felt ugly on the outside, and then when I started to pretend to be sick it made me feel ugly on the inside too, especially when you and Angel and Arrow and Daddy did all kinds of things for me. But after I told everyone what I was doing, I felt... better. Like I had just gotten cleaned off after being in the garbage. I felt all fresh and clean inside, and I felt beautiful. And it hasn't gone away.”

Luna's eyes were streaming ever so slowly now, and her voice cracked like ice in the spring. “Oh, sweetheart,” she all but sobbed.

Star caught the catch in her mother's voice, and the scent of salt from the tears stung her nose. “Mom, are you sad?”

Luna shook her head. “No, I'm just so happy that I'm crying.” She laughed, but had to stop when her moving side drew whines of protest from the other sleeping pups. Forcing herself under control, she whispered, “Go to sleep now. But tomorrow, I want your father to hear everything you just told me.”

Star nodded. “Okay,” she whispered, and curled up nestled under her mother's chin. She let out a tiny yawn, and in moments she was sound asleep.

“You're late,” Luna chided the following morning as Toby trotted up. The pups were in a box, Luna was standing guard, and Connie was sitting on a crate as if presiding over the give-away.

Toby lowered his head. “Sorry,” he replied. He glanced at the pups in the box. “I was kind of hoping if I didn't show, this wouldn't happen.”

She shook her head. The truth was, she felt the same way; she wanted to pretend it wasn't happening, that the pups would never have to leave. But they were leaving, and time was short. “Well, so far so good,” she replied. “Everybody's here, and Star has something to tell you.”

“Yeah,” Star agreed, but the other pups' barking drowned her out.

“Kids, hush,” Toby wuffed. As soon as they had subsided, he nodded to Star. “Alright, go ahead.”

The pup smiled. “Well,” she said, “I guess Mom told you I got into some trouble trying to look nice You know, before I got sick. See, when Mom and the rest of us met Lily, she said I looked like a boy, and it really made me feel bad.”

Toby couldn't help showing some tooth. “Why that lousy...”

“Eh-hem,” Luna coughed, reminding him that there were pups present.

He lost the frown. “Go on,” he prodded.

“Well, when Angel and Arrow and everyone else forgave me last night, I felt... better, like something had been wrong with me and it was finally right. I felt pretty.”

Toby smiled. “That's good,” he said. “I'm glad things could end that way.” Leaning in close, he added, “And I know I'm a little bit biased, since I'm your dad and all, but I've always thought you were beautiful.”

She wagged her tail.. “Really?” she asked.

He nodded, the smile on his face uncontrollable even if he had cared to try.

Their conversation was interrupted as a pair of running feet came up. A boy with skin uncommonly dark for such cold regions, but not so dark as a negro, appeared from down the street. His eyes were almond-shaped, the flesh below them bunched slightly as though in a perpetual smile. And he was definitely smiling now. “So you finally got word to hand them out?” he asked.

Connie rose from her seat. “Yeah, Star was sick, but she suddenly got better last night.”

A man came up behind the boy, bundled in fur and sealskin. “Hello, Ms. Calvin,” he greeted formally.

Connie smiled up at him. “It's nice to meet you, Mr...”

“Chugach will do,” he replied, smiling. “My surname is much harder for many.”

Connie seemed a little awkward at calling an adult by his first name, but nodded. “Chugach,” she repeated. “And you can call me Connie.”

Mr. Chugach nodded distractedly and looked down at the puppies, all swarming the near side of the basket. “So, these are the pups I have heard so much about?” he asked.

Connie nodded. “Yes, sir. Their father's part bloodhound, part husky. Sometimes the police use him for tracking. And their mother's a mix. We don't know what breeds she's got, but she's strong.”

Chugach nodded, his mouth forming a firm line as he knelt to inspect Toby and Luna. “Strong breeds,” he replied. Then he turned and began to inspect the pups one by one, very thoroughly.

The boy looked at Connie. “It was kind of you to tell us first,” he said. “Father is always looking for pups to raise into good qimugta.”

“Qimugta...” Connie uttered, trying to place the Inuit word. “Sled dogs?”

The boy nodded. “Yes.”

Connie smiled, her face betraying just a hint of bashfulness. “Well, I remembered you said he was a musher, so I figured you'd like first pick.”

“Thank you, Connie.”

“You're welcome, Akkikiktok,” she replied, with only a slight falter.

He grinned broadly. “You have been practicing! You speak well. But you can call me Akkik if it is easier.”

A flush crept into her cheeks, and she bent to watch the pup's inspection (or rather, to hid the red glow). “Thank you Akkik.”

Star giggled. “He's the one she was talking to her diary about,” she whispered to her parents. “I think she likes him.”

Chugach set down Melchior and picked up Star, studying her thoroughly. He ran a gloved thumb across her side from hip to shoulder a few times, then gently drew her lips apart and studied her teeth and gums. Next came her paws, and finally her face.

“That one's name is Star,” Connie told him helpfully.

He nodded, a smile creeping into his serious demeanor. “It suits her eyes well,” he noted. “She and her mother have some of the brightest I have seen on any dog.” He picked up Mel in his other hand. “And what is this one's name?”

“Melchior,” Connie replied.

Chugach nodded his approval. “A fine name,” he said. “A name fit for a long traveler. It is a hard choice between the two of them.”

“You can have both,” offered Connie, almost pleading. Her glance at Akkik betrayed the reason for any watchful observer to see.

Chugach looked back and forth between the two one more time. “I believe I will,” he replied, handing Star over to his son. “These two will make fine qimugta.”

“Yes,” agreed Akkik. “And her fur is quite beautiful as well.”

Star's eyes lit up. “Mom, Dad, did you hear that?” she asked. “He said I was beautiful too!”

Both of them laughed. “Oh, we heard all right,” said Toby.

Luna stepped up and nuzzled her daughter. “Goodbye,” she whispered with a touch of sadness. “I'll visit whenever I can, and I'll always be here if you need me.”

“Me too,” added Toby before turning to Mel. “Same for you, big guy.”

Mel frowned. “Whatever,” he muttered.

“Come,” said Chugach, “Let's get these pups acquainted with their team to be.”

As father and son carried off brother and sister, Toby thought somewhat unpleasantly, “I wonder how well Melchior will do on a sled team.”

The pups were brought to a small wooden shed behind a much bigger house. When Chugach opened the door, a musty smell of straw and dogs wafted out. A small crowd of pups, all about Star and Mel's size, scampered toward them. Chugach stuck out his foot and nudged them back, but one jumped over the obstacle and slipped outside to frolic in the snow, yipping his head off.

“Ach!” snapped Chugach. “Son, get that little scamp before he runs off!”

Akkik put Star down and turned to run after the renegade pup. From the group by the doorway Star could see as the boy lung for the pup, which dodged to the left. Rolling to his side and flailing his arms, Akkik made another grab from his newfound spot in the snow. After a few more false tries, the two of them vanished from sight of the doorway. There was an exclamation, a yelp of protest, and a lot of excited barking.

“I got him!” he cried from outside.

“He got my tail!” came a protesting bark.

“It's funny,” Star remarked to Mel, who wasn't really paying attention. “I feel like...”

And then in came Akkikiktok, carrying a squirming mass of mix-colored fur. Star's jaw dropped, and her eyes widened.

“Eska?!”

All characters © Dragon Tamer

If you haven't already, be sure to read "Fallen Angel" to see the inside scoop on what Angel was doing all that time with the gang.