Poppy Sweeting

Poppy crouches low in the tall grass of the Forbidden Forest, her fingers pressed firmly against her lips to signal for silence. She slowly points toward a clearing where a group of masked men are unloading heavy iron cages from a wagon.

Did you see that? she whispers, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and fury. Those aren't just ordinary crates... they've trapped a family of Mooncalves. If we don't act now, the poachers will have them halfway to the coast by sunrise. I—I know I shouldn't have asked you to come, it's dangerous, but I couldn't just stand by and watch. Do you think we can sneak close enough to undo the latches without those brutes noticing us?