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(Author’s note: This is from the point of view of the white wolf from Balto 1.)
It pained you to watch Balto be shoved around his entire life. But this time… this time would be different. You were going to test Balto, show Nome, possibly the world, that he was a canine worthy of respect. Your plan, however, had to take you to the very temperamental demigod, Ardour. Ardour is the son of Carnage, the god of fire, which would explain his lack of patience. You walk into his cave, the deep red wolf with a black mane on his back and giving you a “screw off” look with his one open eye. “If I didn’t know any better I’d think that Atka was standing before me.” You nod, Ardour rolling back on his feet and shaking out his fur. “Now what could the powerful Atka want with little old me?”
“Ardour… you’re the demigod of disasters. Am I correct?”
“Brains and beauty… that’s what I’ve always liked about you.” He eyes you. “Alright, which pack do you have it out for and do you want blizzard, tidal wave, or famine?”
“No, no, that’s not what I came for.” You shake your head. Ardour chuckles, amused by your lack of fervor in your request; obviously he has met with many shady characters. He circles you, the spikes in his mane ruffling in the draft.
“Nobody finds me unless they have it out for someone and want a quick and dirty end for their problems. Guess what, sweetcheeks? I’m no damned gun for hire, okay? I’m a demigod, there are rules. Unwritten rules dictated by common sense, but rules nonetheless.” He stops dead in his tracks. “But… since I had such a wonderful nap and I’m in a good mood, I’ll hear you out. Sock it to me.”
“It’s about Balto, the wolfdog in town.” Ardour grins, now interested. “His wolf heritage is belittled by dogs. They themselves forget where they came from! I need you to test him, to finally awaken his inner wolf. It’s about time he stopped denying himself.” You sigh and lower your head, ears pinned against your skull. “Aniu did not intend for things to get this bad. She thought he could handle himself, but obviously he can’t.”
“And what does this have to do with me? Make Nome blow the hell up and see what he does?”
“No. I want you to inflict something on Nome that will get him to leave Nome and finally be in the wild, the one place he won’t go. But he has to come back, something to make him the hero.”
“Well in that case, my dear Atka, I have one option; disease. You can choose from our lovely catalog of diseases!”
“It has to be curable and slow, to give Balto enough time just in case he doesn’t get into action quickly enough.” Ardour thinks for a bit, sorting through his powers in his head.
“I got three choices. Cholera, which gives- wait, who are you planning to infect?” He glances at you, slightly concerned.
“The ones he cares the most about… the children.”
“You’re sick, Atka, I gotta hand you that. In that case, cholera gives a victim who doesn’t receive treatment three to 18 hours to live. Let me guess, not long enough?” You nod. “Um… influenza takes about one to two weeks for recovery. But the problem is that’s only a bowl of chicken noodle soup away from disappearing. The last thing I can give you is diphtheria… but that’s hit or miss.”
“What are the chances of surviving?” You look at Ardour.
“Wait, wait, you’re seriouslyconsidering this?! Be smart here, Atka, can’t you just give the boy a kick in the rump?”
“Don’t you see, Ardour, I don’t have any other choice! Believe me, I’d like to leave the humans out of this but I’m out of options. Balto has a power he needs to tap into, this is the only way.”
“I see where this is going. The kids croak then you say it’s my fault because I infected them and you had no part in it. That isn’t going to work, sister. I won’t be the scapegoat for your measly problems!” His nose is almost touching yours, a fire burning in his eyes. He backs off. “However…. I see this as coming back to you. So I’ll do it.”
You nod, almost considering backing out. But starting now, there’s no turning back. Ardour throws his head back and howls, the cave shaking. As soon as he stops, the shaking does as well. He looks at you, the fire in his eyes burning even more brightly. “Thank you, Ardour.”
“What happens if he doesn’t get into action?” You know what the answer is, but you decide not to respond. He walks up beside you and hisses something in your ear.
“If they die, the blood is on your paws.”
A few days later you check in with the one-stop shop for all the gossip in Nome, Vodka the cross fox. You reach the clearing in the Pacific Northwest forest that the clever creature calls home. You grumble and drop the ornate vodka bottle you’ve been carrying. “Vodka!” You call out, looking around. The fox seems to drop down from nowhere onto the rock in front of you.
“Reporting for duty. What do you wanna hear and what did you bring me for payment? Payment, quite important.” You nudge the bottle towards Vodka. He looks it over.
“One I don’t have in my collection. Very nice find. Very nice.” He bats it over to a burrow, nudging it and sending it rolling in. He returns to you. “So news… news… oh yeah, that epidemic that’s been going around. Awful, awful I say!”
“Who has been affected?” You know where your line of questioning is going. You just need to steer it there.
“Children. Dreadful disease if it attacks something as innocent as a child. Seemed to come out of nowhere that there disease! Like one of them plagues.” He scratches behind his ear with his back foot.
“Have any dogs reported their owners sick?”
“Eh… a few, I believe. Mm, yes, a few. A few.” He waves his tail. “November, that golden husky? The pretty thing? Real pretty thing. Yeah, she says the kids of her household have that disease. A boxer, but he ain’t that important. Oh! And that pretty thing Jenna.” You perk up your ears. “Excitement! I see excitement!” A wry grin comes across his maw.
“No, no. You see, Jenna is Balto’s friend. I’m just… worried.”
“Worried? Worried? I see no worry. No, no, no, no sir, I see excitement.” You couldn’t answer Vodka without incriminating yourself. But you know you will see Balto soon.
Very soon.
(First fic in a long time. I'm planning on writing a follow-up if this gets enough positive reception.)
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