decided to lay it out for him.

"Okay, here's what's going on. My pups will be part wolf pups, growing and living in a mostly dog and human world. While that world has come to accept me in Nome, I'm not sure if they'll be so accommodating with the pups, especially considering how Aleu in particular looks so much like a wolf cub than a husky pup. There are still many out there that aren't as accepting of wolves; if not in Nome, then maybe elsewhere, especially if some of them become sled dogs and travel around the north."

"And you're worried that they'll be subject to ridicule because of their wolf side?" Maska asked, and Balto nodded. "That's understandable, but there are some things you should keep in mind. One, your pups would have less wolf in them than you do, and two, not every stranger is going to know they're part wolf at a glance, especially if most of them take after their mother. Even if Aleu looks wolf, she may still be a dog underneath."

"I hope so, but word can travel fast in a small town, and most of Nome is already excited over how Jenna and I had pups. It's just… I don't want them to feel like they're different from everyone else. I want them to think they can fit in with all the dogs without any strings attached."

"I hear what you're saying, but you also can't ignore that it's part of who they are. You should focus on the good your wolf side has brought you. It gave you the strength to overcome great adversity and they should know about the strength within them as well. You never know when they may have to call upon it for themselves."

"But they're so young… what strength they have wouldn't be able to be of much use now. I know it certainly didn't help me out when I was a pup. Did you know that I almost had a shot with staying with Rosy's family? Yeah, I was just a pup and was so close to being able to have a family to take care of me… but when they found out I was part wolf they just tossed me away, not wanting a 'dangerous animal' in their home."

"Oh my… but you don't know your pups will suffer the same fate."

"But what if they do? What if Aleu or one of the others is left behind because they're 'too wolfy' for a human home?"

"In that case, then you could teach them to be a proper dog… or they could live with wolves instead. I've told you before that my door is open to you or anyone close to you and that includes your pups."

"That's very kind, but it might not help. They'd still be part dog, and they might still feel like they're being left out of something.

"All I'm hearing from you is a lot of 'mights' and 'what-ifs', but you won't do yourself or your pups any good if you keep on going around in circles like this," Maska bluntly stated. "At the rate you're going, you're just going to end up chasing your tail instead of the real problem. It's not worth it to lose sleep over."

"Heh, that's not the only reason I'm losing sleep," Balto mumbled, but Maska's sharp ears caught his comment.

"Not the only reason? Would you care to tell me about it? It may be related."

"I doubt it - it's just these weird dreams I've been having. But they're just dreams, they don't mean anything."

"I beg to differ. Dreams can carry quite a bit of meaning, but only for the dreamer. Most of the time it's just our mind trying to make sense of something going on in our lives, but other times… they are induced."

"What? How?" Balto asked. He was skeptical of an outside force influencing his mind, but he still decided to hear Maska out in case there was anything rational he could glean from this.

"To tell you that, I need to tell a bit of a story first," Maska replied, and Balto sat down to listen. Wolves often used stories or fables to explain things or teach lessons to their young ones. Balto himself had used this when telling his story to the pack shortly after he first met them, with lessons of tolerance and perseverance playing out.

"A wolf and his pack were having a particularly lean year, as the caribou seemed to have moved off. However, despite their best efforts, they were unable to find any trace of them. They knew they would have to move on to find food, but they had no idea where they could turn to. All directions seemed devoid of caribou, and it wasn't long before the pack started to go hungry for days on end," Maska started.

"This wolf was so desperate for food that he would even see it in his dreams. He would see himself walking along a river, past a large boulder before he found a great herd of delicious caribou. He'd think he'd found salvation, but the second he tried to chase them, they would fade and his dream would end, leaving him hungrier than ever. This dream would happen every few nights, always the same thing, with him wanting to understand what it meant." This intrigued Balto. Despite it being a different situation, he had to admit the fact he was having a recurring dream was similar to the wolf in the story.

"This went on until one day, the wolf collapsed in the snow from exhaustion. In desperation, he called out for help, and that's when he saw it. There was a raven flying over his head," Balto's eyes perked at the mention of the raven. "He picked himself up, only thinking that he wanted to catch the raven to fill his belly, but as he followed it, that's when he saw it. It was the river from his dreams, but in the real world. He followed it, retracing the steps he'd taken so many times in his sleep. He saw a familiar boulder, and when he went around it, he saw them, the caribou. He didn't take the time to dwell on whether or not this was another dream and just charged at them. He was either going to eat or die trying, but when he sank his fangs into the neck of an elderly caribou, he would be rewarded. After eating his fill, he saw the raven sitting on the ground before the most astounding thing happened. The raven spoke to him and congratulated the him for getting its message. Curious, the wolf asked the raven who it was, and how it knew to lead him to the river."

"The raven responded that it knew about the river because he wanted the wolf to find it. He wanted the wolf to know which way to go, so it gave him directions in his dreams. That way, the wolf would know that this path was the right one. The wolf was astounded that a simple bird would have such power, and asked how it was able to do this, and more importantly, why it would do such a thing for him."

"At this, the raven responded to him, and that's when he understood everything. You see, that raven was no ordinary raven," Maska explained. "That raven… was a spirit guide."

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Chapter 6: Spirit Guides

"A… what?"

"Don't you know what they are Balto?" Maska asked. "Above all, the idea of a spirit guide is universal to all wolves."

"Except I didn't know any wolves until recently, remember?"

Maska nodded. "Of course, forgive me. Sometimes I forget that you were raised around dogs only," he conceded, before starting to explain. "When you look at the name, you realize you have a pretty good description right there. First, there's the spirit part - when you hear that word, what do you think of?"

"I think of… what drives me and makes me act. I think of what makes me do what I do," Balto replied.

"That's a good start. When we wolves think of spirits, we think of what makes us who we are. Our personalities, our motivations, our memories; everything we've done and want to do," Maska explained. "There are other words for it, like soul or consciousness, but they all end up meaning the same thing. It's the part of us that can't be touched, measured or destroyed, and yet is still present in our bodies every day. It is the part of us that outlives us, even past death."

"Past death… you mean like a ghost?" Balto asked.

"Hm… I suppose that's another way to put it, but I don't think they're the same as what you're thinking of," Maska continued. "Unlike the wandering spirits of so many scary stories, a spirit guide has a purpose in this world. That purpose is to, well, guide."

"Guide? How can they do that if they're just a spirit?"

"They may be just spirits, but they can take on many different forms, seeming as solid as you or I if they wanted to," Maska replied. "That is also what makes them unique - they seem to exist between our world and another, able to be there and not there at the same time. It's… tricky to explain in physical terms, which is part of what makes them so mysterious. Whatever form they take, they usually do it to pass on knowledge or wisdom that they think someone living can benefit from."

"So, do they just tell us what to do?" Balto asked. "What happens if someone doesn't want to listen to them, or doesn't believe them?"

"I'm not sure; all of the stories involve following the guide's advice, so I don't know what would happen if they refused… but chances are it wouldn't be as good. You remember from the story that the pack was starving - not following the clues given by the guide would have led to disaster," Maska explained. "But what that wolf saw was just that - a clue. He had to solve