A loud growl echoes through the trees at night, waking Solvi from her sleep. The fire has burned down to mostly embers, and a soft glow lights up a small area around her. She sits up and rubs her eyes, trying to see what made the sound with little luck.

Another growl, angrier than the first.

She recognizes it this time as a bear growling, most likely in a fight. Not wanting to reenact the previous night, she grabs her cloak and wraps it around her shoulders. She makes her way up a nearby tree with shaky arms and unsure footing to spend the night safely in the branches instead.

‘This is better. I don't know why I didn't think of it in the first place. Plus, the view is so nice, I can see the little creek, oh, and that must be the Viking's camp over there.’

There’s a soft glow from over the hill. But the camp stands empty.

‘Where are they? I thought he said there was a whole crew of them in the camp. The crews that I’ve seen before were pretty big. Maybe Vikings have smaller ones...’

Her question is answered shortly after she thinks about it.

A loud group of men comes into view. Some of them have torches in their hand, and most of the others carry spears and swords. At the back of the group is a massive shape. The men carrying it struggle under the weight, each step more formidable than the last.

Boisterous laughter reaches Solvi, even up in the tree. The conversation is easy to make out.

“Man, that was a good hunt.” A scratchy voice is the first one she hears.

“We should do that more often. I’m ready for another!” A second voice shouts.

“Well done, men. But we don’t hunt just for fun.” The same deep voice from the man who helped her is back.

‘What is he doing?’ she thinks.

“But wasn’t that a hunt just for fun?”

“No, it was because there was a bear nearby that attacked people. It needed to be put down before it did any more damage.”

‘He killed the bear that attacked me?’ Solvi sits in the tree, confused about what she’s hearing. ‘I bet he just didn’t want it to attack them next.’

“Alright, boys, let’s get this beast cleaned up by the river, and I’ll take care of preparing the meat!” The Viking shouts to his crew.

“Yes, sir!” All the voices combine into one with the response. They move apart in all different directions when they walk into camp.

The ones carrying the bear part off and go to the river. A few duck into various tents, most likely gathering supplies needed to prepare the meat. The Viking that helped her ducks into a tent more massive than the others and disappears. She keeps her eyes fixed on his tent, waiting for him to come back out.

He emerges a few minutes later carrying a sizeable, thick blade, like the ones she’s seen the butchers use at home. Walking down to the river, he passes by the ones who carried the bear.

“Thank you, men, I’ll handle it from here, and I’ll call you when the meat is prepared.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Now, to get this bear all cleaned up.” He thinks aloud, wondering how to best get the meat and save the fur.

“Hmm. Let’s start with getting the fur off, then dealing with the meat after that. But I also need to set some aside for that elf girl without the others knowing about it.”

‘What is he thinking? I don’t need his meat. I’m perfectly fine on my own.’ She wants to leave now that it’s safe from the bear, but she can’t stop watching him.

The ink on his arm moves fluidly as the muscles underneath flex and twist. He takes the blade from his hip and uses it to cut between the fur and the bear’s meat, carefully separating them—each move, precise and clean.

With the fur removed and washed, he starts to cut thick slices of meat. He sets them next to the coat as he butchers more. On his other side, another small pile growing with all different cuts mixed in. Many are cut thin, perfect for smoking to preserve it longer.

He looks up at the tree Solvi’s hiding in, smiles, and waves her down.

She hesitates before climbing down, thinking it must be a trap so his crew can ambush her.

“Don’t worry, there’s no one nearby. You’re safe,” he says to the trees.

Creeping closer, she notices that he put the knife down and stopped working. “You know I don’t trust what you say, right?”

“I’m well aware of that. My knife is over there, and I don’t have any other weapons on me. But you’re more than welcome to search me if you like.” He winks at her and gives her a smirk.

“Not gonna happen. If you’re anything like me, then you’re just as deadly without weapons.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“So, what do you want?” She crosses her arms over her chest, demanding an answer.

“What, I can’t call you down here to have a friendly conversation?”

“No.”

“Alright. I thought you could use some meat. There’s plenty to go around, and you can’t very well hunt with your arm like that.”

“Yes, I can. I’m more than capable of handling myself.”

“I’m sure you are, but that doesn’t mean you won’t hurt yourself if you try. I want to help, so let me help you. Take the meat, and I won’t bother you again.”

“Fine, but just to get you to leave me alo-”

“Aghhh!” A scream pierces the silence.

“What was that?”

“One of my men, you have to go. Take the meat and get back to the forest and hide. I need to help him.” The aura around him changes, now filled with power and control.

“Thank you,” she says quietly while picking up the meat and then running back to the forest. He can’t help but smile, knowing that he’s finally getting through to her.