be dead. Now move your fucking horse. We're nearly there," she growled.
He studied her and finally she had enough and lightly kicked Athena forwards, causing Daryl's horse to skitter backwards and out of her way. She kept on as Daryl cussed her out again. They passed the sharp bend and she silently pointed out the piano rock. Daryl pulled up to it and saw the splash of blood. It was a dark rusty colour by now, several days old.
"Sophia!" he shouted again.
Ruby clenched her jaw as she looked around nervously.
"The walker I killed is just over there. I rode up the way I just took you but I didn't see her. I hope you find her," she said to him honestly.
He looked at her and pressed his lips together tensely.
"You should stay," he muttered.
She snorted unflatteringly and shook her head.
"I'm better off alone. Good bye, Daryl and good luck," she wished before turning on her heel and disappearing at a fast canter.