friend I am?" Sotara mumbled to himself.

    Sorra was surprised, she didn't expect Sotara to wake up this early, "Calm down, Sotara. Nebbia and Aleu are now safe in your cave, having their rest. You know? You are so lucky to have friends like them."

    "But..., what if you didn't go to them..., they might still... be on search. What will I... what will I do if something... happen to them?"

    "Sotara, they are safe now," Sorra reassured, "The only thing you should worry now is to get yourself recovered, okay?"

    "She's right, now rest. I promise I'll pay them a visit for you once a day," Platinum said. Sotara didn't hesitate to sleep, his body was asking for more rest than he thought.

    Sorra, seeing that Sotara wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, asked, "Well, Platinum, how is he doing?"

    "Sotara? Hmm... As friendly as he is. You know? I think I regret many things I had done to him and his friend, back there in the pack," Platinum said, with an unusually calm smile spreading across his face. Since Sotara saved his life weeks ago, he had changed a lot. No one, even himself, knew the reason why, maybe it was that Sotara had shown him the way a great, a brave one should be, or maybe it was the love he had toward Sorra. The only thing sure is that he had now abandoned his old selfish, agressive self.

    "I mean his condition," Sorra said, while laughing, shaking her head slightly.

    "Oh! Oh! His condition," Platinum chuckled at his misunderstood point; "He is recovering fast, you couldn't expect any of our kind to heal this fast," he added.

    "Glad to hear that," Sorra responded.

    Then, they heard a rumbling sound. It took a moment for them to realize that it was their stomachs, and that they hadn't eaten anything since last thunderstorm prevented them from hunting.

    "Let's go find something to eat, I'm terribly hungry right now," Platinum recommended.

    "Right. Better find something back for him as well," Sorra added. With that, both of them walked toward the entrance.

Chapter 10 : Kaon

    "Hey! Balto, where are you going?" Glace asked Balto, who had a serious expression on his face, "Aleu will be safe, smile."

    "I'm going to Kaon. I just want to ask him some questions," Balto said softly, but without a smile he usually had.

    Seeing Balto's mood right now, Glace wasn't so sure that was a good idea to go now, "Wait, Balto, you're not going to push that issue hard, are you?"

    "That depends on how Kaon reacts," Balto sighed, he also thought that pushing Kaon too hard would do no good, and would bring only troubles. But, for the subject was somewhat serious, if Kaon tried to avoid it, he had no choice but to do just that.

    As if Glace could read Balto's thought, her worry relieved a little. She wasn't going to stop him anymore, she just simply warned him, "All right, but don't do anything that would bring troubles, okay? I don't want any of those, especially with that kind of gangsters." Balto stared at her for a while before he jumped down the boat and made his way to Nome. Glace let out a sigh and laid down, "Trouble is coming, I know that," she thought....

    Kaon was walking in the town with his friends, but suddenly stopped as they saw Balto stood in their way.

    "Dad?"

    "Kaon. I have something to talk to you, come with me," Balto called softly. Kaon turned his head to his friends, stared at them as if he was telling them to go somewhere else first, and they all did as their leader told to. Kaon walked to his father slowly.

    "Kaon. Do you know what I'm going to say?" Balto asked after Kaon came to him.

    "I don't really know, dad. What's wrong?"

    "I want to ask you about your sister's disappearance,"

    Kaon was now shocked by what Balto said, it had been weeks of Aleu's disappearance, why he just came and asked him today? For sure, Kaon tried to talk something to get away from answering uprightly.

    "Disappear? No! Saba is here, in the town," he said.

    "You know I don't mean Saba. Where is Aleu?"

    "Aleu? Why should I care? She's just a wolf."

    "She's not a wolf. She's your sister," the conversation between Balto and Kaon was becoming more serious, and that was not what they both needed, but Kaon would just try the hardest he could.

    "She's not my sibling as long as I don't accept her."

    "Tell me, Kaon. This is all because Aleu is a part wolf? I'll tell you, you too are not a purebred husky."

    "I am, dad. I don't have wolf blood."

    "You have it, Kaon. Aleu just looks different, and just because of this, you try to kill your own sister by throwing her into that... whatever thing," accidentally, Balto said out something that Glace warned him not to say, and as he knew it, he suddenly stopped.

    "Wh... what did you just say...? Who tell this to you...?" Kaon didn't prepare himself for something like this, and by that point, he couldn't do anything straightly. But Balto didn't answer him, he just couldn't think straight, either.

    "So what if I did? What are you going to do to me if that's the truth?" Kaon said as fast as he could regain his consciousness.

    As soon as he got angry, Balto calmed down, and spoke, "Kaon, listen. I won't do anything to you, I just want to talk. Yes, it's my fault that I didn't tell you the truth sooner, but I've never taught you to hate wolves, anyway. Who put this kind of thought in you, son?" Balto couldn't say anything more than this; deep inside, he knew that it was also his fault to hide the truth of his heritage from his children, for this was what made wolves look different in his son's eyes.

    "No one teaches me to hate wolves, dad, I have my own thinking, and I just don't like wolves, that's all," Kaon didn't give up easily, he just tried as hard as he could.

    "I'm sorry you see it that way, Kaon," Balto disappointedly said before he turned his head away from Kaon and slowly walked back to the boat. Kaon didn't do or say anything, just stood there and watched his father walked away from his sight.

    "Fine! Who cares to be the hero of Nome's son, I don't. I have mom and my friends, that's enough for me!" Kaon barked after he was sure that Balto was too far to hear him. Then he angrily made his way to the narrow alley of the town and laid down there.

    "Hey, Kaon," one of Kaon's friends came to him and started.

    "Leave me alone, Stano," Kaon growled.

    "Kaon, I want to talk about this trouble," Kaon friend, Stano gave another try to come to Kaon.

    "I said leave me alone!" Kaon growled again, louder this time. But still, Stano didn't give up.

    With anger, Kaon leapt at Stano, and pushed him on the ground hard, "Get away from me, or I'll tear you apart."

    Stano got up, and walked away slowly, not because he was afraid of Kaon, but if he fight, the other dogs would be on Kaon's side. So before he was away from Kaon's sight, he turned his head back and said, "Just prepare yourself for trouble, Kaon. That night, there was not only you, me, and the other of us."

    After listening to what Stano said, Kaon's anger was suddenly replaced by shock. "S... Stano, wait."

    Stano turned his head back to Kaon, but not even a word spoken. Kaon, also had no idea what to do after seeing anger in Stano's eyes.

    "Now what is it you want, Kaon? Wasn't that enough for you yet?" Stano asked with a low growl.

    "I'm sorry... Stano. I just... I'm not in mood," Kaon tried to show Stano that it's now safe to come to him, and even tried to make Stano talk about what he was about to say before.

    After minutes of calming Stano, Kaon sat down beside Stano, "You feel better?" he started; nodding is what Stano responded for an answer.

    "Now, I would like you to tell me... What do you know that night?" Kaon tried again to make Stano told him what he wanted to know.

    "Well, uh.... That night, remember that you called us to your house? Yeah, that's it, I walked into the house, that moment, you're having a conversation with your uh...," Stano paused, because he nearly forgot that the word 'sister' that used to call Aleu is not what Kaon wants to hear. After a moment, he continued, "...having a conversation with Aleu, and I... I accidentally saw a gray female part-wolf spying us by the window."

    "So, why didn't you tell me this before?" Kaon asked doubtfully.

    "I... I didn't want to bother. I didn't expect her telling your father this," Stano explained.

    "Well, what do you know more about her?" Kaon asked more, wanting to know more about this female part-wolf. He was indeed angry for the fact that Stano