* * *
Abraham espied the little bunny just as it spotted the worm. He quickly unsheathed his knife that hung at his belt. As the bunny gulped it's moist food down, Abraham made his move. The soft fury beast fell to the mighty hunter. Abraham Johnson broke into a victory dance.
He laughed at his own antics and headed back to camp. Since that fateful night that broke the company apart,they seemed no closer to the Fort that they had planned on meeting at. They had made progress, yes, but the past week had been spent covering their tracks, and trying to locate the rest of their band. Amos, Saul, and Thomas were still lost to them. This would be the first time that they actually had fresh meat.. Their victuals were almost gone. Abraham had to admit to himself, that wasting their time looking for their comrades probably wasn't the smartest thing. The others had to be at the Fort already, waiting for them.
Abraham slipped back into the camp, as Silas and Emeric stirred. Gideon was out gathering wood for the fire somewhere. Abraham wondered vaguely what was taking him so long.
"Rise and shine, sleepy heads! I have breakfast!" Abraham nudged his two comrades with his foot.
Emeric merely groaned and rolled over. But Silas got up quickly. "Did you say breakfast?"
Abraham nodded. "It'll take away to cook it thoroughly, but we can have this with some of the apples we found the other day. But I'm afraid that's it. We only have a so much food left, so we'll have to ration more severely."
Silas nodded. "I thought as much, what with how much Emeric is eating." He winked at Abraham, and motioned him to keep quiet. He knelt and grabbed a kettle of water that was left over from the dinner last night, which had turned cold in this altitude. He gripped the handle and then crept over to Emeric rolled up in his cocoon of blankets. He let out a whoop and dumped it on Emeric's head, then quickly handed it to Abraham. Letting out a shout of surprise, Emeric lept to his feet in a surprising show of agility for one who was just asleep.
Emeric spun on the spot, seeing his two laughing companions, he rushed the one who was caught red-handed with the kettle. Rabbit and kettle went flying as Emeric made contact with Abraham. A wrestling match quickly ensued. Silas laughed and egged them on.
This was the scene that Gideon walked in on, Beside him were four familiar faces. They stood, amused, and watched from afar. As the spectacle died down, the crowd that had gathered applauded appreciatively. Abraham, Gideon, and Emeric whipped around at the sound, and all nearly fell over. Stunned.
"Is this possible? Is that you, Earl Eric? And you, Amos, Saul, and Thomas?" Exclaimed Abraham.
"Not even a greeting for me, eh?" Gideon walked over and shoved Abraham playfully. "I found them on the road.. the road that leads to the fort!"
The clearing was soon filled with sounds of greetings and rejoicing, for the majority of the band was reunited. For now.
