A.N. Re-posted with some small alterations I wanted to make.

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

Up on the hillside, out of sight, all is peaceful now.

Somewhere in the distance, carried upward on the chill wind, the sound of "Silent Night" broke the silence of this night. Far below them, down in the valley, people gathered together, singing Christmas Carols, completely unaware of the two brothers at the edge of the forest high up on the hill. And if they had known, would it have made a difference? Would the people gathered there have stopped singing? Would they then have moved together, and begun to make their way up the steep hillside? Would they have put all other concerns aside in order to search for two lost strangers? Would any one of them have ignored the risks and made the treacherous climb in order to offer their help?

Sat on the snow covered forest floor, his back resting against the trunk of a tree and with the body of his brother cradled against him, the hunter chose to think that they would. With fingers long since numbed and turned blue by the freezing cold, he gently brushed the snow off his brother's face.
"Can you hear that? Do you hear the people singing? It's a beautiful sound, don't you think? Oh...listen...They're singing In The bleak Midwinter now! I know that you love this one. I think that maybe it's one of my favourites too. Earth stood hard as iron...water like a stone. I wish we could go down there, you know? If we were there, we could've joined them. I think I would've liked that. It would've been nice, you, me and them, together. I always liked to hear you sing.

The hunter shuffled himself down further, until he was laid on the floor. He wasn't bothered by the cold now, he couldn't really feel it anymore. He pulled his brother's body closer to himself, wrapped his silent sibling in his arms, holding him tight. He ignored the scarlet stain that moving his brother had revealed, refused to look at it. He sighed as the sound of the voices continued to drift to where he lay, comforting him. The familiar words bringing a soft smile to his face.

The hunter laid his head on his brother's chest.
"I'm kinda tired. It's...nice...laying here, with you, listening to them singing. S'peaceful.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,
Listen! Do you hear that? The church bells! I guess that must mean it's Christmas day."
The soft snow continued to fall as the hunter tenderly kissed the frozen cheek of his brother.
"Merry Christmas. I love you brother, I'll see you soon."

The hunter closed his eyes and the snow eventually completely covered the brothers, cloaking them from intrusive stares, keeping them safe, hiding them from opportunistic scavengers, until the spring melt.

Chick

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