Take Wing Part 4: True Wish

"Ugh!  How do I ever deal with you guys?"  A large golden-orange wolf bathed in the early sun, which illuminated her coat and the coats of three small pups romping beside her.  As she switched her tail, a small orange female leaped into the air, giggling.  "Do it again!"

Aspen, their mother, rolled her deep blue eyes.  "Why should I?"  She answered the pup, knowing very well the answer.

"Because we wanna play!"  The soft, sweet eyes bored into hers, and the mother relented, swirling her tail about like a jump-rope.

"Hooray!"  They knew they'd gotten the better of her, because they always did.  As Maple, Rowan, and Linden pranced around her, Aspen laid her head on her paws with a sigh and closed her sleepy eyes.

Where is she?  A large golden-brown wolfdog with dark ears and shoulders trotted noncommitally up the crest of the steep hill.  He hated to go this far past the cave where the Northern Heights clan lived, but he had to find his friend.  That girl!  Around here somewhere, I'm sure.  

"Looking for me?"  A petite, black and white Border collie-husky mix peered around the corner.

"Good timing," Juneau responded, laughing.

Brite smiled.  "Time to eat already, is it?"  She fell into step beside Juneau, limping slightly because of a bad previous injury.  Her friend instinctively swung around to the other side so that he was facing the edge of the cliff instead of her.  "You don't need to protect me, you know.  I'm not going to fall."

"Well, you know..."  The young male blushed.  He and Brite had been friends up until four months before, when they were about a year old.  Then they had begun to like each other, and, as their wolf friend Pawnee would say, "The rest is history."

"Cal's going back down the mountain tomorrow morning," Juneau's friend stated.  Brite's cousin, Caliber, was handsome and popular, and he had been fast...until a serious injury had ended his blossoming career abruptly.  Before that, he and Brite had been fighting almost constantly.  Needless to say, after she saved him from a vicious mountain lion his attitude had changed; it was then that she had acquired her limp.  Cal was now also on good terms with Juneau himself, whom he had previously despised.  He had come a long way from the boasting, egotistical pup he had been, and as he thought about it, Juneau realized that he was actually going to miss Cal.

"You're missing him already, too?"  As usual, Brite was reading his mind.

"Yeah," he admitted sheepishly.

"There's no reason to be embarrassed."  She faced Juneau, and he gave her an affectionate swipe on the cheek with his tongue before continuing on.  "I know, but it still seems a little strange that he and I are friends now."

"I know what you mean."  By this time they had reached the mouth of the big cave where the two lived.  After Brite's owner had left her to move south from the frigid air of Alaska, the young she-dog had been offered a place in the Northern Heights clan and had readily accepted.  They were both glad she had, although at first her collie-ish ways had been cause for great amusement among the pack members.  Brite had garnered a respected spot among them after having saved her cousin.

"There you are!"  A shout from Pawnee broke into their private thoughts.  "C'mon!  The kill's getting cold!"

"Right there!"  Together they ambled into the lip of the cavern.  A horde of wolves-about thirty since some early pups of winter had already been born-were standing around a freshly caught moose.

Juneau was indignant.  "Hey!  Why didn't anybody tell me about the hunt?"  Being the heir to the alpha role, Juneau was supposed to be at hunts.  After his father Bering, the old leader, died at Juneau's birth, the pup had been cast out into Nome and taken in by that town's hero, Balto.  The older wolfdog also happened to be his uncle, and had given him numerous tidbits of advice many times.  Balto had always been like a father to the son of his brother Bering, and they were very close, even though they lived about a day's trek from each other.

"We figured you were busy."  Pawnee jerked his chin at Brite with a mischevious glint in his eye.

"She was late for dinner, that's why I went to fetch her!"  But Juneau couldn't hold his friend's warm gaze.

"Right."

"Pawnee!  Leave them alone!"  The wolf's mate, Aspen, appeared with three pups clinging to her side.  They peeked over her knee with interest.

"Yay!  It's Juneau!  It's Juneau and Brite!"  The biggest one, a male named Rowan, plowed past his mother, all uncertainties instantly forgotten.

The other two responded similarly:  "Hooray!  Play with us!  C'mon, please?"

"Let me eat, and then I'll play with you," said Juneau.  His special liking of puppies always seemed to work against him in this way, but he didn't really mind.  It was relaxing and invigorating at the same time to play with a wolf puppy.  Gobbling down his share of the savory meat, he leaped into the fray, tumbling over the offspring of his two friends.

"What are you doing?"  Cal approached, laughing.

Brite went to his side and nuzzled her iron-gray cousin.  "Just goofing off...as always."

"Hey!  I-"  But before the hybrid could finish, he was swallowed up by yelping young wolves.  Thrusting his head above them, he managed to greet Cal briefly as another pup, Linden, worked her way up to his head to chew on his ear.  The last and smallest one, Maple, tackled him to the ground again, but finally he heaved himself up and jumped over the mass.  Hollering in delight, the pups squirmed around him, asking if he could teach them how to jump like that.

"You'll learn," he replied with an air of superiority that seemed ridiculous.  The entire pack, having watched the whole scene, laughed uproariously.

Before long, it was time to sleep, for Cal was waking early to make it down the mountain in a single day.  Desiring to send the husky off right, the whole pack gathered close for a good night's sleep.

Dawn was clear and cold, and it had begun to burn away the heavy fog that had settled into the mountain hollow.  Rising clumsily, Juneau searched for Brite among the cluster of sleeping canines.

"Right here," she whispered.  Climbing to her own feet a bit more gracefully, the mixed-breed hopped and dodged around feet, tails and the occasional head that stuck out awkwardly.

The sun dazzled their eyes.  Blinking almost constantly, they settled down on their favorite rock.  Wide and dished, it made a perfect seat. 

Without any warning, Brite turned to Juneau in that impulsive way of hers and asked him a sudden question; one that would change his life:

"Have you ever thought about being...mates?"

He gulped but found the courage to answer.  "Yes."

"A lot?"

"A lot," Juneau confirmed.

"I want to."  She rested her small, fine head on his large shoulder.

"So do I."  His eyes shone with love, and his gravity set him apart in a special way.

"I love you.  You're so genuine and honest."  Brite smiled up at him.

"And I you, without a doubt."

And so the two mates rested peacefully together.  Watching the sun rise into the bright sky, they both felt so satisfied that it was almost unbearable.  Their journey in life, side by side, was just beginning.

Many tears were shed that day-tears of regret (much of them on Brite's part) when Cal left for Nome, and of happiness when the pack heard of Juneau and Brite's newfound unity.  To add to the festivities, Juneau was to be the official alpha of Northern Heights clan.  Pawnee had been leader while Juneau was still young, but now they all felt that Juneau was ready to take the role himself.

To everyone's shock and pleasure, Balto showed up that night, howling and wagging his bushy dark tail.

"I didn't know you were coming!"  Juneau's eyes shone with happiness at the appearance of his uncle.

"Cal told me all about it on his way home.  He's grown into a fine young dog...and so have you."  Balto smiled proudly, and his nephew was ready to burst with pride.  His reign was off to a good start.

Three months later...

"Mama!"  Maple raced around long legs and hopped over puddles from the fresh rain the night before.  "Mama!"

"What is it?"  Aspen rolled her eyes (as she seemed to do so often these days) at the pup in annoyance, but the little wolf kept on coming anyway.

"Mama!  Brite's sick!  She says she feels funny and doesn't wanna eat anything!  She told me to find you."  The small female shook the rain out of her coat impatiently.

"I'm coming!"  In an instant Aspen was up and away over the giant animal, with the others exchanging concerned looks.

Upon reaching the den that she herself had once occupied, Aspen ducked low and parted the reeds at the entrance with a rustle.  A low moan could be heard over the quaking sound.

"Aspen," mumbled Brite, "I feel terrible!"

"Where's Juneau?"

"He's out dragging the meat in, and I didn't want to bother him.  I figured he wouldn't know what's wrong."

An hour passed.  The pups sitting outside the door were anxious for their friend and their mother's return.

"D'you think she's all right?"

"I hope