Irresistible Danger

Little Red & The Big Bad

As you reached the fence, you saw that there was a large grey bin sitting on the pavement; it was identical to the one that had arrived at the kitchen a couple weeks ago filled with berries. After one of the men who was patrolling pulled the gate open a couple feet, Negan reached down and grabbed the grey bin in one big, leather-incased hand before walking out the gate and towards the forest.

You continued to follow silently, the sound of the gate softly clanging shut again behind you signaling that your first outing had officially started. And thanks to your unwavering luck, it had started with Negan being in a piss-poor mood.

Sighing, you walked a couple feet behind Negan as he marched deeper into the woods, too enamored by your surroundings to overly care at the moment that he was still being a grump. As The Sanctuary faded out of sight, the forest started coming to life around you. The sound of birds chirping created a soothing background noise as you wound in and out of the trees, stepping around large rocks and fallen logs scattered on the ground. Even though there was a light scattering of leaves on the grass, and he was still angrily marching along, Negan's footsteps created almost no sound whatsoever. You had no clue how he was being so silent, seeing as how, even with visible effort, you still felt as if your feet found the crunchiest part of every fallen leaf in your path. While you didn't think you were making that much noise, you still felt like a lumbering bull in a china shop compared to Negan's graceful steps.

Although, to be fair, your legs were working faster than usual to try and keep up with his long strides. And you were starting to get annoyed that he was trudging ahead with no hesitation, considering that one of the terms and conditions of the bet was that you were to be in control of where the two of you wandered. Your annoyance was building with every begrudging step; annoyance at both his attitude and the fact that you were almost jogging to keep up with him. Just as you were at the point of giving some snarky comment about this entire situation, Negan came to an abrupt halt, causing you to almost run straight into his broad back, your nose stopping inches from the leather.

Peeking around his shoulder, you saw that he had dropped the grey bin in front of a large bush which was full of hawthorn berries. Eyes widening, you saw that there were also two more hawthorn bushes about a foot or two to the left of the first one. Hundreds of the little red fruit glistened happily in the rays of sunlight that were streaming down through the trees. It was like a god damn berry goldmine.

"How did you know this was here?" you asked in awe.

Negan just shrugged in response before turning his head, eyes roving all around the surrounding area for any potential threats.

He obviously had known that the bushes were here, which meant he had either been somehow involved with picking the berries used for the dessert crisp, or he had found these bushes ahead of time in order to show you today.

Deciding that he probably wouldn't answer if you asked which assumption was correct, you turned your attention from Negan to the bushes, excited at the prospect of filling the tub with berries and perhaps using them tonight to make a dessert.

Thoughts of various recipes swirled in your head as you walked over to the bushes. You bent over and plucked a couple red orbs off the bush, fingers delicately avoiding any of the thorns that you knew from past experience were sharp as hell. A strange sense of déjà vu hit when you glanced over your shoulder and saw Negan standing there behind you. The situation seemed so similar to the first time you had met him out here in the woods, and yet at the same time it was so different. Now you weren't terrified to within an inch of your life at the look of annoyance on his face. Sure, he was still an intimidating man, and his anger still caused you to inwardly cringe, but part of you instinctually knew that no matter how mad he was, he still wouldn't hurt you.