Come Wayward Souls
The forest was calm, quiet and peaceful, animals hibernating as snow raked what life was left, trees, bushes and the like. A pale wasteland, though beautiful in its own ways.
The frigid teeth of winter could not penetrate the stone and mortar of the cozy tavern however. Sheets of ice and snow layered around it, and frost covered the windows, illuminated by the bright warmth coming from inside.
And in the silent howling of the storm, drunken laughter and shouts could be heard, echoing through the trees, like an alarm of life.
"Come on Ben! We'll be late if we stay here!" A young youth called out to his elder brother, who was on the podium, just finishing up a small musical number with several others. The tall, lanky boy looked at the shorted, obviously annoyed and rolled his eyes. He had always had to drag his younger brother here because, well. He couldn't leave him alone during the winter. What if the cabin's roof caved in from the weight of the snow and crushed the boy.
He said his farewells to the others, grabbing their cloaks and jackets and began starting outside but paused.
"Wilf, did you see where the wood is?" He looked around only to have the younger walk up, dozens of branches strapped to his back.
"Got it." It was obvious that he was struggling under the weight.
"Wilf, I could carry that if you're tired." He reached to take the branches from his sibling only to have his hand smacked away.
"Nay! It is my burden to carry, you have your own things to carry too." He signaled to the axe and lantern. "You're the one that leads the way!"
Ben paused, frowning but started to smile, his brother learning responsibilities.
"Fine then, but next time I'll let you carry the lantern." Ben laughed, heading out into the frigid, howling wind.
Wilf followed him, trudging through the snow, the snow going higher than the boy's waist but began tailgating his taller brother and followed the partial uncovered path