TO IGNITE A FURY
By Grace Van Dyke
"Get out of the way Spark!"
Gracie looked up quick and shot an annoyed glance at one of her friends, Baron, a deep red and white Siberian Husky. Ever since Gracie had been a pup, all of the sled dogs around here had started calling her "Spark." Even though she hated the name, she also knew they had perfect reason to come up with a nickname like that. Gracie had been born from a Siberian Husky mother and a German Shepherd father whom she had never known. She was abandoned as a puppy as were her brother and sister. All she knew, was her dad must have known something about Greek mythology because each and everyone of her siblings was named after a Greek god, goddess, or in her case, a hero. "Perseus," she muttered under her breath. Her father must have also thought her a male as Perseus was a boy hero. But naturally, Perseus according to mythology was the son of Zeus, the one with the lightening bolt. Thus, her nickname, "Spark." Her brother, Ares named after the god of war, had given her the new name of Gracie because according to him it was "Close enough." Gracie's sister was born with the name Athene, the goddess of wisdom, but since she was a high fire rebel she quickly searched for a new name to upset their father if they ever found him. Loving herbs from taste to smell, she dubbed herself Rue. Both Ares and Gracie had agreed it was perfect because of the bitter leaves this herb held and Rue's grasping of her bitter attitude. Gracie and her siblings had lived on their own for the longest time, aimlessly wandering around Alaska, helpless and unprepared with only the memory of their mother's warmth to keep them going. Just as it seemed all was lost, the small family had stumbled into Baron, a champion sled dog, and he had guided them through life to where they were now. More than a friend, Baron was like family.
"Spark!" he sounded irritated now. "Move, or I'll run over that electric tail of yours!"
Gracie stepped out closer to the middle of the trail, enough to block their way. "None shall pass, Red Baron!" She sprawled her front paws forward, making it even harder to avoid her. Baron and his sled team skidded to a stop in front of her. Ares peeked out from his position near the front.
"Aw, Sis..." Ares mumbled trying to sound pleasant. "I'm supposed to be the dog of war, not you." Baron had also since educated her brother in the art of sled racing and he had been gaining quite a reputation with his speed and agility. All the dogs on the team cracked up laughing. Ares wagged his tail, happy he could make a joke here and then worthy enough for the best team in Alaska to suppress a laugh.
"Race ya!" Gracie yelled behind her as she took off bounding ahead of the stationed team. Baron was competitive even against the dogs he knew best and he led his team to catch up to Gracie. For a one dog team Gracie was fast, "lightening fast" as Baron called it but she knew it was impossible to beat the best nine dogs in the state. As the team crossed through an old iditarod finish line which they used as an end to all of their races, Gracie was a good 100 yards behind them. Ares had the nerve to wriggle out of his harness and go run backwards to his sister just to prove how ahead he really was. Gracie knew it was coming and with all the force she could muster, she rammed him in the chest sending him sprawling into a snow dune. She panted as she galloped across the old trampled finish line. Baron nuzzled her.
"Maybe we should think about getting you on a team my friend, you bound like a gazelle!" Baron wagged his fluffy tail and motioned to Gracie to go help her brother out from the wild blow she had given him. She swiftly made her way to her sibling and knelt down next to him.
"What was that for?" Ares grumbled warily but it was apparent he was proud of his sister's strength. "You're becoming as much of a rebel as Rue."
Gracie scoffed, "Like that's even possible." Both of them suppressed a smile and Gracie helped Ares up by the scruff of his neck.
"Thanks Sis, I mean uh Percy..." He gulped down his words and grinned the biggest grin he had in a long time.
"Call me that again and you're go-" She stopped what she was saying as she contemplated her decision. "Oh, what the heck!" Gracie whacked Ares in the side, sending him into another snow dune. Gracie took off to the old wooded camp that had served as their home for so long.
Ares popped his head out and laughed but it was cut short. "Hey! Where are you going?" He sputtered.
"To find Rue!" Gracie called back over her shoulder. "I wanna know how our little secret is coming along!"
When Gracie reached camp, she caught a whiff of the camp fire that had miraculously kept burning since they had first arrived as pups. "Rue?" She called. Gracie sniffed around and knew she had to be somewhere close by, probably gathering herbs or something. She plodded over to a leaf pile in front of the fire and curled up into a round fluffy ball. Ah, the warmth. Gracie recollected memories from her mom as she lay close to the burning sensation. She wrapped her tail up against her body and let out a deep breath before dozing off.
"Gracie, wake up!"
"Huh?" Gracie lifted her head up slightly and turned towards the noise. "Ah Rue!" Gracie said excitedly, wagging her tail. She gaited over to her sister and nuzzled her neck fur. "How's my little Athene doing?" Gracie let loose a crooked smile.
"It's Rue," exclaimed Rue, obviously irritated by being called the name her father gave her. "But I suppose you would be wondering more about Leon. He's over there." Rue flicked her paw off to the right.
"Leon, yes!" Gracie smiled hugely. "How's our little secret doing?" She winked. Rue gave an of-course-he's-doing-fine-why-do-you-bother-to-keep-asking kind of look. Rue rolled her eyes and lay down next to the fire. Gracie padded over to her little friend. "How are you Leon?" She nuzzled his velvety fur and lay down next to the young dog.
Leon was a little Akita, St.Bernard Mix, Baron had come across behind the everlasting fire. He had a brown head and a cream body and his fur was softer than silk. Gracie had taken a liking to him as soon as she saw him and treated him like her little brother. He was smart and witty and danger seemed to radiate off of him and this is what dubbed him their "little secret."
"Oh Spark," he started to Gracie. "I'm only a year younger than you, I'm not a puppy anymore." Nevertheless he snuggled into her fur and rested his head on her front paws. "You'll always be my big sister," he sighed. Gracie nuzzled his head and rested her head next to his.
"And you'll always be my little brother, Leon."
The next day Gracie went down to watch the championship sled dog race with Rue lagging at her heels. "I don't wanna go!" Rue whined. Being the rebel she was, she dragged her paws along, creating a fairly deep trench in the snow.
"Oh c'mon Rue," Gracie started. "This is for Ares and Baron." Rue shifted her eyes. "Our brother and adopted fa-" Gracie stopped. She knew how much Rue hated the word father. Maybe it didn't suit Baron anyway. "This is to support our brothers, and what could be more important than that right now?"
"You mean our bothers?" Rue teased. "And to answer your question, anything is more important than watching a bunch of dogs run back and forth."
"It's not back and forth!" Gracie snapped. Rue looked at her. Gracie tilted her head down and flattened her ears against her head. "Got it. You don't want to be here." Rue turned to leave and Gracie caught her by the scruff of her neck. "But you're staying to watch anyway." Just then Baron walked up.
"Gracie, Rue," he started and then broke into a playful competitive mood native only to Baron. "Who's gonna win this race?" He lolled his tongue out of his mouth and wagged his tail back and forth, stirring up the powdered snow. Rue rolled her eyes.
"You," she stated. "You always win." Rue stressed the always so it carried on for awhile.
"Aw cheer up, Rue." Baron nuzzled her coarse German Shepherd-ish
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