Once Brothers (Songs of War Fanfiction)

Chapter 3: Once Again (BEING REWRITTEN!!!)

Ingressus wasn't normally a heavy sleeper. But after returning to the camp yesterday, his whole body had ached with tiredness, which caused him to sleep through the entire night. He had had a dreamless night and was woken up too soon. He felt someone shake his shoulder. Opening his eyes, Ingressus sat up. Glancing up to see his brother standing above him.

"Come Ingressus," Blazien said while offering him a hand to help him up. Ingressus looked at Blazien in disbelief. How early was it?! Normally, Ingressus could sleep in as long as he wanted. Looking around, he saw the fires in the cave were still out, and many of the Voltaris were still sleeping. The only lights in the dimmed cave were a few torches that were lit.

"Blazien, why did you wake me? Everyone else is still asleep," Ingressus mumbled. Blazien nodded his head and continued holding his hand out to his brother. "Yes, now unless you want to wake everyone else up, I'd keep it down," Blazien whispered. "I thought you wanted to go outside the camp?"

Ingressus' eyes widened in surprise. "I can go out again?" he asked. Blazien gave him a perplexed gaze as if he had already forgotten. "You heard Master Dominus yesterday. Now come on we need to go."

Ingressus took his brother's hand and stood up. Immediately after doing so, he felt the stiffness in his arms and legs. He slowly stretches, easing the soreness and tension in his muscles, while Blazien put a few items in a small pack, and puts it on his back. Both of them grabbed their weapons, and Ingressus quietly followed Blazien past the sleeping Voltaris, to the front entrance of the cave.

They passed the guards who had been awake all night on watch. Both looking tired, but they gave a small nod while Blazien and Ingressus passed them by. The farther up the narrow pathway they went, the warmth of the cave gave way to a much colder atmosphere. Once they'd walked out of the entrance to the cave, they find it is still dark outside.

The brisk cold hit Ingressus immediately, making his arms cover in goosebumps. He suppressed a shiver as the last traces of sleep froze away. At least the blizzard had passed. It was still gently snowing, but it was nice compared to the previous day. Blazien walked out into the clearing, not even bothered by the cold.

"What time of day is it?" Ingressus asked, still slightly shivering. Blazien took a breath of the brisk cold air.

"It is well before dawn. The sun will be rising shortly. This is the best time of the day to hunt. Now follow me."

(Would suggest listening to "Lien" by Raining Yu)

Blazien began to walk down the ravine, towards the woods. Ingressus had expected them to take the same route he had followed Blazien's tracks from the previous day. Except this time, they went further down the hill, taking a different trail. It was so dark outside. Even when Ingressus narrowed his eyes, it was still hard to see. As Blazien stalked quietly, Ingressus... seemed to make loud noises with every step he took. Blazien held his arm out, stopping his brother in his tracks.

"If we continue like this, the animals will have heard us come long before we can even spot them. Remember with hunting you have to have patience. Concentrate on your steps, put the weight into your feet as if you were tip-toeing. Blend in with your surroundings, become a part of them. You've sneaked out of the cave enough times to know a thing or two about that," Blazien said, looking over at Ingressus.

"While walking watch where you step, the snap of a twig, the rustle of a bush, could scare away or tempt your prey into attacking. Now yesterday we had a good find. But that was a lucky find. Today I'm going to show you how it's really done. Now follow me."