Trapped

(Wednesday Night, August 1st)

"Are you sure you don't want to go anywhere special?" Ace asks, as they walk through the woods.

"Not until Evie makes those fireproof clothes for me." She tiredly says, "I still can't believe this."

"And meditation isn't working for you?" Ace checks.

"No," she frustrates. "Meditation irritates the hell out of me. I can't just sit and do nothing." He nods, and she continues, "So, walking through a woods belonging to a pack of wolves is the best place I can be right now."

"We don't own the woods," Ace counters. "This land is ours to take care of, but the land owns us. The moment we mistreat the earth, it can decide to kill us."

Lonnie's eyes widen, "Morbid much? I just meant that since the people here transform into wolves, they're probably less likely to stare at a naked girl than a theater crowd."

"We have a changing tent," Ace informs, "but you're right. The occasional nude situation is expected here. The wolves will want to at least try to be respectful." The teeth clamp into his ankle, and he howls in pain.

"Ace," Lonnie shouts, as she steps back and sees the metal trap. He pulls at the teeth, and she commands, "Stop. You could make it worse."

He lets go and cringes, as the teeth dig deeper into his skin. He tries to steady his breathing, "Maybe I can walk with it."

"No," she emphasizes.

"With your help," he looks up at her, "I could."

"It's too heavy," she insists. "It's supposed to ground animals. You could tear through something important if you let it hang."

"Come on," his eyes widen.

"Don't you want to walk when this is done?" she asserts, and he looks back at the trap. "You need someone to help you out of it."

"Good you're here, then," he clenches his teeth. "Help me." She merely looks over him, and he whimpers, "Please."

She hesitates, "I don't know how." and he howls again. "What are you doing?"

"Getting help," he informs, before he does it again.

Lonnie glances towards the trailer court, "Maybe I should get someone."

"They'll be here," he grits his teeth before taking a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" she concerns.

"Do I look okay?" he irritably responds.

Lonnie hears someone running, before Ace's father and two wolves appear. "He stepped in a trap," she explains, as she backs away and Alpha hurries to kneel beside his son.

"It hurts so much," Ace's eyes fill with tears.

"I know," his father sympathizes, before he turns to the wolves. "Go back to camp and prepare first-aid." They run off, and he faces his son, "I won't be able to hold it open for long. As soon as there's enough room, pull your foot out."

"Okay," Ace understands.

Alpha turns to Lonnie, "Help him up." and she moves forward to offer her hand and steady him as he stands. His father struggles pull the teeth of the trap apart, before he pulls his foot out and the trap snaps shut again. "Can you use your ankle?" Ace moves his foot up and down. "Good. Not broken, then, but I don't want you walking on it.

Ace feels one arm behind his back and another behind his knees, "You've got to be kidding me."

His father lifts him up, "It could be fractured." before he moves forward. "You want it to heal well, and carrying you will be faster than leaning on my shoulder." Alpha looks back at Lonnie, "You coming?" and she walks towards them.

"Why would wolves have traps in the woods, anyway?" Lonnie wonders.

"We didn't put them there," Ace seethes.

"How much pain are you in?" he asks.

"An eight," Ace heavily breathes.

"We're almost there," he reassures.

"Then why was it there?" Lonnie persists.

"Technically, this is public land," Alpha explains. "A human could move into the court if they wanted to. They don't, because they know what's good for them."

"That still doesn't explain the trap," she frowns.

"I'll take care of it," he settles.

"Where's Willis?" Alpha angrily walks to the front desk.

"Who?" the man questions.

"Officer Willis," he says again. "I need to see him."

"Regarding?" He clanks the metal contraption onto the desk, and his expression drops, "Is that blood?"

"My son's," Alpha snarls. "Get him down here. Now."

The man picks up the landline and punches in a number, "Officer Willis. You have someone down here who'd like to speak with you." He covers the phone, "What's your name?"

"Alpha."

He pauses, "Is there a middle name to go with that?"

"Alpha Michael," his eyes widen.

"Yes. An Alpha Michael is here about a bear trap," he eyes over the smaller size, "of sorts." He nods, "See you down here."

Alpha stares towards the hall, and when he sees Officer Willis, he frustrates, "You said we were done with this."

He walks up to him, "Look. Hunters are getting tired of seeing a lack of animals. They see more wolves than anything, so there's been an unlimited quota put on them."

"You mean, us," he reminds him. "There's no wild wolves in Auradon. They're hunting people. That's against the law."

"I told you this could happen if your pack kept hunting illegally," he puts forth. "But if the hunters think they're killing animals, they're not liable for murder."

"My son was just taking a walk," he asserts. "He wasn't even hunting. These traps are so close to our camp, I'm sure whoever did it, did it on purpose."

"Did they put signs up," the officer asks, "warning of traps?"

"We can read," he emphasizes. "Why would they warn us?"

He pauses, "We can't do anything if we don't know who put it there."

"Good thing I put up cameras since last time." Alpha hands him a drive, "It's timestamped, and you can see the man's face. I know you have facial recognition."

He takes it, "I can charge them with reckless endangerment, but there's nothing unlawful about them placing traps with the current kill order."

"You're saying we need to worry about rifles too," he presumes.

He hesitates, "Unfortunately, yes."

"Someone could get killed," he bares his teeth.

"Have you thought about getting the press involved?" Alpha's eyes narrow, and he explains, "When the law can't help, reporters are often the first responders. Enough attention could force the hand of the Wildlife Service. The kill order is meant to control the population of an animal disrupting the ecosystem. If there's no animal, there's no kill order."

"The park is the only place we've ever truly been safe," he opinionates. "If we talk to reporters, we will never be left alone. How are we supposed to hunt with humans hiding in the woods with cameras?"

"You say the park's the only safe place for you," he evenly expresses, "but how safe are you now that there's traps and permitted hunters?"

"People feel threatened by what they don't know," Alpha acknowledges. "I'm not putting my pack in that kind of danger."

"Then inform them," he solves.

"We have children," he mentions. "Little pups. How are their parents supposed to expect to keep them safe, when they attend a school filled with children being fed whatever their parents think of us?" His eyes widen, "The reason we've survived this long is because by default we are a trailer park community. It's up to the individual people to evaluate the risk of sharing their nature with the people they trust the most. I'm not making that choice for them."

The officer reasons, "Then you're just going to have to hold off on hunting until the threat dies down."

"Interesting idea," he considers. "If we were still killing trespassers, this would never have even been a problem. But hunting humans is illegal, which is why we don't do it."

- Posted: 02/08/2020

-Darthampser12: So, answering your questions. Lonnie is not adopted. She is the biological daughter of Shang and Mulan, and she is not biologically related to the enchantress or the Van Dykes. That hint about 'family' that you might have picked up on was more about possible marital relation, as the Van Dykes are witches who can sometimes see the future. She is also not 'cursed', technically. It will be a while before I get to this-hence, the mystery genre I've got listed here- so I'll give you something to tide you over. Lonnie's power originates from a source in Camelot. This power was given to her at a very young age, while her parents were still helping Camelot fight the war they had against the dragons. As far as Lonnie's parents being so hypocritical and stuck in the olden days, Mulan grew up in a society where being quiet and beautiful (at least, according to her movie) is what made a woman deserving of marriage. There are reasons why Lonnie's parents think she'll have a better chance of having a family if she behaves and dresses 'properly', but mostly Mulan has considered herself lucky to have found someone who didn't mind her behavior; however, as you see (either now or later), that doesn't work out too well for her either. Lonnie's parents emphasize ideal wifely traits to her, because they want to make sure she gets the so-called perfect life, and unwittingly to Lonnie, her parents went through a lot of pain and stress to make sure she had a chance at a future. Letting her participate in sports or martial arts might seem counterintuitive to their plans for her, but they would have allowed it for self-defense training. Mulan in particular wants to make sure Lonnie gets a good man who's deserving of her and will treat her well, and something as simple as disobedience is not going to get in the way of the future she's planned out for her.