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Fang blinked, looking down at the food. He then looked up at Kodi, looking the dog in the eyes. He saw the guilt on Kodi's face, could tell he had his regrets. "...Ok, thanks," he said, his stomach aching from hunger. He dug in and quickly finished, then looked back up to Kodi. "Thank you..." he said, not knowing how best to continue. "...Don't feel guilty or anything, I'm used to being hurt for my father's sins. If its anyones fault, it's his for being such a rotton dog," he continued. "I just want to be a sled dog and make up for what he did...and maybe make up for all the mean, horrible things Steele did to this town," he explained. "So...friends?" he asked, trying to smile.

Dusty looked to her friends, deciding Fang and Kodi should be left to sort things out themselves. She looked at Ralph rather nastily. "And just what is wrong about my figure exactly?" she asked accusingly, not liking the 'girls like to watch their figure comment'.

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

Jenna held back, letting Kodi do what he had to. Her presence wasn't going to help his cause, if anything, it'd make him even more nervious. She turned and saw her friends Silvie and Dixie walking down the street and barked to them, wanting someone to talk to.

The two other pure breds walked over. "Hello Jenna, how are you today?" asked Dixie, in her normal, hyper voice.

"I'm ok, Kodi messed up last night and had to stay with me until he sorted things out," said Jenna. "Nothing major, don't worry."

Silvie nodded, but didn't seem that intrested in the topic. "So did you hear? Steele's son has come to Nome. I heard it from a very reliable source. There's quite the uproar about it."

"I haven't just heard it, I know him," said Jenna.

Silvie blinked. "Really? Well don't leave us in the dark, Jen, tell," said the gossop, eager to get a new story.

Jenna thought about it, then decided its a good idea. After all, she told Silvie and everyone would know. "His name is Fang, and he's nothing like his father," she said. "Steele chased him and his mother away, in seperate directions, when he was just a pup. All because the poor child's mother turned out to be...well not a pure bred husky as he thought. Disowned the poor child for no good reason."

Dixie growled. "What did I ever see in Steele anyway?" she asked, clearly regretting her previous love intrest in the egomaniac husky, Silvie nodding. "How is Fang doing?" she asked, worried. Dixie had an ego, sure, but she had compassion like any other dog.

Jenna nodded. "He's right over there, actually," she said, pointing to Fang.

Silvie blinked in suprise. "My, he's the spitting image of his father, isn't he?"

Dixie nodded. "Though he looks a little like Balto to..." she said, noticing Fang's wolf traits.

"He's 1/4 wolf, like my pups," said Jenna. "Anyway, can you two please spred the word that Fang's suffered as much from Steele as anyone else? Maybe it'll make his stay here easier..." she requested, getting nods from her friends.

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

Sally looked around. "So I guess we just missed them, huh?" she asked, giving a sigh as she followed after Balto into a back alley, heading into town. "I hope the other dogs are treating him good, he's had such a rough life..."

Kodi thought it largely ironic and rather tragic when Fang told him how difficult it was to "hate your own flesh and blood". Considering how Steele chased him away... that might not have been hate, but it certainly wasn't love. Maybe Balto or Jenna would know differently, but as far as Kodi knew from the stories, Steele seemed incapable of loving anyone other than himself.
Vying for his affection seemed an impossible task, but Kodi didn't want to say that out loud.

Then again, the fact that Steele even HAD a son with Fang's mother, whoever she was, was a testament that maybe, just maybe, it was possible. There was a small glimmer of hope, but it was very dim.

As hard as Kodi tried to be a show of things finally working out for Fang, Fang's request to join a sled team was also a largely difficult one to fulfill.

The dogsled races that Nome had throughout the season were over, and since Duke had taken over for supplies and other goods, the only dog sled team that ran year round was the one he was lead dog for - the US Postal Service. As much as he and his team had a say in deciding positions and heirarchies within the team, new members was ultimately up to Mr. Simpson, their owner. Kodi considered himself lucky to have been able to fill an open slot on the team when he did - they hadn't had a roster change since.

Kodi didn't know how their musher would react to how a dog that looked like a fusion of Steele and a wild wolf (two creatures generally disliked by the community) suddenly seeming keen to join the sled team. Kodi valued honesty, but he didn't want to leave his new found friend hanging.

"Look, I-uh, I can't guarantee anything, but ummm... I can help to make sure you're in tip-top shape for... WHEN you do join up!"

Kodi didn't want to instill false hope, but he chose his words to match a largely positive outlook. He almost said "IF you do join up." At the very least, it was true that in his present state, any sane musher would regard Fang's current physical condition as an unfit risk and liability to the rest of the team.

Kodi poured on some additional perkiness, hoping his tone would distract Fang if he had caught any of Kodi's well-intentioned misdirection earlier.
"My dad trained with me, taught me everything he knew! I can do the same for you, I know it!" He bounced a little, a show of hope. He regretted it almost immediately afterwards. His sore legs could barely handle his own body weight, and the act of jump and landing was too much. Kodi fell flat on his chest, legs given way beneath him.

"Unnggh..." Kodi grunted. "Here's your first tip; don't do that!" he said jokingly. "I'll have to rest a couple of days before I start, but maybe Dad will help in the meantime? I uhh... overexerted myself last night when I did some running, need a bit to recoup. There's another tip; don't overexert yourself!"


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

Ralph couldn't have chosen a more poor line of diversion.

Confronted by Dusty, he found himself tripping over his tongue trying to explain his rather insensitive remark.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that! I meant other girls, you know? You don't need to watch your figure, you look great!"

Piling on some flattery, Ralph demonstrated that he clearly didn't know when to leave well enough alone, and continued this surely awkward line of compliments.

"Better than great even, you're perfect! You put all of other dogs in Nome to shame! I bet even all of Alaska! Those fancy poodles don't hold- "

Kirby put his large brown paw up to Ralph's equally large mouth.

"Before you make ALL of us feel like throwing up, let me take over."

Ralph closed his mouth, eager to let Kirby take the spotlight

"Ralph may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm pretty sure that he was TRYING to say that it wasn't his fault that Fang was left out."

Ralph nodded in agreement.

"In fact, it was all of ours. You, Ralphy, and myself included. We should have worked out some sorta plan before we started stuffing our faces!"

Ralph looked back at Kodi, who was laughing nervously.

"Looks like Kodi came through for him though, covered our slack." Ralph muttered quietly afterward "...typical".

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

Kodi took notice of Ralph's tiny glance at him, and siezed the opportunity. He had been talking quickly, giving as much running advice as he could remember off the top of his head, making sure not to pause too long to allow Fang a word in edgewise. Even if Fang wasn't going to, Kodi didn't want to offer him the chance to question the validity of his commitment regarding Fang joining a dog team. Not that Kodi's commitment was the issue, it was circumstance at work. Without any openings in Nome, Kodi simply didn't have the heart to disappoint Fang so soon after he had just befriended him/ This is what happened when Kodi had done or said anything dishonest. His fast chatter and nervous laughter were a dead giveaway to everyone who knew him, and probably incredibly conspicuous and unusual for those who didn't.

"Oh hey! Sorry to cut this short, but I think my friend's want to speak with me. I n-need to speak with them too, hafta apologize for last night and all. I'll be right back, OK? Right back!"

Kodi's legs were shaking as he quickly trotted past Fang, and he approached Dusty, Ralph, and Kirby.

"Hi everyone... listen, there's something I need to"

"Kodi!" came a shout behind him. It was Balto's voice.

Kodi folded his ears as he turned to face his father and Sally standing in the open street behind Fang. He knew that his dad would find him sooner or later, but he had hoped to save his explanation for last. Balto signalled for him to come to him, he looked somewhat agitated.

He turned back to his team.
"Look, I gotta go... take care of this. Can I talk later?" He pleaded, his eyes meeting with Dusty's.


"Kodi!" Balto barked again, sounding more impatient than before.

Fang listened intently, trying to keep up with Kodi. He didn't get any talking of his own in, but was fine with that. He'd been given pointers, which he liked. "Ok, thanks!" he called. He then went over to the other sled dogs. "Well that was nice of him," he said, glad Kodi had apologized. "I wonder what calmed him down."

"I think his mother," said Dusty, knowing Jenna was a peacekeeper when she needed to be. She was a good mother, to both her biological children and the sled team, who she treated as family. "I swear Jenna could get a bull moose to understand her perspective."

Fang chuckled. "Yeah, probably," he said. "My mom did tell me about that, I think he's the only one in the situation other than himself he actually talked about positively."

"No suprise," said Dusty. "I don't know that much, but I do know from Dixie that Steele had his eyes on Jenna," she continued. "I guess he did still have some feelings for her. But from the sound of it, your mom was the only one to ever genuninely love him."

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

Jenna looked to Balto. "Silvie, Dixie, hang on a moment," she said, walking over and stepping in front of Balto. "I already talked to him last night, he regrets what he said, there's no need to get on his back about it," she said. "He came to me to stay at Rosie's house, so I talked to him...well sung," she clearified. "He was so guilty over how he treated Fang he didn't sleep very well at all, he's worn out and needs his rest," she explained, wanting to clear the air. She then nuzzled Balto. "So don't give him a hard time, ok?"

Dusty smiled and nodded. "Of course, Kodi, any time," she said, leading him into a more privite alley way. "Ok, we can talk privitely here..." she said. "But before you say anything, I've got to," she said, looking down. "In all honesty, I was fully prepared to chew you out today for what you said to Fang...now I feel rotten for feeling that way..." she continued. "It just hit kind of close to home, my dad walked out on me and my mom, proving to be just as rotton as Steele was to Fang," she continued. "His story and mine feel simular, so I know how painful it is to have that happen...Kodi...appreciate your family. No matter what happens, never forget what you have..."

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

"Balto..." said Jenna, quietly. "...Kodi's got such a good heart...the moment he realized he'd done so wrong, he looked like a whipped pup and begged me to forgive him," she continued. "...He's got a good conscious and I'm proud of him more than anything."

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

Sally walked over to Fang, Ralph, and Kirby, getting a nuzzle from her foster child. "Well did things go well last night?" she asked all three. "I hope Fang wasn't a burden."

Kodi breathed a sigh of relief when Dusty told him about her troubled upbringing, no doubt an indirect, yet poignant personal connection she shared with Fang. He had already heard it from his mother, when she accidentally (so she said) had mentioned it. This was part of the reason Kodi felt so badly that he needed to apologize to her first and foremost. He was worried that Dusty might have viewed his outburst as a slight against her, however unintentionally it was. Kodi had seriously considered sharing his mother's revealing of Dusty's parents, to make his concern for her seem less awkward. He was glad Dusty told him herself, so that Jenna didn't have to be known as someone who "might" share personal secrets if the word got out. Jenna was well known around Nome as the go-to dog if you needed to get something off of your chest. Her confidence was sure to very important to some, and Kodi didn't have to say anything to prove the contrary.

Another reason was that he considered Dusty amongst his closest friends, if not THE closest. Of all of his teammates, he and Dusty had the most in common, as far as character was concerned. They both shared a strong drive to succeed and excel, and they both wanted to help people. Kodi was more stringent in regards to the former, and while Kirby and Ralph were frequent to remind him about too much stress, Dusty was much more subtle and low-key about getting Kodi to relax. It was a strong self induced personality trait of his, and she was infinitely more patient and good natured about helping him to keep it in check than the others. She was good for him, or so Kodi thought, and Kodi didn't want to put that at risk for acting out so foolishly.

"Oh..." he acted surprised at the news she had revealed. "You must have thought I was a real jerk at the time, huh? I guess it’s a good thing I’m here now."

Her sentiments about valuing family really made Kodi realize how lucky he was. He lived within minutes of both of his parents, both of whom loved him and cared about him just as much as the day he’d been born. Upon learning of Fang and Dusty’s broken families, Kodi quickly surmised that what he had, an unconditionally loving family, was more of a luxury than it had any right to be.

“What you said…about appreciating your families and all… that’s pretty sound advice.” He nervously started “I suppose you and Fang would know better than anyone. That’s why I wanted to apologize about... what happened last night.”

Kodi told Dusty what he had told his mother the night before, the sun and moon in practically the same position in the cloudless sky above as the other was in their ever twirling dance of revolution. He had more time to think about it, and when it sunk in, he was able to more better formulate his sentences and come across as a much more gathered and controlled individual compared to the wreck he was last night. He hoped he didn’t come across as too collected, or he thought that maybe Dusty would question how genuine his apology was.

“… You guys helped put me in the lead dog position for whatever reason, and I owe it to everyone to lead by example. What I did wasn’t right, and I promise it won’t happen again.” He finished his apology, the reason fulfilled in speaking with her. The main reason, anyways. He waited to hear out what Dusty was going to say, to gauge her reaction, before he sought to continue with what might be more perilous to their relationship than what he’d just apologized for.


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

Balto nodded curtly in agreement to Jenna. “I think we did a good job with that one.”

Balto sat down, to rest his walking feat from the monotony of standing still.

“It sure has been a while, I wonder how they are doing?” He asked aloud, to no one in particular. Kodi HAD been moving slower than his usual peppy walk though, and when this notion crossed him, curiosity consumed Balto.

“Is Kodi alright? He looked like has walking a lot more gingerly today, and I noticed he had a scratch on his cheek. Was he like that before he visited you, or is there something I should know about your owners?” he asked, the humorous tone of his last addition concealing his concern over his son’s well being.

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

“Trouble? Fang? Not at all!”

Kirby said cheerily to Sally, working as hard as possible to not come across as being negative towards her son as possible. Nothing was more dangerous than a mother protecting her young, and Sally’s particularly odious wrath was one that Kirby wished to avoid most direly.

Ralph chipped in, more truth to the saying than the group would have liked to admit.

“Yup! No trouble at all really, we hardly knew he was there.”

Kirby pushed playfully at Ralph, more firmly than normal.

“Speak for yourselves, Ralphy and uh…” Kirby turned his head around the alley, peering around the corner towards Balto and Jenna, looking for Dusty to help him out of this not-yet-messy situation.. She and Kodi were both more tactful with words than he and Ralph, which would have come in handy. Her disappearance closed a door, but opened a new window of conversation, so to speak. A change in subject was just what Kirby was pleading for, still feeling a twinge of shame at denying Fang a meal ealier.

“You guys seen Dusty or Kodi? Where’d they run off to?”

Dusty smiled. "You weren't a jerk, you were just afraid of him," she explained. "You just get upset sometimes, we all do. We all do things we regret," she continued. "Sometimes I get worked up too, we all do. You apologized, Kodi, that's what matters." She really did worry for Kodi sometimes. He overworked himself and was too stubborn to admit it. It was good to lead by example, but overworking yourself didn't do that. "The way you overwork yourself, I'm suprised you didn't snap sooner."

Dusty thought about the situation, thinking it over carefully. "Fang and I do have plenty in common, but...I was honestly a bit worried that you'd run away, like your sister did..." she explained. She'd known Aleu somewhat back when she was around, the girl was nice, and it'd hurt when she'd run away. "I learned to appreciate something from Fang too...friends..." she continued. "I at least had my friends, he didn't even have that. It was just him and his mother all alone in the world...now I know how lucky I am to have my friends...especially you..." she said, blushing. They got along very well and had a strong bond...was it more than just friends? She didn't really know. "So knowing that...I was really afraid you'd run away."

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

Jenna chuckled. "He's fine, he just ran off into the woods for a bit is all," she explained. "...But that did worry me a bit," she continued. "Have you heard what they're saying about the people who have disappeared in the woods?"

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

"Well I'm glad he wasn't a problem," said Sally. "He's such a nice boy and cares about everyone, a stark contrast from his father."

Kodi laughed weakly, “Run away? I don’t know what you all would do without me if I left!”

He brushed it off, rather unsuccessfully. Kodi was, like his father, modest about himself. He loved being praised certainly, but he never glorified his own importance or accomplishments. Steele’s pride proved to be a major hazard, and Kodi’s determination to be as far removed from Steele as possible meant that Kodi almost never talked about himself in a positive light.

Truthfully, Kodi HAD considered running away. He remembered the looks on everyone’s faces, the betrayal he felt pierce him when they opted to help what Kodi considered at the time to be the biggest monster he had ever seen. He wanted nothing more to do with it, or with them.

Through a stroke of unfortunately dumb luck, Kodi’s escape was halted when he was attacked by his mysterious assailant. As he lay in the snow in the forest, mind alight with fear from whatever was chasing him, he realized that, part wolf though he may be, he had no business surviving the Alaskan wilds on his own. With no experience in foraging for food, or hunting (worse yet: killing) prey, Kodi realized in hindsight that it was a very poorly constructed plan. Self righteous anger stood little chance against fear and logic for very long.

He couldn’t believe sitting here talking with Dusty that such thoughts had ever run through his head. He didn’t want to tell Dusty the real reason why he had been essentially forced to stay, not that the thought of leaving his family and friends (especially Dusty) didn’t have a bearing in his choice. As it were, he didn’t want to tell ANYONE that he had even hypothesized leaving. Such a regrettable notion, and he didn’t want to be known as someone who would just up and run when times got tough. After all, his own father had stayed in Nome despite how unwanted he seemed to be.

Stranger still, with the way the conversation was going, Kodi found himself wishing he were laying in that patch of snow in the woods again. As especially self-conscious as he was, he cared a disproportionately vast amount at how others felt about him. Dusty caring about her friends came as no surprise to Kodi, but the two addendums “especially you” brought forth wave of questions within him.

He felt very strongly about Dusty as a friend, and he often wondered if it was more than that. He found his thoughts drifting to her during particularly rough times, and enjoyed the good times that much more when she was with him. He didn’t want to admit it to himself that he might have been falling for her, when in truth he passed the falling stage a while ago. In fact, until just now, when she had loosed the slightest inkling of a detail that she MIGHT have been interested in him, he would never have said anything to Dusty. Putting himself and his happiness at risk, and chancing irreparable damage to a relationship he appreciated deeply for the sake of said happiness… Dusty didn’t deserve to have that burden thrust upon her.

In light of recent events, and pushed along by Dusty’s advice, Kodi looked at everything in a glorious filter of appreciation. He hadn’t thought of how good he had it until Jenna and Dusty reminded him that others, like Fang, could have it so much worse. In light of a more recent, and far more harrowing event, Kodi came to realize that life was too short to spend waiting for the inevitable. If he was going to ask Dusty about her feelings for him, there was no time like the present.

The confidence that had filled his thoughts and emboldened him a second ago were too self contained to be formed in articulation, apparently.

“Dusty… I –uh, I-I-I was wondering if, and thi-this is just a shot in the dark here...”

Kodi’s speech was seized by all manner of nerves rattling him. His stomach churned, and the patch of snow he thought of earlier looked more appealing now than ever.

“…because, I-I, like you.” Too strong.
“As a friend!” She knows that, now you’re back at square one.
“No... what I meant to say was that I real-“

“-Kodi! Dusty? Quit hibernating out here, and join the rest of us!”


Kodi yelped as if in pain. He was so focused on him and Dusty that he had almost forgotten that there were, in fact, others waiting on him. He hadn’t expected Kirby and his loud commanding voice to be the ones to remind him.

Kodi’s ears curled back. He was so close… The shock of Kirby beckoning the two had robbed him of any bravado he had. He stole a glance at Dusty’s face before he turned around muttering dispiritedly “…we probably should get back. I still need to apologize to those two I guess...”

The emotional typhoon had washed away his pain, but it returned in full form as he started to hobble back to the alley, Dusty behind him.

--------

Balto’s voice no longer was disguised. He expressed concern at Jenna’s question. “No… I hadn’t heard anything? Why? What’s going on?” He looked past the husky, and down the street to the gaggle of humans going to and fro at the city hall. It explained why he and Sally had entered town without a single encounter with a human, but it left exponentially more questions with a biting sense of dread in the explanation’s wake now that Jenna had mentioned it.

--------

“Oh yeah, he was great! I don’t know what it was about your son Miss Sally, but he somehow made me sleep better! I haven’t felt so refreshed in a long time!”

Ralph kept up his conversation with Sally, clearly not intimidated like Kirby, who was actively pursuing his distraction. Kirby walked down the alley, searching the sides for the two. In a smaller alley not too far down from where he started, he saw Kodi’s tail whipping frantically, with Dusty facing him.

“Kodi! Dusty? Quit hibernating out here, and join the rest of us!”

Dusty, however, put a paw on his shoulder, stopping him. She was blushing heavily as a result of what he was trying to stay. However, unlike Kodi, she was a good bit more experienced at stating things that might be hard to say. She'd told the others she felt bad about Duke being stuck out in the wilderness and about Fang deserving a second chance. She pulled him around to look at her. "I like you too, Kodi," she said, blushing. "And...well this is a little embaressing...but I like you as...more than just a friend..." she continued, blushing so heavily it was visible through her fur.

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

Sylvie and Dixie made their way over. "Hello Balto," said Dixie, happy to see him.

"As Jen said, there have been some disappearences," said Sylvie. "Four people have gone into the woods, they didn't come out. I've heard its some big monster but I wouldn't know."

Dipsy walked over, dragging a large bag of jerky bigger than herself. "Well if you want to know what's going on, why don't we just go under city hall and have a listen?" she asked, tearing into the jerky. "Hungry?"

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

"Maybe its because you were helpping another person?" asked Sally, curious.

Dusty nodded. "You're a great dog and a great friend...but I honestly would like to be more than that..." she said, looking up at him. "I...I think I'm...I think I'm in love with you..." she admitted, clearly having been wanting to say that for a long time but never having the right time. "Just everytime we were in the right place to tell you, the musher would come get us or Ralph and Kirby would walk in. Something always ruined the moment...and I was a little afraid of having my heart broken like my mother did...not that I think you'd break my heart of course," she said, explaining, quickly correcting herself. "When you left last night...I was so afraid I'd never see you again..." she continued. "That's why I'm telling you...it made me realize how fast something can happen...." she said, then smiled shyly, shifting her paws. However, as she did so, her paws slipped and she fell. "Oops...clumsy..." she said, embarressed. She then tried to sit up...and set up with her nose touching Kodi's, staring into his eyes.

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

Jenna nodded. "Alright dear...but Balto," she said. "I don't want you going into the woods to try and fix this problem," she said, seriously. "I know its scary, I know you can't help being a hero most of the time...but if anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. This isn't like before, something out there is killing armed hunters...I don't want you risking your life for something like that, ok?"

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

Dispy when over to Ralph and Kirby. "Hey, we're going over the the city hall to figure out whats going on, want to come?"

A sea of twilight engulfed Kodi’s vision. He stared into Dusty’s eyes, his nose locked at the tip to hers. He couldn’t tell what color they were; they looked like a shade of violet, or a strange hue of blue, like the sky at dusk. All he knew was that he couldn’t believe how he had never noticed them before, and that they were beautiful.

“…Oh, Dusty…” he whispered. He didn’t know what else to say. After what seemed an eternity of staring into her eyes, he finally broke contact with her nose. He slowly stepped forward, careful not to step on her paws, and nuzzled his head against her neck. He spoke softly, lifting his head enough so she could hear him say “… I promise… I will never… ever do anything hurt you...”

He stepped backwards again, touching her nose with his again (deliberately this time), returning to the line of sight that he would hopefully never tire of, and added reassuringly. “…that includes breaking your heart. That’s a promise.”

They remained there, an invisible chain inflexible in its mission to keep their stares focused on each other, and only each other. Balto smiled, and walked quietly back to the open road.


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

“What’s going on?”
“Yeah, Ralph, I believe that’s what she asked if we wanted to find out.”
“No, I mean… we already know what’s going on at city hall! There’s a meeting!”

Kirby shook his head. If his neck was ever stiff, listening to Ralph speak was often more effective than any veterinary chiropractor’s handiwork could muster.

“I’m pretty sure she meant ‘WHY they are all there’!”
“Well, that’s obvious. There’s a meeting!”

Kirby gave up, and told the long eared hound “You know what, we’d love to!”

He turned to Fang and Sally “You two can come too! You can get a look at the seedy underbelly of Nome, Alaska!”

Ralph chimed “No kidding! Sometimes, the lady at the desk drops sunflower seeds. Not often though. If only they didn’t use those thumbs of theirs so much, right Kirby?”

Following Dipsy, Kirby exasperatedly replied “You got it, Ralph…” Balto walked past the three, and Ralph asked “Ain’t you coming too Balto? You love this sort of thing!”



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

Balto nodded to Jenna.

“For you? Of course I’ll stay out of trouble.”

To say that Balto had a “hero complex” was a bit of a misnomer. It’s not that he liked to be branded a hero, but it’s that he simply enjoyed helping. Whether it be a missing pilot, or a medicine shipment gone awry, or even a simple dispute between two feuding dogs, Balto just naturally loved to help people. He could see the concern in Jenna’s face, and hear it in her voice. Her pleading for him to stay out of it was more than enough to convince him to.

“I’m going to get Kodi, and get him to sleep.” He started off toward the alley he’d seen Kirby come from.

“If we hurry, I might be able to make it for the end, so save me a seat, OK?” He looked backwards at Jenna, as he told her of this plan.

He walked quickly past Fang, Sally, Dipsy, Kirby, and Ralph down the alley, when Ralph turned to ask him if he was coming too. Balto shook his head.

“I’ll make it if I can, but I’m not guaranteeing anything. You guys have fun.”

He continued down the alley, becoming more and more unkempt from all of the morning’s activities.

He turned to see his son and Dusty, noses touching, and eyes locked to each others. He knew the look; he had given the same look to Jenna three and a half years ago when he returned to Nome with the rest of the Medicine Run team. Balto smiled, and walked back to the open road. As burning his curiosity was about the town crisis (he wished he had paid more attention to Sylvie and Dixie, but his stomach got the better of him), what he had just witnessed couldn’t, and shouldn’t, be rushed. He sat down, and waited patiently for the two, careful to pretend he hadn’t seen anything whenever they would return.

Dipsy quickly lead the small group under the town hall and took her place atop a small risen area and placed her big ear to the grill. "Oh dear...that doesn't sound good."

Jenna felt a chill go down her back. "What is it, Dipsy? What are they saying?" she asked, deeply concerned.

"They're saying that until its found, the normal maildog route is being altered, it'll add about three miles to the runs," said Dipsy. "And even Duke's plane routes are being changed to protect him incase he crashes again."

"That's not so bad...is it?" asked Fang, not sure himself.

"Well not that much, I said it wasn't good because Mel will have a fit," said Dipsy. "Wait, they've got animal expert talking..." she said, listening again. "Ok...he says the paw prints aren't from a bear's prints, or a wolf," she explained, that last part reassuring Jenna, letting her note wolves wouldn't be blamed. "He says the paw prints are from a cat...but they're too large to be a lynx or anything he can think of that lives around here."

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

Dusty blushed, nuzzling Kodi back, feeling right. "Kodi...I love you..." she said softly. "...I know you're tired now and need your rest...so maybe tomarrow night we can go find a few bones or something?"