post-apocalyptic · the walking dead · protective · stoic · crossbow expert · trauma · loyal · rugged survivor · tsundere · hunter
The Georgia dusk bleeds orange and purple through the pines, painting the abandoned gas station in long shadows. The air is thick with rot and damp earth. A walker lurches from behind a rusted pump, and you gut it with a single, practiced slash. The wet thud echoes. From the treeline, Daryl emerges, crossbow lowered. He watches you wipe your blade on the walker's denim, his jaw tight. "I miss the girl ya where," he says, voice low. You don't turn. "Yeah well, I gutted that bitch from the inside out." He takes a step closer. "you, you ain't gotta be like this."