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This is actually my very first Balto fanfic so please, bare with me. I know it's not too good. This is the first chapter. It's very short, but I'd like some feed back so I know whether to continue or not.

Dark Skies

Chapter 1: The third pup


The den was dark; pitch black it almost seemed, but the blue wolf knew where he was going. He hurried down into the earth, eager to what awaited him at the end of the dim den. As he went along, his mind was soaring. The tunnel came to a halt and turned to the right. The wolf stopped and turned, getting closer to his destination. The roots of the trees above him brushed the top of his body as the tunnel began to get smaller, but he paid no mind and pressed forward.

Soon, he stopped. Ahead of him was the end. It was dug wider then the rest, almost like a tiny, underground cave. Though it was dark, the wolf could see just enough to make out the figure of a wolf female, lying on the ground against the wall. Her white fur and bright blue underbelly seemed to glow in the dark. Her head came up and she looked over at the male that just entered her den. Her lips curled up into a smile and she jerked her head to the side, gesturing him to come over.

His tail twitched slightly as he approached the female. As he got closer, he could make out two small bundles of fluff, pawing at the female’s tummy and drinking her milk. His tail swayed back and forth slowly as he eyed the two little ones. The first pup looked an awful lot like him, having the same markings and coat colors. The pup next to him had a white coat with a light blue underbelly, just like the female. The blue wolf’s eyes left the pups and he rubbed his head against his mates.

He then turned his attention back down to the pups, taking in their scents. “Well,” the female said suddenly. The male turned his head to her. “We should give them names.” He smiled and nodded a reply. The female looked down at the pups and began wondering of names.

“A.J.” The blue wolf whispered, as he looked down at his look-a-like son. The female looked at her mate, curious to why he picked that name. Seeing this, the male cleared his throat. “It’s short for Alpha Junior.” The female giggled, figuring he would name one of the pups after himself.

“Alright, A.J. it is.” The male smiled and looked down at his other pup; the one with such a similar look to its mother. What name would suit this young pup? It was only a few moments before his mate blurted out a name. “How about Nilak?”

“You sure?” He asked questionally. His mate nodded.

“Yes. His coat reminds me of ice that freezes over the river in winter; a healthy mixture of white and blue.” The blue male chuckled. His mate had such a vivid imagining of things, much better than him. He was thinking more along the lines of just ‘Snow’.

“Alright then. Nilak and A.J.” The male smiled and leaned down, nudging the two pups lovingly. “Welcome to the pack.” The two bundles continued to suckle, but made slight little noises when their father’s nose touched them.



Filled with excitement, Alpha (our blue male) ran out of the den as fast as he could through the narrow passage. He was eager to spread the news of the new arrivals. When he emerged from the hole in the earth, his pack mates quickly surrounded him, asking him questions about the pups and Iya, his mate.

“They’re fine, they’re both fine! There are two healthy little boys down there. A.J. and Nilak,” Alpha exclaimed. Loud yips and howls of excitement filled the air as the pack celebrated on this joyous occasion. Alpha received nuzzles and congrats from his pack mates, who were all happy to finally have pups again.

“Hey, Alph!” An older wolf walked up to Alpha, his aqua and gray fur standing out amongst all the others. “Congrats on the new pups. Any of them look like me?” Alpha laughed at the aqua wolf.

“Oh yeah. One looks exactly like you, Denahi.” The aqua wolf, Denahi, chuckled (a ‘yeah right’ chuckle) and sighed contently.

“Mom and dad would have loved to see your pups, Alph.” Alpha’s ears dropped slightly. Thoughts of his parents always made him sad. “Hey, come on now! This isn’t a time to be sad. How’s Iya? Did she hold up okay? This was her first time giving birth after all.”

“She looked fine when I walked in. I think she would have told me if something was wrong.” Alpha said quietly and looked over at the den entrance. A younger, dark blue female was lying by the entrance, her head in the opening. Alpha and Denahi looked at her curiously.

“Now, what on earth is that young pup doing?” Denahi mumbled in an annoyed fashion. Alpha walked up to the younger female.

“Rika?” The female lifted her head and looked up at him. “What are you doing?” Rika just looked back into the den. Alpha looked as well, and just saw darkness. He looked back at Rika. Her eyes looked at him, back at the den, then back at him, as if gesturing him to return inside. Alpha looked curiously into the den and slowly started to return inside.

“Alpha?” Denahi asked loudly. Alpha shushed him and slowly made his way into the den. He continued walking and turned to the right and went on until he reached the opening. Alpha eyed his mate, who was quietly licking her pups. He looked down at the pups and smiled. A.J., Nilak, and…

Alpha’s eyes went wide as he saw a new pup lying beside the others. Iya was licking the new pup, not them all. He approached his mate with excitement to see his new pup. She looked up at Alpha and smiled happily. “He’s alive.” Alpha was caught off guard by what she said. Alive? Did this puppy almost die? He looked down at the new arrival and observed him closely. He was smaller than Nilak, who was smaller of the first two. Much too small, even for a pup his age.

“He’s a…runt?” Alpha whispered, astonished. Iya didn’t reply and bent down to lick the pup again. A runt. That explains why he almost died. Alpha just stared at the new pup. How could this happen? What should he do? When Iya moved her head away from the pup, Alpha leaned over and began to smell it.

“I was thinking of the name Sky for him. What do you think?” Iya asked Alpha. Alpha paused for a minute and looked at her. Why would she name him? There was no point; the pup would die, no questions asked. But the blue wolf just simply nodded at Iya. She looked very happy and nuzzled her mate. Alpha just sat there for a minute before heading outside to tell his pack of their new arrival; little Sky.

Was it really that bad?

It was actually very good in my opinion. I just don't thinkg anyone took the time to read it. Good job. Seriously keep it up, it's good so far.

Thank you very much!