The blade slid from the sheath attached to the small of his back with a slight rasp, causing the man to grimace slightly.
“Damn it!” he thought, slowing his movements even more. “I knew I should have gotten the leather one instead of kydex.”
Blade fully drawn, he crept forward. His senses strained to their limits, searching for any other threats. He froze when his target looked around, some unseen sense allowing them to detect his approach. Spotting nothing, his target when back to what it was doing.
Another quick thought ran through his mind. “He’s too jumpy. I’m only going to get one shot at this.”
His muscles tenses in preparation as he mentally ran through what he planned to do. Satisfied he wasn’t overlooking anything he nodded to himself before his eyes narrowed, focusing intently on the target.
Soundlessly, he sprung forward, tackling his opponent and straddling him. Pinning his head against the ground with one hand, he quickly thrust forward with the other, the blade flashing brightly in the sun.
The blade ground past the teeth with a metallic screech. Twisting the blade violently, he forced the mouth open further before he jammed the blade deeper, locking the mouth open.
Releasing the blade, he grabbed the paw and quickly slid it out from between the teeth of the steel trap before hugging the animal and rolling away. With a quick push, he tossed the timber wolf several feet away before rapidly reversing his course, snatching his blade from the trap, then springing to his feet in one continuous, fluid motion. Landing in a crouch, he cautiously watched the other animal as it scrambled to its feet.
Baring its teeth, the wolf emitted a low, rumbling growl while it stared at him with wary eyes.
“Go on, big fella. I’m not here to hurt ya, but I will if you force me to.”
The wolf continued growling menacingly but made no move to stalk closer. Still maintaining eye contact, he slowly began backing away from the majestic animal, hoping some distance would help calm the animal down.
Without warning, the wolf spun away, loping away into the woods with a noticeable limp. He continued to stare off in the direction the wolf took long after he’d vanished from sight between the shadows and trunks of the towering trees.
Finally, he stood back up to his full height, letting out a sigh in the process. “Hope he survives. Didn’t look too messed up, and his paw wasn’t broken, so at least there’s that goin’ for ‘im.”
Turning, he looked down at the spring trap that had been painfully worrying at the trapped paw. “Let’s see if I can find something that’ll let me track down the asshole that left this out here.”
Reaching down, he grabbed the trap. Straightening back up, he started to lift the trap but was brought up short by the heavy chain anchoring it in place. Frowning, he flexed his arm, snapping the tow chain with a loud ping that echoed around him for several seconds.
Bringing the trap to his nose, he inhaled deeply while a dull red light seemed to glow deep in his eyes. With a satisfied smile growing on his lips, he crumpled the trap like an empty can.
“Got your scent now, you SOB. You and I are going to be having a long talk about this trap, real soon. I take my leisure time in the woods seriously. When I find you, you’ll get to understand how seriously.”
He spun his blade absently while he walked back to where he’d dropped his day pack. Returning the blade to the sheath at the small of his back in a smooth, practiced motion, he squatted down to grab his pack. Opening it, he took out some jerky, then stuffed the mangled trap into it before securing everything. Standing up, he slung it across his back while looking around one last time to make sure he left no trace of his presence.
Satisfied, he nodded to himself once before crouching down slightly. With a slight growl, he launched himself into the air, catching a thick branch nearly forty feet up and flipping around it like an Olympic gymnast. With a slight tug, he pulled himself up hard enough to lightly land on the branch.
“Now, where was I?” he asked rhetorically. Flexing his powerful legs again, he sprung away to the next tree, heading deeper into the forest, pulled onward by the call of the wild.