competition."

"Well if you're bored, then why don't we sing a song?" Jake suggested. "I know a good one, it's-"

"Ugh, not 'The song that never ends again'," Sonya cried. "I'm getting really sick of it."

"Oh really?" Steele said mischievously. "I'm sorry you feel that way, because I really like it. Her-hem… This is the song that never ends… it just goes on and on my friend…" The rest of the team barked out laughing while Sonya gritted her teeth and tried to filter out hiss singing. It was bad enough that he was singing a song she'd grown sick of… but he was doing it terribly off key as well. She returned her focus on the road ahead, trying to use it to distract her from Steele's voice. She'd remembered Jonathan warning of thawing rivers, and tried to listen for anything off, an effort that was hampered somewhat by Steele's song. "-Singing it forever just because, this is the song that never ends-"

"Woah, everyone stop!" she barked, coming to a dead stop near a riverbed, while those behind her tripped over each other due to the sudden halt. Fortunately, they stopped before they hit what she had heard, and it ended Steele's stupid song.

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Jake asked.

"Guys, listen," she said, and they stayed silent for a moment until they could all hear the distinct sound of running water coming from the riverbed in front of them. "You hear that? Luckily I heard it while the rest of you were having your little sing-along."

"Oh I heard it too, I heard it first," Steele said quickly.

"Really? If you did, then why didn't you say anything?" Sonya asked skeptically.

"Because you said that you're the lead dog today. I didn't want you to get snippy with me again," Steele replied, using her earlier words against him. Sonya grumbled for what must have been the tenth time today as Marcus got off the sled to see what caused his dogs to stop.

"What is it girl?" he asked, and she whined while looking at the ice and trying to back away to communicate what the problem was. He looked at the ice, and could faintly hear the running water as well. He knew that dogs were trained to stop if they found something hazardous, and knew he would have to be careful. To test it, he slowly eased himself onto the ice, but it creaked and cracked under his weight. Stepping back onto solid ground, he looked for a way over it. The span was no more than ten feet across and probably only a couple of feet deep, but if they broke through, the icy water would cling to them. Nothing is more dangerous than being wet in wintertime.

"If the ice can't hold him for long, then it definitely won't be able to hold the entire sled if we tried to cross," Sonya said. "If only we had some sort of bridge."

"Or maybe we should take a head start and try to get over quickly?" Steele suggested. "We might get across before the ice has a chance to break."

"I don't know; the movement from hitting it at full speed might make it break quicker," she replied. "It's a shame though, as the ice still has most of its thickness."

"Yeah, it could probably hold one of us no problem. We're lighter than humans," Steele said, and at that, Sonya started to smile at him. "What, what is it?" he said.

"It might not hold Marcus, but it you might be right about it holding one of us," Sonya said. "If the sled can't cross as a whole, then why not just take it apart and sent it over bit by bit? And you can be the one to test it."

"Me? Why me?" he asked.

"You're the one that said that it could hold one of us with no problem, and I know how much you love to be the one who saves the day," she replied slyly. "I'd hate to take credit for your idea and have you get… snippy as well."

Steele frowned. "You're just doing this to get back at me," he said.

"Maybe a little… that song really is annoying you know," she replied. "We do need a way to test it and you're the best to do it. You're the heaviest of us, so if it can hold you, it can hold any of us."

"So now you're making fun of my weight, eh?" Steele said sarcastically, but she simply nipped at him to get him moving. He wiggled his way out of the harness and before Marcus could grab him to stop him, he dashed towards the ice. There were a few creaks when he stepped on it, but it held. Marcus tried calling him back, but Steele persisted, reaching the opposite side safely. He turned around and barked back, while the rest of the team pulled at their harnesses and barked as well. It took a moment, but Marcus finally started to understand what was happening.

'I guess the dogs are smarter than I thought,' he thought as he caught on and started to release the dogs. They each trotted across the ice, joining Steele on the opposite bank. Soon all that was left was the sled with empty harnesses and Marcus. He started to walk the sled across, but the second it was on the ice, it started to give way. The front broke through before he yanked it back. 'It's still too heavy; the ice can't handle anything heavier than the dogs. Each one went across with no problem… so maybe the separate parts will too,' he thought. Looking back at the river, he knew that the distance was short - short enough for him to throw something and have it clear the ice.

Taking the supplies out of the cargo bed, he grabbed the snares and traps first and tossed them over the river. The dogs got out of the way as the metal traps landed in the snow with a soft thud. The other odds and ends were wrapped in the blankets to protect them before being tossed over as well. The sled harness was coiled up before joining the dogs on the other side, and the now empty sled was light enough that Marcus could slide it across easily. That solved the problem for the dogs and the supplies, but he still needed a way across for himself, and there wasn't any way to make himself lighter. 'There's no other way to get across… except making a run for it,' he thought. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he hopped onto the ice, moving his feet quickly to avoid breaking through. He could hear the ice crack and pop under his feet, but he needed only a few steps to get across before making a final jump to the opposite shore. He tripped on the landing, but he landed safely on the snow. The team came over to check on him, but he quickly got up and brushed himself off. "Well, I guess it wouldn't be a good sled run without some excitement. It'd be too easy, wouldn't it?" he said out loud. It took a few minutes to get the sled put together, and it wasn't long before the team was back on the road.

---

About half an hour later, Sonya could smell the smoke from a campfire, along with the scent of people and dogs. Altering their course slightly, she took them towards a small hill. Once it was cleared, she could see their destination. Down the hill was a group of circular, low-lying huts with some campfires nearby. There were a few people in thick coats walking around, along with several dogs, some hooked up to sleds of their own. The team went down the hill, and Sonya howled out, catching the attention of everyone there. They turned, and when they saw who was coming, they walked over to greet them.

Marcus had been trading with this group of Inuit for a couple of years now, so he and his dogs were familiar faces to them. As they approached, an older woman came out of one of the huts, alerted by the cries of her friends and family. Marcus and his team stopped right in front of her, and she smiled when she saw him. "Marcus, it's been a while; I thought you'd fallen off the earth itself."

"Nope, just off a cliff," he replied. "It's nice to see you too Nuti." Nuti was one of the few Inuit present that knew how to speak English, so she was often the one who would meet with Marcus for trading and bartering. The others in her group trusted her judgment, and that trust had been rewarded as neither Marcus nor Nuti had led them astray yet. "I'm sorry for not being able to come out, but I broke my leg after a wrong turn on a trip and had to wait two months for it to heal."

"Ah, well I'm glad to hear that you're safe and well," she replied. "Your Sonya is the only one that howls the way she does when she comes, and I've missed hearing it."

"Ah, she's always been a one of a kind dog; that's why I love having her so much. Isn't that right girl?" he said, rubbing her ears and she barked happily in reply. It wasn't long before the rest of the Inuit came to say hello as well. Each of them came up to greet him, with some shaking his hand or pulling him into a quick hug. They spoke kind words to him, but many of them were speaking Inupiaq, the language of the Alaskan Inuit. Marcus could only understand a few words himself, but it was enough to know they were happy to see him safe and healthy.

As Marcus said his hellos, Nuti came over to Sonya to pet her. "He's right, you are one of a kind, but it's not for the reason he thinks," she said to her. "It's too bad that he can't see what I do, as I can see who you really are. I can see the wolf in you, and how it has given you both great strength… and great sorrow." Sonya knew that Nuti had a deep understanding of the wild, but it still