This time it will work!

It had been months ago and many inches smaller that Chade had tried to make a snare only to see it fail miserably.  He would probably need to ask to learn how to make a solid one but injured pride over his last fail had the boy wanting to make another attempt.

The berry grove was certainly a great place to get rope.  The pup started with just pulling the vines away from simple bushes until Chade realized he had more vine than he thought.  The young man sat down next to a pile of twisting turny vine branches with leaves still on them.  It reminded him of making his and Ry’s warning system if trespassers came by only that hadn’t relied on being sturdy.

If the thicker coils he’d used last time hadn’t held Avacyn this was sure to feel even if going after rabbits.  Chade let out a slow exhale thinking he might have to ask for help after all when a moment of realization came to him.  The vines that had been hardest to pry loose were the ones that had wrapped about each other.  Chade left his twirly pile to inspect the bushes. The young man didn’t try to pull more off but only look at how they often did lace together.  

Chade headed back to his twisty twirl of vines and plucked a berry off one to chomp on it.  They had been told these berries were safe and it was a relief knowing something they could eat without having to chase it down.  Even if all these bushes couldn’t be found anywhere it was a bit of knowledge to keep hold of.  Meat tasted a lot better but there was sweet satisfaction in the berry’s juicy center.

Chade made his way back to the pile of vines and lay down next to them.  He didn’t bother untwining yet but instead, lay his paws over some of the vines and started plucking leaves.  One vine broke when he pulled too hard and Chade huffed slightly then moved on.  He put his paws closer together, kept his head closer to the ground, and was more gentle as he chewed off each leaf.  Maybe snares couldn’t be made as quickly as he had thought prior.

He broke vines still more than once.  The boy had paused partway to grab more vines off the brush and popping another berry or two in his mouth.  With a bit of berry juice clutching to a few strands of fur under his lip the blue wolf lay back down, dropping his new vines.  Patiently he went back to work, gently plucking leaves until all of his vines were laid bare.
With the vines cleaned up Chade tried braiding the vines for his first time ever.  The bushes sure made it seemed easy but the vines liked to twirl free of his paws and always get looser than he imagined was right.  The things had to be tight!  It felt like forever, and indeed it was several hours before he had a long strand of braided vine but it was a work of pure joy.  No one had done this for him, no one had given him tips, this was all his work.  If this snare didn’t work he’d have to ask for help, even if it did work he’d show it and ask what could be better.  Gosh, he hoped it worked.

Chade put his snare down near some bushes, kicked a little dirt, and put a bit of leaf around the edges to hide it.  Chade had never asked if he just left it there or was supposed to wait for something to just step in it.  So, now what?  Chade shrugged to himself after setting up his snare and trotted off.  The boy used his nose on both ground and air snuffing about till he found some rabbits.  He didn’t want larger game until he knew small prey would work.

This was going to be an odd hunt.  He didn’t want to catch the rabbit in his jaws but only herd it to the snare.  The boy snuck up close then chased the one he thought fastest.  The boy had to hold back from what might have been a killing strike.  The rabbit swerved left and chade kept up, it swerved right and chade nipped the air to make it go back straight.  For a few exciting moments, he thought this would work.  Then the rabbit spun about, lept through a small patch of brush, and was out of sight and most certainly would be safe from dinner for the day, at least his dinner.

Chade let out a small sigh of resignation and walked back to where his snare rested.  Should he leave it here then and see what happens?  The blue wolf thought back to Avacyn hanging in his failed snare and grinned for a moment before the smile faded.  Nah, best to not leave it out for her to trip in again. Picking up his snare supplies he went back to the band to see who might offer pointers on how to use it.

Word count: 858

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