Light | TWD | Daryl Dixon Fanfiction

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Juliana and Daryl didn't say much else as they trudged after the group. Her feet ached; the skin on the back of her foot had rubbed raw against the leather of her boots, even with a pair of socks in between. Her muscles tighten painfully at each step, but she was hesitant to rest, not only because she did not trust this group, but because she worried that she would never want to get up again.

The sun began to settle down on the horizon, sliding back behind a few dark clouds as darkness started to encroach on them from the opposite direction. They must have finally decided that enough was enough for today and veered off into the woods and off the main road. Daryl stuck close by her side the entire time, their shoulders brushing up against one another as if they were silently reminding each other that they were still there.

"How's your eye?" Daryl muttered, looking out of the corner of his eye for a moment as they both stepped over a tree that had fallen over.

Gingerly, Juliana reached up to touch the corner of her eye and winced. Her shoulders shrugged in reply, "It'll be fine," she assured him. He nodded, though it was obvious to Juliana that something still lingered on his mind. Reaching out, Juliana touched the sleeve of his shirt. "We'll find her," she told him, her voice almost as a whisper. His lips parted, about to speak when the group came to a stop.

"We'll stop here for the night," Joe exclaimed and began barking out a few orders to the men to get their area secured for the night. He came wandering over to Daryl and Juliana, a grin plastered on his face that made Juliana's skin crawl. "You may want to keep an eye on your girl. The boys here have been..pretty..lonely lately." Daryl's jaw clenched and an almost primal growl rolled out of her throat.

"Sure thing."

**

While the rest of the group chattered among themselves, Daryl and Juliana tried their best to distance themselves from them. He had sat down with his back against a broad oak tree, eyes on the small group of men that was in front of him. Every time they had offered him to come over, he would shake his head and decline. Juliana sat off to his side, her back against the other side of the tree. Her stomach rumbled and twisted uncomfortably from hunger, but she didn't dare try to find something to eat.

The sounds of the forest surrounded them, causing Juliana's head to bop and her eyes to fall shut for a moment. Daryl must have felt her jump back and looked over his shoulder at her.

"Sleep," he murmured, "I'll watch out for ya."

Her hand reached up, rubbing at the corners of her eyes to try and keep herself awake. Her lips parted, about to speak before he cut her off, "They ain't gonna mess with me."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she gave it a squeeze before letting it drop back down to her side. Shuffling downwards, Juliana wrapped her arms around her waist and leaned her head back against the tree. It wasn't long before the distant sounds of insects and hooting of faraway owls lulled her into sleep, though the anxiety and uneasiness of the group she and Daryl had found still lingered in the pit of her stomach.

**

A hand on her shoulder shaking her awake quickly brought Juliana back to reality. Her eyes snapped open and she jolted forward, her fingers wrapping around the wrist of her would-be attacker. She was lucky, once her sleep-filled eyes focused onto Daryl's face. Her heart, which had been ready to jump out of her chest, began to slow. Releasing her fingers from around his wrist, she mumbled an apology to him, running her hands down her face.

Daryl apologized as well, mumbling something about how he shouldn't have woken her like that. Juliana glanced over to the group, noticing that they were still asleep, and looked back to Daryl who had stood, crossbow in hand.