Part I-Chapter I
The stars shone high above on the Amethyst Mountain Slopes. Everything was still. Noxzo twisted around, grunting, not having slept well for the last two days. Overhead a slight breeze swept the leaves, rustling the green stiff pines. Light scattered on the ground, creating puzzles of white, unearthly patches of grass. The moon soared across the sky. The wolf's reddish-brown pelt shimmered. Noxzo couldn't sleep.
Tizgone leapt in front of Noxzo. "You get out of here, pup. You don't belong here," Tizgone snarled, baring his yellowing teeth. "Leave now!" Noxzo didn't move. He sat there, tail erect, ears perked up. He wasn't going anywhere. Tizgone swatted at him with his large paws. Noxzo fell beneath him, yet got back up. Tizgone grabbed Noxzo's scruff of fur, and pulled him down. "You listen to me closely, you mangy dog. Leave, go and find your own mate! And don't come back! You are useless to this pack. You can't even break a twig. I can't even call you a Druid. Shame is the pack you belong in!" Tizgone slammed his broad head into Noxzo's flank. Surprised by the viciousness of the attack, Noxzo ran far, crossing into the Amethyst Mountain Slopes, towards a new pack. Maybe he'd find a mate there. Soda Butte Vista was history; and so was the rough-brown wolf with the blue eyes, Tizgone.
The fir trees towered above him. Sunlight filtered the air. Noxzo began to run with the wind up the Slopes. He could smell wolves' odor, their scent markings which lined their territory. He never stopped to think; he just went forward into the Specimen territory. Noxzo concentrated on scent. The yellow dots, which were the markings, were like sign posts saying FOLLOW ME. More dots seemed to appear in his nose and eye combination. The firs lessened, opening up into a field. The yellow grass swayed back and forth. Noxzo walked forward and right before his eyes, a medium-sized female Specimen stared at him. Noxzo stared back, transfixed. He could imagine standing on a den site, overlooking the Lamar Valley, or maybe the Burn, or the Fossil Forest. Yes, she was the one. Her stomach leading up to her nose, and up to her stop, was a whitish-tan burning bright into a marvelous red pelt. Noxzo walked right up to her.
"What do you want?" Her voice was sharp, sawing Noxzo in half. He broke down. Noxzo dug his head between his paws; giving a high submission. What had he been thinking?
"I'm not boss; I don't belong here," he whimpered. Was that the best he could do? He should at least fight for her affection.
"Then you better scram," she snarled. Her hackles bristled.
Noxzo fought the urge to run. "Lay off," he growled.
She bared her teeth. "Get out of here, little cry-baby!" Noxzo yelped and ran, yet again. Maybe Tizgone was right; he was petty.
Pine needles scratched his face, bark grabbing at his withers. Tears filled his eyes. He had let everything go wrong. A dark brown male hare jumped across his path. Noxzo ran two strides, and then slapped it with his paw. Immediate death was for sure. His fangs tore into the fur. The warm blood felt soothing on his sore tongue and his raw throat. He pressed his muzzle into the red mangled mess, lapping up the meat. Noxzo left nothing but fur. Coyotes circled him, though the waiting was a disappointment for them. Noxzo continued on at a decent clip.
Eagles screeched from above. Hawks startled Noxzo by doing their famous killer dive at 100 to 200 miles per hour. Noxzo was trotting now, scanning the Douglas Fir Forest's needled ground. The wind shifted, and Noxzo could smell the carcass. It had to be a bull elk that had been brought down! In Yellowstone, one never found bull elk carcasses. A low gruff sound came from twenty-three yards away. A grizzly bear was yanking at a piece of grizzle from the bull elk. The bull elk's blood soaked the grass, staining the world around it with a carnivore's signal of food. The bear tore off a huge hunk of meat from the bull elk's hind quarters. Tendons, veins, and muscles shown out of the horrific sight of the large piece of meat dangling out of the grizzly's mouth. Blood coated the grizzly's face, rising up to its ears. Some of the blood had caked, leaving clumps of mangled hair poking up from its head. Noxzo stumbled backwards. If you want a mate, you have to toughen up! Noxzo advanced towards the bear. OOwwwhhhhlll! Barghk! Noxzo tried to scare the grizzly bear off. It wasn't working like planned. The bear screamed back in his face. Garghhh! Two cubs came out from behind the grizzly. Two cubs! A mother! How could anything get worse? The grizzly stood its ground. Noxzo stepped another pace forward. Then another, then swack! A ruffle filled his eardrums, then all hearing ceased. His vision brightened into whiteness, and then flashed into black. The world was draining away. No. He wouldn't let himself black out.
He placed his paws beneath him, and brought himself back into a standing position. The form of the grizzly bear and the two miniature ones brought him back to reality. Everything was hazy, but that wasn't going to stop Noxzo from getting the food he wanted, the nourishment he needed. Noxzo exposed his teeth. The grizzly stood up on her hind legs. She had to be at least eight feet. Noxzo's pitiful instincts told him to flee, but his mind told him to go forward. He took one step, then a second, then a third. The grizzly dropped back down onto all fours. She bellowed at him. Yet, he didn't move one inch back. Instead, he crept forwards. The grizzly moved towards him quicker than Noxzo's reaction time. The grizzly swept her head around Noxzo, tearing at his stifle, while stepping on his pastern. A loud crack emitted from his pastern; the force had popped it. Pain first reached his brain from the stifle's muscle tearing, yet within seconds, his mind was focused on his pastern. He couldn't tell if it was broken or sprained. The mother grizzly had turned around. Adrenaline coursed through his body. He leapt high into the air, landing on the grizzly's back. His claws cut into the landing spot, while his fangs flashed then vanished deep into the grizzly's withers. She howled with pain. Noxzo was in a spot she couldn't get to. The cubs scampered up the tree, scared of the wolf, and of their mother's big feet stomping around madly. Noxzo was relentless. He consistently ripped her withers open, drawing blood.
He was back hanging out with his mother. Tizgone appeared from the trees. His mother shoved Noxzo behind her, even though he was a more than capable two-year-old. "Give him to me!" Tizgone demanded.
Rignersh, his mother, replied sharply, "No. You can leave him to me. He can stay here!"
Tizgone let out a deep throated growl. "He isn't fit for the Druid Pack. Let him join the Dispersals. Noxzo isn't worth my time to train for a Protector! Now give him to me."
Tizgone raised his hackles, appearing nearly three fourths the size of an adult grizzly. "You've heard my answer. No, and that's final. Leave!" Rignersh bared her teeth. Tizgone pounced on top of her. She squealed like a newborn pup. Tizgone tore his teeth into her back and withers. She fell down in a pool of blood, staining her gold-red pelt. Rignersh ceased to move any longer. Noxzo attempted to walk away from Tizgone. Tizgone leapt in front of Noxzo. "Get out of here, pup. You-"
Noxzo loosened his grip, and roughly slid off the back of the Grizzly. She stumbled away with the cubs, glaring back at him in utter anger. "It's only this time! I'll chase you to the underworld next time! You'll see. I won't kill you; I'm not like him." Noxzo said "him" in complete disgust. The bear shuffled down and out of the woods, out into the prairies, towards the Dry Creek and the Burn. "She won't make it that whole way," Noxzo mumbled under his breath. It was a long trek towards the next Elk hunting ground which was within the Burn's radius. Noxzo began to follow the path of the bear, except slightly northward, when he noticed the bull elk. He had completely forgotten about the shredded bull elk. Now that he looked closer; it was mainly all snapped bones, skin, and grizzle. A few shards of meat were left, including a smashed up heart that was a ghastly color from being torn out of the body; torn away from all of the other innards. Noxzo looked at it in disgust. He moved it away from the bull elk's body, so he could eat in peace without the gruesome bluish color the heart seemed to emit. Just like Tizgone's eyes; blue eyes, like mine. Noxzo tore himself from the thought. He didn't want anything to do with Tizgone.
The carcass didn't serve much nutrition, though it gave him something to tear at and get his frustration towards Tizgone out. Noxzo decided that he would rest inside of the bull elk; its ribcage offered some protection. Noxzo huddled down; snarling at his pastern. He would sleep throughout the night…if pain and memories would allow that mercy.
