Nome, 1926

Three Huskies, Ambyr, Blitz, and Haywire, happily walked beside each other as they traveled down the snow-covered roadway. They talked and laughed together as if without a care in the world.

“Hahahaha!! Did you see those alley cats scurry around like mice?” Haywire said. “It was priceless!!”

Blitz laughed. “I thought it was funny how they couldn’t think of anything meaner to say to you than ‘You’re an idiot.’”

“Yeah,” Ambyr said with a smile. “I can think up a million!!”

Haywire turned to her. “...Hey!!” They all started laughing again, even Haywire. They walked up to a deck lined with doors that led into the various shops.

“I wonder how many cats it takes to fill up a water bowl,” Haywire ventured.

Ambyr smirked. “...The same amount of Haywires?”

Blitz brought his pointer finger up at Haywire with his thumb pointing up, like a gun. “BANG!!” he laughed. “Shot down again!! Would you like to try that one more time?”

Haywire clutched his chest with his paw and choked. “Ugh!! Aaah!! The terrible and cruel Ambyr strikes again! How incredibly heartless!”

Ambyr smiled at him. “Why, thank you.” Haywire continued to limp forward, with his eyes closed, tongue sticking out, and a paw still on top of his chest.

When a human opened a door, walking out of one of the stores, Blitz and Ambyr easily stepped out of the way, but Haywire still wasn’t looking where he was going. With a CRASH, he collided with the open door, slamming it shut. He took a step back, dazed.

Ambyr and Blitz burst out laughing. They couldn’t help themselves as they strode over to Haywire, slapping him on the back.

“That was extremely smart!!”

Ambyr chuckled. “This is totally Haywire.”

Haywire shook his head around. He looked at them, confused. “Eh? What? Did you two say something?”

“Come on,” Blitz said. “It’s almost nightfall. Let’s get out of here before he hurts himself again.”

They ushered Haywire forward, who was still a bit dazed, and led him back over to their boiler room. Once they got there, Ambyr and Blitz shook themselves off. Blitz looked up at the doorway and sighed at the sight of water slipping through the door.

“The boiler room got warm again...the snow on the roof’s melting.”

Ambyr looked up. “Yeah, no kidding. Hey, Haywire, you better watch your –“

She was cut short when Haywire cam blundering into the room. He stumbled through the door, and began staggering into the room.

“Haywire, wait! Don’t you see the –“

A horrible squeaking noise pierced throughout the room from under Haywire’s paws. His legs lurched forward, and his body came flopping down to the ground. His head lay on the floor while the other half of his body still stuck up in the air. He waved his tail around in surrender. “Oooohh...it HAS to be me, doesn’t it?”

Ambyr and Blitz rushed to his side and helped him up. As soon as they were sure he was okay, a wide and unstable smile spread across their faces. In another instant, the smile transformed into a bellowing laugh, and they fell to the ground, pounding it with their paws.

Haywire gave them an odd look. “What’s so funny?”

Ambyr got up and wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh...we’re sorry, Haywire. It’s just that everything around you has been going...” She thought for a second, trying to find the right word.

“Haywire!!” Blitz chimed in. The two started laughing again as they each took their individual corners of the boiler room. They made an effort to stop laughing as they lay themselves down.

“Do I really look that clumsy?” Haywire asked, moving over to his side.

Ambyr closed her eyes and smiled. “It’s who you are, Haywire.”

Haywire uneasily lay down and sighed. “But does it make me look...you know...stupid?”

“Of course not,” Ambyr replied carelessly. She yawned and lay her head down on her paws. Before long, her gentle breathing was all the sound she made.

Haywire then turned to Blitz. “How about you, Blitz? Do you think I act stupid?”

Blitz was silent.

“Blitz? BLITZ!!” He hissed. Blitz still remained motionless, his back to Haywire, and his chest heaving in and out.

Haywire sighed again and lay his head down. Normally, these things wouldn’t trouble him in the past, but he suddenly began to wonder if it really was time to start acting his age. He just didn’t want to reveal to Blitz the truth that he was, indeed, older than Ambyr. The more he thought about it, the more he thought the cat was right; he WAS an idiot. He tried desperately to shove the thoughts away. Why was something so small as this bothering him so much?

Of course he wasn’t an idiot. His friends didn’t think he was...or did they? He recalled how hard they laughed when he rammed into the open door, then at how he slipped in the doorway. Did they laugh at him because of his assonance? Or did they just think of him as, what humans would call, a clown?

Haywire gritted his teeth in irritation. He was tired of being this clown; this laughing stock that was only there to provide entertainment and amusement. How much more good would he be if he took himself seriously for a change?

He reconsidered himself. That’s it! If I start to act my age, everyone would look up to me for once. Like Ambyr. How the heck does she ever stay so focused? And what about Blitz? The little runt probably made more use of his life now than I ever would in THREE lifetimes!

Oh yes, he thought. It’s time for some changes. He had spent so much time thinking about it, that not a hint of sleep or rest ever came to him. With his plan in mind, he tried to get as much peace as he could, but something prodded at his brain. Something that, as much as Haywire tried to resist, couldn’t wait until morning. Frustrated, Haywire got up from his corner and strode over to Blitz’s sleeping body. He poked him a couple of times with his paw. When Blitz didn’t stir, he flicked one of his ears with his claws. Blitz rolled over, and groggily opened his eyes.

“Huh? Haywire what’re you doing?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

Haywire leaned in closer to him. “Blitz...do you think I’m an idiot?” he whispered.

Blitz just stared at him with unwavering eyes, speechless. After a couple of seconds, he blinked a few times, as if snapping from a trance. “Haywire...you wake me up in the middle of the night to ask one of the dumbest questions I’ve ever heard you say...Yes...you’re an idiot.” He fell back down to the floor, and instantly fell back asleep.

Haywire cocked his head, almost in disbelief. But realizing that he wasn’t all too surprised in the answer he got, he casually walked back to his corner. ...Uh-huh, big changes, indeed. He lay back down on the floor just as the orange embers in the heater were beginning to smolder and burn out. In the eerily comforting darkness, Haywire found his peace, and soon fell into a very awkward dream from which he thought he’d never wake up from.

It took Haywire a moment to realize where he was when he woke up. It was as if he were another dog – a much mature dog, which seemed to have grown up overnight. It was still a bit early. The auroras in the sky were just starting to fade away in turn for the bright sun that was about to start its morning ritual by peeking up from behind the mountains. Careful not to wake the others, he got up and shook himself off.

The first thing he thought of doing was running a few laps...just for practice. Suddenly, he remembered the great Iditarod race was next month. Mushers from around the world would come to compete, and there was no way some blunder of his was going to screw everything up. He also knew that Blitz was starting to train long and hard for this, so it only seemed right that he should do the same, since they will all be running on the same team anyway.

Feeling quite satisfied, he pulled open the door, and crept out. It would be better if he trained alone, just so that Blitz could have the track to himself when he needed it. He closed the door behind him, and then confidently started making his way.

Blitz had never seen a bigger steak in his life. It looked so juicy...so tender...so irresistibly delicious. As he bent over to pick it up in his mouth, and savor the taste of every second he could with it, a dull pain jabbed at his shoulder. Blitz felt himself being pulled away from the steak. Wait!! No!! STOP!! Don’t leave me!! Nooooooooooo!!! The steak dissolved into thin air, and a blurry picture of their familiar boiler room materialized in front of his eyes.

Someone was standing over him. For a second, Blitz thought it was Haywire again. Oh, no...what does he want NOW?

But it wasn’t Haywire; it was Ambyr. She looked down at him, a bit confused. “Hey, Blitz...do you have any idea where Haywire might be?”

Blitz groaned. “Why do you always have to know where everyone is?”

Ambyr thought for a moment, then she shrugged. “I just feel better if I do. Any ideas?”

Blitz groggily got up to his paws and rubbed his eyes. He yawned. “I dunno – he’s probably somewhere making a fool out of himself.”

“Why do you say that?”

Blitz yawned again. “Beats me...He awoke me in the middle of the night to ask me if he was an idiot. What the heck