𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 ➪ «𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛»

ch. XI - 《straight up fucking shit up》

oOo

Diana's stomach was too unsettled for her to do anything more than pick at her food. The pure anxiety churning inside her showed on the surface. It was visibly evident to her family.

Felix and Alice knew the reason, of course, and after the third time asking, so did her parents.

Oh, Sam didn't like it, no sir, he didn't. He ranted about how she wasn't allowed to do it and reminded her how she was still forbidden from ever stepping within a 6 feet radius of Daryl and Merle. He could get a bit dramatic in his scolding.

Irene began seeing the light when Diana called to attention that they were all part of the same camp and Diana was the official/unofficial nurse. She would eventually have to do with them, so Sam shouldn't get carried away.

That argument only sent Sam on a roll on how she shouldn't even be doing that, to begin with. She didn't owe anyone anything and so on. Diana ended up having to defend her position. She liked what she did, it gave her a sense of purpose and usefulness.

The discussion ended rather abruptly, with Sam storming off, yelling out his typical catchphrase about him never being able to say anything in this family. He left them rolling their eyes at his familiar antics.

Irene assured Diana that she understood where she was coming from and that she would try to make Sam hear the voice of reason. She also warned her to be cautious and get the hell out if the Daryl ever "got too friendly".

So yeah, add that to Diana's messy pile of Things That Could Go Wrong. Along with her making an ass of herself due to a bow malfunction or accidentally shooting Daryl in the ass. Or just totally sucking at the whole archery stuff in general, among other totally plausible things that weren't the product of her anxious brain whatsoever.

She was mostly concerned about how she'll ask him.

She formulated and reformulated the same basic question in her mind over and over again. Different variations in approach and tone and casualty and posture and gesticulation. To each scenario, she imagined possible answers and reactions from his side and how she would respond in accordance. And so on and on and on.

oOo

Diana gave her mom her empty plastic plate. She had finished up only by obligation and the knowledge that she would never be stupid to the point of skipping a meal in this time and age. Nausea could pass, starvation wouldn't.

With a wavering grateful smile, she stood to her full height, trying to draw in strength and courage with every deep breath. Her stomach rebelled against the food and she brought a hand to her mouth. Alice patted her stomach with a half-hearted "There, there."

A final deep exhale that she didn't want to think of as a desperate sigh and she fetched her bow from their shared tent. It felt like it trembled nervously in her hands, or maybe that was just her.

"Hey, break a leg. Figurative or metaphorical is up to you," was Alice's idea of a pep talk, which Diana accepted with a blank face and two unexcited thumbs up.

Felix slammed a fist onto his open palm. "Just do it, bro. Just do it."

"You two are the best at this," Diana breathed out, not very surprised, and turned to her mom. "How 'bout you, mami, got some great insight to offer too? Some amazing advice?"

Irene shrugged and scraped inedible leftovers off a plate into a plastic bag. "I already said what I had to say."

"Thanks, okay, I'm-"

"But I guess it doesn't hurt to tell you again: pelo amor de Deus, please be careful."

"Mami-"