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Balto felt rather foolish, now that he thought about it. The whole (or at least, a large part) reason Fang had come to him was to be trained. Balto very nearly jeopardized the good standing he had with Kodi so that Fang could join their team, and Fang couldn’t very well join up in his condition until he had been properly instructed and his physicality improved.

“Oh! Well we uhh… we went to go see Kodi off, and then the alley, and then Fang had breakfast, and we went to go see Morse.” His tail swished the snow erratically. “I think I just forgot. Worried about Kodi, that’s all.”

Balto leapt from the deck, landing in a pile of snow that barely held up under his weight. “Your mother is probably worried sick about you, Fang! Let’s go check in with her, than we can continue.” Balto took a step down the pile, paw sinking up to his knee into snow. He quickly shuffled onto the more solid street, off of the piles of excess snow that the townsfolk had shoveled.

“And then you” he looked at Jenna “can have a heart to heart with Sally. Hopefully Boris hasn’t driven her up the wall yet.”

The trio started down the street, the ticking and clicking fading as they walked further away from the communications building. “Did you get a chance to talk to Sally yet? I think you’d get along, she worries a lot too!” he joked.

---------------------------------------------------------


Kodi bowed his head at Dusty, acknowledging her compliment.

“I don’t blame Ralph for blowing up, not in the slightest. He’s been acting a bit off all day today, and at least we know why. I just wish that… I don’t know, I knew about you two sooner, so I could have told him about us, prepared him.” He looked at the outlines of Ralph and Kirby fast approaching the Post Office. “I’m not saying it’s your fault Dusty, it’s not anyone’s fault. Things like this are just bound to get complicated, I suppose.”

The duo approached from the street, climbing the stairs only visible because of Mr. Simpson’s fresh imprints. Kodi couldn’t tell based on their stiff (likely frozen) facial expressions how Kirby’s intervention had gone. Time to break the ice, he thought.

“Hey, Kirby, Ralph.” he said Ralph’s name extra cautiously. “There’s some food here for you guys, if you want it.” He waited for several seconds in tense anticipation, desperate for a response for either of them. Much to his surprise, and relief, Ralph spoke first.

“Thanks, Kodi!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. As he walked past Kodi, whose face was in a stupor, he added with a chuckle. “And Kodi, good luck. With Dusty, and everything.”

Kodi tilted his head, confused. “Um, thanks?” He immediately whipped around to look at Kirby, who was sitting tall, examining his paw in a display of faux absentmindedness. “What did you do?”

Kirby puffed his chest, then slowly exhaled. “Kodi, I” he paused for dramatic effect “am a miracle worker. You owe me.”
“Yeah I do. I thought you said you were helping Ralph too, though?”
“Did I say that? Darn. Let’s chalk it up to a good deed then.”
“Deal.”

Kirby started walking to the other dogs hunched over bowls, eager to get his own meal. “You said there was some food here?”
“Yeah, help yourself.”

Kirby didn’t need telling twice. He knelt alongside Ralph.
“Hey, what gives? Why do you have so much more than me?”

The two commenced bickering, as was typical for them. Kodi sat down, humbly, modestly, and watched his team eat. In that moment, with everyone simply sitting together after a difficult run, everything felt… normal. In the midst of the past week, it was the most stable it had felt in a long time. Finally, something working out in his favor!

In the back of his mind, Kodi knew that his world was still fraught with loose ends. His dad, for one thing. Then there was that creature that attacked him, possibly the same as the one that had stirred up such a ruckus for the community. He didn’t care; he was content to forget them for just a moment, and bask in the normalcy. And then;

“Well team, Nome knows we’re safe now.” Mr. Simpson approached from the down the street, fumbling with his gloves. “The postmaster said that if we wanted to, we could stay the night, and weather the storm.”

He sat on the bench, and curiously watched his team. He wondered why Kodi was just watching them eat, and hadn’t touched his own yet, but didn’t say anything.

“I don’t know about you guys, and Dusty, but I’ve had enough adventure for one day. Hanging over a cliff twice in one twenty-four hour sitting is too much me for, I’m afraid.”

Kodi didn’t particularly mind. He wanted to speak to Balto yet, but he still didn’t know what to say, so another day of separation would probably help.

“Looks like those bones will have to wait another day, eh Dusty?”

Jenna nodded. "Yes, we've talked a bit, just I was with Rosie and her parents at the time and snuck away for a second to talk to her," she recounted, thinking back. "So I had to cut the conversation short, since clearly Rosie's parents seeing me with a skunk wouldn't end very well. No offense, Fang, even if my pups have been sprayed once or twice, I don't mind skunks, but humans tend to be very skiddish around them."

Fang nodded. "None taken, I know most people and dogs don't have a lot of good experiences with mom's species," he replied, understandingly. He then chuckled. "When I was a little pup, mom would paint a white stripe down my back and make me look like a skunk so predators and mean dogs wouldn't bother me," he explained, chuckling. "She even taught me how to do that warning thing they do before they spray, let me see if I remember it," he said, then did a perfect immitation of the warning display of a skunk, which Jenna couldn't help chuckling at.

--------------------

Dusty gave an approving bark in their owners direction then looked to Kodi with a smile. "Yeah, I guess. But we know White Mountain enough to have a date here if we really want to," she said, refraining from nuzzling Kodi simply to avoid stiring things up with Ralph again. Yes, she trusted Kirby, but she didn't want to risk it if they didn't have to.

"Kodi, I'm glad you patched things up with Fang though," said Dusty, trying to get off the topic of their romance for the same reason she refrained from nuzzling him. She leaned in close. "Let's try to avoid talking about us around Ralph for a bit, just to be sure, even if Kirby smoothed things out, we shouldn't risk riling things up again if we can avoid it," she whispered in his ear. "Anyway," she said aloud, leaning back to her normal position. "I'm really glad you did before you did or said something to get Sally angry at you, an angry skunk is something I don't think any of us wants to tangle with."

Balto snickered at the downright uncanny impression. “If I saw that, now I’d be terrified. A were-skunk would be nothing to balk at!” They cleared the streets, crossing the plain along the coastline towards his ship.

“Well, unless Boris decides to bother you two, you should be able to have a nice conversation with her. No interruptions. Fang and I have got some training to do.” Balto’s right paw landed on the beach as the fluctuating tide turned in enough to douse his paw, and he reacted with a skip to the left. “Wow, that’s cold!” He stopped to shake his paw dry, careful not to splash any water on Jenna or Fang.

“I meant, we’ll train after you see your mother again too. In case you were wondering.”

They approached the front of the boat, Balto looking for a sign of life. “Sally? Boris? Anyone home?”

“Balto? You’re back!” Boris popped his head from the cabin, where he had been using Balto’s old blanket in the midst of the blizzard conditions.

“You sound surprised. Hey, is Sally up there too? Fang and Jenna would like to talk with her.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Simpson smiled at Dusty. “At least someone agrees with me! Everyone else is too busy stuffing their faces. Except for you, Kodi. Something wrong boy?”

Kodi nodded at Dusty, affirming that he understood what she had whispered to him. It seemed quick – too quick for Ralph to make such a major adjustment. If Kodi had to guess, the pendulum from overtly friendly and positive could just as swiftly swing backwards if acted upon. He made his way over to the food dishes, not hungry in the slightest despite his already diminished half-breakfast.

“You’re right about that, Dusty. I think I swallowed some of Sally’s musk already. I don’t know what I would do if she was actually aiming for me.” He shuddered when he reached the food dishes.

He knelt down, pretending to eat to appease the concerned Mr. Simpson. He was right next to Kirby, who was wolfing down his food. Kodi didn’t know how they had any appetite at all. Maybe the rush of near death and emotional turmoil just didn’t phase Kirby like they did Kodi.

“Speaking of Fang, have you guys thought about him?” He asked to Kirby and Ralph.
Both Ralph and Kirby uttered simultaneously “Nope.”

Not satisfied, Kodi pressed further, careful not to create any more tension. “Not at all? About him possibly joining up with us?”

Ralph lifted his head from his meal, but Kirby nudged him with his shoulder to stop him. “Kodi, I already told you. We’ll deal with that when we get there, OK?”

Kodi looked stung as he replied “Oh yeah…I remember. Sorry for asking.”

Kirby waved his paw as if to dismiss it. “Don’t mention. I don’t know about you all, but I want to enjoy myself this evening. Worrying about things that have no bearing for the moment is not my idea of enjoying myself, understood?”

Kodi nodded his head. “Sure thing. I think we could all use a night to unwind.”

Kirby agreed with a nod of his own, swallowing the food he had in his mouth. “You and Dusty can have a first date, and Ralph – are you OK, Kodi?"

Kodi coughed loudly at the mention of him and Dusty, trying vainly to cover it up for Ralph. The attempt came across as transparent to all involved.

“Hey Kodi, and you too Dusty,” Ralph started. “I’m already okay with you two being… you know, together.” Kodi didn’t say anything. “It’s nice that you all want to be coy about it around me, but… I’m not stupid.”

“I’d argue that” said Kirby, not missing an opportunity to tease Ralph some more. Kodi thought it was a bit insensitive given the timing and position Ralph had put himself in. Ralph however, didn’t react any differently than he would have normally.

“Kirby? Being smart doesn’t matter when I can outfight you any day of the week!”
“If you didn’t take so many days off, maybe you could do that too!”
“You-“

With that, Kirby and Ralph gave chase, running down the street, yipping excitedly.

Kodi shook his head slowly and smiled to himself. “They’ll never change!” he said aloud.

His mood lightened by their antics, Kodi’s appetite recovered from its’ dormant state. He turned to the food dishes, Ralph’s overturned because of his hasty getaway, and actually started eating some of his own food. In between his first gulp, he lifted his head and spoke to Dusty behind him.

“I guess we’re on for tonight?” Another bite, and a swallow. “What did you want to do?”

Sally down and looked down at the group. "Hey there," she called, climbing down to the canines, nuzzling her adopted son. "Did everything go alright?" she asked, just making sure, she was a mother after all.

Fang rubbed his head with his paw. "Well it did... Though I kind of messed up and got tangled in a bunch of rope... Somehow..."

Sally chuckled. "It's alright Fang, no harm done," she said, then turned to Balto and Jenna. "Fang is a tad danger prone I'm afraid, always has been. It's no problem though, just have to be a little careful. It's probably partially because his coordination is a tad messed up thanks to me being so small while I tried to teach him things, can't very well line up perspectives that I've never see from."

Jenna nodded. "Oh it's quite alright, I'm sure Balto can help him with that," she replid, giving a small smile. "Pups normally grow out of the danger prone stage eventually, just the way things are."

Fang looked to Boris. "So, how did mom and you get along?" he asked, curious. He'd assumed it'd go pretty well, but wasn't sure.

-------------------

Dusty chuckled, watching the two males run and chase each other as she finished her meal, finding an appitate perhaps BECAUSE of the life or death experience. "Not sure, there's a bit of stuff to do around here," she replied, looking around carefully. "Though first things first..." she said, nuzzling his head. "We should get a little privacy, even if Ralph doesn't mind, I'd prefer having some alone time if we're going to be on a date."

Balto watched Fang and his foster mother interact with each other, and couldn’t help but smile. They were so unique, yet so alike. Fang certainly was impressionable; he had adopted much of his stance and mannerisms from his adopter. His hind paws appeared to be placed further forward at a steeper angle than was normal for a dog, and perhaps out of habit, Fang’s back was perpetually hunched. Balto suspected it was so he could more easily interact with his mother on a similar level. He hoped it was reversible.

Contrary to Balto’s suspicions, Boris failed to drive Sally up the wall. Rather, they looked like they quite enjoyed each other’s company. Was it their shared paternal bond? Whatever it was, Balto gave her credit. Boris wasn’t exactly easy to get along with, after all.

“Haha! Ho yes!” Boris laughed as he waddled towards Balto. “Your mother is something else, boychick. Good company, if ever there was some. Stay out of trouble, Fang – she worries about you, you know!”

“Sounds like it’s a good thing she came to stay with us, huh Boris?” Balto said slyly.

His inflection not unnoticed, Boris replied in his defense. “I had nothing against her personally.” He said staunchly. “It’s just that skunk in general are… you know.” Boris covered his beak with one wing, and wafted the air in front of him with the other.

“Yeah, that’s been a problem with her. For her, rather.” Balto said, a slight touch of pity cast upon the mention of her prejudice.
Boris sat beside him, joining Balto in observing Fang and Sally’s interaction. “That’s the least of her problems, if you asked her. That Fang… he means the world to her.”
Balto chuckled “Well, can you blame her? Especially you, Boris!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Boris asked, raising one of his thick eyebrows.
“I mean, wasn’t it like that with me, for you?” Balto asked. Boris simply shrugged. “Haha, why am I not surprised?” Balto rolled his eyes. Boris would never let on, but Balto knew that he cared. Or at least, he was fairly sure.
“And a-speaking of family, how is Kodi doing? I trust that’s where you and Fang disappeared to?” Boris inquired.
Balto nodded half-heartedly. “Yeah, that’s where we were. Kodi is doing alright.”
“You don’t sound too sure of yourself.”
“I’m just worried about him, that’s all. Did you hear about the new route they are taking?”
“A new route? What was wrong with the old one?” Boris asked, his curiosity piqued.
“There’s some wild animal on the loose, that’s been attacking people around here. You didn’t know?”
Boris looked slightly panicked when he answered. “Balto, how you expect me to know what goes on with humans? A monster, you said?”
“I said it was a wild animal.” Balto shook his head. “It just seems like everyone else knew around here except for me.”
Boris perched himself on the rail of the boat, scanning the horizon, as if expecting the monster to suddenly lunge at him from the snow laden plains. “Calm down, Boris. I don’t think it’s going to come this close to town.” It was like talking to a brick wall, or as Boris would say, talking to humans.

“I take back everything I said about being a country bird – I think a trip to town would be quite nice this time of year.”

Balto sighed, and decided to leave Boris to his own devices. It would save Balto the frustration, and he was already on edge. He felt impatient. He thought his choice to stay with Jenna would make him feel better, seeing his mate’s worry lessened to help quell his own. It did nothing of the sort. Watching Fang and Sally’s camaraderie didn’t help at all. They seemed so carefree and happy with each other. Why? Why did he throw it away? Balto wanted to howl as loudly as he could. To do something, ANYTHING to release his stress.

He took a deep breath, and exhaled. He hadn’t slept for almost two days, he had no excuse to be as worked up as he was. Balto was eager to start training. That was constructive, and he could stretch his legs and exert some pent up energy while he was at it.

“Fang?” Balto pleaded. “Are you ready to go?”

--------------------------------------------

Kodi lifted his head from his bowl, finishing his own meal. As he looked up, he noticed his shadow on the wall was elongated. He turned around, an orange corona blinding him, reflecting brightly from the flecks of snow dancing in the air. It wouldn’t be soon before night fell.

“I agree. At least make our first date semi-proper.” He looked back at their day, with almost nothing normal about it. Nearly dying, friends going crazy, his father hiding from him, and now his first date. “Although” he continued “I don’t even know what a proper date is. It’s um… my first time being out. Like this.” Kodi folded his ears down, embarrassed. In his three years of existence, he devoted most of, if not all of his time to becoming prepared for his job, the one he had now. He just never had the time or inclination to find a companion. At least, that’s what he always told himself.

Kodi then thought of where they would go together. Given his choice, he’d have brought Dusty to the boiler room, where his parents had their first real romantic meeting. He’d heard the story many times from both of his parents, and it was remarkably similar on both sides. However, wherever the boiler room was here, Kodi didn’t know. It wouldn’t be the same either way. Now when Kodi thought about it, most of the places he’d been to in White Mountain were related to his job, and almost always occupied by others.

“I hate to place the burden on you for this, Dusty, but I uhh… I don’t know the popular private places around here. Does it have to be someplace special?” Kodi sighed. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, avoiding her gaze out of shame for his lack of knowledge in these matters. “I just want to do this right.”

Fang gave his mother a nuzzle and rejoined his mentor. "Ready, Balto," he said, making a token effort to adjust his posture to proper dog stance. "Can I say something first?" he asked, looking up at Balto. "Thank you so much for doing this for me..." he said, smiling widely. "No one else would, and mom couldn't, so it means a lot... And maybe doing this will finally make dad see the light," he said, in a hopeful tone.

"Don't get me wrong, I want to do this for me, it's my dream... But I'm hoping somewhere inside him, dad really cares about me," said Fang, looking conflicted. "And maybe caring about me will make him see he's wrong about you, if you train me like this. I know it's a long shot, but if he really does care, you helping me will show him you really do mean well... Or make him furious, but I'm REALLY hoping the former..." he said, looking conflicted. "I really hope..."

Jenna and Sally ascended to the boat's deck with Boris to watch things unfold. "It's so nice to see my son finally get the training he needs," said Sally, smiling widely. "I still can't believe the poor boy's father won't train him. Well I hope it wipes that smug smirk off his face when he sees his refusal to train Fang didn't stop him..."

"I hope so too, Sally, but I think that smug smirk is Steele's default expression," said Jenna, remembering the cruel dog. "But if Fang's mother was able to find good in Steele somewhere, I'll trust her. Mothers have a habit of knowing things like this after all," she continued, looking out over the vast arctic. "It's hard to be away from your child, I hope Fang and his mother see one another again one day."

---------------

Dusty gave a chuckle. "It's fine, I know how it is," she said, rubbing his head fur playfully. "I know a few places here and there," she replied, thinking. "But it depends on what you have in mind. There's some nice slow places and some more wild places around here, I think slow would be the best."

Dusty actually found Kodi's naivity in this subject endearing, it was kind of cute. She then nuzzled him softly. "Come on, let's go," she said, finishing up what little remained of her food and looking around. "Though be aware, there are still some dogs around here who are a bit more on the wild side, but they won't bother us much, more annoying than anything else."

Balto returned the gesture with a genuine grin of his own. “Not a problem, Fang. I’m glad to help.” He observed Fang’s posture, almost very nearly identical to the one he had used earlier that day. Sally wasn’t kidding when she said he was a quick study. “It’s helpful for me too, believe it or not. It’s shaping up to be something useful for me to do. Passing on my knowledge to someone reminds me of teaching Kodi again. He’s a lot like you, you know.”

He pawed the snow lightly, tentatively. “I know he said he was sorry to you, but I just want to make sure you know. I don’t think you would anyways, but please don’t hold it against him too much, ok? I think he was just scared. I didn’t paint a pretty picture of your father for him, I’ll admit. I’ve never seen him blow up like that before. It’s only natural for that to happen though, right? Sometimes? Sometimes you just lose sight of what’s real, and you don’t know how to handle it?” As Balto’s series of questions continued, desperation seeped it’s way into his voice.

Balto was sickened by himself. Yes, what he was saying applied to how Kodi acted. But just like he had done with Kodi about Fang joining their team, much of his justification to such extremes was all about Balto. Now, here he was, asking a likely bewildered Fang a series of questions, indirectly seeking a pardon for his own transgressions.

“Ah… don’t mind me. I can get carried away about things I’m passionate about, I’m sure you can relate.” He was doing it again. It had been maybe twenty minutes since he had seen Morse, but Balto was raring to dash back and try again. He was desperate to do something, ANYTHING, to get his mind off of his son.

“So, you’ve got the posture down.” Balto gestured for Fang to follow him, away from the boat into the more open tundra. Training Fang would help himself too, in more ways than one. “You would look good on a display, but your aim is to actually move.”

Balto remembered the near catastrophe that might have ensued earlier, when he had unfairly and prematurely asked Fang to race without any training to the totem. Now that Fang had the pose down, Balto could get a better feel for Fang’s current running style, to better measure how much he needed to improve, and where, without an immitigable fear of Fang harming himself before the get-go.

“Now, this is for my own observation only, so I can gauge how you take off. Actually starting is a hugely important part of running, so we’re going to be spending some time on that first and foremost.” Balto jogged several yards away from Fang, before stopping on a patch of unusually soft snow. He dragged his paw through it, shuffling backwards, to create a line perpendicular to where Fang was standing.

“From where you are standing right now, run to here.” Balto ordered, with a touch of perk and pep to take the edge off what was likely a very high pressure scenario to his uncouth trainee. “Just remember to try and keep that posture, ok? You’ll be just fine!”


-------------------------------------------

Kodi laughed softly, and gave Dusty a head rub of her own. Hers was very soft. Kodi could see why humans enjoyed petting their heads so much. It was a shame the weather was so ornery today, or the children would probably have come to say hello. The young denizens of White Mountain were so excited when they rolled through, even if they didn’t get anything. It was just one of the many things that made Kodi’s job feel worthwhile.

“Let’s hope they stay that way. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a pretty wild day already. I’m with our master, I wouldn’t mind a quiet evening.” Kodi could already feel his eyelids getting heavy. He had woken up earlier than usual, and gone through more in a day than he normally did in a cumulative week. He shook it off, determined to see his first date as something special. He didn’t want to remember it as him being sluggish and tired; that would be a disservice to his extraordinary companion in front of him.

Kodi glanced down the street, searching for signs of life. Aside from Kirby and Ralph scuffling down the road, it was very quiet. Maybe the more wild canines around town were taking a night too.

He lifted his paw in front of him, pointing down the road opposite Ralph and Kirby. “Lead on. I’m with you.”

Fang nodded slowly. He went through Balto's instructions rather quickly in his head, copying his stance as correctly as he could. He got into a running position and took off. He actually managed to do rather well, for a beginner... Until it was time to stop. He did so quite incorrectly, slipping and being sent head overhills when he reached the finish line. Upon landing he gave a nervious look. "Uh... How'd I do?" he asked, rather embarassed that he'd somehow managed to mess up THAT badly.

Sally blinked, watching carefully as Fang stood back up. She was relieved he hadn't hurt himself there. She then looked to Jenna. "So Balto taught his pups how to run?"

Jenna nodded. "Yes, though mainly just Kodi," she explained. "Kodi was the one who needed to learn the most, as he was slower than his siblings and always left behind. Kodi got quite upset at that, I'll admit," she explained, thinking back to her son as a little puppy, struggling to catch up with his siblings. "But he listened and Balto taught, now he's the dog he is today," she continued, smiling. "Balto taught himself watching the sled races, is that right Boris?" she asked, knowing Boris, obviously, hadn't been the one to teach Balto, being he was a goose, not a dog, and it likely wasn't Muk and Luk, concidering polar bears ran completely different.

-------------------

Dusty smiled and lead the way along. "I know a nice, quiet place were we can relax," she said, leading the way. "I'll admit it, I did enjoy the night life a bit, nothing TOO wild, but I like to see the town when I can," she explained, looking around.

"It's always nice to see places in a new light. When you just run into town, stay in a building all night, then leave the next day, you don't get a feel for the place. My mom always said to see the world, stop and look around and everything. It's really good advice," Dusty continued, getting her barings before leading into an alley. "That's part of the reason I love being a sled dog, I get to see things besides just Nome, it's exciting," she walked up to a fence in an alley and lifted up a board, stopping it from flipping around and hitting Kodi on the head by about an inch. "Watch your head," she said, lowering her head to go under it. Behind it was just a little open area, nothing big and fancy, but had a great view of the night sky. "Here we are."

Balto couldn’t help but laugh. Not so much at the wipeout (although it was pretty funny), but at how nervous Fang was acting.
“Haha, relax! You aren’t going to get it the first time. I didn’t, and I sincerely doubt that your father did either.”

Fang had such a distraught expression on his face. It was almost as though his entire purpose of being hinged upon becoming a sled dog. It was just like Kodi was when he was learning. Only with Fang, it was to gain his father’s approval. A seemingly lost cause, Balto thought, but Balto wasn’t about to leave him flapping in the wind. Balto was happy that Kodi didn’t go through the rigors of training to impress him. At least, he didn’t think that was the reason.

Balto thought that reminding Fang that imperfection was expected at the outset would help to lighten his mood, but Balto couldn’t discern whether it had or not. He might have been better off if he hadn’t brought Steele up.

“In all seriousness though, that was very good for a first real try. Stopping and starting are the hardest parts to running. Remember, there’s going to be some slippage whatever you do; dogs just aren’t well equipped to stop gracefully.” Balto looked at his and Fang’s large wolfen paws, and lifted his left paw from the snow. He shook it to the effect of white powder falling on the ground, revealing his claws momentarily. “Luckily, believe it or not, you and I have a bit of an advantage when it comes to grip with these things.” Balto from three years ago would never had said something positive about his more feral physical traits, and now Balto embraced them as a part of who he was.

“I think I know what your problem is though, and it should be an easy fix.” He said. “When you were stopping, you leaned forward, pushing yourself towards the ground to stop.” Balto had little doubt it was a force of habit Fang had developed with his foster mother. Fang appeared to try and keep himself low to the ground, probably unconsciously, for when he spoke to Sally. He was taller than her (obviously), and in order to look directly at her, he probably had to crouch forward. It might be a viable communication tactic, but it did his running prowess no good.

“When you are going that fast, and especially with that kind of momentum, lowering your front to the ground like that just makes your head an axis for the rest of you to flip over. So, try this instead.”

Balto took off from the line he made, slightly askew from Fang’s messy landing, and ran towards where Fang had started from. Taking extra care to be correct in his posture for demonstration’s sake, he executed his stop. He pushed his hind legs slightly forward, digging into the snow a ways, enough for him to have room to lean backwards. He slid a little bit, but came to a relatively clean stop.

“Did you get that?” Balto shouted behind him. “Don’t push forward! Pull back! Think you can do that for me?”

-----------------------------------


“What?” Boris poked his head down from the roof of the ship, where he was undoubtedly perching to keep an eye on the surroundings. Still frightened from what Balto told him, he answered the question as he vaguely remembered hearing it. “Yes, Balto learned through observation of those other dogs. It wasn’t long after we brought him here that he became obsessed with sledding. Don’t ask me why, he just did.”

Deciding it was safe, Boris glided down onto the front of the ship alongside Jenna and Sally. He peered over the edge just as Fang executed his rather spectacular roll in the snow, sending powder flying every which way.

“He was fascinated by it, nearly killed himself several times training on his own. He couldn’t get the stopping down either.” Balto ran a ways before coming to a stop in the sitting position. “He’s got it now though.”

“You know, when he was learning how to run, he watched Steele and his human training. Before he actually met him, he said he wanted to get to know ‘that Steele’, and maybe get some pointers! Can you even imagine?” He shook his head at the mental image in utter disbelief.

-------------------------------------

Kodi looked around, in awe. The alley opened into a small area huddled in the middle of several buildings. Whether through some construction decision, or a construction error, the buildings around the clearing didn’t have any windows facing it. As a result, the only light was the natural light from the moon that had started to rise. It was unusually luminous that night.

“Wow… Dusty. It’s so surreal here. It’s so dark, but at the same time… it’s not. Do you know what I mean?” Kodi’s gaze shifted upward, at the night sky, still a dark shade of violet from the recent setting sun. The color reminded him vividly of Dusty’s eyes, a very strange hue that he couldn’t quite place a name to. “Your mother was right. I haven’t really explored too much around here, look what I’ve been missing. Look at the stars!”

Shining brightly above them, in perfect harmony with the timing of the darkening sky, stars became visible, one by one. Before long, the black was engulfed in a sea of glimmering lights. Kodi felt like the cosmos had aligned themselves especially for this moment, for them.

“…Wow…” Kodi whispered, breathlessly. He felt safe here, like time had stopped. He looked down from the sky to Dusty, who was already looking at him. Those curiously colored eyes. He stared back into them, transfixed. “Dusty… I love you.”

Fang watched Balto closely, very dilliagently trying to figure out how he'd done it so he could repeat it. It didn't look that hard, but he'd naturally not had much experience doing this. He got into the proper starting position and took off. The first time he naturally didn't do THAT well his first time and once more slipped and fell. But he tried again. On about his fourth shot, he finally got it right, but was already out of breath due to not pacing his breating properly.

"H-how... How was... How was that?" asked Fang, panting heavily. He wasn't sure why, but assumed he was simply out of shape, which in his mind made sense and was partly true. He'd never done something like this before. He finally caught his breath. "I guess I'm just out of shape..."

-----------------------

"Well actually, maybe if Balto had befriended Steele when they were pups, Steele would've turned out differently," said Jenna, thinking it out. "Steele wasn't born bad after all, we can't help but guess what would've happened if things had happened just a little differently..." she said, looking over to Boris.

Sally nodded. "That's right, maybe if Steele and Balto had been friends, Steele wouldn't hate wolves like he does. Then maybe he and Fang's mom could've been happy together."

Jenna nodded. "It's not for us to decide, but it's interesting to think about how one little thing could've changed it all," she continued. "I mean just think what would've happened, Boris, if Rosie's hat hadn't blown out into the race that day. Balto wouldn't have had to go save it and outran Steele. Steele wouldn't have gotten jealious of Balto. Sure, Steele bullied Balto a lot, but that was when Steele's grudge really started. We don't know where it'd head, but just imagine how differently things would've played out if Balto hadn't gotten involved to save Rosie's hat."

----------------------

Dusty smiled, staring into Kodi's eyes and nuzzling her boyfriend, or perhaps mate, she didn't know which would be better to call him at the time being. Mate felt right though... "I love you too Kodi," she said, touching her nose to his before gently pushing him on his back and laying down on hers beside him, looking up at the stars. "I love the stars..." she said, looking up at them.

"... My mom was a smart dog, she always tried to help me so much after dad abandoned us... We'd used to watch the stars half the night sometimes. The human who owned us liked them too, talked about the constallations," said Dusty, looking up at them. "And not just the ones everybody knows about either," she explained. "Did you know there's a wolf?" she asked, holding her paw up and tracing the stars. "That's Lupus," she stated, smiling. "There's two dogs too," she said, tracing them once again. "Canius Major and that one is Canius Minor."

Dusty smiled. "Too bad there's not a wolfdog constallation, huh?"

“Out of shape?” Balto parroted back to Fang. “Just a bit.” He answered at the prompting of Fang’s shortness of breath after only four iterations of stopping and starting. “Kodi was the same way. He had no stamina to speak of.”

Balto could recall all of his pups participating in a massive game of tag on the beach. It wasn’t so much a game of tag as it was a sporadic and hectic collective chase, with no rhyme or reason. It didn’t matter to them; they were having a blast regardless. All of them except for the small pup bringing up the rear, and falling further behind.

-----

Kodi panted, his brothers and sisters pulling away from him. He leaned his head forward trying to propel himself further and faster, the tip of his wet nose receiving a light coating of sand from the beach.
“…Hey! Wait for me!” he called out weakly, his voice dissipated between his gasping. “Wait… for me.”
He kept running, until he started walking, until he finally collapsed on the sand. “…please…”
He laid his right paw over the front of his eyes. His entire body jerked as he started sobbing.

“What’s wrong with me?” Kodi asked aloud. Unexpectedly, a voice replied, a large paw gently placing itself on Kodi’s upper back.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Kodi. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.” Balto said softly.
Kodi peered up at his dad’s face, which was looking down at him with deep concern. He then rested his head back on the sand, the same sad look on his face.

“Why can’t I keep up with them?”

“I don’t know.” Balto told him. The truth was, it was apparent from the get-go that Kodi wasn’t as physically developed as his siblings, but Balto wasn’t about to tell his son that. “But, I do know that I can help.”

“Really? How? Can you really help me, dad?” Kodi asked excitedly, looking up at his father from his prone position. “Will I be able to run with them?”

“Kodi, you’ll be able to pass them. They’ll be the ones chasing you!” Balto bent down, and carefully lifted his pup up by the scruff of his neck. He moved to a thick wooden pole close to the water, one that humans used to tie down boats to the shore, and placed his son on it. “How does that sound?”

Kodi leapt up and down gleefully, no concern given to slipping and falling from his post. “That sounds so cool! When? When?”

Balto leaned forward, his nose touching the base of the pole, his shoulder level with Kodi. “How about right now? Hop on.” He felt
Kodi’s light paws prodding his back as he leapt over his shoulders. Balto lifted his head again, and gestured ahead to the pups, who were continuing their push forward after a small wrestling and rolling break. “Hold on tight.”

Balto, with a decidedly steady gait, began running along the shore towards them. Spray from the ocean misted the two, but neither of them cared. In a manner of moments, the two caught up with their family, and in a manner of even less moments, passed them. Kodi turned around cautiously, and looked at this brothers and sisters, who returned the gaze with a look of mixed jealousy and curiosity. Like all animals do when they see something running, the puppies gave chase. Despite their best efforts, their figures grew smaller as Balto and Kodi ran further away from them.

Kodi laughed and whooped loudly, genuinely. He gently kneaded his head into the back of his father’s shoulders. “Thanks Dad.” He whispered, all traces of his sadness lifted as the ocean breeze lightly caressed his face.


-----

“Look at him now.” Balto said wistfully, a distant expression in his eyes from his remembrance. “Fang, I don’t have a doubt you’ll be able to do just as wonderfully. Starting from nothing is never easy, so don’t be discouraged, alright?”

Balto looked at his pupil studiously. He couldn’t help but notice how frighteningly thin he was. “Besides, I think that your inexperience is only half of the problem. Your body needs some protein on it, some muscles to draw upon!”

He stood up on all fours. “That’s no excuse for stopping though. Nourishment is important, but there really is nothing as vital as acclimating yourself to strenuous exercise. Let’s run it again. Both of us.”

Balto walked to the line, which by now was more of thick divot of snow. “One more thing. You’ve got it down mostly, but when you are stopping, be sure to note how far your hind paws go forward.” Balto sat on the ground, pushing his hind legs in front of him as far as he could. He probably looked like a human sitting in a chair from a distance.

“If you push your paws too far forward, it’ll be a lot harder to lean back and still have control of your balance and footing.” Balto demonstrated, and leaned backwards so that he fell into the snow. “It’s important to find a happy medium for both the forward and backward motions. Got it?” He rolled over, and stood back up. “Ready to go it again?” he asked.

-------------------------


"I'm not seeing them."

Kodi struggled to see the shapes in the sky that Dusty was pointing out. In an effort to align his field of vision with hers, to see things from her perspective, he leaned close to her, his head parallel to hers. “I still don’t see it…” He shifted closer to her. Still nothing.

His tail jerked slightly at the onset of frustration. He felt Dusty’s soft tail brush against his. Without turning his head, he looked out of the corner of his right eye, and realized just how close he had gotten to her. If he leaned just a little bit more…

That seems a bit forward, doesn't it?
What do you think?
Well, yes, but-
What do you feel? Not think, but feel?
...

The side of his muzzle rubbed against Dusty’s. His ear twitched slightly at the sensation and warmth, and he felt it flick her ear as well.

“There they are…” Finally, when he and Dusty were as close as they were, her gaze guiding his, he was able to see the constellations plain as day. He didn’t know how he could have missed them, but given the comfort and support they were sharing now, he didn’t regret it in the slightest. Just maybe, he thought things through too much. This felt right.

“Wow… I’ve never noticed the shapes before. It seems so obvious… so clear.”

Kodi shifted his head downward, so that it was leaning on Dusty’s shoulder. He closed his eyes as he told her. “Sometimes, I forget that I’m… you know, part wolf. My paws are a little bit bigger than most, when I think about it. Even then I’m not sure. Most of the time I see myself as…”

He stopped to think of what to say next. He was going to say “the son of Balto.” like he usually did when describing himself. Being with Dusty made him realize something though.

“I see myself as… me.”

“That’s cute. It really is.”

The voice came from behind them. Kodi quickly whipped around, crouched down and growling at the sudden intrusion. Whoever said it was still behind the fencing, but not for long.

“Oh, don’t let us interrupt you.” said the dog as he suavely moved from under the boards, his face now exposed by the moonlight. This was clearly one of the wild dogs that Dusty had mentioned. His face bore several scars; a set of straight lines running down the side of his muzzle, likely a token from a fight he had engaged in. A patch of fur was missing on the left side of his neck. Whatever he wanted, Kodi wanted no part of it.

“Us?” snarled Kodi warily, crouching even lower.

Three other dogs followed behind him. They all looked about as roughed up as he did. “Of course ‘us’. It’s not safe to wander these streets alone. We’re all about safety.” The four had spaced themselves evenly along the wall and opening to the alley. There would be no getting through them at this point, not without risking an unnecessary tussle.

“Wouldn’t you know it though, our safe haven isn’t safe anymore.” Said the brown Husky to the far left “is it, boss?”
“No, it’s not.” Said the scarred dog, the apparent leader of the pack. “Don’t worry though, they don’t appear all that threatening.”

Kodi remained steadfast in his defensive position, Any sudden moves from any of them, and he would spring into action. “If you want us to leave, just say so. Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.” He said, hopefully as menacing as he could.

They all laughed at his feeble attempt to frighten them off, but their leader shushed them with just a raise of his paw. “Difficult? Ha! Why would we want you to leave when the party’s just getting started?”

Kodi decided wisely that he and Dusty wouldn’t likely be able to take them on, so he changed his tactic to simply trying to get out without any problems. He stood up, trying to relax his tense body unsuccessfully. “Look, we don’t want any trouble. If we intruded, we’re sorry, we’ll just be on our way, ok?” Kodi’s voice cracked on the last word.

They laughed again, and we subsequently stopped. “Maybe you should just stop talking, half breed.”
So they were listening to them talking. Did they follow us here? Kodi thought. “You’ve been awfully quiet, dear.” Their leader said to Dusty.

Kodi snapped to his defensive/offensive stance again. “Leave her out of this!”.

The leader’s attitude flipped a switch, and his cocky but controlled demeanor abruptly changed to an angry and furious one.

“I WASN’T TALKING TO YOU, MONGREL!” He barked, his face twisted in a snarl, teeth bared. His henchmen all growled in unison. Kodi glared at him, but kept his mouth shut. Kodi’s posture grew more and more taut as the scarred dog approached Dusty, with a most impure and self-satisfied expression on his face.

“What’s your name, baby? Don’t make me beg, because…” he leaned in close to Dusty and inhaled deeply before whispering menacingly in her ear. “…I won’t.”

Fang gave a nod. "Sure," he said, having caught his breath enough to continue. He gave thought to Balto's suggestions and took position. He started again, this time taking Balto's advice and getting it on his second run through, doing far better. He came to a stop, still panting heavily and out of breath. "Did I do better that time?" he asked, always seeking to know how well he did.

Fang was determined to learn, he wanted to know how to be a better sled dog and runner. He really wanted to improve. He'd do whatever it took to do that and he hopped that Balto could see that. "I'm really grateful for your help by the way, it means a lot."

------------

"It's Dusty, and you DON'T call my MATE a mongrol," said Dusty, not able to stand hearing Kodi being called names. "For your information, I'm spoken for, so don't get any ideas. And don't get any ideas of causing trouble, our sled team is with howling distence, mess up and they'll be on your faster than a pack of wolves," she sai,d partly bluffing, but partly not, considering that Ralph and Kirby were both big dogs and with her and Kodi could probably handle things if it got rough.

"And I'm REALLY not interested in you, even if I wasn't taken, you're not my type. And it's got nothing to do with the scars, I don't like dogs who bully others," said Dusty simply. "I REALLY don't like that in a dog."

Balto was surprised by how quickly Fang had improved. Clearly, his mind at the time was on one, incredibly strong, reinforced track. Balto looked at Fang, whose face was alight with gratitude to match with his statement. He could tell that Fang wasn’t used to this type of physical exertion. Yet, despite the ragged breathing and heavy panting, there was a fire in his eyes. If Balto had to guess, he would probably run himself into the ground before he stopped pursuing his goal.

He knew that as his primary trainer for the moment, it was his responsibility to have Fang push himself to increase his physical aptitude. On the same token, Balto needed to make absolutely sure that Fang didn’t hurt himself as a result of his zeal.

“It’s not a problem. It’s like I said before, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than occupying my time with something constructive. Besides, you came all the way from… where did you say you were from?” Balto didn’t recall Fang ever mentioning where he had come from, but it seemed easier to wedge into a conversation than outright asking him out of the blue. Balto was curious as to Fang’s upbringing, and the he knew that wherever one’s home was situated played a large part in determining who they were.

“Well, wherever you’re from, it’s the least I can do. It couldn’t have been easy, especially in your condition.” Balto continued, making a note of Fang’s exhaustion. “No offense! Please don’t be disappointed that you are already tired, alright? Once you get the basics of running down, the rest of your training is building your stamina. No tricks to that really, except breath control; you’ve just got to work at it.”

Balto looked out to the horizon, a non-descript grey blur in the absence of the sun’s orange hue. “When you run mail, you have to travel far, far, away. You’ll have teammates to help you pull the sled, but you’ve still got to be able to go the distance. At this rate, you’ll get the basics down in no time at all!”

Balto yawned, his mouth opening wide, making a refuge for several snowflakes that melted on impact with his tongue. Balto was tired too, only not from the immediate physical exertion he had underwent. He was sleep-deprived, worried, and a bit hungry. He decided to wrap up the training for the day, so he could rest, and so that Fang would avoid overextending himself.

“But, equally important to training your body is to rest it. You won’t be able to run at all if you are battered and broken by pushing yourself too hard. I think this is a good spot to call it a day, especially since well…” Balto looked at the moon, unusually bright in the sky. “Since it’s not really daytime anymore, is it? You did a great job today, Fang. I’m proud of you.” Nostalgia from Kodi’s first solo run came back to Balto, immediately followed by the unpleasantness that had attached itself to Balto’s association with Kodi.

His plan of training Fang to help take his mind off of his son had worked marvelously. Now that they were done however, Balto’s guilt had returned twofold. As soon as they wrapped everything up, he needed to go see Morse.

“Come on, let’s go see your mother. I’m sure she’s proud of you too. Did you know they were watching us?” Balto asked him as they walked back to the boat.

-------------------------------------

“A-heh-heh.” The Dog laughed coldly. “You don’t like me because I’m mean. Because I’m a bully, is that right?” He backed away, taking note of Kodi’s mix of terror and anticipation. “That’s awfully adolescent of you. There are things far worse than bullying, you know.”

He looked at Kodi, analyzing him. “Is there something you’d like to add, mutt?” His calmness was unnerving.

“We don’t want any problems. Could you just leave us alone?” Kodi tried pleading with him again.

“WHAT!?” The Dog barked, his temper flaring. “You want US to leave you alone? Maybe you forget where you are, this is OUR turf.” At the mention of “turf” the other dogs took on aggressive stances, and began to circle around Kodi.

Kodi didn’t think it likely that Ralph and Kirby would be able to hear him if he called. Dusty and Kodi’s mutual agreement to give them some space seemed to have backfired. The Dog seemed to know what he was thinking.

“It won’t do you any good. Unless you are more wolf than you look, I doubt your pathetic howl will be heard by anyone who cares to do anything.” He smirked.

“Wh-what are you planning to do?” Kodi asked, trying to control his shaking voice. He could smell the breath of the large grey husky that was strafing around him.

“With you? I don’t know yet. Ought to teach you about respect. I wonder how the kids around town would react if you showed up with your precious sled and mail, with missing fur and scars like me?” He laughed at his own suggestion. “But YOU” he said to Dusty. “You could do so much better than this disgraceful creature. Would you still love him the same, if he was broken? I doubt it.” The Dog placed an odd emphasis on the word “love”, like it was a new word he didn’t fully grasp how to say.

He stared at Dusty dispassionately, his visage blank of emotion except for the slight traces of anger that flickered when he spoke.

“Maybe you and I could get to know each other better while he gets his makeover. I’m not such a bad guy, really. I just have strong opinions about what I like and dislike. I simply act accordingly.”

“Is that an invitation, boss?” Said the husky who had stopped in front of Kodi, looking him right in the eyes as he asked his leader for clarification. Like it was so routine.

“Of course. You need to have fun too.” The Dog said with satisfaction, and the same disregard for any moral scruples he lacked as the husky did. Still fixed on Dusty, he inched closer to her. “You and I, we can watch together. Won’t that be romantic? Haha!”

The grey husky smiled wickedly, clearly anticipating this. “Let’s get started then, shall we? I’ll get your paws first, so you can’t run. How does that sound?”

He snapped at Kodi’s ankles, but thanks to his announcement, Kodi was able to react. He hopped upwards, his paws landing on the husky’s snout, pushing it into the snow. Seizing the only opportunity he likely had, he used the husky as a springboard, and leapt at their leader. He felt the other dogs behind him snap at him with their jaws as he jumped out of reach.

“Dusty, RUN!” He shouted in midair. Kodi didn’t care much about his own well-being at this point. Regardless of what this dog had said, he was sure Dusty would stay with him no matter how he looked. Their leader may have though her simplistic and childish in her beliefs, but Dusty’s beliefs of personality over appearance were steadfast. Kodi didn’t like that it might have to be tested, but he didn’t care. As long as Dusty got away safely, that was the important thing.

“Urf!” Kodi and the pack leader rolled together towards the wall as Kodi impacted him. They finally stopped, Kodi between the wall and his attacker. A rock and a hard place, so to speak. Unfortunately for Kodi, the Dog had recovered to his feet before Kodi could stand up.

“WRONG MOVE, LOBO!” He thrust his hind leg into the bottom of Kodi’s chin, slamming Kodi’s head into the wall behind him. “LEARN…YOUR…PLACE!” The Dog shouted, a hard kick delivered on cue with each syllable.

Fang nodded, panting heavily and drinking a bit of water from a puddle, a common thing when living alone. "We actually lived close to the capital," he explained, thinking back to have far he'd come. "It was a long way away, that's for sure, took a lot of walking, though we did manage to hitch a ride on a train or two," he continued, then looked up to his mom. "Hey mom!"

Sally trotted down to her son and nuzzled him. "Good job, Fang, I'm so proud of you," she said, smiling. "You did a great job, and I'm very proud of you."

Fang blushed under his fur and smiled. "Thanks mom, but Im just doing what Balto tells me to do after all."

"I know, but I just think you're determined and that's why I'm proud," said Sally, smiling up to her son. "You're working hard and not giving up, I really admire that."

Jenna smiled to Balto, giving her mate a nuzzled. "Good job Balto, you're still a great teacher, no doubt about that," she said, remembering watching Balto teach little Kodi to run and keep up with his siblings. "Fang's a good student too, he's learning fast," she commented, remembering how little Fang had started the day out knowing. "Keep this up and he'll be a sled dog in now time."

-------------------

Unfortunately for the lead dog, he left his back to Dusty, who brought both her hind legs up into the dog's groin so hard that it lifted him off the ground. The lead dog crumpled to the ground with a loud yelp. Dusty followed up by rolling him on his back and planting her paw on the rather sensitive area, putting her full body weight on it. The result was the poor hound howling like a fire engine.

"Alright, everybody back off before your boss suddenly becomes incapable of having pups," warned a snarling Dusty as the lead dog squirmed and howled under her paws, the dogs whimpering and backing up as she flexed her claws, having no qualms about "fixing" the nasty dog then and there if anyone did anything.

"Listen, you rotten, self absorbed mutt! That dog you're threatening? He's Balto's son, and a lead sled dog in Nome," said Dusty, snarling down at the writing dog under her paws. "If you were to hurt him, and his dad found out, you'd have an ANGRY hero rushing down here to kick your tail all over White Mountain, with the rest of a sled team waiting in line behind him to follow up," she said, dead serious. "And I'd make sure to "fix" you so you'll never go after another pretty female again, if you catch my drift," she snarled, grinding her paw into his groin to get another high pitched howl of agony from the scarred dog, causing him to go crosseyed and whimper in agony. "Do we have an understanding?"

OOC: Dusty's scary when she's mad...

Balto bowed his head slightly at Jenna’s ‘good teacher’ comment. He didn’t think he was really any good. He was just showing Fang what do, that’s all. Any sled dog worth their salt could do exactly what they did, if they took the time to actually teach. Maybe that was the difference.

“I think it’s more to do with Fang being a good student than anything on my part. He learns from his mistakes really well.” Balto added. “We’ll have to work at it again tomorrow, but for now, you should get some rest. I know it’s going to be empty tonight, but you can still sleep in the mill if you like. Or, you can stay here with your mother and Boris-”

“Whoa now, Balto. You and your friends can stay out here if you want, but I am thinking that I’ll take you up on your offer to sleep in the mill tonight.” Boris interrupted Balto, still shiftily looking around for movement around the boat.

“Just a second.” Balto told the trio before turning his attention to Boris. “That monster business again?” Balto asked exasperatedly. Boris could be as unmoved as a rock when other’s worries and frights were expressed, but he had a very efficient survival instinct when it came to himself.

“Yes, Balto, THAT monster business. You say it like you don’t really care about it.”

“I don’t mean to, it’s just – how bad could it be? Jenna and I have taken on grizzlies you know.” Balto said in his defense. He was worried about it, but not for his own sake, but rather for his son's.

“Shush! Don’t be saying things like that! Testing fate is what you are doing! Do that on your own time, yes?” With that, Boris started to waddle towards the ramp, to begin his short migration to warmer (and safer) climes.

“Boris, wait!”

“I’m not staying out here!”

“It’s not that” Balto shook his head vigorously. “I’m going to be heading into town to talk to Morse anyways. I figure you could use the escort, right?”

“Very funny, Balto.” Boris pondered a bit, feathers stroking the underside of his beak. “Are his ears still-“

“Yeah.” Balto knew what he was going ask.

Boris cackled “Sure thing then. We can go see him on the way.”

“Sure thing” Balto told him before readjusting his attention back to Fang and the others. “I guess I should have asked earlier, but Boris brings up a good point. If either of you two feel unsafe about being out here at night, you can go sleep at the mill. You won’t be hurting my feelings, trust me.”

--------------------------------------------------


Kodi brushed the snow off of his face. His impact with the building shook the snow that was precariously stationed on the edges of roof down below. Given the recent bouts of near blizzard conditions, it was a thick dusting that covered him.

He could hear the loud howling from his attacker, and the muffled voice of Dusty. He wasn’t sure what she said; his head was still pounding. He lifted his head and saw Dusty pinning the Dog most effectively. He did a double take, just to be sure. He laughed weakly at the sight, and made a mental note to make Dusty upset. Ever.



“The son of Balto, huh? How is that working out for you? Must be nice… born with such high esteem, just because your daddy’s a hero.” The Dog said mockingly, in an unusually high octave.

“An Under-” the Dog coughed loudly, to try and eliminate the squeaky pitches that had been forced upon his voice. “An Understanding? You’ve got me in a position that’s pretty easy to coerce. And here I thought you were adolescent, or simplistic even. Heh. Looks like I was off the mark.” He appeared amused at the position he found himself in, despite the agony he had underwent, and the threat that loomed with only inches of movement and a modicum of applied force.

“I’d watch your tongue. You haven’t got a lot of wiggle room.” Kodi told him with some reciprocated and much deserved smugness.

A pained expression crossed the Dog’s scarred visage as he conceded to Kodi’s request. “Duly noted. To answer your question, yes, we’ve got an understanding. Just understand this. That howling for your friends won’t work for you. But for me…”

The board covering the entrance to the alleyway moved, lifted as several more dogs entered, expressions changing from shocked at the position their leader was in, to anger and eagerness.

“…let’s just say that my friends are a bit closer.”

Kodi weighed the situation silently to himself. Outnumbered five (four if Dusty decided to help fix the odds, so to speak) to two weren’t good. They might be able to fend them off, but it wouldn’t last long. Ten angry canines, on the other hand? If they were seeking vengeance on their leader’s behalf, Kodi and Dusty would likely have to be on the sled back home as part of the deliveries, because they probably wouldn’t be able to move themselves without further injury.

“Dusty, we should probably just leave.” Kodi said solemnly. He didn’t like giving up like this, but there was bravery, and then there was being downright foolhardy. Judging from how quickly the others had reared up to fight, ready and willing to use tooth and nail, it could get very ugly, very fast if the other dogs had a valid reason to actually cause harm.

“You should listen to this one, sweetheart. And I’m not just saying this for you to get off me, I would hate to see you get seriously hurt, and have your blood flying all over me. It would just be an unpleasant occasion for everyone here. By everyone, I mean you two mostly. Heh.”

The Dog’s smug attitude was positively sickening. Even when he was in the grasp of their claws, he still acted he had the upper paw. Whether it was an act, or he actually believed it was too difficult to tell.

“Dusty?” Kodi asked, concerned. She held the cards now. Whatever she chose to do, Kodi would stick with her, and do his best to protect her from harm, even if it killed him.