dadyl | 𝙿𝙴𝙽𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙱𝙾𝚇 ;

Yeah.

[ The twins don't talk, but they're still part of the team. Family to the end. So, they learned. It was always that simple.

Gabe hums a little, taking that in. More names. ]

Think it helps. Knowing that you're learning for someone. Decker and Sunny, they were always good to me. Good to everyone, really. Wasn't any other choice. We weren't going to leave them behind, after.

[ He's quiet for a moment. Then: ]

They got caught, on a job. Them and Prior. We couldn't get them out fast enough.

[ He doesn't spell out the rest. No need, he thinks. ]

[ Daryl just nods to himself, remembering all the ways his own people had been hurt in the past when things went wrong. Aaron's arm, Hershel's leg. All those that didn't make it. He's curious about what sort of injury could cause a loss of speech but he doesn't ask. Gabe is telling him the details he wants him to know and that's enough. ]

What happens if you can't kill for your bosses anymore? [ He's being very quiet and the snow around them seems to muffle him even further as they walk. ] If someone did get hurt that bad?

[ He doesn't know if he's allowed to ask or if Gabe will flare up at the question. He's asking a lot indirectly, like what would have happened to Gabe himself if his tech operation hadn't worked? What would have happened to the two that couldn't communicate anymore? What could still happen to him again if he does make it back? Daryl's own world's rules seem simple compared to whatever is locking Gabe into his existence back home. ]

[ In some ways, that's a very simple question. There's an ending to all of this, one that Gabe's known for a long time. Once you get past a certain rank, Wolves just stop retiring. They know too much, they've done too much. The contracts wind tighter and tighter until there's really only one way out.

Snow crunches underfoot. He exhales. ]

Missy had to call in favors to get me this tech. A lot of favors. And this was after the twins got hurt.

[ His tone is very even. He knows what it cost her. What it cost all of them. ]

They'll drop us the moment we stop making them a profit.

[ It's what he'd assumed, more or less, and he can sense the abyss that Gabe is talking around. ]

Yeah. That's not what I'm askin', though.

[ He knows exactly what he's doing when he reaches out and brushes a soft touch over the ports on the back of Gabe's neck, brushing new-fallen snow off of them. The flurry has picked up just a little and the flakes leave a red smear behind. ]

But I think I get the picture.

[ He knows everyone he loves back home will die, sooner rather than later and some more brutally than others, but they at least have freedom in the meantime. More of it than they've ever had before. ]

Least everythin' grows back here.

By which I mean they'll kill us.

[ It's said without much emotion, just a fact of life he's had a long time to get used to. Wolves do retire - sometimes. Just not once you get to the level his team did, and not after the shit they pulled. They were never upper management material, just grunts, and he's known for a long time they were only worth what they could pull in. And if they can't earn anymore, then the corp will cut them loose and call it a day.

Simple. It's not even personal.

He hums to himself. ]

Yeah. Guess that's something.

[ That's what he'd assumed, but Daryl looks down at the snow they're walking through for a little while in silence. There's nothing he can say to that because there's nothing he can do about it. Certainly not when they're both trapped where they are. He can't keep Judith and RJ from starving back home any more than he can help Gabe's predicament.

But Daryl is used to accepting a lot of things he can't change. It's bitter, but he's had the practice. ]

It's fucked, but... in a way, we're safer here.

[ He shrugs, giving the hotel a hateful look but sighing quietly at the same time. ]

More pain, but we ain't goin' anywhere if it comes to it. I just catch myself wishin' everyone we lost was here, too. An' that wouldn't be fair, either.

[ But he misses them. God, he misses all of them so much. ]

[ Gabe sorts at that, though he doesn't deny it. There's a bitter sort of acceptance there. Despite all the hurt, this place is almost -

It has its moments, he thinks to himself, and exhales. ]

That's the crux of it. If my people were here, we could stop - fighting, all the goddamn time. But they'd get hurt and I don't want that, either.

[ Fighting. It does seem like that's all Daryl and his people are made to do back home. They'd had their peaceful periods but wars and disasters and unlucky accidents were always finding them. Shaving off members of families and entire communities. At least here, he knows that constant fight is one thing that isn't consuming Carol. Daryl hasn't had to watch someone he loves die and disappear from his life in over a year. At least not in the way he used to. ]

We got what we got.

[ And Daryl knows how to survive on what he has. He sighs, slowing to a stop and looking back the way they came. ]

There ain't much to see out here.

[ Only a mostly undisturbed layer of blood-red snow and a flurry that's picking up in intensity. It's dark and the shadows are deep. ]

You got somethin' specific you wanna look for?

We do.

[ That makes it simple, in a way. He thinks Daryl understands that better than a lot of the people he's met over the years. You take what's in front of you, and you work with it. Reality is what it is. Past can't be changed but the future isn't written just yet.

You gotta survive the present first, though.

Gabe slows when Daryl does, toggling his tech with a frown. ]

Better sense of what we're dealing with. But I'm not picking much up in this weather.

[ Daryl hums his agreement about the snow just as he hears the cluster of barks, echoing between buildings and a little muffled by distance. He never hears dogs in this place, not before or since the weird things that had passed as pets in Hellburbia, but that's not really what makes him stop and listen. He could swear he recognizes the tone of that bark and then his errand from the previous day rushes back to him. ]

Hang on.

[ He takes a few steps away from Gabe and whistles, heart in his throat, and waits. It takes less than a minute for the shape of Dog to appear in the road. When Daryl shouts, Dog breaks into a run again. ]

C'mon, boy!

[ He hadn't mentioned his ask to anyone. He hadn't even thought they would come through for him. But here he is, and Daryl goes down on one knee in the snow to greet his friend. ]

[ Gabe stills, one hand inching toward his rifle. An instinct, an old reflex he's happy he doesn't follow through on. Because there's a dog, suddenly. And something like recognition in Daryl's voice before he drops to a knee.

Oh.

Gabe huffs a little, covering his smile with his hand. ]

Shit. You know this one?

[ Daryl is grinning his way through a hefty several dozen dog kisses and he actually chuckles, trying to stroke Dog's head to calm him down. He whines and Daryl rubs his hands roughly down either side of him, realizing he's soaked in the same melting blood-snow. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I asked if they could... bring him. From home.

[ And given what they'd just talked about, Daryl has a feeling that Gabe might know a few of the reasons why. ]

I went to find out more about the fight against Barbas, offer what I could do for 'em. Didn't even realize I could ask to trade for somethin' in return 'til they asked. An' here he is.

[ Only one thing had come to mind and Daryl stands up, pats his pecs, and Dog rears up to press his paws to Daryl's chest for attention. He scratches him once more and steps away, motioning Dog towards Gabe, the silent command to check him out. ]

[ Like his armor, Gabe thinks silently. He spares a thought to what else they might ask for. Useful things, if he can think of them. Maybe additional weapons? He starts to ask, maybe brainstorm a little, but then the dog's trotting over and Gabe falls silently.

He doesn't know much about dogs. He's been chased and bitten by them more than once - security protocols on jobs, and a few times with zealous instructors - but he's never -

He's never really interacted with them. Not in a way that would matter. But this one's coming close.

Silently, Gabe strips one of his gloves off and offers out his hand. ]

Hey, dude.

[ A wet nose bumps against his hand. Gabe huffs a little, then shifts to run his hand over the dog's back. ]

He's soft.

[ Dog is amiable, calm and well-trained, and he sniffs out Gabe's hand and allows himself to be pet like he can't smell how unsure Gabe is in the moment. Daryl just watches the greeting, smiling broadly in a rare way. ]

He's pretty young still. But he'll smell later if we don't get that snow washed outta his fur.

[ He doesn't trust the red in the snow not to be blood and he doesn't want that drying in Dog's coat. He thinks, momentarily, about telling Gabe how he'd come by Dog and who he'd once belonged with, but he doesn't. He doesn't want to offer that memory or create that association unless asked. ]

Never met a dog as smart as this one. Huh, boy?

We should head back, then. We can scout another time.

[ Doesn’t seem like there’s much to find, anyway. He hasn’t picked up anyone else which his tech and if there’s anything to be gained from scouting the area now, it’s undercut by the risk of getting trapped by the weather. Gabe’s got survival training and Daryl’s got proven experience, but it’s a risk now. Maybe not one worth taking, either.

Gabe smiles just a little, rubbing the dog’s neck. ]

What’s his name?

[ Daryl takes a last look around, wondering why here and now was the time they'd decided to give Dog to him and curious where he'd been released from, but he knows he's unlikely to get answers to either question. He directs a low c'mon at Dog and turns back towards the hotel, letting him shoot out ahead of them to scout while Daryl sticks close to Gabe's elbow. ]

Just Dog.

[ He shrugs, not really wanting to explain that one, either. ]

Ain't a lot of 'em left in our world so it ain't like he's ever confused.

Just Dog?

[ Gabe's eyebrow goes up at that. Weird name. But he's heard weirder, he supposes. And it's descriptive. He keeps pace with Daryl, running background scans just in case. So far, there's nothing but the snow. ]

Well. He seems like a good one, anyway.

Just Dog.

[ Always just Dog. He'd understood when she'd told him the story of Dog's birth why she hadn't been able to bring herself to give him a real name. Or at least a different name. But it's always done the job for Daryl. ]

The best.

[ Another long pause, and then: ]

I didn't name him.

[ Oh, Gabe thinks. But Daryl doesn't elaborate or offer up the person who did name Dog, just lets it settle there between them. For a moment, there's nothing but their footfalls through the snow.

Gabe hums to himself. ]

She name him? Leah?

[ Of course Gabe manages to cut straight to it in a way that makes Daryl shiver slightly in a way that has nothing to do with the cold. Is he really that obvious? ]

Mhm.

[ It's a reluctant, quiet mumble. He hadn't wanted Gabe to know but he won't lie. He won't ever lie to him, even about something like this. ]

She left him behind for me when she took off. After I left to check on my people. Still don't know why.

[ Ah. So he guessed right. Gabe doesn't say anything for a moment, just lets that settle. He thinks Daryl would have named anyone else, if it hadn't been Leah. They're getting to that point, naming their people.

But some things are harder. Strike deeper. ]

I don't know.

[ If he did, he'd have to be a person who knew the first thing about Leah. ]

But he's with you now. That matters, doesn't it?

[ Daryl just shrugs. Dog is here, now, because he'd asked for him. He doesn't know how Hell managed the trick. It probably didn't have shit to do with Dog's preferences. ]

When she found us, he went back to her.

[ He'll never forget that moment when she'd pulled off her mask while holding onto Dog. It's in front of his eyes now, even as he walks. ]

Guess I thought that meant somethin'.

[ Meant what exactly, he doesn't know. That she couldn't have really been the person she'd just revealed herself to be. That there was still the gentleness he knew in there.

That hope had lasted until the waterboarding. ]

It didn't.

Do you want to talk about it?

[ He's quiet for a moment, keeping pace with Daryl and tracking Dog through the snow. ]

Sometimes I want to talk about Jackie. Just get it out. And then sometimes I think about all the ways I want to kill him that I'll never go through on, so, you know.

[ That's definitely healthy. ]

[ No, he doesn't want to talk about it. He never wants to talk about it, hasn't since the morning he'd woken up with those new memories and yet the words still come immediately to mind. He stalks on through the snow in silence, trying to remind himself that there's nothing to be gained from telling Gabe about what happened. He knows the broad strokes. There's no point.

It comes out anyway like it was a bullet already loaded. ]

She had me waterboarded.

[ It comes out flat and low. Daryl sees Dog heading back their way again and he swallows and whistles for him, but he only does it because he's trying very hard to seem unruffled. The memory flashes back to life when he says it out loud and he shivers when the wind hits him wrong. ]

Tried to get me to tell her where my people were. Made me hurt a new friend. Bad.

Fuck.

[ It comes out soft. Whatever pain he was expecting - because there had to be pain, in the end; because there's always pain - it wasn't that. And it takes a moment for Gabe to realize why it rattles him so much, why he's silent as they trudge through the snow. It's the parallels he'd drawn, consciously or not. All the ways someone they loved fucked them over, and how it scarred in them.

Only thing is, Jackie never tortured him. Jackie's sliced Gabe up with those fancy knives of his, but it was always in a fight. Always for a purpose, some end game that was understandable even if it swung cold. A payday, a bounty he was collecting. Nothing personal, love. It never was. And bad as it got between them - bad as it'll be if they meet up again - Gabe doesn't think Jackie would hold him down and hurt him like that.

Not like Leah did to Daryl. And that's a place where the lines diverge between them.

Gabe slows his breathing down before the tension can catch him. He shouldn't be thinking about Jackie right now, but he is. Maybe that was inevitable. ]

That's a new kind of brutal.

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