team. They weren't tied up to a sled, but they were still running in formation. They were probably out for some summer training. 

"Are those other wolves momma?" he asked.

"No, they're called dogs. They are very much like us, except they live with the humans," she told him everything that she had learned from Amak about the humans and the dogs, and her son was fascinated by it all, "Your father was a sled-dog too you know. In fact he was a lead dog, and in my eyes, he was the greatest champion of them all," she finished. 

"My dad was a dog?" he asked.

"Yes, and you look so much like him too," she replied, smiling.

"If he was a dog, and you're a wolf, then what am I?"

"You are both; a mix of the two. While you may come from two different worlds, that doesn't mean you are inferior to anyone. You have the strengths of both in you, and you can choose which path you wish to follow," she said. 

He looked out as the team passed by again, "They're so fast; I wanna be as fast as them! I'm gonna be a racing dog," he said excitedly. "I'm gonna be the fastest and the strongest of them all and I can be champion for you momma, just like dad."

It was now that she could fully see how much of Amak had been inherited in her son. He had his spirit and the drive to race bred into him, "Tell you what, if you want to run around, why don't we race around the beach. A champion has to start somewhere," she suggested and his eyes lit up. They spent the rest of the day chasing each other along the shoreline, with her son bouncing along as fast as his little puppy legs would carry him. She would always let him get ahead to give him confidence. However, being a pup, he wanted to explore, and he eventually grew bored of the beach, darting away towards the town.

"No, don't go that way!" she shouted, but he was already out of earshot. He may have been small, but he was quick on his feet. She ran after him and by the time she had caught up with him, they were at the edge of the town, "Gotcha!" she said as she grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and picked him up. Even in the air, his legs were still flying around, trying to run, "You shouldn't just run off like that!" she scolded.

"But I want to see what's here!" he protested, still trying to break free, "Why can't I see the town?"

Aniu could think of at least a dozen reasons, but if they were going to live here, then they probably should know what to expect in this town. She put him down, "Alright, we'll look at the town, but you stay right by my side and don't run off again, okay?"

"Okay momma," he replied and he stuck by her side while they entered the town. The layout was different than White Mountain, but there were the same wooden buildings with alleys behind them. Aniu knew to stick to the alleys in order to stay safe. The little pup did stay close, but would sometimes take an extra second to examine something. Finally, he stopped at a hole in the side of a building and peeked inside, "Momma, look what's inside here," he said and trotted inside.

Aniu was quick to follow him into the crawlspace. The small space was no problem for the pup, but she had to crouch inside the confined space, occasionally getting cobwebs in her face. There were other grates above her, letting light in from the room above. When she caught up with him, he had found pieces of broken glass and was batting them around with his little paw. Eventually, he swatted one piece far enough that it landed under one of the grates and it shone in the light, projecting a small spot on a nearby beam.

"Wow," he said, and took other bits of glass and started putting them with the first, making the colored spot bigger and more beautiful, "Look momma, look! Look what I can do," he yipped, and she helped him push the rest of the glass into the light. Soon, the small space was filled with a bright, multicolored projection. Aniu quickly recognized it; it was the same trick that Amak had used that one night - that one magical night.

"Do you know what this is my son?" she asked him.

"No, but it sure is pretty," he replied. 

"Well, say that the glass is like the polar ice caps, and the light is like the sun," she started, "If you put the two together and look to the north, you get…" 

"The lights! The northern lights!" he said.

"Yes, the northern lights. Your father knew this trick as well, and he was the one who showed me how to do it," she continued, "Your father was very special to me, and when you're older and have someone who has a special place in your heart, you can show them this too. In fact, these lights were the second greatest gift he gave me."

"Second greatest? Then what was the greatest gift he gave you?" he asked.

"You, of course. You were the greatest gift he gave me," she replied, "It's a shame that he isn't here to see you now. He would have loved to know that he had a son." She looked back at the lights, remembering all the time she had with Amak, and was bitterly reminded of how he had been taken from her so violently. 

"Momma, where is dad?" he asked. 

"He's… he's somewhere I can't follow. Somewhere where he is at peace," she replied, holding back tears. She couldn't bring herself to tell her son that his father was dead. He was still young, and she didn't want to burden him with that knowledge. They watched the lights for a little while longer before leaving for home. That night, her son settled himself beside her and was soon out like a light, tired from the day's adventure. While he slept, she stayed awake and watched as the real northern lights had come out in full force that night. Watching them brought back all those memories of Amak to her. Not just the time he created the lights for her, but when they first went stargazing, when the first hints of their love had started to show.

"I'm curious Aniu, what do wolves see when they look at the lights?"

"Well, when I was very young, my parents told me a story about them after I first saw them. They said that the lights in the sky are the spirits of those who have passed before us. When the lights are out, that is the when the spirits come out to watch over us and protect us."

"Spirits…. I haven't heard that one before."

"Oh Amak, I hope you're up there. I hope you're watching over us," she said and looked down at her son's sleeping form, "We have a son Amak. He looks so much like you and already, he wants to be just like you. He wants to be a champion, and maybe he will be. You'd be so proud of him if you saw him," she looked back up at the sky, "Oh Amak, why did you have to be taken away from me? I want to be next to you, I want to breathe in your scent again. That was the only time I truly felt safe. I want to be with you, wherever you are," she finished, but there was no reply from the night. She laid her head down and fell asleep while above her, the lights watched over her, as they had always done.

 ----------

Chapter 9: "I Will Always Protect You"

It had been a few months since her son had been born and by now, Aniu had mostly forgotten about the threat from Mayak. Now, her main concern was watching over her son as he grew. Being a growing pup, his need to explore seemed endless. That, along with his love for running made him quite a rambunctious pup. Having no one else to look after him, she would have to leave him alone whenever she went out hunting. In order to allow him to amuse himself while she was gone, she had nicked a few things from some of the old, abandoned buildings in town. She had found a wind-up cat toy that he loved to chase around the deck of the boat, an old, tattered blanket to keep him warm, and an old bone that he could chew on while his milk teeth came in.

She had decided that it was time to start him on solid foods, so she had brought back a whole rabbit for him to start out on. She walked up the gangplank, noting how quiet the boat was, "Maybe he took a nap while I was out," she thought. However, when she reached the boat deck, she found that the place was empty. She dropped the rabbit and looked around for him, her panic increasing by the second, "Oh no, where is he? Where could he be? What if he's hurt; what if someone else finds him?" that last thought suddenly brought back the memory of Mayak. If that maniac found him….

"NO!" she cried and sniffed for his trail. It led off the boat and towards the woods. She raced after his trail, praying that all of her fears were unfounded. She dashed through the woods as his path twisted and turned through the trees, "Wow, he sure can cover a lot of distance for such a small guy," she thought until the path took her into a small clearing with a pond. Here, her pup had stopped and was taking a drink from the pond, "He's okay. Oh thank goodness he's okay."

She came up to him, "There you are!" she cried out, "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

He looked up in surprise, and when he saw the cross look on his mother's face, his ears drooped, "I-I'm sorry," he replied, "I only wanted to look around." 

"Come on, we're going home," she said and nipped his rear to start him moving. He followed her, knowing that he was in trouble. As they walked, he held his head down and his tail was