A New Home

Sparks

It was after dark and you still hadn't caught up with the rest of the group. Negan conveniently said that he knew where they were going but you weren't so sure. You ended up making camp under a broad tree with thick branches for cover.

The fire he created glowed brightly in the pitch black of night, illuminating everything in an amber glow. The warmth wasn't much but it would do, and you watched the golden embers float lazily up towards the stars, silver sequins dotted around a black felt sky. You leant back against the trunk, exhausted from your exertions. You heard footsteps and tensed, ready to attack, but it was Negan returning from gathering some more firewood, his sillouhette dancing in the light of the fire.

"It's just me. No walkers in sight but we should take turns to take watch just incase."

"Sure."

A pause.

"You don't like talking much do you?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

There was. Oh God there was. So. Many. Questions. To ask, and have answered. You feared asking them, because that would get you further involved in this group and you couldn't do that. You planned to leave when you were stronger, so why get emotionally involved?

"Sure there is, come on! Hell, you must have a shit ton of questions to ask. And any way, as you can probably tell, I'm not so good at the whole not talking thing."

He'd seen right through you. You contemplated it for a second before changing your mind. Well, it would be a way to pass the time at least.

"Fine."

You thought about what your first question would be, and then you remembered.

"Earlier you said something about 'People scaring easy nowadays'. What is that all about?"

He seemed taken aback by the directness of the question then sighed loudly, sending more embers flying through the cool night air. You watched them flit seamlessly away, not a care in the world.

"Look kid-"

You scowled.

"Sorry, look. This group. They've been around for around 7 years. 7 years. I mean that's a hell of a long time. They've been through some shit- and trust me I know, I was on the other side of that shit at one point. They've lost people, they've lost their homes, surprises jumping around every corner, they haven't had a break yet. Then there's even more shit piling up now, and its put everyone on edge. You understand?"

You did. Kind of. He was being just a tad cryptic- he probably didn't want to go into details. You guessed alot of bad things had happened, because 7 years was a shit load of time for things to go down. You knew, you'd had your own share of shit going down. You nodded, then thought about your next question.

"So you weren't always with the group?"

He seemed reluctant to answer the question. Sheepish almost.

"Uh, no I wasn't. Let's just say my group and this group had...disagreements, and shit went south."

"Hm."

You felt inclined to delve further but you could sense how uncomfortable he was about talking about it. He seemed almost haunted. You changed the subject.

"So, who were those other guys you were with? When you found me?"

"Who? Crossbow and One-Arm?" He sniggered. "They're not important, I was the one who found ya."

You raised a cynical eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

"Fine, Jesus! You're demanding ya know that?" He smirked, and you couldn't hide your smile. He continued. "Crossbow? Daryl. Been there since the beginning so I've heard and doesn't take any shit. Though I have to say at one point I did have him in a pretty tight-"