Wings

Watchman

"There is nothing like the thrill of walking through the jungle looking for a tiger and knowing they could be watching you already." —Ashlan Gorse Cousteau

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REMY

Stepping into the cellblock was intimidating. The leader, Rick, showed her to a cell near the end of the row and explained that dinner was in a few hours and they usually all ate in the cafeteria together.

Remy immediately liked the man. He seemed friendly and open, nothing like Daryl, but she could see that he too, was a survivor. She could tell that behind the wide toothy smile he gave her, he was a wolf. And not in a bad or sinister way. This was a man who would move heaven and earth to keep his people safe. Truthfully, she felt rather blessed to have happened upon Daryl and by extension, this group.

Then he left her to settle in. But she just...couldn't. The contrast of the warmth and beauty of the open woods and the hard, cold cell was overwhelming. So Remy stood there at the door, bag over her shoulder, trying to will herself to enter.

"Gets easier. Sleepin' in a cage."

She hadn't even heard Daryl approach, and he was already walking away before she could turn around.

The longer she looked at the thin mattress over the bunk, the easier it became to enter. And she did. Finally throwing her bag on the floor, she sat on the edge of the mattress. She swung her feet up, crossed at the ankles, and before she knew it, she had fallen  into a deeper sleep than she had known in months.

—-

DARYL

Daryl was near the fence, in the quiet, watching out over the yard, and he was watching the newcomer. It had been a few days now and they had yet to discuss her permanence. Despite that, she was fitting in well. It didn't hurt that the dog was a favorite in the prison.

She made fast friends with Beth and Maggie. Even Michonne was starting to warm to her, though she spent little time at the prison these days. She had eaten in the cafeteria, and instead of sitting on the outskirts, she sat at the main table amongst the crew as if she had always been there. That fact alone made the man a bit uncomfortable. Was that even normal outside of an apocalypse? Daryl still didn't think the girl was a plant by the Governor, and he was a good judge of character, but he wouldn't let his guard down any time soon.

These people were his people. He had almost lost himself. If not for them, he would have. They were his family now. He'd be damned if he'd lose anyone else.

Glenn and Maggie had already asked about including her on a run. Daryl'd shot that down quickly. *pun intended, I'm not sorry* They didn't know anything about her yet, or her skills, so why would they risk it? She could get them all killed.

Remy didn't seem to mind. She stayed busy most days doing the laundry or reading to the kids with Beth. Judith was still too young to appreciate the content, but she stayed quiet while the girl read. She did voices, acting sometimes, the whole nine yards.

She hadn't lied about being a singer either. He had heard a bit of a song while she did laundry the day before. He didn't mind her being free to roam the prison, but he needed a pair of eyes on her. Even now, he could hear her haunting voice as she quietly sang to herself, the stone walls of the prison carrying the sound:

"There's a land that is fairer than day
And by faith we can see it afar
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there

In the sweeeeet by and by
We shall meet on that beautiful shore...."

Daryl wondered idly if she knew anything that wasn't a hymn. It was weird; the way it quieted him. Daryl doubted that if he ever saw Merle again it'd be on some 'beautiful shore'. Even so, Daryl remembered how Merle had listened intently as Beth sang that night when they  were all reunited. Hold On by Tom Waits.  If Merle was anywhere waiting for him, Daryl hoped there was music. And whiskey. Merle'd like that.

The dog, Dax, was great though. The people at the prison needed to smile a bit. Especially with all they lost in the Governor's attack. And, he helped keep the number of rats down.

Daryl was ready to end the Governor and he knew Michonne was too. He was still out there. He wondered how Rick could sleep for the knowing, but they hadn't told the new girl yet. Remy. Her name was Remy. He wondered how long it would take for that to stick.

He knew that he had brought her; she was his responsibility. But he just couldn't allow himself to help her much or to get to know her. When he looked at her, he saw just another corpse. She was different here, inside the gates of the prison. When she was with Beth, or with the children, she looked like just another child. Her eyes, her easy smile...she was like an open book. Those qualities weren't exactly suited to the times. In the forest, he thought, she seemed....tough? He wouldn't have described her that way, if she hadn't backed Merle down the way she had.

Merle.

Nope. Enough of that. Let Rick keep an eye on the girl. Time to go hunting.

He followed his trail to the north of the prison and lost himself for a time.