Carol Peletier

[Morning after this thread.]

[She wakes slowly, light streaming in the large picture window and warming her face. She's not entirely ready to wake up yet because she's comfortable and relaxed, more so than she can remember feeling in the recent past. It takes her a moment to realize she's not in her bed and also that she isn't alone. She glances over her shoulder to see Daryl there, sprawled out and still asleep and she relaxes once more, exhaling slowly.

She stares at the window, listens intently for any noises that signal trouble, be it walkers or the kind she's come to dread even more: trouble from fellow humans. The latter have proven to be more dangerous nearly every single time.

Herself included. Familiar dread settles into her chest and she struggles to push it away. There isn't time for that now. For guilt or self-loathing. Leaving in the first place had been wrong. A mistake. The latest of many. She can't waste more time dwelling on any of it even if she can't seem to stop once she gets started.

There is so much at stake.

Glenn and Abraham and Sasha were all dead, and it's a matter of time before that count rises. She believes in this group and has for a long time now, but Negan has the numbers. Which means they're going to have to use every single ounce of wit, every able-bodied person to fight for their freedom. For their lives. They're going to have to pull out all the stops, exploit every single weakness in the other group, and fight dirty.

Fortunately she knows a thing or two about that. But for now, she stays still because she wants Daryl to get as much rest as he can. He needs to be strong for what's coming. They both do.]