[h1][b][center]Hrolfr Bergfalk[/center][/b][/h1]
[hr]  
     The rattle of leaves filled the huntsman's ears as he gritted his teeth to prepare for the gust of wind to come. The fox fur cloak his sister had made for him years ago helped, but not by much, as he held his bow drawn to his cheek. Eying his prey, the hunter held his breath as he waited for his moment. 
     
     The light from the rising sun just now began to wash over the horizon, forcing the stars to flee from their heavenly beds as Odin's gift to man took hold above. Time was running out, for Ull - the god of the hunt, gave his favor in the moonlight. Just as he was about to mouth a prayer, his moment came. The winds stopped, and instinctively the hunter loosed his arrow.  Hrolfr heard a soft [i]thud[/i] as the arrow hit meat. Unstringing his bow, he placed the bow in a soft leather case which he kept strapped to his back, and coiled the string in a case filled with beeswax before placing that too in the same case. Picking up the cloth sack that lay at his feet, he walked over to the fresh kill, removing and cleaning the arrow and placing the hare in the sack. 
     
     [i]I bet she let the fire go out[/i], he thought to himself as he made his way back to the camp his sister and he had made the previous night. He couldn't be mad at her; she was never the outdoor type. Father kept her home to do the woman's work, since mother had died years ago. 
     
     "Well, the gods take me." The fire was still going strong, whilst his sister Kelda lay close to the warmth wrapped in her bedroll. Hrolfr stepped closer to the fire to warm his hands and rid himself of the morning chill. It  would be winter soon, which meant for harder hunting and colder nights to come. 
     
     After a few moments the feeling started to come back in his fingers, and he took the sack with him to the edge of the camp. Digging in the ground, he had made a shallow hole, as he proceeded to skin and clean his bounty. Three hares, and plump ones too. Hrolfr took this as a sign that he was on the right path. Which was a comforting thought considering what Kelda and he had decided to do. 
     
     They had been on the road for a few nights now, traveling to Sparrowton. It was a small settlement where a man could live in peace. Unlike Beornhall, where there were ten other people in your trade making it hard to earn a living. But that wasn't why they had decided to leave. They had enough with their father, who had become the city drunkard some years ago. He and his sister could never make a life for themselves with having to look after a father like that, and it was all they could take to walk in the streets seeing how folks looked at them with pity. It was time to start over. 
     
     Keeping the meat of the hares, he placed all the trimmings and innards in the hole, covering it with the loose dirt to prevent the wolves from coming in until well after they leave, he stood and made his way back to the camp. He had a few hours to start on the stew before they had to pack up and start traveling again, which was plenty of time to have a nice thick rabbit-stew ready. 
     
     His mouth started to water at the thought.