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The sound of feet, crushing snow. Heavy steps.
The snow, falling silently over the landscape.
A staff, hammering the ground in rhythm with every step.
Not a single squeak, not a single peep.
Heavy breaths through a scarf, covering his face.
It almost felt like a crime to make such noise during a completely still winter’s day, which was otherwise completely silent.
Sweat and steam, frozen, gathered at his eyebrows.
A thick coat, the hood covering as much of his head as it could.
A determined gaze, looking ever forward.
– “Damn… snow… slowing… me… down.”

* * * *

Tyr woke up with a jolt. After a moment of getting his bearings, he realized he was still in his bed, and there was no bear, no claws at his chest, and no teeth at his throat.
– “Damn nightmares…” he cursed and sat up.
He had slept uneasy, in equal parts because he was famished, and because his niece was crying in the next room.
– “Damn kid…” he muttered as he got up, pulling his blanket around him and opened the door to his chamber.
The lantern on the table in the next room hampered his vision for a moment. Slowly he started seeing his brother’s wife, holding his niece, trying to calm her down.
– “…she’s hungry too?” Tyr asked
– “Very.” his sister-in-law replied, while starting to breastfeed the baby. “Your brother went out. Said he couldn’t sit idly by, seeing his wife and daughter go hungry.”
Tyrs heart sank, and he felt colder than before.
– “He went out to hunt?” he stammered. “Alone?”
– “Yes…” his sister-in-law whispered, looking away from him. ”He left a note. It’s by the lantern.”
He picked up the note hastily, and stood there for a while, as if he’d seen a ghost, before crumpling the note in his hand.
– “That damn idiot…” he muttered, mostly to himself.

* * * *

He continued along the road he had walked so many times before. He kept looking for tracks where-ever he went, or after any other sign of someone else having been there. The snow was making his life hard; as was the fact that he couldn’t know for sure where to look.
– “Where did you go, you damn idiot?” he muttered to himself.
He entered the woods, close to his home village. There was less snow due to the trees, but still no trace of anyone else. He grabbed his bow off his back, knowing what might lurk in the woods at the wee hours of the day.
Cursing under his breath, he kept walking.
Muttering a prayer to the huntsman, he kept searching.

* * * *

Tyr scampered around their home, getting dressed and gathering what supplies he could take, without leaving his sister and niece with too little to get by with. Only after he had his full set of clothes on, and started packing the last bits into his pack, he saw that his sister-in-law was weeping, quietly.
– “…I won’t let him.” he said, hurrying to pack.
– “You can’t stop him.” she sobbed. “It doesn’t matter what you say, you know that.”
Tyr stopped and looked at his sister-in-law for a moment, torn on the decision of staying there, to help them, or to run after his brother.
– “I have to try.” he said after a while, with his voice giving away his worries. “I damn well have to try.”
He continued to pack what he dared to take in silence, avoiding all eye-contact with a woman he cared for as family, and a baby he couldn’t help but to think was doomed, no matter what he chose to do.

* * * *

He got out of the woods and back on the road again. All the usual spots were empty. No-one had been there for days. Cursing, he stowed his bow on his back again, and marched on, only stopping for a short breather.
He stopped, and looked out over the frozen lake. He pulled down his scarf from over his face, dropped his hood back, and took a deep breath of the cold air.
It hurt his throat, but he didn’t care.
The lake was frozen, with a thick layer of snow covering it. The sun had risen and was completely visible now, making the fresh snow sparkle, as if every snowflake was fused with magic. The woods on the other side of the lake, treetops covered in the same, sparkly snow.
– “Too beautiful day to run away like that…” he muttered.

* * * *

– “The bears are awake.” she said, softly.
Tyr stopped, knowing full well what it meant.
– “I know.” he said, after a moment of silence. “Something has stirred them.”
– “You don’t think he’ll go…” she said quietly, almost in a whisper.
He grabbed her by her shoulders and looked her in her eyes.
– “He’s rash.” he said, sternly. “And an idiot. But he would never put the two of you in danger, whether it be due to the hunt, the guardsmen, or hunger. He would not go there. He knows about the bears, he’s the one who told us!”
Tears rolled down his sister-in-laws face, as she just sat there, looking down at his niece.
Tyr stood up, and continued packing.
– “He’s not stupid. He might be an idiot, but he’s not stupid…”

* * * *

He stood for a while, the snow falling softly around him, remembering the days of old, and how they used to hunt game in the woods, beyond the lake. During the winters it was easy to cart whatever animal they felled over the ice in their sleigh. His brother was always a rash hunter; good with a bow, but lacking in patience, whereas he, himself, liked to wait for hours upon end with the help of bait and traps. Despite their differences, they brought home as much meat as the other one.
He turned his eyes to the road again, after a moment of silent reminiscing.
No tracks.
– “The snow must’ve covered them by now. Damn idiot.”
He pulled his scarf over his face, adjusted his quiver and backpack, and started marching towards the lake, picking up his pace.

* * * *

Tyr strung his bow, and threw his quiver on his back.
– “He doesn’t have that far of a head start.” he said, again mostly to himself. “I’ll find him, and be back in three days at most.”
His sister-in-law sat there, quiet, as his niece had eaten her fill, without looking at Tyr.
– “If nothing else, Bertland, the smiths aide owes us a favour for the elk we gave his family.” Tyr said, turning towards his sister-in-law. “They will help you.”
He pulled his scarf tightly around his face, threw his hood up, grabbed his staff, and walked out. Without saying goodbye, and without looking back.

* * * *

The sound of feet, crushing snow. Heavy steps.
The snow, falling silently amidst the trees.
A gasp of air.
Not a single squeak, not a single peep.
A blood-filled cough.
It almost felt like a crime to make such noise during a completely still winter’s day, which was now completely silent.
A tear, frozen before it had rolled off his cheek.
A thin coat, clawed apart, covered in blood.
A helpless gaze, looking ever upward.
And not a word could leave his lips, ever again.