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Find Henry, Save Lydia, And Maybe Take A Shower

(3rd POV)

It had been mostly silent while the downsized group searched for Henry and Lydia, their brains so focused that they didn't find much need to talk. But with the rising sun, it only made it so much easier to track their movements.

"Take a long look, tell me what you see." Daryl muttered as he stopped in front of scuffled footprints. Belle crouched by his feet, squinting as she figured it out. The leaves were all out of place and messed up, long sweeps in the dirt from where shoes had been dragged.

"There was a struggle. He must've caught up to them." She determined, standing back up again. Daryl nodded quickly, his lips pressed together to stop them twitching into a proud smile. All he did was pat Belle's shoulder lightly, keeping his eyes on the tracks.

"Good job." He offered, causing her to give an amused eye roll. She knew he struggled with displaying affection, but she could always tell when it was there.

Belle followed the tracks closely, her footsteps quiet as she walked further away from Daryl and Connie. The woman hadn't known them for very long, but she already had a good sense of what their relationship was like.

She tapped Daryl's shoulder lightly, her fingers scribbling across her small notebook. 'She's yours?' Connie presented her question, prompting him to give the same proud nod.

"Yeah-" He was cut off by a startled yelp, his eyes immediately going to the source. He couldn't see much from where he was standing, but it didn't take a genius to figure out Belle had clumsily slipped into the ditch. He met Connie's eyes again with a shrug. "She's adopted."

Dog barked from his daughter's side, nudging her urgently before circling a familiar looking stick. She rubbed her back in pain as she stood up, taking the weapon into her hands.

"It's Henry's." She told Daryl and Connie as they stood over her, passing it up to the man. "We must be getting close."

»« »« »« »«

The fire crackled as I threw a brittle stick into the flame, watching the low embers increase for only a second. It wasn't much, but it was enough to cook whatever Daryl brought back from hunting. It really must've been a while since I was out here if I forgot to pack food.

Connie sat on the rotting tree stump to my side, picking at the bark as she got lost in her thoughts. I noticed her blink hard, seemingly shaking out of the daze as she brought out her pen and paper.

'How'd you meet?' She smiled softly as my eyes scanned the page, my lips automatically returning it at the memories.

"It was a long time ago, when I was a kid. I grew up in this world and I owe it to him that I'm even still here." I replied, the twig between my fingers bending as I gripped it. "When I was brought into the group he scared the shit outta me, but now he's some of the only family I've got left."

My curious legs wandered from the camp, taking slow and careful steps to the outskirts. I had finally introduced myself to everyone in this group, except the redneck brothers set up a little distance away. They didn't seem too involved in the group, preferring to stay out of the way and handling themselves. It only made me more intrigued.

The tent was small and dark forest green, perfect for camping in the trees. There was a small bundle of charred sticks in the dirt, the picked-clean bones of an animal, most likely a squirrel, cast to the side. I figured they were good at hunting based on the array of wildlife skins hanging over the tarp.