𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 ♔ 𝙙.𝙙𝙞𝙭𝙤𝙣 [1]

8

Scarlett walks up to Daryl, her boots crunching against the leaves. "Hey—Uh, Daryl?" She speaks up, a hopeful look on her face. Daryl turns, his hands holding a rag. "Yea?"

"I was wondering if I could stay up here, near you. I don't want to be crowded down there." She asks, her hand rubbing her forearm. Daryl thinks for a couple of minutes before answering. "Just stay out of my way."

Scarlett thanks him before grabbing her things and finding a spot, a little ways away from Daryl. Scarlett quickly pitched her tent, doing all the steps Glenn had told her. After finishing that, she lays out her sleeping bag, that Maggie had given her to use.

Scarlett grabs a book out of her duffle bag before walking back out into the chilly air. It's getting colder, winter is coming. That isn't good for the group because they don't have any heat to use except fires.

Scarlett sits down under the tree, pulling her flannel tighter around her. She cracks open the book, reading where she left off. The girl walks forward, hearing her parents voices. "Mom, Dad?" She screams out, her voice suffocating her. She passes through the trees, jumping over logs. Suddenly—

"What's with you and books?" Daryl asks, snapping Scarlett out of her fantasy land. She sighs, closing the book. "It allows me to forget this cruel world. They take me to a special place."

Daryl nods, sliding on his jacket, and picking up his crossbow. "I'm heading out to look for Sophia." He grumbles and Scarlett stands up. "Can I come along?" She asks, throwing her hair up into a ponytail.

"Might as well." He replies and Scarlett grabs her knife, sticking it in the holster. "My
gun is with Dale." She informs him, walking down the hill behind him.

They reach Dale's RV and Scarlett walks into the RV, grabbing the gun bag. She rummages through the bag, grabbing her gun and checking to see if it has ammo. Walking out of the RV, she finds Daryl leaned against it. "Let's go." He murmurs and Scarlett follows behind him, her gun clutched in her hands.

"There is this house, a couple miles from here. Maybe she's there or was there." Scarlett suggests and Daryl look back at her. "For once, you have a good idea." She scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"Rude." She mutters, fighting back a smile. "Who was the one who convinced my dad to let us out? Oh right, me!" Scarlett boasts and Daryl shakes his head. "Yeah, you were also the once who got lost in the woods." Scarlett playfully glares at him, stepping over a fallen branch. "Dickhead."

A smile twitches at Daryl's lips and he quickly dismisses it. Everyone knows Daryl wouldn't have let anyone set up there tent by him, so why Scarlett? What's so different about her? He even saved her at the CDC, preventing her from opting out. Daryl tells himself everyday he would've done that for anyone, but would he really? He hasn't talked to her a lot but he has this sudden urge to protect her. They have this unspoken friendship, they just don't realize it yet.

"This is it." Scarlett says, stepping out into the clearing. Her eyes trail over the weeds that had grew on the side of the house. She follows Daryl up the steps. Scarlett clicks her gun on safety before sliding it in the back of her pants.

She slides her knife out of the holster and holds  it tightly in her hands. Daryl glances back at her before swinging open the door, his crossbow raised. Scarlett walks over to the table, inspecting it. She picks up an empty can of sardines, slowly pouring the juice out.

"Someone has been here recently." She says, setting the can back down and turning towards Daryl. He looks around the house before calling out for Sophia. Something catches Scarlett's eyes and she looks over at the cupboard, the door open. "The cupboard." She mutters to Daryl, nodding her head towards it.

Daryl slowly walks towards it, crossbow ready. Scarlett stays behind him, looking over his shoulder as he pulls the door all the way open. At the bottom of the cupboard there is a blanket and a pillow, sparking the pairs hope.

The two run out of the house, looking around the yard. "Sophia!" Scarlett calls, looking in every direction. "Scarlett." Daryl says and Scarlett looks over at him, making her way over. She mumbles a 'Hm' standing by his side.

She follows his eyes and it lands on a white flower. "It's a Cherokee Rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow where the mothers' tears fell." His gruff voice tells the story and a small smile stays on Scarlett's face throughout the whole thing.

"Carol would love that." She whispers and Daryl's hands grab the rose, picking it off the bush.