Here I am, with another fanfic ready to go for the people of Balto Source to enjoy. As the topic title suggests, it is titled "Finding Your Place", and it follows the events of "The First Day" in Nome. Balto has saved the day, and everything is looking peachy for him and Jenna, but not everyone is happy to have him around. There are still some dogs who still don't like the idea of having a wolfdog in their town, despite his great deed, along with a few of the human residents who are wary of half-wolves.
This, along with the pull towards the wild that Balto has felt since encountering the white wolf and accepting his wolf side, makes him wonder whether his place is truly in the town. However, Balto isn't the only one dealing with an internal crisis, as Kaltag remembers mistakes he has made past and present, causing him to wonder if he is up to the leadership position that he has been thrust into due to Steele being exiled.
Much like how "The First Day" and "A Second Chance" used flashbacks to tell the backstory of the centric character, this one also jumps between past and present, this time to tell the story of Nikki, Kaltag and Star and how they developed during their years with Steele. However, I'm thinking that this will be the last story to use flashbacks in order to focus on the current timeframe.
You can find the completed story either on Balto Source:
http://www.animationsource.org/balto/en ... 18890.htmlOr on Fanfiction.net:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6024694/1/F ... Your_PlaceSince this is directly follows "The First Day", I'd recommend reading (or re-reading) that as well, just so that you can know what happened to set up the events of this fanfic. You can find that story here:
http://www.animationsource.org/balto/en ... 94822.htmlJust like last time, I have an excerpt from the beginning of the story to get you started, and if you like it, you can follow the links to the rest of the story.
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Excerpt from Chapter 1: A New Day"Good morning love," she said.
"Morning Jenna," he replied, and continued to gaze at her.
"What? What are you looking at?" she asked.
"Just you," he replied, "I never thought that I would actually get to be with you, and yet here I am."
"So, what now for you?" she asked, "What will the hero of Nome do with his morning?"
He laid back down and groaned, "I don't know. Maybe I'll spend it with you, or maybe I can go into town," he said.
"Well, Rosy is coming home from the hospital later today. I'm sure it would mean a lot to her if you came too, considering what you did for her… and for me… " she trailed off.
"Jenna?" he asked, noticing her change in tone.
"I almost lost her Balto," she said, "I almost lost my girl." Balto held her closer to him and gave her a nuzzle to comfort her. Even though a disaster had been averted, Jenna would still remember how close they had all come. While Balto was racing home, she stayed by her girl's side and watched as she desperately clung to life. She hadn't believed Steele's story that Balto and the team had died at first, but as time went on, even her hope had started to fade. She watched every breath that Rosy took, praying that it wouldn't be her last.
"I thought I had lost her too," Balto replied, "After I went over that cliff, I was sure that I had failed Rosy and all the others. I was sure that I had failed you... until that wolf appeared," This was a part of the story that Jenna was very familiar with by now. After being led down the wrong path by Steele's false marks, Balto had gone over a cliff, but was given the courage to go on by a snow-white wolf that appeared out of nowhere. So far, she had been the only one that Balto had told about the wolf, mostly because that event was so bizarre. It was almost as though the wolf knew what was going on and was urging Balto to keep moving.
As Balto thought back to that moment, he remembered the sense of strength that wolf gave him as he howled with it. Never before in his life had he felt such a sense of purpose. It was as though something in his soul that had been confined was suddenly unleashed as he howled with the wolf, "That wolf made me feel a way I have never felt before Jenna," he continued, "It made me feel strong; it made me feel like a part of me had been found. It sounds strange, but it was as though it was calling for me to join it; wanting me to run in the wild with it. After all these years of being pushed away, there was finally something that was pulling me towards it, and when I answered that howl, it felt like I belonged with it; with the wolves," For the longest time, he had rejected his wolf side due to the teasing from the dogs in town, but when he let out that howl, he had made peace with the other half of himself. After embracing that, it gave him the strength and the inspiration to sniff his way home, but the memory of that event remained. A Pandora's box of sorts had been opened, and Balto was starting to wonder if he should try to explore his wolf side further…
"Maybe you should go for it, you might like what you find," he thought,
"Besides, it would be a good alternative if things don't work out in town." While it had seemed like the town had changed it's mind about Balto, there were still those that distrusted him because of his wolf side.
"I sure hope it doesn't come to that... but knowing my luck, I shouldn't hold my breath. Anything that went well in the past would only be short lived- all because of my wolf side... still, I should give them a chance...""I'm glad that you've made peace with yourself," Jenna said, breaking Balto from his thoughts, "Though, I don't quite know what you mean when you say that you had failed me as well," Jenna said.
"Rosy was your girl, and if she died, I knew you would be devastated too. You were one of the few who believed in me then, and I couldn't let you down," he replied, "If I let you down, you might've never forgiven me, and I never would've have seen you smile again."
"My smile? I didn't know you liked my smile," she said.
"I don't just like it; I love it," he replied, "I love it because it always made me feel better, even when I was a pup. I figured that as long as you were smiling, everything was okay."
Hearing that, Jenna started to break out into a grin, and just like when they were pups, it instantly improved both of their moods. "So…" she started, "Is there anything else about me that you love? My smile can't be the only thing."
"Ah… well…" he stammered.
"Balto, you can say what you want about me. I love you and I want to know what you think," she replied, and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Besides, there's no one else here except us. You can go into as much detail as you want," she said coyly. She was right; they were alone that morning. Balto's normal bunkmates, a Russian goose named Boris and two polar bear cubs named Muk and Luk had decided camp out on the beach that night so that Balto and Jenna could have some time to themselves.
"Oh Jenna, there are so many things that I love about you. I love your spirit, and your kind heart. I love how your bandanna makes you stand out in a crowd. I love… your beauty. I don't know how to describe it, but when I first saw you when you had grown up, I thought that you were the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. It was all of those things and more that caused me to fall in love with you," he said.
"Aha, I had a feeling that you had been admiring me from a distance," she said.
"Okay, I admit it. The big hero thinks about females just like regular dogs do," he said, causing Jenna to chuckle.
"Well, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have the odd thought about you too Balto," she continued, "For some reason, I always felt better about you than some of the other males in town."
"That's probably because I'd didn't follow you to the creepy level that Steele did," Balto suggested, referring to Nome's former champion.
"That's true, and I thank you for that," she replied, "Though, I wonder what Steele is up to now. I half expected him to come back after only a day, begging for another chance."
"Steele isn't the type to beg; he's too proud. Remember, he wasn't willing to admit he had gotten the team lost on the serum run," he replied, "Despite what he did, I'm still not going to wish any harm to him. Wherever he is, I hope he's okay." She nodded before putting her head back down, and he rested his head on top of hers, letting the morning sun wash over them. A peaceful time like this would have been unheard of for Balto only a week ago, and he wanted to savor every moment of it. Having the sun warm his back while listening to Jenna's soft breathing was very soothing, and he wanted it to last as long as possible. He may have been the hero of Nome, but he still deserved a little personal time with the one he loved. Besides, the day had already been saved, so there was no rush to get up this morning.
"Hey Jenna, you were asking what I was going to do with my morning," he said softly, "I think I have an answer for you."
"What is it?"
He started to grin, "I'm going to sleep in."
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So that's what I've been working on for the past few months, and I hope that you enjoy reading it. I meanwhile, will be enjoying my summer break, continuing to write new fanfics for you guys to enjoy. There are still a few things I need to finalize, but I hope to have my next story out sometime in September. I hope that you all have a wonderful summer (or winter for those in the southern hemisphere), and I'll see you next time.
