her parents were always welcoming towards Jenna’s family. She saw Jenna relaxing on her doggy beg and slowly approached her.

 

“Hi, Grandma,” Felicie said.

 

“Oh, hi, Felicie,” Jenna said, getting up to give her granddaughter a nuzzle. “What brings you here?”

 

Felicie let out a sigh. “Grandma, I’m conflicted about something.”

 

Jenna tilted her head. “What is it, sweetie?”

 

Felicie took a moment to assemble her thoughts. “You remember Aslak, right?” When Jenna nodded, Felicie continued. “Well… I think… I think I like him.” This was the first time Felicie admitted it out loud, and she blushed profusely as she looked down, shuffling her paws awkwardly.

 

Jenna smiled warmly. “Well, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

 

“I know,” Felicie agreed, “but I’m afraid of what my friends will think, since, well, they’re not exactly huge fans on him.”

 

“Why not?” Jenna seemed confused. “He seems like a very nice young dog.”

 

“And he is,” Felicie agreed, “but they all think he’s weird just because he has an accent. And Flash just can’t stand him for some reason. I figured you would be able to give me some guidance, since you’ve been in this sort of situation before.”

 

Jenna smiled. “Well, if your friends get upset at you for going out with Aslak, then are they really your friends?”

 

“I guess not…” Felicie frowned. “But I would be sad to lose them.”

 

“Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned since Athos passed away,” Jenna said softly, “it’s that you should always tell someone how you feel, because you never know when your last chance will be.”

 

Felicie looked at the ground for a moment, and then back up at Jenna. “You’re right,” she said with a nod. “I should go tell him. If I lose my friends, then I’ll know they’re not the kind of friends I want anyway.” She stepped forward and nuzzled her grandmother. “Thanks, Grandma.”

 

 

They bid each other goodbye, and Felicie left the house, walking aimlessly along the streets. She wanted to go tell Aslak about her feelings for him, but something was preventing her from doing so. Her stomach lurched, and she felt as nervous as ever thinking of admitting her crush on him. Suddenly, lost in thought, she almost didn’t hear a familiar voice calling her name. “Felicie!”

 

Felicie’s ears perked up and she craned her neck to see Aslak heading her way. Perfect timing, she thought.

 

“Good morning, Felicie,” Aslak said, grinning. “How are you today?”

 

Felicie cleared her throat as she stared up at her crush. “I’m fine, Aslak… actually, there was something I wanted to tell you…” her eyes danced around him, “in private.”

 

“Oh, okay,” Aslak said, and he and Felicie made their way into a small alleyway between two houses. “So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

 

Felicie opened her mouth to speak, but her mouth suddenly went dry. She wanted to tell Aslak how she felt; it was the perfect opportunity, since they were alone. But then Flash’s face popped in her head, along with Sanak’s and Hyder’s, and she just couldn’t. “I… I wanted to tell you, you… your fur looks nice today.” Seriously!?

 

“Oh, uh… thank you,” Aslak said, looking down at his fur. He was a bit surprised that Felicie made such a big deal about complimenting his fur; he had hoped maybe she would say something more. Something he had been waiting for her to say for a while. “I just got a bath yesterday.”

 

Felicie gave a watery smile. “Well, that explains it.”

 

“Well, I must go,” Aslak said, trotting back into the streets. “Goodbye, Fel.”

 

“See ya,” Felicie said half-heartedly. She wanted to kick herself for chickening out at the perfect opportunity. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” she hissed to herself when she was sure Aslak was out of hearing range.

 

However, little did she know that there was one person who had witnessed the whole event, from when Aslak stopped Felicie in the streets to when she complimented his fur in the alleyway. And that person was not happy about their interaction at all, and made a vow to himself to do something about it.

 

——

 

Eventually, the sun had set in Nome and the dark sky was splattered with stars. Aslak was taking a walk through town and took notice of a small puddle on the ground that was illuminated by the moon. He took a look at his reflection in the pond and grinned. “I guess my fur does look good,” he said to himself.

 

Although he still thought his interaction with Felicie earlier that day was a bit weird, he was glad to receive a compliment from her. In all honesty, he was starting to look at Felicie in a different light. From the moment they met, she saw something in him that all the other dogs refused to see. She accepted him for who he was, and knew there was more to him than just his accent. Aslak smiled to himself and felt his heart warm. Felicie was truly something special.

 

His serene thoughts were quickly interrupted when he heard paw prints crunching in the snow. He turned around, and his fur bristled when he saw a silhouette approaching him in the dark. Suddenly, the silhouette turned orange as it reached the light of the streetlamp, and Aslak gasped at the sight of Flash coming swiftly towards him with flames in his eyes.

 

“I told you to stay away from Fel,” Flash barked, his lips curled as he snarled at Aslak.

 

Aslak’s heart leapt, and he figured the best thing to do would be to play stupid. “I… I do not know what you’re talking about.”

 

But Flash wasn’t that dense. “Don’t lie,” the lead dog snapped. “I saw you two in the alleyway earlier today.”

 

Aslak swallowed, and stood up a bit taller to appear more confident than he felt. “Felicie is my friend.”

 

“She was supposed to be mine,” Flash roared, overcome with rage. “She was supposed to be my girl, until you took her!”

 

 

Before Aslak had the chance to move, Flash leapt on him and dug his teeth into Aslak’s fur. Aslak yelped in sheer terror; he had never fought anyone before. He tried squirming and trying his best to kick Flash off to him, but it was of no avail. Flash was much larger and stronger, and thus had the upper paw in this fight. Aslak cried out as he felt chunks of fur and skin being ripped off of him, and he almost fainted when he saw the snow beneath him turn red. Aslak tried his best to give his all, but he could feel himself weakening under the wrath of the larger husky. Soon enough, Flash was just about to aim straight for Aslak’s neck, when all of a sudden…

 

“Flash!”

 

Flash suddenly stopped and picked his head up, looking like a deer in headlights. Aslak could hardly move his head to see what was happening, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a human appear in the alleyway. Gathering the man’s scent, Aslak realized it was Flash’s musher. He seethed as he watched Flash run away from Aslak’s side, pretending as though he was not the source of the mutt’s pain. Flash jumped on the musher in hopes that it would distract him from noticing Aslak, but his plain didn’t work, as the musher couldn’t help but notice the poor dog lying helplessly in the red-stained snow.

 

“What happened to you, boy?” the musher said as he appeared by Aslak’s side. “You look awful hurt.”

 

Aslak let out a small whimper, and tried his best to look at the musher, but found that he couldn’t move his head without groaning in pain. “It’s okay, boy,” the musher said, gingerly picking up Aslak from the ground. Flash started to growl in protest, but he quickly got shushed by his musher. “We’re gonna get you to the vet, boy, and you’ll be all better by tomorrow.” As they reached the light being emitted from the streetlamp, the musher had a sudden realization. “Hey, you’re Felicie’s little boyfriend, aren’t you?”

 

This received a snarl from Flash, but Aslak was happy for some reason that this man thought he and Felicie were dating. He smiled softly and curled himself up in the man’s arms as they entered the vet’s office. He heard the man talking to the vet and explaining how he was found injured in an alleyway. He felt himself get bandaged up, and some of his wounds were tended to with alcohol, which caused a stinging sensation to shoot through Aslak, but he knew it would only help him feel better. And soon, the vet put him down on a bed and covered him in a blanket, and within minutes Aslak drifted off into a deep, restful sleep.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 6

 

Felicie woke up to pale October sunlight streaming through her window. She slowly opened her eyes, and stretched and let out a yawn. She thought about Aslak, as she always did first thing in the morning. I need to find him today, she thought, and tell him how I feel.

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