As God Intended

Chapter 14/ Big Bug

February 16th 1901
Fifty kilometers West of Valentine

"Relax, little brother, he doesn't see us...just breath...stay calm, keep your body-"
Vincent smiles as as he fixed Denzel's back posture
"strong..then take yer shot when ya pair of lungs are empty"

Vincent and Denzel stood more than a dozen meters from their prey and the younger brother took a deep inhale as he aimed, exhaling as his finger relaxed heavily on the trigger- firing it off and watching the mammal react to getting hit in the jugular by the hot piece of metal. Denzel's small stature surprisingly barely jumped from the rifles kickback, making him feel excited as he nailed it on his first shot, feeling exhilarated from the power the firearm dispersed throughout his entire body.

The poor animal however-kicked and flailed about- crying out as it tries to bolt away but doesn't make less then a few feet before it falls.

The two brothers had already began to chase the deer but they soon caught up to it as Vincent pulls out his knife
"Nice shot Denzel, We might make a sharpshooter outta you yet"

Denzel nods as he held the rifle on his shoulder, the echo of the shot in his head- though satisfying, he felt odd about watching the deer frail in pain like this
"Alright- just kill it already, Vinny"

The other just stood there flipping the knife in the air once and catching it by the handle
"Oh, thought you'd wanna do that part- but no problem"

Vincent takes a knee and placed his hand on the chest of the animal and pressed his knife into the rams heart, putting a end to it with Denzel still cringing- Vincent taking notices and chuckles a bit
"Ya shouldn't hesitate a mercy killing, it's gotta be done to end their suffering unless that's what you're going for"

"No, course not...I'll keep that in mind next time you're not around"
The younger grunts-clearly not comfortable with up close and personal killing...he pulls a piece of wheat from behind his ear and placed it in between his teeth
"Ya heard Emma hired a few men to help around the farm?"

"Yeah, actually I'm the one that told her she oughta do that- she can't over work herself and Chan is just one boy"
Vincent spoke as he carefully begins to skin the animal

"They hardly seem like decent folk- maybe you should keep an eye on them"
Denzel takes a seat on the grass, just a few feet away from his brother as he continued, holding the rifle upwards
"With you not working for her, think it might be time to look to a new way of getting some money"

Vincent chuckles as he tries to keep less of a gory mess on his clothes but also trying to listen to his brother
"I'm sure the Klowds will be fine-my concern is on you, little brother, so just be a kid and let me handle the rest....or is it ya don't like the extra time you have with me?"

"Ya know that ain't the case-besides, that extra bit of time could be used wisely"
The rodent sat up as he grew enthusiastic but the elder simply continued his work
"That so?"
Vincent chuckles
"But teachin ya how to work and iron is pretty wise use of time, no?"

Denzel huffs but then gives a small sly smirk
"I heard talk of a wagon that's coming in from Zapphire Hills, ya know where all that there urbanization is happenin'?- got emm carrying payroll for that expansion of the railroad down at the Heartland Patch... we could probably take em after they leave the station"
Denzel's words came as a surprise to the Vincent who had stopped what he was doing to listen but he was clearly crossed about hearing this since it was coming from his kid brother, not moving from his spot over the animal but turned his head to look back at Denzel
"Where'd you hear about that?"
Vincent's eyes pretend disinterest as he wraps up the skinning and works the knife around the head, cutting the last section as he rolls up the ram pelt while he listens to Denzel
"Bounty hunters tipped me off. Said they was fixin' to go after it themselves but fancied a better paying job somewhere down south- not that it matters to me but they did warn me to be careful since they don't know who else might know about it"