“You’re sure this goes to the surface?” 

Lupin plodded along, passing through empty corridors and under swaths of heaping bats. After finishing some of the last food in their packs, the pair knew they should head back to the surface, foraging for snacks on the way. They hadn’t been lucky enough to hit any of the more lush caverns were Lupin could graze, and without actively seeking out a monster, they were out of meat for Violet. 

“I smell fresh air, and it’s getting stronger.” Violet replied from her perch on his back, her nose lifted to scent the air. The passage was gently sloping down, but Lupin trusted his mother’s nose, much more powerful than his own. 

They walked on, and after another quiet few minutes, Lupin’s ears flicked up. Was it getting…lighter in here?” He quickened his pace, though he was careful not to bounce too much for Violet’s sake. she didn’t exactly have a solid seat up there- he wasn’t the widest courser. With his head lifted to catch the faint light leaking in, Lupin didn’t notice the wire threaded across the passage until after it had caught on his hoof. 

The floor opened up. 

Lupin and Violet both yelped as they dropped. Lupin flung his hooves out, managing to catch them on the sides of the pit. He felt teeth clamp down over his withers and blunt claws dig into his back as Violet held on, but he didn’t mind that. What he did, in fact, mind, were the sharpened wooden spears framing his narrow body, their points having very narrowly missed slotting right into his ribcage. 

“Classic,” Violet muttered around a mouthful of mane. She released him and peered over his shoulder. “Okay, put your front right down first. Left. Now your back.” 

Lupin followed her instructions and carefully found his footing between the spikes, keeping his breaths quick and short, as every deep inhale made his ribs brush the poles driven into the rocky ground. 

“I’m gonna jump up,” Violet warned him from her perch, and Lupin felt her gathering her paws beneath her, “You ready?” 

“Yes ma’am,” Lupin replied, and braced himself as Violet bunched her muscles and leapt off of his back. Luckily, the pit wasn’t that deep, and with a bit of scrabbling at the stones, she pulled herself out over the lip. Her canine head popped back into view, her sharp dark-accustomed eyes scanning the walls of the pit her son was stuck in. 

Over the next few long, long minutes, Violet guided Lupin through a series of hoof-holds on the pit wall, finally using a thick vine she found to help pull him out (or, to help him pull himself out. A wolf was strong, but a courser was heavy). 

“Well,” Lupin panted once back on solid, not-spiked ground, “A trap probably means we’re going the right way, at least.”