Already he learned that Steele was fiercely competitive, along with being reluctant to trust others. This also fit with the story of the incident with Amak that he'd heard earlier. He would turn against anyone who he saw as a traitor to ensure his dominance in the situation. The reason for choosing wolves as the scapegoat was still unclear, but it could have been for the same reason that he had explained. They were there, and they could be used as an easy punching bag. "Though, I'm still curious as to why you're so reluctant to trust in the first place. One would think you wouldn't have that problem with your popularity," Kavik added, hoping to go deeper.

"I have my reasons, and they're none of your concern," Steele grumbled. 'Although, I wasn't always this popular… No, that was a different time! That's behind you, so leave it alone. Don't let this guy drag it back up. I became something big and I didn't let anyone get in my way.' Just as he didn't trust wolves, Steele had little trust for Kavik. In part, it was because he was a stranger, and in part because he was with Sonya. He saw him on her side, never able to be on his. "Wait a minute, I thought we were playing this game of yours, but we've just chatted here, wasting my time."

"Well, we can still play for a little bit," Kavik suggested.

"No thanks… you'd probably just talk my ear off," Steele replied, not wanting Kavik to know anything more about him. He walked away and Kavik let him go, knowing that it was best not to push it. If Steele had the trust issues he thought he did, then he would have to earn the husky's trust in order to make any progress.

"So, did you get anything out of him?" a voice asked, and he looked over to see Sonya peeking over a nearby bush.

"Sort of; I figure that something happened with him, but it'll take a while to get it out of him," he replied. "I'll try again at a later visit, but until then… you're still being chased in our game," he said slyly, and she realized her mistake in time to dodge his lunge towards her. Bolting away, she could hear him cry, "I'm gonna get you Sonya! The wolf is gonna get you! Nom, nom, nom!" She laughed as she managed to stay ahead; Steele may have dampened some of the time with her team, but there was always the fun she would have with Kavik and his crew. That more than made up for it… just as it did when she first met them. Kavik listened to her, and just as he did with Steele, he had figured out what made her tick. He realized that all she wanted was to be given a fair chance to be trusted, something that her team held back on doing for years. He instantly gave a chance to have fun with him and his friends, and that was all she needed to feel secure.

---

After a few minutes, Steele found himself back at the sled, wanting to push the thoughts that Kavik had dredged up away. Never before had someone so quickly found out what was going on in his head; he usually kept those things locked up to maintain his heroic image. To focus on something else, he watched as Marcus, Nuti, and another Inuit girl loaded the meat onto the sled to be taken back to White Mountain. "There, that's the last of it," he said. "It's been fun seeing you again."

"Yes, it has. You take care on the way home, okay?" Nuti replied.

"Yes… be careful… to home," the younger girl said. She seemed a little unsure of her words, which was probably due to English not being her first language.

"Thank you… though I'm not sure I know your name," he said.

"She's my granddaughter Sakari," Nuti answered. "I've been teaching her English because… well… I'm getting old and my time will be up at some point."

"Oh, but you're not that old," Marcus teased. "I'm sure you still have several years to kick around."

"Maybe… but it's still knowledge that I should pass down to someone while I still can," the elder replied.

"I learn… words… speak… to Marcus," Sakari said, pausing every now and then to find the right words.

"Well you're in good hands, because Nuti is a great teacher and you seem like a very smart girl," Marcus said to her. Much like how Marcus could pick out a few of the Inuit's words when they talked, Sakari was able to pick out the words she knew and get the general point of what he was saying. "However, I am curious why I haven't seen much of you in the time I've been coming here," he mused.

Sakari looked from side to side and shuffled her feet uncomfortably, so Nuti decided to step in. "She did want to meet you, but she has a bit a shy side."

"Oh, but I don't bite," Marcus teased, and Sakari looked at him quizzically. Nuti translated for her, and it was then that she got his joke and smiled in return. Nuti said something else, as if urging her, before the younger girl reached into her pocket.

"I have… give something… for you," Sakari said as she pulled out a wood carving with a looped string attached from her pocket and offered it to him.

"What's this?" he asked, taking the item and holding it by the string in front of his face.

"It's a carving of a raven," Nuti explained. "Ravens are said to act as guides and show you the path to where you belong in this world. It could come in handy… we wouldn't want you to get lost on us again," she finished jokingly.

Noticing that Steele was waiting at his feet, Marcus turned to him and said, "Hear that boy? With this, we won't get lost and break anything," he said, holding it above Steele's nose. However Steele just titled his head in confusion. He wasn't a big believer in ghost stories, so the idea that a little piece of wood would help like that seemed strange to him.

Placing the rope over his head, Marcus looked at the necklace once more. Carved into the wood was the unmistakable shape of a bird, and he could see the fine detailing in the feathers. "Wow, this is really well done. There's a lot of detail in it too. I like it… I like it a lot. Thank you," he said smiling. Sakari may not have been able to understand all of his compliments, but smiles were universal, and she could tell that he appreciated it. "Well, if that's it, then I should be off. You two take care, and I'll see you soon again," he said, before whistling for the dogs. One by one the team came bounding towards him, and he hooked them up and pointed them towards home.

Sonya was in front, and Steele waited until she and Kavik were finished saying their goodbyes before putting in his two cents about him. "So, is your boyfriend some sort of shrink, because he sure seems to enjoy getting into dog's heads," he asked.

"Kavik is not my boyfriend!" she replied sharply. "As for him being a shrink, I wouldn't go that far. He's good at reading others, but he's no doctor. He's really a great guy when you get to know him. He's someone you can… trust," she finished, putting an emphasis on the last word that made Steele a little uncomfortable.

'Great, so she knows what the chief of shrinks knows as well,' he thought as the order for them to run was given. He dashed through the woods, pulling their cargo home. While this would be another thing that she might bother him about, he started to think of another thing to bug her with in return. 'Hm, she sure seemed defensive when I referred to him as her boyfriend. Hehe, true or not, I'm still going to have some fun with this.'

---

Sonya, Marcus, Jonathan, Maddie, Jake, Bruno, Misha, Nuti, Sakari and Kavik all belong to iWolf 231 and may not be used in any way without my direct permission.

Steele and Balto belong to Universal Studios and Amblimation.