"Grrrrrr.....," Steele growled, baring his teeth at Streak. Streak backed away, but with a smile. " You know you wanna race....or maybe you're just a little CHICKEN!!!!Bok bok baaaaaaak!!!! ha!" Streak teased his brother. Both black-and-white huskies stared each other down, not moving. Suddenly, Steele lunged, his sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight, heading for the other's throat. Suprised, Streak widened his bright blue eyes and jumped to the side. Steele looked stunned as he missed his brother's neck. Taking the unusual chance to ambush Steele, Streak lunged back at him. He landed with a thud on the larger husky's muscular back.

"Arrrah! You'll----Regret that, you menace," Steele growled, as he twisted around to face the courageous Streak. The two had been rivals since birth. "oooooh, I'm SOOO terrified!!! C'mon, Steele! All I want to do is race'ya! I thought you LOVED to run!" Streak said, trying to reason with his stronger sibling. Steele's expression told Streak that he was at a loss for words;caught off gaurd. "Well...I'ts not that I'm scared! I mean, I'm just tired..yeah, tired, that's all!!! Now leave me ALONE!" Steele told Streak.

"Oh yeah. That's a REAL good excuse! You really think I'll fall for THAT excuse? Come on, you call yourself a genius? Hey, I bet---" Streak was cut off by an ill-tempred snarl. Steele had had ENOUGH of this! Without warning, he leapt at his brother with wild eyes. He had a look foriegn to Streak-- a look of murder...

"You think you can get away with this?This torture,constant...game?!That's it! You think every waking moment is a GAME! You idiot, you horrible, meanacing IDIOT!!!! You think I'm playing? Well wake up brother, and face it, because I AM NOT LIKE YOU!!!!!  I'm what some would call proud, or even accomplished!" Steele paused to take a rasping breath, and to make the look on his face even fiercer. His smirk turning into a snarl, Steele continued his lecture--which was bent on murder.

" But YOU, your'e just a disgrase! A break in champion lines! YOU'RE WORTHLESS, STREAK, AND YOU.....need......to.........GO!!!!!!!!! ARRRAGHHH!" he finally lost it and snapped his jaws around the smaller Streak's throat. He did not ler go, and never intended to until his brother was dead.

                                                   --- --- ---

     On the other side of the argument was the suffocating Streak. As the gift of breath was being drained of him, Streak's mind went blank with confusion. Dispair showered down into Streak's head, filling it with nothing but disbelif. He was being murdered by his own brother. The enemy's twin was being murdered in plain sight. No one, he thought, could see this, and he was sure his own death was right around the corner.

 What Streak did not know was that, right around the corner, was not death but Nataki. A beautiful , slim, and red and white husky, she was horrified by what Steele was doing. The amber eyes on her red face widened rapidly and she raced out from her observation spot. With an astounded and protesting tone, she shouted at Steele.

" STEELE!!!!!!!!!!STOP! How COULD you??!! He's DYING, Steele! Let GO!!!!!"

Then, in desperation, she tried to shove Steele off of Streak. Steele,as Nataki knew, had NO intentin of letting go, even for Jenna's daughter. She tried a few more times, but Steele's expression was unwavering, still obsessed with the kill. At the moment when Streak's nostrils stopped flaring and his eyes rolled back into his head, Nataki finally resorted to the unthinkable-- she bit Steele's muzzle. Hard. Her teeth met hard flesh, and the canines in the front of her jaws cut deep into Steele's nose. " AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" he cired, letting go of Streak. As Steele writhed in pain, Nataki tore blindily into the larger husky's face. SHE would not let go.

Streak went unconcious. His lungs worked overtime, hungrilly sucking in air, and claiming life once more. As Streak lay there, his legs splayed and neck torn open and bleeding readilly, Nataki let go of Steele and rushed to his younger brother's aid. She  subconciously started to lick his limp body and neck. The crimson blood gushing from his wound only made it harder for Nataki to clean it. She knew she had to try and stop the bleeding, before too much was lost. She lay her body over Streak's, to warm it up from shock. 

Steele, however, was getting no such treatment for his wound. Mentally and physically fatigued, he was still delirious from the rush of attack. Nataki would not, could not, approach him. It wasn't safe. Her instinct was to help the weaker-- Streak. Anyways, she knew the only thing Steele had truly hurt was his pride.  She continued to lap up Streak's blood, and when it finally subsided to a small trickle, she pushed snow on his face. It did the trick of waking him up, and he quietly mumbled, " Wuzzzzuh........? N-N-Naktaki?"

" Yes, Streak, it's me.Here--" she said, pulling him onto her back. " I'll carry you home." she assured Streak.

Nataki's shrill yap sent Streak's owners to their door almost immediately. When they opened the door, thier faces turned pale as a ghost's. The sight of Streak's lifeless body in fromt of her made the woman gasp.

"Streak! Oh, poor boy! Oh, my....Streak? What happened?" his owner's voices babbled and sobbed. Nataki carefullly let Streak slide off her back. She licked Streak's ear to show she meant no harm. When Nataki did this, the hands petting Streak turned to her. The strokes calmed Nataki from her anxiousness.

"Good girl, Nataki! Good, good girl! Thank you..." they told her. Then Megan, the woman, asked her husband," Nick, can you take Nataki home? Rosy must miss her. I need to take our baby in the house, don't I, Streak?"

The man agreed and took Nataki's green collar in his large hands. "C'mon, girl! Let's go home!" he called. But the red and white dog didn't budge. She couldn't go. She wanted, no, needed to stay with Steele's victim. He needed care. And someone to tell him what happened. Yes, it was midnight, and yes, Rosy and Jenna would probably be worried sick, but only Nataki could remember the horror that Steele had brought upon Streak. He needed her.

So, Nataki pulled through her designer collar and to the dog door located on Streak's house. She daintily stepped through it, and once iniside the warm house, looked around for Streak. When she saw him, suprise came to her. Streak, who, just one munite ago had been unconcious and broken, was now laying awkwardly on his stomach, but looking okay. A faint twinkle of his old self shone through his pain-glazed eyes as Nataki trotted over joyfully. His tail wagged weakly as she spoke in almost what was a motherly tone.

" Streak! You- you're looking...lots better. Uh- do- do you...remember? What happened?" she asked. " No- no, I don't. What? What happend? Was it bad? Who-- ow....!" he replied, and when he shifted his weight, pain came again.  Nataki's heart sank. Was he really going to pull through?

"Steele....?He-- he really did that to me?" Streak gasped. Nataki had just finished retelling the tradegy of Steele's fury. " Well that explained why my neck hurts..." he said. Nataki sighed. Would he ever regain memory-- or the ability to pull the sled he held so dear to his heart-- again? She lowered her head to his level and examined his neck's wound closely for the first time. A shudder racked her body  and  she silently grieved for Streak. With that injury, the sled harness could irritate, rub, or even reopen the cut. A whimper of dismay escaped Nataki's throat. The thought of Streak not bering able to sled anymore was unbearable. That was his pure passion; his lifeblood.

"What's wrong?" Streak intterupeted her thoughts with a raspy voice. " Uh, nothing. Nothing. You- you just take a rest. You need it." she said, and added " don't talk. That'll just agravate the pain."

After flashing a weak smile, Streak's pain-stricken muzzle lowered back to the floor. Nataki sighed and licked her paws nervously. She sat, never taking eyes off Streak. But with every hour, exaustion crept up and into every part of Nataki's body. The constant care of the wounds embedded in the black and white fur was tiring. Finally, she gave in to the beckoning comfort of sleep. Her head sank to her paws. Her eyelids flickered over amber eyes before closing.

Nataki's sleep was filled with thoughts, which turned into dreams. Despite the day's events, the dreams of Nataki were plesant. Beside Nataki, Streak was also resting, but his mind was busy envisioning a nightmare. He had finally regained his memory-- and in suprisingly realistic detail......

Streak was franticlly racing away from Steele's fury-based attacks.... pant pant pant his tongue lolled out the side fo his foaming mouth. Steele lunged again and again, getting closer each time. No...NO! Streak thought in dispair as his brother's jaws closed tightly around his throat.....

Bared fangs were the last thing Streak saw.

" Pant pant pant AWWOOO!!! Whimper whimper" Streak voiced many different sounds in a matter of seconds. His head had swiflty risen and the dream had vanished. Now all that was left was a quiet room that was ligtened by the sunrise. He saw Nataki wake and rush over to him.

"Streak! Streak, are* yawn* okay?" she asked groggily. He answered, his brow creased with worry. " I... I think I finally got my memory back.... and-- and I wish I hadn't." Streak began, chuckling to himself at his last statement.  " It's just a dream! Everyone has bad dreams once in a while...don't they? Well, stop being so fretful! I'm fine!" he said after Nataki's