he may not be weird,” Flash replied, “but the way he talks sure is.”

 

“He’s actually been getting a lot better at English,” Felicie told him.

 

“Well, it’s too bad he’s never gone get rid of that funny accent of his,” Flash scoffed.

 

Felicie felt her fur bristle. “It’s not funny, it’s just his accent,” she said calmly. “Just like my dad. He has an accent too.” Felicie looked forward and secretly felt relieved that she was close to the boiler room. She had no clue why Flash had such a chip on his shoulder about Aslak, but what she did know was that she didn’t want to deal with her teammate right now. She loved Flash as one of her best friends, but all his snide remarks about Aslak were getting on her nerves lately and she needed a break from him. “See ya, Flash,” Felicie said, turning to make a brisk trot to the boiler room.

 

“Bye,” Flash said quietly, trying his best to hide his disappointment.

 

Felicie made her way into the boiler room and spotted Aslak laying by the fire. His dark brown fur had a brightened hue to it as he lay next to the orange and yellow flames. Felicie watched as the herding dog slowly opened his eyes and smiled.

 

“Hello, Felicie,” Aslak said, his tail swishing left to right.

 

“Hi, Aslak,” Felicie said, laying across from him, feeling relieved at not having to stand on her legs anymore. “Hope I didn’t wake you up.”

 

“That is okay,” Aslak said, just grateful for her company. “How was your run?”

 

Felicie groaned and stretched out her legs. “Tiring as ever,” she said. “We only went to White Mountain, but it may as well be the moon with how far we went.” She smiled sheepishly. “As if anyone could go to the moon.”

 

Aslak chuckled, and hearing him laugh caused Felicie’s insides to feel all warm. It was the first time she had ever really heard him laugh, and she hoped it wouldn’t be the last.

 

Felicie and Aslak spent the next hour or so chatting it up in the boiler room. They had lots of fun talking about anything and everything. Aslak enjoyed hearing stories about Felicie’s job and about her heroic grandfather, and Felicie loved hearing stories of Aslak’s days in Finland. Aslak still spoke rather slowly, oftentimes fumbling on his words and slipping up on his grammar, but overall, he was doing a great job. Over time, Felicie completely forgot about the pain in her legs, and she was shocked when she looked out the window and saw the sky turning pink.

 

“Oh, I should probably get home,” she said reluctantly, rising to her paws. “My humans usually expect me to be back for dinner.”

 

“I can walk you home, if you want,” Aslak said, making his way over to Felicie’s side.

 

A crimson color rose to Felicie’s cheeks, and she ducked her head to hide her sudden blush. “I’d like that,” she said softly.

 

However, the moment got cut short when they heard the sound of pawsteps running hurriedly into the boiler room. Felicie shot up and found her parents, Saba and Jean-Claude, darting towards her.

 

“Oh, Felicie,” Jean-Claude said, panting as he came to a stop.

 

“We’re so glad we found you,” Saba added, her voice thick with worry. Felicie was suddenly concerned. Did something bad happen?

 

“Mom? Papa?” Felicie said, tentatively stepping forward. “Is something wrong?”

 

“It’s your brother, Athos,” Saba choked out, her eyes filling up with tears.

 

Felicie’s heart dropped, and she felt her whole world cloud around her. “What happened to Athos?” she asked rather urgently, fearing the worst. “Is he okay?”

 

Seeing that his mate couldn’t speak, Jean-Claude mustered up the courage to explain to Felicie what happened to her little brother. “Athos… was out with his owner a few days ago, and…” he heaved a ragged sigh, and took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. Those moments felt like an eternity for Felicity, but finally her father opened his mouth to speak.

 

“Felicie, your brother has gone missing.”

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 4

 

The next few weeks seemed like a blur for Felicie. Each day she waited for news regarding Athos, but despite all the search party’s efforts to find the missing dog and his owner, no news had come around. Felicie had hope that Athos was out there; he was strong and could make it back home if he tried. But as the days crawled on and the temperature rapidly fell, Felicie felt her hope withering away. She felt horrible about losing faith in her brother being okay, but she had to face the facts: a dog could only go for so long by himself in the harsh wilds of Alaska.

 

Felicie didn’t really bother to interact with anyone during this waiting period. She still dutifully did her sled runs, but didn’t talk to any of her teammates; she just did her runs and went straight home after she was done. She visited with her family members often, and tried her best to comfort her siblings despite the fact that she was grieving as much as they were.

 

The only person who she really spent her time with was Aslak. Conversing with him and giving him English lessons helped her to keep her mind off her brother, and Aslak was a source of comfort for her during this time of uncertainty. Felicie’s family understood why Aslak was such a comfort to Felicie, but they didn’t tell her yet. Flash knew why as well, and he wasn’t too happy about it.

 

The temperature had significantly dropped over the weekend, and the sky was covered in clouds of varying shades of gray. There was a chilly breeze in the air that felt nippy and bit at Felicie’s skin despite the thick coat of fur she had been given. Her teeth chattered as she stalked through the streets of Nome, her head down as she focused simply on getting back to her house. A particularly strong gust of wind hit her face, and Felicie let out a small gasp when she saw a snowflake land on her nose.

 

Oh, Athos, Felicie thought, if you’re still out there, I hope you’re okay…

 

Suddenly, as if on cue, Saba and Jean-Claude’s parents turned around the corner. Felicie picked her head up and trotted towards her parents, who just walked slowly and stiffly towards their daughter.

 

“Mom, Papa, did they find Athos yet?” Felicie asked. However, the crestfallen looks on her parents faces were all she needed to know what had happened.

 

Saba buried her face into Jean-Claude’s chest and let out a sob. Jean-Claude looked at his middle daughter and his mouth twisted in grief as tears flooded his eyes. Felicie had never seen her father cry, and it haunted her to see him in such a state.

 

“Fel, the search was called off,” Jean-Claude managed to say.

 

Felicie’s heart stopped and she felt as though everything was closing in on her. “No… no…” was all she could whisper as tears blurred her own vision. “He’s not dead, Papa, he’s not…” she wailed.

 

“I’m sorry, ma princesse…” Jean-Claude’s voice was choked up as he rested his chin on Saba’s head.

 

Felicie felt like throwing up. Her vision completely blurred with tears, she brushed past her parents and ran off. She wasn’t sure where she was going, and she didn’t even care who saw her in this state. All she wanted was for her brother to be back, but there was no chance of that happening now. He was gone. He was once here on this earth, running, and playing, and laughing, and just like that, he was gone.

 

Felicie’s head was towards the ground, and so she had no clue where she was going. She suddenly got thrown out of her trance when she bumped into a larger dog, his shaggy fur bristling against her face.

 

“Oof!” Felicie grunted, landing on her butt. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said as she wiped her eyes with her paw. She looked up, and to her surprise, she saw none other than Aslak looking down at her. “Oh, Aslak…” she muttered, flattening her ears in embarrassment.

 

Noticing Felicie’s wobbly voice and her wet cheeks, Aslak leaned forward in concern. “Felicie, what is wrong?” he asked gently. “Did they find Athos?”

 

Felicie shook her head slowly as she began to tear up again. “N-no…” she stammered, “the search party, they…” A lump rose in her throat and she couldn’t bear to speak.

 

“I-is he…?” Aslak started. He knew what word he wanted to say, but he couldn’t bear to utter it.

 

Felicie knew what he meant, too, but she didn’t say anything. She just let out a sob, burying her face into Aslak’s chest as she cried bitterly. She felt so embarrassed — she must have looked a wreck. But Aslak had been one of her last rays of hope these past few days, and she needed him more than ever. Aslak, meanwhile, had never known Athos personally, but still felt wretched over his death. He didn’t really know what to do to help Felicie in this moment; all he could think to do was place his paw on her back and comfortingly lick the top of her head.

 

But to

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