She'd been quiet through dinner. Michonne wasn't embarrassed by the birth control conversation earlier, but she knew Daryl was. The looks? She'd think about those later. Why they thought her and Daryl were together she didn't know. She didn't know if she wanted to know.
"Gun police. Gun safety," she seconded. Guns weren't needed inside the walls, except for watch, but she remembered Sasha going outside and shooting walkers. They'd been in a bad way when they got to Alexandria. She didn't have a gun on her and she'd really rather not have someone, like the people of Alexandria, walking around with a gun. She looked at Tsula, who was done eating and just listening.
These were things she never would have thought of until she'd brought in more people. Trying to lay down new rules would have been a problem.
"Gun police and gun safety. Age for watch?" Rand queried.
"Depending on the amount of people, start at sixteen?" Seth asked.
"Just like driving a car," Waya nodded.
"Alright. No personal guns inside the walls. Knives, swords, etc.? Fine. We could put something near the drawbridge for personal guns. Some locker type of system," Adrian suggested.
"We'll have to work on that, too. Watch on the brick overpass. We'll have to get up there and see what it looks like. It's overgrown," Rand ate, eyes narrowed in thought. "Sixteen for watch. I'm sure there's more shit we need, but let's keep it doable. The lockers can wait. It's just us and we can use guns. We need to have them at all times, actually." She ate and stared at Adrian. "The zipline is your idea. Put it up, test it out. Take who you need. Whoever's not with you is with the rest of us on the farm."
"We need to sharpen those swords, Rand," Seth reminded her.
"Daryl, can you do that?" Rand looked at him.
"Yeah."
"I can help," Waya volunteered.
"Okay. Adrian, Waya and Daryl on the zipline and swords. Seth, Michonne, Tsula and myself will be on the farm. When you guys are done, you find us. Tsula and I really did get a lot done today. If all of us bust ass, we could finish tomorrow. Spend the next week or so in the town, checking the chimneys and taking down the trees. I don't know what month it is, but I'd like to not freeze my ass off another winter if I can help it. Then we can leave for the base while Daryl, Michonne and Tsula check out a backup place," Rand decided.
Adrian washed the dishes while Seth dried and put them on the prep table. "She's frighteningly good at that, isn't she?" he commented lazily.
"Yeah. She is."
"Mm. Did you want to lead this place?"
Seth grimaced. "No. I don't. You?"
"I'm content how things stand now. Subject to change in the future."
"You better watch your back, man, if you decide you're not content. Michonne and Daryl? They'd try and kill you."
He gave a lopsided smile. "Noticed that, too, did you?"
"I don't know how the hell she does it. She's earned their respect already. They barely acknowledge us. Waya? 'What do we do, Rand?' and he just met the woman yesterday. She put a gun to his niece's head."
He finally laughed. "She's…something. Yes, she's earned their respect. Michonne riding with us today?"
"The languages. Smart, if you think about it. German? We might find people that know it. Odds? Not great."
"Getting comfortable with each other."
"Good luck with Dixon. He and Waya don't seem like talkers."
"He's not." Adrian passed him the last dish. "She's right. They know it."
"She'll be good."
"Aye, she will." He leaned against the sink. "I won't mind following her."
"Nice ass."
"That, too."
Daryl headed to the solar for a drink when Waya stopped him. "Daryl, we should check out the smithy for tools to sharpen the swords and our knives."
"Now?" he frowned.
"Did you have a hot date?" Waya raised his eyebrows.
"Wanted a damn drink, ya damn nosy bastard," he raised his voice.
"Bring the bottle. I'd like one."
He frowned. "Indian's drink? Thought y'all were alcoholics or somethin'."
"I thought all hillbillies were alcoholics?"
Daryl shook his head, went to the solar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and two glasses before he joined Waya in the hall. The man took the glasses and they left the keep.
"Where's Tsula?"
"I put her to bed. Rand said she'd keep an eye out for her."
"Michonne will, too."
He nodded like he expected it. They went inside the smithy and found some tools. Waya took a wet stone and propped it up on one of the wooden tables before he pulled out his knife. "Practice on this. I don't want to ruin the swords," he muttered. Daryl watched for a minute before he started on his own. Waya held up the knife and ran a finger over the edge. "Good." He passed it to him.
"What'cha want me to do?"
"I haven't done this in a long time," he said and waited.
Daryl didn't know what Waya wanted him to do until he gestured with his hand at the knife. Daryl looked it over and ran his finger over the edge. He nodded. They spent the next few hours drinkin' and workin' on them damn swords.
Daryl'd never been much of a talker with anyone but Merle. He was an asshole to other people, like Rick and Glenn and Dale, when he first met 'em. After, on the farm, he started talking more. Carol. Took him a while before he started talkin' to the new people at the prison. He didn't really talk to no one but Aaron and Deanna in Alexandria.
"A cop?" he finally asked the quiet man.
"Reservation cop."
"Where'd you learn?" he questioned later.
"My grandfather. He wanted me to know some of the old ways," he responded. He lifted up the second sword he'd finished, twisting it one way then another in the light. "Handy now."
"Yeah. Handy. You know how to use that?"
Waya put it in the sheath and laid it on the table. "I'll learn."
Waya was satisfied with their progress on the swords. They'd finished four. He'd leave a few dull, for practice. He was sure Rand trusted him to do so. She was a smart woman. Honest. He'd been a cop and thought he could read people fairly well. Daryl and Michonne were good people. A rarity these days. No façade of civilization brought out the worst, sometimes the best, in people, he discovered.
They turned out the light and headed back to the keep. Rand. Interesting woman. He wouldn't mind following her. She was very adept at manipulating people. Adrian, he was sure, would try and test her. He'd lose. She'd known most of what needed to be done, but let them contribute their own ideas.
Tsula had done a complete one eighty on her. Instead of being frightened, she'd talked about the farm, relaying the funny stories of teaching Rand Cherokee. Very good at manipulation. If the woman spoke Russian and Japanese he was sure she'd have no trouble learning any other language. Rand had used today's trip as a bonding session. Adrian wouldn't know what do to.
Daryl decided he didn't mind workin' with Adrian and Waya. He already knew Waya didn't talk a lot. Adrian didn't either. The man hadn't said a word the first day they'd gone out, but he did talk a lot when they were eatin'. They found some rope and he'd climbed the tree, tied a knot and climbed down. They went inside where Waya tied a few rake handles together and tossed it over the wall. It didn't take long and Daryl was surprised. After they each tested it out, they raised the drawbridge up and went down to the farm. They didn't have a lot of food, right now, but they would. Someday. Daryl grunted. It took Rick a few months, after prodding from Hershel, to get a garden started. It took Rick a while to come off the crazy he'd been on after Lori died. As he pulled weeds he wondered what he'da done if the asshole never showed up with that tank. Brought more people in. They'd lost most of 'em during the flu.
He could tell by the sun it was late afternoon before they'd finished. Everythin' had been picked, weeded, turned and watered. Rand stood up and wiped off her hands. "Judging from the state of the greenhouses, they had some type of watering system. Those controls must be the ones we saw in the maintenance shed. They either died or broke."
"Anything else we need to do, Rand?" Tsula asked her.
"You're free to go, Tsula. I'm taking my new sword out and practicing."
"Can I go?"
"You'd have to ask your oncle, Tsula."
"I think we should all go practice," Waya suggested.
Michonne watched as Rand fired a gun in the air and the four of them waited for walkers. Daryl had his crossbow and she had her katana out with Tsula watching from a tree that Waya had placed her in. When they showed up, there were a lot.
"Shit," she heard Seth hiss.
After ten minutes she and Daryl were lucky they weren't dead. They were all over the place with those things. At the first wild swing she and Daryl moved away. When she looked around she saw decapitated walker bodies and heads.
"That could have gone better," Adrian deadpanned.
"You suck," Daryl snorted.
"First time. Yeah. Didn't think this out well," Rand frowned.
Seth wiped his blade on a headless walker shirt while she stabbed the heads.
Waya laughed a little. "We do suck."
"Maybe you should stick to knives," Daryl suggested.
Seth stood up. "Daryl has a point. We suck. We're lucky we didn't kill each other. Or them," he gestured with his sword toward her and Daryl. "Maybe we should stick to knives."
Rand looked at her walker covered sword. "I don't know. I can use a knife but I like the feeling I get from not being near them."
"They do smell," Adrian added.
"Let's finish checking out the moat," Waya nodded to Daryl as he headed for Tsula, before going back to the castle.
"What the hell, Michonne. We was out there with 'em. They suck with those things. Shoulda kept our asses in here," Daryl complained to her as they made dinner. Michonne didn't feel like cooking so she was making one of the large cans of chicken noodle soup.
"We should have. Then we'd have to run this place."
"Ain't takin' no one else in then."
"So it would be me, you and Tsula?"
"Maybe we could find someone else like Rand," he muttered after a few minutes.
"I have a feeling Rand is one of a kind. Like you, Daryl."
He frowned at her. "You makin' fun of me, 'Chonne?"
She shook her head and searched for a large bowl. "No, Daryl, I'm not making fun of you. You are one of a kind. In a good way." She paused. "'Chonne'?"
"You mind?"
She gave him the soup filled tureen before taking bowls and spoons to the dining room. He followed her, putting dinner on the table while she passed out dishes. Everyone ladled their own and dinner was silent. Michonne caught Rand looking at her sword and frowning. She didn't know the woman well, but she knew Rand would be out there practicing again soon.
"The moat's not concrete," Daryl announced at dinner.
Rand looked up from her sword. She was still pissed at her poor performance today. She needed to get good at it. And this wasn't fucking practice for a damn tournament. This was real fucking life.
"Shit. We'll need to keep the fences up then. Figure out a way to make them sturdier," she huffed. All in all, her day today was shitty.
"Why?" Daryl pushed his empty bowl away.
"I don't know where the water is coming from. If it's coming from the moat I don't want to chance eating walker infected food. If it's coming through the local waste water treatment plant, then we should stock the moat." She put her elbow on the table and her face in her palm. "Another thing. We'll need to find out. We have water because of the solar panels. I'm not sure how safe it is either. Some employee could have died and taken a header inside the filtration system."
"Well water?" he suggested.
"Maybe. It doesn't smell like well water to me. You?"
"No. Could have a filtration system here."
"He could have. I wish the bastard had had the blueprints for this place. It would take out a lot of the guesswork. I'm thinking a run to the county assessor's office or something is in my future. I can start there. Then the local utilities."
Adrian finished his dinner in silence. Those are things he never would have thought of. She did. Seth gave him a look he interpreted as 'See? Good leader'. He nodded slightly.
Michonne listened as Rand and Daryl talked about well water and filtration systems. In the prison they pumped it from a barrel after it had been filled up. In Alexandria Deanna didn't once mention anything about the water. They, and she, thought it was like before. Rand thought of it. This woman was different. And she wouldn't go behind Michonne's back.
Daryl shook his head. Rick never thought of none of that shit. Deanna either. At the prison he'd set up a well type system. Someone would get water from the stream and pour it in a barrel. When they was in Alexandria they just took it for granted, like it was before.
"Think we should keep the fences up anyways," Daryl suggested.
"Really? Why?" Rand asked seriously.
"One more layer of protection."
"I had considered it, Daryl. Maybe move them farther away from the moat. More land. I'm not trying to kill us. It would be a massive project. If you'd like to head it, I'd be grateful."
Rand wanted to smile at his deer in the headlights look. "Or we could find other fencing and pull the fences by the moat down. Why don't you think about it and we can discuss it later," she relented and let him off the hook. She stood up. "I have KP. You can just leave the dishes. I'll get them." She took hers and headed for the kitchen.
Rand ruminated on all the shit she needed to do for this place. She didn't want to lead. When she didn't lead things didn't get handled like they should and she lost her place. Fuck this. She was tempted to go to the assessor's office, find what they needed and ride off into the sunset. Find another community that was already set up. Her first place didn't have running water. Her second didn't have running water. Her third had running water but it had been rationed.
Maybe they should try and build their own cistern and catch rain water. Hell, she groaned as she went back and collected the rest of the dishes. Washing them allowed her mind to wander. She never scheduled anyone to work with her doing this. Michonne helped one time when it was just them. After? She made sure she was by herself.
She got up early the next morning, took one of the swords Daryl and Waya didn't sharpen and practiced swinging it. She could kill walkers with a knife. She'd done it many times. She didn't like the chance something could happen and she'd be bit or scratched. She liked killing them from a distance. Hiding was her preference. Then using a gun. Knives were last. The pipe worked but it took too many whacks. Fuck these things.
Adrian stood looking out his window as Rand practiced with a sword. He assumed it was one of the ones they didn't use yesterday. It was heavier than he'd imagined it would be. He didn't know why, but it was and he'd adjusted his swing. It wasn't fencing, which he had done a little of, but there had been too many for his first time using a sword. He almost kissed Michonne and Daryl when they stepped in and helped them. Maybe he should get a katana. Or a short sword. Conan the Barbarian, his buttocks.
Like Rand, he didn't want to use a knife. Maybe a machete would work. Rand should definitely use a sword as she was queen of this castle. The symbolism was fitting. Hell, he should practice, too. He threw on some of the 'Days of Yore' shorts and headed to the dining room, picking up one of the unaltered swords before going outside.
Waya made sure Tsula was alright in the solar before going outside with one of the original swords. He wasn't surprised to see Rand, but he was a little surprised to see Adrian. Standing away from both of them he started swinging. When he first used it yesterday he was using it like a baseball bat. Mistake. It was heavier and he could see he would get tired quickly, so he needed to practice.
Rand should use a sword. She ran this place. She was the queen. The warrior queen. She should also carry a gun, which she did. A sword was more impressive. She should wear it on her back like Michonne did her katana. People would focus on the handle they could see behind her head. He didn't mind using a knife. Better than the pipe.
Seth stepped out of the keep to see three people using swords. He wasn't the only one. He laughed as he noticed they all stayed away from each other. They didn't pay him any attention. He pulled it from the scabbard and started swinging.
Rand was impressive. As she and Daryl discussed water filtration systems and the fencing, he'd shot Adrian a look. She didn't know it, or maybe she did, but she shut his shit down. And made sure they'd all follow her. Daryl and Michonne would have, but she'd just shown them why she should run the place. She should use the sword.
Daryl walked out of the keep to see them four tryin' to use them swords. Should use a knife. They didn't have time for this bullshit. They could kill walkers, he'd seen 'em. She used that wrench pretty damn good. He guessed he understood why Rand didn't wanna use a knife. It's why he liked his crossbow.
He lit up one of his last cigarettes and watched. He watched Rand. He wondered how things would have been different if they'd had her at the prison. She'da made sure the Governor didn't come back. Hell, she'da had them all livin' in Woodbury. If he took her back to Alexandria, she'd be runnin' that, too.
Rand wasn't like Rick. If he took her back she'd let Rick run it. She'd take off at the first sign of trouble and wouldn't look back. He didn't think she'd leave here. Nice place here. Better than any he'd been in. Includin' Alexandria. Moat. Stone walls.
Michonne was in the middle of Adrian and Rand in the truck as they drove to Bridgewater. Rand was staring out the side window. She noticed Rand didn't bring the sword but the pipe she'd been using after the wrench.
"You think we can do this today?" Adrian asked.
"If we bust ass, yes. We should take another truck. I like this one, but it's conspicuous," she responded.
"We'll need petrol."
"Okay."
When they reached town they backed the truck up to the back door and put the car on the street. Adrian knew what everyone needed to do, as they discussed it over breakfast. Daryl, Seth and him would move the heavy items, Tsula would bag the smaller items, such as screws and nails. Rand and Michonne would move what Tsula packed and any items they thought they could lift by themselves while Waya situated everything in the truck. They were starting at the front and moving toward the back, the bigger items going in first.
He and Seth went into the storage room in the back, looking and moving any of the heavier items to the door. He and the other two were working quickly. He kept an ear out, just in case. When he heard the voices he made everyone stop.