Balto: Father
Nov 30, 2008
This story takes place in between the events in the first part of Balto II: Wolf Quest.
Kantu, Dakarai, Nightfall, Mulu, Inaya, Kanto, The Falling Leaf Tribe and this story belong to Xaqtly and may not be used, copied or altered without my permission.
All other characters belong to Universal Pictures.

Prologue: The Present

"S-so c-c-cold," he hissed through clenched jaws. His paws had long since gone numb and he could feel his legs beginning to freeze. "C-can't... can't..." His eyes were sealed shut against the blizzard threatening to freeze him solid and tear him limb from limb. How long had he been traveling like this? He didn't even know any more. It seemed like an eternity, a white hell from which there was no escape.

"M-must... have to m-move," he whined. His brown and tan body was covered with snow and shivering violently, and the force of the blizzard was pushing him back, keeping him from going anywhere. The small leather pouch slung around his neck and shoulder flapped violently in the wind, and he prayed that its strap would hold. A particularly vicious gust of wind and snow hit his muzzle straight on and he cried out, turning his head away. "Aaagh!" He coughed and spit blood onto the whitened ground in front of him, gasping for air and losing the battle.

The edges of his vision began to darken as his world became unbalanced and he fell over into a snowdrift. "No!" he cried out, weakly. "N-not yet! not... yet..."

The darkness engulfed Balto as he silently screamed in protest, knowing this was his last chance. As his mind screamed and thrashed in defiance, his body shut down. In the last pinhole of light that remained, his final word broke free.

"Kodi..."

###

Chapter 1: One Week Ago

Balto woke up as the sun rose above the mountains to the East, blanketing his boat in dawn's gentle embrace. These days it was hard for him to go to sleep at night because he was so excited to wake up the next morning. His pups were four weeks old now, and he couldn't wait to see them every day. He yawned and sniffed the air, noting that it was getting a bit warmer, and stretched his legs.

He looked over to see Boris still asleep in the corner, and smiled. "See you later, Boris," he whispered. He padded outside to the deck and jumped off, breaking into a steady run towards the town. As he ran, he savored the warmth of the sun on his fur and took in the smells of Alaska in springtime. He could smell new life everywhere, and his pups were no exception.

His pups. "Wow," he thought. "I never thought I would have my own pups. I'm a father!" His face broke into a wide grin as he ran the familiar path towards Jenna's house, eager to see Jenna and his children again. He had been a father for a month already, but the idea that he was a father never got old. He had never known his own father, and Boris had been the closest thing to a father he ever had. The chance to be a father, to give his pups everything he never had when he was a pup, was exhilarating for him. He wanted to love his children and play with them every day, teach them right from wrong and watch them grow.

He finally had a family. A real family, with a mate who adored him and now a litter of beautiful pups. He could see his future before him now, as he guided and nurtured his sons and daughters to adulthood. He saw them become lead dogs on sled teams, he saw them all loved and respected by everybody in town, and he was so proud of them he couldn't contain himself.

He arrived at Jenna's house and ran around back to the shed, slowing down only to open the door quietly in case his pups were sleeping. He stuck his head in the door and saw Jenna in her bed, sleeping. "Darn," he thought. "I was hoping they'd be up so I could play with them." He turned to leave, and the door creaked on its hinges as he pulled his head back.

"Mmm... Balto?" Jenna said sleepily.

Balto meekly stuck his head back inside. "It's me, Jenna... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Jenna smiled. "You can wake me any time, my love. Come in and see your children."

Balto happily entered the shed, and padded over to where Jenna was lying in her bed. Their pups were all asleep against their mother's belly, rhythmically breathing in and out. He leaned over to kiss her, and she kissed him back. "Mmm... why can't I wake up like this every morning?" Jenna said with a grin.

Balto nuzzled her face. "You know I would be with you every moment of every day if I could," he said quietly. "I love you."

"Oh, Balto..." Jenna kissed him deeply and nuzzled his neck. Balto saw some movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned to look at his pups. Two of them had woken up and they were beginning to crawl around, causing the other pups to wake up and whimper.

"Look at them," Balto whispered to Jenna. "They're so beautiful." They watched the pups together, smiling as they bumped into and climbed over each other and began to play.

"It's a little crowded in here for that," Jenna said as she began to pick the puppies up and deposit them on the floor outside her bed. The pups began to roam around and yip at each other, walking unsteadily around the floor near the bed. They watched as Aleu tackled one of her brothers, and Jenna chuckled. "She's your daughter, my love. There's no denying that."

Balto laughed. "I guess not, huh?" He smiled and watched as the pups continued to roughhouse and flop around on the floor, yipping and growling. "Come on kids, time to play with papa!" he said as he stretched out on the floor near his pups. The pups all stopped what they were doing and ran over to their father, yipping and trying to climb on him. He could feel tiny paws and little bites all over him, and all he could do was laugh. He licked his children's faces and watched with amusement as they growled and stumbled around.

The runt of the litter, a smaller red and white pup, wobbled up to his father's face and yipped, then started licking him. Balto nuzzled him gently ."I love you too, Kodiak. You're a very special pup, and you will grow up to do great things someday."

A while later, the pups had all gone back to their mother for feeding, and Balto lay down behind Jenna and put his head on her shoulder. "Thank you, Jenna," he said quietly. She turned to nuzzle his face. "For what?"

"For giving me a family," he said. "I have a real family now, for the first time in my life. You and the pups..."

"We're your family," Jenna soothed. "And you're our family too. Don't forget how important you are to us, my love."

"I won't," Balto said as he nuzzled Jenna lovingly. "I won't ever forget."

###

A lone wolf stood at the top of a snow covered cliff at the edge of the forest, looking out across the valley below. He was young, not more than a year old, and his reddish-brown coat was covered by a light dusting of snow. His muzzle and paws were black, and his dark eyes were framed by black circles. He sniffed the air, searching for something just out of reach, a trace of something that had come through this way mere hours ago.

He shook himself to dislodge the snow that was beginning to collect on his head and back, and began to make his way down the cliff to the valley below. Game was sparse, and he hadn't caught the scent of anything else all day, so he didn't have a choice. He had to track this elk and bring it down so he would have something to show for his extended absence from the pack.  The sun was high in the sky but he was far from home. He knew he didn't have much time left if he wanted to get back to his pack by nightfall.

He reached the bottom of the cliff and raised his muzzle to the sky. The scent was stronger here, the elk hadn't gone very far and the wolf was able to track him at a faster pace. "Getting close now," thought the wolf. He tracked the scent through the valley, noting that the elk he was tracking was moving slowly. He rounded a hill and spotted his target in the distance, lumbering along at a leisurely pace. He began to sneak up on the elk, taking care to move silently and swiftly until he was downwind, and in a position to strike.

"Just like papa taught me," he thought, and crouched down. He gauged the distance to his prey, and when the elk was in striking distance, he leapt up and attacked.

The battle had been difficult and the elk hadn't gone down without inflicting some damage of his own. The wolf nudged his back leg with his nose, and while it hurt, he could walk on it. He blinked as a drop of blood fell into his eye from a cut on his head, and he shrugged it off and prepared to bring the elk back to his pack.

The wolf arrived at his home a while after the sun went down, dragging the elk behind him. He was exhausted and sore, and his head was covered in his own blood. He was still limping from his leg injury, but it would heal. He dragged the elk into the feeding circle at the base of the caves that made up his pack's home, and howled a greeting to his fellow pack members. The wolves poked their heads out of their caves, then began to filter down into the feeding circle.

The alpha wolf, a bright reddish wolf with tan markings on his paws, tail and around his eyes, came down to see what the yearling wolf had brought back. The pack parted and made way for their alpha as he walked with