*ROAR!!!.* The loud, beastly sound echoed through the snowy forest, causing Baldur to whirl around, eyes wide in surprise and concern.
"For the love of Freyja's tits, from where you appeared?" Baldur exclaimed.
A massive, shaggy brown bear had appeared from out of nowhere, emerging from behind Unnvaldr to face Baldur directly. The bear rose up to its full, imposing height, towering over Baldur and the two horses with a menacing snarl.
Reacting with lightning speed as the bear menancingly roared at him while it prepared to charge, Baldur stretched his hand onto Unnvaldr's side and grabbed a longsword and a round shield from their sheaths attached to the saddle. As the bear charged with frightening speed, Baldur raised the shield just in time to block a crushing swipe from the bear's enormous paws. The force of the blow made Baldur's arms shake, the wooden shield straining under the impact as the bear's claws began to crack and splinter the shield's surface.
The horses reared back in alarm at the bear's sudden appearance, whinnying loudly, and cantered away a short distance but stopped to wait, not fleeing too far. Baldur was too focused on the immediate threat to bother trying to find or even look for the horses; he needed both hands free to fend off the angry bear.
The bear roared again as Baldur managed to keep the shield raised, barely blocking another powerful strike. The shield was no match for the bear's brute strength. It began to break apart in Baldur's grip as splinters of wood sprayed around him. Baldur gritted his teeth and leaned into the shield, using all his strength to keep it in place between them. The bear's hot, rank breath washed over him, its yellowed fangs bared in a snarl.
Then—*thwip*.
A sharp hiss cut through the air as an arrow struck true, burying itself deep into the bear's thick neck. The beast roared in pain and fury, its head whipping toward the new threat. Gyda stood a dozen paces away, her bow still drawn, her stance steady despite the bear's sudden attention. Her eyes were narrowed, her breath controlled—she had aimed for the kill, but the bear was far from done.
"Gyda, you fool—!" Baldur barely had time to shout before the bear lunged toward her, its massive body barreling through the undergrowth. But Baldur was faster.
With a snarl of his own, he dropped the shattered remains of his shield and drove his sword forward in a vicious upward thrust. The blade sank deep between the bear's front legs, piercing its chest. The beast howled, its charge faltering as blood gushed from the wound, but its momentum carried it forward. It crashed into Baldur with the weight of a falling tree, its claws raking wildly.
Baldur grunted as he was knocked back, the bear's bulk pinning him briefly before he twisted free. The beast staggered, its movements sluggish but still dangerous. It swung a paw blindly, catching Baldur across the shoulder and sending him sprawling. He hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs, but he rolled to his feet in an instant, sword still gripped tightly in his hand.
The bear kept staggering toward Gyda, its movements sluggish but still menacing, its breath coming in ragged, wet gasps.
Gyda didn't flinch. She nocked another arrow, her fingers steady, her aim locked onto the bear's throat. But before she could loose it, Baldur was already moving as he charged again, his sword flashing as he brought it down. The blade bit deep into the bear's chest, cleaving through fur and flesh until it struck bone. The bear let out a final, guttural growl, its body convulsing as Baldur wrenched the sword free. Blood sprayed across the snow, and the beast's legs buckled beneath it. It crashed to the ground at Gyda's feet, its massive head thudding against the earth, its dark eyes glazing over in death.
Silence fell over the forest, broken only by the heavy breathing of the siblings. Baldur spat blood from his lip, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked down at the gash on his arm—deep, but already beginning to knit together—and smirked.
"Tis but a scratch."
Gyda didn't laugh. She dropped her bow and was at his side in an instant, her hands gripping his arms as she examined the wound. "You idiot," she hissed, her voice trembling with a mix of relief and fury. "It could've gutted you! What were you thinking, letting it get that close?!"
Baldur chuckled, wincing slightly as she probed at the injury. "I was thinking I'd rather it maul me than you, sister." He reached up, cupping her cheek, his thumb brushing away a smear of dirt. "Besides, you know I heal fast. A little blood never hurt anyone."
Gyda's eyes burned into his, her fingers tightening on his arm. "Next time, don't let yourself be hurt like that," she snapped, her voice raw. "I don't want to lose you."
Baldur grinned, leaning in until their foreheads touched. "I will never die before I bed you, sister."
She hit him—hard—right in the chest. "Shut up."
But she didn't let go.
Baldur smiled at her scared and worried look before he whistled for his horse. "ÞÚ VILT VERA HESTUR? ÞÚ ERT BARA STÓR FÁR! (You call yourself a horse? You're just a big sheep!)"
Unnvaldr and Hvíta were waiting a short distance away, eyeing the scene cautiously.
"Come here!"
Unnvaldr, with just his big eye, snorted a neigh as he walked beside him and huffed for a while as he looked at Baldur and Gyda.
"What? Are you dissatisfied? I was the one who faced that beast that is bigger than you." Baldur snorted, noting the huffing stallion.
Gyda quickly stood up and fetched a piece of cloth from a bag attached to the saddle and tended to his wounds, making a simple bandage on the wound; as she knew Baldur's body would do the rest.
"Bloody hell, this is unbelievable." Baldur cursed his horse as Gyda bandaged him.
After Gyda tended his wound, he looked again at the brown bear; it must weigh around 200 kg or more; it was a big, fat one. "It was a big, stupid bear. Well, Unnvaldr, you need to show your manliness to Hvíta; you will need to pull it," he said nonchalantly as he gave a sideways glance to Unnvaldr.
The horse neighed angrily as if in protest.
"Yeah, make sounds like a bitch all you want, you are pulling it." Baldur snickered as he pulled a long rope and tied the bear, looped the rope around the chest behind the front legs, and then tied the end on the back of the saddle.
He grabbed the sword from the ground and cleaned the blood on his pelt before sheathing it again in the saddle and gave a glance at the shield that was already destroyed not far away and tsked at his loss but grateful that it did the job long enough to tank a few hits.
Gyda, who was waiting as her brother worked around, looked distressed at his wound. But they didn't have anything at hand to treat it better.
She sighed and pulled the reins of her horse, Hvíta and moved her beside the deer as she grabbed the one she killed and fastened it in the back of the mare.
Soon after her, Baldur came with Unnvaldr, who snorted as he started trying to walk. Baldur grabbed the other deer and tied it the same as his sister.
He looked at Gyda, who wasn't smiling anymore as before, and took her into his arms. "We had a good hunt. Why are you grumpy now?"
"Because of someone getting hurt," She rolled her eyes.
Baldur smiled. "These are the perks of the job," he said and pulled her into a deep, wet kiss as he grabbed her ass and enjoyed it as he pleased.
"Let's go."