Chapter 13
Clover the rabbit quietly ate the blossoms by her feet, foolishly not noticing the gentle crackle of leaves nearby.
Elana prowled quietly with swift movements around the trees and growth towards the prey.
Cider can barely imitate his companion but he did learn from Elana to never act without thinking about the consequences.
Elana made attempted to pounce upon Clover but the rabbit jumped away and out of reach in the other direction.
Catch it Cider!" called out Elana.
The novice wolf chased Clover through the forest until something sharp clamped around his fore-paw then he yelped with pain.
For a moment Clover stared at him with pity as he struggled trying to get out this piercing gray object out of his paw with his teeth. The bunny ran off when Elana arrived to check on him.
"Elana!" said Cider "Can you pull this thing from me?"
"I'll try..." said Elana with metal in her mouth.
Together they struggled to loosen the grip of the trap and they both were not able to get it to release him.
Elana exclaimed in horror as another hidden trap clamped around one of her back paws.
Their ears twitched when they both heard light hooves-steps on the ground nearby.
Cider and then eventually Elana began to panic as they continued to work on getting out of their mess.
"Are you sure you had heard something out here?" asked Mr. Thyme.
"Absolutely." answered Skip.
Thyme jumped in surprise at their catch, "You were right. Two wolves are caught here. Still, I hate the idea of you workers scattering traps
everywhere" The elderly pony discovered a familiar red collar around the male wolf's neck and instantly recognized him.
"Cider?" asked Thyme.
"What's wrong?" Inquired Skip.
Thyme pointed at Cider, "Let him go..."
"Let him go? We need that wolf for our carving business..." Skip replied.
"This wolf is wearing a magical collar you fool!" exclaimed Thyme, "So that means he belongs to somepony. Don't you understand it's illegal to hunt
creatures with a collar or tag on it?"
"Magical collar? How do you know that it's magic?" questioned Skip.
"Look carefully at the crystal decoration around its neck..." instructed Thyme.
Skip examined the collar and noticed polished bright-colored stones which clearly reflected the moonlight like tiny flames.
"Do you want to get in trouble with the authorities?" continued Thyme, "They can track that wolf down by using the collar. We'll keep the female wolf but we are setting the collared one free..."
"But we only caught a few of them today. There's no way we'll find enough to give our customers their ordered furniture...Why can just take the collar off right? " wondered Skip.
"Fine," sighed Thyme, "If you won't free this wolf then I will..."
He then walked in a calm and level-headed way towards Cider to gently unclasp the trap off of its paw while Skip quickly placed a muzzle around Elana so she would not bite the pony's face off.
Once Cider is released, the wolf he wanted rush toward Elana but Thyme blocked his way as he pointed his iron cross-bow at him.
"Cider, leave now while you have the chance" whispered Thyme.
He stared behind Thyme at Elana who was pulled out of the trap and dragged away by Skip into a wagon nearby.
Cider could tell that by judging from her facial expression alone that Elana wanted him to not worry about her and escape before he would be taken too.
Anxiety clouded Cider's mind as he bolted away in terror back at the woods he came from. After Cider ran out of energy, he collapsed with exhaustion on the ground.
"Why did I abandon her? Because I'm a coward that's why. I hate myself..." he cried softly, "I'm sorry Elana..."
He wanted to curl up into a ball and forget about what just happened. In fact, he would rather return to the CMC's clubhouse to sleep on the carpet. Cider also wished Applebloom was here to comfort him like she used to do when he was a puppy.
The wolf shook these thoughts out of his thoughts to focus on what he needed to do now.
"I must warn Elana's pack about these hunters but how am I supposed to do that? She didn't even tell me yet were they live..." Cider wondered to himself. "Perhaps if can find their border marks, paw-prints, or something maybe I can find them..."
With all the strength he could muster, Cider stood up and ran toward the first place he had met the wolves.
It would be quiet outside if it weren't for the crickets chirping loudly to each other with excitement in the search for potential mates.
"It's getting late. Why don't we just head back to camp now?" suggested Thyme.
"You go ahead but I'll continue to search for them..." said Skip.
"Not a good idea to hunt alone at night..." warned Thyme.
"I'm not afraid. I'm independent enough to hunt by myself..." said Skip pridefully.
"Obviously you don't act like a mature adult with that attitude of yours.." commented Thyme, "You can accidentally shoot somepony with your arrows in the darkness or get eaten by monsters..."
"Will you quit acting like my parent? I can hunt without an annoying old grouch like you distracting me..." Skip remarked.
"Foolish boy," responded Thyme with irritation, "You will join with me at the camp pronto..." Then he turned toward their sleeping quarters.
The hunter's assistant noticed a light crackle of leaves in the distance.
Skip silently scanned his eyes around the forest until he spotted bushes moving and found Cider hiding inside them.
"Come on Skip..." ordered Thyme.
The senior hunter was too tired to wonder what Skip is staring at.
Skip gave a smile at Cider with satisfaction before he left out of sight with Thyme in the lead toward their campsite.