Long ago, there was a quiet day, when nothing stirred but the leaves. A man rose from his seat on the log, observing his motionless surroundings. Grabbing his knife and the lead of his dog, the man slowly walked deeper into the wood. It was not long before the dog began straining forward at some unseen quarry that he smelled.
The man relinquished his grasp.
His dog ran far out of sight. Soon, the stillness returned. The dog having ran beyond hearing distance.
The man waited, equally frozen, for his companion to return with a pheasant or rabbit in its jaws. Minutes passed, and as the man was considering pursuing his dog, he heard a faint yelp in the distance. He broke the silence of the forest further as he began walking quickly towards the sound. Birds that had seemingly appeared out of thin air began chirping and chattering as he strode. He came to a clearing containing nothing but a large blackened stump. It appeared burnt, but there were no signs of fire in the surrounding area. Cautiously, the man circled the stump, only to find a mangled mess of fur and blood unmoving at the base facing away from where he entered. The hunter instantly tensed, fearing for his own life, mourning that of his friend.
His grip tightened on his knife as the birds suddenly became silent once more.
A twig snapped somewhere behind him, but he chose not to turn. Instead, he slowly backed against the stump, the corpse of his dog between his legs. still warm. Suddenly, there was a heat against his back. Still, he did not turn around.
Calm, or perhaps unaware, even in the face of danger, the hunter did not flinch as a branch shot from the stump suddenly impaling him. He looked down at the black branch protruding from his stomach, and noticed it had no blood on it despite apparently wounding him. He further noticed he was not bleeding at all, yet his vision began to fade.
His eyelids drooped as he felt all the energy leaving his body. He looked to his feet only to see the dog had disappeared. On the branch that had impaled him grew a small, crimson flower.
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