Until Death - Red Dead Redemption II

Act III: Hunting Exhaustion

"Rise 'n' shine. Coffee?"Arthur offered, holding the cup in front of Jack, he took it and downed the bitter contents with little care. Rising from his foe bed with a yawn, packing away his bedroll, and strapping it back onto Mystery. Jack styled his hair as best as he could with his hands, trying to predict how he looked in the morning without a mirror. Slicking it back the way he always did.

"So how far do we have to ride?" Jack asked, riding alongside Arthur as they galloped through the forest.
"Not too much longer now." Arthur assured, "If I'm honest I ain't really one fer huntin', but... my friend, Charles, he's shown me a few ways to do so. Usin' a bow and arrow is ideal but we ain't got one, so we usin' a rifle," Arthur said, riding a little faster and deeper into the trees, following a faint path in the grass. "We aughta leave the horses here. They won't be able to go much further," he said, hopping off.

Jack did what was expected of him and hopped down, hitching Mystery to a nearby tree.
"Alright," the boy agreed, trailing a little behind Arthur as the two of them walked further in, moving quietly and keeping an eye out for game. Spotting a rabbit, Arthur slowly took out his revolver and handed it to his companion. "I thought I was gonna use a rifle?" Jack questioned, looking over to Arthur.

"Right, well, let's practice this first on something small and moving. Ya see that rabbit over yander? Rifle would obliterate it." Arthur observed, pointing over at a white rabbit sniffing at the ground, white tail shaking about. Jack nodded, holding up the pistol with a wavy hand.

Shooting game is much different from shooting people. He thought.
"It's hoppin' away. Go on boy ya got this," he encouraged, watching Jack closely. Remembering what Arthur had said to him, Jack aimed carefully, taking in a deep breath, firing as he exhaled. Jack missed just barely, the bullet almost hitting its leg, the lucky rabbit scurrying off quickly. The sound of rustling foliage is the only remainder of the animal.

"It's alright. Moving targets can be tricky. We'll go further down and try again," Arthur consoled, gently patting Jack's back. He smiled warmly at the encouragement and nodded.

"It ain't that it's movin' it's that the little bastard is so far away!" Jack whined, pinching his fingers together a little, Arthur laughed lightly, nodding along and agreeing with him. "You'll get 'em this time."

Finding another colony of rabbits, Jack decided to pick the fattest one. Maybe he had a better chance at shooting something larger. Holding up the gun again, Jack aimed a little further up and pulled the trigger, shooting straight through the rabbit's delicate body, leaving it on the ground, limp and bleeding.

"Ah! I got it!" Jack exclaimed, smiling proudly at himself. "Now, what the hell should I do wit' it?" He asked, approaching it and kneeling down to pick it up by the back paws, watching it drip with blood, its glazed-over dead eyes staring at him. He couldn't look it in the eyes, he'd feel bad. Jack grimaced a little and looked at Arthur, subconsciously searching for his approval.

"Here, hand it to me, and let's move onto somethin' bigger," Arthur suggested, holding out his hand. Jack immediately handed it over to him, dusting his hands off and sniffling. "Alright, let's ride somewhere else and find some deer."

Arthur whistled for his horse, as did Jack, and the two of them rode further down the beaten track, the bloodied rabbit tied up to the side of Arthur's horse. The ride was silent beside each other, not going too fast nor too slow, following along a stream of water, and Arthur took the time to admire Jack in the high noon sunshine. The way the sun kissed his skin and the breeze tussled his hair, making it look extra fluffy. Jack turned to look at Arthur, about to ask where to go next, when Jack caught him staring at him. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes a little, then slowly looked back at him, smiling at him.