to why we look alike, I have absolutely no idea. You don’t have to believe me but I hope you will." Tina wanted to tell them about the Outsider but she needed to make sure it was there first. Even if she was pretty confident the universe wouldn‘t implode, she didn‘t want to scare Balto and Jenna for no reason and she needed time to think up a plan so if it showed up, they had a chance against it.
It was a few minutes before Jenna and Balto could reply, needless to say, they were stunned. "I believe you Tina." said Jenna, it was all she could think to say.
"So do I." said Balto.
"Thanks, you have no idea what it means to me to hear you say that." said Tina.
"You’re welcome, you can stay here as long as you need to." said Jenna.
Tina shook her head no. "I’d love to but sorry, I still might get back to the future and if I meet Rosy, I might bond to her like you have and then I‘ll have a hard time leaving, it will be better if I stay on Balto‘s boat until I can figure out everything out." That wasn’t the only reason, she also didn’t want to risk bringing the Outsider there if it showed up, Balto should be safe considering it doesn‘t see dogs as targets.
"That’s fine with me, its been lonely out there lately but I should warn you, it isn’t the most comfortable place to sleep." said Balto, he laughed. Even if she was from the future, he didn’t see any reason not to treat Tina like any other friend he had.
"I’ve probably had worse. Life hasn‘t been good to me." Tina seemed upset.
"I’m sorry to hear that…but I‘m sure things will get better." said Jenna, trying to cheer her new friend up.
"Thanks, I’m hopping it will. Well you’d better go be with Rosy. I think I’ll go check out the town. I’ve seen lots of maps about Nome but I want to see the town for myself. I’ll meet up with you later." said Tina, smiling. She wasn‘t just going to see the town, she had to find proof if the Outsider was in Nome or not. If it was, it wouldn‘t be that hard to find, there weren‘t many places in town for it to hide and the fresh snow would make it easy to find footprints if there were any, Tina prayed there wouldn‘t be.
Balto, Jenna, and Tina walked up to Balto’s boat later that night, talking about the day. They all broke out laughing at the part where Tina slapped Steele. "Well see you tomorrow, Tina can you make sure Balto wakes up at the right time?" asks Jenna as Tina jumped up to the deck of the boat. She felt better knowing Balto wasn‘t alone, especially since it was someone that wasn’t afraid of Steele.
"I’ll try but I‘m ahead of you guys by a few hours." said Tina, she hadn‘t found any trace of the Outsider so she was in a good mood but she was still cautious.
"Goodnight Jenna, I love you." said Balto.
"I love you too, goodnight." replied Jenna before nuzzling her mate.
"Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home? You know how Steele is getting."
"Balto, I’ll be fine. Steele is probably still off sulking from your fight." said Jenna, despite the fact she was still scared of what Steele might do if he caught her alone.
Jenna walks back towards her house as Balto jumps onto the deck of the boat to find Tina staring up at the sky. "I forgot how beautiful the stars are, the last time I saw them was when I was a puppy, kind of ironic considering I won‘t be born for over 80 years." said Tina, smiling.
"Yeah. Wait, how long has it been since you saw the stars?" asks Balto, confused.
Tina turns her head to show a small, black tag in her ear that Balto hadn‘t noticed before. "I’ve been a research animal for a long time. I’m in such good shape cause they trained me so hard. This might sound weird but could you please tear this tag out?"
"Won’t that hurt?"
"Yeah, a lot, but if I do get back to future, I don’t want them to be able to find me and this tag has too many bad memories anyway. Plus, this thing itches like crazy." Tina scratches her ear with her hind leg. "Just grab it and rip it out but please make it quick."
"No problem, hold still." Tina grits her teeth as Balto bites down on the tag before jolting his head to the side. Tina yelped when the tag was torn out of her skin. "Sorry."
"Don’t worry, I’ve had a lot worse and I’m a fast healer. Thank you." Tina smiled, it had hurt and her ear was bleeding but the whole time she‘d had that tag in was a living nightmare, she felt relieved it was gone. Tina looked back up at the night sky, Balto joined her. After a few minutes, Tina looked at Balto. "Do you know what constellations are?"
"No but your going to tell me right?" asks Balto, smiling, he was intrigued.
"You bet. They’re shapes humans made out of stars. For example, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the big bear and the little bear." Tina traced the stars with her nose.
"Like Muk and Luk." Balto laughed, he’d have to show them that. He then watched intently as Tina pointed out more constellations. "Is there a wolf?"
"Not that I know of."
Balto looked disappointed by that. "No wolf? Oh well. You sure know a lot."
"Trust me, it wasn‘t worth what I went through to get this smart."
"I‘ll take your word for it." Balto yawned "we’d better be getting to sleep." Balto goes to crawl under his blanket but stops and looks back at Tina. He grabs the blanket and puts it over Tina. "You’re my guest, you shouldn’t have to be cold."
"I appreciate the offer but you need it more."
"No I don’t, I’m used to the cold, you’re not." before Tina could argue, Balto lays down on opposite side of the deck. Balto didn’t say anything but something was bothering him. After few minutes of trying and failing to get to sleep he decided to ask. "Tina…earlier I promised Jenna that I’d never leave her, do I keep that promise?"
Tina didn’t know how to respond. "I’m sorry Balto…"
Balto’s heart sank when he heard her say that. "Oh…"
"No, its not that, I’m sorry that I can’t tell you because I don’t know. Jenna’s history isn’t recorded very well and your descendent didn’t get that far before I left so I don’t know if ether of you lives longer than the other one." Tina hid her head under the blanket. She was sorry but not for that reason. She knew the answer but she didn‘t want to tell him too much about his future, some things she knew might of already changed.
"Sorry for asking, I just wanted to know, Jenna means the world to me."
"I know…You think everything I know will happen?" Tina chuckles, causing Balto to shoot her a confused glance. "Think of time like that race you won, well you know except for what Steele did after. The other dogs only knew one path to take…" She drew a curving line in a patch of snow on the deck. "But that path wasn’t right for you so…" She draws a line from one of the curves to the end. "You made your own."
Balto smiled, he understood. "Actually I got knocked off the racetrack and had to catch up but I know what you mean. Thanks for telling me that."
"I should really be thanking you just for existing. I started life as a stray and ended up with a cruel man as an owner who made every moment up to this point a living nightmare but I survived thanks to stories about you. If I may quote a close friend of yours; ‘Balto, I’d be lost without you.’"
"You’re welcome. Goodnight Tina." said Balto, he knew who she was quoting, Rosy had told him that after she was cured by the medicine he and the other dogs brought all that way. He had came through for her when she needed him most and in the process had unknowingly done the same for Tina and that felt wonderful.
"Goodnight Balto." Tina could tell she’d made Balto happy by the sound of his tail wagging and hitting the boards. Once she knew Balto was asleep, Tina got up and put Balto’s blanket back on him before going back to her spot and going to sleep…