Sex: MaleThe rain had fallen with vengeance, it seemed, since the beginning of spring. The lagoon flooded and sent its excess water over to the marsh which was spreading closer and closer to the Cedarwood. If the season kept on like this, there would be no line between the forest and the marsh; they would merge into one. Hati, unofficial sentry of Cut Rock River, stood at the shrinking line with the thick cedar trunks behind him and the soggy wetlands before him. He wiggled his black toes in the ground, feeling them sink into the damp dirt and wondered how long it would be before it would be too deep to stand here. His eye was fixed on something further down the edge of the woods, something that appeared to be a big lump of mud jutting out of the grass. But the wolf's sense of smell was more trustworthy than his eye, and it was impossible to miss that the mound was, in fact, a young bison.
The black wolf had stood watching the spot for a long time now. He felt compelled to go over there and tease the dark brown creature but a deep, instinctual warning rooted his feet to the ground. It would be wise, the man knew, to be sure no adults were about to disturb his fun and gut him with their dangerous horns. Hati continually lifted his nose into the breeze but the scent of adult bison was very faint. There was no danger here. The river wolf slowly meandered closer to the woolly child, every step hesitant.