The sounds of the knife scraping against the wood and paper rustling were barely audible in the forest. Gavin and Tara had been sitting in the tree for hours now, and both had found ways to keep themselves occupied. Gavin had pulled a branch down and was carving it, while Tara was studying a book. The tree itself was huge; who knew how many thousands of years it had grown in a primordial forest before it was noticed by natives, by the Dutch, and finally by the British colonists who called the state they were in "New York". The tree had simply grown, oblivious to human history as it spread its branches to form a few comfortable places to sit. Every few minutes they froze, listening, before returning to their respective tasks. 

The carving was done before the book, and Gavin reached out to tap his sister with his foot. She glanced up to see him holding a small statuette of a woman who, if she were real, would possess breasts so large that she would be unable to stand. Or even breath, potentially. Tara shot her brother a glare as she returned to her book long enough for him to relax, before quickly lunging at him and chucking the wooden figure out of the tree. A laughing protest was met with another glare, and Gavin closed his eyes to go to sleep.

What seemed like a couple minutes later, he was getting kicked again- but this time, he noted the tension in his sister and the way she tilted her head. The forest was silent around them. Moving slowly, Gavin picked up his rifle and looked down at the bait, visible in a small clearing near the bottom of their tree. Tara already had an arrow on her bowstring.

Both siblings were silent as the wolf approach the bait. Both measured their breathing, waiting for a clear shot. Finally, when the wolf raised its head, they both exhaled. A heartbeat later, the wolf was struck by a bullet and an arrow. It took several steps before collapsing.

Gavin was the first one down the tree, cautiously approaching the fatally wounded wolf. Kneeling down, he placed a hand on the wolf's head to keep it from twisting and silently slit its throat. After the beast died, he sliced into the stomach. By the time Tara was on the ground, he'd already pulled out what they were looking for. 

Tara retrieved her arrow, noting once again that if it hadn't been for her brother she might have failed. She'd hit the target, sure. But it could have escaped wounded, which would be worse than not shooting at all. Perhaps it was time to just stop shooting. With a grimace, she approached her brother, who was holding up a thumb. Not his.

"Well, these are fingers. Or dicks with fingernails. So I'm going with fingers. Looks like this is the right wolf- second time's the charm, eh?"

"Nice shot, Gavin. We'll bring the pelt back to the village, along with your proof there. Should be enough to get the reward."

They worked quietly together for a while, both easily slipping into a routine that had happened hundreds of time, still hearing the instructions of their father in their head. When it was done, they stood and started to make their way through the forest. Gavin broke the silence.

"So how long do you figure? Until we hit New York?"

"We're not going to New York- well, not the city. We've been in the state for a while now."

"If we're not going to New York City then where the fuck are we going? We've been bumming around these woods for what feels like years."

"There's no connections for us in New York. Whole city's operation got wiped out, apparently. It'll take a while before things are back up and running. We'll head to Philadelphia."

Gavin walked silently for a while. It made no difference to him. Wait.

"Hey Tara, is that further or....?"

"Yea. It's further. But not by much. Another week or so and we'll hit a town with actual roads. A bus. Maybe a train, if we're lucky. We can use the reward money to ride there. We'll be there soon. Sooner than you think."

With a shared grin, the twins disappeared into the trees. 

*****

The crowds of Philadelphia assaulted their senses as the twins walked down the sidewalk. It was a far cry from the forest... but they were getting used to it. 

Gavin paused outside of a huge building, some giant restaurant that had obviously overestimated their potential and failed years ago. He looked at it carefully, imagining what it could be- and he could sense his sister doing the same. They'd probably talked over six or seven potential businesses in the last few weeks. But for that, you needed money. With a wry grin, he jiggled the last few coins in his pocket. 

Time to go hunting again.