*

Thorn and River searched until at last they caught the scent of the two miscreants.  Following the scent to a small pond nearby, they found the two miscreants playing by its shore.  Thorn also picked up the overwhelming stench of Stranger, and the fresh scent of his sister and another female wolf, whose name he did not know.  He spotted the glint of metal just seconds before River, and he leapt forward to pull the pups off the trap they were investigating, with River on his heels.

“Bad pups!” River cried.  “Bad pups!  Stay away from the trap!”

Thorn picked Cattail up by the scruff and, ignoring her protests, carried her back to camp.  River followed, carrying Pond.

*   *   *   *   *

Thunder listened attentively as Ivy made her report.  “Good job.  We’ll have to organize a daily patrol to scout for new traps and to close the known ones with sticks.”  His ears went up at the sound of a whining pup, but when Thorn, River, Cattail, and Pond arrived he relaxed.  “So you found them,” he said to Thorn.

“Yes.  We found them playing with a trap that was luckily closed on the shore of the pond near the Plains Pack border.”

Thunder nodded to him, then turned to Cattail and Pond.  His eyes were gentle but stern.  “Cattail,” he said to the brown, bold youth.  “And Pond,” he said, turning to Cattail’s bluish, shy sister.  “You both have committed to wandering, without the permission or consent of an adult, and playing with a foreign object that, had it not been shut by Ivy and Pine, could have injured either one of you severely.  What do you have to say for yourselves?”

Cattail looked up defiantly, but, before she could speak, Pond brushed her aside and spoke in a quiet, young voice.  “We are sorry, mighty Alpha.  We did not know the dangers when we left, and we did not mean to cause unrest.  We promise we will not do it ever again.  The trap did not look threatening, and it had an interesting smell upon it.  We were merely investigating.”  She timidly walked up to Thunder and hailed him as the Alpha by licking his chin.

“Yea, what she said,” Cattail muttered as she walked over to join her sister in praising the Alpha.

Thunder nodded to Pond.  “That is all very well.  However, this cannot go completely unpunished.”  Cattail’s face fell as Thunder continued.  “Neither of you are to leave camp for three days, nor are you to even go for a drink with out an escort.  Cattail must be accompanied at all times by either River or someone River chooses to take a turn.  After the three days, I hope you will remember your punishment before wandering off without permission.”  Pond nodded meekly, but Cattail looked shocked and rebellious.  Noting the gleam in Cattail’s eye, Thunder added, “If you are caught outside the boundaries of the camp without an escort, the punishment time will be doubled.”  Cattail cringed, and followed River back to camp with her head and tail down.

Gale walked up.  “Are you sure you weren’t too hard on them?”

Thunder nodded.  “It will do Cattail some good to see the result of disobedience.  She will always be rebellious, but her spirit needs to be calmed a bit, or she will never have a place in a Pack.”

“But for three days?  And you know she’s going to try and escape.  Then you’ll double the punishment.  She’ll be even more determined to get out.”

“You’re right, Gale.  She will try.  And I will let her.  She’ll hope I’ll forget that last statement or she’ll pretend she’s forgotten and beg for mercy.  When I really do double the punishment, she’ll learn that the rules don’t ‘forget’ themselves and that the rival Pack will have no mercy when she ‘forgets’ were the boundary is.”

Gale nodded in agreement and wondered to himself how much his little nephew had grown in wisdom.