LABYRINTH | TWD

1. Day of a Farmer

A redhead girl bounded down a small hill, a brown haired boy right on her heels.

The girl lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, coming to a stop for a moment. The boy stopped next to her, both of them exchanging a quick glance before making their way down the rest of the hill, over to where a man stood, looking over an animal pen.

"What's up with Violet?" Dakota asked, draping herself over the railing and leaning her chin on her arms as she observed the animal within.

Rick sighed tiredly, running a hand down his face, "I thought I told you kids not to name them. They- they're not piglets anymore. They're food."

"I didn't," Carl piped up, "I tried to, but Kota didn't like any of the names I suggested."

Kota threw him a dirty look, "What kind of a name is 'Agatha' for a pig?" She quipped.

Carl pointed a finger at her dramatically, "See?" He whined to his father, "How do my suggestions even stand a chance when she's like this?"

Despite his attempts to hide his amusement, Rick huffed out a laugh, turning his head to the side and trying to cover it up as a cough.

"Well?" The redhead prompted, lolling her head to the side to look up at the man, "What's going on with, Violet?"

Rick sighed again, leaning his forearms against the railing beside the girl, "I don't know," He answered honestly, "Could be sick, could be nothing."

The three fell into a silence for a few moments, looking out at the animal that was practically unmoving from where it lay in the corner of the pen.

"Feel better..." The older Grimes called out after a moment, "Violet."

Dakota turned up to him, a large grin on her face.

Rick smiled down affectionately in return, reaching out and ruffling her hair with a small chuckle, "Come on, let's get to it."

The young girl huffed, reaching up and trying to smooth her hair back out.

And just like that, the three began their daily farm routine.

In all honesty, Kota hated farming. She wanted to be out there, going on runs, helping people.

Despite this, though, she kept her feelings to herself.

After everything that Rick had done for her, she felt as though it was the least she could do- after he had taken care of her, took her in as his own, for the past year or so.

She felt as though she owed him more than she could ever give back, which was true.

He had looked out for her, saved her life, kept her fed and never gave up on her- even though she wasn't his own kid.

Through everything. Their first camp. Atlanta. The CDC. The Greenes farm. And now the prison. Rick had never once done anything to imply that Dakota wasn't wanted nor needed in his little family.

Even after he found his real family when the two first met, he carried on treating Dakota as if she were his own. And that is something that she could never repay, no matter how much she wished she could.

For now, though, she felt as though the least she could do was help Rick with the farm he had created when he wanted to 'step down' without any arguments.

The three of them always spent their mornings like this, out in the field, doing whatever it was that Rick deemed necessary to do for the day.

"These leaves are gonna be in the shade, so we won't get any good fruit from it." Hershel explained a little while later, the two children and Rick kneeled in the dirt around him as he showcased the plant he was talking about, "These little bristles, they'll take root, and we'll have a whole new plant."