It was the way 'cher' rolled off the vampire's tongue that had Daryl freezing where he was. Shoulders still up, eyes averted so he was staring more at JC's feet than at him, breathing normal, but heart rate starting to rise. He shouldn't have let himself drink so much because the more he tried to think, the harder it was. He couldn't see through the mental haze to find the insult behind the words. An insult that needed to be there for things to be... to be normal.

His jaw worked a bit, but by the time he shut it again, no words came out. He just stood there. Dumbfounded. The situation was one he had no idea how to navigate.