ALEU'S RETURN (PART 1- SHE MEETS KOTAN)

Balto, Aleu, Niju, and Aniu are property of Universal Studios. I do not own them. Kotan, Hanya, and Highway are my special charries. NO TAKIE!

It had been nearly a year since Balto let Aleu go. It had been a very hard year for the two. Aleu was patrolling the border of her pack, and she meets a brave full-wolf named Kotan. They grow close, and something besides just friendship is budding between the two. THIS IS BOOK I in a ten-book series. THIS IS ALEU'S RETURN- SHE MEETS KOTAN

Chapter 1: The Memory's Touch

Aleu had her pack at attention just as dawn rose on an uncharted island's soft beaches. The water reflected the colors of the sun and sky. The wind sent the first leaves of spring falling off the trees to prepare for Winter. A chilly fall air nipped at the leader's nose and ears. All of the pack stood at organized attention as the sun rose ever higher into the sky. Aleu gave a howl, announcing the pack meeting was officially started. The last of the wolves filed onto the prarie. Each wolf, one by one, bowed. Aleu smiled, and said softly, "No need to bow." They lifted their heads.

Aleu spoke with her soft voice, "Today is officially the day of the Pups' First Hunt. We hope everybody has a great time today. Every mother must assist their own child, and if the herd gets away, we team up as one. That's where I come in. If the deer are scared off, I herd them back. I am doing this to see which dogs need help in teamwork, and I am also saying this because well, there is an extremely large herd with many deer. But that will be later. Relax now, and Second In Command Hanya? Watch them, I'm going down to the beach for some time alone." Lowering her head she trotted up to the beach. She lay down besides the water, memories coming to mind. Her father Balto and her mother Jenna, were they ok? Laying back her ears, she stared into her reflection. She saw Balto looking back at her. Sighing, she sadly splashed the reflection away. Tears came to her eyes. How was her family? She didn't know at all. She put her head on her paws and sighed heavily, the sand swirling into the air at the touch of her breath. She closed her eyes. The sand drifted, and twirled, heading across the ocean toward her old home. Aleu got up, shook herself, and stared into her reflection again. Her father winked, and then her own reflection returned. Blinking, Aleu stared into the water so closely her nose touched it. Sneezing, she pulled her head back. I must be seeing things... she thought to herself. She knew that she had just been touched by memories of Father, and Mother, and Brother, and herself. She remembered Kodi and her being the last ones in the adoption box. Her eyelids fluttered closed for a second as the wind ruffled her greyish peltage. Standing up, she trotted back to the pack. She came out beside Hanya, and sat down. "Managing the pack is sure a hard job." commented Hanya. Aleu laughed, sniffling back some tears from earlier. "Isn't that the truth. And I lead the pack, so it's harder than your job." As she spoke, Aleu looked down at Hanya, who was her younger friend.

"Hanya, you do like your home here, and your job here, right? Do you ever want to go back, to your family in Nome? Cuz sometimes I do, and I wantto return to my family and my father Balto." Hanya was just like Aleu. She had found her destiny in the hands of faith and in the confidence of a pack. But she had joined just a day before they had crossed the ice chunk bridge with Aleu in the lead. Hanya knew her destiny always lay in the hands of the pack, but she had to tell what she was really thinking.

"Yes, I want to go back sometimes. Ma would be so happy. Fa would be overjoyed and I would be back in the sled team I was in so many years ago. but this is my home, and it always will be. This is my destiny, and I know you would say the same." Hanya trotted off toward the resting pack. Aleu howled an announcement. "In a few minutes, the Pups' First Hunt is to begin. Prepare yourselves, you should have saved a few scraps of food from yesterday like I had instructed, for you need them for strength on the hunt. Only sharing is done between the mother and her pup or pups, not among other families." And so, Aleu led them down to Deer Meadow, where game was plentiful.

Chapter 2: The Hunt

Aleu led her large pack across the fields, toward the less-used entrance of Deer Meadow just along it's perimiters. Aleu tilted her head toward a long array of bushes just big enough to hide every pack member. The pups had seen their mothers hunt before, but this was the time they would actually help their mothers bring down a kill. Each and every pup was excited for this first hunt, and so, every pup was in ready posistion. Aleu gave the signal to the second-in-command Hanya and Hanya processed the signal to the pack. Instantly, they burst into lazy lopes. The lead buck reared, and the pounded his hooves down. He kicked out. Aleu, seeing he was a hazard to the pups, used advanced techniques to bring the stag down. eating a little bit off it to last her for another half-day. She then noticed the herd was getting away. Snarling, she lept forward with Hanya, and Aleu and her friend herded the deer back into the waiting jaws of mothers and pups. Aleu gave a triumphant howl, as they caught enough for a week or two. The rest of the herd was allowed to scamper off.

Aleu stepped slowly across the grass. She smiled down at a young pup that bounded to her side. She nudged him. "Did you make a catch, Pedro?" The young pup laughed, and frisked about at Aleu's paws. "I made a catch! A whole fawn!" Aleu chuckled, and growled playfully. "Good for you, Pedro. Go on to your mother, and you guys can eat it together." She pushed the pup back toward his mother. Aleu then stood tall on Leader's Rock, that no wolf dared to step upon unless he was leader or heir. Aleu stepped up, proudly calling a meeting. "I hope everyone had a wonderful time this hunt. We will travel down to the river after everyone has finished. Then we must go to our Summer dens. Spring is just ending now." Aleu stood proudly as the sun rose in the sky, higher than before. It was almost two o' clock now. Aleu watched over her pack, and said to her friend Hanya, "You lead them for a bit. I'll go check out the borders for intruders." With that, Aleu trotted off toward the peremiter of the terra.

Aleu watched the waves ripple as she crossed the beach, toward the border. She padded lightly across the sandy beach, her ears perked and listening. It was quiet. Not a thing stirred. But yet, it was much too quiet. Aleu sat down, keeping herself alert. She stood back up, and paced back and forth just on the border. "I must keep my eye on the border... Just yesterday Hanya reported a new pack trying to raid us, but then they turned and left. I don't want that to happen again.

Soon she saw a dark, wolf-like shape moving just beyond the trees. Laying back her ears, she gave a deep, leader growl. "Who goes there?" she growled into the forestry. The shape just stirred, and growled back, seeming to ready itself to pounce. Aleu snarled right back, and prepared to dodge the animal's attack.

Chapter 3: An Intruder Or A Friend?

She growled and sweeped her side over so the pouncing wolf missed her and rammed his nose into the ground. "You have come too far. For outsiders who come too far into my terra, there will be much conflict." He growled right back at her. "I'm Kotan. And I'm only passing through. My mother died in the terra beyond this one." He lowered his head, and Aleu saw a scar across his eye, the scar that marks the host with a spirit of battle. Aleu drew back, recognizing that scar. She gave a low growl. "And just who's pack have you come from?" Kotan watched her with eyes of burning fire. "I'm telling you. I'm. A. Wanderer. Is that good enough for you?" Aleu growled at him. "Where did you get that scar?" she challenged with her voice. Kotan's nose formed into a snarl, then lowered as a tear dropped down. "A dark wolf attacked me, the same one who killed my mother." He tried to bound away, but Aleu turned and blocked him. "Just who do you think you are? I don't believe you."

"Look, I don't have time for this." spoke the wolf calmly. Aleu, noting no anger or desire to attack in Kotan's eyes, perked her ears. "I'm Aleu. I am leader of this here pack." She lowered her head and growled. "So where did that scar come from again? It's the Scar Of Darkness."

Kotan snarled right back, and rose his head proudly. "No, but it shows how strong I am. I got this scar from a battle with the leader of another pack. It's no Scar Of Darkness. You gotta trust me on this one. So this is your terra? It's wonderful." he said, trotting forward looking around. Aleu sighed, and bounded after him. He seemed no longer a threat. She smiled at him. "Yep. And it's all mine, all mine. Every blade of grass past the beach border is my friend's and mine. See, I haven't really met another alpha yet, so my friend, Second In Command Hanya, helps me rule." She stopped at the other border, and grinned. "Is this the pack you need to visit?" she asked, looking into the barren terra. It seemed dreary, and grey. Everything was dead. She looked in on the terra. It seemed that when the leader's life had passed, the plants and everything passed as well, everything except the wolves. Kotan looked on. "Oh no... I might be too late..." He looked back at her, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, kind Aleu. I