younger wolfdog.

"If Spitz won't take your advice, then what is his plan then?" Boris asked.

"He thinks he might be able to get away with sneaking in and out of their territory, but I'm not sure he can pull it off," Balto said. "After all, wolves are very protective of their territory and Tikani knows they'll be coming, so he'll be looking for them. Once they find each other, there will be nothing to stop them… unless someone gets between them…" Balto trailed off as a smile came over his face.

"Balto?" Boris asked.

"Hang on, I have to go. I just got an idea," Balto said, before he eagerly jumped off his boat and raced towards the town.

"Typical, always wanting to rush to the rescue," Boris mumbled.

---

Balto waited until Spitz and his team left for their hunting that day before following them out of town. Balto's plan was simple, but a little risky. He'd tried earlier to act as a go-between for the dogs and the wolves, and he wasn't willing to give up on that. He wanted to stop both sides from charging at each other, physically getting between them if necessary. His hope was to get them to sit still long enough to talk to each other directly. If not... he could at least run interference and buy them some time to escape. He had purposely left a delay of a few minutes between them to avoid being seen - Spitz would probably not be entirely happy about him following them.

Eventually, he heard the sound of dogs barking, but it was not the simple barks of a sled team out for a run; they were barks of panic. Balto's stomach twisted as he knew that the team was already in trouble. He raced ahead, kicking snow into the air, before coming over a small hill to see the situation. Their musher had already left to follow game and the wolves arrived only seconds later. They formed a circle around the dogs, boxing them in and tightening around them, moving closer and closer. The dogs looked around frantically for an escape, but there was none. Spitz and Tikani directly faced each other, growling and bristling, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Once that move was made, everything would blow up at once. Knowing what he had to do, he sprinted down the hill towards them. "Tikani! Incoming!" a wolf cried out, catching everyone's attention.

"You!" Tikani and Spitz barked in unison; neither was happy to see him.

"Heh, at least there's one thing they share in common," Balto thought as he approached.

"What are you doing here?" Tikani growled. "I told you to stay out!"

"I'm here to stop you two before anyone else gets hurt," Balto said. "It doesn't have to be like this. I know you're angry, but I can help you, both of you. I'm not your enemy."

"You say that and yet you protect and align yourself with our enemy! In my eyes, that makes you no better than them!" Tikani barked. "This will be your last warning; leave our territory forever, or suffer the consequences."

"We're only here because there's no other place to go," Spitz shot back. "We tried searching for caribou elsewhere, but we found no sign of them."

"Then search again. We won't let you invade our land," Tikani said.

"If you see our unexpected visits as invasions, then what if we asked your permission?" Kari asked, her voice calm, yet assertive. "May we please enter your territory?"

"We'd allow it if your business was benign, but you come and take prey that we need to feed ourselves," Tikani replied.

"Are you sure there isn't enough to go around?" Balto asked. "We could take a look around your territory to see how many caribou there are."

"You think that after this, we'll let you wander around our territory like it's your own?" Tikani smirked. "Never! Who knows what kind of trouble you could cause around here?"

"But we won't cause trouble!" Kari protested. "If you're so concerned about us, then maybe we could let you escort us."

"Maybe you'd let them, but I won't be led around by any wolf," one of the other dogs said, and a few others cheered in agreement, including Spitz.

"We're not leaving here and we're going to keep coming," Spitz growled. "That's final."

"Well then, you leave me no choice. I guess we're going to have to make sure that you can't run back here," Tikani growled, and the pack jumped at them as one. Being completely surrounded, there was no escape for the dogs as the wolves came at them.

"NO!" Balto cried out as he rushed towards the mob. He tried to push his way in to separate them, but the wolves' bodies wouldn't give. There was growling, barking, whining and yelping as the dogs tried to escape, while the wolves fought to keep them in. Knowing that the time for talk had come and gone, Balto went on the offensive. Jumping at them, he grabbed the nearest wolf and pushed his entire weight into its side, knocking it over and revealing the dog beneath. "Hang on!" he called as he tried to grab the dog and pull him out to safety. As he did, the wolf that Balto had knocked over recovered and his friends were noticing Balto's interference. Suddenly, three of the wolves broke off from the group and turned on Balto. The hybrid's amber eyes flicked from side to side to keep track of each of his assailants, knowing that he couldn't take on all three at once. Suddenly, he heard a crack, followed by the howls of a dog in pain. Balto looked past the wolves and saw that a wolf had bit down on one of the dog's legs hard enough to break the bone, while the dog in question writhed in agony. Seeing his brief distraction, the three took advantage of it and decided to strike. Balto regained his focus in time to dodge the first wolf, but in doing so, it brought him close enough to the second that he could grab Balto's shoulder in his jaws and knock him down, while the third jumped and slammed into him with his full weight.

Balto saw stars after the impact and the wind had been knocked out of him, rendering him temporarily immobile. The wolves were content to simply leave him incapacitated, and left to rejoin the pack. Both sides were putting up a brave fight, and it seemed like it would be another stalemate before a familiar deafening boom shook the area. At the drop of a hat, the wolves stopped their attack and ran off, leaving the team a mess. As Balto gasped for air, he saw that the team was in worse shape than after their last encounter. Many of them had deep cuts from the wolves teeth, in addition to the one who had a broken leg, still whimpering and curled into a ball out of terror. Spitz however, was filled with rage over this attack and turned on Balto, who was shakily getting up. "Well so much for your plan!" he spat.

"I… I only wanted to help," Balto protested. "I thought if I-"

"A fat lot of good your help did," Spitz cut him off. "You'd better get out of here mutt, before our owner mistakes you for a wolf too." Balto wanted to protest, but it was obvious Spitz wasn't in the mood to listen. As he heard the human's feet come over the ridge, he stole away. It took only seconds for the two sides to go right back to fighting each other, and Balto saw that it was mostly because of their own pride. They both wanted to be the one on top and thought of any concession as a sign of weakness. Unfortunately, that meant that neither was willing to sit long enough and talk it out, even though they may not be able to go much longer like this. It had become a conflict of attrition, which meant that they would spend so much energy fighting, but accomplish next to nothing.

Balto heard paws dashing towards him, and turned to see Tikani rushing at him. Balto tried to run, but the wolf was able to catch him and tackle him to the ground. Balto squirmed and tried to get away, so the wolf held his neck with a paw to prevent him from getting away. "Don't worry half-dog, I'm not going to kill you," Tikani said. "I just want to tell you something. After that little stunt it's obvious which side you're really on, so I think I'm going to have to take things to the next level with you," he gloated. Leaning down, he whispered in his ear, "Ready or not, here we come."

---

The afternoon came and went, and as people in town started to turn in, about half a dozen dogs crept through the alleys, waiting for what the night would bring. Leading them was Balto, with Kaltag by his side. After Tikani had given his warning, he had let Balto go so that he could run home. He knew that Tikani was one who liked to strike quickly, meaning that they would probably come that night. Soon after he arrived, Spitz's team came in as well. The dog with the broken leg had to be carried in the sled, and once the town saw the rough shape they were in the questions started flying. Balto gathered the dogs in the old mill and told them everything. He told them about the earlier skirmishes with the wolves, about meeting with them after their first attack, and lastly about Tikani's latest warning. "If their last visit is any indication, then they'll be coming tonight," he said. This caused many to worry, and Balto knew he would have to maintain calm. "However, unlike last time, we know they're coming, so we'll be ready for them. Kaltag and I can take care of it, while the rest of you should stay at home. You're safest with your human owners."

This seemed to placate the