the second container into it. He walked over to Lilith and held the spoon eyelevel to her and she quickly lapped it up.

“Good thing I saw your owners on the way, or I wouldn’t have known about this.”

When she finished, he placed all of his things back into his pack. He stepped back to the barn door and opened it before waving goodbye, telling where he’d be, and then shutting the door heavily.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

The moon by now had risen high into the evening sky, revealing it’s near complete whiteness, except for the faintest of slivers. A bitter wind rolled through the streets, chilling anyone brave enough to be out to the bone. A small dog shivered as she sat on a porch and stared at the stars. She wore a frown as she continued to debate to herself. Finally she walked back into the house and felt a wave of heat suddenly hit her, almost bringing tears to her eyes from a slight stinging. Even though there was a warm fire crackling in the hearth, it only seemed to dampen the mood that she felt. She saw a red and white dog staring into this fire, and she coughed quietly, catching the dogs attention. She walked over to this dog and looked at the clock briefly, catching the time of Six. She tried to distract herself before she spoke by admiring the way her black and white fur seemed to swirl together on her front shoulders. Finally, she drew enough courage to speak.

“Aunt Jenna? Can I show you something.. really cool?” She shuffled uneasily in her place.

Jenna was only happy to oblige, “Sure thing Becca. What is it that you want to show me?”

Becca bit her lip unintentionally, but stopped when she realized, “Well, it’s a surprise, I have to lead you there so you can see it.”

Jenna thought for a moment, it couldn’t be that bad, it was just like a little game that she remembered her own pups doing, and it did feel good to feel needed again, even if it was just for pleasure.

She nodded, “Alright then.” 

She rose from her basket and started for the front door before she heard a shout from behind her.

“Wait!” Becca suddenly realized that she made a mistake and shut her mouth and though quickly. She saw Jenna’s leash dangling from a window seat. She walked over it and looked at Jenna. “We should use this, that way I can lead you and so I know you won’t see.”

Jenna cocked her head. She had to admit this was a bit eccentric, but what could you expect from a pup?

“Well, alright I guess. I haven’t worn that in such a long time, so we’ll have to see if it still fits,” she smiled.

Becca returned the gesture as best as she could before Jenna slipped her head through noose of the leash, and Becca tightened it so it fit snugly. Becca took the other end of the leash and led Jenna through the pet flap. Jenna promised to keep her eyes closed and Becca tried not to show her guilt as the moon continued to look down and the wind ominously blew across the street.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Lilith had been trying not to nod off for an hour now. She still had that feeling that someone was watching her. Most likely, one of the dogs was only pretending to sleep. She could hear that one of their breaths was not as shallow and soft as the others, or maybe that was her own, she couldn’t tell anymore. She lowered her ears to try and make any of the others think that she was asleep, and she tried to calm her own breathing, but she still listened intently. Finally after a few moments, she felt a little more at ease as the quick breathing had faded away. She rose as slowly as she could, her body still stiff from her previous position. She heard a bone crack, and she suddenly stopped. She frantically looked over each dog, and continued her ascent and she saw no suspicious movements. She turned herself around at a slowness that seemed grueling to her. She inched herself towards the hole in the barn, and made sure to watch her footing when she almost knocked over a barrel. She finally made it out of the barn, and now she could breath easier.

Lilith walked down the lane, keeping an eye out for any movement. As she gazed at the moon, she felt a sudden pricking on the back of her neck. She knew that feeling anywhere… Someone was watching her again. But she was going to try and stay calm. She knew that if she displayed her feelings, it would only make things much worse for her. So despite her fears, she pushed on, trying to hold her composure. She saw the sign from earlier, and this house that spelled sanctuary for her. She looked over her shoulder and then up and down the street. Spying no one, she walked into the building.

“Ah Sister! I’m glad you could make it!” called a voice that made her feel at home.

“Oh Burt! It was so horrible to be away for so long!” she said, nearly crying.

“And what about me Lilith? Have you forgotten about me?”

Her features hardened slightly as she heard this second voice. She stepped back from Burt and sat down.

“How could I forget about you Hal? You’re humor is always so nice to hear,” she smiled slightly, forcing cheeriness into it.

Burt sensed the tension between the two and tried to quickly change the subject.

“Alright… so now that you have returned Sister, what news do you bear? Anything of importance?”

She nodded her head. “Yes. I was taken on the sled team back to Nome because of our guest, and there I met our brother. He told me that he’s already set his plans into motion there, but he didn’t give me much instruction for what we should do here. I think he only wants us to try and get Star to our side, just like he is trying with the other sled dog he has captive.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be hard with a little… persuasion,” Hal chortled as he hopped from his chair and flashed his white teeth.

“We have to be craftier though. I don’t think brute force alone will be enough to successfully turn one against his own teammates.”

Hal stared at Burt for a moment before rolling his eyes, “You always have to play it safe, don’t you? What’s the harm in a little fun?”

“All in good time, all in good time. We just have to be more strategic about this. You can have your fun later.”

Hal huffed impatiently and then there was silence, more of an awkward pause.

“…Well, how’ll we do this then?” Lilith asked, trying to start conversation anew.

“Hm, how about we first ask him if he’ll join us, just to give him an option. Then we’ll-” Burt suddenly cut off mid-sentence, perking his ears up.

The others had heard it too. Breathing that wasn’t theirs, there was a crunch of snow, and also smells that didn’t belong to them. Burt nodded at Hal and Lilith, and they both began to do a search out of each window. Burt leaned his head near the open hole that they used for their entrance, and frowned. He silently padded to the others and whispered something into their ears. He covered his mouth with his paw as he gave a small indication of where to go. One by one they walked up a creaky flight of stairs. They had moved Star to an upper room just in case. Burt started to talk again, making sure that he could be heard.

“So, as you pointed out, that won’t do at all. I say we brainstorm.”

Hal opened the door and held it open as Burt and Lilith filed in, and then walked in also before slamming the door shut with a kick. And just as they had expected, they heard multiple footsteps entering the house. They saw Star sprawled out on the floor with a patchy blanket underneath him. Burt poked Star and saw the dog nearly fly into the air. And as soon as he opened his mouth, Burt had already shut it again, shaking his head in a disapproving manner. They listened closely as they heard footfalls inching up the staircase and towards them.

“To the office,” Burt whispered in a hushed tone.

He walked Star over to the window and motioned Hal and Lilith over as well. They carefully opened up the window, not letting any sounds escape. Star now heard the sounds and looked like he was about ready to say something.

“Don’t say a thing,” he hissed, “if they hear you, or us, they’ll kill us all. And I’m not joking either.”

Star now looked even more frightened, and he took a huge gulp, but didn’t say a word. After the window had finally opened, Burt led Star onto the window’s edge and looked to his left. There was a stack of crates, barrels, and other things that made a staircase of sorts to the roof. Burt had done this multiple times, but never leading someone like this. A few times, Star almost fell off, but Burt was able to hold him in time. Lilith was the most reluctant, for she also had a slight fear of heights, but she too made it to the top, after shutting the window back down tight of course. Burt looked across the rooftops and saw the way they sparkled as the moon shown off the snow. He didn’t see any other dogs on any roofs, so he breathed a sigh of relief. The roof they were on was in the middle of two telegraph poles, so the wire hung down the lowest here. Hal walked over to the wire and saw a frozen patch hanging on it and smiled, admiring their handiwork Burt walked to the edge of the roof with which he knew the Telegraph Office was closest to. He looked down into the alley below between this house and the next and frowned once more. There were dogs patrolling down there. He turned to Star, seeing him in no condition to jump, or really run for that matter. He walked up to him and kept a straight face.

“Hop onto