after an expecting mother alone would be enough to discredit him, and purposely keeping that a secret wouldn't help his case at all."

"Oh… of course! Salin that's brilliant!" Atka exclaimed.

"Okay, but even if we somehow manage to oust him and stop the chase, there's nothing to stop Tikani from going after Balto and Jenna on his own," Faro added. "He'd probably blame them for being exiled as well, and he'd show no mercy if he found them."

"I know, and despite what Balto did, it wouldn't be fair if we didn't stop that from happening either," Atka replied. "They need to know what's really going on here. Maybe it'd give them some relief as well, knowing that not everyone is blindly against them."

"But how would we warn them? We can't even find them ourselves." Salin asked.

"I - I don't know, but they'd have to be found quickly if we're going to pull this off," Atka stated. "I'll go out while you two stay back here. You can spread the word of what we know and turn the pack towards our side. Just make sure you don't let Tikani know how much you know."

"Are you sure you want to do this? What if Balto doesn't believe you?" Faro asked. "There's so much at risk here."

"Yes, but there's even more at risk if we do nothing," Atka replied. "I'm going to try my best to convince him I don't want to fight. Hopefully the fact that I'm alone will help convince him, but if I'm going to do anything, I have to go now and get a head start. Hopefully I'll find them by the time you guys have done the work at your end." Faro and Salin knew that this plan was quite dangerous, but nothing they thought of was any better. They would have to act before it was too late.

"Well, if that's that, then good luck," Salin said.

"Same to you," Atka replied, before trotting away from them. After a few minutes of backtracking down the mountain, he sniffed at the ground. Unfortunately there was no sign of Balto at all. 'He's probably miles away by now… I've got to hand it to him, he's pretty clever. We probably lost him further down the mountain.' He continued back down the way the pack came, hoping to find the real trail. He rounded a corner, only to find something else entirely.

He froze and went on alert when he saw her, the same pure white she-wolf he had seen earlier. There was a pause as she stared at him expectantly, but she didn't move towards him. This struck Atka as a little odd and he tilted his head in curiosity. He couldn't put his paw on it, but something was different about her. She seemed a little more… distant than a normal wolf. Still, he knew he had to break the ice after so much time away from her. "I know I may not be the best at rocking the boat, but I do remember what I did for you. Seeing you again… it reminded me of who I really am. I'm ready be that wolf again... but I have no idea how I'm going to pull it off. I need to find Balto, but I have no idea where he is." He didn't expect her to know anything either, so he was quite surprised when she just smiled at him and turned in a different direction.

"Wait, you don't actually know how to find him, do you?" he asked, and she nodded. "You have no idea how much you've helped me out here. Thank you, thank you so much," he finished, tail wagging in joy. Her tail gave a few wags as well, and she let him approach and tap his nose to hers in a friendly manner. "Heh, yeah I missed you too Aniu… but catching up will have to wait. I've got a couple of dogs to help out first." She nodded in agreement and without a single word she dashed down the path, with him following close behind. Their greetings may have been cut short, but Atka was on a mission where time was of the essence.

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Jenna slept peacefully that night, thanks in part to the security she felt from having Balto by her side. She was vaguely aware of him getting up and going out early that morning, but she didn't react to it. She was still at least half asleep when she heard him return and drop something in front of her. He noticed her sleeping in and so he softly rubbed his nose against her cheek and neck, hoping to rouse her. It got some noises out of her, but she was still taking her time so he decided to use certain trick of his to get her up. Going to her ears, he gave them a quick sniff, letting the air moving in and out of his nose tickle her. By now he'd learned that her ears were one of her ticklish spots, and often used that when he wanted to be playful with her.

His sniffing got a few giggles out of her, and it was only when he gave her ears a quick lick that she squealed and opened her eyes. "Okay, okay, I'm up," she said. "Ugh, you can be really cheeky you know that?"

"Ah well, at least I know I can't fail you when it comes to getting you up," he replied with a wink. She smiled a little, pleased with his good humor after last night. As she thought about it, she realized that their ability to make up after an argument like that served as a testament to how strong their bond was. "As much as I'd like to let you lie in, we do have to get moving... but that can wait until after breakfast. That's why I got you this," he continued, breaking her from her thoughts. He pointed his muzzle towards what he had dropped near her - a rabbit. "I know it's not the same as the kibble you're used to, but you need whatever you can get out here. We've been running for two days and you need your strength. After all, you're eating for more than one now," he finished.

"What about yourself?" she asked, moving closer to the rabbit to give it a sniff.

"I already got myself something when I was out. That's all for you," he replied. "I've got to make sure that you're in good enough shape to get home in the first place."

"Thank you," she replied. Turning towards the rabbit, she was unsure where to start first, but he was more than eager to help her out. He showed her which parts were good to eat and which should be left behind. He was used to eating wild things from his life as a stray, but this was her first experience with hunted game. Fortunately, it proved quite delicious and it wasn't long before she'd filled her stomach, satisfying both her hunger and the hunger of those she was carrying. After the meal, they stepped out and took a brief walk around the deserted town, stopping at its edge to survey the untouched wilderness around them. The morning sun rose and bathed the land in its orange glow, painting the landscape for them to enjoy. For the fist time in almost three days, Balto actually felt at peace and wanted to enjoy it with her as long as he could.

'If you take away the whole Tikani chasing us part, being out here is actually quite nice,' he thought. 'It's not often that we get to go off together and spend time away from everything else in the world. It's too bad we can't do this more often under better circumstances… although I don't think she'd like the idea of running away from her family for days on end. She loves Rosy too much and if I suggest it, I might get slapped again. Still, I can dream, can't I?"

"So where now?" she asked, snapping him out of his imaginings.

"Huh? Oh, yes, that. Well, the river continues on past the town, and I still think we should try to head for the coast. It'll get us one step closer to home, and I'm sure that by now you're starting to miss your cozy shed."

"Alright then, the coast it is. Maybe we'll pass by our special spot on the way too," she suggested, earning the first wide smile from him in days. With that, they turned back into town, heading towards the mill they had seen when they arrived. They walked along the empty streets, with the town seeming less foreboding thanks to their higher spirits. He occasionally stopped to sniff the ground, mostly for retracing their own steps. At first there was nothing out of the ordinary, but near the center of town, something else caught his nose. He stopped and sniffed at it again to try to identify it. "What is it?" she asked, noticing his interest in the scent.

"I don't know… it seems familiar, but I can't put my paw on it. Someone's here, and they're… they're… oh no," he said as his ears a tail suddenly perked up at alert. "No, they've found us! It's one of Tikani's wolves!"

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Chapter 7: An Unexpected Friend

"Are you sure it's one of them?" Jenna asked after they ducked into a nearby alley. Balto had gotten a whiff of one of their pursuers, which made the next few minutes critical for their survival.

"I'm positive, their scent never lies," he replied.

"What do we do now? If we know it's here, then there's nothing stopping it from knowing we're here too."

"All the more reason for us to get out of here... maybe this way will work," he suggested, turning down the alley towards another street. Both held their breath, their gaze darting left, right and even behind them. So far the coast was clear, but once they reached the end of the alley, Balto immediately jumped back. "Great… guess where he is?" he muttered. Jenna peeked around the corner, and saw a lone wolf, sniffing around one particular cabin - the same cabin where they'd spent the