Chapters 1 & 3: lunawolf383

Chapters 2 & 4: Anvik

 

Chapter 1

            Exhausted from labor, a wolf as white as snow gently laid her head between her paws. She closed her grey patched eyes and fell into a deep sleep. Beside her, a black pup and brown pup squirmed. In between the two healthy ones, another lighter brown one lay motionless.

            “It’s a shame” Sage, the white wolf’s mother said softly.

Another wolf, the same pure white as his daughter and having the same black tipped ears, sighed sadly.

“The only female… what should we do?”

            “We surely cannot let her know… Aniu’s been through a lot as it is and without her mate to take care of her…”

The great white wolf, Ataneq, gazed over the three pups again.

“The only thing we can do is get rid of it. Should we bury it?”

            “No… Aniu’s smarter then that… she’d be able to sniff it down… and I don’t have the heart to give it to some bear or wolf…”

“I can have Kanut and Cikuq take it out of the territory and bury it out there. But no one else must know about it”

Sage nodded and Ataneq exited the den. Outside, the anxious pack waited to hear the news about Aniu’s pups. Ataneq smiled widely and announced “She has had two boys!”

The rest of the pack talked excitedly. Ataneq ignored the congratulations and only stopped when he had found the almost identical white wolves. He nodded and the two followed him back in the cave. Smiling for a second at the pups and sleeping mother, they turned their full attention to their uncle.

“As you can see, the female pup hasn’t made it…”

Kanut and Cikuq glanced sadly at the motionless pup.

“I need you two to take her out of the territory and bury her. I’m going to led the pack on a hunt later on today… take her away then”

The brothers nodded and settled in the den. Ataneq nuzzled Aniu quickly and went outside. A few minutes later, the pack took off excitedly, and their happy barks and howls faded away. Without a word, Kanut scooped up the brown pup and headed out.

            Kanut and Cikuq travelled in silence at an easygoing trot. Hunts took a long time anyway and they knew they had more then enough time. The East and North borders were the most dangerous, so the two headed toward the peaceful South territory. Finally, as the sun was just beginning to set, they stopped. Kanut gently laid the pup on the ground and Cikuq began to dig. Before they could finish, a yell erupted. A human yell. Both wolves jumped. Cikuq dug faster and Kanut picked up the pup, but it was no use. The ground was frozen. Kanut dropped the pup, and both buried it with snow. Then, before the team of dogs could get any closer, Kanut and Cikuq disappeared into the falling snow.

 

            The pup opened its blue eyes and shivered furiously. She had no idea where she was or what she was. Using her tiny paws, she dug herself half way out of the snow but exhausted, she had to stop there and curl up. The cold seeped through the pup’s coat and she started to fall asleep. Meanwhile, the team of dogs came closer and closer. Just before the team passed, one of the dogs, a female, picked up the scent of the wolves and brought the team down to a walk. The white and light grey dog’s blue eyes passed over the snow until she found what she had smelt. The rest of the team whined and tugged at the harness, but the female refused to budge. Instead, she dragged the whole team over to the pup and gently dug her out of the snow.

“What’s that you got there Lily?” the musher said.

Lily whined and nudged the pup. The pup yipped and the musher hopped off the sled and rushed over to Lily. He gingerly scooped the poor pup up and wrapped her in his coat. Lily watched on anxiously. The musher patted her on the head.

“Maybe you are more then just some show dog” he grinned. Then, turning his attention back to the pup, he mumbled thoughtfully.

“I guess she belongs to no one else” the musher shrugged. “I guess we could take her home”

Lily yipped and wagged her tail happily. Something about the pup reminded her of another one…

Bundling the small pup up for the ride back home, the team took off through the snow, not realizing how much this would change the young hybrid’s life.

 

Chapter 2
            When the dog team made it back to the master's house, musher, James Dawson, unhitched the dogs and brought them into the barn, then returned into the house with the small Inari. He took her gently out of his jacket and placed her in a warm towel by a roaring fire. The musher's daughter came into the house from going into town with her mother and immediately caught sight of Inari.

"You got a puppy!?" she asked in disbelief.

Her father petted Inari on the head.

"Well, not really. When we were out on the trail, Lily found her buried in the snow."
The girl glanced down at the puppy then up at her father.

"Can we keep her?"
Her father smiled. "Sure. She needs someone to keep her company, and you've been waiting for a puppy, so..."
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
The girl hugged her father and placed Inari on her lap, stroking her as gently as possible.
            Inari whimpered softly and kicked her hind leg. The girl holding her was very kind, and seemed to like her. Inari squirmed, and the hand ran down her back, calming any fears in her head. She somehow knew she'd found a good home.

            When Inari was old enough to walk and move about on her own, she went into the barn to stay with the other dogs from then on. Lily appointed herself as Inari's surrogate mother and caretaker, watching every move the pup would make. Still, a nagging feeling would com over her each time she was with the pup, reminding her of someone long gone. Lily sat deep in thought, her eyes straying from Inari, who was playing with the musher's daughter, Catherine. Inari caught Lily off guard.

"Watcha' doin'?"
            "Huh?"
"I said, "watcha' doin'?"
            "Thinking," Lily honestly replied.
"About what?" Inari asked.
            "Go play with Cathi."
Inari rolled her eyes heaven ward and gave out an exaggerated sigh.
Lily couldn't help but pounce on Inari, flipping her on her back. Inari giggled and licked Lily's nose. She squeezed out of Lily's grasp and slapped her paws on the ground in a play bow. Lily did the same, and Inari jumped up, tugging at Lily's ear. Inari then yipped and ran back towards Catherine. That puppy acts more wolf than dog sometimes... Lily thought.

 

Chapter 3

            As Inari grew even more into a young dog, her training began. Catherine, who was excited more then anyone, had already bought a sled from the carpenters that would be just the right size for the small wolf dog. Inari barked excitedly and bounded around Catherine’s feet as she ran around the tiny sled.

“Hold still Inari!” the girl laughed as she attempted to harness the little brown hybrid.

Inari could barely contain herself. She had always wanted to be one of the swift sled dogs she stayed with. Lily smiled as she watched on, grinning at the pup’s energy.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Inari yipped. She knew that Catherine didn’t understand her, but that didn’t dampen her spirits.

After fumbling and a little help from her father, Inari was hooked up to her own sled. Without waiting, Inari took off, dragging the sled behind her. Lily smiled as the young hybrid took off, thinking about her brother who had been the same way. If only he were here…

“Look! Look at me Mommy!” Lily cried excitedly.

            “It looks like you lost your musher!” Lily replied with a smile, nodding to Catherine.

Catherine was laughing hard herself, watching Inari run. Inari grinned from ear to ear and came back to Catherine.

“We have a long way to go!” Catherine laughed, wiping away tears of laughter.

 

            For the next few months, Inari learned everything there was to learn about being a sled dog. And of course, Lily and Catherine were always by her side. She learned to understand the musher and when she was supposed to speed up or slow down. After she had gotten that, she learned to work on a team and eventually- lead one.

 

            In no time at all it seemed Inari wasn’t only a lead dog, but the lead dog of Mr. Dawson’s team. As always, she really belonged to Catherine, but while she was hooked up, Inari was the lead dog on the same team as Lily. But it seemed like no time at all before Inari’s life turned in a completely different direction.

“Do you think it’s gonna snow?!” Inari barked happily back to Lily.

Lily looked up to the cloudy sky and smiled.

            “It looks like it! You’re getting smarter everyday Inari” Lily smiled affectionately.

Inari picked up speed like she always did when they neared the house. But this time, Mr. Dawson called them back. Inari glanced back at Lily confused, then squinted ahead to try and make out the unfamiliar sled

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