Walking Dead Wizard

Chapter 79

Merle claimed his seat next to Luna, letting out a contented sigh, fully relaxing for the first time since they'd gone out this morning. Whenever they stepped foot outside, that was him on the defensive, tense and alert, ready for any threat that could come there way, worrying regardless of whether they had magic at their beck and call. Not all wizards and witches had made it out alive, so he didn't depend on it to keep Luna safe, all it took was one lack of judgment call and that would be it. The feeling of something ice cold on his hand brought him out of his thoughts, to find Luna handing him a can of beer. He smirked at her in thanks; he noticed she had a Butterbeer in her hand.

If only his da could see him now, Merle thought inwardly snorting to himself. He wasn't the same person he had been over a year ago. He hadn't really given a shit about anyone back then, just his next fix and where his next drink was coming from occasionally bringing back hookers trying to entice his brother. Most of the time ending up in some form of shit and ending up in prison before hunting Daryl down and start the process all over again. Try any of the shit he pulled back in he day, Luna would have his ass, she was one hell cat, saying what she wanted, what she thought, not caring about what others thought and extremely loyal. Man, she was beautiful, powerful, and quite vindictive too. He had no idea why she was with him, he was twenty years her senior, but she made him feel young, not just physically but mentally as well. He felt things for her that he hadn't experienced before in his life.

Anger, disgust, prejudice, pain, hurt, jealousy self-disgust, these were the only emotions he'd ever known from a young age. The only positive emotions had been possessiveness and love for his baby brother. He may have tried to entice him with hookers but he'd never wanted Daryl to settle down, to have a family for fear of being left behind. He'd convinced Daryl that he was the only one that would ever care. In this harsh world, he hadn't truly been lying, but he had said it out of insecurity when he was high as fuck.

But with Luna, he experienced a whole plethora of emotions he wasn't familiar with, without realizing it he had begun to feel whole. In the beginning, he had fought the initial feelings but his little moon was just irresistible. He'd always had a thing for blondes, and Luna was the whole package, beautiful, smart, and talented, with a mouth on her that made him genuinely laugh in ways only Daryl sometimes could.

Yes, he'd changed; he could fully admit that he could just imagine all the things his Da would have said if he could see him. The feeling of Luna leaning against him brought him back, back before his Da's words could grow like seeds and sow insecurity in him. His Da was dead, and ain't nobody gonna mourn him, he was a bastard all his life, hell if he had found those scars on Daryl and he was still alive he woulda killed him with his bare hands. This was his life, and he was gonna live it while he could, if anything happened he ain't going down with regrets.

Merle looked around at the ever expanding group, Big Tiny, Oscar, Axel and Tyreese had put up a heavy duty gazebo tent thing. Probably had a fancy name, but Merle didn't know its name, he'd never seen one outside of pictures of fancy houses he'd gone by traveling with his brother in the truck or motorbike. They'd put it in the street so they could continue their tradition, of sitting outside at night even in the rain. It extended to the garden covering both sides of the road, it was a good thing they didn't use the road. Not that it mattered; they had couches and seats out here that never got moved anyway. The large pit in the middle was alight flames crackling with coal and newspaper burning up.

Wrapping his arm around Luna, he drank his beer as he observed everyone as was his natural instinct that he never stopped. The kids were huddled together on the floor, reading from one of Harry or Luna's books on creatures. Making the most comical faces when they turned the pages, not that he would admit that on pain of death. All of them were different from when he first met them, Sophia most of all, then Carl the least changed would be Patrick. Back then he would have thought none of them would survive, same with Carol, but damn, he wasn't sure what Harry had said to them to inspire them the way they had.