DAKOTA © KILLERBANKOTSU & CATWHOHAS14TAILS


    It narrowed down to a tie-breaker between two teams. It was a short race around the entire city and whoever won this, won a grand prize. Dakota did not care what the prize was. He just wanted to win. Leading the team was a large red and brown dog who looked a lot like Dakota himself, only older. He called himself Mitya. Dakota was second in line from Mitya, pushing himself as fast as he could go. His chest was heaving, his legs were sore, and his tongue was lolling out of his mouth, which was dry. He didn't dare give up.

    They were getting closer to the team in front of them and were slowly but surely passing them up. Filat, the musher, yelled commands as loud as he could, pushing the sled from behind with his thick legs. At this point, the finish line was in site, and both teams ran faster and faster until they were neck and neck.

    The rivaling musher, who was pushing the sled like Filat, was now beginning to tire, and once he hopped back onto his sled, his team did not go as fast. By that turn of events, Dakota's team crossed the finish line an entire dog ahead of the other team. The crowd cheered loudly, rooting for the winning team. Some even booed them, who were obviously fans of the team that lost.

    Dakota's team slowed to a stop, thrilled that they won. Dakota didn't really care if they won or not, he just couldn't wait to actually stay in one place for once. Filat planned on staying in this town for a short while. After Filat shook hands with the winner of the race (Filat was a courteous man) collected his prize, and put the dogs in a barn nearby where all of the other race dogs that were staying in town were kept. The ones that weren't staying ran to the next town and were more than likely boarding a train.

    The hybrid walked into the barn and rested near his team. He greeted his teammates, all saying they did a good job, and took a spot opposite Mitya. As soon as he lay his head down, he was interrupted by an older, almost throaty voice.

    "That was some pretty nice racing you did out there."

    Dakota opened his blue and gold eyes to an old grey-nosed malamute speaking to Mitya. The malamute was male, and had light grey and dark grey fur, with black fur masking his entire face, not including his muzzle. The malamute looked like he was part wolf due to his eyes glowing bright yellow.

    "It wasn't just me," Mitya corrected. "It was a team effort." He smiled kindly at the old malamute to show no offense to his compliment.

    "Ah yes, it definitely would not be quite the win without the rest of you." He said nodding towards the others, including Dakota, who just made a tiny frown towards the old coot, who just smirked mockingly in return. "Say, this is my last year racing and I've found it rather dull, especially since I'm being forced to stay here. And I was just wondering if you guys would like to take up something I'm offering to spice things up."

    "What are you getting at, old man?" Mitya asked, sitting up to get a better look at him.

    "How about you all and...say, a few members from the other remaining teams, all have an individual, every dog for himself, race?" he paused. "No rules, just brains, brawn, and speed."

    Mitya started turning away, saying "I don't--"

    "And what's in it for us?" Dakota asked, obviously interested in this little game.

    The old malamute grinned and said to follow him. Dakota and Mitya followed, but the rest of the team wanted nothing to do with it. "Look out there." said the malamute, referring to the hole in the closed door. "See the human vehicle with the cage exposed in the back?" The two teammates did. "Look inside of the cage."

    Dakota squinted his eyes, trying to see better in the dark. There was an individual lantern lighting things up a bit, but Dakota could still barely see through the mist of the slight rainfall. But what he could see inside the cage, was a pretty, delicate, familiar red husky. Wait a second...that was Kiona in the cage! What was his sister doing here!? Dakota asked himself. He was concerned about his sister being locked up, but didn't dare let his facial expression change.

    "That, my friends, will be your prize. Quite the catch, eh?" The malamute snickered. Dakota refrained himself from attacking the old bastard.

    "Elaborate on 'prize'." Mitya said, sounding like the idea disgusted him.

    "Either of you win this race, the pretty female is yours, and you can do whatever you want with her." The malamute raised a suggestive brow. "You could...eat her, or otherwise..."

    "Forget it." Mitya spat, walking away. Dakota stayed.

    "So..." he started. "What makes this...female ours to take?"

    "Haha, I knew you'd be interested, pup. My master owns that vehicle, and he was going to take her to a town a few days south of here. He's selling her to a man down there. And...she's quite the escapee. So she will be loose...and all to whoever gets to her first." He explained.

    Dakota cursed to himself in his head, but then smiled at the malamute. "All right, old man. I'm in."

    "Great." he grinned. "By the way, the name's Adolph." He started walking to the back of the barn where his team probably was. "Meet on the south side of town at dawn."

    The young hybrid's smile melted away quickly into an angry scowl. He made his way back to his team and lay down again.

    "I can't believe you're going to run in that godforsaken race, kid." Mitya scoffed. "Have you lost your mind?"

    "Look," Dakota whispered after making sure no one else could hear. "That dog in the cage is my sister, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get her out of there."

    The older dog shook his head. "You're mad." And fell asleep. Dakota guessed he probably was crazy, but that wouldn't stop him from freeing his sister from the clutches of the other dogs racing.

~~~

    Only three hours of sleep and Dakota was still up before dawn. He wanted to talk to his sister before the others got to her, but when he went outside, the vehicle was no longer there. "The man must've left last night." Dakota thought to himself. About a minute later, about five more dogs emerged from the barn, grinning and excited about the race. He was disgusted with them already, and judging by their snickering he could tell how they were more than likely going to race.

    He watched his contenders. Most of them were bigger than he was. One was an off-white malamute, with mud-stained, mane-like fur and dark brown eyes, who called himself Leonti. Dakota found him a bit on the dumb side, but he has been wrong before. Another was a mix between a husky and some kind of other dog Dakota didn't recognize, but he was well-built and his fur was black, blonde, and white with dark blue eyes; he called himself Cobalt. He reminded him of a dog he knew back at his first home named Steele. He even looked as unsuitably self-confident as Steele. The other two were pure-bred huskies, the first one red and white named Benjamin (who looked awfully family to Dakota) and the second one was grey and white named Julius. The name definitely suited him, judging by his size. The last dog was an odd-looking one. It was a mix between a chowchow and some kind of cattle dog. It had long, brown, black-striped fur. His name was Tyee.

    All competing dogs, including Dakota, stood on the outside of town, where Adolph appeared soon before. He explained the rules, which consisted soley of "anything goes." He gave the directions of the race and where it ended. If any of the dogs looked at each other, it was only a menacing glance to not get in their way. Dakota looked at no one and concentrated on his destination. Adolph gave the command to go, and all six dogs ran as fast as they could. Dakota wasn't leading because he wasn't pushing himself too hard. He needed to reserve his strength for the rest of the race because it was going to be a few days before he got to Kiona, but he still made sure he stayed on the tails of the other competitors.

    They all ran in a group until past the first nightfall. The six of them were exhausted and ran all day, never once stopped. Night fell for about an hour before the majority of the group decided to rest. Dakota, Tyee, Cobalt, and Benjamin all stayed behind, while Julius and Leonti kept running.

    "It's pretty dangerous to wander around in the dark out there, you lunatics!" Benjamin called to them before laughing to himself. He lay on the ground by the rest of them. "This race sure is going to be fruitful." He smirked to himself. "So, what are your guys' stories?" he asked.

    "Heh, all I'm really interested in is winning over that little cutie that Adolph character showed me." said Cobalt. "After my mate died, I've been looking for another one. None will ever be the same as her, but hey, it'll contribute to my loneliness." He chuckled, trying not to get emotional. Everyone nodded; Dakota showed no expression. "What about you,