what was happening. A shadow moved…inside the crystals. Aleu was confused until she saw that there was actually an opening, a small one, in the side of the formation. As she watched, a little head poked out, followed by a body. “Kamiisei,” it said. It was a male mouse, soft brown, with dark, glossy eyes that had both wisdom and energy. He smiled at her, and she spoke. “Can you speak this language?” “I can,” he replied. “Um…who are you?” Aleu asked. “I am Muru,” he said. His voice was light and vibrant. “May I ask who you are?” “My name is Aleu. I was just looking around. I’m staying with Nava’s pack.” “Ah, Nava. A kind wolf, indeed. He is very wise, but he still comes to me sometimes to learn something now and then. Do you know that ‘Nava’ means ‘gentle’ in Itera Ada? The name fits him very, very well. It was changed to ‘Navaim’, a noun that means ‘peace’, for Itera Rada, but Nava as a name lives on. Most names are Itera Ada words.” Aleu nodded and looked at the crystals. “How did you make those light up?” she asked. “Ah,” Muru said, seeming pleased with himself. “Look inside.” Aleu approached, and Muru went inside the crystals, speaking as Aleu approached. “I have discovered the secret of making a human craft.” Aleu looked in, and she saw Muru sitting there, next to… “Fire,” she said, astonished. “You can make fire?” “Yes. I learned. I watched humans doing it, and I memorized what they did.” He put small twigs on the fire rapidly; because the size of the fuel was small, the fire burned it up quickly. “My home is inside the rock,” he said. Aleu saw a small hole in the top of the rock, under the crystals, and she assumed it was partly hollow. Muru continued. “It is perfectly disguised. It is useful for me to be able to simply disappear into a place where no one will possibly know where I am. When someone comes to the cave that I can tell has ill intentions, I merely slip silently into the rock, and they cannot find me. They may enter the cave, oh yes, but they do not know where I have gone.” “Why would someone come for you?” “I am known for knowledge and wisdom, and many come to learn from me…but not all of them want what I know for what is good. Hence, I only tell the secret of my home to those I trust. You shall keep that secret, I hope?” “Definitely.” Muru walked back out onto the stone.

“So, you are staying with Nava’s pack? Where do you live?” “In Nome. It’s a town a long way from here.” “I see. And you have run away from home because of your father, and he has come after you, trying to bring you home.” Aleu was shocked. “How…how do you know that?” “Your father was in this cave when he came looking for you.” “He was? When?” “The day before he arrived at Nava’s pack.” “Wait…how could you have known he was my father?” “His and your emotions. I could feel a terrible pain in his soul, and I asked him why it was there. He was not aware of my presence, for it was dark, and he was half asleep, so he probably did not think anything of my voice. He said that he had made his daughter run away from home, and that he was grieving because of it. The pain you feel for doing that and his pain have a connection that I can sense; the nuances of them fit together like puzzle pieces.” “You sense emotions?” “I have learned the emotional empathy skills of the wolf elders, an ability which allows me to do just that. I am sure you already know that they use poetry and song to influence the emotions of others, even to an extent that physical effects occur?” “Yes. Nava made me fall asleep by saying one sentence when we first met.” “The elders have learned how to change the currents of emotion with speech and behavior. They can heal sadness, ease anger, evoke passion, and other such things. They pass a small amount of the ability on to their packs, allowing them to do these things with poems and songs, but with much smaller effect. It is a complicated skill, but the empathy is far easier than the influence.” “Well, it isn’t tough for me to know that he hurts. I can tell in his eyes and voice.” “Do you blame your father for the fact that you ran away?” “I blame him for doing the things he did that ended up making me. There was probably some other way out, but…I had spent too long living like that. I had to do something that was fast, and running away was the best option in those terms.” “Living like what? What did your father do that made you leave?” “It was just…he treated me like a little kid! He wouldn’t let me go out to places I wanted, he wouldn’t let me be friends with dogs I wanted, he wouldn’t let me do things I wanted…it drove me crazy! I was so sick of being fondled and stuff, while my brothers and sister could do so much that they wanted. I almost hated it! And I almost…almost hated him, too.” Muru shook his head. “Hating a father is an ill thing for a daughter to do, especially when you have one as loving as Balto. In case you wonder how I know your fathers’ name, Nava came to see me yesterday. Anyway, your father cares a great deal for you. But you know, he can see your ill thoughts about him in your eyes. I know because even I can see them, and I was able to tell how much he connects with you in his heart. I assure you now that every time he sees that, it breaks his heart again.” Aleu felt very guilty, and looked down. Muru spoke again. “Do you know what your father wants to see in your eyes? He wants to see how much you love him. And I can tell you do, just standing here.” Aleu nodded slowly. “I…I wish I hadn’t hurt him so much, Muru.” “I do not think you really meant it. Now then, he is somewhat hesitant to speak with you about what has gone on between you two. Be patient with him. He has a heavier burden than you can imagine. Good day, Aleu.” He extinguished the fire and went inside the rock. Aleu left the cave, hoping that somehow the things Muru had said would help her make up with Balto.

As the wolves were gathering for dinner, Aleu called Balto aside. “I’m going to need to talk with you after dinner, Dad.” Balto nodded. “Fine, honey, but what do you want to talk about?” “It’s…about why I ran away from home.” Balto became reluctant immediately, shying away from the very idea. “I, um…Aleu…” “Dad, it’s really important that we talk about it. We need to understand each other, and that won’t happen if we keep avoiding the subject.” She told him about Muru, and about how the mouse knew about their troubles without even talking about it with them. Balto was silent. Aleu pressed him again. “Isn’t that what you want? I want to understand you.” “I want the same, Aleu, but…I don’t know, it’s…” He sighed. “Okay, we’ll talk about it after dinner.” Aleu smiled. “I know it’s for the best, Dad.” She ran off to find Camyar, and Balto headed for the area where the wolves were congregating for dinner.

As Aleu searched for Camyar, she became aware of a loud, frantic call. It seemed to be coming from one of the sentries… Aleu sprinted toward the sound, wondering if she could possibly do something to help if there was a problem. Suddenly, she heard a rumbling sound, like several sets of running feet, but she barely had time to react; the unconscious body of the sentry that had been calling fell across a snowdrift, and behind him came well over a dozen Shamydu warriors, with Niju in the lead. Aleu turned to run immediately, having seen Niju stare directly at her as he came into sight. She heard him shout a command to his warriors, and they broke away from his lead, heading for the Shavenya pack. Aleu heard footsteps behind her, coming closer and closer, and she turned around to see Niju’s wicked face just behind. She turned to face forward again, screaming for help, but it was no use. Niju lunged and tackled her, and she went down with a yelp, tumbling through the snow.

“You are coming with me, young one.”

When the Shamydu warriors arrived at the pack, they didn’t start attacking anyone, but merely distracted the Shavenya warriors, holding them at bay. Balto was glad to see that there wasn’t a mass murder going on, but he wanted to find Aleu and make sure he could protect her. Her cry for help struck him violently, even over all the noise, and he looked around, trying to see where exactly she was. It was to no avail; there were far too many wolves running and fighting for him to determine who was who. The Shamydu warriors began to move away in unison, thwarting any attempts of the Shavenya to reach Aleu, and finally broke and ran when Niju had a little distance, leaving the Shavenya warriors disrupted and bewildered at the onslaught that had left as quickly as it came.

The Shamydu warriors moved quickly through the hills of snow, Niju leading them and forcing Aleu along, threatening her with his teeth. He didn’t want to lose his new prize; that was the reason for their speed. He looked over his shoulder, hearing calls and shouts, and laughed as Aleu looked back as well. “Do not hope, little girl,” he said. “They will not pursue us because they know they cannot outfight the amount of warriors I brought. You are mine!” They kept running, and fear and despair filled Aleu’s heart.

The entire pack had seen the raid, and everyone was running around in a near panic, trying to find loved ones and make sure they were safe. Nava went calmly but quickly through the crowd, looking to see who had found every member of their family. Soon, he came to Balto, who was breathing hard and moving about like he was going to begin walking in every direction at once, fear and anger making it hard for him to think. “Balto!” Nava called, coming to him. “They took her!” Balto said desperately. “They kidnapped Aleu!” “Balto, calm down. I know you love Aleu and fear for her, but for her sake, calm down. Your mind must be clear.” Balto nodded and took a deep breath. “Nava…what are we going to do?” “I must make certain that no one else is gone. In the meantime, try to think of some ideas. Whatever we do, it must be done quickly.” Only a few minutes passed before