took off.
"Stay with Rue!" He barked over his shoulder and he took a running jump back into the cabin.
Inside, there wasn't a fire, but the fury inside sure signaled one. Ares landed and slipped in blood when he got into the cabin, falling on his face.
"Krieger?" He called frantically, trying to get up from his down position but struggled in the slippery mess. Krieger strained to look but he himself was too focused in the fight. If he took one wrong move, he would surely die. Shakespeare lunged at Krieger's leg, jaws extended and clamped down. An agonizing howl escaped the husky's throat but it was cut short as Akira scraped his back with her claws. She panted from the blow she had given and Ares took his chances and jumped. Ares landed on Akira's hind leg, crushing it. Now a new howl pierced the air from the pure white she-wolf. She limped to Shakespeare's side and raised her hackles. Krieger limped to Ares' side and exposed his fangs. Shakespeare eyed his son.
"Why stay with them?" he snarled. "When you can join us?" Shakespeare lifted a paw and motioned for Ares to sit next to him. Krieger glanced to Ares and nodded, for there behind Akira and Shakespeare was a recently burned out fire, with some still searing hot coals. Ares smirked and lurked forward to the Red German Shepherd.
"In fact, Father, I was waiting for the request," Ares replied. Krieger took the time to reposition himself to a striking position and extended his body forward, his muscles trembling with excitement.
"I always knew my little dog of war would join his old man," Shakespeare beamed. Ares sat beside his father and Akira and Shakespeare stared and smiled at him. With them finally distracted, Krieger pounced. Both wolf and dog flipped backward into the coals and the two sled dogs galloped out the door, Ares slamming it behind him.
"Ares!" Rue and Gracie yelped simultaneously as the dogs jumped to the outside. They ran to their brother and hugged him. "Thank goodness you're okay!" Gracie whined.
"Woah, hey! Share the love!" Krieger barked. The two girls shot an angry glance to Krieger. "Or not, that's okay too," He sighed.
"We don't have time for this guys!" Ares snapped. "Gracie, Rue, where's Leon?" The girls exchanged worried glances.
"Well, he trudged off earlier today talking about a wolf and a German Shepherd," Gracie started.
"And we kinda found his trail later today and then lost it," Rue added.
"But it wasn't our fault," Gracie continued.
"Because the snow ate us!" Rue yelped and she pointed to her left eye.
"And now we're one big happy family, right?" Gracie sputtered out.
"Wrong, Spark. Not without Leon." Ares didn't look impressed. Krieger started sniffing around for reasons Gracie did not know but it was not until now that she looked this dog over. Krieger was iron gray with white covering his face, chest, paws, underbelly and tail. There was a slick black streak down his back and a jet black tip on his tail. Gracie saw blood dripping from his back and he was limping bad on his hind leg. He looked up and stared into Gracie's eyes.
"What are you looking at, Perseus?" He teased. Gracie scowled and turned her back on him even if she liked his attitude. "Hey!" Krieger yelped. Gracie whipped back around and the team all surrounded him. "I think I've got a scent!" Ares leaned down to the trail Krieger had uncovered and inhaled.
"That's Leon," Ares said. "But he was scared here, I can sense it." Gracie whined.
"Who wouldn't be scared from those mongrels?" She snarled. She set her nose to the trail as well and began a steady lope on it, soon breaking into a run.
"Hey, Gracie!" Krieger yelped. "Wait up!"
"Yeah!" Ares and Rue barked. And soon they were all upon Leon's trail panting, all of their breath entwining together on the cold day, as a team.
After hours, the dogs were slowing down. "You still got the scent, Spark?" Krieger barked ahead. Gracie shot him a glance and he shut up.
"I've course I've got the sc-" Gracie started and then stopped. "Oh my god!" She yelped. Ahead of them lay a trail of blood indicating a struggle or a dragging motion. Ares put his nose to it and sighed.
"It's not Leon's blood, it's Baron's."
"But Leon's scent is here!" Gracie frantically yelped, tossing her head this way and that hoping to catch a glimpse of her two friends. She looked to Rue who kept her head down. Ares paced back and forth on the trail and Krieger looked sympathetic, trying to help.
"We don't know that Baron is dead yet." Ares stated confidently. "Let's get a move on, we'll find them!" Gracie nuzzled her brother.
"I hope you're right, Bud," she sighed.
"Me too Sis, me too," he whimpered.
The wind picked up as the dogs made their way without using their noses anymore but just following the blood. Rue just trudged along knowing she wouldn't be as much help with the use of only her right eye. Gracie was basically tripping over her own paws from the sight of all the blood until she bumped into something fuzzy but ice cold. She gasped and a tear ran down her face.
"Baron," she choked out, tears now streaming down her face melting the snow under her head. Rue came up close and shed a few tears herself and Ares walked right up to him with no worry in his mind. He lay his head on Baron's chest and shot his head up, beaming.
"He's alive!" He yelped. "I can hear a heartbeat!" Gracie and Rue ran to warm up Baron, still unconscious when they heard Krieger yelp. A snarl soon followed.
"What are you doing here Stranger?" The dog questioned. Gracie looked up and she got all warm inside.
"Leon!" She barked. "Little brother!"
Leon beamed and ran to his 'sister' hugging her in a tight embrace. Leon's eyes lit up on Rue and Ares too, and he was clearly dumbfounded on how they all got there, but happy nonetheless. "Who's that?" Leon grumbled, pointing to Krieger. Gracie shifted her eyes.
"Oh he's alright, Leon, let him be." Gracie said, still wagging her tail.
"His name is Krieger," Ares corrected Gracie. "And he's probably the third best sled dog to ever walk the earth counting me and Baron." Krieger beamed as he was finally being recognized. Leon smiled and walked over to Krieger, giving him a high five. Rue gave them all a stern look.
"Guys, we need to get Baron back to camp!" Rue whined.
"No!" Gracie snapped. "Baron will be fine, he's strong. What we need is to make sure Shakespeare and Akira don't get him again." Leon whipped his head back around.
"You met them? You know that-," Leon started.
"He's our Dad," Ares finished. "Yes." Gracie sat on her haunches and listened intently.
"Leon, please, tell us what happened."
"Well, I found them as in you know Akira and your Dad, and I heard them at camp, so really I guess I knew they were going to kill Baron." Leon whined. "It's my fault."
"But you came to us and told us, but we ignored you," Rue said.
"So, it's our fault," Gracie added.
"Well, I got kinda mad and stormed off. I started to follow their trail, but the storm had dried out my tongue so much, I stopped to get a drink. There in the puddle was Shakespeare's reflection." Leon whined and lay down. "Then before I knew it, Shakespeare was making small talk with me and while I was still in shock," He stopped to take a breath. "He must have deposited Baron's body with me for dead." He closed his eyes. "That's all I remember."
"That doesn't help us much," Ares whimpered. He paced back and forth, creating a trench in the snow.
"Wait! Leon, you said Shakespeare made small talk to you, right?" Krieger shouted out excitedly.
"Yeah, but just a couple sentences," Leon replied.
"Well, what did he say?" Krieger barked. Gracie's eyes lit up.
"Yes, what did he say?"
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