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WINTER IS HARSH, freezing your body until it is all numb. Nowadays, you have no heat except the layers of clothes on your body and that isn't much. Aria has a long sleeve shirt and a jacket keeping her warm, it barely helps but she's not worried about herself.
Rushing into the abandoned house, Aria clutches her knife in her hand, slowly walking into a room. A walker stumbles towards her and she raises the knife, plunging it through its eye. Daryl has been training her these past three months. The group was scared to let her go on runs or anything but now, she's a huge help. She's been begging Daryl for months to teach her how to use the crossbow but he hasn't budged.
The two have grown close, they always make sure the other is okay. Sure, Aria's feeling have grown—a lot but she doesn't want to lose the friendship they have. Daryl's different around her, he's more readable and open. Aria has also grown close to the one part of the Greene family, Hershel is like a father to her and the three girls talk occasionally.
Aria walks into the small living room, handing Lori the bottle of peanut butter she had found. Every food Aria gets, she hands it over to Lori. She barely gets to eat but she's okay with it, as long as the baby is born healthy, she's fine. Aria leans against the wall, exhaustion taking over her body. The group rarely has time to sleep, she's honestly surprised they're even alive right now. There's barely any food, shelter or time left anymore.
Carl saunters into the living room, baring two cans, sparking hope in the group. But hope dies down in Aria as she recognizes the label of the can; dog food. Running a hand over her face in frustration, her eyes trail over to the owl in Daryl's hand. It's not that big so the group isn't going to get to have much of it. Aria flinches slightly as a can thumps loudly against the wall, Rick looking around the group, his hope dying. It's hard to have hope when you can see your group is slowly dying.
T-Dog leans forward, grabbing his weapon and motioning towards the window. Walkers stagger through the grass, heading towards the house. Groaning, Aria pulls her knife out of her holster, walking after the group. They haven't been able to find a place in three months and it's frustrating.
♚ ♛
Aria stares at the huge prison in front of her, her eyes twinkling with hope. Walkers wobble in the front yard of the prison, Aria already forming a plan in her head. "Alright—we have to close that gate over there to prevent anymore walkers from filling in. So I say, we have two people on each tower shooting down some of the walkers while the rest go over there, distracting them from the runner."
The group usually looks to Aria for plans now and it's kinda stressful for her because if a plan isn't executed right, someone could die and it would be her fault. Rick nods, looking around the group. "I'll do it." Glenn volunteers to be the runner and Maggie shakes her head, hating the idea of her boyfriend going on a suicide run. "No. It's a suicide run." Aria is jealous of their relationship, it's literally a perfect relationship in an imperfect world.
"No, you, Maggie, Beth, T-Dog and Aria draw as many as you can over there." Rick demands, pointing towards the spot Aria had told him. "Daryl, go back to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot—take your time. We don't have a lot of ammo to waste." Carol nods and her and Daryl begin there way over towards the tower. "Hershel, you and Carl take this tower. I'll run for the gate."
The small group of six head over to the fence, screaming at the walkers. Running her knife along the fence, Aria whistles loudly, attracting a walker over towards her. As it shoves it's rotting face onto the fence, Aria pushes her knife through its call, the body sliding off the blade. "Over here!" She yells, doing a quite bit of cheering. Pushing her knife through the hole of the fence, another walker falls to the ground.
Walkers push against the fence as the group of six work to kill them off quickly. Her steel knife is not covered with blood from the corpses and she shoves her knife through the skull near them, it being the last walker near them. "Light it up!" Aria drops her knife before pulling out her pistol, cocking it. She pulls the trigger, watching as a body drops to the ground before turning towards another one, repeating the action. Gunshots echo through the air as everyone shoots down the walkers.
With just one more walker roaming around, a bullet flies through the air before striking it though the brain the last walker limply falling to the ground. Aria grabs the two Greene sisters, bringing them into a tight hug. "We did it." She whispers, their arms wrapping around her. "Let's go." Aria stuffs her gun in her leg holster, leaning down to pick up her knife. She sheaths her knife, walking into the large field, delight covering her face.
♚ ♛
After handing Lori the rest of her food, Aria grabs a few pieces, setting it into a bowl before heading over towards Daryl. Daryl crouches down, grabbing onto her hand, helping her climb up onto the sideways vehicle. "Thanks." She mutters, handing him the bowl of meat. He gently takes it from her hand, taking a piece out before shoving it in his mouth. "You ate?" He asks, motioning towards the bowl. Aria nods, her head leaning back to look up at the twinkling stars.
Yeah, she ate but she didn't eat much. "Do this think this could be the place?" She questions, turning to look over at him. Daryl licks his lips before shrugging. "I don't know. Anything could happen." Lowering her eyes down to her shoes, Dale's words from a few months ago repeats in her mind. "You and Daryl—if anything is blossoming between y'all. Go for it. You never know what could happen."
She closes her eyes before opening them, a small sigh escaping her lips. "Can I tell you something?" She asks, biting her lip. Daryl raises his eyebrows before nodding, eating another piece of the meat. "I like—" Carol pulls herself up onto the truck, looking between the two. "Hey" She breathes out and Aria sends the woman a tight-lipped smile before clearing her throat. "Oh god—I just heard Hershel call for me. Got to go." She quickly says, climbing off of the vehicle and walking over to the group, mumbling profanities.
