turning. Sasha lost his footing, and tumbled, clawing at the wood to hold on. Sasha cried out, and Finn attempted to pull him up. He succeeded. Sasha could hear the rock crumbling violently. The slipped down the cliff edge.

“RUN!” Finn yelled, and although he was scared, Sasha bolted along the log.

Finn leapt up onto the cliff edge, but the log was beginning to erode the rock, and slid down the cliff face ever so slowly.

Sasha looked up, and he began to move down the cliff. He moved backwards slowly, ignoring Araul’s screams, and Finn’s cries. Sasha flew across the log, making it creak and shake violently. He leapt up, and dug his claws into the cliff face as the log tumbled below into the icy water. Araul and Finn lifted Sasha up slowly. Sasha peered over the cliff edge, as the water swept the log away.

All three breathed a sigh of relief as they carried on in their journey.

 

 

“Araul!” Sasha cried as Araul leapt up into the snow covered tree and crawled along the horizontal branch. “Be careful!”

“Like I said” Araul said from inside the tree. “You need to learn how to have fun”

“I’m just…concerned” Sasha grunted. “You need to be careful”

Araul sighed, and leapt down off the tree.

“We need to make it to the edge of the forest and…”

She stopped, and looked in awe. In front of them was a huge mountain, towering high above the ground. Araul sniffed the ground.

“Well, they’ve certainly been this way” Araul sighed.

“Which means…?” Finn began.

“We go up there” Sasha finished his sentence.

“Come on then” Araul sighed.

Finn and Sasha looked at each other gone out.

“Come on, let’s go!” Araul yelled, and sighed. “We have to. They’ve been past here”

So, Finn and Sasha wistfully followed Araul up the side of the mountain.

 

An hour later, they were reaching a height on the mountain.

“I think they went along the west ridge here and then traveled across those cliffs over there” Araul explained, as she looked out on the views.

“We have to walk across that?” Finn cried, looking too.

The west ridge was a thin part of the mountain, which sloped dangerously to the ground (Which was very far down) and left about half a meter of flat snow to walk on.

“They went this way?” Sasha asked. “How? Didn’t the musher realize they were going the wrong way?”

“It was a blizzard, so the musher would not have realized where they were going” Finn suggested.

“Exactly” Araul said. “So, they wouldn’t have realized they were 30 feet in the air”

Sasha shivered as he looked at the sharp looking rocks at the bottom.

Araul put her foot confidently onto the snow, but soon realized how dangerous it was. The snow flattened beneath her feet, and trickled down the side of the slope.

“Be careful!” Araul yelled back.

“Yeah, I guessed that!” Sasha yelled back, who had seen the look on Araul’s face.

Finn and Sasha followed slowly, and they made their way along the ridge. Suddenly, the wind picked up, and the snow flew up in the air.

Araul screamed loudly. Suddenly, there was a rumble in the distance. As the snow cleared, Araul could see the effect of her scream.

“Never, ever underestimate the power of a girl’s scream” Finn said slowly.

“Shall we run?” Sasha said to his friends.

“Oh, yes lets” Araul smiled sweetly, and then she turned and ran.

The snow was fast, and was catching up.

It caught up, and they were swept up in a hurl of snow. Araul felt herself slipping off the edge of the ridge. She yelled out for Sasha or Finn, but there was no answer.

 

 

Araul opened her eyes, and saw whiteness.

Am I dead? She thought.

“Araul?” She heard Finn yell.

Obviously not.

 

Finn and Sasha rushed over to Araul.

“That must have been some screaming Araul” Finn laughed. “It knocked us off course!”

 

“What do we do now?” Araul asked. “What do you think, Sasha?”

Sasha was staring out across the now.

“What’s that?” He asked slowly.

In the distance, something glowing white moved slowly towards them.

“What is it?” Araul asked. “It’s so…beautiful”

Suddenly it came into focus. It was a white wolf.

Sasha’s eyes widened in amazement.

“Mother?” He said quietly.

The white wolf was close enough to see now. She nodded slowly. Araul had a weird tingling feeling, almost like she was connected to this beautiful animal.

The white wolf lifted her head, and howled. Araul suddenly joined in, as though hypnotized by the wolf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Araul stopped howling, and looked over her shoulder at Sasha.

“Am…I a wolf?” She asked him quietly.

“Yes. You are. Your parents…abandoned you as a pup. I believe that you are ¾ wolf” Sasha replied slowly.

“So, I’m more wolf than dog?” Araul asked Sasha.

“Yes” Sasha replied, sighing. “Didn’t you ever wonder why you are so much quicker and stronger (and intelligent) than the other dogs?”

Araul shook her head slowly, and said. “I always felt…” She stopped, as though thinking carefully about what to say. “…connected when I saw a wolf. I always felt so at home with you. I feel so free, out here, in the wild” She confessed, looking at the ground. “I always had…a feeling”

Sasha remained silent, as Finn looked astounded. Araul sighed, and turned back to the wolf. But she was gone.

 

 

 

Araul stood, looking out into the snow.

“Where’d she go?” Araul asked, looking around them.

She sniffed the ground and frowned.

“It’s like…she was never here” She frowned.

She sighed, and suddenly saw a raven fly high above them.

“A raven?” Sasha exclaimed. “At this time of year?”

“Come on!” Araul yelled, and she ran off.

“Where are you going?” Finn shouted.

“Follow it!” Araul yelled back.

Finn and Sasha swapped puzzled expressions, and ran after Araul.

Araul glanced up at the raven, which was swirling in and out of a gathering white mist. The raven cawed loudly, and cackled a bit, and then stopped in mid-flight, hovering high above Araul’s head. Araul screeched to a halt, and was amazed at what she saw.

“Hey, guys, look at this!” She called back to Finn and Sasha, who eventually appeared beside her.

In front of them was a huge river, currents rushing.

“What does it want me to do?” Araul muttered to herself.

“Who?” Finn asked.

“The raven” Araul said hesitantly.

“Araul, that’s ridiculous. It’s a raven” Sasha said.

Araul ignored his comment, as she climbed on a small snowy hill at the edge of the river. Sasha and Finn followed her.

“What exactly are you looking for?” Sasha asked Araul, who jumped up to the top and looked up into the air.

“Where’d he go?” Araul muttered again, ignoring Sasha’s comment again.

Suddenly there was a creak, a crumble, a crumbling. The snow hill jerked violently. Araul looked down at her feet, and shifted the snow with her foot. Below she saw ice.

“Err…guys” Araul quivered. “This isn’t a hill”

Sasha looked puzzled as he climbed up next to Araul. Finn followed.

The ‘snow hill’ broke off the bank of the river, and moved dangerously nearer to the rapids.

“It’s an iceberg” Araul confessed. “Guys, stand really still”

Finn moved around slowly. Suddenly, he slipped down the slope, and moved threateningly towards the edge.

“Finn!” Araul screamed.

The ice beneath his feet slipped, and it cracked. The small segment that Finn was now standing on broke off the large berg that Sasha and Araul were stood on.

“Finn!” Araul and Sasha cried in harmony.

Suddenly, Araul heard a crack, and saw a huge line appear from within the ice berg.

“Sasha, look out!” Araul cried, but it was too late.

Now, Sasha, Finn and Araul all had their own berg, and they were moving dangerously closer to the rapids. Araul, was quick thinking, looked all over for a solution but could see none.

“Look out for the rapids!” She yelled to Finn and Sasha, who were behind her on their separate floats.

Araul dug her claws into her iceberg, and closed her eyes. She was suddenly sprayed with water, leaving her white fur drenched in icy water. She opened her eyes. To her surprise, she slid sideways down her sloped float, and flew off the edge.

“Araul!” She heard Finn and Sasha’s harmonized cries before she hit the water.

Underneath the water, it was silent. She was underneath the rapids, and had no control of where she went. Trying to avoid rocks, she allowed the water to carry her along as she attempted to reach the surface. She reached the light, and gasped oxygen in. She desperately paddled to the huge iceberg, and gripped the surface. She yanked her body up gingerly, still in shock from the water, and feeling feeble. She climbed slowly back up to the top of the berg, and gasped.

“What?” Sasha asked. “What?”

“Err…it depends how you feel about water falls” Araul confessed.

She was really

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