trappy trap traps

Asmodeus was giving his best effort toward not falling into the depths of despair. He had known death very young, and the last time it had come for one of his own flesh and blood he'd barely survived the pain. The Abraxas warrior would not allow himself to fall into apathy and solitude once more, and made an effort to leave his den each day for a much needed distraction from his thoughts.

The Malinois puppies bounced along at his side, both dogs having grown bored of their master's habit of passing time alone in his den. The hours they spent outside in the sun were the part they looked forward to each day, while it was the time Deus most dreaded.

He'd not spent much time interacting with the pack lately, but it was understandable and expected that Aerie was no longer at it's best. Their healer spent her time in her garden, suffering the loss of her daughter and Deus' sister as heavily if not more than he was. Their alpha suffered beneath the weight of what he'd done, his father at the man's throat and calling for blood. The pack smelt of new pups, but none were to be seen wandering along the lake and ravine. Deus felt his family crumbling around him and knew there was nothing he could do to fix it.

What he could do however, was hunt. It was a skill taught to him by his late uncle, though he'd slacked in perfecting it beneath the weight of his mother's judgement. Wolves needed to hunt and Riva knew that, but the times Deus had been lectured as a boy for needless killing had stuck with him. Was killing to learn how to kill still wasteful? Asmodeus was not sure, but he was not willing to risk his mother's respect for the uncertainty.

He had collected materials to build a trap - a snare that he could, should he need to, release an animal from without lasting damage. It would improve his ability to feed the pack without the senseless slaughter his mother disapproved of. Alongside him his puppies dragged long vines, occasionally getting themselves or each other caught by the leg and causing a puppy play battle that Deus was forced to continually stop to break up.

Once he'd found a decent spot, Deus collected from the puppies the vines. He'd decided on a location on the tree line surrounding the lake, a spot where the brush was thinner and well-travelled by prey animals who'd moved in to drink from their lake. He started by making a loop from the vine and carefully looping it beneath and through itself to craft a noose of sorts, and then carefully lay it overtop the brush where wandering limbs might catch onto it. The other end of the vine he jammed into the ground with a stick, before rolling atop it a large boulder that might weigh the stake down enough that the thrashing animal might not tear it free from the earth.

The remainder of the work was spent disguising the trap from curious eyes, placing upon the vines small torn patches of underbrush. Once he was pleased with the work (and finished lecturing the puppies that they should stay far from it) Deus moved further into the brush to watch.

The first creature to appear merely slipped through his noose uninterrupted, and Deus was required to leave his hiding spot to readjust the size of the loop. The second to swing by his trap came much later in the evening, and Deus was startled awake by the panicked squealing of the rabbit who found itself caught.

Deus sprinted forward toward the rustling bushes, his puppies at his ankles yipping and snapping at the air as they approached the rabbit. The snare had found itself overtop the rabbit's neck and Deus could see it's movements already slowing as it suffocated beneath the weight of the vine. He stepped forward and placed his large paw heavily upon it's shoulder, pinning it to the ground. His puppies barked and snapped, enjoying their role in the hunt while Deus took turns pushing each back away from the panicked creature with his free paw. Eventually the puppies got the point, and he was able to focus his attention towards putting the rabbit out of it's misery.

With the rabbit killed, Deus moved to reset his trap. With each new capture he'd learn more of the process and what was required of a good snare, as well as refilling Aerie's food and pelt stores. He gave the corpse to one puppy with strict instructions to hold and not chew it, and with the snare reset headed back into the pack's territory to deposit the life giving meat into their stores.


Word Count: 800