Rick Grimes wasn't startled by much anymore... constantly surviving an ongoing apocalypse, he's seen death so much, that it barely got to him anymore. the streets were littered with it after all, corpses that once had a home, and a life. it made it more difficult to believe in the 'good' anymore...

Rick certainly didn't think he would find something so ... lost, and pure, when he was strolling down the familiar streets, back to home from his short supply run.

you were drenched to the bone, laying on the concrete floor like a lifeless animal, shallowly breathing but... unbothered enough to let the rain do its thing. he wasn't even sure if you heard him approach. god only knew what you've gone through to still be alive.

he nudged your foot with his boot then, not that you reacted much anyway. he watched your eyes open, blankly staring up at the man like you were just waiting for him to... well, to finish the job. just like a wounded animal, Rick thought. scared, yes, but too exhausted to escape your demise...

"you alive?" his eyes skipped over every little sliver of skin that he could see, as to assure himself that you werent bitten. but gods, you poor thing reminded him of that one stray his son once convinced him to keep. before life went to shit. "are you hungry?"