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Salvation	By : madnad Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 8392 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: The Walking Dead universe & Daryl Dixon belongs wholly to Kirkman/AMC. Original character Lilith belongs to me. I make no money from writing of this story and it is strictly for entertainment purposes only. Do Not Repost elsewhere without permission

Chapter List
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Lilith strode out towards the target at first light as instructed. At this time of day, the temperature was pleasant, the searing Georgian sun having not had a chance to chase away the coolness of the night.
Daryl was waiting for her, smoking a rolled cigarette, sat on the grass near the marker she had put in at 40 yards. She could shoot further, but she wanted to practice shooting, not walking. He glanced at her no more than a few times in the hour that they practiced. Other than a few terse instructions, he barely spoke. His narrow eyes darted between her, the target, and the fence where a few walkers were always present.
He was like a nervous guard dog, and she wasn’t sure if he was going to bite her, or just run.
"Woman! Your breathing's all wrong," he snapped.
When she glared at him, he glared back. "I'm breathing wrong?" she retorted incredulously.
He snatched the bow off her. "Breath in as you set up the shot, aim, release, then breath out." He demonstrated, and annoyingly got a perfect bulls-eye. He thrust the bow back at her, "Try again."
She concentrated on her breathing, she aimed and released. Damn. The arrow was almost dead centre.
"Better!" he exclaimed.
Lilith was a little annoyed that he had been proved right. She looked at his, and saw him scowling at her. "You know, you could stop being a sourpuss all the time, and maybe smile once in a while." She was starting to get fed up of him looking so mean all the time. As soon as she had finished speaking, she regretted it almost immediately.
He froze, then leaned towards her menacingly. "You better watch your mouth, sunshine."
Lilith gulped.
"You better pay attention. One day you may be watching my back, and I want to know I can fuckin' trust you."
Lilith lowered her gaze, and mumbled an apology. When she looked up he was looking at her. His jaw tightened, as if he wanted to say something else, but held back. Probably another bollocking, she thought. He nodded a silent acceptance of her apology, and turned back and headed away, probably to his usual spot in the guard tower.
Lilith was grateful for his instruction, and hadn't intended to piss him off. "Daryl!" she called after him. He turned towards her, and under that piercing gaze, she almost forgot what she was going to say. She smiled a little, to soften her words. "Thank you. And… I meant what I said… you should smile once in a while."
"What have I got to smile about?" he grumbled before continuing on his way.
Lilith was too frustrated at her failed attempt to befriend the distant archer, and couldn’t concentrate any longer, so she decided to go for a run instead.
She thought of Daryl as she ran and sweated in the sun. He is a strange one, she thought. Nothing like his brother, she was pleased to note. Despite obviously being well respected by everyone, he still seemed to keep himself separate, at a distance, even to the rest of the Others. She could understand that. She wasn’t really one for company either. The only people she had seen him make an effort to converse with were Rick, Glenn and Carol.
He was a fascinating contradiction. On the one hand, he seemed strong and independent, yet he also seemed broken somehow, fragile and damaged. Aren't we all? she remarked to herself. Despite his prickly exterior, she actually felt quite comfortable around Daryl. She felt safe. He didn’t seem the type to have any moves. The last thing she needed right now was fending off unwanted male attention.
On her fourth circuit, one of the walkers at the fence caught her eye. She slowed to a purposeful walk, pulled out her knife, and as before, jammed it into the creatures head. She sat down heavily on the grass, and after cleaning her blade, she rested her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.
***
Watching on, Daryl wondered what had driven her to pick that particular walker. There was no mistaking it this time. She definitely chose that walker for a reason, and he felt it was more than a coincidence that it was similar in appearance to the last one. He could just make out the tell-tale shake of her shoulders as she cried.
At suppertime, he watched her smile and converse amiably but briefly to Karen and a couple of the other woman from Woodbury, before she scurried away to sit alone at a table away from the group. There was a darkness to her brown eyes, and a heaviness to the way her shoulders were set. Despite her outwardly cheerful demeanour, he could see that this fucked up world was taking its toll on her.
When he got up to leave, she glanced up and smiled when she noticed him. It looked forced. He nodded a brief greeting, then wordlessly slipped past. Just as he was about to step through the door, he couldn’t resist looking back over his shoulder. Just at that moment, she looked up. She smiled again, but this time it seemed real. Her face lit up however briefly. His lips curled in the hint of a smile, which caused hers to broaden further, then he left.
Safely up in his guard tower, he took his turn at watch. If he wasn’t in consultation with Rick or out hunting, he was pretty much always on guard, protecting his family. It had taken a while, but he had grown to accept the small band of survivors that he came to the prison with as his family. Rick was like the older brother he wished he had had instead of Merle. Immediately, he felt sorrow at the loss of his brother. They were both a product of their crummy upbringing, but free from the shadow of his big brother, he felt he was now able to choose his own path, to become the man he would like to be, and not the one he was destined to be.
An hour into his watch, everything was quiet, when he heard footsteps coming up the steps to the tower. He turned, and was surprised to see Lilith, two coffee cups in hand.
"I brought you a coffee. Carol told me how you take it, black two sugars, right?" she said cautiously, as she handed him the hot mug.
"Thanks," he said. Not knowing what else to say. In an effort to avoid any interaction, he picked up the binoculars and scanned the treeline. He knew he was being rude, but he had no idea what to talk about with this woman. He hoped she would get the hint, and leave.
He was surprised when she sat on the floor of the viewing platform that ran around the small office of the guard tower, with her legs dangling over the side through the rail. When he looked at her, she gave a crooked smile, and said, "I thought you might want some company."
Not particularly, he thought. He preferred to be alone, but if not he was much happier in small groups, where he could hide out at the back, and not be required to participate. He was a listener, not a talker. One-to-ones made him uncomfortable, especially with girls. They expect you to talk back.
"Suit yourself," he sneered, and instantly regretted the sarcastic tone. She either didn’t notice it, or chose to ignore it as she continued to sit there. His visitor didn’t speak; she just drank her coffee and looked out over the trees.
Is she waiting for me to say something? he wondered. She didn’t appear to be. He watched her surreptitiously. The tension she seemed to be holding in her shoulders earlier had gone. She appeared relaxed and comfortable. He watched as a strand of her dark hair, that had escaped the fastening, flutter and dance on her smooth shoulder in the evening's breeze. There was a little redness there, her pale British skin being unused to the fierce Georgian sun. Eventually, Daryl figured she was happy just sitting there and ignored her.
Twenty minutes or so later, her coffee gone, she stood up and briskly dusted imagined dust from the seat of her pants. She raised a hand briefly, and with fake cheer uttered cheerio. He knew that he should say something now.
"Yo! Lilith," he called after her. "Practice tomorrow?"
She smiled. "First light, right?"
"Yup."
"See you then."
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Salvation