[nolongeraxburden]

AU || Under Cover of Sky [Carol & Daryl]

[daryliisms]

His eyes flashed in the moonlight and his head drooped some before he snorted in mockery, thumbing up the brim of his hat. Slight snickering jest falling off his lips. “Ma’am… I ain’t like that at all. Ain’t keenin’ on knockin’ boots this night anyhow. I got other priorities ta attend to like sellin’ this here horse.” He quipped giving the animal a good brush of his hand against its neck.

As inclined as he was to simply take the animal and leave, Daryl felt some slight moral obligation that he could make money elsewhere. Save her the trouble of snagging the animal like he intended to and besides, he weren’t no thief. Hadn’t pegged the animal as being claimed until she was damned near indignant about it. There had been clear desperation in her tone and the offerance of other means of payment meant that this animal was worth more than gold.

Raising a curious brow, he leaned forward a bit in the saddle, arms folding slightly at the horn. “Ma’am, why on earth’re ya so hellbent on keepin’ this animal? Hmm? You tell me that an’ I’ll justify givin’ ‘er back ta ya.” He murmured wondering if she was going to take his bait or not. He only knew of a few reasons why people were keen on keeping their horse in the face of possible death or otherwise. It meant that they were on the run from either the law or some other bastard chasing them, or they had something they intended on doing.

And he was certainly going to fish to find out.

[nolongeraxburden]

Carol moved slower than before, trying to favor her leg and make it seem like it was no big deal all at the same time. She didn't feel like telling her whole life story to this stranger, and the longer they spent talking, the more she was certain that getting her horse back was going to cost her. And cost her a lot. Her hands moved to rest on her hips.

"I've got a man after me that's going to be pretty mad That's his horse, and to start with, she wouldn't ever let the bastard get a leg over her." He was too busy using his fists and leather straps to control her. Pretty much the same way in which Ed had used his fists and strap on her. She shuddered.

"He's my husband, you see. I ain't going back to him. I ain't. This here horse is the only way I got to get the hell out of here. See, he did this." She pulled own the collar of her shirt, showing the hand prints that were around her neck where he'd tried once again to strangle her. "Probably can't see much in the dark, but I got bruises..." And scars. Too many to count.

"He's going to kill me if he catches me." She touched the horses neck gently, trying to reassure her that she was trying to make it right.  

[wingsandacrossbow]

Where We Go From Here | AU

[wingsandacrossbow]

After a moment Daryl hopped the counter and looked to the underside of it. The shelves behind it had been ransacked as thoroughly as the aisles had been, but underneath the counter itself seemed to be closed up still. He opened the bottom slide door and hit pay dirt. He reached in and pulled out a couple packs of cigarettes along with a lighter. There was a water bottle that had probably been some employees and he pulled that out too. After another minute he had also found a half a spool of fishing line, a back stock box of payday candy bars, mostly used roll of duct tape, and a few loose batteries he’d pulled out of a large calculator.

Daryl nodded to her and looked up to see where she was, darting his gaze to her as often as he was gazing at what he was rifling through. She was armed, but she wasn’t used to this, and it was his job to make sure she’d be fine. He held up the assortment of things that he’d dropped into a cheap generic plastic grocery bag. “More than I thought we would. you?”

[nolongeraxburden]

"Not much." She approached him, showing him her small cache. She looked up at him. "But hey, whatever we have tonight, we got matches." Fires were so much easier to start with matches. She reached into his bag and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "And these are necessity?" she teased him and shook her head with a look of mock exasperation. "Here I thought we were looking for stuff to keep up fed or alive, and you go and pick up the one thing that could very well kill you later on down the road."

She added her stuff to his bag. It hadn't' been much. "I get it though. I'd damn near kill for a pack of Dentyne. Didn't see any back there, did ya? Reminds me. We have to have toothbrushes. Toothpaste if we're lucky." She pointed to the next aisle. "I believe that stuff won't be as pilfered as food and other such necessities. Do you?"

She headed toward the aisle she'd pointed at. "Daryl..." She poked her out the end of the aisle. "Got any preference on color? We have a couple purple ones and a pink one? The rest is picked clean."

[nolongeraxburden]

Over My Head [Carol & Daryl]

Carol looked up as Maggie approached in the darkness. She turned slowly, holding her rifle over her shoulder and speaking softly, "I'm not tired. Go on back to Glenn. I'll take your watch." Truth was, any time Carol tried to close her eyes all she could do was have gut wrenching nightmares about Karen and David and Lizzie and Mika. She'd done so many things wrong. She'd committed so many sins, and she was having trouble atoning for those sins while in the close confines of this group. She wasn't sure she ever could.

Maggie frowned. "Carol, are you sure? You look ready to fall over."

"Can't sleep," she assured her. "Go on." Her voice held a little more authority this time. She wasn't about to break down now. Especially not in front of the oldest Greene girl. They'd never been that close, and it wasn't a bonding experience. 

Maggie nodded, saying nothing more, as she turned and headed back toward the group. She didn't look at Daryl as she sat back down on the ground and curled up next to Glenn. She was sure he would understand without having to out Carol on her own.

Carol's back turned toward the darkness, ears pricked for every noise that didn't come from their camp. She gripped the butt of the rifle before she leaned heavily against the tree trunk and slid down to sit with her knees drawn up. Her rifle propped next to her as her mind worked double time trying to convince herself to run. The rest of the group shouldn't have to shoulder her turmoil, her pain.

[nolongeraxburden]

[wingsandacrossbow]

Where We Go From Here | AU

[wingsandacrossbow]

"Need a knife," Daryl breathed out. "Something you can carry that isn’t heavy." He’d have to keep an eye for one for her. He had one, but they really needed to make sure they both did. It was good for more than just walker killing, not that a hatchet would be a bad idea to keep on the bike if they came across one. He stepped through the door, still cautious about what they might find. "Stay close." 

He caught her faint words and they made him that much more determined that she wasn’t gonna be a burden. That she was gonna learn to take care of herself.

After a quick sweep with his eyes, he tipped his head to usher her inside with him. The general store was pretty trashed, random things scattered across the floor, most of the shelves bare. They’d have to make sure to check back far enough for things that might have been missed.

[nolongeraxburden]

A knife. He was exactly right. She'd seen them come in very handy since this started. It was practical and easy to carry. She followed along behind him as quietly as she could. She'd perfected that over the years. So that was step one, right? She glanced up as he nodded his head toward the back of the store.

"Yeah. I'll get right on that." She stepped around him, crouching low to check that everything that was turned over or on the floor was indeed damaged goods. They'd need whatever they could carry and then some. Sure enough there was a few tins of meat that had been overlooked. She picked them up quickly, holding them tightly in one hand.

"You finding anything?" She made it half way up the second aisle before she found a thing of matches. She added that to her small cache she held in her arms.

[wingsandacrossbow]

Where We Go From Here | AU

[wingsandacrossbow]

"Be surprised what’s still useful." He’d have to teach her basic skills for survival outdoors, but she had fire still and he didn’t doubt that she’d pick up on it enough to keep herself alive. He glanced around one last time to find nothing at all on the street behind them.  

"Probably most followed whatever groups picked this place apart," he said as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light towards the back of what they could see. He lifted his weapon up, holding his crossbow at the ready. "You wanna do the honors?" he nodded towards the door of the store. Even with a clear entry in through the window he didn’t want to chance not having a second exit point. "Give it a tap, make sure theres none of them bastards milling around in the back, noise ought-ta draw them out. Go in after."

He waited for her to rap on the glass, mentally making a list of things that might come in handy. Something to hold more water and something to boil it in was pretty high on his list. Matches, food, a warmer coat for her, and smokes if he saw them.

[nolongeraxburden]

Carol moved quietly to the door, avoiding as much of the broken glass as she could. Couldn't afford any kind of injury. Even a small cut could be dangerous out here nowadays. She tapped the glass in the door and held her breath. Her eyes darted from the door to him. She could only pray that there weren't any walkers in there. 

She breathed out as enough time passed. "Deserted." She reached for the handle and tugged it open. Her hand shook again. "We're going to have to get me a hatchet or an axe or something. Anything so I don't have to use the gun." Her hand reached out, placing it on bicep and giving it a squeeze. 

"I don't want to be dead weight." She lowered her hand back to her side. "I don't want to die." She lowered her voice where he'd have to strain to hear her.

[nolongeraxburden]

Running Up that Hill [Carol & Shane]

[thefrogwhisperer]

Shane felt her hold him up by gripping his shirt at one point and also felt the truck spit and sputter. If they ran out of gas he’d be sunk. There was no way he could walk any sort of distance.

When he woke again, she was helping him from the truck. He felt her hand make contact with his face and shook himself awake. “Yeah, yeah, sure, i’m with you. I can do this. How far is it?” He could see house that had the vet sign in front. It was a small little local business. He just hoped they’d have the supplies he’d need. If they didn’t she might as well leave him here, he wouldn’t make it much further.

Shane put his arms around her neck and did his best to help her get him into the vet’s office. On the porch, he collapsed into the porch swing. “I know I need to move Carol, but I need to rest for a minute. Maybe you can see if you can get the door open, and I’ll just close my eyes for a bit.”

[nolongeraxburden]

Carol's hands were shaking. She'd never imagined they'd get this far. Not her. Not with him in the shape he was in, but they'd made it. She'd be damned if he died on her now. Her body straightened, poised with more confidence and more determination. "You keep talking to me, Shane. Tell me why you became a cop." Her hand left his arm so she could move toward the door.

Chances of it being unlocked were slim to none, but she tried the knob anyway. Her lips quivered again as the knob barely trembled to show that she wasn't getting in that easily. It was locked. She closed her eyes before turning around quickly and back down the steps to the truck. There had to be something she could use to pry open the door.

She rummaged around the bed of the truck before her fingers locked on a crowbar. "Thank God," she breathed. Her feet took the four steps two at a time, and she was back on the porch. "Shane Walsh, you keep talking. Hear me?"

She put the end of the crowbar between the door jam and the door itself and pushed with all her might. She felt it give a little. Her breathing was labored as she pushed again and heard the splintering of wood. She almost fell inside with the give, but she managed to catch herself. She tossed the crowbar aside and made her way out to the porch. "Alright. C'mon." She reached to take him under the arm and wrap her arm around his back. "Just lean on me. We can do this."

[nolongeraxburden]

Just Give Me a Reason [Carol & Shane]

[aintlikeitwasbefore-archive]

As Shane put hands on her, in that reassuring way that said he would never hurt her and he only sought to protect her and her daughter from harm, Carol’s head fell forward on her chest and her forehead fell against his. She was weak and defeated, finally succumbing to the years of abuse and the years of uncertainty. She was putting her trust in him, her faith, blind faith; the woman didn’t have any reason to believe him other than his actions that day that he was a police officer, sworn to protect and defend.

“Ya don’ gotta thank me, Carol. M’jus’ doin’ what needs done. Yer gon’ be alrigh’…an’ Sophia too.” His words lost all their certainty as soon as Carol hugged him. He thought a woman with her background, her abuse history, wouldn’t want to be too close to a man but he supposed he’d shown himself a worthy man. He was a man she could trust. “Aw, Carol…” He wrapped his arms around her and held her, knowing she needed it. After all this time, not being touched in a kind and gentle way, Shane knew Carol needed to be held, to be vulnerable and not have it exploited.

Shane felt her grasp on his shirt and his back tighten and he couldn’t help but to look down at her. In that space of time that consisted of nothing but comfort, Carol asked one of those questions that was rhetorical. Was it telling that she was more afraid of Ed than of the dead that were up and walking around…? It was, it was indeed. The undead, the Geeks, the Walkers or whatever else people called them, were usually the things people feared. They were the things that went bump in the night, that ate people alive and in their sleep. He wouldn’t answer her because she spoke volumes with the admission.

“All you gotta do is trus’ me Carol…you trus’ me?” He waited for her answer but already knew she did. “Alrigh’…then le’s go an’ do this. Gettin’ him outta your life is the righ’ thing.”

[nolongeraxburden]

Carol nodded. She trusted him. She trusted him in that sort of blind way where you just know that everything was going to be okay. She stepped back, squaring her shoulders. "I want to get this behind me. Bad timing, huh?" She looked around her. She'd picked a hell of a time to get her life sorted out. Her lip quivered slightly. "What if he doesn't let us go?" The question slipped out before she could stop it. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she frowned. "I-uh-- I'm sorry." She looked away and wrapped her arms around herself. "It's hard enough out here right now with all this chaos. How do we truly get away from him?" She knew he wasn't going to like this. Not at all.

Ed would have a fit, and he'd do something stupid and get her or Sophia hurt. Possibly killed. She shuddered as he rocked back on her heels and leaned against the back end of someone else's truck.

"Shane, we shouldn't..."

[nolongeraxburden]

AU || Somewhere In Between [Carol & Daryl]

[wingsofadixon]

Daryl’s mouth moved against her breasts, laving and biting and sucking alternately. He’d done this a few times before, most often while drunk and with someone who Merle had brought around, a girl who felt bad for him. Pity wasn’t something he felt was present now. All Daryl felt in that room now was pure emotion; some of it was tension and uncertainty but most of it was nervousness and lust, a desperation and hunger for someone to love each one of them the way they both deserved…if only for a moment in time.

Her soft moans were pushing him forward, propelling his actions forward, to do more. He had to show her how deserving she was, how beautiful she was to him. She was so beautiful. He moaned at her words and her begging, his lips closed around one of her nipples, his tongue swirling around the puckered nub of flesh while he drew blood into it in his mouth, flicking it a bit. At her hands tugging against his hair, Daryl stopped sucking on her nipple long enough to reiterate what he’d said. “I want ya ta take yer panties off, Carol…I wanna see ya. I wanna see all of ya…”

His legs were parted by a distance and Carol maneuvered so that her legs straddled one of his, her hot dampening core over his thigh. Her begging wouldn’t stop and he didn’t want it to. He found he needed it more than he thought. “Carol…naw I won’ stop.” He had one hand fisted in her longer hair, the other rubbing her ass, squeezing it, through her panties. Her grinding on him was getting too much for him to take. She was so fucking wet! “Carol…mmmm…” He moaned into her mouth as they kissed and kissed all over again after the one before ended, parting only briefly. “Need ya…ta get out o’ them panties…” His cock was so hard and it ached and throbbed to be inside of her silken channel. Instead of waiting for her to respond to him, he took his hands to the waistband of her panties, even with her hips.

And he yanked them roughly down her hips, lifting her just enough to get them down over her knees…

[nolongeraxburden]

Carol's legs were like jello. She gripped his shoulders tighter. Her lips were parted, breaths were heavy. Her head spun. He was doing things to her she'd never experienced before, and she liked it. A lot. Her eyes rolled back in her head when his body pressed even tighter into her now naked body. She tried to hide the bruises by reaching for the light switch. "We should get into bed. Under the covers." Suddenly, she felt as if she couldn't breathe. "Daryl, please?" She tried to ease him back toward the head of the bed. "This isn't meant to be done like this." Truth was, she wasn't as experienced as she might have let on. Ed had been her first. And her only. Until now. Her bottom lip trembled. "We have to stop," she managed to whimper. The fear of the unknown was eating her alive, but she loved the feel of him against her skin. "Oh my God," she breathed as her fingers found the nape of his neck and drew him in for another kiss.

[nolongeraxburden]

Thief in the Night [Carol & Daryl]

[wingsofadixon]

As they rode the words she’d whispered back to him were reassuring enough. Daryl smiled to himself at them, the truth of them and how genuine they had sounded coming off her tongue. He’d never been loved like that before and his appreciation for such a thing was high, about as high as his uncertainty of it was. In this world, nothing good lasted and love like this was no exception. Eventually one of them would be ripped away and he would have to live or die with the knowledge that they’d be parted and one of them would be alone. Love was a whole lot scarier now than it ever even had been.

He nodded as they parked in front of the chain link, the engine idling and dying even as Daryl kicked the kick-stand down into place. “M’sure…least that’s what we all been thinkin’. It seems untouched an’ this fence is keepin’ ‘lot out bein’ it hasn’ been knocked over yet. Maybe it kept ‘lot in too…don’ know…” He could tell by her tone and the language she used to talk about it that it wasn’t necessarily Carol’s cup of tea. She was worried about it, the state of affairs, everything.

But she trusted him; she would never not trust him or his judgment which led to her agreeing to this out of deference to the warnings and misgivings she was holding onto.

Daryl nodded again, grunting softly at her acquiescing to him. “Sooner we do any o’ this the better. Night seems ta be gettin’ closer an’ closer the last week ‘er so.” He did as she bid him, revving the engine just enough, clicking the stand back up, just enough so that they could make it to the gate without arousing too much company, alive or undead. “You got it darlin’…jus’ go slow. I don’ wanna open the floodgates on us here.” He didn’t say it outright but he was worried too. He couldn’t see any Walkers but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.

[nolongeraxburden]

She slipped off the bike. Her legs wobbly at first without the steady thrum of the bike beneath her. She touched his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze of reassurance. She didn't meet his eyes, afraid it'd give too much of her away. She moved quickly, and quietly, to the gate and managed to free the chain and the lock with the hilt of the knife she carried in a sheath on her belt. She turned slightly to the left as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.  "Shit," she muttered as she caught sight of a walker. Her hands shook as she pushed the gate to the right and opened it just enough for him and the bike to slip through. She shut the gate after slipping inside behind him. Re-threading the chain through the gate, she pulled a padlock from her jacket pocket and snapped it through the chain. They could take any chances. She pulled the cap down over her head a bit tighter as she ran to slip back behind him on the bike.  "Only one from what I can see, but we'd better get inside and clear this place."

[lastsheriffsdeputy-archive]

Welcome Back Ms. Peletier -- with nolongeraxburden

[lastsheriffsdeputy]

Rick’s vision tunneled as he followed Carol through the house to the kitchen. He was only aware how heavy Carl was as soon as he laid him on the kitchen table; he’d gotten so much bigger than the first time something like this had happened back on Hershel’s farm. 

"There should be a sewing kit somewhere. I’ll need it,"

His feet carried him across the hall to the master bathroom without him even realizing it. He’d been scared more often than not in this world, but this was a new type of terror. He couldn’t lose Carl like this, not after all they’d been through. Whatever God there was must’ve been in a good mood because Rick found a tiny sewing kit in the second-to-last counter drawer; the rest had been picked clean. He ran back and handed it to Carol before returning to Carl’s side. His son looked paler.

"What are you going to do?" Rick heard himself ask, voice small. "You think this’ll work?"

Rick didn’t wait for her answer. He wasn’t sure what she even could do, and he didn’t want to hear her answer if she didn’t know, either. He tore at his buttons of his shirt until they gave way and striped it off to press the fabric to Carl’s mangled leg. The threads soaked up the blood faster than even his frantic heart was beating.

[nolongeraxburden]

Carol's hands were steady despite the feeling in her chest and gut. This would be messy, and the pain he was surely feeling was nothing compared to what he'd be feeling when she started to sew him up. She lifted her head, meeting Rick's eyes as he pressed his shirt into Carl's gaping wound. Her voice wavered, "Clean it up and sew it up best I can. Going to need you to hold him down when I get started. Best thing for him is to stay passed out." She moved her hand to his neck to check his pulse. "I have to move quickly. I can't promise that he'll have complete movement in his foot and ankle, but he'll be alive. Pulse is weak. We have to stop the bleeding." She reached down, tugging her shirt off and handing it to him. "Here. Keep doing what you're doing. I have to find whatever I can to clean his wound." She touched his shoulder. "He's going to be ok." She stepped away to grab a pillow to slid under his leg to elevate it and slow the blood.

[nolongeraxburden]

AU || Under Cover of Sky [Carol & Daryl]

[gunslingerdixon]

The frantic cry of a woman drew his attention to over his shoulder when he felt the tug at his leg. “Whoa whoa whoa!” He commanded to the horse, giving a good jerk on the reins to get the animal to stop its march towards his campsite. Raising a brow, he listened with rather mild interest as she seemed to be pleading with him to not run off with the animal. From the desperate tone of her voice, Daryl could only come to the assertion that where it was she was headed, the animal he was sitting on, was of adamant necessity.

When the woman fell to her knees, slight yelp of pain coming from where she had most likely tripped over herself in the dark, Daryl huffed, clicking his tongue agitatedly behind his teeth. Hoisting himself from out of the saddle, he kept a tight fistful of the reins in case the animal spooked again and tried to take off. He wasn’t sure if he would get lucky again and catch the horse. Crouching low on his haunches, he cocked his head observing the woman noting the sharp flicker of pain that graced her features.

Eying her carefully from where he was hunkered down on his haunches, Daryl kept his space keeping his rein-fisted hand near the revolver at his hip. Man or woman, didn’t matter who got into his way— he wasn’t going out by wayward bullet. “Ma’am… yer an awful long ways from home… that there horse… that’s a mighty fine meal ticket if I e’er did come ‘cross one. What’s in it fer me if I decide ta give back yer horse, hmm? As far as I can tell… yer not at odds ta be barterin’ wit’ me.”

Giving the reins a little tug so that the animal was aware that the rider was still nearby, Daryl kept his gaze unfettered from the woman he was stooped over.

[nolongeraxburden]

Carol's hands clutched at the rip in her skin. She lifted her eyes in the moonlight and met his. "She's mine." She let her eyes flicker over to the horse. "What do you want? I ain't go much. A bit of money back at my campsite." She gave a nod in what she'd hoped was the right direction. "It's your's. Just don't take her."

She managed to ignore the pain long enough to turn loose of her leg and push herself up so she was standing now. Her hand reached out to brush against the animal's nose. She nuzzled it into Carol's palm, and it relaxed the pair of them. "Sir, I have to have this horse."

If the people that were sure to be following her had gotten on the right track, she'd be found within days. On foot, she'd be found even quicker. Her eyes flickered up to the moon, willing herself not to cry. She'd do anything to keep the horse in her possession.

"Got other stuff you want to." She let her other hand brush against her breasts, moving down her body in what she felt was a seductive manner. "Ain't shy. How 'bout you?"

[dear-indies]

We are creating a masterlist for every The Walking Dead roleplayer.

The Walking Dead show/game/comic.

The list is here. 

[willowfae82]

No matter where you go

I will find you In the place with no frontiers No matter where you go I will find you If it takes a thousand years

Why does a Caryl video not exist to this song yet. Like, for serious. This is a thing Every Caryl-er needs in their life.

[thewalkinggifs]

I’ll do it. He’s my husband.

[goya-fernweh]

The Walking Dead - 01x05 “No Sanctuary”

[walking-sons-of-the-dead-anarchy]