RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

the protection pact

SHE WRAPPED THE ELASTIC tight around the bun on the top of her head, pulling at the edges of it to loosen it a bit. Looking into the mirror, she began to second guess her choice of clothing. She tugged a bit at the black sweater that hugged her body like a glove. Her black leggings, too, that were nearly skin tight. She wiggled her foot around in the boots she opted for instead of her regular combats, and they were a tight fit. She looked like a shadowy nightmare, but the air outside was frigid, and it was all she had left that was remotely clean.

"How's this?" Sienna asked as she trailed back into the room.

Willow glanced at her in the reflection of the mirror before turning to her with a smile. She wore a dainty brown dress with a black long sleeve underneath, and the same brown boots Willow had found her a few months back. "You're gonna wear a dress?"

She peeked around Willow and looked at herself in the mirror with glimmering eyes. "I don't ever get to dress up."

"Your legs are gonna be cold." Willow retorted, brushing her fingers through Sienna's long hair. 

She hummed to herself and let Willow tie up her hair in two long braids that fell over both shoulders. 

"You have anything you want to bring?" Willow finished tying the last braid before stepping back a bit and surveying her in the mirror.

Sienna nodded with a grin. "Sibby and I made some more paintings. I think the King and Ms. Carol would really like one of them."

"Yeah?" Willow grinned back, watching her daughter hurry out of the room and come back in with a small canvas.

She looked at it for a second before turning it and holding it out for Willow to see. She was a bit surprised to see how well painted it was, and she could tell exactly who it was that she had painted. It was a portrait that almost looked abstract, but she could clearly see the long dreads with a feather embedded into Ezekiel's hair, the long grey locks of Carol, and the young boy that wielded a stick- Henry.

"Sienna, this is really good." She said truthfully. She could hardly take her eyes away from it.

Sienna shrugged. "Sibby helped me. I couldn't remember certain details."

"Speaking of, is she ready?"

Sienna turned her head slightly and yelled out of the door. "Sibby!"

Willow pinched between her brows as she heard footsteps come rumbling down the hallway. Sibby squeezed into the room with an armful of papers and more canvases, nearly dropping a few.

"You could help, you know." She huffed with a playful annoyance.

Willow chuckled and grabbed a few from her overfilled arms. "Let's go load these up. You both will be riding with Alden and Enid while we clear out the road."

Sibby snickered to Sienna as they skipped down the staircase and practically busted through the front door, heading straight to Alden and his wagon.

-

Their three wagons came to a stop as they approached the fallen tree they were going to clear. It completely blocked the road that would take them straight to the fair. 

Willow hopped out of one of the wagons and grabbed one of the axe's they brought. "Let's get it clear before Alden's convoy gets here."

Yumiko and Magna hopped down from their wagon and nodded. "We'll set up a perimeter."

Willow grabbed a few sticks to start, tossing them off the road and into the woods.

Kelly stepped over to Tara, rubbing her hands together anxiously. "Is there anything I can do? I'm kinda going crazy over here."