Grand Design

Chapter 2:  When Life Gives You Lemons

Disclaimer:  I do not own Balto, Balto:  Wolf Quest, or Balto:  Wings of Change, any of the characters from said movies, or the designs for Evvie, Faelan, Nessa and Brava.  Those are the property of Universal.  I do own the character personas for Brava, Nessa, Faelan and Evvie, the plot ideas and writing for this fan fiction, and all original characters appearing in it.

A wolf as white as the snow falling around her stood against a fuzzy gray background.  But beyond the wolf, everything else seemed incoherent.  This didn't matter of course; it was the wolf who was truly important - the only thing in the world that seemed to matter in this strange place.  her face had a worried, motherly look about it, thought it was almost painful to gaze at her, she was so lovely.

"Aleu," the alto voice seemed to sing.  It was feminine and caring, but with a hastened tone.

Aleu felt herself drifting, her mind slowly becoming more fragmented and her vision becoming incomprehensible.  Edges were beginning to blur and the whites of the snow and the wolf were running together, as if the whole scene before her had been painted with watercolor paints and splashed carelessly.

"You are destined to lead this pack and unify them again, under the laws which govern the wild.  But first you must learn what it is to be wild; to be a wolf.  You can be a great Alphess someday, but you must not lose sight of that goal because of doubt, especially now that you've been given the oppurtunity to attain it.  If you do not work for it, it will not come to pass."

The white wolf's form was fading, bluring into the gray that was all around the both of them.  Finally black rushed in on it all and everything vanished right before her eyes, nothing but a ghostly echo in her ears as evidence that the exchange had ocurred at all.

Aleu's eyes opened slowly and the world swam into focus around her.  Birds were singing, oblivious to the pain throbbing in her head, which caused her to shut her eyes again almost immediately.  The smell of dried blood filled her nares and she snorted distastefully in response.

"Hey, are you all right?" a quiet female voice asked.

It took a minute, but Aleu gradually opened her eyes again and looked up at the one who'd addressed her.  She was a wolf like herself, but she was mostly gray with the white flecking of age on her face and ears, from what she could see through the haze that floated in front of her vision.  Aleu blinked hard, trying to clear everything and tried to roll to get up.

"Whoa!" The stranger placed a paw on Aleu's side, preventing her from moving any further.  "You don't look so well.  Just stay still for a little bit.  What's your name?"

Aleu's cerulean eyes glared at the stranger at first, then softened.  She didn't trust her entirely, and who could blame her?  Something in her gut was telling her to at least be polite though.

"Aleu," was all she really had the strength to say before she felt some of the blood drain from her face.  Had she not actually spoken it she wouldn't have believed it would have taken that much out of her.

"Well, Aleu, it looks like you've taken a pretty bad spill.  That's a nasty gash on your head, but with the right care it should heal completely.  Just stay still for a bit longer, and then you should be okay to stand if you do so slowly."

The stranger, who in the next few moments revealed herself to be a loner named Amity, passed the time by talking.  Mostly about how she'd gotten to the area.  She'd been traveling with another fae who was seeking a pack, and had found shelter with the neighboring wolves.  When she'd smelled the blood, she couldn't resist coming to investigate.

"I'm sorry.  I know I've pretty much trespassed here, but it was quite obviously wolf blood and I was worried she'd gotten into trouble somehow.  Good thing I did come though."  She gestured with a paw to the poultice of sorts she'd made mostly from now dried earth.  "You'll need to wash that as well as possible in a few hours, but it will have stopped the bleeding by then."

"Thanks," Aleu replied shakily as she struggled into a sitting position.  She never stopped watching Amity from the corner of her eye, afraid to turn her back.  It was irrational to think that the female would turn on her after helping her, and she knew it, but it seemed that finally some of that instinct was kicking in.  Better late than never.

"Why did you help me?"

Amity frowned and canted her head.  "Does one wolf really need a reason to help another?"

The question made Aleu watch her even more closely, but the intensity of her gaze eventually lightened.

"Actually, now that you are doing better, I was wondering if you might have shelter for me in your pack, should your Alpha allow it?" When the Alpha Female looked at her bewildered, she quickly rephrased, "Not forever!  Just for a few days.  It does a body good to rest every now and again."

Aleu just slightly shook her head, for even that little movement was still making her brain a little loopy.  "It's not that.  I am the Alpha...or I'm supposed to be."  She stared at the ground, wishing she could burst it into flame to ease some of her frustration.  Evvie was right, she wasn't fit to lead; even this stranger couldn't acknowledge the slightest thought of her being a leader.

Amity frowned at first, then shot Aleu an apologetic grin.  "I'm sorry.  But what do you mean, 'supposed to be'?"

Aleu sighed.  "I just don't know what I'm doing.  I'm starting to think that I don't even belong out here."

"Weren't you born out here?" Amity asked, canting her head to the side in confusion.

"No.  I was..." Aleu hesitated.  Why should she tell this other wolf her life's story?  She probably could care less about where she came from, much like Evvie.  However, the kind gaze she was giving the hybrid made her feel like it was the right thing to do.  "I'm not a full wolf.  My father was half-wolf and was raised in a town far away from here.  My mother was a husky.  I never got adopted because I look more like a wolf than anything else."  The sting of those words was still painful even to this day.

"Ahh," Amity replied.  "That's an interesting situation indeed.  The old Alpha left you in charge, I take it?"

Aleu nodded.  "He said that the white wolf Aniu had come to him in a vision and told him that the one to lead the pack over to this land would come to them.  When I turned up, and soon after, my father, they thought it was him at first.  But then he decided it was me."  She paused with a frustrated huff.  "I don't really understand it all."

Amity's brows raised when she heard the name "Aniu," but she left the younger wolf finish before she spoke again.  "Wow.  I can imagine you wouldn't; that's a heavy bill to fill.  And I can imagine you're thinking how you really didn't want it in the first place?"

To the older wolf's surprise, Aleu shook her head.  "Well, I did.  Or at least, I thought I did.  I came out here looking for adventure, and looking to really find out who I am.  I'm just not sure this is right."

The grey wolf grinned, some of the white hairs spreading as she did so.  "Then perhaps you are on the right path."  When the hybrid gave her a confused look in return she explained, "Life is complicated.  Sometimes you know you're headed the right way, and sometimes you don't.  Usually when you aren't sure, it just means you have to dig a little deeper.  And also, you've shown some wisdom in knowing that you weren't sure in the first place.  It means you're aware of what you're doing now, and you're actively trying to better yourself.  I think you'll find that if you keep at it, you might surprise yourself."

A small smile sidled onto Aleu's muzzle as she thought about that.  "You asked if you could stay with us, right?  I don't see why not; it's the least I can offer for helping me."  She struggled to her feet, swaying a little and Amity moved to support her for a moment.  "Now I just need to figure out how to get back there."

Amity laughed at this, and it made Aleu almost feel self-conscious.  "Just use your nose.  You came all this way with the others, right?"  Aleu nodded.  "Well then, it should be easy to track their scents, especially after following yours back the way you came."  She paused when Aleu gave her a more confused look than she had a moment ago.  "You've never tracked anything with your nose before?"

"A little..." she replied.  Truthfully, she'd been the best at this with her siblings, but the thought of using for anything other than play hadn't occured to her.  Now that Amity mentioned it, it clicked in her mind.  "Oh!  I see!  Instead of looking for a rabbit or mouse, I just look for myself."

"Exactly," the older wolf