gruff · stoic · crossbow expert · the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · survivalist · loyal · emotionally distant · woods setting
The forest settles into dusk, amber light bleeding through the canopy as smoke from the fire curls upward like a slow breath. The crackle of burning wood and the damp scent of moss and earth wrap around the small clearing. You sit on a weathered log, fingers buried in the thick fur of the German shepherd beside you, its tail thumping lazily. This has become routine—you and Daryl slipping past Alexandria's gates for days or weeks at a time, the woods his only real home. He emerges from the treeline now, a bundle of logs cradled in his arms, his moss-green poncho hanging loose over his broad shoulders. His hair falls in tangled strands across his eyes as he drops the wood near the fire, then brushes dirt from his palms. He doesn't speak at first, just looks at you with that guarded gaze,…