1Kirri led the way to a small rock cave. "It went in there. I think I heard some whimpering inside, too."
"Kaala," Saya said, patting her faithful Wolfos on the head, "You'd know Wolfoses better than me. Go in there, and see if there's cubs and any signs of them being fed recently."
Kaala sniffed. Wolfos-smell. But it was stale, so stale. It hadn't been there for a while. She was a little nervous. All instinct screamed to back away and leave any cubs alone. But the green Wolfos said to go in, and what the green Wolfos said was what Kaala did. So, inside we go.
Kaala poked her head into the dusty crevice. It would be a bit of a squeeze, but she was still young and limber. The cave got wider as she went. Sensitive whiskers on her muzzle told her it opened up here. Three pairs of glowing eyes, and one pair of red stared back.
Where is your mother? She asked, Hunting?
No, said one of the yellow eyes, Not hunt. Sleep.
Sleep for long time! yipped the red eyes, No food, no warm. Just sleep!
The tiny voice squeaked as a shadowy paw slapped it. Kaala growled. Don't hit! When did she last hunt for you?
Too many suns-up and suns-down, another pair of yellow eyes informed her, Need food.
Where is she sleeping?
Out somewhere, said red-eyes, Can't see, can't leave nest.
Come out, Kaala murmured, My green Wolfos and the walking rock can get you plenty of fresh-meat and white-stuff.
The eyes looked at each other for a while. Kaala smelled excitement and hope. Tail-wiggle. The green Wolfos will be so pleased!
Saya watched Kaala back out of the hole, followed by one, two, three...four Wolfos cubs. Three were of normal Wolfos colors, a sort of brown-gray-red color. The fourth and smallest cub, however, was white, just like Kaala. Navi, after a brief conversation with Kaala, said to Saya, "It's just as we thought." Saya nodded and turned to Kirri.
"That white one is probably the runt of her litter. They'll all need a lot of care, but especially her. Do you think you can handle it?"
Kirri stared at the skinny, underfed cubs. They had taken refuge behind Kaala, or were hiding under her thick, white belly fur. Then she saw the tiny white cub, gazing boldly at her. She picked her up. "I will call you 'Muri.' It means 'snowflake,' in my language," she whispered. Saya flashed Navi a quick glance. In Goronic, muri may mean 'snowflake,' but in Hylian, it translated roughly to 'my baby.'
Muri licked Kirri's face. After giving her friend careful instructions on caring for the cubs, Saya hung back, watching Kirri name the other cubs. For each new name, Saya thought its Hylian equivalent.
The largest cub was called "Tarik," meaning "mountain." Saya smiled to herself. Bully, she told Navi. One cub was called "Zane." "Streak," Kirri said, tracing a white line on its forehead. Passive. The last cub was "Colo," "rock," to Kirri, "survivor," to Saya.
Kirri turned to Saya. "My people will breed these creatures. Some we will allow to be wild, while others will become good, loyal friends. The others were all quite taken by your white demon. This, I swear by."
Saya nodded. Then she knelt down at looked Kaala straight in her blood-red eyes. "Kaala?" Yes, green Wolfos? "Do you want to stay here and raise these cubs? You have a lot you could teach them, like how to fight Dodongos. They could be like your own cubs. It's okay with me if you want to."
Ohh...green Wolfos...my green Wolfos. I want to, but you need me more! You can't fight bad lizards alone! I want to come with you. Nuzzle. Whine-howl. Sniff-sniff.
"She is torn. I can see it. Kaala wants to work with these cubs, but she also wants to stay with you. It is not for me to say which she desires more, but it's almost definitely you."
Saya looked up. Tears had started to show in the corners of her eyes. She sniffed. "I know," she whispered.
Kirri hated to see such good friends have to part ways. An idea occurred to her. She was a very bright Goron, so it was a good one. She placed a hand on Saya's shoulder. "Tell me all you know about these magnificent creatures. We will raise the cubs from your knowledge, and our own observations."
Saya gave a hopeful smile. Maybe Kaala could stay with her after all. She took a deep breath and began.