Disclaimer:

Balto, Jenna, Saba, images, backgrounds (c) Universal

Background (c) Disney

Felicie, Jean-Claude, Flash, Sanak, Hyler (c) me

Aslak, Athos (c) WildFire

Helyana (c) Artemisa

 

 

FOREVER AND ALWAYS

 

 

CHAPTER 1

 

Felicie shook snow off her as she left her musher’s side to join her grandparents Balto and Jenna, who were waiting for her to return to Nome with her sled team. It was Felicie’s first run of the season, and she couldn’t be happier. She had decided a while ago that being on Nome’s supply team was the greatest thing that had happened to her — she was able to make many great friends, and do something she loved. But now, she got to see her beloved grandparents, whom she adored and cherished every moment with.

 

“Hi, Grandma,” Felicie said cheerily as she nuzzled Balto and Jenna, “Hi, Grandpa.”

 

“Hey, kiddo,” Balto said as he snuffled Felicie’s ear affectionately. “How was your first day back?”

 

“It was great!” Felicie yipped, her tail wagging. “I just love being a sled dog.” It was true. Despite being in a harness every time she pulled a sled, she felt so free.

 

“I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Balto quipped, winking at his granddaughter.

 

Jenna’s chocolate eyes fixed towards the other dogs on Felicie’s team, and she leaned in towards Felicie, a smirk on her face. “Say, what’s the lead dog’s name again?”

 

“Flash?” Felicie said, quickly gazing towards her friend who always courageously lead their team. “What about him?”

 

“He’s gotten quite handsome since the last time I saw him,” Jenna said as a grin crept across her face. “What do you think?”

 

“Now, don’t go getting any ideas, Jen,” Balto warned his wife, although there was a touch of humor laced in his voice. “Felicie is far too young to be dating anyone.”

 

Felicie giggled. “I’m two years old, grandpa,” she said. “I’m plenty old enough to start looking for a boyfriend.” She then gazed back at Flash, and noticed how warmly his crimson fur gleamed in the autumn sunlight. It was pretty attractive, Felicie had to admit, and Flash was a great guy — but not exactly Felicie’s type. “But I don’t think Flash is the one for me.”

 

“Well, a pretty and kind pup like you will find a mate soon enough,” Jenna said earnestly.

 

“Thank you, Grandma,” Felicie said, licking Jenna’s cheek gratefully.

 

“Well, we don’t wanna keep you from you from your friends,” Balto said, gesturing towards Felicie’s team trotting down the street, “so we’ll see you around. Your pals are probably much more interesting than us old farts, anyway.”

 

And Felicie was already off. “Alright, I’ll see you two later!” She padded down the streets of Nome, searching for her friends so she could wind down with them after their first run. She put her nose to the ground and caught a whiff of their scent — as well as a new, unfamiliar scent — and followed it until she reached an alleyway. There, she saw Flash, as well as two other teammates of hers named Hyder and Sanak, who seemed to be circling something and laughing. Curiosity piqued Felicie and she slowly stalked over to her teammates, and suddenly she realized they were not laughing at something, but someone. Felicie furrowed her brows and glanced at the boys, and the laughs that were coming out of their mouths seemed more and more menacing the more she listened to them. Her eye then darted to the scruffy brown dog they were laughing at, and her heart sank as she watched him cower into a corner, his tail between his legs.

 

A sudden sense of confidence came over Felicie, and she put her paw down. “What are you guys doing!?” she barked at her teammates.

 

“Get a load of this guy, Fel,” said Flash, laughing as he pointed his paw towards the helpless brown mutt who looked absolutely miserable, to say the least. “I’ve never heard someone talk so funny in my life.”

 

“Please…” the mutt implored, his scraggly fur bristling but his auburn eyes filled with fear and humiliation, “go… go away…” Felicie’s ears perked up and she realized the mutt had a thick accent, and she could tell it was hard for him to get even those simple words out. Rage filled her body and she growled at her friends, who weren’t acting so friendly at the moment as they laughed harder than ever.

 

“Just because he has an accent doesn’t mean you three have a right to make fun of him,” Felicie snapped. “He’s a dog just like us and deserves to be treated with respect.”

 

 

“He may be a dog, but he’s the weirdest one I’ve ever met,” Hyder snorted.

 

“If you guys don’t have anything nice to say, just go away,” Felicie said, stepping a bit closer towards the victim of the bullying. “I know we just came back from a long run and you wanna wind down and have some fun, but do it some other way, where you’re not hurting an innocent dog who I’m sure did nothing to you.” When her friends didn’t budge, Felicie curled her lip and let out a low growl deep in her throat.

 

“Alright, we’ll go,” Flash said, rolling his eyes, but there was a half-grin plastered on his face. “Guess we’ll see you around, Felicie. You too, Weirdo.”

 

“His name’s not Weirdo,” Felicie called out as the boys left the alleyway, “it’s…” It hit her that she just defended this dog and didn’t even know his name. “What is your name?” Felicie asked, tilting her head.

 

The dog adjusted his paws, and looked up slightly from his hunched over position. “Aslak.”

 

“Aslak,” Felicie repeated. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Aslak. I’m Felicie.” She put her paw over her chest and smiled.

 

“Felicie,” Aslak said slowly, drawing out each syllable. He did pronounce her name correctly, though, so Felicie smiled and nodded encouragingly. “Thank you, Felicie.”

 

“Oh, no problem,” Felicie said. “I don’t know what got into them. They’re some of my closest friends; I’ve never seen them act so mean before.”

 

Aslak blinked in confusion. “Friend?”

 

“Yeah, they’re my friends.” Realizing maybe Aslak wasn’t familiar with this word, Felicie decided to explain. “A friend is someone you… hang out with a lot, and do lots of stuff with. Maybe you can be my friend, Aslak.”

 

“Really?” She watched as Aslak’s tail started to wag; it was the first sign of happiness that he showed since they first met each other.

 

“Sure, I’ll be your friend!” Felicie said cheerily, and she watched as Aslak’s mouth turned upward into a grin. “Come on, I’ll teach you some English.” She and Aslak got up from where they were sitting and walked out into the streets of Nome. Felicie trotted happily, while Aslak kind of just moped behind, seeming to cower away from everyone and everything.

 

 

Felicie figured the best way to teach Aslak English would be to just talk to him. “Where are you from, Aslak?”

 

“I am from Finland,” Aslak said slowly and carefully.

 

“Wow, that’s really far away,” Felicie said, barely able to comprehend the fact that Aslak had come from such a different part of the world. “What brings you to Nome, then?” Confusion filled Aslak’s eyes, and it was apparent that he didn’t understand the question, so she reworded it. “Why did you come to Nome?”

 

“My…my owner…” Aslak explained, “looks for… gold.”

 

Felicie raised her eyebrows in fascination. “Oh, gold,” she replied. “Yeah, they discovered gold not too far from here about a month ago, so lots of people have been coming to find some ever since.”

 

“I came on a boat,” Aslak said slowly. “The British dogs, they taught me English.”

 

“Well, they did a good job,” said Felicie, “because honestly, your English is already not bad.” She watched as Aslak smiled gratefully, and she smiled, too. They then stopped by a small white house, and Aslak looked towards the front door.

 

“I must go now,” Aslak told Felicie. “This is where I live.”

 

“Oh, okay,” Felicie said. She was a tad disappointed that Aslak had to leave so soon, but she understood that he had to be with his owner. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

 

“See you tomorrow,” Aslak said, “F…Fre...”

 

“Friend?” Felicie prodded.

 

Aslak nodded and grinned, and this time the smile reached his eyes. “Friend.”

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 2

 

The warm autumn sun hung high over Nome as Felicie made her way over to Aslak’s house. She had promised to visit him again after

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