After the exquisite display of my acting skills, I took a gander at my entourage. The teens sat around the fire keeping a close eye on the scene unfolding in front of them. I was greatly appeased that the youths were safe behind, with Mira keeping a close watch. Percy and Amy were armed, while D’s axes were stuck in the frozen ground beside his legs. Looking at the man and woman behind me with a suspicious glance, I proceed to ponder. “Who is that?"

“I don’t know they appeared out of nowhere.” With a loud voice, Don responded to me. He made sure that Amy, Percy, including the two strangers, heard him. Our former soldiers were alert and ready to pounce.

"I thought we never would see anything besides trees. It's comforting to have found other survivors." The small woman smiled warmly at us. She invoked an air of frailness, yet her eyes had a sharp edge. “We were lost in this forest for quite some time now.” The man to her right nodded in agreement.

"How long have you been lost?" They looked like they were well-fed. And their clothes weren't tattered in the slightness. It was curious, two people, possibly unarmed had thick coats in good condition, practically new. They couldn't have found it in the forest surely.

"We have been wondering for the last few days." As the man talked, with smiling lips and calculating eyes roaming over us, my acute instincts told me to put an end to this conversation and run away. To hide from the two sheep ahead, while they kept their claws and teeth concealed. The pups and I shared the uneasy feeling of a treating presence, a danger for our newfound pack. Retreated far back, with the others, they kept their hunt safely under their colossal body. Loki and Thor hang their head low in a warning manner. They resisted the urge to challenge the sheep in disguise, to growled and snarled until a fight ensued. Their restlessness amplified mine tenfold.

"And why were ya in the woods, it's freezing out here?" Percy had a defensive stance, seemingly unwavering.

"The city was getting too crowded with Deads to our liking. Plus the food was lacking. Canned good and stale food isn't sustainable." The unknown man chuckled

"Did you have any luck finding food out here?" Don asked just for the sake of it. He was adept at handling delicate situations, or so he thought. I could find a couple of times where Don's lack of finesse caused catastrophes. I was certain his years in the military taught him how to defuse some of the most dangerous crises. However, Don wasn't one to plan. A true do now and think later man. It had its charms, but while dealing with people who allegedly hunted humans, we could use a little more strategy. Which was more of my forte.

"We did catch some small animals."

"Really? You don't seem equipped for hunting" Amy observed the two. Indeed, they had backpacks but were missing hunting gear or weapons. They may have hidden them in their bags. But even so, it would take too much space and be impractical.

"You are right, we had to make do with what nature had to offer. Wasn't easy, but my pops taught me some tips and tricks when I was a boy."

"Well, there's is a road right down there," Percy said. "I'm sure ya can find your way to wherever ya want to go from there." His dismissive tone couldn't have been more subtle.

"We were hoping to maybe spend the night here. It's been a long time since we spent time with fellow living people." The woman's tentative look was well practiced, to everyone she might have looked sincere. My gut screamed danger. My hands were clammy. I grabbed D's arm firmly. I wished my ability of empathy extended to humans too. I wished I could share with Don what I was feeling, a glimpse of what was on my mind. So we could scheme a way out of this - without setting off the strangers - and avoid bloodshed.

“Do as you wish. We won’t stop you, after all, you are free to do what you want. Just know we do not intend on mingling with you.” Our uninvited party seemed to have something to add to my statement. They had furrowed brows and mouths slightly ajar. I concluded the couple was not expecting us to reject their attempt at making friends. Maybe they thought we had lost our way, hoping to find other survivors with whom to bond, and desperate to have human interaction. In their eyes, our peculiar group smelt like despair. Looking like a bunch of skeletons, with pale complexions, was a dead giveaway. While we were armed they did not seem to worry about their safety, as they came our way willingly.

One thing that I learned early on, was that for every kind gesture, there was as much cruelty. And one was never just good or bad. We all have a different balance - was how I would describe it - permanently following our inner compass. Reading these people to the extent of my ability, implied to me; that I either take a chance on my faith in human compassion, and everything turns out alright or put my peers in danger. Which, didn’t hint at the perfect course of action.

The duo was about to articulate their thoughts when a hush, baritone voice stopped them before a word skimmed past their lips. “Keep your distance and we might get along,” D grumbled then led me away from the individuals. Our companions kept their mouths shut, undoubtedly following Don’s as he asserted as the leader of the gathering.

The message was clear: Your presence is not wanted. We will not attack unless threatened.

                                                                                ︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

I was all settled for the butchering of our dinner. The knives were sharpened. I selected smoking herbs and salt, ready to season the meat. The fire burned strongly feet away, with a rudimentary tripod made of branches set over it. With the help of Don and his two colleagues, we prepared everything in a flash. The process was ingrained in Don and me from all our seasonal excursions in the wild. All the knowledge my grandpa shared about the bearing of nature was now serving its purpose.

“Can we help?” Mira stood next to my improvised table. While looking in the shack I found old wooden planks and rusty barrels, perfect to make a surface to accommodate my tools. She was shifting around, her hands frantically playing with her scarf. Behind her, the younger members of our group were much the same.

“ Sure. We need rocks, they need to be as flat as possible and as large as a plate. Cut pine branches, they must have ample needles on them. We also need water but do not stray from the shack. Thor and Loki will keep an eye on you.” They all smiled and brightened at their assigned tasks, and scampered to accomplish them. The notion of being useful participants in the preparation of our dinner motivated them and amazed me. Most in their state would have waited to be fed.

A smirk grew on my lips. I feel like we will get along splendidly! I turned to join the three others, we all were ready to throw the game meat into the fire, and my eyes caught the couple settle a few yards away. They had started a fire of their own and were cooking some soup in a tin. The strangers’ eyes met mine for an instant before they averted their gaze. Expect the unexpected. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I kept on chanting in the privacy of my mind. Breathing through the wave of prickling ants crawling over me. When morning comes we will be on our way, and put sufficient distance between us.

Walking with urgency towards Don, Percy and Amy, I watched D lay the wild turkey and boar, drained of their blood, in the raging flames. He eyed them cautiously, shifting them so they blazed evenly. As soon as all the feathers and fur were burned off, and the skin had a golden hue, he set the fowl on the nearby makeshift workstation. Don looked at me - as I picked up the skinning knife and readied myself to butcher - and placed a small kiss on my temple. Relaxing instantly, my shoulder slumped a bit, and I searched for my love’s eyes. His honeyed orbs watched over me with countenance. I regained my spirit swiftly and promptly corrected my posture.

As I faced the dead animal, I recited a silent prayer. Thanking the turkey for its sacrifice and God for providing food. My hands moved with a will of their own, slicing below the tail, I began disembowelling our dinner carefully - throwing the inedible parts on the ground behind me. Keeping the liver and gizzard. I opened the latter with my knife, removing the inner lining and setting it on the board, on the right corner with the liver.

With my hand deep inside the poultry, I soon found the lungs and heart. Only keeping the heart, I switched my knife for a bigger, square-like shape, meat cleaver.

I lifted my hand in the air, the knife came down harshly cutting the animal’s neck. Making use of my hand once more, I remove the crop below the skin of the chest, then proceed with the chopping. In a fast succession of practiced movements, it trimmed off the limbs of the bird, butchering it until it was in pieces. A small amount of blood left in the creature’s body splattered around, on my hands, and upper arms of my coat, some made its way up to my cheeks. The head, feet, wings and organs would go in a pot, they would make a wonderful soup to warm us tomorrow. The rest of it would be dinner tonight.

A wet spot came down on my dirty hands, then another. As cold as it was no rain would fall. I lifted my palm to cradle what just fell on me. Fluffy white snow gathers itself in the crook of my hand melting almost instantly. My eyes shot up to the sky. Small snowflakes swirled in between the scanty branches.

“We found water!” Running with a bucket made out of wood, Milo was running with Akira in his tracks. They emerged from behind the shack and skirted it. Breathless, they put the bucket on the table, in front of me. The vessel contained crystal water. Looking at it closer, no odd smell came off the water. My eyes wandered back to the two teens, Loki who had chaperoned them, came around, bypassed us and went to rest on the other side of the fire. His fur below his maw was wet.

"Wonderful, where did you find it?"

"Behind the cabin, there's a well! There was enough water so we also filled up all the bottles!" Akira talked for the first time since I met her. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and her voice was lower than expected, it had a gruffness to it. Paired with the girl's small frame, it made a contrasting picture, and I found it endearing.

"Well, good job! I didn't think you'd find any."

"Do you need more?" Milo asked.

"No, you can go sit by the fire if you want." Immediately after the words left my mouth they were rushing to the fire. The rest of our group arrived and joined them by the source of heat, laying their findings beside them.

With the water they found I rinsed the meat and poured some in the pot, leaving enough to rinse the hog with the leftover. Putting the trims away in said cast iron pot, I add salt, pepper and a pre-made mixture of spices. I put the lid back before rubbing a different seasoning blend on the white meat. While I work, a serene feeling of normality swept me to hum as I did when cooking at home. In the background, I could hear heavy bones cracking under the sharp edges of D’s axe and the hushed chatter of my companions. I couldn't wait to be back home.

                                                                                    ︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

We ate. We drank. We smoked, well not really, the meat did. They were hung on the upper part of the smoker, covered by pin branches over the fuming fire. Everyone was now cozily nestled in the cabin under the covers while I sat outside with the two beasts. We guarded the front of the shack, I fed the fire periodically so the smoke would be continual and Loki and Thor gnawed on bones too big to be used for the soup resting on a stone near the fire. My eyes were strained on the people camping not far from us. They rested on the rocky ground cuddling to keep warm. Breathing softly and immersing themselves into nature's serenade.

Closing my eyes, I focused on my breaths, the warmth radiating from the two forms framing me and the small noises coming from the inside of the shack. Having no control over something challenged every fibre of my being, Master often said that 'in life, you have to care but not that much'. I often found it difficult to do so. I liked to think ahead of things and that often led me to overthink when duelling. He pointed out during one of my Kenjutsu sessions, that there was a time to organize your thoughts and a time to act, and staying in the phase of analysis paralyzes you. He went on to say "Sometimes it's better if you go as far as you can see and when you are at the end of the road, then think further." I sat on the tatami incredulous. "So, all I have to do is to operate more like Don?" My question brought the old man a chuckle. The corner of his eyes crinkled, and as he laughed at my statement, he stroked his long white braided bear. "Well, don't go and pull a tiger's tail." Reminiscing old lessons came with fond memories of my adopted grandpa. After a few breaths in my meditation, stomping prickled my ears, a silhouette weasel their way behind me.

"You should sleep." They seated, engulfing me in their fervent grasp. "We have another long day tomorrow." Their hand ghosted the base of my neck pushing my hair out of their way. Toasty lips met the icy skin, on the right side of my neck.

"I know. I just wanted to stay with you." D's breath tickled a bit. His uncut beard scratched my sensitive skin, making it itch. "I missed you."

Opening my eyes, I shifted my head, looking up to the man beside me. Milky snow landed on the bridge of my nose, melting gently. His handsome face was engraved with weary, and a touch of elation. "I deed too. But really, you need your sleep. We can catch up once you are safe and rested, yeah?" He sighed and complied. Getting comfortable on the uneven soil, he used my lap as a pillow, handing me the job to watch over him.