Double Crossbow (Daryl Dixon) [The Walking Dead]

Chapter 5 ↣ What was that?

"Alas! There is no instinct like the heart."

— Lord Byron, Canto IV

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Daryl

I FELT AT ease in the woods. Always have, always will. It was the place where I could escape anything. Well, anything except a certain blonde. Kathryn maneuvered the woods with an undeniable ease. There was no doubt in my mind she was a hunter at heart. We recognized our own kind. I knew from the moment we met she was the real deal. No one can read the forest that well without growing up in it. 

I suppose getting her out here was more so I could see how much of my shit she'd take. I'd tried different angles, and every attempt to get under her skin, she'd smirk and give my shit right back to me. There had to be something behind her mask, and I was determined to find it. Normally people didn't interest me. I couldn't care less what any of the other people back at camp did, but... Kathryn froze in front of me, causing me to slow. She dropped to a crouch and loosed a bolt. Glancing over her shoulder at me, she smirked then retrieved a rabbit. How could I ignore that?

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"It's getting dark," Kathryn spoke softly. Everything about her was quiet. Neither her steps nor her words would scare any game away. At times she was too quiet, flying under my radar without a second thought. I looked down and met her green eyes for a split second before looking away. "I'm not walking all the way back to camp," she then said.

We stopped, and I gave her a confused look. Did she think I was going to carry her? Kathryn slipped her crossbow over her head before walking over to a tree. She easily lifted herself up its numerous branches. It didn't take long before she was settling herself on a branch about ten feet up in one graceful motion.

"You coming, or are you going back to camp?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "I have no problem taking on the deer alone. I have tracked it this far."

Looking up at her, I shifted from foot to foot. I hadn't climbed a tree since I was small. In the end, my pride got the better of me. With a huff, I slung my crossbow across my shoulders in the same style Kathryn had. Climbing up the tree, I soon sat on a branch a little ways from Kathryn. Granted, it probably hadn't been with the same grace and ease, but at least I hadn't been completely shown up by her.

I glanced over at Kathryn and saw a slight flicker of something in her eyes. I shook my head and looked away. It was probably just the lighting—or lack thereof. I stole another glance at Kathryn to see she was now sitting with her knees brought up to her chest, head tilted up towards the sky. For a moment, a split, fleeting second, she almost looked soft. Not in a weak sense; in a sense her scowl had faded, and the sharp angles of her features no longer seemed as if they could cut you with a well placed sneer.

The moment was short lived. "I don't know what the hell you're looking at. There's nothing to see," Kathryn said, meeting my gaze. Shit. I looked away and cleared my throat awkwardly. 

"You're a piece of work. I hope you know that," she finished.

"Now I do," I replied.

"Good."

Silence fell between us again. I would've liked the quiet, but there was something different about it. Though no sound was exchanged, something heavy still hung in the air.

Kathryn

I bit my lip as an awkward silence fell over us. "I never caught your last name," I said, glancing over at him, breaking the horrid silence.