Wings

Forest Song

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air." —Ralph Waldo Emerson

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REMY

Remy was up before the sun, but not the hunter. She quickly packed her bag, being careful not to forget her hatchet and hack saw. She had faith that it would be a successful hunt.

With her hammer secured in her belt loop, and her knife on her hip, she went in search of Daryl. She didn't have to go very far. From the darkness at the end of the block, he silently approached.

" 'Bout time" he grumbled.

She didn't let it bother her. Nothing could ruin her mood today. She practically skipped to the gate. She may have ACTUALLY skipped there, but she didn't want to annoy Daryl more than she was bound to.  She was ready for the hike, and more than ready to watch the man at work.

Before they even hit the tree line, Daryl was tracking. She didn't even seem embarrassed when he caught her looking.

"Jus' look for anything that don't belong. Don't seem right."

And she did. There was plenty of animal sign. Raccoon here, possum there. Nevertheless, they were hunting big game. She kept her eyes open.

Eventually it was decided to make a straight shot to the river to camp, and once that was settled, look for sign.

"Animals all gotta drink" Daryl explained.

Remy wasn't an idiot, but she said nothing. She had come out to learn after all. He meant no harm, she told herself.

Remy felt half dead on her feet by the time the river was in view. Her companion found a relatively clear, flat spot nearby and immediately began to set up camp.

She went to gather firewood, and only ran into one Walker. She quickly put it down with her hammer. It was amazing how all the exposure to them at the prison had helped her. Seeing the others work helped too. She had been so afraid, and now she knew that in small numbers, the monsters were at a disadvantage. They were slow and clumsy and single minded.

She got back as Daryl was stringing the cans around camp.

"You ready?"

She wasn't. Not really. How could the man hike for hours, set up camp and then immediately want to do more hiking? "Yep!" she answered.

"Stay close to me an' quiet, but be careful of the trail. Don't get in my way."

"You got it! Lead the way!"

Along the way, Remy found tons of mushrooms, but most of them had white gills or dark spots on the white caps, so she left those be.

When she started seeing acorns, she knew they were onto something. She alerted Daryl needlessly. She tapped his elbow. "Acorns" she told him. He simply nodded. He had probably spotted the tree ages beforehand. Remy could barely tell one from another, just that pine trees were like telephone poles.

There was plenty of deer sign, but they were starting to lose the sun. Remy was certainly running out of steam. To her great relief, Daryl spoke.