Chains of Yule snippet!

“It was a still, winter evening, the days counting down til Midwinter’s Eve, the snow falling slowly like a melancholy rain, landing softly on the unblemished, white blanket that covered the country side, occasionally broken here and there by the tracks of a rabbit.
The hunter sat tucked away in the brush, his rifle laid across his knees. The grey scarf he wore masked his nose and mouth as he rubbed his mittened hands together. His watchful eyes scanned the white again, searching for the deer that frequented the region. He knew for a fact that they came through this time of year annually, but had seen none for the past five days. Not even a track.
A branch cracked and fell under the weight of the snow, a brief cloud of silver following the branch to the ground. The periodic, bright-red cardinal fluttered among the snowy trees, hopping from branch to branch as lightly as the snow that was falling around it.
The man shifted around in his spot, his back sore and tired and his legs cold. He hated hunting in the winter, but that was when he needed to hunt the most. He flipped his gun over, checking the mechanism and pouch of charges vainly and sighed.
“Well, hello there,” announced a glad voice from nowhere.
The man jumped up and brought his rifle to his shoulder, spinning around.
A man in a bright-red coat slowly put his hands up. “I mean no harm, friend,” he said. His old, grizzled face was creased with joy and pain alike. His black boots were sunken deep into the snow, his red coat skimming over the surface.”

Check out the rest of the short story here before it leaves in January 31st!