this, they all briefly imagined Balto turning the team around just to go after one small rabbit, and the image itself was so ridiculous, that they all burst into laughter. "It would be the craziest, the weirdest, the most insane-"

"It wouldn't happen," a stern voice cut in. Kaltag knew whose it was, and the realization made him feel as though the wind had been knocked out of him. It was Balto's, and when Kaltag turned, he saw that he had a very cross look on his face, "If I had known that I'd be welcomed like this today, I would've slept in for the entire day," he grumbled to Jenna, who was with him.

"Yeah, maybe you should have," Spitz sneered back, "Or maybe you should be out howling with your pack?"

"My pack is right here Spitz… or so I thought," he replied, giving Kaltag an icy stare. The Chinook knew he was in trouble, and kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to blurt out anything that would aggravate Balto further, so he decided to stay silent.

"Oh, don't feel so bad about what Kaltag said Balto; it's only the truth," Spitz said, "Besides, we can say what we want. It's a free country, and in case you haven't noticed, you're not exactly in charge around here."

"Oh, and you are?" Balto replied sarcastically.

"No, but I could be if it's clear our current leadership isn't up to the job," Spitz said, "Didn't you hear Balto? Kaltag was promoted to the lead position of our championship team today, making him the top dog around here."

"Actually it was yesterday, but the party was this morning," Carla continued, "Weren't you invited Balto?"

"No I wasn't," Balto said flatly, shooting another glance at Kaltag. The Chinook mentally kicked himself; in his euphoria from being promoted, he had forgotten to tell Balto about it.

"Oh? Well I guess that shows just how important you really are to us," Carla put in, "Though it would be very odd to invite a stray."

"An excellent point Carla," Spitz continued, "It's funny how despite that fact that you were the one to lead the team home during the serum run, you weren't picked for the lead. I'm sure you're wondering why that is."

"I am, but I've heard a few theories... such as how I'm an uncivilized stray, or how I'm inexperienced," he replied, causing Kaltag to cringe. Balto had heard him say that; he had heard almost everything, "I guess getting home in time and being able to navigate your way through a blizzard doesn't cut it for a sled dog, does it?" he barked, with a hint of venom in his voice.

"I think it's simply because it's kind of hard to have a sled dog who isn't really a dog," Spitz shot in, causing his group to laugh, "I'm curious Balto, even after your great deed, have any of the humans tried to take you in?" he asked.

"No," he replied.

"See, they haven't tried to take you in because they don't want you," Spitz replied, "Who would want a half-wolf in their home anyways?"

"He may not have had anyone come to him yet, but that doesn't mean it won't happen," Jenna shot in, "I'm sure that at some point there will be someone who would jump at the chance to take a hero in. I know I'd like to have him in my home."

"Really? Why would you want a lowly half-breed like him Jenna?" Carla snickered, "You could do so much better than him in the male department."

"Heh, I'd be willing to show a pretty girl like her a nice time," another husky chuckled, causing Balto to snarl. Normally he was able to keep his cool in situations like this, but if it involved Jenna, he tended to be a little more reactive.

"Uh oh, looks like you hit a nerve there," Spitz said, "If you keep it up, the town hero might lose his temper." Balto knew that Spitz was only trying to provoke him, and that was something he wasn't going to give him. He collected himself and stared the husky straight in the eye.

"Spitz, just walk away and leave us be," he said, "I don't have any quarrel with you and I don't want to start one."

"Alright, we'll go, but it won't stop us from knowing what you are," Spitz said as he and his group started to turn away. Before he left, he had only one more thing to say, "Don't get too comfortable half-breed. You may be the town hero now, but soon your fifteen minutes of fame will be up. When that happens, you might want to think twice about waltzing into town." With that, he turned and walked to follow his friends in town.

Kaltag breathed a sigh of relief when Spitz was finally gone, but he still knew that he would have some explaining to do, "Look, Balto I-"

"Why?" was all Balto had to say, "Why, after all I did for you and the team, would you go and say things like that about me?"

"I – I didn't know you were there," Kaltag replied, "Spitz and I just started talking and I thought that you'd never hear any of it."

"So you thought that you could just talk about me behind my back?" Balto snapped, "Is there anything else that you're not telling me?"

"Like how you became the lead dog of your team?" Jenna continued, "Kaltag, you should've told us. We would've loved to come in to congratulate you."

"Yeah Kal, it's not like I'd be bitter about it; you're a great sled dog," Balto continued, "I'd love to run on a team with you again – but I guess that you feel differently. After all, who'd want to run with a wild, inexperienced half-breed?"

"No, I didn't mean it that way," Kaltag replied, "Granted, you would need a little training to get used to the conditions, but I'm sure that you'd do just fine with keeping up with us."

"Really, 'cause that's not what we heard," Jenna shot back, "I thought you were going to have a fresh start, but I guess you'd rather stick with your old habits."

"Yeah Kaltag, you're the top dog now. You can take charge and make things right…. but I guess you're more comfortable with following the status quo than being a leader." Balto finished before turning around and continuing up the street with Jenna.

Kaltag felt terrible about what had happened. He had promised that he would change, but Spitz had managed to get him back into making fun of Balto. He simply let Spitz take charge of the moment, while Kaltag remained a bystander... just like he always used to be, "It may as well have been Steele doing the talking instead of Spitz," Kaltag thought. When he looked back on all those times that he had been a bystander, he remembered how he usually did it just so that he could fit in with others. While Kaltag may have been an accepted dog now, it hadn't always been that way. Balto didn't know it, but he and Kaltag had a shared experience from their youth; they had both known what it was like to be picked on simply because they were different.

---------------------------

Three years ago

"Move your feet goldie! Watch the trail and not the scenery," the young dog shouted at the tan Chinook running in front of him.

"I am moving my feet!" he shouted back, "I'm moving them the swiftest, the fastest, the quickest-"

"I don't care if they can turn into wings; you're not moving like a true husky," he replied, "Oh wait, that's because you're not a husky! You're just some kind of experiment aren't you Kaltag?"

Kaltag scowled at this. Since day one, he had been forced to deal with hostility from the other rookie sled dogs. Part of it came from the fact that he liked to talk a lot, and he hated being interrupted, "I swear, the next dog who cuts me off is getting smacked upside the head," he thought. The other reason for the hostility was due to his breeding. Chinooks were still a relatively new breed of sled dog, and there were only a handful in existence. Chinook's were bred using traits from a variety of breeds, and were still considered by most to be a work in progress at the time.

"Hey Zeke, hes may not be a husky, but at least he's not one of those rabid wolves out dere," a stocky, red furred dog beside him put in, albeit with a very thick accent.

"Sorry, I can't understand you Nikki," Zeke continued, "Why don't you try getting all the fur out of your mouth, puffball!"

"All of you, enough of that! Trust me, you don't want me to come back there," the lead dog snapped at them, and all of the young dogs went quiet. They knew better than to get on the bad side of one of the older dogs. This dog in particular was widely respected by the team. His name was Cain, and up until recently, he had been the lead dog of the main team. However, age had started to catch up to him, and while he wasn't fit to lead a racing team, he could still be used as a mentor to the rookies during their training. The runs were kept short, due to the young dogs not having developed their endurance yet, and the remainder of the trip passed in silence. Finally, when they returned to their musher's home, the young dogs stopped to take a breather.

"Hey you," Kaltag said to the red dog beside him, "Thanks for sticking up for me back there."

"It's no problem," he replied, "You'res Kaltag right? I'm Nikki."

"Well Nikki, it's great to know that at least one other dog isn't as bad as some of the others," Kaltag said. Even though he had made one new friend, the sting of Zeke's words still remained. Kaltag simply wanted to be one of the sled dogs, but Zeke's attitude always made him