Memories of Mother

(started 5/5/07 -) 

Summary: Balto and Jenna self-reflect on their memories of their maternal guardians: Balto with Anyu (Aniu) and Jenna with Tasha.

Rating: G. Nothing bad here, just lots of memories of doggie moms. 

Disclaimer: Balto, Balto: Wolf Quest, and all other characters and situations are the property of Universal Studios Inc.; all other names, characters and situations are the property of Juuchan17, the author, and are based on previous works of fanfiction – they should not be used by anyone else without permission from the author first, thank you.

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Author’s Note:

This is a couple of one-shot fics in honor of Mother’s Day. All of the events spoken of are fictional, but are based on stories that I have either written, working on writing, or are planning to write in the near future.

These stories are actually based on information from my unfinished Balto prequel fic, “Forbidden Bond: Prologue to a Legend.” 

Balto’s mother’s name is spelled as “Anyu” before she becomes the Great Spirit that we see in the first two Balto films. Balto’s husky father, Tulugaq (Inuit for “Raven”) is mentioned but not so important here – note this is a Mother’s Day story; you’ll learn more about him in the prequel fic whenever I get back to completing it. Also, Balto has two other sisters from his litter: Nukka (“younger sister”) and Sura (“new life”), and they get a bit of time in his memories too.

Jenna’s parents are named Tundra and Tasha, if you wanted to know – both of them are sledding dogs in Nome . . . but you’ll read her story soon enough. Not much is known about Jenna’s other siblings, but maybe you’ll hear a bit about them later on. 

Anyway, enjoy the fics and Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mothers (and Mothers-to-be) out there!

- Juuchan17 

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White as Snow, My Safe Haven 

I don’t remember much about my birth. My memories of the wild are quite fuzzy, but I faintly reminisce about the feelings that welcomed me into the world.

I couldn’t see anything, but I remember that I was feeling cold and wet . . . and I was loudly whimpering and crying out for someone to keep me warm. 

Then I felt her presence.

I smelt her warm breath against my body, breathing out from her mouth and tongue on my fur. She was licking me up and down my tiny form, cleaning the birth fluid and blood from my newly-born body until my coat was dry. I felt at peace, relaxed, completely safe from harm’s way.  

I couldn’t hear the gentle soothing in her voice, but I could hear thoughts in my head; I felt that she was guiding me with telepathy, leading me to her warm belly where her teats were swollen with mother’s milk. I blindly wriggled my way towards her, following her scent and the sound that she murmured to me inside my mind.

“Come on . . . come on, my little one . . .” 

As I arrived to by destination, I instinctively began to suckle on my mother’s breast, drinking in the warm flowing liquid that her body had prepared for my siblings and I. At that moment, I never would have thought that I was the result of a forbidden affair of true love; I thought I was truly at home with someone who loved and cared for me.

At that moment, I wished things would stay that way forever. 

Ever since then, I had admired my mother. She was the first sight my yellow and red eyes ever saw. Just the sight of her grace and majesty made me gaze upon her in awe. Her long-furred coat was pure white, just like a sheet of freshly-fallen snow. Her eyes, pierced in the shape of thin almonds, were bright yellow – a typical characteristic of all lupines. Most of all, I never forgot her voice – always calm and affectionate to my sisters and I. Her nighttime lullabies always made me fall asleep without worry or fear, since I knew she would always be there to protect my tiny, growing self.

Although she was wolf and my father was an ordinary husky, I saw no real difference between all of us. I didn’t learn about my father’s breed until I was old enough to understand any better, but it still didn’t matter so much – he looked more like a wolf to me. I physically took after my father, but my rugged markings, brown-gray and tan colors, and red and yellow eyes made me more different than all of them. My sisters, Nukka and Sura, both looked more lupine and more like our parents – Nukka was a carbon copy of my mother, while Sura was a wolf version of our black and white sire – but although I obviously resembled no one that I saw around me as a pup, Mother still continued to love us all just the same, just as any proud mother would. We were all born from her womb, not realizing that our own existence was taboo in the world of the wolves. 

Only months later would we learn of the eternal curse that our birth destined us to endure . . . one night, our perfect and carefree world was about to break apart, returning once again into the realm of reality.

I barely can remember that night, but I do remember that it was the last night that I spoke to my mother before my life changed . . . I was only half a year old, and I had no idea that I would learn everything. 

We were inside of our dry cave, sheltering ourselves from the falling rain outdoors. My sisters were sleeping soundly by my father’s side, while I remained with Mother. She and I were laying beside each other my the cavern’s entrance, silently looking out upon the rain like a window into the dark, cruel world; if only we had known it was to become our future . . .

I felt her long, white tail flickering against my shoulder, nearly tickling my nose. I giggled softly, blowing it away from my face; still chuckling, I buried my nose into mother’s neck, allowing her luscious scent to engulf the fresh rainy air that entered into my nostrils. She smelt like the purest flakes of snow mixed with the natural perfume of our wilderness home. I exhaled comfortably as I looked up at her elegantly-shaped head staring out at the untamed forest and mountains that we had called our homeland. I noticed a slight gaze of worry in her lowered eyes . . . wait, I saw a trickling tear curve down her cheek too. Her look of sadness worried me. 

“Mama,” I asked her in a quiet whimper. “Why are you looking sad?”

She paused for a moment, giving me a look of surprise. I returned the gaze with large eyes – I really was wondering what could possibly be troubling the beautiful white she-wolf. 

“Is something wrong, Mama?” I asked again.

“It’s nothing, my son,” she finally replied after a sniffling pause. Mother rarely called me by my birth name – she only called me by ‘my son,’ only emphasizing the fact that I was her only son. Maybe that’s why she always liked it when I was by her side. “You must get some rest now. It is late and you must dream tonight, my son. The spirits have many things to show you.” 

“What do you mean, Mama?” I queried. I always wondered why she always spoke of spirits and such things that my young mind couldn’t understand. She hardly ever spoke to us about it, but I had a feeling I would learn soon enough.

“The spirits of nature are quite talkative tonight, my son.” She gave me a gentle smile then looked back out into the world outside. “Can’t you hear them calling you?” Her voice made me shutter nervously, but a sudden flash of lightning followed by a roar of thunder made my sisters and I gasp loudly in fear.  

“I think I heard it,” I murmured under my breath jokingly as I placed my paws over my ears, afraid of the loud noise outside. I leaned up against the white fur of my dam, shuttering.

My father groaned as he joined the rest of us, but he remained calm, just like my dam was. Sura, Nukka and I all huddled against Mother’s warm body and underneath her large tail, hoping to hide from the crackling noises of nature outside our door. 

“Mama, I’m scared!” I heard my older sister, Sura, cry out. “I’m afraid of that noise and those flashing beams!”

“Me too! Me too, Mama!” Nukka shook her body in a shuttering fit. “What’s going on out there that’s so scary?” 

All Mother did was look at our father. His brown eyes lowered as he nodded his dark head – I suppose their little gestures to each other were an ominous sign of what was coming next.

“Mama, is it the spirits?” I asked, thinking that I had understood Mother’s words that she told me only moments before. “The spirits are making all that noise and flashing stuff out there, right?” 

She nodded, much to the envy of my sisters. “That’s right, my son. The spirits are only trying to communicate with us.”

My father moved closer to Mother, nuzzling her and whispering something inaudible into her dark velvet ears. She only responded with a nod and also murmured words into his ear. While they talked, my sisters, jealous of my closeness with Mother, began to play-fight with me, batting me with their paws. As soon as Mother and Father ceased their conversation, another flash and rumble outside in the rain silenced us automatically. Once we were calmed down by our parents’ touch, Father began to speak.

“Children, we have something important to tell you about,” he started his speech. Our attention was completely fixed on the black and white dog, listening on to what our parents were about to reveal to us. “Your mother thought that now was the best time to tell you. After all, you’re growing up quickly and six months old; it’s time you learned the truth about who we really are and why we are always away from the other wolves.” He took a deep breath as he paused, preparing for the major truth. “We – I mean, your mother and I – were in love