Thick As Thieves ~ {Arthur Morgan x reader}

~11{Hunting}

{1:43pm}

My eyes flutter open to the sound of a fire crackling. I reach for my head in agony as my brain feels like it's hitting my skull over and over trying to break free, I lie there for a couple of seconds until my head decides it's done torturing me from the drinks last night. I sit up slowly and look around camp, everything was calm and peaceful no one was arguing, fighting, messing about it was just quiet. I smile as I see Arthur and John say around the fire with a cup of coffee in their hands, next to John was a little boy playing on the floor with a train.
"Didn't know someone has kids." I say to myself. I slowly stand up trying not to stumble and fall, I pick up my hat and put it on my head then stumble over to the coffee.
"Hi (Y/N) how you feeling about being in a gang?" Mary-Beth says sweetly to me while she reads a book.
"Good thanks, I mean it's different I've never really been in a gang before I guess." I say bending over to pour the coffee into the cup.
"Oh, so you have been all alone?" Mary-Beth says shutting her book.
"Yeah, 13 years since my daddy died." I say sitting down next to her and taking a sip from the coffee,
"How did you cope being alone? Hunting food, no home, no one to talk to, making money." Mary-Beth says looking at me with kindness in her eyes,
"Well I guess I just got used to it." I say flicking the rest of the coffee on the floor and putting the cup into my satchel,
"Well I hope you enjoy being here." She day standing up wiping her skirt and walking away to Abigail and Tilly. I stand up and walk over to Arthur and John,
"Alright boys?" I say sitting down rubbing my hands together from the warm fire,
"Yeah I guess." John says quietly while looking at the little boy playing,
"And who's that little feller?" I say with a smile on my face,
"That's jack my son." John says rubbing jacks head playfully,
"I didn't know you were a father John." I say while laughing,
"Nor did I." John says jokingly, we all erupt into laughter while jack sits there looking at us confused with his eyes squinted and head tilted.
"So John who's the mother?" I say leaning back on the log,
"Abigail she's over there." He points towards Abigail circling the stew pot with Tilly and Mary-Beth. I smile sweetly,
"So you two wanna go hunting?" Arthur says turning his head at us with a grin on the side of his face.
"I would but I gotta look after jack here." John says looking at jack,
"(Y/N) you coming?" Arthur says standing up from the fire,
"Sure why not?" I say standing up as well,
"You're gonna need a bow so you don't spook the animals." He says proudly while showing off his bow
"I have been alone since I was 16 Arthur I know what I'm doing you couldn't even catch a fish." I say laughing while pulling a bow from my horse and putting it on my back, I see Arthur blush and laugh quietly while jumping onto his horse petting it quickly. I give my horse a carrot and jump on and follow Arthur down the dirt path leading outside the camp.

After a short ride we stop near some trees off to the left of the path,
"this place usually has deer and a few rabbits or turkey in them." Arthur says looking at the ground for tracks,
"How can you tell where there's tracks it's nearly impossible to see which way they are going through all the grass." I say confusingly squinting my eyes tightly looking at the ground for any tracks,
"Watch and learn." Arthur says laughingly, he leans over his horse and looks at the ground studying the invisible tracks that I can't see.
"I might be going blind." I say jokingly watching Arthur crack a smile while looking at the ground still.
"Come on then follow me." Arthur says gently kicking his horse and trotting off still looking at where the tracks went, i shortly followed after him.

After a few moments of trotting around in search for the animal that we were tracking Arthur came to a sudden stop. Quickly, I stopped my horse before bashing into Arthur's horse making a ruckus. Arthur gets off his horse and carries his bow with him, i shortly do the same. We both head down deeper into the woods in search for what appears to be a deers tracks.
"Weird deers don't usually come down here." Arthur says quietly turning his head slightly behind him to look at me, I nod in agreement and carry on following the tracks. Suddenly Arthur puts his left arm out to stop me almost making me jump, I hit him lightly and spit the deer. It was calmly eating the fresh grass along with 3 other deers, I pick one of three and aim my bow. Arthur aims for another one and let one go freely, we shoot at the same time killing them both.
"Good job." Arthur says with a grin on his face walking off to the deer and picking it up swinging it over his shoulder like it was a doll. I struggle to pick up the deer but eventually pick it up and put it on my horse.
"Wanna look for some rabbits? We have enough for four." I say turning my head at him in delight,
"Sure alright then lead the way." He says with a chuckle in his deep smoothing voice, I try my best to look for tracks but after a while I spot some. I point to them excitedly and follow them earning a chuckle from Arthur. After a while we reach a river, it was gently flowing past and the light reflected of the surface.
"Do you hear that?" Arthur asked looking around cautiously.
"It's just the water calm down." I say patting his back.
"No I'm being seri-" Arthur gets cut off by a massive roar from the distance, I turn my head and see a huge grizzly bear. My heart stop along with my body, I froze in place but snap but to reality when my horse throws me off and runs off into the distance. I soon notice Arthur's horse run off too, I turn to him and see the bear on top of him. I scream in terror and shoot my gun at him making him jump off Arthur leaving scratches all over his body . I back up slowly still shooting the gun shakily missing most of my shots due to shock. The bear lunges at me with full force and I await its attack....but don't feel anything. I open my eyes slightly and see the bear lying lifeless on the ground in front of me multiple shots at the back off his head. I look up from the bear and see Arthur walking towards me one gun in hand and the other clutching the injured arm. There was blood stained everywhere on him, his clothes, his face, his hair. I stand up slowly still shaken up by what I just witness, Arthur suddenly collapses to the ground showing the deep marks on his back.

"Arthur!"