20. Kid
Hannah was sitting on her gazebo all morning, flipping through the pages of a new book. Michonne had brought her back Little Women from one of her runs. With everything that had been happening, Hannah hadn't had a chance to start it until now. Her eyes followed along the lines. She wanted desperately to distract her mind with the story, and yet the words meant nothing. They were simply letters on a page, staring back into blank eyes. Hannah's mind was too muddled to notice their meanings. That morning was the Anderson's funeral. And Hannah didn't go. She couldn't.
That past night Hannah didn't sleep at all, her mind playing the images of the last few days over and over. She felt sick for feeling bad for Ron. And yet she felt sick for not. How could she still care about the boy who shot Carl? How could she care about the boy who let Enid go out on her own? But how could she not care about her oldest friend? About the family that had been so kind to her? She wanted to hate him, she wanted to despise him for everything he did, but she knew she never could. He had been with her since the beginning. She had needed him then, and she couldn't just forget about that.
Then Hannah thought about Carl. He stayed in his house these past few days, only allowing Michonne or Denise in when necessary. Hannah had tried to visit the day before, but as she reached the door, she turned around. How could she face him, Hannah thought. It was her friend who had hurt him. Did he blame her? The thought caught Hannah off guard. Of course, she had been dancing around the idea, but the words hadn't formed in her mind until then. What if he did blame her? What would that mean?
Hannah felt rotten. She felt like the creatures that lurked outside, preying on innocent people. Neither Ron nor Carl deserved their fate. And, selfishly, Hannah felt that she didn't deserve the pain that came with it either.
She turned from her book when fallen leaves crunched under heavy boots. Coming from behind her, Hannah saw Daryl walking slowly, his head low enough that his long hair covered his face. Hannah thought he might pass the gazebo, ignoring her presence, but instead, he stood right in front of her.
"Hey, kid." His voice was gruff, hesitant.
Hannah wasn't sure what to say. She had heard about what happened outside of Alexandria.
She looked up at him, "Hi."
Daryl maybe nodded his head at her or maybe just flipped his hair out of his eyes. Either way, they could see each other now. He opened his mouth just slightly as if he were going to speak, before closing it just as quickly. He looked away and sighed, only to look back at Hannah.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Um, yeah." Hannah was even more confused now. She had only ever talked to this man once and now he acted like she was a species he had never encountered.
Daryl groaned, tired of the awkward air, "Look, I'm just, I'm sorry I wasn't there."
"What?"
"Denise, she told me what happened here. I told you-- I promised you I would teach you to protect yourself and now you're all messed up."
Hannah understood now why he was so nervous. He felt bad. She shifted in her spot on the steps, feeling like her healing wounds were somehow glowing. Enough days had passed that she was allowed to take the wrap around her forehead off, exposing the ugly markings she was left with. It barely looked like the 'W' Hannah knew it was meant to be. It was shaky and haphazard, with some parts more heavy-handed than others. Some of the lighter marks had begun to fade, leaving dark pink lines where deep red ones had once been. Hannah prayed the rest would follow in their footsteps.
She chuckled softly at Daryl, lightening the mood, "Daryl, that-- that's not your fault."
He pursed his lips slightly and nodded once more before turning to leave. Before he got too far, Daryl turned back to face her.
"You comin'?" He called out as if it was obvious for her to follow.
Hannah tucked the photo into her page and put the book to the side of her, "What do you mean?"
Daryl gave her a soft smile, "Well, I can't let you get beat up again."
---
Hannah and Daryl made their way just outside of the walls. The sky was somewhat gloomy as they walked, still full of debris from the fallen watch tower. She followed behind Daryl, who didn't say much as they walked, only occasionally warning her about fallen branches or large tree roots. When he stopped, Hannah realized they had ended up by a small creek. She had seen it once when she went out with Carl and Enid, but she never thought to get any closer.
Daryl left her, heading for a nearby tree to place his things. He pulled his bow off his back, balancing it against the trunk of the tree.
"So, you ready?" he asked, causing Hannah to look toward him.
"Yeah, I guess. I never really shot a gun before," She chuckled nervously. She really hadn't. When everything first happened, her father was the only one with a gun. It was a small handgun, scratched up along the handle from use. He had found it on the ground not far from their shed, likely having been dropped by whoever took the rest of the weapons. Hannah asked him once if she could use it, though already knowing what he would say. He told her, as she expected, that she didn't need to know things like that, that this would all be over before she ever needed it.
"A gun? You ain't shooting a gun." Daryl said. Hannah's face must have given away her confusion. "I'm gonna teach you how to shoot a bow." Daryl now gestured to the bow he had placed down a moment ago. The confusion on Hannah's face swiftly turned into a wide smile as she moved towards Daryl and his bow, ready for her lesson.
They started by simply trying to get her used to the weight of the weapon. Hannah didn't want to admit it at first, but Daryl saw the way her arms struggled to hold it up for long. He moved in, taking off pieces of the crossbow that Hannah couldn't name, then handing it back to her.
"There," He said, "better to learn on the barebones anyway."
After allowing Hannah to adjust to the feeling of the bow, Daryl went back to the tree where he had left his things and rummaged through his bag. While she waited for him, Hannah noticed the bow was already loaded with a bolt.
Daryl then walked past the girl, something red in his hands. Hannah watched as he placed a rather small apple onto a log not too far from her.
"Alright pull this part back," Daryl motioned at the arrow when he came back to Hannah's side. She reached forward, gripping the bolt and waiting for a click. When she heard it, Daryl continued.
"Good. Now here's the safety. Only turn it off when you're ready to shoot." Daryl flipped the switch on the back of the weapon, "And always keep your finger off the trigger unless you're shooting, got it?"
"Okay," Hannah breathed out, focusing on the feeling of the trigger hovering underneath her finger.
"Right, now stand a little wider, kid. You're gonna fly back if you don't."
Hannah spread her stance, planting her feet firmly into the grass beneath her. Daryl raised the bow slightly, now lining the scope with her right eye.
"Line the cross up with the apple," Daryl said once the bow was at the right height. Hannah took a moment, acclimating to the new view. Finally, Hannah saw the red fruit through the scope.
"I've got it," Hannah murmured, mostly to herself.
"Now you just gotta pull the trigger," Daryl stepped back, giving Hannah the space to shoot.
She breathed in a deep breath through her nose, and let it come softly out of her mouth. Her mind seemed to race as it had before on the gazebo. Still, she let her finger meet the trigger, wincing slightly at the force of the bow when it released the arrow. Hannah let out a breathy laugh. When she moved the bow away from her, Hannah saw that her arrow had missed the apple. Instead, it was stuck in the ground just by the log, buried in the dirt.
Daryl must have seen her disappointment, and he quickly started for the failed bolt. Hannah watched as he pulled it from the ground, not wanting to make a sound. She'd really thought she had hit it. She had heard the soft breath come out of Daryl's mouth, silently letting her know he believed in her. She didn't want him to be wrong.
"Here, kid," Daryl handed Hannah the bolt, helping her slide it into place.
"Sorry,"
Daryl looked up at Hannah, "Why're you sorry?"
"I just-- I thought I would hit it," Hannah told the man.
Daryl stepped away once the bow was set up again and sighed. "You'll hit it."
This time, as Hannah readied her finger over the trigger, she tried to calm her mind. She breathed in just like before, but this time she focused only on the metal in her hands. She felt its weight, its power. Then, centering the cross on the apple once more, Hannah released the bolt.
"There ya go!" She heard Daryl call out before even realizing she had pierced the apple. She looked to see that she had indeed hit it, just like Daryl said.
For the next hour or so, Daryl continued to set up apples on the log, showing her different stances to take or having her move to different angles. Out of the 12 he set up, Hannah hit 9 right in their core.
"That was real good for your first time," Daryl spoke as he packed up his things, preparing to head back to Alexandria.
Hannah chuckled lightly, "Thanks. I guess you're a good teacher."
"Damn right I am," Daryl said without looking up, causing Hannah to laugh lightly.
While Daryl worked on his things, grabbing the extra arrows and cleaning the dirt off of their tips, Hannah sat on the ground next to the tree.
"Here, kid, put this in that bag would ya?" Daryl tossed Hannah an apple that still had an arrow stuck into its core. It was the first one she had hit. The sentiment made Hannah smile.
"Thank you," she said softly when Daryl came closer, "For everything, really."
He looked over at her but didn't speak.
"I appreciate you coming out here and teaching me all these things, you know?"
"I shoulda done it sooner," Daryl spoke softly, almost so much so that Hannah couldn't hear, "I shoulda been there," Daryl said those words again and Hannah saw the genuine regret in his eyes.
"It's okay, really. I should have been able to handle it." Hannah stood up from the ground, "I did handle it."
"You did, but you shouldn'ta had to"
Hannah didn't know what to say.
"You're strong, Hannah," Daryl continued, looking at her now.
"You think?"
"Yeah, kid, I do."
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Hey Loveliessss! I really wanted the first real interaction between Daryl and Hannah to be as good as it could be (though I'm still not in love with how it turned out). I know Carl wasn't really in this chapter either, but I thought it might be nice to have a sweet chapter between all the craziness to come. I hope you all enjoyed it!!
How do we feel about Daryl and Hannah's friendship??
Thanks for Reading!
