Trapping and Tracking Lessons

[Vest]

Fall 26th, 522AV

The sun was still below the horizon when Vest began to roll out of bed and hit the floor with a loud thump. She gave a groan and propped herself up on her elbows, trying to blink away the sleep and comprehend where she was. After a bit of time to wake up, she got herself off the floor and made her bed before going to the bath to clean up her face. After she washed her face, brushed her hair, and dressed her body she was out into the night air and down towards the meeting area. Today was all about her learning how to make traps for different scenarios, and she hoped that she would also be able to make some as well. Vest arrived in a matter of a few chimes and looked around for Dumir, as she didn't see him at first, until she rounded a corner and found him walking up the path with a few supplies.

“Here, take these and follow me, we are early but it gives us time to learn.” Dumire led Vest down to their spot in the woods where they had killed the rabbits yesterday. Ther, Dumir had already prepared some small piles of supplies, some of which were just items gathered around the area. He gestured for her to drop off the items to the side and walked around the table to begin the teaching moment. “Today, I am going to start off by teaching you four really easy traps for basic wilderness survival. And, yes, most of these will be taught out in the field and hands on. I see it written all over your face.”

Vest only gave a chuckle as Dumir finished up his statement. She didn't think her eagerness was so obvious, but she had already been so eager to learn things from him since she had been his apprentice for a whole season.

“Okay, so first things first, let us talk about supplies. For snare traps, you need only one thing and that is some sort of wire or cordage. Sticks can be another supply you use for drag run snares, which is like another snare but you channel animals towards it with those sticks. There are many varieties of snare traps, but as long as you have some sort of cordage you will be golden. Another basic trap would be a deadfall, which is just a few notched sticks and a heavy item propped on them. I would consider this an intermediate trap though, and don't recommend you use it until you're able to effectively trap animals with the basic snare”

Dumir then pulled over a large pile of bramble branches and some weaved grass cordage, being careful to avoid the thorns. Vest furrowed her brow a bit and wondered what these branches and the grass could be used for. Dumir picked up on this and began his explanation.

“These two items are what Sunberth wilds provides for us to make a fish trap. Not an easy task, with all the briers on it, but doable. It involves weaving the grass cordage through a bundle of the branches to form a funnel. Another slightly intermediate trap and not one you will be learning right off the bat. Though I won't discourage you from practicing weaving at home, on your own time.”

Vest felt like that would be something she could do in between lessons and regular work. Especially since it sounded easier than trying to balance a heavy object on a bunch of sticks. Vest nodded in understanding and went to examine the supplies as Dumir walked off to grab a drink for himself. There were several different kinds of cordages that were laid out on the table. From simple strings to what looked like something made from animals and even some thick wires as well. They all looked reliable, and Vest tested their strength by pulling and yanking on them in different areas. Some of them broke pretty easily, something she expected was intentional, while others stayed true and didn't budge or warp under the stress.

WC: 687
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[Vest]

When Dumir returned, Vest picked up the broken cordage and questioned why it broke so easily. Dumir took it from Vest and explained that sometimes, in some places, keeping an animal trapped for too long can get one in trouble. Having a cordage that can break easily after a while is a good rule of thumb. That, and if an animal does somehow escape a snare trap, a breakable cord around their neck means they can survive out in the wild. This made sense to Vest and she gave a noise of thought before she noticed the sky was beginning to lighten. At the same time, Dumir instructed Vest to begin packing up the cordage and wires and he would show her the various traps in the field. Vest grinned widely and eagerly began neatly packing the items into a small sack before following her teacher out into the woods.

“So, what animal are we targeting first? I figured something small like a squirrel or maybe a rabbit, would that be the correct train of thought?” She only imagined having an animal simply walk into her trap and be snagged. However, as simple as her imagination could be, that was not as easy as she made it seem. Dumir confirmed that Vest had the right target animal in mind, and that the one they specifically wanted was a rabbit. Setting a snare trap in front of a rabbit den would be much easier at this time as he had seen a few when out hunting. Vest had nodded in agreement to his observation, rabbit dens were easy to find for Vest as they usually consisted of the fur mixed with whatever brush was near. The only time they were hard to find was when they were within the rocky trees or some bramble bushes.

“Alright, stop, this is where we have to be careful. Do me a favor, do you see the nest?” Dumir lowers his voice and kneels down behind a rock, allowing Vest to take over and look around for the rabbit burrow. It didn't take her long to find it as she watched a large rabbit slowly emerge from under a pile of large rocks. Vest watched cautiously as the rabbit took a few hops, sniffed around, then proceeded to hop off away from the nest. After that, she lowered herself and spoke softly about the situation. “What are we going to do? The rabbit is gone now.”

“It is alright, rabbits don't stay at their nests for long, especially if they have young there. We will set the trap up in front of the entrance, and we will be using that young sapling right over there to snag the rabbit when it triggers the trap. It's a waiting game, and not a quick one at that. You have very little knowledge of animals, and even less of trapping, so don't try getting too ahead. Now, let's get the trap set, enough time has passed for the rabbit to have wandered away from her den.” Dumir peeks over the rocks before moving out, with Vest close behind. He gestures for her to pull out some string and goes to grab the top of the sapling. He ties one end to the top before instructing Vest to find a small and sturdy looking stick for them to use as the trigger.

With a nod, she wanders off just a short distance before bringing back three samples of small and sturdy sticks. One is about a half inch wide and a foot long, the second is stubby and about two inches wide, while the third one Vest brought just as a suggestion, but didnt think it was strong enough to hold down anything. As Dumir browsed, he picked the longer one and cut about two inches off the top.

WC: 640
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[Vest]

“Here, carve one end into a point and make a small notch at the other end, I'll work on this piece.” He handed Vest a small knife before doing a small carving out of his and tying it to the string snare, close to the top of the sapling. He looked over at Vest as she was finishing up and took the piece from her, hammering it into the ground with a rock. “Alright, time to see if our efforts worked. So, when I bend this down, this small piece should hook into the notch you made -- yes, just like that. And if I gently let go of the sapling -- perfect, it holds.”

Vest watched with tense concentration as Dumir rigged the snare. He did it with such precision that it looked extremely easy. Especially when he carefully laid out the snare and propped it in such a way that it stayed open over the entrance. She smiled happily at their work, and scuttled away with Dumir once he was finished.

“So what is that snare supposed to do?” She asked as they walked further into the forest. Vest had some assumptions on what it could do to a small animal when it was triggered. The sudden snap of the sapling could very easily break the animal's neck without a second thought, maybe that was the goal? She furrowed her brow as she thought, and definitely didn't hear the full explanation from her mentor. But she did catch that it would kill the animal and it's supposed to keep it out of reach of smaller predators. Dumir then started to explain that they were going to start targeting a slightly bigger prey with a different snare trap. This one would lead the target into the noose where it will struggle and hopefully get tangled. Vest listened to the brief explanation before she was told that the next target is quite sly and bait will be needed if necessary.

After a few chimes of climbing through the hilly woods, Dumir finally stopped and kneeled down to the ground to point out some tracks. They looked to be small dog tracks heading east into the woods, and when the pair followed they intersected two other similar tracks on top of a few others as well.

“This area looks to be high traffic, and while our target animal does frequent this area, we will also be running the risk of another animal triggering the trap.” Dumir gave a thought and Vest looked around. She couldn’t see any small saplings near the tracks, so the trap they had set for the rabbit wouldn't work here. She was just about to ask about any other ideas when Dumir started walking away. “Come, this is not an uncommon thing, as you have experienced before. We will test out a different location.”
Vest gave an internal sigh at the fact that they were moving locations, and followed Dumir through some more of the forest. While they walked, she took note of the surroundings around her out of boredom until Dumir actually did have them stop and look.

“Hey, pay attention to the present. Look here, there are some broken branches around, and they aren't that low to the ground. What do you think this means?”

“A larger animal came through this way? Maybe a bear or a deer?” She tilted her head some and looked at Dumir as he stood, waiting for an answer. Instead, she was met with silence and a low sounding hmm. This made Vest feel a bit uncomfortable as she hadn't seen Dumir like this before.

WC: 603
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[Vest]

“No, no bear. But i believe we should head back to that animal trail and try setting up a regular snare.” Dumir gestured for Vest to turn around and take the lead, and when she hesitated he furrowed his brow. “What is it? Do you doubt what I have told you?” When Vest shook her head his furrowed brow turned into an eye narrow. “Then what is it?”

“Ah, well, I noticed you were suggesting I lead the way. And, well, I don't exactly know how to get back…fully.” She gave a nervous smile but was only greeted with a narrowed eye before she gulped. Not paying attention to how they got here was a major slip up on Vest, as it was technically her JOB to get them to and from when Dumir was out hunting. So, when he just continued to glare, she took in a deep breath and turned on her heel to begin the walk.

So, the first thing she looked for was disturbances in the ground such as tracks they left behind or rocks having been moved. Those were the easy indicators, so nothing too difficult, until they reached an area she'd never seen before. Or maybe she had? Vest peeked at Dumir, who was just waiting for her next move and not giving too much input on the situation. She gave a grumble and started looking around the area for things she would recognize while also steadily walking straight. It took a few chimes, but eventually she found the area where the high animal traffic was and turned to Dumir with a smile. He only nodded and allowed her to finish leading them out of the woods and back to the meet up spot.

"Alright, while this trip was definitely not as educational as I was hoping, we did get to set a trap. We will check it tomorrow afternoon in hopes that we either caught a rabbit or there was some sort of disturbance." Dumir looked up at the afternoon sky and back at Vest. "For now, go feed yourself then come back here, it's time for a hunt." With that Dumir left for his house and Vest did the same. It was back to being an assistant and no longer being a student. At least now, she had some valuable knowledge that she could go back on and practice. Especially butchering up some rabbits, the thought of being able to be extra useful out during the hunt and being able to practice had her feeling excited.

WC: 424

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