friends had always assured her of it since puppyhood - but she often yearned to not merely -use- her looks, but to make a real connection with someone. Someone a little less arrogant than most of the popular dogs, her friends included.

"I guess so," Tiffany said flatly. The other girls grinned, hardly trying to conceal their delight, and carried on a new conversation. Tiffany listened on and off, adding a remark now and then - sure, being a mail dog sounds fun, or yuck, I hate how my girl thinks broccoli is the same as a biscuit - but secretly, she let her mind wander back to that dog. Dingo. He really did seem like a sweet, intelligent sort, and anyone from -that- family must be raised right. She felt a sort of warmth stirring inside her chest as she made up her mind, she was going to find Dingo again and talk to him for real.

+++

Sprawled out on the rug in the living room, Dingo stretched his limbs lazily, enjoying the feeling of doing nothing. His kid had gone to school for the day, and not being particularly social outside a small group of friends, he felt no obligations on this quiet weekday morning. He supposed he'd laze around only until noon, then he'd get out of the house - perhaps see if the butcher had any scraps in the dumpster... take a walk to the shoreline... Kodi wouldn't be back until late, but if Dago were around he might have some company...

Suddenly, before he could continue planning his day, Dingo's reverie was interrupted by a metallic clang coming from the side of the house. Alert, he shot upright, expression serious. He got up and carefully padded over to the dog-door that exited to the backyard.

For a human, the snow might have crunched loudly with each step, but Dingo had the large, weight-spreading paws of a wolf. Whatever made the noise was still at it, crinkling and licking its lips. He crept around the corner of the house, ready to chase off any bloodthirsty intruder... including a scruffy alley cat feasting from the family's trash cans.

"Get your food someplace else," Dingo barked, attempting but lacking a menacing sound. The last thing he wanted was to be blamed for making a mess of the garbage... which the cat was already making good on starting.

"Oh, go chase your tail," the cat hissed, not even flinching at the sight of the wolfdog. "This is the first place with any good eats I've found in a day!"

"I'm warning you..." Dingo growled, head lowered. He looked somewhat reminiscent of a Spanish bull, ready to charge across the ring at its opponent.

The cat apparently couldn't be bothered giving a real answer, as it snorted and continuing to bury its face in the unlidded can, rooting around for some gem of a cuisine.

Dingo gave another loud bark, and shot forward at the cat. Unsuspecting, the cat didn't even look up until a fraction of a second before the dog collided with the open can, tossing the cat several feet away into the snow. Ruffled and indignant, it let out a spit-shooting hiss, back arched.

"Fine, you stupid cur," it spat. "Your peoples' trash smells like dog crap, anyway!" It pinned its ears and strode away without looking back.

The red and white dog let out a satisfied huff, and turned to head back inside, when another noise - this one barely audible - caught his ears. Thinking it might be another pesky feline intruder, he whipped around, already in defense-mode.

At first, nothing met his gaze, and he simply stood there, confused. He squinted and noticed then that another dog stood at the corner of the house, just poking her head around the corner. Upon a longer look, he couldn't believe what he was seeing - the crisp cream and white fur, the icy blue eyes, that smile - Tiffany.

She beckoned to him, louder this time. "Hello?" she called. "You're Dingo, right?"

"Uh, um, yeah, that's me," Dingo responded, stumbling over his very few words. He walked over to her uncertainly, his confident, cat-chasing feeling gone, replaced by the nervousness a young dog might feel at his first sled race... not that Dingo himself could know the feeling very well.

Tiffany took his neutral approach as an invitation to walk further onto the family's property, emerging from behind the corner. The ever-present sparkle of curiosity in her eyes remained strong. "You remember me, right? Tiffany," she said, tail wagging. "I don't believe we really got the chance to talk yesterday."

"I didn't think you wanted to," Dingo responded skeptically.

"Nonsense, I love making friends," the female assured him with a warmth that almost seemed too picture-perfect to be genuine. She wasted no time in starting a conversation. "I was just walking through the neighborhood when I heard a commotion over hear, then I saw that cat go running." She laughed. "I guess you won that battle, huh?"

"Um, yeah," Dingo said quietly. He tried to imagine what this girl's motives could be - she must be thinking of something to do or say to him after putting up such a disturbingly nice front - but what? He steered clear of trouble, he'd never had a tangle with one of the populars; could she just get some kind of sick amusement from watching him squirm, and then doing something cruel before strutting off...?

"You don't say much," she commented, sitting down in front of him. "But I can tell you're thinking of a lot."

And she was a mindreader, too. "I'm not really used to..."

"Talking to anyone outside the family?" she offered, though the playful smile remained on her face. "Listen," she said. "You seem like a dog I could really get to know and like. Why don't you come down to the boiler room tonight, and hang out with a few friends and I? I'm sure they'd like to meet you."

The offer was just too golden, too great to believe. Dingo had to think for a second to keep his jaw from dropping. Should he go? Or was this going to be some kind of setup? As ideas and scenarios raced through his head, Tiffany was ready to supply his answer for him.

"Wonderful," she chirped, standing up again. "I'll see you later... Dingo." She leaned forward and gave him a friendly nudge on the cheek. Then she was off again, just as abruptly as she'd approached him, and Dingo was left alone just like that, standing still, awestruck at what had just happened.

+++

"I don't know what she wants from me," Dingo sighed, having just unloaded his predicament onto his sister, Saba. Saba was one of the more 'in' dogs around town, like Kodi - but a bit more concerned with socializing and gossip. Still, he trusted her enough to confide in her, and he knew she would never off and blab about the more personal facets of his life. Unlike many of the other girl dogs around Nome, Saba could be trusted with a secret.

The pretty wolfdog smiled at her brother, unalarmed at all by his so-called problem. "Don't worry about it so much, Dingo," she said. "It sounds like she just happened to take a liking to you! She wants to be friends."

"How can you be so sure?" he muttered. He held onto his suspicions tightly.

"Well, some -other- dogs in the in-crowd might not be so open to make room in there," she explained. "But I know Tiffany - maybe not extremely well, but I know she's much more openminded than her pack. She's not the kind of dog to put up some kind of front to hurt someone..."

"I hope so," Dingo said. He looked to the sky and saw the sun had inched closer to the west since he'd gone to his sister's house and had this conversation. In a couple of hours' time he could be sitting in the boiler room with a bunch of strange, staring, judgemental dogs he'd never had to talk to in his life... if he decided to take up Tiffany's offer.

Saba could see the dread on his face. She frowned, thinking silently to herself. Realizing what would probably be the best option, she told Dingo, "I'll go with you. No one'll dare humiliate my brother with me around to kick their tail." She grinned a crafty grin and swished her tail excitedly. Dingo had to appreciate his sister's loyalty. At that moment, he gave in, and decided how he would be spending his evening once and for all.

"Okay," he said. "If you say so. I'll go."

+++

Standing outside the boiler room, Dingo felt like a fool. He stood just around the corner, so even someone peeking out from the crack between the door and it's frame couldn't see him. Saba had promised to walk in with him, and where was she now, at seven thirty? The wind whipped his fur around, but, being a true Alaskan wolfdog, Dingo hardly felt the chill.

Just as he was about to call it quits and slink home, the tall wooden door creaked open, casting a dim firelight on the crisp, broken snow outside. A feminine voice spoke up.

"Dingo? Is that you?"

The male dog nearly collapsed right there as Tiffany stuck her head out the doorway and turned to look at him. He mustered an embarrassed-looking grin as he answered her.

"Yeah, it's me. I was just out here because... I was waiting for my sister... She told me to wait up for her a while ago, and -- "

Tiffany contained a small laugh. "Do you mean Saba? She's already here."

What?

"Oh... when did she?"

"A while ago," Tiffany answered. She stood aside, beckoning him in. "You must've missed her. C'mon in."

Humiliated before the real trial even began. Dingo sighed and entered the room. So much for smooth, he thought. It was definitely times like this he wished he'd had his brother Kodi's charm or Saba's social grace - instead of his own stupid, shy, antisocial self. As a pup it might have kept him on his parents' good side and out of trouble, but now, it never did him any good to be "the quiet one."

The conversation that had filled the room before came to a gradual halt