Nootau was travelling from Diveen once again to the crags. He had decided they were his favorite place to adventure around and hunt because of all the nooks and crannies that were hiden on the rocky slopes. He had only been in Diveen for a couple of weeks at this point, but his weight had improved. He was still thin, but he was no longer near starvation either. And with a full belly from a breakfast of rodents, Nootau was rearing to get some exercise and fun in! Nootau shook his brown fur lazily to scar off some gnats and then sauntered up the cliffs to find a pool of water.

When he leaped up onto the platform of stone with a small pond of water held in a dip in the boulder, his claws made an awful clattering. The sounds left his ears ringing. Nootau’s ears flicked backwards in annoyance at his clumsiness, but as he lowered his head to drink, his ears continued to echo the noise. Nootau shook his head to try and rid them of it. It didn’t work. Nootau’s eyes widened when he realized it was the sound of other wolf’s paws.

Were they digging? Nootau lifted his head high and looked carefully in all direction, and finally turned around, his eyes pivoting to try and locate the direction of the noise. Maybe they were trying to dig out a ground hog? That sounded yummy. Maybe they’d let him have some if he helped out. Nootau quickly lapped up some of the water before he loped off up towards the noise. When he was in the area, he couldn’t detect the wolves by sight, so he was forced to go looking for them in a roundabout sort of way.

He ended up above them, looking down on a scene he had never before seen. Nootau’s eyes were wide in confusion as he watched the two black wolves from his perch for hardly more than a couple of seconds before he realized what was going on. They were attacking a female who had just given birth! Nootau bared his teeth furiously and leaped off the perch, aiming to land on the back of the larger of the two wolves, his teeth aimed to rip apart any flesh he could bite. The larger black wolf seemed like the dominant one, and if Nootau could discourage him, then he thought the other wolf would follow his leader. If he missed the wolf’s back, then he’d be in the perfect position to help the female because he’d land at the mouth of her den. From there, he would stand his ground and help to fend off the attackers.