team," she replied. "And we did go out and even managed to find some game."

"That's good to hear. Maybe you'll soon find another good spot for your owner to hunt," he replied.

"Maybe… but the area seemed pretty empty when we looked. It's nothing like where we found that herd near… that pack," she said, hesitating with the last two words. Her ears fell flat against her head and her cheer immediately fell with the memories that started to surface.

About a month ago, Kari's team had started hunting game in a valley that was within the borders of a pack led by a wolf named Tikani. He reacted to what he perceived as an invasion by attacking the dogs, and later Nome itself. On one of their raids, they abducted Kari as a demonstration of what they were capable of. While that was a big blow to the dogs, they also had an instance of good fortune. Tikani's mate Kisa had been knocked out and left behind in the fight, and that led Balto to devise a very ambitious idea. He wanted there to be peace between them, and he now had something to bargain with. He went to Tikani and got his attention long enough to start brokering a deal with him. It went well, with them actually reaching an agreement and preparing to return everyone to their home. However, it was in this moment of glory that everything fell apart. Balto couldn't stop Kari's brother Spitz from breaking Kisa out to try to save Kari himself. Kisa was seen and shot by the humans, and when Tikani found out he went ballistic and blamed Balto. They were very close to losing their own lives but a quick intervention by Maska and his own pack saved them. They got home safely, but they weren't able to save the deal Balto put so much effort into.

After that, Kari's team never tried to enter the wolves' territory again, meaning they would have to go elsewhere to hunt food to support themselves and their owners. Try as they might, they couldn't find anywhere else that had the abundance of game that Tikani's pack held. They were barely getting by and it showed; Balto couldn't help but notice that Kari - along with everyone else on the team - were much leaner than a month ago. Despite the hardship, they were still grateful for Balto's efforts to help them.

There was a pause as Kari tried to push the memories of that incident out of her mind and return to he present. "So, where are you headed?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I'm off to see Maska today. You can come with me too if you're free," he offered.

"Um… I'm not sure," she replied, her expression giving away her apprehension. She wasn't admitting it, but he could see that the experience with Tikani's pack had shaken her up quite a bit. She stayed quiet after that, staring off into space as they walked. When they reached the edge of town she stopped, looking out at the forest attentively while shuffling her paws. She looked ready to bolt away from anything that might run out of the woods at her.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me? I don't think Maska would mind," he suggested, but she only let out a small whimper.

"No, it's okay. I should be getting back home anyways. It was nice to see you again Balto." she replied quickly. She turned back into town, still taking nervous glances behind her shoulder.

Balto watched her depart before starting to trot across the open tundra towards the woods that lay beyond town. He couldn't help but feel for her because of what she went through. Not only was she taken away from her home by force, she was faced with certain death and then the closure of any deal that would have helped them. He wanted so badly to be able to help them, but so far nothing came up. Despite their gratitude, he still felt that it was his responsibility to help them - anything less would be failure.

It didn't take him long before he passed through the treeline and into the pine forest. As he let his thoughts mull, he took in the scenery around him and let a contented smile cross his muzzle. It was a clear day in early April, and the snow looked like it had run its course. Birds chirped in the trees, and in the distance he could hear the faint tricking of a stream starting to thaw. Very soon, the warm weather would come and free Alaska from winter's icy grip, bringing the freshness of spring. He soon found the path he used and trotted along it, venturing deeper into the woods. His destination was the territory of a pack led by a wolf Balto befriended named Maska. He offered Balto a place in his pack when he was having some trouble adjusting to the town, but he opted to stay near the town after Jenna tailed him and convinced him to come back. Despite living near the town, Maska still made Balto and Jenna honorary members of his pack, giving them the same friendship he gave to the wolves that followed him.

After a couple of hours trotting through the woods, Balto knew he was getting close. Coming up over a hill he knew to be their southern border, he saw a familiar red-brown she-wolf sitting in the snow. Usually, she was the type to sneak up on him, but this time he wanted to turn that around. Crouching behind the brush, he circled around her as quietly as he could. She didn't react as he crept up behind her, so he assumed she didn't know he was there. He'd gotten behind her and was only inches away from the back of her head when she suddenly said, without even turning towards him, "I know you're there Balto so don't bother trying."

He groaned when he realized that once again, she had the upper hand. "I don't know how you do it Anya. How long did you know I was here?"

"A few minutes before you started sneaking around," she replied, turning to face him with a cheeky grin. "If you don't want to be found, always tread softly on the snow well before you see someone."

"You should also approach from the downwind side. It'll prevent your scent from giving you away," another voice put in. Over the brush stepped a large, brown-furred wolf. This was Maska, and he was one who knew he what he was talking about. While Balto had found Anya, he had no idea that Maska was waiting for him as well.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I hope I'm not too late for today."

"Don't worry; we don't run on the sharp schedules the humans force on themselves, so there's no such thing as too late with us. As long as you're here, that's all that matters," Maska replied before the three of them set off deeper into the territory. The range Maska's territory lived on contained mostly tree cover, with low hills, a couple of streams and a ravine on the eastern border. It was a rather humble piece of land, but it was one that Maska and his pack were proud to call their own.

"So, how is Jenna doing back in town?" Anya asked.

"She's doing fine. She's got a little appointment with the doctor today and I made sure to say goodbye before she went," he replied.

"Doctor?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity. The term was unfamiliar to a wild wolf like her because they did not have doctors to care for them. If they got sick or injured, they had to hope for it to heal on its own… or they would perish.

"A doctor is a human whose job it is to help the sick and the hurt," Balto explained. "If you fall ill or hurt yourself, you can go to a doctor. They help you get better using medicines and other tools." At this, Maska and Anya wore very concerned looks, but Balto knew how to reassure them. "Don't worry, she's fine. Sometimes you also go to have yourself looked over. They check to see that everything's working fine, while looking for anything that might not be easily visible. She's just having her regular checkup."

"That seems odd; one would think you'd know if you were okay or not just by how you felt in the morning," Anya said.

"Maybe, but it's how the humans like to do things. There isn't any harm in double-checking," Balto finished. He knew that there would be a few culture gaps between dogs and wolves. Just as how Maska and Anya could explain things about wolves to him, he could explain things about the humans to them. That was part of why Balto was here; he wanted to learn more about the wolf side that he only recently embraced. It was quite an experience for him, but there was still that part of him that wanted to be comfortable in a human home, with a family.

"Other than that, how well is everything going in town?" Maska asked.

"It's been pretty quiet," he replied. "I saw Kari today. She and her team are doing okay… but they haven't been able to hunt as much as they would like. You wouldn't happen to have anything that could help them would you?"

"I'm sorry but we don't," Anya replied. "Anything we found was either too small for long-term hunting or too far away to be practical."

"Darn… there has to be some way I can help them. I have to find something…"

"I know you want to be the good guy here, but there are some cases where nothing can be done," Maska urged. "Yes, it's hard to take, especially when it's something beyond your control, but when it happens, all you can do is minimize the damage."

"Except I could have controlled this. Everything would be okay if it weren't for one small, stupid oversight on my part. I have to make this right."

"For the umpteenth time, stop beating yourself up for it," Anya retorted, glaring at him sharply.