"Scott I'm fine." Mitzi said before stumbling. Scott caught her arm before she could fall over.
"Mitzi don't push yourself. If you need to take a break, take one." He told her. Mitzi huffed and stared at her feet.
"I hate this, not being able to walk properly. It's annoying." She kicked a rock with her good foot while leaning against Scott. They continued to wander around the forest. The birds were starting to migrate in order to get to warmer climates signalling that fall was here and winter was not far behind. At one point of their walk they reached a small clearing close to the edge of the border. Mitzi stopped walking there.
"I need a break." She muttered, hating to admit it. Scott helped her sit down and went to investigate the clearing.
"Be careful you remember what Elder Paw said about the traps." Mitzi warned. Scott turned around to face her.
"Yeah I remember." He took a step backward, before turning back around. His small tail twitched as he heard a car engine purr and come to life. His ears swiveled to locate where the car was exactly.
"Mitzi we have to get back to camp. They're close." He jogged over to help Mitzi up off the ground and tripped. He face planted onto the grass and grunted.
"Scott are you okay." Mitzi giggled. Scott propped himself up on his elbow and grimaced in pain. Mitzi's giggled faded fast,
"Scott?!" He looked back at his foot and his eyes widened before looking back at Mitzi. A twig snapped in the distance and he started to panic. Scott's foot had gotten snagged in a bear trap. In a failed attempt to break free he shook it. A cry of pain escaped his lips as he did so.
"Mitzi, they're coming. You need to get out of here!" Mitzi shook her head.
"I'm not leaving you here! Plus I couldn't get out of here by myself even if I wanted to." She was blinking back tears as she watched Scott struggle against the bear trap.
"Please Mitzi you have to try!" Scott shifted and tried to break free. He whimpered as the teeth dug into his foot. Ears pressed down he glanced back at his foot. Blood ran down his foot and soaked his tattered jeans. The crashing in the bushes gradually got louder and closer.
"Mitzi!" Scott whined. Mitzi's ears flicked back and she struggled to stand. A human in a long white coat burst into the clearing followed by another one wearing the same thing. Mitzi fell backward once more and started to scoot away. One of the scientists made toward Mitzi and Scott growled threatenly. But he was ignored and they grabbed Mitzi, who shifted to try and bite the scientist. They clamped her muzzle shut with one hand and with the other they grabbed her legs to stop her thrashing around. Scott continued to growl at the scientists. When the bear trap opened Scott turned to run toward the scientist that took Mitzi but collapsed on his injured paw. The last scientist picked up Scott just like they'd picked up Mitzi. Hand over his muzzle and arm around his body, hands holding his paws together. Scott whimpered as they squeezed his injured paw. The two scientists walked back through the bushes the way they came and toward the van Scott had heard earlier. They opened the back and threw both Mitzi and Scott into the back and closed the doors. The back of the van was very dark, so it took a few seconds for the two Paw tribemates eyes to adjust. When their eyes adjusted Scott was thrown onto his back against one of the cold metal walls, and Mitzi was curled in one of the corners back in her human form, her legs sticking out. Her ears were laid back and her fluffy tan fox tail was curled around her waist. The van started the rumble as the engine started and the vehicle lurched forward throwing Scott off the wall onto his side. He winced as his injured foot hit the ground. Eventually the van reached a steady speed and Scott sat up.
"Mitzi are you okay?" He groaned. She made a small squeaking sound, and Scott struggled over to her. He placed his small fuzzy head on her legs.
"Mitzi?" She looked at him. Mitzi looked terrified, with tears running slowly down her cheek. Scott attempted to cheer her up by sticking out his little tongue. She smiled and petted his fluffy ears.
"We'll be okay." He reassured her. Mitzi shook her head,
"Then how are we going to get out of this mess?!" Her hair had fallen out of her bun and strands of hair fell in front of her face. Scott lifted his head to lick her cheek and tried to stand up at the same time. But at that moment the van hit something making the back jump up. Scott got launched in the air and landed next to Mitzi on his back.
"Ow…" Mitzi giggled and pet the fur on his belly.
"Haha stop! That tickles!!" Scott laughed. He rolled back over and put his front paws onto Mitzi's lap.
"Even if we are trapped with no way out, I'm glad I'm stuck with you." Scott purred. Mitzi blushed and scooped Scott up into a hug.
"Me too."