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"DARLIN', YOU'RE AIMIN' TOO LOW."
Murphy squinted her left eye shut as she stared down the crossbow's scope. Soft even breaths left her plush lips as she locked sight on the innocent squirrel foraging in the brush a good distance away. She had always hated the idea of hunting for sport. Back when the world was in full function, she had made the decision to become vegetarian after reading into the horrors of the meat industry. But as much as she despised harming this poor squirrel, she supposed it was the circle of life (and that had surely been disrupted beyond repair since the world went to shit...).
"That's cause it's too heavy," she whispered to Daryl in response, eliciting a quiet chuckle from the archer. "How do you lift this thing?"
She grunted as she pulled the weapon tighter against her right shoulder, using her left hand to prop it higher. She never had impressive upper body strength and now realized why Daryl had such gorgeous arms... but she digressed. She blew away the strands of hair that fell before her eyes as she attempted to focus on the task at hand.
"'N you gotta angle your shoulders more. You're too square, ya see?" Daryl whispered softly in her ear.
His breath brushed against the dip of her neck. She involuntarily shivered in response, and Daryl could feel it against his chest as he moved closer behind her. His large hands fell to her waist and he pulled her right side against him. And as his fingers peaked beneath her shirt, Murphy's finger fell tight upon the crossbow's trigger. The arrow flew from the weapon and speared the dirt about 5 inches from the unsuspecting squirrel, who bolted into the brush for dear life.
Murphy groaned in frustration and whirled around in her spot to shove Daryl in the chest with her free hand. He stumbled back with a smug smirk on his face.
"You dick. That was your fault," she muttered sternly, but a smile still tugged on her lips. "You're a distraction."
She pushed the crossbow into his arms and turned away before she felt any more drawn to him. Daryl watched with a grin that didn't seem to fall as she bent down to pick up her pack. He adjusted the bow so that he held it by its handle with his right hand only, letting it hang at his side.
"I dunno what you're talkin' 'bout."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Murphy muttered with a crooked simper as she took the hair tie off her wrist and pulled her hair back loosely.
Daryl smiled sweetly and lifted his hand up to show about a centimeter of space between his pointer finger and thumb. "You were this close, baby. Next time. You were only a few inches off, ya know."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't remind me!" Murphy playfully called over her shoulder as she hiked toward where the arrow had landed in the dirt. "I could have gotten him if you hadn't felt me up."
