Flip Side {Daryl Dixon}

{Smoke Signals}

"I think we've gotten far 'nough." Merle called as he slowed to a halt between a tree that had split into a deep V trunk. Azolla paused and turned to face him with wide eyes and a jittery stance.

"You're fucking joking, right? We were almost eaten alive by motherfucking cannibals! We barely escaped with our lives and you want to stop? Here?" The older Dixon huffed a few breaths and nodded as he turned to find a place to hunker down and hide for the night.

"Yeah, that's what I said. It's gettin dark and we'll have to wait close by fer ghost-y to catch up."

"I am not putting my life at risk for anyone, not even Evenorra Jenner! The sun won't be going down for another hour and we can put plenty of distance between us and those freaks by then." Merle flatly glared at the Navajo woman as she tried to make her case for immediate escape.

"If you wanna keep goin I ain't gonna stop ya. But I ain't leavin 'til I know that my brother ain't gonna walk right into the same trap we did. And I'm gettin 'er outta there too." Azolla heaved a deep sigh and threw up her arms in exasperation. What's with these people?

"If your brother went to Terminus like we did then he's probably just as dead as Chindi will be!"

"I ain't leavin so either shut yer yap about it and stay or ya can run away like a scared little rabbit!" The two stood in a silent glare stand-off to see who could intimidate the other into giving up.

"Why do you give a damn about her or this tribe that you guys came from? Nothing stays around for long in this place, in case you haven't realized- the world has in fact been flushed into a swirling vortex of shit and happy ever afters don't exist. Nobody is worth dying for!"

"I give a damn because she saved my life more than once-"

"And then walked you into an all-you-can-eat buffet with you and me as the main course! All because of some guy who gave her some dick!" Merle's flat gaze fell into a dull and lazy look of unimpressed boredom. He wasn't going to leave her behind. Eevee refused to leave and now it was his turn to return the favor.

"If that's what ya think then yer stupider than I thought. Like ya said, she ain't much fer sentiment. Sex ain't enough to get killed over. Or have ya missed the little accessory she's been wearin'?" He held up his left hand and wiggles his ring finger back and forth, lightly nodding when he saw her expression realize what he meant.

"You saw that too. Didn't peg you to be that observant of others." His ring finger was traded out for the middle as the woman fought down a smirk. Now wasn't exactly the best time to be cracking jokes, but it was too good to pass up. And she needed to distract herself from the fact that she was- despite the obvious reasons she shouldn't be- staying with the stupid redneck in the backyard of cannibals looking to eat her in all the wrong ways.

"O'course I noticed, I knew 'bout it long time ago. I ain't a moron. An' my brother ain't one to keep a girl 'round for her bedside manner either. So's if I was to run off, find my brother, and then have to tell him that I left his wife to be dinner fer psycho man eaters- my life would be a whole hell of a lot worse than if I was to never climb that fence. And there ain't no way in hell I'm going to chance running into ghost-y after she gets herself out with the knowledge that I ran off like a scared little boy. Like signing a death certificate." Azolla shrugged in agreement with him and sighed heavily before running her hands through her thick black hair.

"So what, we hide in the bushes praying that every breaking twig is either Chindi or your tribe and not a cannibal or nayee? And for how long? Days? Weeks? What if she doesn't come back out and neither does your tribe? You planning on living the rest of your life here?" Merle had caught his second wind and pushed off of the tree trunk to start the search for a shelter that could be fortified and hidden if necessary. He didn't find anything suitable for them both so he decided to make a small campsite in the bowels of a huge dead oak tree. Azolla had been a grumbling second party to his search but she was yet to attempt to leave.