[discontinued] Golden Days (Sleepy Bois Inc+ fic)

This is Now [Chapter Nineteen]

A figure came into sight between the trees, a soft fawn coat covering it as it walked on four long legs, delicately through the blanket of chills. It was a deer, which wasn't rare to see in these woods, but seemed so out of place among the empty time of leafless trees. This deer was searching, sticking its nose into the snow and moving the crystal around, lamb-like ears flickering to and fro. Even as it searched the barren lands, it still listened for the sound of anything that may be a threat, anything that it would need to flee from.

Despite it's best efforts, it seems that it was unable to locate the two boys that were now watching it carefully. One of these boys was wearing a rather fluffy coat, brown hair upon his head, which was level with a bow that was now stretched. The other boy, who looked rather afright, had browner hair than the first, with small ears handing and two little horns growing from his head. Both wore bracelets that matched one another.

"Um--Tommy? Why are we even... you know... hunting that?" Spoke the brown-haired boy, whispering softly enough that the inattentive deer could not pick up on the question.

"Shush, Tubbo!" The blond-haired boy cut through the air, irronically much louder than Tubbo had been, "We are keeping nature in balance!"

Tubbo shifted from behind the tree the two sheltered behind. The snow lightly crunched, the weight of the being compacting the flakes closer together. Tommy already knew that Tubbo was opposed to going out to do some morning hunting and bow practice, especially before Philza could get up and even allow them to leave so early. Though, in Tommy's mind, if Philza never said no then that means he never said they couldn't go out this early. Don't seek permission and you won't get denied!

"Plus, its gonna starve anyways. There's no grass for it to eat," Tommy pointed out, in a much more hushed whisper than before. He adjusted the arrow on the bow, as it had began to drift away from it. How annoying.

"I don't know..." Tubbo voiced his doubts, "I mean... Isn't it like killing half of me..? With the same ears and... tail..."

"You're a goat, that's a deer!" Tommy pointed out, allowing annoyance to creep into his voice even if he didn't actually feel too annoyed by all of this, "We gotta provide for everyone with food, and this should be enough for a while." There was a light pause, as if Tommy could still feel Tubbo's reluctance. After a heartbeat or two, he sighed and rolled his eyes, the arrow ready to fly yet being kept back still.

"...How about you let me take down this one starving deer, and we won't hunt anything else for the rest of the week, alriiiigghhtt?" Tommy extended a metaphorical hand for a deal, lowering his bow slightly so he could reposition his shoulders and show he wouldn't shoot if Tubbo refused.

"Fine, but if you break this deal then I will make sure that you get hunted next!" Tubbo joked, lightening up with the whole situation.

"Jesus--" Tommy breathed, lifting the bow back up to reposition, "You scare me sometimes."

He stared down the center of the arrow, aligning it with the eye of the deer. He only had one shot at this, and he wanted to make it quick for the animal. If he somehow let it die in pain and suffering, he was sure Tubbo would never allow him to even touch the bow again... or at least would refuse to go hunting with him again. Tommy believed he was a good shot, though, and all he had to do was make sure it was all aligned correctly.

With a deep inhale, Tommy released the arrow. It soared through the air as if gravity was no longer an issue, heading right towards it's target. In a matter of a second, it hit the deer, striking into it without hesitation. Luckily, Tommy had aimed just right and the deer was dead before it had the chance to even realize it was being hunted in the first place. The body fell into the snow with a plop, bits of the crystals flying up in a cloud of winter. If any other animals had been around, they would have already fled.

The two boys stood up, victory shouts being thrown into the air. They both rushed over to retrieve their catch, knowing it would take the both of them to haul it all the way back.

*     *     *

The house loomed onto view, with Tommy and Tubbo side-by-side, each holding a deer leg as the rest of it's body dragged through the snow, leaving a pathway behind. Tommy had the bow slung over his shoulder, the one arrow still stuck in the deer's head, little bits of crimson on it. Infront of the house stood a figure wearing a soft yellow sweater, a red beanie, and a confused smile on his face.

"I knew you went out to do some murdering!" The yellow-sweater boy called, puffs of fog bouncing from his mouth as he spoke.

"Its called keeping the population in check, Wilbur!" Tommy called back, struggling to make the next few steps towards the house from the weight of the deer corpse. "Plus we gotta keep stocked up for winter!"

Wilbur stepped away from the house to go help the other two boys carry the deer closer, a small bounce in his step, excited. While they didn't exactly need to hunt in the slightest in order to survive, the kill of any animal meant they could practice skinning it, cooking it, and making cool stuff out of it. They might also be able to sneak out and sell some of the stuff they get from the deer to others for a bit of extra money on the side... without Philza knowing, of course.

"Well Philza has store-bought bacon ready for us to eat," Wilbur told them once the three were able to lay the deer down by the side of the house. They would get back to it later.

Tommy, Tubbo, and Wilbur all rushed inside, Tubbo and Tommy stomping the snow from their boots. Inside was blazing compared to the bitter outside, the smell of Canada in the air. Voices were audible from the room next, the same place all the smells were coming from.

Kicking off his boots and throwing the bow to the side, Tommy rushed into the dining room, seeing a pig-like Techno and a more put-together Philza already eating pancakes and bacon, with syrup layered ontop. There were three other plates set out, and Tommy bolted towards his usual seat to begin breakfast.

"Finally!" Philza let out at the sight of the three boys running in to chow down, "And where had you two gone off to?" He set down his fork and stared accusing at Tommy.

Tommy, who couldn't seem to care about the accused look, stuffed his face full of breakfast before he could get a word out. In response to Philza, he began to mumble around his food and wave his hands in the air, as if talking. Eventually, he managed to figure out how to communicate his activities by mimicking a bow.

"You were shooting the bow?" Philza guessed, voice sounding unimpressed despite leaning forward in interest.

"We killed an elk!" Tommy finally spoke actual words, "We are gonna eat it raw!"

"It was a small deer," Wilbur cut in, a mischievous look to him.

"You can't eat it raw," Techno looked up from his breakfast to stare at Tommy. He was holding a piece of bacon. Techno, with pink hair, pig fangs and ears, holding a bit of bacon. He chomped down on it without another thought.

"Says you!" Tubbo challenged, slamming his fork down. He looked ready to go eat that deer immediately just to prove Techno wrong.

"Just eat your breakfast!" Philza was desperate to meditate the situation and bring it down, "We can cook the deer later if you can actually butcher it properly this time. For now just eat regular food."

And so, they did.

(A/N: Short one for now as I get back into the swing of existing and setting up the storylines. There will be drama in the next chapter~)