Steele: Carpe Diem

(started 4/7/08 – ) 

Summary: At one point in his life, every dog and human seemed to idolize Steele for being such a champion, but there’s a time that no one else knows about – his difficult pup-hood. His constant family struggles with his mother and siblings allowed him to grow stronger and do whatever it took to make a name for himself . . . and eventually prove as he grew up that he was willing to seize the day that would await him.

Rating: PG-13 for possible dog violence, neglect of animals, and some foul language. Beware, kiddies! 

Disclaimer: Official characters and events from the movie “Balto” are the property of Universal Studios Inc. and any other events and characters are created especially for this story by the author, Juuchan17. Please do not use these fan characters without the author’s permission first – thanks!

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Author’s Note:

Yes, this is a background story about Steele. I’ll admit it, I’m not really fond of him in the original film of “Balto,” but I thought that it would be interesting to write about his background and past . . . maybe to add something about why he acted the way he did during the film. Probably the thing that I like most about him is his pride for himself and how he’ll do anything to make himself look good in the eyes of the humans. Of course, I don’t like him because of his hatred for Balto, but he does make a strong bully for the film’s screen time. His piercing blue eyes and devilish smirk make him quite an interesting villain to watch, and his downfall at the film’s finale quickly comes to bite him in the rear.  

So yeah, why not write about his past, right? Everyone writes about Balto’s past – since he is the result of a husky and a wolf – but I haven’t read or seen many fics about Steele’s past and how that molded him into the high-and-mighty character that we see in the film.

And I suppose I’ve started to make him and Balto very similar with this . . . but that’s something that you’ll realize as you read this tale. 

Steele’s tale isn’t an easy one as you would think – he’s very social and popular, but he hides who he really is very well, cloaking his real self deep within his soul. Again, you’ll have to read onward to understand my point.

Enjoy and please tell me what you think! 

- Juuchan17

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Part I

The season was early winter, December of 1924.  

In this area of the world, it could snow at any moment and most of the time, it did. Sometimes it would flurry lightly and float like a gentle feather, landing on the tip of one’s nose; other times, blizzard gales of hail and ice would dance violently from the sky, raining down onto the world without a single care for what it would hit below.

As spontaneous as the weather is, so are the creatures that walk and thrive upon the earth’s surface. When every creature is born in the world, they have a destiny that awaits them as they begin the fight to survive – whether it is meant for them to live a long life or not – and if the weak can thrive and make it through the tough times, only then they can seize the day that lies ahead. 

BANG! A man standing on a snowy patch of high hill in between the wilderness and a small town had shot his flare pistol high in the air, and it soon brightened up like a small version of the sun within seconds of being fired. The one-mile marker!

A sled being pulled by a team of strong-bred canines had just begun its entrance into the final 5,000 yards of the latest dog-sledding tourney, gliding swiftly across the snowy limits of a small town where their race would end. Led by a large duotone Malamute and connected by several other dogs of various sizes, the team grew closer and closer to the telegraph building – the first wooden shack at the town’s edge – as well as a wailing crowd of cheering humans and yapping dogs. Once the team had been completely engulfed by the buildings, the adorations became clearer to each set of ears on the team. 

“Oh, Steele!”

“We love you, Steele!” 

“Go for another win, Steele!”

The words of the cheering crowd seemed to blur past the black and white lead dog as he ran rapidly towards the finish line down the Main Street of the tiny Alaskan town. He easily ignored it – he knew they were nothing more than cat-calls and cheers from adoring fans and those that loved and watched the sport religiously, but the Malamute had heard them multiple times before from past races. The only noise he could hear was the rhythmic pounding of his clawed paws hitting the snowy ground in a galloping pace and the noise of himself panting steadily. His piercing ice-blue eyes were only focused on one thing: the drawn line within the snow that was only yards in front of him. 

“Steele!”

A worrying voice wailed behind him, causing him to turn one ear back. He didn’t even bother to look the dog eye-to-eye, especially since it was one of his teammates – a thin, light-gray husky named Star. 

“You’re going too fast! We can’t–”

Oh, just shut up, you . . . The lead dog groaned silently, rolling his eyes as he heard the whiny male dog complain. He hated it when someone complained about how he was doing things. Instead of talking back, the Malamute only lunged forward, running even faster and causing the thin dog to yelp in pain as the lead line tugged the harnesses of the other five or six dogs that followed behind him across the finish line. 

Once the wooden sled that carried the musher slid across the drawn line in the snow, the large black and white dog slowed his pace as the crowd’s cheering voices clearly hit his eardrums. The musher’s calm hands carefully freed the lead dog from his harness first, allowing him free-range of the street and the chance to quickly meet-and-greet those that were in the sidelines.

His icy eyes only gazed across the lower part of the crowd, peering at the huskies and dogs that looked up to him and nearly worshipped him as a sledding god. Again, he could have cared less as the oohs and aahs of his fellow canines yipped and barked in his direction, but his expression showed otherwise. 

Humph . . . He thought as his bright-white teeth opened into a smile, showing off for the people. Commoners . . . Don’t they get tired of cheering for me all the time?He sighed underneath his breath before his small entourage of sled-dogs joined him, following that normal routine that they always did. Oh, well . . . if they must, let them – more glory for me then! He chuckled silently as he began to feel calm within the presence of familiar creatures.

Nikki, one of the dogs on the team who happened to be a stout dark-brown husky that was cursed with the lack of height, spoke up behind him. “Hey dere, Steele,” he spoke in a cheerful yet deep-toned voice, easily revealing his heavy accent. “Youse were runnin’ a pretty good race dere, Boss, dere.” 

Again, the Malamute refused to look behind him to acknowledge his teammate, probably because of the fact that he, as well as most other dogs on his team, called him “Boss.” Well, he did like the power of authority – he would admit it, of course – but it seemed to get old over time for him.

“Yes, yes – I know,” the Malamute replied back, totally oblivious of his teammates. He only did what his adoring crowd wanted: his charming smile and darling gaze. Once he turned towards a group of females and flashed his handsome muzzle their direction, several of the females sighed lovingly and deeply, almost to the point of falling into his path. “Hello, ladies . . .” He murmured sweetly towards them; a couple of them actually fainted, immobilized by their love and idolization for the muscular black and white male. 

However nicely he spoke to the females, he did not share the same affections for them as they had for him – the Malamute was more into racing and winning than she-huskies. To him, the thrilling rush of leading his team to victory after victory during sled races was much more satisfying than being with a she-dog underneath the sheets any day.

“Hey, you showed those dames, eh, Boss?” Another male voice caught his attention. It was a orange-cream husky with a brown patch over one eye – his name was Kaltag, and he had a comical chuckle in his tone. “I’m tellin’ ya, that was the most ridiculous, the most hilarious, the most side-splitting . . .” 

The other dog in his entourage was Star, the thin husky. He laughed along with the other two, reacting to the females, but the light-gray simply replied with a completion of his teammate’s sentence. “It was so funny!” Totally oblivious to the other three that watched him, he guffawed insanely until the orange sled-dog bopped him on top of the head seconds later, causing him to plummet onto the ground with a quaint splat.

The remaining two canines looked at each other with a sense of relief despite the serious looks on their faces, but the Malamute did not join them. He had walked far ahead of them, and somehow, the others knew he wanted to be alone for a while. This was normal for him, to be alone like that, so the rest of the team dispersed back to their owners, knowing that food and fresh water was definitely waiting for them. 

His large paw-prints made a path from the safety of the street to a nearby alley. It was lined with wooden crates and other strange paraphernalia, but the Malamute just wanted some privacy. Not many other dogs – with exception of the stray dogs – ever came into those parts, but secretly he felt welcome there. Sure, he was a well-bred sledding dog with a home that allowed him live in the lap of luxury, but he didn’t know much about who he really was . . .

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