Flashback An introduction to trapping

[Kelsey]

Her ears swiveled, taking in the sounds of the forest around her. She could hear the birds chirping above her head, and the multitude of insects scuttling beneath the leaves. That wasn't her primary target though. The birds were to much trouble for her diminutive size. By the time she got up the tree, they knew she was there. Not that she was a lousy climber, just that the pests were quick to dart our of range. Mice on the other hand, they were much easier to hunt. Anticipation shot through her at the mere thought of catching a nice juicy rodent for lunch.

She heard it then. The soft scuttle of feet over the dry leaves. Kelsey's ears perked up, tracking the sound through sound. She couldn't see her target yet, but her ears were as good as her eyes if not better. Crouching, Kelsey took a second to get her bearings, then began the stalking. One paw, freeze, the second paw. Slowly, she reminded herself. Go slowly. She placed each paw with care, mindful of the leaves and twigs that might give her away. A few seconds later, she was rewarded when she caught sight of he mouse.

Kelsey froze, allowing the light and shadows to work with her spotted pelt and keep her hidden. The mouse paused in it's scurry to look around, whisker's twitching. Kelsey inched herself down so that her stomach brushed the ground, but not so that she was laying down. That small movement brought the hyper alert mouse's beady little eyes her way. They stared at each other, Kelsey barely daring to breathe, the mouse waiting for a twitch of muscle from Kelsey to bolt. They were at a stand still. I'll respect you more when you're in my stomach, she thought silently.

The mouse broke first, bolting to the left. Kelsey sprang into motion. She pounced, missing her target by inches. Determined not to lose this one, she gave chance. Her target zigg-zagged through the underbrush, trying to get out of sight before eventually bolting into a hole. Kelsey stared at it, mouth open and sides heaving. Her cat wasn't built for prolonged chases, but it was built for getting rodents out of holes.

She began to dig at the entrance, making it a little wider. Just wide enough to squeeze herself into. A few minutes later, she crawled out, a now dead mouse hanging from her jaws. Tail flicking in pleasure, Kelsey trotted off to find a sunny patch to eat her prize in. She liked the sun, it warmed her pelt and made it easy to nap, which sounded delightful after the hard run of catching her lunch.

[Kelsey]

Day dreaming about her nap, Kelsey failed to notice the snare. Her back foot snagged it, setting off a trap that some hunter had left hidden. She whipped around at the sound of the trip, unsure what the sound was. She figured it out when seconds later, she found herself suspended in the air by her back leg, her lunch several feet below her, mocking her with it's dead eyes. Kelsey scowled at it. I'm not dead, she thought at it vindictively.

Turning her attention to her current issue, Kelsey looked up at the snare that was wrapped around one of her back legs. Praise be that wasn't my neck, she thought, analyzing the situation. She couldn't change and get out of it. The wire was to tight. It would sever her foot if she tried. That left her trapped her in her smaller form and meant she had to find a way out of it without the use of hands. She hissed in displeasure, showing her small sharp fangs, and ears pinned flat against her head.

The wire was digging into Kelsey's skin, but as long as she didn't struggle, it didn't hurt to bad. She hung there for several minutes considering the issue before deciding it wasn't going to get any better that way. She needed to work her way out of it, since it was unlikely anyone would come way out here and stumble across her, except maybe the hunter. She squinted her eyes, wondering if she should just wait for the man to come check his traps. If she did that, she could be there anywhere from hours to a day or so. Her stomach growled reminding her that she was to hungry to be patient.

Curling her flexible self up into a ball, Kelsey wrapped her fore paws around the wire holding her, bringing her nose within inches of her issue, and causing the wire to bite in more, drawing a bit of blood. Kelsey chirped irritably, but pushed the blossoming pain aside. Her back and legs were beginning to burn from the unnatural position, so Kelsey set to work.

Carefully, Kelsey worked her teeth between the wire and her skin. One she had it as secure a hold as she could manage, she tried to loosen it by pulling backwards. Her weight worked against her, keeping the wire stubbornly in place. She gave it a few more attempts then gave it up. She was only making it dig in harder. Freeing her teeth, she pulled back, thinking. She couldn't get the loop to slide, but with time she might be able to break through the wire over her leg. Her body weight would help in that situation. Her paw was beginning to go numb though. Not a good sign. She didn't have time to try and break the wire.

[Kelsey]

Kelsey let herself fall backwards so that she was once again dangling upside down from the trap. the relief in her protesting body was instantaneous, but not complete. Being suspended by one limb wasn't comfortable, and the wound the wire had made was getting worse the more she squirmed on the line. She forced herself to remain as still as she could while surveying the surroundings. There had to be something that could be done.

Kelsey's eyes snagged on the young tree the trap she was strung up in dangled from. It was a scrawny thing, making it easy to bend but resilient enough to spring right back up once the trap was sprung. As it was, every time she swayed on her line, the tree moved with her. Kelsey tilted her head up to examine how much line she had, then mentally measured the distance to the tree. An idea blossomed in her mind. It wasn't pretty, and it was going to hurt, but if it worked, all the better.

Kelsey gave another chirp, and steeled herself for the pain she knew was coming. With a huff, she began to swing her body from one side to the other. She had been right, it hurt. The motion caused her leg to scream in protest, but she was making progress. Each consecutive swing made her into a living pendulum. She had to focus more on timing with each swing. Slowly, she got closer and closer to that young tree. Close enough that she began to swipe at it with her front paws on each arch.

Finally, Kelsey felt her tiny claws catch on the wood. Stopping her in place. She was still upside down though, and her abused limb was stretched out as far as it could go. Now for the tricky part, she thought. Her claws were designed for one way climbing, and that way wasn't down, or up if one happened to find themselves upside down in a tree. She had to get herself upright without losing her grip. A tricky task since only two paws were holding her to her perch, one was snagged, and the third hung uselessly out in the air.

Kelsey narrowed her eyes and flattened her ears. She wasn't about to be beat by the tree and spend the next who knew how long being mocked by a dead mouse. Slowly, she pulled her right paw from the tree, then immediately stuck it back into place. She had felt her other paw slipping despite her grip on the tree. She would have to do it quick. Sucking in a deep breath, Kelsey yanked her paw free again and slammed it back down under the one still clinging for dear life and further up the tree.

One down, Kelsey told herself as she worked up the courage to move the other one. This paw was going to be worse to move. She had moved it from it
s current position to one up along side her stretched out body, and then take the first paw she had moved off the tree, curl herself up and put it back down next to the second paw. This had to be done quick, and it was a test of flexibility. Kelsey closed her eyes for a second, then opened them and suited thoughts to actions.

She moved the first paw into position, then freed the second before giving herself time to think about it. Kelsey felt her heart beginning to race, and free her back leg kicking uselessly in an effort to help her catch the tree. Fortunately, all worked according to plan and she was able to pull herself up along the tree until her free back leg was able to grab hold as well. That only left her with one problem. Her trapped limb.

[Kelsey]

With three legs now on the scrawny tree, Kelsey felt more secure. Now all she had to do was work her way up and out the limb the snare was tied to so that she could work on the loop holding her captive. This was easier said than done. Her body wasn't happy with her after the last few stunts, and her leg was defiantly bleeding good. She could feel the warm liquid soaking her pelt and the sharp bite of the wire as it dug in deeper.

Ignoring the issue was the only option, so Kelsey made herself focus on tree climbing. She hauled herself up, basically hugging the tree with her front legs every time she had to move the back one. When she got to the limb she needed, she scowled at it. It was thin and didn't look like it would hold the weight of a few birds, let alone her. Kelsey glanced down at her leg. There was some slack in the line now, but not enough for her to use the paw or risk disengaging one of the ones clinging to the tree to try and work it off.

Kelsey faced the branch again then decided it had already held her weight when she had been hanging upside down. It would hold her just as well up here, and she wouldn't be bouncing around. With that settled, Kelsey reached out and dragged herself up onto the branch. The hard part was done, and she breathed a sigh of relief over it. She even took a second to just lay there, giving her body a chance to rest, before inching herself further down the limb, gaining more slack with every cautious step.

Rather than go all the way out to where the line was tied, Kelsey went only far enough to give her enough slack in the wire to get it off. It was much easier now that she wasn't pulling against it with her own body weight. In face, it took her only a minute or two to dig the wire out with her teeth and pull it off her leg, leaving her with a nasty cut, bot nothing else to worry about.

Kelsey grunted and kicked the offending loop off the tree branch. It was harmless now. The trap had been sprung, and she had gotten out. She had learned something though. She needed to be more aware where she placed her paws from now on rather than get distracted by thoughts of lunch and sunbaths. That thought had her looking down at the rat still laying on the floor. It had acquired a few flies, but nothing to worry about.

Kelsey got herself out of the tree, still difficult with a hurt leg but nearly as troubling, then went to retrieve her meal. She chirped at it. I win! She could've sworn the dead thing rolled it's eyes. Didn't matter. She scooped it up and began to limp her way through the trees in search of sunshine and a place to lick her wounds.