Balto: A New Life

By LoneWolf_fanwriter

This story is my original work. Please do not alter, copy, or reproduce this piece without my explicit permission.

*Balto, Jenna, Steele, Muk, Luk, Kaltag, Star, Nikki, Boris, Rosie, Dixie, Sylvie, Aniu and all other Balto I characters are the property of Universal Pictures.

*INSPIRED BY HYAKU-LEGGER’S 4 CHAPTER BALTO SERIES ON BALTOSOURCE.TIMDURU.ORG

Chapter One

The crescent moon shone down bright on the small town of Nome, Alaska in the year 1925. Soon, lights began to flick off as the town’s residents turned in for the night. Soon, the only light came from a beached freighter, long since abandoned by its crew. Inside, a small fire burned in the galley, its light reflected on the sleeping occupants. Boris Gosinov, a Russian goose, slept against his two polar bear “nephews,” Muk and Luk.

On the other side of the fire, a grayish-brown furred canine lay awake, staring at the fire. His name was Balto. Born a hybrid of a wolf mother and husky father, Balto had once been ashamed of his heritage. Everything changed after he found the lost sled team and brought back the desperately-needed antitoxin. He sighed; it had all happened so fast. First the humans of Nome wanted to stone me for even coming near them, and now they say I’m a hero. He shook his head. Then, a thought struck him. Filled with new determination, Balto rose to his paws and left his home to head into Nome. As he walked the snow-covered ground, his mind was filled with recurring thoughts, about a special person. I wonder, he thought, if she really…no, that would be too good to be true. Nearing Nome, he thought of what he might say. While he was still deciding, he realized where his paws had carried him. He stood before a small house on the edge of town. Once again, he tried to think of an appropriate greeting, but gave up with a groan and scratched on the door. After a moment of waiting, he scratched again, but still no one came. As he turned to leave, though, he heard four small paws on the floor inside. A moment later, a brick red and white husky crept through the small door fitted in the larger human one. Her lavender eyes shone in the moonlight, her name was…

“Jenna!”

“Balto, hi!”

“Would you like to go for a walk on the beach?” Balto said hesitantly. Jenna nodded.

“Could we take a small detour first?”

“Um, sure, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” Jenna turned and led Balto into town, stopping at the boiler room door. “Oh! It’s locked!” Balto stepped forward and put his ear against the door. He smiled at Jenna and said,

“I have the keys to the city.” He raised his paw and lifted the bolt out to the top hinge. After doing the same to the bottom hinge, he pushed the door and held it open. “After you…” Jenna smiled back and walked inside. She stood by the boiler and waited for Balto to follow her.

“So, what’s this big surprise?” Balto said as he stretched out on the wood floor. Jenna smiled bashfully.

“There is no surprise, Balto,” she admitted, “I just wanted to talk.” Balto’s ears perked up and he smiled.

“Why didn’t you say so? I’ve wanted to do the same thing.” He lay down and Jenna followed suite.

“It’s about a few things. First, I wanted to thank you for saving my Rosie.”

“I’ve got you to thank for that,” Balto replied, “All that kept me going was the thought of seeing you again.” Jenna blushed.

“Steele didn’t seem too happy last night at the party,” she said.

“I’d like to think it wasn’t my fault,” Balto added, “But I’m sure he’s real mad at me. But then again, no one would be happy if they were just banished.”

“Well, he’s got no reason to be angry,” Jenna replied, “You were trying to save the children, but all Steele wanted was the glory. I ‘m glad he was caught for the lying arrogant airhead he is.”

“Still, I think I should make amends with him; you know, start over.” Jenna nodded silently. She looked into the fiery boiler for a moment before turning to Balto and saying,

“Balto, there’s probably one other reason he’s angry…”

“What’s that?”

“Because,” she said, moving closer until their noses touched, “instead of liking him, I’ve fallen in love with you.” She kissed him gently on the cheek and looked back into his eyes. Then, the last space between their lips vanished and they kissed. For a long moment the two stayed as they were, close, warm and deeply in love. Jenna smiled again as their lips parted and said, “Are we still going for that walk on the beach?”

“Of course.” Soon, Balto and Jenna were walking down the dirt trail towards the ocean. As they padded across the sand, neither really cared where they were going. The two eventually sat together and stretched out to let the cool ocean water lap at their paws. Balto gazed into the night sky.

“The moon’s out tonight.” Jenna followed his gaze.

“Oh Balto, I’ve never seen it shine so bright. It’s so beautiful.”

“Just like the beauty who’s watching it.” Jenna turned to see Balto looking at her. He turned away, slightly embarrassed.

“Sorry, Jenna; I didn’t mean to stare. I-”

“Balto?” she interrupted.

“Yes?”

“Would you kiss me again?”

Much later, the two padded back into Nome, smiling and laughing. They reached Jenna’s home and stood facing each other; each gazing into the other’s eyes. Finally, Jenna said,

“Balto ?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.” Balto was almost too overcome with happiness to speak, but he managed,

“I-I love you too, Jenna.” Jenna kissed him once on the cheek and smiled, disappearing inside. Balto turned and walked through the empty streets almost in a daze. I finally know what love is… He smiled and thought of what had happened just a few minutes before. These thoughts stayed with him until he reached his boat and lay down by the fire. His golden eyes closed and he dreamt of Jenna.

The morning sun felt warm on Jenna’s fur as she padded through the snow. Avoiding the boiler room, she crept out of town and then sped toward Balto’s boat. She had awoken to his scent on the breeze, but when she had looked out Rosie’s window no one was around. So she had crept past her sleeping humans and out the front door. Now, as she reached the beached freighter that was Balto’s home, a quick sniff told her that he was not around. Disappointed, Jenna turned to go, but then she imagined she heard voices from the woods and decided to follow them. Not far into the forest, she heard Balto’s clear, deep voice, but as she drew closer to the source, another voice caught her attention. She had barely noticed it at first, but now it was unmistakably clear to her; some one else was with Balto. Who could Balto be talking to out here? She wondered. As she continued trotting along, she spied Balto in a clearing up ahead. She quickly hid behind a tree, then looked out again…and got the surprise of her life. Balto stood in the middle of the clearing, speaking clearly and with confidence, but it was who he was talking with that caught Jenna’s attention. In front of him, hovering in midair was the head and chest of a beautiful white female wolf. This shocked her so that she stepped out into the clearing, muzzle open, in plain view, but still well behind Balto. Still unaware of Jenna’s presence, Balto continued his conversation with his mysterious guest.

“You wouldn’t believe it, mother. I had the most incredible time last night. Jenna said she loves me! I’ve never been happier in my life!”

“That’s wonderful, Balto!” The white wolf smiled at him. Then she noticed Jenna watching and realized who she was. The white wolf smiled, and then tuned back to Balto, who hadn’t seen her do this. “So tell me, Balto, what does Jenna look like? Is she nice?”

“Oh, she’s the most beautiful husky in town. She has brick-red and white colored fur and she’s very kind…” He paused and smiled as he recalled last night’s events. “…and gentle.” His thoughts centered on the kiss she’d given him. The white wolf smiled again, as if reading his mind, and smiled at Jenna once more before saying,

“Good luck, my son.”

With that, she disappeared.

Jenna dove back behind the tree and waited, still confused by what she had just seen. These thoughts were quickly swept from her mind when she heard Balto approaching. She grinned as he passed by, unaware. “Surprise!” Jenna leapt out on top of Balto.

“AAAA-oomph!” Balto cried as Jenna’s ambush knocked him to the ground. “What? Who? Oh, Jenna, it’s only you,” Balto gave a sigh of relief, “Boy, you sure gave me a shock! How did you find me out here?”

“I just followed the sound of your voice,” she replied.

“Have you ever been into the woods before?”

She shook her head. “Why?”

“There’s a friend of mine I’d like you to meet.” Balto stood, with Jenna still lying full length on top of him, and padded further into the forest. After a while, Jenna slid off his back and walked along side him, finally stopping at the base of a grand waterfall. Crystal clear water flowed down the shimmering stones into a pool of