that she could glean so much about her just by looking at her, especially how her wolf side had brought her hard times. She wondered why Nuti had never told Marcus about what she knew, only hinting at it, but in a way, she was grateful for it. Her owners have never figured out that she was part wolf, but she wasn't sure how they would react if they knew. "Ah, I see you have a new friend," Nuti said, shifting her attention to Steele. He immediately struck a very playful pose, wagging his tail and jumping around. However, he was still tied, so his actions pulled on his teammates as well, causing them much annoyance. Finally, Nuti rubbed his ears and gave him the attention he so desired. "Oh you're an excitable one; you must be a handful for Sonya and your friends."

'You have no idea,' Sonya thought, before Marcus managed to break off from the group to return to the sled.

"Well, now that we've gotten our greetings out of the way, I suppose it's time to get down to business," Nuti said. "We've got some caribou meat, along with some fish and even some from a polar bear. I can show you and we can settle on what will be traded for what."

"Sounds good. It's okay if I just let the dogs roam around right?" Marcus replied.

"Of course, they'll have good company as always," she said, and he let each of the dogs free before leaving with Nuti to collect the meat he would take back to town. Once they were free, Sonya dashed off with her team following. Steele wasn't sure where they were going, so he lagged back for a moment before following as well.

Soon, Sonya found who she was looking for in a small group of dogs. "Kavik! Head's up!" she called out before play-tackling one of the dogs. The dog she jumped on knew who it was and didn't feel the need to get up.

"Sonya… Oh I almost started to miss you jumping on me," Kavik said, before being greeted by the rest of the team. Being closer allowed Steele to see that the dogs the Inuit used greatly resembled huskies, but their fur was longer and puffed out more, making them resemble malamutes more. "It's been a while, where have you been?" he asked.

"It's a bit of a story, and it starts with our new guy back there," she replied, motioning towards Steele. "Kavik, Steele is a new addition to the team."

"Steele… you don't mean the same Steele that-"

"Yes, it is, but I've gotten him to be a little more cooperative," she replied, while Kavik gave Steele a suspicious stare. It was obvious that Sonya had already told him about him, and it was probably her own version, making him look as bad as possible.

"Really… how did you manage that?" he asked.

"Well, it started when he stumbled into town after… getting lost on a run," she explained, and Steele breathed a sigh of relief. So far, she was the only one on the team who knew the full story of how he turned against his former team, and she promised to keep his secret if he was a little more civil towards her. Sonya told the story of how he had been sold to her owner, along with the fiasco that was Steele's first run with Marcus, finishing with the deal that they cut. "So I finally got Sir Lancelot here to co-operate, and things have been going well for the most part… in spite of his antics," she finished, her annoyance showing in her voice.

"Well, that's definitely a story to keep for the years," Kavik said. "At least you two aren't at each others throats all the time."

"Oh, there were a few close moments," she replied.

'That's putting it lightly,' Steele thought as the group began to move off. He followed them out of the camp and into the woods. "Hey, where are we going?" he asked.

"Off to play a game, want to join?" Kavik asked.

"It depends on the game," Steele replied.

"I think you'll love this one… it involves lots of running and not much else," Sonya continued. "It's good for someone with such a one-track mind." Steele gave a low, sharp growl on being insulted again. Despite what she said, he thought he was smart enough to not deserve cheap shots like that. "It's simple: Kavik and I give you a head start to let you run away. After that, we try to find you and chase you down. You lose if we catch you, and win if you haven't been caught by the time Marcus calls us."

"It's fun and it keeps your body sharp for a real hunt," Kavik put in. "At least, that's how it is for us. I don't know how often you have to do something like that."

"So, we're playing a hunting game eh?" Steele chuckled and turned to her. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised… someone like you would really like something like that," he said snidely.

"Just what do you mean by that?" she asked sharply.

"Nothing, nothing…" Steele said innocently, while Sonya shot him another nasty look.

Kavik could see the tension building, but also saw an opportunity to diffuse it. "Actually, why don't we let the new guy stick with me to give him a chance," he suggested.

She looked at him and then back at Steele, before replying, "Alright; either way it'll get him away from me for a bit." She trotted off into the woods with her team and a few other Inuit dogs following, leaving Steele and Kavik alone.

"I see you're still an interesting character," Kavik said flatly. "The way Sonya told it, it sounded like you had actually changed for the better, but I can see that there are some habits of yours that still stick."

"Oh, but I have changed. I was visited by three ghosts in the night and they taught me error of my ways… and the true meaning of Christmas," Steele replied sarcastically. "You don't know me well enough to know anything. However, you and Sonya seem to get along fine. How do you two know each other anyways?"

"We met a couple of years ago when Marcus started coming out to trade here," Kavik replied. "It was her first season as lead dog… after what happened to her friend." Steele knew this part of the story well. He used to know a dog named Amak who had taken Sonya under his wing. She looked up to him, but he had gone off and found a she-wolf to cozy up with. In Steele's eyes, that was a despicable act, and he had him banished, not wanting to deal with any more wolves in the town. Sonya had been devastated after that, and it was part of the reason she hated him so much before their current deal. "She seemed a little unsure of being in that position, so I talked with her and got to know her better. She opened up, and I helped her out. She never thought that she'd be good enough for it, so I encouraged her, and listened to her. I helped her out of that rough time and we've been friends ever since," he explained. "You two however seem to be just passing with restrained hostility."

"Eh, I'm fine with that. As long as I don't go too far and follow her directions on the team I'm fine," Steele replied. "She may have helped me out, but that doesn't mean I'm going to instantly roll over and be all buddy-buddy with her."

"What's wrong with being friends with your own lead dog?" Kavik asked.

"She may be the lead dog and she may have the team wrapped around her little toe, but she's still a… wolf," Steele replied, growling the last word out. "Yes, she did help me out there, but that doesn't mean I instantly like all wolves."

"No, of course not. It's obvious that you don't," Kavik said. "But why? Why haven't you liked wolves almost all your life?"

"Why? Why not?" Steele replied. "It's because they're there in the first place. They're nothing but vicious predators that attack innocent dogs. If you aren't careful, then wham! They get you and you're dead. You have to hit 'em and beat 'em before they get you."

"Hm, interesting. You think that you have to be the one who has to beat them… you have to be the one to win," Kavik said.

"Yeah, who knows what they'll do to me if I don't," Steele replied.

"Of course you wouldn't know, you don't know what's going on in their heads," Kavik continued. "As great as you are, you can't read minds. You don't know if they want to bite you, or if they just want a closer look."

"Believe me, of the wolves I've met, they've all wanted to take a chunk out of me at one point," Steele replied. "Scratch that, they were just half-wolves, but they had enough wolf in them. That's the thing when you get something that's half and half; you don't what it could be. It could go one way of the other."

"A tame dog or a wild wolf," Kavik put in.

"Yeah, I don't know what they're going to be, but I can't take the chance, or they'll just take advantage of me," Steele said.

"In other words, you don't trust them," Kavik said.

"Not at all and I don't think I ever will," Steele replied. "End of story."

"Alright, if that's the way you want it," Kavik said. Steele thought they were just talking, but he didn't know that Kavik was using this to get a peek into his psyche. Already he learned that