Toad didn't see the appeal of apples. They were hard and sour, and half the time there were worms in them. They were extremely useful, however, for exactly one purpose: hunting.

Early in the afternoon she had left the Glen for the forest. Though she hadn't been planning on hunting, the opportunity was too good to pass up when she had found it. She regretted not bringing any other hunters with her from Moonspear or the Glen, but it was too late now.

She sat in the brush watching an apparently innocuous grove of crab apple trees, heavy with fruit. Many were on the ground, partially alcoholic from the natural fermentation process. A small doe had wandered into the patch, unaware of the wolf's presence. Twenty minutes went by before Toad felt she might be in striking distance. She launched herself at the animal.

The doe called out an alarm as it bounded away from her. Toad gave chase, her powerful legs pushing her forward at a surprisingly fast pace for her size. Abruptly, the doe changed direction. Toad lost her footing, unable to keep up with the agile animal. She was sent flying into a tangled mess of blackberry bramble.

OWOWOW WHYYY noooo.. Shit.
She felt her fur twist up into the thicket's nasty thorns. Two of her feet felt very hot, and pain followed. She was stuck. The thorns were everywhere. Fuuuuck seriously? Now what?

Several grumbles and painful groans went by before she started making a very pained howling noise, hoping that someone might hear and assist her.

Normally Toad wasn't one to complain. She hadn't had a hard life, but she'd seen her fair share of mishaps. She had at least seen enough to know when she needed to call for help, and this was definitely one of those times. As her wails rang through the woods, she hoped that someone, anyone, might hear her. She knew that the wolves of Firefly Glen were busy patrolling and forming the borders, but maybe she would get lucky and someone would stray to the southern areas.

Of course, who other than Lyra to find her in a sideways mess of her own making. Toad laughed sheepishly, but the thorns poked her when she did and she winced with an, Ow! Ow. Since the brown wolf's fur had thickened considerably for winter, it meant that the bramble was caught in the undercoat and difficult to remove. The worst of the actual pain was in her front right foot which had a large and dry thorn jammed between two toes, but it was impossible to see within the tangle the foot itself was in.

I blame the deer, she joked, forcing a smile. She could at least turn her head and was thankful that she had been running at an angle such that her eyes weren't taken out. Her left back foot was the only one touching the ground, but had very little actual weight on it, so suspended was she within the thorny wall.

Oof. She wished that deer had died on its "scampering away" with its swerving attitude and agile movements. Stupid. Scampering. Happy. Delicious deer.

Toad did not move much, as per Lyra's instruction. Uuuh, she started, having some difficulty pinpointing exactly the source of heat that was the harshest. Her whole body seemed to feel hurt and stiff. She didn't want to move in all honesty. My foot, at the front on that side there, she said, gesturing toward the right with her head.

Again, she thought of extracting the burrs from Gawain and felt herself like a giant burr in the fur of a great beast.