perhaps there is a way you can hunt, but not in our territory," Tikani suggested. "There is another wolf pack to the northwest of us-"

"Hang on, I think I know where you're going with this," Balto cut in. "You're wanting to push them off to Maska's territory."

"Maska? Who's that?" Kari asked.

"Maska is a wolf that Balto met a couple of weeks ago," Anya replied. "He's the alpha of my pack, and he's very kind. He even offered to let Balto live with us, but he decided that his place was truly in town."

"While Maska is more tolerant of dogs, going to his territory raises a few issues," Balto continued. "First, his territory is farther away from Nome than Tikani's. At best, it'll add at least an hour to your trip both ways. Besides, I already ran the idea past him and his territory doesn't have nearly as many caribou."

"There's also the fact that pushing this problem somewhere else would be very un-neighbourly," Anya said to Tikani. "Maska may be nice, but I don't think he'd appreciate you pushing this problem onto his doorstep."

"Yeah, but it would get you away from us," Tikani grumbled.

"It would, but it may annoy this other pack that Balto knows," Kari said. "I'm sorry, but I can't take that offer. The distance would be far too great to be worthwhile. Part of the reason we come here is because we can complete the trip in less than a day. We try to avoid overnight trips if we can."

"I guess your days of easy convenience are over," Tikani said.

"Hey, don't count us out yet," Balto protested. "Okay, so our first idea won't work, but that doesn't mean we can't try to find another way. Kari, you said you try to make your trips as quick as possible; does that mean that you go into the area closest to town?"

"Yes," she replied. "We found a valley that seems to have a good sized herd in it."

"That valley is in the southernmost stretch of our territory," Tikani pointed out. "Every time we found the dogs, they were there."

"Did they ever go any farther north?" Anya asked.

"No," Kari and Tikani answered in unison, causing Balto to grin.

"I think we have the first part of our solution," he said hopefully. "If the dogs stay in that valley, leaving the majority of your territory alone, then maybe you two can co-exist."

"I like that plan; there are enough caribou there to meet our needs," Kari said.

"It may meet your needs, but what about my pack?" Tikani shot back. "We need more food than your team does, as the caribou are our primary prey. Not only do we have more wolves than your team has dogs, that number may grow if Kisa and I have pups this spring. All will need to be fed, and I have to ensure that they are taken care of."

"I realize that, but I think it wouldn't hurt to take a look around your territory," Balto said. "We'll do a head count of all the caribou, and you can tell us if there are enough to meet your needs as well."

"Alright, but what if there aren't?" Tikani asked.

"One step at a time," Balto urged. "If that happens, we'll put our heads to together and solve it." This seemed to appease Tikani temporarily, but as the dogs started to walk north, he jumped in their path.

"Hold it, this way leads to the core of our territory, along with our den. I'd prefer if we stayed away from that area." Turning to Kari, he added, "That goes for your team too."

"That's okay, we can go around it," Kari replied, causing Tikani some relief. So far, he had spent most of the day having terms dictated to him by dogs, something a proud wolf like him hated. Seeing that Kari was willing to listen as well, he started to soften up a little. He was still wary of them, but he felt like he could trust them enough to not cause trouble. Each side had made a few more moves, and while there was still some way to go before the finish, reaching it was much more visible than it was earlier.

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Chapter 7: One Wrong Move

For the past couple of hours, the group had gone around Tikani's territory, finding and taking note of the size of each caribou herd. Tikani's knowledge proved vital, as he was the one who would know if there would be enough for everyone. They were now in the northern reaches of his territory, with one more herd left to survey. The mood was that of guarded optimism, as all involved wanted this to work, but there were still a few hurdles to jump through. "Tikani, I don't think I got to thank you for taking the chance to do this," Balto started, hoping to improve the trust that was beginning to form. "I'm glad that we're finally talking."

"You're welcome, and I do look forward to putting this behind us. I just hope that you don't begrudge us for taking one of your dogs." Turning to Kari, he added, "I know we put you and your team through quite an ordeal, but I promise you it wasn't personal. I just wanted to protect my own pack."

Kari nodded. "I understand. In a few ways you're like my own brother. Sometimes he acts before he thinks, but his heart's in the right place."

"Fortunately, if we keep going at the rate we are, we'll have you back with your brother very soon," Anya replied.

"With all the caribou we've counted so far, how close are we to filling your pack's needs?" Balto asked.

"Well, taking into account the hit from the dog team, I'd say we'd have enough to fill maybe… four out of every five," Tikani replied.

"Only that?" Kari asked. "We've already counted three herds, and each of them were very large. I didn't know wolves needed that much food."

"That's because we don't eat all of the caribou. We make sure to leave enough so that they can bear young to replace those that we take," Anya explained. "Out of a large herd, we only take a fraction of them to keep them in balance, without wiping them out."

"Of course; you'd need to ensure you'd have food for future years," Balto said.

"Yes, and food availability is also part of what decides the size of our territory," Tikani continued. "We staked out this area so that it would include enough caribou for us. If our numbers increase, we increase our range and vice-versa."

"In other words, you grow and adapt to suit your needs," Kari clarified.

"Precisely," Tikani replied. "Huh, I guess you dogs aren't as thick as I thought."

"Gee, thanks," Kari mumbled. She was a little annoyed by his comment, but didn't have time to dwell on it because they could see the last herd ahead. Wasting no time, Tikani got to work, circling around and making a quick headcount, picking those that would make for the best prey. The other three followed him, making sure to stay hidden to avoid spooking the caribou. If they bolted, they would have to catch up and start their count again. They circled once and Tikani sat down and mumbled to himself as he crunched the numbers in his head. Unfortunately, there was no hiding the worried look on his face, as he never seemed to get the result he wanted.

"Is everything okay?" Balto asked.

"Not exactly." Tikani's face was grim, his tail sat flat and lifeless like a discarded sock on the snow. "With the number of caribou currently available, we have barely enough to meet the needs of your team and my pack, and ensure that there will be enough to carry on in the future. It could only be done if my pack wasn't growing, but there's a good chance that there will be pups this year. If we tried to fill everyone, it would cause the caribou to decline. After a few years, they may be gone."

"I've been going through the numbers myself Balto," Anya put in. "I'm afraid he's right. They need the herd in the southern valley in order to sustain themselves."

"And if we tried to hunt as well, it would go badly in the long run… for both of us," Kari ceded. "Are you sure there aren't any more caribou here? Where are we?"

"We're at the very northern edge of my territory. The border is no more than a few paces from where we're sitting," he replied.

"What's beyond it?" Kari asked, looking out into the endless forest.

"I don't know; I haven't seen any other packs, only open wilderness," Tikani replied.

"I don't know either; Maska has never bothered to send scouts out there," Anya continued.

"That doesn't mean we should stop here," Balto said, "C'mon, let's try to think of some other way around this."

"I don't know of any other way. I'm sorry, but this may not work out," Tikani said, causing Balto to worry. He wanted to find a peaceful resolution that would benefit both sides, and the idea of failure did not sit well with him. "My priority is to my own pack and… Hey, where are you going?" Tikani barked. Balto and Anya turned to see Kari wandering out of Tikani's territory.

"Kari, what are you doing?" Balto asked.

"I have a hunch," she replied. "You said yourself that your pack expands its territory to meet demand, right? If you're facing more demand, then I think that you might want to look into some more