DISCLAIMER FOR THE WHOLE STORY: I own nothing you may recognize, which means The Walking Dead Characters, comic book and TV series alike are not mine, no matter how much I really, really want my own personal Daryl Dixon…Yummy… Anyhooties, OCs are mine. Rated M for language, gore, and possible sexual situations. You have been warned.

Amber eyes blinked slowly as they observed the young buck slowly grazing among the bushes. Quietly the owner of the ambers eyes slowly raised the bow in their hands, sighting down the arrow and taking aim at the oblivious buck. Exhaling slowly, the hunter released the arrow, watching as it sailed silently through the air and embedded itself just behind the shoulder. The animal jolted slightly and stumbled forward, leaping over the bushes it had just been grazing in front of and disappearing from sight.

Remy straightened slowly and slid her Montana Longbow over her shoulder, adjusting it so the bowstring rested snugly across her bound chest. The young woman rolled her shoulders and unsheathed the hunting knife strapped to her thigh, whistling softly as she stepped out from behind the bushes she had been using as cover. An even softer woof answered her whistle and a few moments later, a large black-phased wolf-dog slipped from the trees a few feet away and trotted over to her.

"Double lung shot, Fen," Remy mused lowly as she stepped lightly across the leafy ground and towards the start of the blood trail, "Mighta nicked tha heart too. We goin' to be eatin' good tonigh', cher."

The wolf-dog flicked his left ear in acknowledgement and pressed his black nose to the ground, sniffing at the wet blood on the ground. Ears perking up, Fenrir rumbled lowly in his chest and stalked quietly through the bushes, the young woman trailing silently behind him.

Remy pressed her booted foot against the dead buck's shoulder and grasped the end of her arrow, yanking it firmly from the still bleeding carcass. Fenrir sat beside her, head swiveling around with his ears cocked as he listened for danger. Remy shifted the buck onto its back and kneeled beside it, trusting Fenrir to keep a look out for any flesh-eaters while she field dressed the buck. Grimacing, the young woman reached into one of the large pockets of her cargo pants and pulled out two cloth drawstring bags for the heart and liver then she began to tedious task of gutting the deer with her hunting knife.

Fenrir's left ear suddenly twitched and his head jerked around to stare intently at the woods to the left of himself and his mistress. Remy paused in severing the buck's windpipe and esophagus, focusing amber gaze on the wolf-dog as he got to his feet. His ears were cocked forward and his gold eyes were staring intently into the woods, a low rumble, like distant thunder, coming from his broad chest. Remy noted that his lips were curled back and the growl wasn't the usual one he made when he a flesh-eater's scent, which meant another animal could have caught his attention. Or it could have been a human.

The young woman carefully removed her hands and arms from the buck's chest cavity then she slowly straightened, the black hunting knife held loosely in her hand. Seeing his mistress on her feet, Fenrir took a few steps towards whatever had caught his attention, pausing to look back at Remy. Remy glanced down at the deer once before signaling for the wolf-dog to lead her to whatever it was, following the massive canine silently as he padded quietly through the trees.

Carl bit his lip to keep from sobbing to loudly as he looked around himself, staring at the never ending trees in distress. He'd just wanted to help out by finding some berries or mushrooms in the woods around the quarry, but he hadn't meant to wander so far away from the camp and now he was lost. All the trees and bushes looked the same to him and every time he tried to find something that looked familiar, the more lost he became. He really wished his had listened to his mom about not leaving Dale's sight.

Biting his lip even harder, Carl looked around him again as he debated calling out of help in the hope that he was close enough to camp that someone might hear him.

"H-help." He called out weakly then cleared his throat and tried again, "Help! Someone help me!"

The sudden sound of a twig snapping had Carl whirling around, the red plastic bucket held defensively in his hands. Not that it would do a lot a good, but it made him feel a little better to know that he had something to maybe defend himself with. The small feeling of security the bucket had giving him disappeared and was replaced by terror when he caught sight the bright gold eyes staring at him from the shadows of the trees a foot or so away from him.

A curse word he'd heard Shane use once escaped him as a massive black wolf slipped from between the trees, its bright gold eyes focused on his as it sat down in front of the trees with its head tilted almost curiously to the side. Carl swallowed thickly as he and the wolf stared at each other, his eyes going wide when the massive animal's tongue suddenly lolled out and its began to wag slowly as it regarded him with intelligent gold eyes.

"G-good dog." Carl muttered in slight fear as he held his hand out to it, "A-are you friendly? Please be friendly…"

The wolf barked quietly and rolled onto its back, exposing its grayish belly as its tail began to wag a little faster. A quiet giggle escaped the young boy and he cautiously approached the large canine, placing the bucket on the ground as he kneeled beside the wolf.

"Good boy…" Carl murmured, a little surer of himself as he warily rubbed the wolf's furry belly.

The dog made what could have been a groan of pleasure and its—his, Carl mentally corrected himself when he saw the wolf's very visible privates—tongue lolled out even more as he wagged his tail even more.

"No wha' do ya have here? Findin' strays are ya, cher?"

The throaty, growling Southern drawl caused Carl to jump and fall onto his backside with a fearful squeal while the wolf rolled to his feet, his tail wagging fiercely as he looked up at the speaker. Carl stared wide-eyed at the tall figure standing between the trees that wolf had appeared from, amusement glinting in the hard amber eyes that were staring at him from above the black mask that covered the lower half of the person's face while a dark black beanie kept their head covered.

Carl swallowed thickly again and whimpered quietly as he watched the person slowly crouch down in front of him. He flinched when the man—because the person looked like man to Carl—stretched out one fingerless-gloved hand towards him. He instantly felt foolish when the wolf trotted forward and pushed his large head against the hand, tail wagging furiously as the masked man scratched the wolf's big ears. Carl bit his lip and stared at the stranger with wide, fear-filled blue eyes.

"You don' have to be afraid, p'tit ami?" The man stated gently as he looked at the young boy, amber eyes softening.

"W-why are you wearing a mask?" Carl stuttered, unable to contain his curiosity despite his fear of the stranger.

Amber eyes warmed in amusement and Carl saw little crinkles appear at the corner of the stranger's eyes, giving him the impression that he was smiling.

"Would you like me to take it off, ami?" The stranger asked softly and Carl nodded slowly, his brows furrowing as his curiosity began to outweigh his fear, "Alrigh', but ya have to promise not to tell anyone, yeah?"

"I promise." Carl agreed and he watched eagerly as the stranger lifted his hands up and pulled the mask down.

"You're a girl!" Carl gasped in shock as he stared at the very womanly face then his blue eyes focused on the small scars scattered across her left cheek, the left side of her nose, mouth, and jaw, "What happened to your face?"

The woman smiled slowly at him and he flushed, mentally hearing his mother's voice scolding him for being so rude and looked down at the ground sheepishly.

"A mean man decided that I had a very smart mouth." She replied lightly and she slowly held one gloved hand out to him, "My name's Remy, what's yers, mon ami?"

Carl shook the woman's large hand and furrowed his brows in confusion, "I'm Carl. What does that mean?"

She smiled slowly again, "Ami? It means boy or sweetheart, dependin' on who yer talkin' to, it's what my Papere called my brothers and I when they were young'uns. Are ya lost, Carl?"

"Yes, ma'am." He replied sheepishly, "My mom said not to wander to far from camp, but I wanted to find some berries or mushrooms to help out with food."

"Ah, tha' camp up above tha quarry?"

"Hmm." Carl hummed in confirmation as he scratched behind the large wolf's ears, smiling when he began bouncing his back leg happily, "What's his name? He looks like a wolf. Is he a wolf?"

"His name's Fenrir, but ya can call 'im Fen. He's part wolf, part a bunch o' other things." The woman, Remy, commented softly, her voice a husky drawl that Carl found oddly nice to listen too, "C'mon, chéri, why don' I take ya back to yer camp?"

"Can you?" Carl asked eagerly, finally looking away from the wolf-dog, "I don't know the way back though…"

The woman just smiled that same slow smile, the corners of her amber eyes crinkling warmly as she got to her feet and Carl couldn't help but smile back at her. When she held a gloved hand out to him, he took it willingly and a quiet giggle escaped him when she pulled him easily to his feet. She held his hand gently in her gloved one as she began leading in the opposite direction she had come from, patting her thigh with her free hand.

"Come along, Fen. Take point, boy." She called softly and the dog gave a soft woof as he trotted past her and Carl until he was walking a foot or so in front of them.

"And then there's Shane, he was my dad's best friend." Carl chattered happily as he walked beside Remy with Fenrir leading the way, "He took care of me an' my mom after my dad died and everything happened. He's really awesome, everyone at camp does what he says, 'cause he's kinda become the leader."

Remy smiled faintly behind her mask, having replaced it a few minutes after she and Carl had begun walking in the direction of his camp. She listened to his chatter with half an ear, while the other listened intently on the area around them for any signs of trouble, her gaze focused on Fenrir stalking quietly through the trees in front of her and the young boy.

"Is that so?" She drawled softly as she looked at the ground, eyes narrowing when she saw the multiple footprints in the dirt and leaves.

"Yeah," Carl confirmed enthusiastically as he swung their conjoined hands slowly, a happy smile on his young face, "He's really cool, Remy, I think you'll like him a lot."

That drew the young woman up short and her sudden stop caused Carl to stumble slightly in surprise. Remy caught him easily before he could fall flat on his face and she slowly turned him to face her. Fenrir paused mid-step and turned to look at them with his head tilted curiously, sitting down quietly a moment later when Remy gestured for him to.

"What's wrong?" Carl asked worriedly as he looked up at the woman that had become his friend in the short-time she had been leading him through the woods, "Remy?"

"Carl," Remy cooed quietly as she kneeled in front of the boy with her hands on his thin shoulders, "I can't stay with ya at yer camp, chéri."

"Why?" The young boy asked with a pout as he looked at his new friend with confused blue eyes, "Why can't you stay with me?"

"Oh, honey, I have to get back to my own camp, there are things there I need to take care of." She explained gently and she pushed a stray hair off his forehead, "Now, Carl, I need ya to promise me somethin', can ya do that fer me?"

Carl sniffled, but he nodded his head, "Yeah…"

"That's a good boy." Remy said in approval as she smiled softly at him, "Ya need to promise me that ya won' tell anyone at yer camp that 'm a girl, alrigh'? Tell 'em a man in a mask found ya an' led ya back to tha quarry, alrigh'?"

"Okay."

"Ya promise?"

Carl sniffled again and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt, "I promise."

"Good." Remy stated, her gaze focusing on Fenrir over Carl's shoulders, his dark ears perked up and his head turned in the direction they were walking in.

The young woman tilted her head slightly and listened intently, the faint sound of people shouting reaching her keen ears. Straightening, Remy took Carl's hand in her again and she gently tugged him in the direction of the voice.

"C'mon, cher, yer camp is just between those trees." She said softly and Carl smiled, eagerly tugging on her hand as he rushed forward with Fenrir coming to walk beside his mistress.

"Carl!" Lori called out desperately as she walked through the woods surrounding the camp in search of her wayward son, "Carl! Baby, where are you?"

The frantic mother could hear Shane and several others shouting for her son as they scoured the woods for Carl. Lori spun around when she heard a twig snapped and relief filled her when she saw Shane standing there.

"Did you find him?" She asked as she hurriedly approached him, wringing her thin hands together in worry.

Shane ran a hand through his curly hair, a distressed look in his dark eyes, "We've looked in the woods around the camp and around the quarry, but we can't find any sign of him. If the Dixons weren't out hunting, I'd ask them about trackin' him."

Lori made a distraught sound and tears cascaded down her cheeks as she thought about her young son wandering all by himself in the woods. Shane stepped forward and wrapped his big arms around her comfortingly, one large hand rubbing soothing circles on her lower back.

"Shane, my baby, he's alone in the woods. He could be hurt or worse!" She wailed despondently.

"Shane! Lori! Come quick!" Dale's sudden shout from back at camp stopped Shane from replying.

The burly former officer quickly let go of the thin brunette and she took off like a shot back towards the camp, with him not too far behind.

"Carl!" Lori shouted in relief when she saw her son standing beside Dale, Jacqui, and Jim, the red bucket they used for collecting mushrooms held in one hand, "Oh, my baby!"

"Mom!" Carl whined in protest as he started wiggling in his sobbing mother's vice grip, "I'm fine, Mom, honestly."

"Where were you?" Lori demanded sternly as she held her son at arm's length by the shoulders, a harsh frown on her thin face, "I've been worried sick! I've told you hundred times, not to wander away from camp!"

"But Mom, I wanted to help get food for the rest of the camp." Carl stated petulantly and he held the bucket up, showing her the berries and mushrooms he'd found while walking with Remy, "Look! I found some berries!"

"You know you're not supposed to leave Dale's sight, Carl." Shane scolded the young boy with a frown as he looked at Dale, "Where did you find him?"

Dale shrugged helplessly, "That's the thing, we didn't. He just wandered back into camp, Jacqui and Jim saw him slipping under the string of cans."

"Where we you?" Lori demanded again as she looked at her son in the eye after hearing what Dale had said, "What were you thinking, Carl?! You could have gotten hurt!"

The young boy hung his head and scuffed his foot in the dirt with a frown, "I just wanted to help the camp."

Shane stepped forward and put a hand on Lori's shoulder, pulling her attention to him. The former deputy gave her a reassuring smile then he looked at twelve year old boy. Lori stood with a huff and she took a few steps back, her thin arms crossed over her small chest as she regarded her son.

"That's very good of ya, Carl, but next time ya have to ask if you can leave camp and see if ya can take an adult, alright." Shane said gently as he put a hand his charge's shoulder, "But, how did you get back to camp?"

Carl hesitated a moment as he looked at Shane, the man that had taken care of him and his mom after his father died and the dead started rising and eating people. He didn't want to lie to Shane, but he had promised Remy he wouldn't tell anyone who she was.

"I was lost." He said after a moment and he frowned slightly, "I-it was scary and I tried calling for help, but I think I was too far away. I didn't know where to go, but then this-this really big dog appeared. Shane, you should have seen 'im! He was huge, almost as tall as me and he was all black with a gray belly. At first I was really scared of him because he was so big, but then he just kinda rolled over and let me rub his belly!"

"Carl," Shane broke in gently, stopping the young boy mid-ramble and gently prodding him to continue, "The dog sounds awesome, but did you see anyone with the dog? Anyone at all?"

"Well, yeah," Carl replied slowly as he furrowed his brows as he carefully thought out the lie he was about to tell his protector, "A…man appeared, from the same direction the dog came from. I didn't see his face, since he was wearin' a mask over his mouth and nose and he had a black beanie on. He asked me if I was by myself and I told him about the camp by the quarry. He said he knew where the quarry was so he brought me back."

Carl held up the bucket of berries again, "He showed me which berries and mushrooms were okay to eat."

Shane frowned and he looked at Carl carefully, "Did he hurt you? Didn't try anythin' did he?"

"No." Carl responded with a frown, feeling slightly annoyed that no one was acknowledging the fact that he had brought food back to the camp, something everyone was always saying they needed.

"This is a great find, son." Dale complimented the young boy warmly as he took the bucket from his hand, "I'll have Amy wash these up and we can have them with dinner, how does that sound?"

Carl smiled delightedly up at the older man, happy to finally be acknowledged and he nodded eagerly.

"Carl," Shane stated, pulling the young boy's attention back to him, "Did this man tell you his name?"

"No." Carl replied innocently with a shrug, feeling strangely exhilarated at being able to keep Remy's identity all to himself, "He didn't say anything really, just what berries and mushrooms were okay to eat and which weren't."

Shane nodded slowly and he gently pushed Carl towards his waiting mother then he straightened, his dark eyes scanning the tree line around camp.

"Jim, do ya think ya and Jacqui can show me where you found Carl comin' into camp?" Shane questioned carefully as he stared at the trees warily.

Jim nodded quietly and he gestured for Shane to follow him, Jacqui trailing after them while Dale went back to his perch on top of his old Winnebago. Shane stopped by his Jeep and grabbed his shotgun from the back then he continued to follow after Jacqui and Jim, his frown deep and annoyed.

Remy's eyes narrowed as she hovered in the shadows of the trees, amber eyes focused on Carl as a thin, brunette woman, his mother no doubt, kneeled in front of him with brawny, curly-haired man standing protectively over them, one hand resting on the gun his waist. Behind the three, an older man in a Hawaiian shirt and a bucket, a tall, thin, scruffy man, and a pretty dark-skinned woman all stood looking at the young boy in concern and amazement.

She watched the reunion quietly from behind the tree with Fenrir at her side, making sure that Carl's mother was actually going to keep an eye on him. She had already told Carl before they had reached his group that he needed to always remain in camp with the rest of his group because the woods weren't safe for someone who didn't know how to survive in them. Remy just hoped he listened to her. He seemed like a hardheaded and independent kid, something that reminded Remy of herself and her brothers.

"C'mon, Fen." The young woman breathed quietly as she slowly walked backwards into the forest when she saw the thin scruffy man lead the big man and the pretty black woman away from the Carl and his mother, heading toward the place she had left Carl just outside the line hanging cans.

The black wolf-dog trotted silently after his mistress, appearing to almost glide through the trees and bushes, slipping in and out of the shadows along the woman.

Remy sighed and scratched her cheek through the fabric of her mask, "Ah hell, cher, looks like it's squirrels an' rabbits fer dinner t'night. Deer's, no doubt attracted the predators, or worse, the flesh-eaters."

She ran her hand the scruff around Fenrir's neck as she continued quietly, "Better head back that way an' kill any sacks o' guts that mighta stumbled onto tha carcass. Can't have any of 'em findin' those people in tha quarry, now can we?"

A snort was the only response from the wolf-dog at her side and Remy rolled her amber eyes in amusement.

Author's Note: …Ahem, well, I know this is probably unexpected, but my friend wanted to see if we could do a…well, collaboration is the best word, and I figured what the hell. We're both in love with Daryl Dixon from the Walking Dead, so we figured that would be the best series to do a fanfiction collaboration. Now, the way this partnership is going to work is that she provided me with ideas, writes an outline type thing and then I write out the actually chapters, tweaking a few things here and there. Then she rereads it and if we both like it, I'll post the chapters up. This starts out a little bit before Season 1, and yes that's cliché, but that was what my friend and I settled on and then it will start to follow the seasons pretty closely, not word-for-word, but we'll be trying to keep it as canon as possible. The title might change at some point, just a warning.

Now, I personally don't really know if anyone is actually going to like this story, but my friend has high hopes, since she's got it in her head that I can write anything because of the success of my Avatar the Last Airbender story and my Twilight story. Updates will be irregular since I have lots of school work to do since graduation is in less than a month and my friend can be a little forgetful sometimes, God love her. Anyhooties, I hope y'all like this story. :)

PS – I don't think I'll ever fin a picture of what Remy looks like, although I'll try really hard to, but I did find the perfect picture of what I imagined Fenrir the wolf-dog to look like, so if you want a good idea of just how freaking huge he is, check out my profile.

PSS – Here are the translations for the words in italics that Remy speaks, she's part Cajun so there will be some Cajun-French/Cajun-English adding some flavor to her dialect. Also, any tips on how to write a Southern accent would be much appreciated! :]

Cher/Chéri – Dear or darling - also used as "buddy" or "pal"
P'tit Ami/Mon Ami– Little boy/Sweetheart