memoryhallowed

[memoryhallowed]

wexarethewalkingxdead​:

Rick held his breath as he continued to drop a little feed here and there, luring the chickens toward the stall. He counted about ten of them altogether. They’d have to fashion something to carry the chickens in when they left. They would be good egg source, and if not, they’d at least provide some meat. So it was a win-win either way.

Once he got most of them into the stall, he tossed the remainder of the feed inside, watching as the chickens clucked and rushed toward the dropped feed. Once the last one crossed the threshold, he managed to slide a large piece of wood over the door so that they would hopefully be secured inside so they could move freely around the rest of the barn for the time being. “Success,” he growled with a pump of his fist into the air.

He moved back toward the ladder. “Come on down. You can clean up some while I check the back of this truck.” He could only hope and pray that what was inside was worth all the trouble they had gone through today.

The chickens seemed happy enough to follow the trail of food - there were more than he’d initially thought, like they were some kind of chicken ninjas coming out of the woodwork. Still, that was good for them - they could take them back to the communities, make sure they had a steady supply of eggs.

Once they were secured Jesus let out a relieved little breath, the corner of his mouth crooking toward a smile as he watched Rick fist pump in celebration. Looks like they weren’t going to meet their end due to noisy chickens afterall.

“Thank god,” Jesus breathed as he lithely made his way down the ladder. It was impossible to ignore the smell from the rotting flesh they’d covered themselves in, and he was eager to get as much off as possible. He was glad he hadn’t worn his duster - it’d be a pain to get the blood and guts off it. Once the horde moved through he could go back and get it.

He headed toward a spigot that he imagined connected outside rain barrels, hoping they still worked after being unused for so long. He turned the tap and there were bubbling sounds, a soft whine, and then water came pouring out. “Got water!” he said, voice low, but enough for Rick to hear him. He was quick to fill up his bladder flask that was attached to his belt and set that aside before he let the water run over his hands, taking with it the rust stained blood. He couldn’t help the little relieved groan as he cupped the water and scrubbed it over his face, doing it again and again to get the blood off, though he was sure there was going to be some stuck in his beard until he could get to a shower with water pressure. He’d probably have to stop in Alexandria for that.

[memoryhallowed]

its-a-superpower​:

Connie knew that it wasn’t the highest body count a group of five people could have; still, she scanned Daryl’s expression for any sign that this might make things go wrong and fuck up her family’s chances of finally finding somewhere safe. She felt a slight relief when he moved on to the next question.

However, it was short lived, because that third and last question was not any easier to answer than the previous one– in fact, it was harder.

She knew things about her family, things she couldn’t just say to him because they were secrets that weren’t known by even some of her other family members, and as much as she wanted to trust Daryl, she’d promised to not spread those secrets to anyone ever, and she was a woman of her word, when if that meant being vague. She would try her best not to be so though.

“We have run into a lot of people,” she wrote on her notepad, showing it to Daryl and giving him a moment to read before adding more. “Most good, some bad. We protect each other, and that has more than once ended in people who tried to harm us or our loved ones dying.”

Sometimes the lines between good and bad were blurry, sometimes there was just people who were scared, and fear made them do stupid things. But that didn’t mean they should just allow those stupid things to get them and the people they cared about killed. It wasn’t a sacrifice Connie was willing to make, and she’d sacrificed a lot since the world ended.

“I can’t say I’m proud of that, but I don’t regret protecting my family,” she added after a pause.

His gaze trailed over the page and the answer was about what he expected. Was the right answer, far as he was concerned. Seemed like there was no shortage of people trying to do harm these days, and keeping people safe was hard as hell.

Sometimes y’had to do things you didn’t want to.

Daryl gave a slight nod at that, tried not to grimace at the ache that spread through his head at the motion. “I get that,” he said, once more fighting the urge to duck his head. There were things he’d done, shit there were so many damn things he’d done protecting his family that he wasn’t proud of, but it didn’t matter, cos it’d either kept ‘em safe or it hadn’t. He’d do anything for ‘em, no matter the cost.

He eyed her for a long moment, even though he already knew what he was gonna do. They seemed like good people, the kinda people this world needed. The kind of people this world kept losing, and if he could help stop that from happening, if only for a little while, he’d do it. “It’s called Alexandria,” he said. “One of the communities, probably the one I’ll take you too, but there’s others too,” he said. He wasn’t sure what Michonne would think of it - probably nothing good, but he’d cross that bridge when he got to it.

[memoryhallowed]

rayofsunshinc​:

Daryl was truly underestimating the places that college students found to hang out at that were cheap and served to minors. Still, it was a far stretch to think that before, Aaron and Daryl would have found themselves in the same bar. It was a shame that it took the world ending for them to cross paths.

❝Really?❞ Aaron asked curiously, not meant to pry. What better did they really have to do than talk about before?  ❝I had some of the best, greasiest cheese fries in the world at a fancy place like this ordering room service once.❞ He recalled, sighing out a little playfully dramatic. ❝If I have to miss it, you have to think about it too.❞ He smiled.

Food these days was nothing more than something t’get ‘em by - he took what he could get and wasn’t picky, but damn if Aaron talking about greasy fries didn’t make his stomach growl. He huffed, giving his eyes a good natured roll as he took a sip of the liquor to distract his stomach. “Best fries I ever got were at some hole in the wall,” he said, and man, if that didn’t feel like half a dozen different lifetimes ago.

“Put some vinegar on ‘em, washed ‘em back with a beer,” he all but sighed. “Got ‘em free too, but that was just cos the cook was gettin’ oxy from Merle,” he said. That mighta been too much sharing - but to be fair, he was drinkin’ some good ass bourbon on an empty stomach and it’d been probably a good year or so since he’d had anything alcoholic.

[memoryhallowed]

rayofsunshinc​:

Aaron nodded slowly. ❝I’ve been there a time or two. Mostly in college when I was trying to make up for being a good kid back at home.❞ He smiled a little. He crossed the space to pour some of the bourbon in Daryl’s glass. He capped it back up and set it to the side. 

He sat down next to Daryl and held his glass up. ❝Cheers?❞ There wasn’t much worth cheersing too these days. But despite the fact that they were trapped for a little while, Aaron thought it was nice to be there with Daryl. Their friendship might have seemed a little unlikely to others, but Aaron found it to be an easy one. ❝Too bad we can’t call room service later.❞ He joked.

Daryl let out a little sound of amusement. He’d never been t’college, never stepped foot on a campus and he didn’t regret that, cos he imagined he woulda hated it, but it did mean he couldn’t quite picture Aaron in college. He imagined he woulda frequented somewhere a sight better than a dirty hole in the walls he ‘n Merle got to to get shitfaced. He eyed the drink as it was poured, corner of his mouth sloping toward a slight smile, just a twitch.

“Cheers,” he said, gruffly, knocking his glass against Aaron’s. He snorted, taking a sip of the bourbon and letting it burn on down his throat. “I ain’t missin’ it. Never had room service,” he said, though he doubted that was much of a surprise. “Think this is the fanciest place I’ve ever been in,” he said - though that country club he’d hit up with Beth had been pretty damn fancy - and even now his throat felt a little tight at the thought of her, at the thought of all the people they’d lost over the years.

[memoryhallowed]

wexarethewalkingxdead​:

Rick managed to get a small tear into the bag of chicken feed and reached in and grabbed a handful and moved the beam around to where the chickens would need to move so that he could get to the rain barrels. He saw a small stall that looked like it maybe held some kind of animal at one point since the barn had been erected. He then looked around for a bucket or a cup to carry more feed so he could lure them toward that corner of the barn.

His attention was split. Half of him was watching the chickens and trying to figure out how to get them to move where he needed them and the other half was on what Jesus was saying. “So long as we don’t give them a reason to stop and hang out, I think we’ll be good. The barn seems like a solid structure.” Built back when things were made to last. They were lucky for that or it would probably give way with even a small herd pushing through.

He found a cup with a crack down the side but it would have to do. He filled the cup and made a soft clucking noise as he began to spread the seed on the dirt floor. The beam of light shown where the feed had fallen and the chickens immediately began to move and cluck. He frowned, knowing that he couldn’t keep that from happening as he had no control over the farmyard fowl.

“Gonna lead them over to the corner. Might be able to trap them inside. Then maybe we can clean up a little and find out if there’s anything to eat in here.” He was starving. He’d expected to be well on their way back to the communities by now.

Jesus watched as Rick opened the chicken feed, feeling a little more hopeful that they might be able to keep it down until the horde passed. “If you can distract the birds long enough,” he said with a crooked smirk as he watched him from the hayloft. “We should get out of here by morning,” he said. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten caught up on a run and it probably wouldn’t be the last, although usually he was alone.

  The chickens seemed eager enough to eat, heading straight toward the feed as Rick dropped it down. “Sounds like a good plan,” Jesus said, glancing once more out the window to make sure the herd wasn’t up to anything - still making it’s slow, steady, groaning approach. It still made him shudder, the way those things moved.

He moved toward the ladder. “Looks like they should follow the food,” he said, voice low. The repeated mention of food had his stomach twisting - but he was used to going without food for longer and at this point, he’d had something earlier that morning. He’d be fine for the rest of the day at least, if there wasn’t anything in here worthwhile.

[memoryhallowed]

its-a-superpower​:

That question had a way less vague answer, yet that didn’t make it any easier to answer. Connie wasn’t proud of the lives she’d taken, yet she didn’t regret it either, nor did she judge her family for the lives they had taken, but she knew for a fact that some people might not be as understanding or willing to hear the whole story as she had been, specially when it came to Magna and the fact she had taken a love before the world ended.

Connie cast her eyes down for a moment, burying her hand in Dog’s neck fur and striking lightly for a moment before she gathered up the courage to write on her notepad and look Daryl in the eyes as she held it up for him to read.

“Between all of us, about 20 people,” she answered.

Twenty people in a decade might not sound like a lot, Connie had the misfortune of running into people who had way more blood on their hands, innocent blood. Daryl didn’t strike her as that kind of man, the fact that one of his group’s three questions for new people was how many people they’d killed gave her hopes that they weren’t the trigger happy kind.

It wasn’t the easiest question for anyone to answer. This world, it made things of people that they never woulda been before. Hell, even Daryl, as shitty as he’d been hanging around with Merle, he’d ever killed anybody before and figured he never woulda. Then again, he mighta been dead himself ‘fore forty anyway, so it was a moot point.

Still. 

This world was tough and cruel. Could make monsters outta people, though killing someone didn’t necessarily make y’one. Killing a lot of somebodies didn’t even make y’one, least, Daryl sure as shit hoped not cos it’d put him right in that category.

His gaze scanned the page as she held it up and his head gave a short jerk, teeth pressing against his lower lip. Wasn’t the lowest they’d gotten as an answer, but it was a group - ‘n it was lower than his family’s number by - shit, he didn’t even know.

But that wasn’t the point.

The point was the next question.

“Why?” he asked.

[memoryhallowed]

wexarethewalkingxdead​:

Rick returned the beam to the chickens, trying to figure out how to get them away from the barrels without causing them to keep up a fuss. Chickens could be loud and mean when provoked. Hell. They could be loud and mean without being provoked. As he heard Jesus suggest chicken feed, he moved the beam of light around the inside of the barn, trying to read the labels on the few bags and boxes that were still stacked against the barn wall. 

He narrowed his eyes. His eyesight was shit in the darkened barn even with the beam of light shining directly onto it. He moved slowly closer to the stack, moving a couple bags that were clearly marked as some kind of seeds. That would come in handy once he figured out what it was. It was under those couple bags that he found a nice sized bag of feed. 

“Bingo,” he called up to the other man. He put the flashlight into his mouth, trying to hold it steady while he lifted the back onto his shoulder and carried it to where he could see what he was doing. They’d most definitely be taking the chickens with them if they could catch then and get them in some kind of cage. Or even a sack. 

“How’s it lookin’ up there?” He could only hope that the horde would keep right on moving past the barn once they didn’t hear any other sound coming from inside. If that happened, it would definitely be the only stroke of luck they’d gotten today. 

There was a flash of white in the dim as Jesus grinned - luck was always appreciated on a run and they could definitely use it now after being forced to hide in a barn with murderous chicken(s).

He turned back toward the window as Rick asked what it was looking like, and the grin faded toward a frown. The good news - it didn’t look like the horde was going to be setting up camp for weeks as the sometimes could when something caught their attention, but on the other hand… “We might be here for a little while,” he said. “There’s….a lot of them,” he said. Sometimes it was hard to wrap his head around the fact that all of those rotting bodies out there had once been a person.

Honestly, it was easier if he forgot it.

“It doesn’t look like they’re stopping but with that number….few hours before they all make it past, if we’re lucky and none of them get curious about the barn.” he said. He really didn’t want to attempt to make their way through it again - it seemed like they’d maybe merged with another horde along the way, which was always a bitch numbers wise.

[memoryhallowed]

rayofsunshinc​:

❝That would be a first. Daryl Dixon turning down an argument.❞ Aaron teased with a little smile. He looked back at the bottles of liquor, humming softly before he put his hand on the bourbon. ❝I’ve never been good with light liquor.❞ He admitted with a soft laugh. He recalled college nights with too much liquor and bad decisions. Also, Aaron was an emotional drunk when he ended up having too much. He’d much preferred weed to alcohol if he had a choice. Obviously, he’d take what he could get now, just to take the edge off. Not to end up crying on the floor or being careless and putting them in some kind of danger. With that thought, he glanced back at the tattered curtains, thankful they were up higher.

 ❝What about you? You have a preference?❞ He asked as he uncapped the darker for himself. He poured some into the glass. It probably wouldn’t take much with the way that they were living now, so long without good alcohol and rations of food. He stopped pouring at a third of the short glass with that thought in mind. ❝I can open the vodka for you, if you want.❞

He let out a little gruff grunt at that. Didn’t know anyone would turn down liquor when there was nothing better to do anyway. He eyed Aaron at that, trying to imagine him before the world went to shit. Definitely wouldn’t have run in any the same circle as Daryl and he couldn’t really place him at the shitty bars he ‘n Merle used to go to. Still, some small part of him thought it mighta been nice, knowing Aaron before the turn. 

“Used t’be whatever got me drunk,” Daryl said wryly with a shrug. He wasn’t picky with liquor really - more often than not he’d just be plowing through whatever gaggle of six packs he and Merle got from the convenience store. Then there was always the moonshine. Always seemed to be some around, looking back. “Nah, ‘ll stick with what yer havin’,” he said. Might earn them some good will back home if they brought back an unopened bottle of liquor, after all - though he wasn’t sure how the hell they’d manage to ration that off without feelings getting hurt.

[memoryhallowed]

wexarethewalkingxdead​:

Rick hadn’t been holding out too much hope for said flashlight so to have the desired object be tossed down to him was a true gift. After narrowly catching it with just two fingers, he managed to click the beam of light on and moved it around the barn. There was more stuff in there than he’d initially thought. He caught sight of the barrels and looked up. “You’re not gonna believe this.”

He kept the beam steady as the chicken and about three or four of its buddies stood between him and the barrels. “That asshole chicken…” He rolled his eyes as he turned the beam up toward the loft and accidently shined it in Jesus’ eyes before moving it aside.

“Roast chicken is sounding better and better." 

Jesus squinted down the ladder, trying to see what Rick was illuminating down below. He hadn’t gotten a truly good look in the brief time they’d been down there. He glanced over his shoulder toward the hayloft window, trying to see how far the horde went out beyond the barn, only to have Rick’s voice distract him.

He raised a brow, creeping a little closer to the edge to peer down and - that was more chickens than he remembered there being. He squinted against the bright light, though it was brief enough not to hurt too badly and he huffed a laugh.

“I may be starting to agree with you,” he said, and then paused. “Wait - maybe there’s something down there to distract them - like a bag of feed they haven’t gotten into yet?” He was sure the chickens had no problem leaving the barn before they got here and probably could scavenge pretty well on the grounds, but he knew the chickens at Hilltop couldn’t get enough of the chicken feed they occasionally brought back from a good run.

[memoryhallowed]

wexarethewalkingxdead​:

Rick let out a soft snort as Jesus’ statement was nothing but common sense. “We always get ourselves into mess after mess, don’t we?” He shook his head before rubbing his palms against his face, hoping to rub some of the dried blood from his face. The blood was pulling at the stubble on his cheeks and making him uncomfortable.

At the mention of a rainwater tank, his head snapped to attention. That had his interest piqued. He climbed to his feet and headed toward the ladder that lead down from the loft. “I think I’ll take my chances.” If they could get a fire going inside the barn without the risk of burning it down, they might have roast chicken if the damn thing played its cards right.

“Don’t happen to have a flashlight on you, do you?” It would make looking in the almost pitch black darkness that much easier. Only his chest and up was visible as he moved down the ladder and then out of sight. 

Jesus inclined his head in agreement. That seemed true, though he supposed it wouldn’t be the end of the world without a mess or two. Or hundred. But they always did seem to come out on top. So far. And he had to think they would now (entertaining any other outcome wasn’t really an option - he was all about having a positive mental image). 

He held back a noise of amusement at Rick’s sudden attention at the mention of the water trap - he was just as eager to get the gunk off his face as Rick, he imagined.

“Actually,” Jesus said, moving toward the edge of the hayloft as he peered down at Rick, reaching into one of the pockets in his cargo pants (a scavenging essential) to retrieve the small flashlight.

“Here,” he said, waiting until Rick looked up at him to toss it down, though it was hard to see him in the dim lighting.

He waited with baited breath for the sound of an angry chicken, but there was nothing. Which - wasn’t all that reassuring, for some reason. Did chickens have the capacity for stealth attacks?

[memoryhallowed]

its-a-superpower​:

Connie could tell from his body language that it was hard for Daryl to be having this conversation, and it worried her because it made her realize just how little she knew about him. But she wanted to trust him- needed to because she was tired of thinking that everyone outside of her family could be a threat and out to them, having to worry about the sickos was stressful enough. If there was any chance they might come across good people who might take them in, Connie would take it.

The question was odd. Connie couldn’t even find a clear answer through it by trying to recall the times she’d put walkers down, it’d just been way too many.

“A lot. Too many to count,” she wrote on her notepad, trying to make it as clear as possible because she hated being vague. “That stands for my family too.”

She motioned to where her group was with her hand as she said this, wanting to make it clear that she didn’t mean just her sister, but all of them. Magna, Luke and Yumiko had become family to her and Kelly. They’d been through hell and back and that had brought them together like nothing else.

“Next question?” she wrote, unsure if she’d be able to answer all of them for herself and her family, but she’d try.

Too many to count. Sounded about right. 

Daryl’s chin jerked upward in a nod of acknowledgement. That was the answer a lotta people gave - was understandable too, this far into the end of the world. The only way to survive was killin’ the dead, though some were lucky enough to be able to avoid ‘em more than others, he supposed. Not his group.

Not hers neither.

His gaze slid toward the rest of her group, his teeth digging into his lower lip. He trusted Connie, and his trust in her was enough to extend to the rest of her group, but it was a big risk, takin’ ‘em all back. Still. He wouldn’t feel right, leavin’ ‘em out here - to starve or worse.

Everyone needed help eventually.

He looked back toward the notepad and swallowed. Right.

“How many people?”

[memoryhallowed]

walkrbait​:

Lips quirked at Aaron’s comment and the following roll of Aaron’s hips into his had the man letting out a groaned breath. There probably wouldn’t be much need for talking coming up. Dominic’s one leg came up to hitch at Aaron’s waist, rubbing playfully back and forth as his foot dipped to rub against the back of the other man’s calf. 

Dom let his head drop back, pulling off the kiss for a moment. He reached up, hand on the side of Aaron’s face with a light smile. “Is this okay for you like this?” He gestured to the false arm keeping Aaron propped up, hand dropping to the man’s hip to dip his thumb into the waistband of Aaron’s jeans a bit. Lips tugged into a small smirk. “I mean I love having a gorgeous man on top of me but you’ll tell me if we need to shift at all, yeah?” He lifted up to kiss him again, fingers at Aaron’s waistband moving between them to the man’s belt buckle. 

He blinked down at Dom as he pulled off the kiss, mouth quirking at the hand on the side of his face, at the question. He appreciated Dom’s concern, though at the moment the pressure of his hips against Dom’s was chasing away any feelings aside from pleasure.

The prosthetic wasn’t the most comfortable, especially putting his weight on it like he was, but the discomfort was more than worth it to be over Dom like this, and he wasn’t about to give up on the sight, not at least until he’d enjoyed it for a little bit at least. Aaron grinned back, slightly crooked. “I’ll tell you,” he promised, voice muffled against his mouth, muscles in his belly tensing as Dom’s fingers moved to his belt buckle.

[memoryhallowed]

rayofsunshinc​:

❝Oh. Sure haven’t.❞ Aaron turned to open a small cabinet, usually stocked with glasses and a bottle of liquor or two, maybe wine. This one had one unopened bottle of Wild Turkey and another of Absolute Vodka. ❝We are in luck.❞ He put the bourbon on the top of the counter, gesturing one hand toward it.

Aaron took two of the dusty glasses out of the cabinet. He blew into each of the glasses, trying to rid them of the dust. It mostly worked. He handed one to Daryl. ❝I know being intoxicated might not be the best idea, but I think we’re safe up here. Also - ❞ He reached back into the cabinet for two clean bottles of water.  He tossed one over onto the bed, closer to Daryl. ❝This is the cleanest water we’ve probably seen in years.❞

Daryl grunted in approval when Aaron opened up the cabinet to reveal the liquor. It’d been a longass while since he’d had anything good and maybe it wasn’t strictly speaking a good idea now - not with the herd outside, and maybe a bit cos Daryl’d never been a nice drunk. But he wasn’t looking to get shitfaced or nothing, might be nice to taste something that hadn’t been brewed in no toilet, was all.

He took the glass, eyeing the bottle of water that was tossed over. “Ain’t gonna get no argument from me,” he said, moving over to the bed to plop himself down. He still felt like he should do another lap of the room, make sure they were all locked up tight, but he knew he was just bein’ paranoid. Unless a whole buncha biters had been lurking in the hallway where they couldn’t see ‘em, there wasn’t nothing around.

They were safe.

Safe as they’d ever be, at least.

“What’s yer poison,” he asked, curious, jerking his head toward the liquor bottles.

[memoryhallowed]

its-a-superpower​:

Connie knew she should ask about the communities, for her family and for her own safety, but there was a part of her that didn’t want to ask now, not when they were helping him and he might take it as her wanting something in exchange for helping him. Though she told herself over and over that Daryl wasn’t like that- hell, he’d brought them fish way before he’d gotten hurt and then she helped him, so they were in hand.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to ask, because Daryl offered all on his own.

She met his eyes and she could tell that he was struggling to keep eye contact, so she looked away for a few seconds to spare him the awkwardness of being stared at on silence, until she gathered her thoughts enough to be able to write them down on her notepad.

“Would you get in trouble for doing so?” was her first question.

As much as she wanted to find a place where her family could be safe and go one night where they didn’t fear that they’d wake up to a herd stumbling through their camp, Connie didn’t want to cause Daryl any trouble with whoever his friends were. She also couldn’t ensure that if he took them there, they’d be allowed to stay. Her group wasn’t the most conventional one, and Connie had already experienced a few times how some people reacted to finding out Magna was an ex-convict.

“What are your group’s rules?” she asked next.

His gaze dropped, teeth chewing at his lower lip. He didn’t look up again until she wrote on the notepad. 

He shook his head. He knows that none of the communities are exactly clamoring for new people and Michonne even less so - least had been the last time he’d been through for a visit, but he knows there ain’t one of ‘em who’d really kick up a fuss if Daryl brought somebody back and vouched for ‘em. 

And if they did - well, Daryl could handle a bit of fussin’. 

“Ain’t…” he started with a frown. “Ain’t no real rules, as such,” he said, mouth twisting after a moment. “‘s three questions though.” The words feel a little like sand in his mouth, cos they weren’t his questions. They’d been Rick’s questions and the reminder stings like a papercut, shallow and quick but painful.

“How many walkers you killed?” he asked, chin jutting up and forcing the question out against a lump in his throat.

[memoryhallowed]

wexarethewalkingxdead​:

Rick’s jaw was clenched as he thought about how long they’d be stuck in the barn. He’d hoped to be home before midnight at the latest, but that wasn’t looking to be the case now. He sank down close to the loft window so he could see the herd but remain out of sight as well. He rested his arms across his knees as he looked over at Jesus.

“When do you think we’ll learn to plan for things like this?” He let his head fall back against the wall of the barn and let out a soft sigh. He didn’t want to go back down the ladder and stir the chicken up again if he didn’t have to either. He wanted the chicken to stay as quiet as possible so it didn’t get the attention of the walkers outside the barn walls.

They were covered in walker guts and blood. The more it dried the worse it felt. He wanted desperately to wash the muck from his face, but there wasn’t a clean bit of cloth anywhere on him. “Did you happen to check out what’s down there?” He wasn’t a fan of wasting supplies, but if it gave them a bit of relief while they waited, he just might have to make an exception. 

Jesus let out a little amused noise. “As soon as we start planning for things like this, I’m sure they’ll be something else we forgot to plan for,” he mused. There wasn’t anything they could do about it now, they just had to sit and wait it out and hope the walkers grew bored before things got dire inside the barn.

The stench of rot was hard to block out though - he’d thought he would have gone nose blind by now but he could still smell the guts on him, thinking about it made his skin itch. Hilltop had allowed everyone a certain measure of hygiene, one he’d grown a little too used to despite his frequent trips outside the walls. What he wouldn’t give to stand out in those outdoor showers and wash all the viscera from his skin.

“I didn’t get a close look,” he replied. “Usual farming equipment, the stalls are empty. Saw a rainwater tank around back, that looked promising, may have a hookup on the inside,” he said. “Have to go up against the chicken to get to it though,” he said with a grimace.

[memoryhallowed]

☂ for our muses to stargaze (daryl) answered ask | @nomadical Few times, since the world had gone to shit, Daryl’d heard others remark about how the sky looked, what with all the city lights out, the world blanketed in dark. He hadn’t noticed any different, but then again, where he’d come from, the skies were always near clear - stars splashed across ‘em far as the eye could see. He knew the constellations like the back of his hand, though weren’t for pleasure purposes, not really. Them stars up there were like a map, one he could use to get himself home if he’d ever got himself turned round in the woods. They weren’t too far from home now though - either of ‘ems - so he supposed they were just for looking at, tonight. Was a pretty sight though, Daryl could admit that. Prettier sight might be the body beside him on the ground, but he wasn’t about to say that. Just glanced at him outta the corner of his eye, leaned back against a log at the edge of meadow, shoulders close enough to touch. “‘s the big dipper over there,” he said, just cos.   

[memoryhallowed]

The fifth circuit around the room didn’t reveal much more than the first or second, but Daryl still felt a bit edgy. He didn’t like being cooped up - -specially not in no fancy hotel room. It was old and dusty and obviously hadn’t been used since the outbreak began, but it was still nicer than any room Daryl’d ever stayed in in his life. Made him twitchy. He grunted at Aaron’s observation, opening a closet again - all that was inside was some hangers and an ironing board. 

He glanced over as Aaron crossed the room, a snort of amusement escaping him. “Shame,” he said, as if he were the type of person to have ever ordered room service in his life. “Y’check the mini bar?” he asked - not even sure there was one. His knowledge of fancy hotels was limited to whatever happened in a movie, but he was pretty sure they were a thing. And wasn’t like liquor really went bad.

               starter for @memoryhallowed  |  Aaron & Daryl 

Aaron peeked out of the musty old curtains once more, letting out a heavy sigh at the sight of the hoard that was surrounding the place. If they didn’t migrate away soon this would become a problem. For the night, they could stick it out if they had to. He and Daryl had ended up in this mess on a run together. It almost felt like the old days, when Aaron had first talked Daryl into recruiting with him.

❝It looks like we’ll be here awhile.❞ They’d luckily found one of the rooms empty, not smelling too horribly like rot, no ancient gut and blood stains on the walls, just musty and old. They were on the third floor of what once must have been a pretty fancy hotel. Their safe space had a big bed, sofa, huge tv, and jacuzzi, all covered in dust and dirt, walls cracking and curtains raggedy. Aaron crossed the room, arms folded over his chest, metal one gleaming. ❝I don’t think we’ll be able to call room service though.❞