Prey had decided to be scarce for Nootau today. He had waited by a rabbit trail for hours, but had no such luck of one hopping by him. Squirrels were in the trees, and birds were too skittish to stay on the ground long. Nootau’s mouth poured saliva when he saw a herd of dear delicately stepping through the snow, but they were all uninjured. A pack may have been about to take down one of the older, lagging does, but by himself, he had no chance and he wasn’t that desperate yet. He had to stick with cheap fresh food and carcass carry out. No carcasses had been left in the forest lately. Winter had taken its toll on the prey animals. Only the really healthy, really good at hiding, prey were left it seemed. At least, for Nootau they were.

Nootau’s stomach gurgled. His ear twitched at the sound. Honestly, Nootau had an appetite fit for a bear, so he was always hungry, even when he didn’t need the nutrition. That being said though, when he needed it, it felt like his gut was going to start digesting him instead. Nootau sighed. It wasn’t that bad yet. He could go days without food – it had only been the last 24 hours that he hadn’t found something to swallow. That had happened a lot lately, so he wasn’t all too worried about it. Tomorrow would be better. Nootau trotted up to a fallen tree and leaped onto the trunk.

Nootau grinned and hopped along the top, balancing. When he reached the edge of the tree, he leaped over the upturned roots and landed if a puff of snow. Nootau buried himself into the space between the roots and the drift of frozen water. He curled into a tight ball and tucked his nose under his tail. He closed his eyes, preparing to sleep, but his sensitive ears twitched at the sound of a voice. It was muted and he couldn’t make out the words, but he could tell it was a wolf. Nootau’s head shot up and then he found himself bounding in the direction.

He wanted some company. He always did. Nootau barked to announce his arrival, and was thrilled to see two wolves there! The looked like a decent sort… maybe. He eyed the rabbit between. Hopefully a scuffle wasn’t about to break out… “Hello! I’m Nootau. Who’re the two of you?”

Honestly, he was a bit intimidated. They were two adult females and could barrel him over if they wanted because he was only two years old. He was 33 inches tall, but he was narrow because he had yet to fill out. Simply put, he didn’t have the build or the weight to stand up to either of them in a fight. Hopefully, the females were as they appeared – friendly. Nootau wasn’t sure what he would do if they turned out differently. Probably run for his life. Well, then it’d be like a game of tag.