her . . .” She sniffled and blubbered in her speech, which was hard to translate at the moment as she leaned her head against the light-gray and white male known as Kenta from her team to offer some sort of comfort.

“She was already gone when we found her,” he murmured with lowered eyelids. At the words, Ruby’s sister wailed louder. “Shh, shh . . . It’s okay, Lolita. Shh . . .” He rubbed his nose against her neck, calming her down so that he could continue the tale. “Apparently, she had already delivered her litter since there was a pool of dried blood and water and an opened sac near her body.” 

“Well, if she had had a pup, where was it?” Harold asked.

Lolita shook her head. “Kenta and I followed the pup’s scent . . . but all we could clearly smell was wolf.” Everyone’s ears pricked up, most especially the huskies that had seen the white wolf only moments ago. “We . . . we believe that a wolf took the pup as its own . . . or maybe they killed it as well.” More tears flooded her face as she laid her head against Kenta’s neck, staining it dark. 

Harold looked beside him, hoping that his mate, Chira, was still there, but she had returned to the small shelter, laying down on a bed of golden hay and caring for the pup that she had just been given by the white wolf. No, that can’t be . . . The malamute thought, pondering about the current situation. But that wolf did say that the mother delivered the pup and died on the mountain . . . Could that pup be . . . He gazed back at the cub, who was now nursing against the light-colored husky’s belly which was surprisingly lined with slightly swollen teats. I’m not sure if I should tell them that this pup could be Ruby’s surviving child . . . but it may offer some sense of closure for Lolita and Kenta.

“Lolita, Kenta,” Harold called the two huskies to his side. “I may know something that may help.” He led the sorrowful yet surprised dogs near the corner where Chira nursed the tiny child back to health, knowing that he wanted some sort of privacy for the grieving duo. 

“What is it, Harold?” Kenta asked. “What do you know?”

Although the malamute knew the answer to the light-gray husky’s query, he knew that there was a chance that his friend wouldn’t believe his tale. “Well, I know it sounds crazy, but . . .” he paused to take a breath before continuing, showing his frustration. “I . . . I think . . . Ruby’s pup is . . . alive . . .” 

Lolita gasped with shock. “How is that possible?” Tears swelled again in her blue eyes as anger sparked a sudden fire in her heart. “No, how dare you! Must you make fun of my grief by playing such an evil prank with your words?”

“Yes, Harold, how could you say such a thing?” Kenta backed up the sobbing sister beside him, helping to comfort her with gentle touches and hushing shushes. “Have you no shame for Lolita’s . . . no, my . . . our team’s loss?” 

“I . . . I . . . J-j-just let me explain . . .” Harold slightly stammered, unsure of how to back up his statement without causing the two upset huskies to attack him out of their outrage. What can I say? How can I prove my statement as possibly true? Oh . . . The malamute sighed, lowering his head in shame, hoping that there was something that could prove him truthful. What am I to do?

As if summoned by his own silent prayers, a cry came from Chira’s den; it was the cub, crying over some unknown thing. Maybe it realized that this female was not its real mother, or perhaps it was helping the beaten-down malamute get the proof that he was looking for. 

“Oh? What’s that noise?” Lolita’s ears pricked up at the sound of the wail. “It sounds like . . . like a newborn pup!” Without hesitation, she ran to where Chira was cooing, trying her best to hush the crying creature. Once she slowed to a walk and stopped at the female’s belly, she sniffed it curiously then let out a soft sneeze. “Chira, where did you get this pup from? It’s not yours, is it?”

The light red-brown shook her head softly, but she had a gentle, almost motherly smile on her face. “No, it’s not mine by blood, but it is a husky’s pup. A white wolf gave it to me, saying that its mother had birthed it on a nearby mountain and died.” She then leaned up to the child, licking its back until its crying spell went away. Kenta and Harold, as well as many of the other huskies and Malamutes, finally arrived to where Chira was mothering the tiny pup. “I agreed to raise it as my own, especially since the wolf said that it was too late to save the mother, but it was willing to find a way to save the child.” 

“I knew it smelt of wolf!” Lolita spoke up. “Oh, I can’t stand the smell of wolf . . . especially that faint stench from the mountain . . .” She paused as both she and Kenta sniffed the pup again; Lolita’s eyes grew wide as more water dripped down her face.

“What’s wrong, Lolita?” Chira asked, moving her muzzle towards the red and white husky’s. “Why are you crying now?” 

“Sorry,” the husky female sniffled, returning the nose touch with her friend. “but I think I wrongly accused Harold.” Lolita turned to the tri-colored Malamute, lowering her head in apology. “You were right, Harold. This is Ruby’s child . . .” She lifted up her head, her eyes were filled with tears of joy as a smile brightened her face. “No, this is her son.”

“Ruby’s . . . son?” Kenta repeated in slight disbelief. “Are you sure that this is hers?” 

“Trust me; I can recognize my sister’s scent on anything, even now after her tragic death,” Lolita nuzzled her nephew’s adoptive mother as she spoke, no longer saddened by the loss of her sister and teammate. “This is hers; just look at his markings and colors – if that doesn’t prove it, nothing does!”

The pup was easily a mix of his mother and father, especially with its medium-gray fur with whirls of his dam’s red fur mixed in. His markings weren’t distinct yet, but his face had white marks around his muzzle and its tightly-shut eyes. More white was lined on the pup’s belly, his paws and under its tiny nub of a tail. 

Kenta, who realized that the husky was indeed correct, now had tears drenching his white cheeks. “Oh, Ruby . . . our son is perfect. Thank you . . . thank you for this gift, my love.” He then nuzzled Chira with a gentle touch. “Chira, I am grateful to you . . . for taking care of our son. I . . . I’m so sorry that you can’t have children of your own, but I hope . . . oh, I really hope that you can treat him as if he were your own pup.”

Chira gasped slightly at the comment, but relaxed when she remembered what the white wolf had secretly told her. 

“You shall be barren no longer, my Lady, for I feel the presence of three sleeping inside you at this very moment . . .”

A sudden brightness could easily be seen on her cheeks, for she knew that she would at last be a real mother although she would soon tell Harold, her mate, within the end of the day as the others settled back down to their dens and shelters.  

“Thank you, Kenta,” The light red-brown husky returned the thanks. “Would you like to be with your son?”

The light gray shook his head. “No, he’s yours, Chira. Yours and Harold’s, until he’s old enough to learn about me and his birth mother.” 

Other canines heard the news that the pup was Ruby’s and walked over to where she lay in order to congratulate Chira and to remember the friend and teammate that they had lost by looking at the child she left behind.

From the hills near the house and the wooden dog pen, the white wolf stood by the safety of a pine tree, looking at the results of its mission. Still it looked with a sense of promise for the young life that it had saved. 

This one . . . no, I shall call you that no longer. You shall have a name that suits you . . . Togo . . . yes, I name you Togo.

You shall achieve an amazing destiny, young Togo, . . . and we shall meet again . . . I swear it . . . 

(part I – completed 11/5/07)