When Angels Fall: D.D

7

Waking up next to Riley was still a little strange for Daryl. Sure, the two of them slept in the same bed many times before the world went to hell, but he had gotten used to sleeping on his own when she was in the coma. The first couple months of that happening, Daryl stayed with her in the hospital, but once bills started to pile up, he had to go back to work, but he would still visit her every day since then. Now, he just watched as she slept in the same position she fell in, her hands by her face as her head rested on his arm. 

"The hell you starrin' at, Dixon?" Riley asked, her eyes still closed, a smirk forming on Daryl lips

"My best friend" he replied simply, causing a smirk to form on her lips

". . . Time to get up isn't it?" she asked, moving closer

"Not really" he shrugged slightly "plannin' to go on a hunt in a bit. You in?"

"Does a bear shit in the woods?" she asked, opening her eyes slightly and looking at him

"Not a polar bear" he replied with a smirk

She let out a small chuckle, slowly rolling away from him and sitting up, stretching her arms over her head before going through her bag to get her clothes for the day. Taking off her shirt she was wearing, Riley quickly changed her bra and put on a black wife beater, letting out a low breath as she put some black jeans on over her boy shorts, socks, then her boots. She put her hair in a braid, twisting it into a bun and not caring if the shorter strands fell in front of her face, she just wanted to make sure her hair wasn't in her line of sight. Riley slipped on her vest, putting her quiver over her shoulders and exiting the tent, grabbing her bow on the way out. The sun had yet to rise, everyone else was still asleep, aside from Rick, who was on watch on top of the RV, giving the two a nod when he saw them.

•

Their feet were silent against the forest floor, nothing crunching beneath their boots, bows at the ready. Drawing an arrow back, Riley let out a slow breath through her lips, letting it fly, watching as it pierced a squirrel, causing her to walk over to it and yank it from the tree, cleaning off the arrow and tossing the squirrel to Daryl, who caught it easily. He tied it to a piece of rope that he put around his shoulders, knowing Riley was quicker when it came to reloading, so he let her take most of the kills. The two of them continued to make their way to the woods, stopping when Riley slightly raised her hand, crouching down, causing Daryl to do the same. A buck stood in the small clearing about ten feet from them, Riley looking over to Daryl, almost as if she were asking permission, causing him to give her a small nod. She reached up, pulling an arrow from her quiver, silently notching it into place, drawing it back and aiming for her target.

Another slow breath emitting from her, the buck raising it's head, looking around as it heard a noise that didn't belong. Riley released the arrow, watching as it flew at a fast speed, embedding itself in the eye of the buck, a smirk formed on her lips, the two of them standing from their position, walking over to it. She yanked her arrow from the eye, a satisfied smile forming on her lips, cleaning it off before notching it back into place as Daryl swung his crossbow over his shoulder, bending down and lifting the buck, which caused Riley to take point as they headed back to the farm.

•

"Go nuts" Riley said as Daryl dropped the deer in front of the fire, doing the same with the squirrels

Daryl and Riley walked up to where the men were gathered around the hood of a truck, rocks on the corners of the map to keep it in place.

"We're gonna borrow a horse" Daryl said "get a birds eye view, if she's there we'll spot 'er"

"Maybe while you're out there, you'll see your Chupacabra" Dale said

"The what?" Rick asked in confusion