Dawn took a long, deep breath of the cold winter air. When she exhaled, her breath had become a small puff of vapor, which hovered up and disappeared in a matter of milliseconds.

The pups dashed outside in a hurry to get a quick game of tag going. However, Star quickly stopped them, telling them that they had to "do their business" before they played. Star led them out of sight from the others, but Dawn watched as one of the supervising Cripps followed them, a stern look on his face.

Dawn watched the male prisoners walk outside. As soon as Evan emerged from the dark cave, Dawn ran up to him and nuzzled him. His soft brown pelt weaved through her silky white coat. His familiar scent overwhelmed her.

"Well... I guess we're here for the next week. Now what?" he asked.

"Now nothing," Dawn replied. "We're just going to have to tough out this next week."

Out of the corner of her eye, Dawn spotted Star returning with her pups. Twilight excitedly ran up to greet them.

Evan let out a small, irritable growl.

"It's just for a week. I mean, Alberta and that other wolf have been surviving for years in the prison," Dawn began.

"Boulder," Evan said.

"What?"

"Boulder. That's the other wolf's name," Evan corrected her.

Dawn nodded. "Did he introduce himself to you?"

Evan chuckled in reply. "Well, we definitely got off on the wrong paw, but he very quietly told us guys his name and how old he was: eight years."

"Why is he here?" Dawn found herself asking next.

"And why is that your business?!" a gruff voice from behind them suddenly said, causing them both to jump a little in surprise. They looked at the source of the voice.

An old, gray-furred wolf with silver eyes shot a mean look at the two Hawk wolves. His silver eyes looked like two pools of water on a cloudy day. He limped a little closer to Dawn and Evan, making his missing back leg more noticeable. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Don't you know it's rude to bark about other wolves behind their backs?"

Dawn was about to apologize when Jinx, Raven, and Nova ran up to him.

"Boulder! Boulder!" they yelped eagerly.

Dawn inched toward the pups as they skidded to a stop in front of the old wolf, keeping a watchful eye on them.

"Hey Boulder!" Jinx yipped at him. "How'd you end up here?"

"Yeah! Why are you in jail?" Raven added.

Boulder looked away from the pups, his focus aimed on the ground. He was slowly clawing small patterns into the frosted dirt.

Nova stepped into the conversation now, this time, with a less hyperactive tone. "Are you drawing?"

Boulder froze for a moment, but then he nods, his gray-eyed gaze still on his patterns.

Nova looked at his creations with interest, her eyes full of wonder. "They're very pretty."

The smallest smile appeared on the old wolf's face. "Heh... thanks..." he replied softly.

Raven and Jinx watched in amazement, shocked that the pup was able to communicate with the stubborn old wolf. "Can we ask you a question, Boulder?"

Boulder turned away from his dirt drawings, facing the three pups. "Sure."

"How did... I mean..." Nova struggled to find the right words. "Why are you in jail?"

Rather than an irritable growl like Dawn predicted, Boulder let out a small smile and motioned for the pups to take a seat.

"Well... It's kind of the same reason as Alberta: love," he began. "You see, I had a very close friend back in the day. He was born only three days before me, so we were pretty much friends from the nursery. Plus, our mothers were really great friends with each other, so growing up, we spent a lot of time together.

"His name was Tibesti. He was a very tough, strong wolf, but he had a very soft heart, especially for our friendship."

Dawn noticed a slight tone change in his voice when he talked about Tibesti. It sounded more sweet and passionate, somewhat like the way Twilight talked to Star sometimes.

"We did everything together from playing as pups to hunting as adults. The years went by, and I found more and more interest in trying to impress him. Some days, it just felt like he was the strongest wolf ever. I felt like I could never amount to that.

"By the time we were four years old, it was a surprise that neither Tibesti nor I had gotten ourselves a mate, or even a girlfriend for that matter," he chuckled. "I guess we focused more on each other than she-wolves."

"So you two kinda... thought of each other as mates?" Dawn asked, grinning at the nice thought.

Boulder let out another quick chuckle. "Yeah... I guess we did."

Raven grinned widely. "Awww! That's so cute!"

"Anyway, I remember it was a calm, midsummer day. We were walking back to camp, prey in our mouths, along the side of a steep slope of a mountain. This specific slope was known for its large, round rocks, triple the size of any wolf. One of these boulders was noticeably snagged on a small cluster of stones, keeping it from rolling down the slope. It was about twenty feet from where we stood.

"Tibesti then told me if I could get the giant stone free and send it tumbling down, then I'd get most of his prey fill for the night. I was very eager to take the challenge up. One: lately I had really been wanting to impress Tibesti lately for... some reason. Heh... And the other reason: I was one always up for free food. So, I accepted the challenge.

"I trudge up the hill to where the boulder was.  I spent quite a while on that rock. Pushing and pushing for about fifteen minutes...."

Boulder chuckled at the fond memory before continuing.

"I give it on more forceful shove and.... nothing. Tibesti was laughing so hard, and I could feel my face getting red with embarrassment. I skid back down the hill in playful shame. He jokes that he's gonna have a feast tonight, now that he's gonna get most of my food.

"My tail end was facing the steep mountainside as we suddenly hear a loud crumble. It all happened so fast. I turn and see that a rock that was holding the large boulder in place had shifted and broken, sending the giant stone zooming toward us."

The pups watched in fear and shock as Boulder continued his tale.

"I feel Tibesti cry out my name as he brings his head down next to my tail end and pushes most of my body out of the boulder's path. I hear a whoosh as it hits us... and unsettling noises that I won't describe to the younger ones.

"The boulder slowed to a stop after it rolled over us. My leg was crushed, and was only hanging together by a few strips of skin. Tibesti wasn't as lucky. His entire body had felt the full force of the boulder, and he was crushed by its immense power."

Raven, Nova, and Jinx looked up sadly at the old wolf. 

"So... he died?" Raven whimpered.

Boulder solemnly nodded. "I weakly carried him back to camp, leaving a large trail of blood as I went. I broke the bad news to the Pack, and of course, with Alpha Altai, set up a trial out of it. I was convicted and was found guilty to wolfslaughter, and my sentence was prison for life."

Jinx let out a tiny growl. "But, how is that fair?" she yipped. "You didn't mean to do it! You shouldn't be like this!"

"That's what wolfslaughter is, Jinx," Dawn explained quietly. "It means killing a wolf without meaning to."

"Ohh...." the pup replied. "But, that still doesn't seem right!"

"Well, little pup, sometimes justice isn't always fair. You just have to go along with the higher authority says," Boulder said.

Suddenly, one of the guard wolves howled loudly. It then motioned with his tail toward the inside of the cave. 

"Time to go in, girls," Star said. "What do we tell Boulder?"

"Thank you, Boulder," the pups chirped before running inside, Star following.

Dawn turned to face Boulder. "Thank you for telling them, Boulder," she said. 

Boulder let out a slight chuckle. "Thank you... Dawn, wasn't it?"

She nodded.

"It was no problem. It's nice to have a new audience." Boulder paused for a moment before adding "And... my name is Rainier."