time a little louder. "Please, if there's anyone out there I'd really like some help here. I don't know which way I should go."

'This is ridiculous, there's no one here,' he thought, but he pushed forward, desperate for any answer to his dilemma. "HEY!" he shouted out. "I want to know what's going on here! Why am I having these dreams? What are they trying to show me?" he bellowed. The words echoed off the cold, hard rocks, ringing until they faded off into the distance.

'Great, you probably woke up most of the neighborhood. Yelling at nothing is just going to make everyone think you've got a few screws loose. If there was any spirit - which there probably isn't - wouldn't they have come by now?' he thought. "Please, all I'm asking for is some help," he asked to the empty boulder field. "If you're out there, then you'd better come out now because I'm not going to ask again," he finished. He waited for a moment, looking from side to side and swiveling his ears to pick up the sound of anyone approaching. Still, the boulder field was still as empty as when he first entered it.

"Hmph… thought so," he muttered, standing up to start his walk back towards Nome. 'There's nothing out here - this whole spirit guide thing is a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. I've never believed in ghost stories anyways, so why would I start now? My dreams aren't messages; they're just my mind going in circles. Just because there's some wolf legend about a guiding raven doesn't mean my raven is going to drop out of the sky and-'

Something flashed past in his peripheral vision, followed by the flapping of wings and the feeling of something flying past his head, barely skimming his ears. The sudden appearance of something so close made him jump back. He knew that it was probably some bird, but he hadn't heard any signs of life before in this area. Normally birds would tweet near-constantly, but this one seemed to come out of nowhere. He looked to the side to see what bird had decided to practically do a diving run at his head, but when he did, his heart skipped a beat when he saw it perched on top of a nearby boulder.

With feathers as black as night, free of dust or any other mark, was a raven. Time itself seemed to slow as it stared at him with its shining black eyes, peering right through his body and into his soul, probing his very mind. He didn't know how, but he knew - he knew that this raven was the one from his dreams. It was the same raven that always followed him as he ran, watching over him from afar.

"You," Balto whispered. "How can this be?"

The raven only bobbed its head from side to side, much like how a real bird would when investigating a possible piece of food. It ruffled its feathers a little, before letting out a sharp 'caw' at him. Maska's earlier description of them being cryptic was starting to look like an understatement.

"Okay, you might not be able to talk, but I can't deny that you're here… although you sure took your time," Balto said to it. "Alright, if you are real, then what now? What are you going to show me?"

At his request the raven spread it's wings and lifted into the air, flying off and cawing, as if calling for him to follow. Part of him wanted to turn away and avoid getting involved with what could be nothing more than a mad quest, but he was drawn towards the raven. He couldn't put his paw in it, but something about the raven was evoking old feelings within him. It was a sense of complete comfort and trust - something he hadn't felt since his mother disappeared. He remembered snuggling up to her warm, white fur, feeling like nothing could hurt him as long as his momma was around.

However, the memory was as fleeting as the time she was with him. It was soon replaced with his memories of his time alone. He'd been so young, but he had been left isolated and fearful, always wondering where his mother had gone too. Was she still alive? Did she even remember him? He took another look up at the raven, and decided to add those questions to the list of things he would ask it if given the chance. After a short distance, the raven flew down a hill, stopping at the bottom to rest. When Balto caught up with it, he saw that it was looking intently at the side of the hill. He followed its gaze to the entrance of a cave, formed from a space in the rock and eroded further by centuries of rain and snow. From there he couldn't see very far into it, so he had no way of judging how deep it really was.

It didn't take long for him to guess the raven's intent, and so he didn't need much encouragement to follow it when it took off and flew into the cave, vanishing into the darkness. He wasn't sure what he would find inside, but he had come this far, so he pressed on to see which way this road would take him. Ahead he could hear the flapping of the raven's wings, but they grew fainter the deeper it went. The cave grew darker, and there were faint drips of water from the ceiling as it sloped lower and lower. He couldn't hear the sound of the raven anymore, and after a while he started to wonder how it would navigate in the ever-shrinking tunnel.

The sloping rock started to brush against his ears, forcing him to crouch. The temperature in the dark cave dropped quickly, and it wasn't long before he saw ice running along the walls, untouched by the warming weather outside. Through the dim light he could see that the space narrowed to a much smaller hole ahead. Through the hole was light, in addition to a much larger open space. Crouching until his belly was flat on the ground, he inched himself towards the opening, managing to squeeze his shoulders through, then his midsection before sliding his hips through last. With the greater space afforded to him, he stood up and stretched before moving towards the new light. It was definitely daylight, and he could tell the cave led to a much more open area outside. He dashed forward, ready to face whatever was out there.

All around him were steep hills, forming a sort of natural amphitheatre. Scanning around the small valley, he could not find any trace of the raven. Once again, the elusive bird had vanished as soon as it had appeared. He sniffed the ground and started to move back and forth in a search pattern, hoping to glean some other clue when something else caught his nose. It wasn't the raven, but more canine… like a wolf. Another sniff only confirmed it wasn't anyone he knew, but it was fresh, which meant that they were close. Any wolf might not enjoy a stranger infringing on their territory, so he went on alert. He panned his head back and forth, watching carefully for any sign he wasn't alone. His legs wound up, ready to spring him away. He was in unexplored territory, so he knew to be on his guard. Suddenly, the dirt crunched to his side and he snapped his head to the right. That's when he saw him – a dark-furred wolf staring at him, watching him as he investigated. Neither of them moved as they locked eyes, with the wolf tilting its head in curiosity at the stranger in their midst.

"You look like you're a little lost there, friend," the wolf greeted. "Can I help you?"

"I was… it's just… you wouldn't happen to have seen a raven pass by here would you?" Balto asked, suddenly feeling very foolish.

"Maybe," the wolf replied. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just… it's complicated," Balto replied, hesitant to reveal what he was doing to a complete stranger.

"I'm no stranger to complicated things, so you don't have to worry about it," the wolf assured him, as if he could sense his apprehension. "Can I at least ask who you are?"

"My name's Balto," he replied. "How about you?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you Balto. As for myself… the name's Mias," the wolf retuned. "I may not be an expert on ravens, but I still might be able to help you."

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Chapter 7: Down Memory Lane

Balto was taken aback by the offer. He'd barely gotten a chance to explain everything, but Mias was already offering his help. 'Then again, if I don't know this wolf, then I can't know for sure what he can know. He could be an expert on these sorts of things, like Maska is.'

"So, what do you say?" Mias asked. "Do you want my help or not?"

"I do want help, but I'm not sure if you can help," Balto mused, shaking his head. "You'd probably think I'm mad."

"Try me," Mias urged. "You'd be surprised at the things I can take seriously."

"It's not just that; this is something that's very... personal."

"Is that why you want to hide it from me?" Mias asked. "Just like how you're hiding it from your own mate… and wondering if you should hide it from your pups as well?"

Balto was quite perturbed by this. He hadn't mentioned Jenna or his pups at all and yet Mias knew not only about them, but the things he'd been keeping from them. There was no way that he could have known, and the fact that he did was scaring him.

"How in the world would you know about that?" he demanded.

Mias looked at him for a moment, before calmly replying, "I may not know all the details, but... it's just the look you have… it's a look that's all to familiar to me. It's a look that I myself wore… long ago."

"That doesn't answer