Iridescent Hunter: Chapter 8

The rain stayed longer than anyone had expected. Normally, storms would just roll on by, but this one was on its third day. Danielle opened her eyes slowly to see the light tan colour of the tent. A small smile found its way on her face when she felt Daryl’s strong arm wrapped around her. She moved her arms under the warm blankets and snuggled closer to his body trying to escape the cold. It was then that she felt his grip tighten on her.

“Didn’t hear ya come in last night.” he mumbled.

“I’m sorry” she replied turning over to face him, “I was getting freaked out by all the noise the rain made.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said quickly. She smiled a little as he kissed her forehead lightly. Never in her life had she met a man so timid to touch a woman, but something about his shyness made her want to be near him even more. She moved herself closer to him resting her head on his shoulder. Daryl let out a sigh and ran his fingers through her hair not really sure what to do at that point.

“I’ll go change before the others wake up” Danielle whispered sitting up Daryl’s hand now resting on her thigh. He nodded as she leaned down to kiss his lips gently before getting up and walking out of his tent. They weren’t ready for everyone else to know about their feelings for one another just yet; it was a mutual understanding they had come to the night before. She hurried to her tent tiptoeing most of the way. It was a good thing she hurried because as soon as she entered her tent, Lori stepped out of hers letting out a silent yawn.

Danielle shivered violently as she took her clothes off. For the first time in months, the temperature cooled down and rain just had to come with it. She hurried to button up her plaid long-sleeved shirt and slung a dark grey zip-up hoodie before stepping out of her tent. Daryl looked around before walking over to her as she pulled the hood up.

“How can you go without sleeves in this cold?” she asked quietly. Daryl let a small smile slip before composing himself again with a shrug. He was about to lean in for another kiss when Shane called Daryl’s name.

“They’ve done ate through the squirrels already.” he muttered brushing his hand against hers before he turned to walk over to where Shane was. Danielle sighed and pursed her lips as she watched them vanish into the trees. She didn’t like when he went out there; too many things could go wrong. To take her mind off of him, she went with Maggie to check on the horses in the barn.

“So what’s goin’ on with you and Squirrel Boy?” Maggie asked abruptly. Danielle’s cheeks felt hot as she shot her a perplexed look. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talkin’ about.” Maggie said with a smile, “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Glenn gives me the same looks sometimes. He tries to pass it off as ‘thinkin’ but I know what it’s really about.”

Danielle smiled a little and shrugged petting a large brown horse on the nose before leaning against the wall. “Just be careful” Maggie mumbled walking over to her, “From what Glenn’s told be, Squirrel Boy’s got quite the temper.”

With that being said, Maggie walked out of the barn and over to Glenn who was waiting patiently by the chicken coop. Danielle watched in envy as she held and kissed each other in full view of the rest of the group. Even though they had agreed that it would be best not to tell anyone about them, she wished she could show people that Daryl was more than just a redneck with a loud mouth only good for hunting and protection. There was a whole other side of him that they didn’t seem to know existed and the fact that they thought so little of him made her angry. Just thinking about it made her want to punch someone, mainly T-Dog. She saw how he looked at Daryl like he was no better than the dirt on his shoes. Just as her inner anger was about to get the best of her, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She jumped a little and turned to see Carol standing behind her.

“Sorry if I scared you” Carol said with a laugh. Danielle just smiled and shook her head resting her hand on Carol’s forearm. As far as she knew, Carol was the only person to see Daryl the way she did. Carol treated him like he mattered and because of that, she was the only person from the group she respected.

“I was just wondering if you wanted some hot chocolate. Glenn found some mix the last time he went into town.” Carol said sweetly. Danielle nodded with a smile and Carol left to go back to the house. Her heart still ached for her loss. From what Daryl had told her, Sophia was a sweet girl. No child deserved to die like that.

The day went by slowly with Danielle’s worry for Daryl’s safety looming over her. When the rain finally cleared up, she found her way to the roof of the house and sat there staring out into the fields. Everyone else was either inside or out trying to find something productive to do. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t even hear someone else join her on the roof.

“What cha doin’ up here all by yourself?” she heard Daryl ask as he sat next to her. She said nothing and just linked her arm with his resting her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a moment before she finally spoke up.

“I’m tired of them talking shit about you.” she mumbled looking up at him, “They treat you like you’re not important.”

“Well I ain’t no Rick.” he replied quietly.

“No you’re not, but that doesn’t mean you’re not important.”

Daryl just looked down at her not really knowing what to say at that point. Danielle tightened her grip on his arm and scooted closer to him.

“I don’t know what you’re wantin’.” he muttered causing Danielle to let go of his arm instantly.

“I want them to respect you!” she shouted. Daryl held his finger up to shush her but she moved it away. “Don’t tell me to be quiet” she whispered angrily, “I’m sick and tired of being quiet. All I ever want to do is scream at them, but I can’t and it makes me so angry.”

Daryl calmly wiped the tears from her eyes before they had the chance to roll down her pale cheeks. She bit her bottom lip gently and looked away from him. He held her face in his hand and made her look at him.

“The only respect I care ‘bout is yours.” he said quietly, “As long as I got that, I say to hell with the others.”

She smiled a little as he leaned down to kiss her lips gently. He took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly when they heard someone shout, “What the hell?!” They looked down to see T-Dog staring up at them.

Posted 2 months ago with 7 notes
#the walking dead  #the walking dead fanfiction  #daryl dixon  #daryl dixon fanfiction  #Norman Reedus