Flip Side {Daryl Dixon}

{Burnt Legacies}

"Don't look like it's gonna let up any time soon." Morgan mumbled as he glanced over at his ever silent partner. Rain slithered down his spine and soaked through his coat but his partner didn't seem to notice. She was drenched compared to him, she didn't even have a jacket to shield her from the downpour. He's offered to give her his on many occasions but every time she just shakes her head no and refuses to take his offering. Their mason jars were full and capped off already as she turned her face towards the pewter skies.

"Maybe we should find a spot to stop for the night." She tilted her head to her right, the dark man leaning a bit around her to see the little shack on the top of a hill not too far away. That'll have to do. They turned off the road and made their way to the rundown building. It was already empty so they didn't need to worry about clearing out any walkers. Morgan and his partner got settled in for the night, the man looking to start a fire to dry off and warm up.

"I'm glad that we have water, but how do you think we're gonna..." Morgan's voice dropped off as he glanced up to see the woman standing in the kitchen with a handful of dried leaves. "What is that?"

She didn't answer, simply took a cheesecloth from the counter and cleaned it off before scrounging up another empty jar to scrub clean. Stretching the cheesecloth over the mouth of the jar, she made a thick layer of the leaves before taking a full jar of rainwater and popping off the cap. Morgan watched in confused silence as she slowly started to pour out the contents over the cloth and leaves to fill the jar beneath.

The water that seeped through the filter she created looked like it did in the original jar, so Morgan wasn't all too sure what she was up to. Moving into the kitchen, he found the leaves she had before and slipped one into his mouth. A smile curled his lips as a chuckle rumbled his chest.

"Cheyenne leaves. A natural toxin filter. Smart thinking. We can boil off anything that the leaves don't filter out." The woman nodded in silent agreement as she refocused on her task, the man with her moving back to his job of getting a fire started. After a few struggling minutes he finally got the kindling lit and fed the embers to coax them into larger flames. The smoke may draw walkers but the windows were planked up and the door was solidly bolted. They'll be okay for the night.

"Think it'll clear up by morning?" He mused, his gaze flicking towards his partner. Morgan was never sure why he tried talking to her, she never answered him. She never spoke at all- the only exception being when she demanded he bring her to D.C. with him. Home, she called it.

Maybe it was more cathartic for him to speak with her despite her want or care to return his words. Maybe she kept him fractionally sane, though he doubted he had the same effect on her.

Morgan dug through his bag looking for any food they had left, the last few cans clinking at the bottom of the sack. They'll need to find some more soon, or they won't be making it to D.C. And with the determination of his friend, they were getting there come hell or high water. Floorboards creaked and he watched the woman finish off the last of their rainwater before setting it by the door and moving into her spot for the night.

She sat curled up with her back against the fireplace so the blaze warmed her spine. She sat like that every time there was a flame, though he wasn't sure why. He never bothered to ask, either. They liked it like this, no questions asked so no risk involved.

"I got a can of pineapples and a can of fruit cocktail. Take your pick." A flicker of recognition sprung to life behind her eyes as he spoke, the embers quickly extinguished and squashed back down into her usual blankly distant stare. She pointed to the can of cocktail and Morgan handed it over. Slipping a pocketknife from her jeans, she flipped out the blade and stabbed it into the metal lid of the can. The only sound to fill the silence was the cracklings of the hearth and the scrape of metal against metal.