Every Last One Of Them - Red Dead Redemption II

Act Ten - Reclaimed Memories

Arthur laid back down beside his partner, scooting himself behind the brunette as he held him.
"Rise n' shine. Coffee?" Arthur offered, holding the cup in front of Hugh, he took it and downed the bitter contents with little care. Rising from his bedroll with a yawn,
"We goin' somewhere?" Hugh asked, Arthur smiled,
"Were goin' huntin'," Arthur said,
"We don't have time for that," Hughie replied,
"C'mon, I set this whole thing up."
"Fine."

The younger man sighed as he stumbled to his feet, wandering outside bedside Arthur.
"So how far do we have to walk?" Hugh asked, walking alongside Arthur as they made their way through the forest.
"Not too much longer now." Arthur assured, "If I'm honest I'm not much of a hunter, but we need the food," Arthur said, walking a little faster and deeper into the trees, following a faint path in the grass.

Hugh was confused about how Arthur knew where he was going, he must've walked through this already or something. Had he been waiting for him to wake up?

They walked into a clearing, looking around as Arthur made a small spot to scout from. He placed a bow down beside him intentionally.
"Why'd you bring the bow if you have your rifle?"
"It's nothing. You wouldn't like it anyway." Arthur mumbles,
"How come?" Hugh scooted closer to Arthur who held his rifle snugly against his shoulder.
"It's kinda hard."
"I see what you're doing. And it's working... Gimme the bow."

Hugh took the weapon into his hands, curiously pulling back on the drawstring. Letting it go as it snapped back to position.
"Alright, usin' a bow ain't that hard. Just gotta learn to aim it right." Arthur then handed Hugh a few arrows of which the brunette loaded cautiously.
"See that bunny over there?" Arthur pointed to a white-tailed rabbit hopping around in between two trees. Its nose twitching and its tail fluffy like a little tracker.

"It's hoppin' away. Go on baby you got this," he encouraged, watching Hugh closely. Remembering what Arthur had said to him, Hugh pulled back on the string, the arrow lined up and ready to shoot, then with a deep breath he let go. Hugh missed just barely, the arrow almost hitting its leg, the lucky rabbit scurrying off quickly. The sound of rustling foliage is the only remainder of the animal.

Shooting it felt good, the way the arrow flew, the speed and power.
"It's alright. Moving targets can be tricky. We'll go further down and try again," Arthur consoled, gently patting Hugh'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!" Hugh 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, Hugh decided to pick the fattest one. Maybe he had a better chance at shooting something larger. Holding up the bow again, Hugh aimed a little further up and released the arrow, shooting straight through the rabbit's delicate body, leaving it on the ground, limp and bleeding.

"Ah! I got it!" Hugh exclaimed, smiling proudly at himself. "What the hell do I do with it?" He asked, approaching it and kneeling 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. Hugh 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. Hugh immediately handed it over to him, dusting his hands off and sniffling. "Alright, let's walk somewhere else and find some deer."

The walk 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 Hugh in the high noon sunshine. The way the sun kissed his skin and the breeze tussled his hair, making it look extra fluffy. Hugh turned to look at Arthur, about to ask where to go next, when Hugh caught him staring at him. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes a little, then slowly looked back at him, smiling at him.