to her, the world was silent.
she couldn't hear the birds sing, the leave rustling in the breeze, the crashing of a waterfall.
she couldn't hear the pained cries, the moans of the dead, the sound of the knife breaking through skin.
whether she was b...
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HARLEY TIED HER SWEATSHIRT AROUND HER WAIST,
Warmer weather was coming to Georgia, signalling that spring had come. Which she was grateful for, since she despised the cold weather so much.
She stepped over the branches, heading back towards the prison with squirrels and rabbits attached to the rope that looped around her shoulder,
Harlow had went to the cabin early that morning since Nora nor Daryl were around. She grabbed the packets of flower seeds that she left there weeks ago before finding a shovel in the closet. She spent the morning digging outside the cabin and marking down a garden,
By midday, all the seeds were planted, she put the shovel back inside before gazing up at the sky, hoping that it would rain soon. She didn't want to wait to see the kinds of colours that would come from the petals.
She once had a foster mother that loved to plant flowers. She had rose bushes in her backyard that she let Harley tend to. That was the only nice foster parent Harley ever had. She even went through the effort to send her to ASL classes.
Harley cried when she was dragged from that house.
But it made her appreciate flowers a lot more. Every time she saw a rose, she would think of the sweet older lady who took her in.
Which is why she planted the seeds. To bring some more beauty into this ugly, cruel world.
Harlow glanced down in the soil, spotting some fresh tracks. She bent down a little closer and could make out the hoof of a deer.
With a small smile, she began to follow the prints through the woods. Maybe she could track down the deer that she scared away last time her and Daryl were out there.
She was only following the animal for what seemed like a half hour before she spotted a bush shaking out of the corner of her eye.
Harley gripped the handle of her knife, ready to unsheath it and fight off any threat.
Before she could see what it was, an arm pulled her back. Harley gasped as her back was pressed against a tree. Before she could pull her knife out, a hand covered her mouth.
Her wide eyes met Daryl's piercing blue ones as he motioned for her to stay quiet. He squeezed her wrist before stepping around the tree, raising his crossbow and firing.
There was a thud and Harley felt the being hit the ground. Daryl walked forward towards the bushes and she followed, stopping when he stopped.
On the ground, with an arrow sticking out of its' head, was the deer.
Harley grinned and looked up at the hunter. He shook his head at her and moved to grab the bolt from the deer's body, cleaning it on his jeans before putting it back on his crossbow, "What are you doing out here by yourself?"
She motioned to the animal, "Looking for your deer."
Daryl rolled his eyes with a small smirk on his face. He set his crossbow down before taking out his hunting knife and degutting the deer.
Harley kept a hand on her knife, keeping an eye out for any walkers. She knew that the stench of the guts coming from the deer was going to attract critters. Dead and alive.
She spotted a walker yards away and she went to take it down before it got too close. Harley gasped as a hand reached out from the bushes and gripped her ankle. With a grunt, she held the first walker back while she lifted her foot to bring down on the second walker's head.
She lost her balance and fell backwards, landing harshly on the ground. Harley quickly jammed her blade into the skull of the walker before flinging it to the ground next to her. Before she had a chance to catch her breath, Harley kicked the other walker away, slamming her heel into its' head.
Harley felt the vibration underneath her fingers before she spotted Daryl running over to her. He pulled her up to a sitting position. She tried to sign that she was okay, but he pushed her hands away and began checking her arms and legs for any bites or scratches.
Daryl brushed the loosed strands that fell from her ponytail away from face before cupping her cheeks, "Yer okay?" His eyes searched her crystal blue ones,
She nodded, squeezing his wrists lightly before he moved to help her up. The two moved back to the deer and Daryl handed her his crossbow before lifting the deer over his shoulder.
Harley stayed a few steps ahead of him, aiming with the crossbow every once in a while, to kill any walkers that got near while Daryl did the hard work of dragging the deer back.
Once they got within eye sight of those on watch, the people on the fence began to distract the walkers near the entrance while Daryl and Harley were able to get to the gates.
People nodded with thanks and appreciation as they made their way to the empty courtyard they use to skin the animals,
Harley sat down on the bench, and set the animals she caught on the table while Daryl hung the deer up.
The duo began to skin the animals, Daryl glancing over at Harley every once in a while. He began to think about what Nora had said to him the day before,
He wasn't one for relationships. Never wanted to be in one, only had drunken one night stands that Merle had forced on him.
But he... liked being around Harley. Every morning, he sought her out. She was quiet, but loud. She stood out from the crowd in his eyes. Daryl liked the way she looked at him, like there was no one else around. As if he stood out to her.
He didn't know if he wanted to be in a relationship with her, but he did know he yearned to just be in her presence.
And that's something he's never felt before. But he didn't know what to do about it.
Is it something to push down? Or let out? He didn't want to scare her off. Or risk what they had already.
Once Harley finished with her work, she stood and went to help Daryl with the rest of the deer. They set some meat aside to bring to the smoke house while the other portion was going to go to Carol to make dinner and possibly breakfast for the community,
Daryl watched as Harley meticulously carved at the meat, her tongue sticking out from between her teeth as she concentrated.
He swallowed nervously and continued working on his side of the deer.
Once they had finished, Daryl took the heavy container while Harley took the lighter one and they headed towards the gazebo,
"Nice catch." Carol smirked as they set containers full of meat down on the counter,
"All Harley." Daryl told her while also signing for the girl next to him,
Harlow rolled her eyes, "He shot the deer."
"She did most of the work." He said, hoping she couldn't read his lips,
Harley playfully pushed Daryl before signing 'see you later' to Carol and heading towards the doors.
Daryl watched after her and Carol shook her head at the man, "What?"
"How she's absolutely clueless is beyond me." Carol smirked, "You're absolutely smitten."
"Shut up." Daryl mumbled before walking away,
"Face it, Dixon!" Carol called after him, "You're whipped!"
