If the pups hadn't been so engrossed in their meal, they might have noticed the change in the atmosphere in the woods around them. The birds grew quiet, and the few squirrels adventurous to wanted the woods had quickly made their way back to their nests, cowering in fear.
The human hunters were experienced, this could be clearly seen by how efficient they were at hunting. The group slowly encroached on the small clearing housing the wolf pups, stepping as quietly as possible so as to not be noticed. Soon they had vision over the clearing, and a hushed conversation broke out among them.
"Wolf pups? I thought we already hunted all of the dire wolves in this area."
A bulky man with a dirty orange beard spoke. He was the second in command of the mercenary squad known as the Red Falcons.
The Red Falcons was a small mercenary group, known for getting their jobs done quickly and without fail.
As of current, they were collecting pelts in the Dep woods.
Pelts were a valuable commodity in this pre-machinery world, and good pelts could sell for even more than they could earn from an average caravan escort assignment.
The bulky man spoke again, this time to the leader of the group.
"Karl, these things are too small to provide much hide, and their fur is all matted. My guess is that these pups were members of that pack from before, we must have missed them. We won't make hardly any money by skinnin 'em, but we can make a good buck if we sell them alive. I hear that a lot of noblemen enjoy watching these stupid animals fight."
Karl responded in a… particular accent.
"Now how do ya reckon we do that, ye bloody dolt? Ain't like they gonna just let us grab em, ay Jorg?"
Another member of their squad spoke up, this one a thin lad who appeared to be in his late teens. He was the youngest member of their squad.
"Well ain't they just pups? It can't be that hard to grab them. Let's just surround them and tie them up. I'll grab that big one with the dull gray coat (Ash)."
Karl acted overly excited about this, patting the skinny lad on the back and confirming their plan.
"Fair dinkum idea, Ed. This why we keep ya around, ay. You're too weak for anything, but ya got a nice head on ya. I'll grab the gray one, you take a rest, mate."
Jorg decided to take the small brown female (Fern), and another member of their squad was assigned to tackle the black one (Oak).
The wolves were still digging into their first meal in days while the humans made plans to catch them, too focused on eating to notice even as the humans approached.
SNAP!
One of the humans stepped onto a twig, alerting the pups.
Seeing the incoming human, the pups immediately panicked, trying to escape, but no matter what direction they turned to, there was another person there.
The three pups backed up into each other, snarling at these monsters who had taken their families.
'Any ideas Roth? How can we get out of this?!? Damn, I shouldn't have let my guard down!'
^If they already have us surrounded, why haven't they killed us yet?^
Ash thought for a moment before realizing they were trying to capture the wolves alive.
'I don't think we have any chance of escaping. These are the same people who killed our whole pack, there is no way a few cubs can escape from them. It is probably best to not resist now, and try to find a chance to escape later.'
Ash nudged the other pups, trying to signal him that there was no chance of escape.
Oak seemed to understand, and lay down, trying to display his surrender to the humans.
Fern, on the other hand, seemed to take it as a signal to attack.
Baring her teeth, she charged at the nearest human, who happened to be Jorg.
Jorg viewed the incoming wolf pup with disdain, shouting out at her.
*"Come on you dumb bitch, fight me."
Fern feigned biting towards Jorg's left side, and he fell for it.
She tackled him to the ground, trying to reach his neck. Rage shined in her eyes.
She was about to avenge her family.
CRACK!
Fern's body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, blood leaking from the side of her head.
Fern's head was twisted at an unnatural angle.
Karl stood by Jorg's side, brandishing a hammer, its striking face now smeared with blood.
Jorg shoved the body off of himself, then let out an overly loud laugh.
*"Ha! I almost got offed by a wolf pup! These damn things are smart! Thanks for the help boss."
Oak and Ash looked on in horror at the collapsed body of their sister.
Both of they had lay down, trying to surrender, but Fern didn't get the memo… and now she was dead.
Jorg looked at the two remaining pups, who seemed to be cowering in fear.
*"Hah! The other two are too afraid to fight back. Stupid animals, but at least they are making our job easier."
(People speaking in languages Ash can't understand in his hearing range will be denoted with a * before the quote.)
Ash could hear them speaking, but he was unable to understand even a word that they said. He cursed the humans in his heart, but he knew that if he tried to fight, he would end up just like Fern.
Oak and Ash didn't resist the humans, and soon their muzzles were tied closed and ropes were fastened around their necks.
The Red Falcon squad seemed happy with their haul for the day, dragging the two wolves back to their base camp before locking them inside of a crudely fashioned metal cage.
Despite the poor workmanship, there was no chance that the pups would be able to escape from the cage.
The mercenary squad spent the night drinking to their heart's content, celebrating their harvest in the woods.
Towards the end of the night, Karl stood in front of the twenty or so mercenaries.
"Oi… OI! Ye bloody dolts, listen up! We've cleaned out this -hic- woods of everything worth carryin. We got some fahkin nice pelts and some company for the -hic- ride back, ay."
Karl first gestured to a horse drawn carriage filled with pelts, and then to the two wolf pups, who were huddled together inside of the cramped cage.
Most of the mercenaries drank to the point that they passed out. The drunk men would often approach the wolves, jeering at them or throwing random objects at them.
The two cubs finally managed to get some sleep only after most of the humans had passed out.