This story is copyrighted by my Roleplay. This Roleplay is still active and is still adding parts to this fic, so there's more to come
Heather, Jack, and Hank are (c) to me, Wildfire. Kia and Max are (c) to Kira Werewolfie. Aiden, Sari, Judd, and Julie are (c) to Balto Sis. Kian is (c) to Shanecae. Gina is (c) to Greywolf101. And Luna is (c) to Wolf_Cuz_Luna. Thank you for letting me use your characters for this fic^^
This is a story about a sled team that is entered in an iditarod. They have to go around most of Alaska and make it back in the shortest time. But tragedy strikes and a few dogs make it back with injuries, or don't come back at all. Some of the mushers never make it back, and the dogs have to get back to the town they came from, but since a storm blows threw their path back home, it makes it even more difficult. They come across hunger and dehydration and face many foes. Will the team get a new musher, or will they be separated forever? You have to read the story to find out!
Part 1 :
The Beginning
A small gray and white Siberian husky pup was born about one year ago. Her mother and father were very pleased the way she was with other dogs and her family. She listened to her parents and her owner, who was a farmer. The farmer agreed to a man from Alaska that she would be the leader of a sled team in 1 month. A month later, she said her goodbye's to her family and was taken to an airport. She was enclosed in a small crate where she stayed in over night on her flight. The next morning, she woke up to find she wasn't at home.
"Where am I? This isn't where I live." She said to herself. A strange man came in and patted her on her head. He looked nice, but Heather didn't know him much. After praising Heather, tha man grabbed his phone and called the pound for more dogs to run on his team.
"Yes, I'm here about Kian, the husky. Yes, the male gray one. Alright... I'll be there soon." He said before he hung up. Heather cocked her head and wagged her tail a bit. A few hours later, the man went to the pound to find Kian.
Kia paused and looked outside at the fresh blanket of snow on the ground. She smiled. Little did she know that it would be that last time at her home for she too was going to be a sled dog shortly. Kia sat down and looked behind her at her brother, who was part wolf. She turned her head and focused on the ground again.
The man picked the phone up again and called Kia's owner and made an agreement.
"Yes, is this the owner of Kia?" He asked the owners. Heather cocked her head again and lay down. She looked out of the window and saw the fresh white snow on the ground.
Kia's Owner had picked up the phone." Yes this is the owner of Kia. Are you the man who whould like her for your sled?" The owner asked and Kia still looked blankly at the snow. Then she rolled un in and thatghed to herself.
"Yes, this is Hank. How much would you like for her to live with me?" He asked. Heather crawled through her doggy door in the back yard and rolled in the ice cold snow.
Jack sat by the glass window door that viewed the back yard. He watched Heather frolic through the frozen water. He sighed and continued watching.
The woman listened to Hank then brushed her hair back from getting in her face.
"Yes, hmm, she not to expensive so i would have to say four hundred" she replied then turned to look out the window at Kia who was smacking her paws into the snow then rolling in it.
"Okay, I'll pay it tomorrow. Let's say, at the park?" He replied as he too looked back at Heather romping in the snow. Jack got tired and padded towards the couch and hopped on. He soon fell asleep after about 10 minutes. The sun set and rose the next day. Hank, Jack, and Heather walked to the park as planned. His pocket had four hundred dollars in cash. He sat on a bench, and waited for Kia and her owner. Kia's owner pat Kia's head and put on her leash.
"Time to go girl" The woman said and picked up her coat from the hook and locked the door. She placed her hands in her pocket and walked to the pack with Kia at her side. Kia thought it was just a usual stroll to the park, soon Hank and His dogs came into view. "Hello Hank? I'm Jessie" she replied and let out her hand to shake his. She looked down ay Kia who was looking at the two other dogs.
"This is Kia" she said. Kia was a well built Husky, she had very good stamina. Hank got up and answered with his hand in hers, shaking.
"Oh, pardon me, hello Jessie." He cleared his throat. "So, this is Kia, huh? ...Hmm, she's a very healthy dog. I'll take her." He pulled out the four hundred dollars from his pocket and handed it over to Jessie.
"There you go, four hundred dollars." He said, looking at Jessie’s beautiful hair. Heather saw Kia and pulled towards her. She sniffed around her, to identify her. "Hey! I'm Heather, and this old dog is Jack. Who are you?" She asked curiously.
Jessie looked down at Kia and pets her head then she handed over the leash to Hank.
“Yea, I trained her along with the other husky pups my Dog had." Jessie laughed then she took the money and placed it in her pocket. She smiled at Hank then looked down to Kia.
Kia looked at Heather.
"I’m Kia!" she said happily then looked at Hank. "Is this your Human Master?" she asked and sat down next to Jessie who was moving the hair from her face.
Julie was just finishing the final touches on her ad. "There," she said, typing the last word "All done," She looked down at her beautiful dog. "I'm sorry Aiden, I just can't keep you anymore," Aiden whimpered and nudged Julie's leg.
Hank rubbed behind Kia's ears. "She'll be great. Well, time to eat you dogs." He said. "Thanks again Jessie." He stayed to let Jessie say her goodbye to Kia.
"Nice to meet you Kia." Heather replied. She wagged her tail and smiled.
Julie printed the ad, and then she put Adien on her leash and walked out of the door. She started posting the ads everywhere. She then took it to her local newspaper and sadly asked them to put it in the paper. She looked down at Adien. The dog's eyes were very sad. "Aww... I haven't seen you that cute since you were a puppy!" she said patting her on the head.
Jessie bent down and pet Kia on her head. "Be good, K girl" she said to her and Kia tilted her head. She knew what was happening it happened to her brothers and sisters. Kia whimpered then looked back to Heather and Jack; she knew she would do fine. Jessie gave Kia one last treat then looked at Hank and got up. "Well, I guess I will see you around someday?!" Jessie said and smiled then looked at Heather and Jack.
Kia turned and looked at Heather and Jack. "So this is my new Home I guess?" she asked and sat down by them.
Julie walked solemnly home. She was very sad; she didn't want to let her baby go. But she couldn't move with her. She was moving to Canada and the man she talked to about moving threatened to kill Adien "I don't want this stinky American mutt in Canada." he said in a heavy French accent. She was scared because she knew that he would convince the government that Adien was rabid or something. She walked into her house and lay on the couch and cried herself to sleep.
Hank nodded to Jessie and started to walk back home. The sun was setting as they got home.
Heather nodded. "Yepp! You get to live with us now!" She jumped from excitement and walked beside Kia the whole way home. Jack smiled and kneeled to greet Aiden to their happy little family. Hank saw a flyer on a light post and saw it had a husky for sale. He locked the dorr behind him and the dogs and called the number on the flyer.
"Hello? Is this the owner of.. umm.. Aiden?" He asked.
Julie was woken up by the ringing of her phone and Aiden barking hysterically. Julie groggily got up and answered the phone "Hello? Yes this is the owner of Aiden."
Hank got lightheaded. It was another woman who answered he phone. His voice was squeaky. "H..hello?" He cleared his throat. "Yes, I saw your ad about your dog for sale and I'm looking for dogs to become a team to enter in the big iditarod this upcoming Thursday, and I would like to purchase your dog." Heather barked playfully at Kia.
Julie smiled "Yes, she is very well trained and is a good lead or swing dog!" she said "Oh and she is very fast." Julie looked down at Aiden "You can come over at anytime today." she said, she was surprised that someone would call this soon.
"Oh, don't worry; she'll be put in a special place on the team." He smiled. "I'm not interrupting anything, aren't I? I mean, I could come tomorrow, or tonight."
"No, your not I just woke up from a nap." she said , stifling a yawn. "You can come by tonight if you want." she said.
"Oh, alright. I'll be over as soon as possible, and you address in on here as well, so don't worry about me missing your house." He said with a small chuckled. He loaded Heather up to his truck and drover over to Julie's house. He got out and grabbed Heather's leash and came up to the door and knocked. He smiled at Heather, while she gave a wag of her tail.
Kia Barked playfully back at Heather, then she spun in circles.
Max laid outside as a stray by hanks house. He looked inside and wagged his tail at the nice warm house. Max scratched at the door on whimpered to come inside. Then he stopped and curled outside on his porch.
Julie opened the door to a man who was quite cute "Hello, I'm Julie," she said, smiling. "Come on in, Aiden's inside,"
Hank smiled back at Julie. "Nice to meet you Julie. My name's Hank and these are my dogs, Heather, Jack, Kia, and hmm, I just found this guy hanging around my house a few seconds before I came here. I'll call him Max. So, where's the little rascal?" He asked.
Julie got them all in the house. "Aiden..." she whistled. In a flash Aiden was right beside her. "Can I offer you anything Hank? A soda, tea, coffee?"
"Coffee would be, great." He replied as he gazed into her eyes.
Heather rolled her eyes at what Hank was doing. She came up to Aiden and said, "Hi, I'm Heather, what's your name?"
Julie smiled, "Okay," she said running to get the coffee
"Hi Heather, I'm Aiden," she replied.
Hank didn't want to be rude, so he stood in his place. He made sure is breath was decent smalling and brushed his hair.
"Nice to mee you too. So, why are you joining us?" She questioned.
Jack sat beside Hank and looked around.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure but all I know is one day my owner was talking to a mean looking guy and she came home crying. She's been super nice to me ever since and she put up flyers this morning." said Aiden sadly.
Julie came back into the living room and handed him the coffee.
"Here you go," she smiled "Take a seat," she said motioning toward the couch.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Well, now you will have lots of friends to look after you! I'll be your friend!" She said while wagging her tail and a smile on her face.
He walked with Jack's leash still in his hand and sat next to Julie. "You know, I've met a beautiful woman today."
Aiden smiled and looked at her owner.
Julie sat on the love seat across from the couch. "Go on, have a seat," she said.
Jack whined and Hank took his leash off. He padded over to Aiden and Heather. He looked like her was limping, but that's the side affect from his old leg.
"Hello Aiden, nice to have you with the family." He said in his old low voice.
"Hello, and who might you be?" she asked kindly. She smelled that he was very old, too old to be a sled dog.
"I'm Jack, the eldest of the family." Jack replied to Aiden.
Hank sat next to Julie. "You know, I've met a beautiful woman today." He said with a smile.
"Oh," Julie said, a bit disappointed.
"Nice to meet you Jack." Aiden said.
"Yupp, and do you want to know what her name is?" Hank asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hmmmm.... I don't know, who?" Julie asked.
Hank softly guided her face over to his with his hand. "You." He smiled.
Heather groaned and smirked. "Human love."
Julie looked at him with surprise. She never expected him to touch her this soon. She knew she should smack him but she couldn't, she didn't want to. She liked the feel of his hands on her cheek. "Ahem.." she cleared her throat "Well, I guess we'd better get down to business."
Kia looked down at her paws and greeted the new Dog. "hello,Im kia" she said and glanced at Max
Max looked at Heather, Aiden, then To Kia.
"I am Max" he said and sat down next to Heather and Jack. Max didnt talk to much he looked at Hank and Julie and sighed. He started to wonder if he could ever find 'love'/ Max shook his head and looked back at Aiden.
Hank thought of smaking himself, but that would embarass him in front of her.
"Heh, sorry, that was my bad." He was a bit disgusted by himseft and tured away from her and smacked himself, but lightly. It was so fast and quiet, even the dogs didn't hear it.
Heather gasped at what Hank did. She looked at Aiden and Jack.
"Hello Kia," Aiden said, Then she glanced at the other dog, Max. He seemed to stand out in her mind. There was nothing special about him, he just stood out. "Hello Max," she said quietly.
Julie looked at him "Well..."
Hank cleared his throat and waited for her decision on Aiden.
"Nice to meet you Max" Heather replied
"A pleasure to meet you Max. Jack added.
"What's your home like? Do you have any pictures?" Julie asked.
Max had nodded and looked at Aiden and smiled at her then to Jack. He seemed to be an older wolf. Max tilted his head then focused back to his paws.
"Hello everyone" Max said and bowed to them then got up.
Kia lay down on the floor and watched her human master.
"Oh, yes, here." He took out pictures of the whole house. Inside and out. "Here is the living area." He added. It was a huge area with plenty of roon for ten dogs to play and sleep. "And here's the master bedroom, the bathroom, kitchen and back yard." He pointed out.
Jack got up and lightly limped over to Hank. He sat down and waited to go home.
Heather stayed beside the other dogs and talked. "So, what position do you guys think you'll get on the team? But, don't be disappointed by the musher's decision." She winked.
Aiden smiled back and looked at him as he bowed, why did he do this? No one here was royalty or anything.
Julie inspected the pictures. "Well, the environment seems way better than the best," she said. "Tell me about yourself, how often you feed the dogs. That kind of thing. Your financial situation."
“I have a job as a doctor and make 600 dollars a day. I feed the dogs twice a day, morning and evening, and I pay all my bills when they're mailed to me, go grocery shopping every Thursday, and normal lifestyle." He explained.
Max's tail swayed from side to side as he looked at his paws. He too started wondering why he bowed, or better yet, why does he bow whenever he greets someone. 'Maybe I do it because I’m polite?" he started to question himself.
Julie smiled "Well.. that sounds good." she said "I guess, you'd be the perfect owner for my Aiden, I'm going to miss her so much." She was fighting tears so hard. She didn't want to come off as a crybaby.
He wanted to comfort her, but didn't want to do like he did before, so her patted her on her back. "It's okay; I'll call you so you can keep in touch." His watch beeped and it was dinner time for the dogs. "Oh! Well, we've better get going." He added.
"Wait!" she startled herself "umm.... well... I'm not going to have the same phone number as I do now,"
Max's tail thumped on the ground as he looked at heather. "I don’t know, maybe I will be a team dog, who knows" he said and looked back at Aiden. Max looked back at Jack. "i was a good sled dog, then my master had died and I became a stray along with the rest of my team." he said
Kia got happy as well, she looked at Heather. "Hmm, i want to be a lead dog" she said and looked at the celing. She always wanted to be lead like her father once was.
He stopped and froze. "Oh, my mistake." He pardoned himself and smiled. "Do, you think you could write it down for me?" He asked.
Jack padded over by Max. "So, you're new here huh? And where did you come from?" He asked in his low voice.
"Okay, just to warn you. It'll be long distance. Like another country long distance," she said writing down the phone number. "Can I say good bye to my baby?" she asked.
Hank put the phone number in his side pocket. "Of course you can say goodbye."
Heather backed away from Aiden and smiled.
Aiden ran to her master. Julie couldn't help it now; she burst into tears and hugged Aiden so hard the poor dog yelped. "Oh.. Sorry Aiden...." she sniffed "I'll miss you girl. I want you to know if it wasn't for that mean old man and my being out of work I would've taken you with me." she said smiling at her dog. Aiden barked and whimpered at her master.
Hank realized how much she loved Aiden. "Well, I could give you a job if you'd like."
Heather wagged her tail and yipped.
Julie's eyes brightened "Really?" she asked excitedly. "That would be great, that's the only reason I had to move, I got offered a job in Cananda," she smiled.
Hank nodded and smiled. "It's an opening for a nurse, would you like to fill in?"
Heather padded up to the window. It started to snow again. She smiled and yipped some more.
"Oh REALLY?!?" she exclaimed "That's even better! I went to college to be a nurse," she said nodding her head towards the degree and diploma on the wall.
"Then it's settled. Would you like Aiden to stay here with you?" He asked.
Kia looked at Hank and yipped then she looked at Julie and licked her hands. Kia's tail wagged quickly.
Max sat down and looked out the window as a new blanket of snow started to form on the ground. He looked back to the others and then the window again.
Heather saw Max looking out the window and joined him. "It's really nice, isn't it Max." She said in her soft voice.
Jack sat by the couch and laid down.
Max turned and looked at Heather then back to the window. "Yea, very beautiful" he muttered and watched the snow fall on the ground. Max loved to be in the snow. he got down from the window and scratched at the door to go outside and play in the snow. Max glanced at Heather. "Want to come?" Max asked.
Heather wagged her wolfish tail and nodded. "I'd love to." She replied with a smile. She came to Hank and licked his hand. He got up and opened the door to let them play in the snow. Heather dashed out in a flash.
Old Jack stayed by his master's side. He got up and looked out of the window, watching the youngsters play.
Max raced out the door as well and he rolled on the snow and licked some of the falling drops of it. Max laughed and smacked his paws in it then he rolled in it. "Ha ha This is fun" he said and laughed.
Julie smiled and said "Would that be okay?" she asked "I could bring her to training every day, I'm an experienced trainer." She looked at Kia and patted her on the head "What a beautiful girl," she said and smiled at the dog. Aiden was looking at her begging to go out with the others. "Yes, girl go on out." Aiden barked and ran out the door to the others.
Aiden started running to everyone, and then she slipped on the ice and fell on her face. She got up laughing and said "It's all good," she howled a doggish howl and played in the snow with the others.
Kian was in his warm toasty house, sitting by the fireside, when a phone rang. He perked up his ears, and listened to the conversation.
"Uhh yes this is the owner of Kian, is this the dog sled owner I arranged to meet with earlier?" The musher replied, "Yes, this is him. I need Kian, your Siberian husky by tomorrow. Please fly him over right away today." Kian's owner started to tear up because he had to send Kian away but said, "Alright, we'll drive to the airport right now, and he'll be there by late tonight." He hung up the phone and started to pack some of Kian's toys and his food and water bowls. He put them in a doggy suitcase, then put Kian in his cage and loaded all the stuff and Kian into the car.
As they were driving to the airport, Kian looked at his owner who was driving, he was crying. This made Kian start to cry, but he also couldn't wait to go to Alaska! He had never been to the US and he could hardly stay still. But then the thought of leaving his owner, Jacque, made him sad. Who knew how long they'd be apart? Then Jacque unloaded everything and carried it into the airport and set him on the luggage line and Kian was put in a crate marked, "FRAGILE: LIVE ANIMAL".
Hank came to the airport without the dogs. He waited for the crate to show up. Heather was still playing outside in the back yard with Max, Kia, and Aiden.
Jack stayed inside by the warm fireplace.
Kian sniffed the crate he was in, then suddenly, the airplane landed, and he was sent back on a luggae line, where a man was aiting to take him. He looked through the holes in the crate at the man, "Hmm, is this the musher?" he thought to himself.
Hank saw the crate and walked over. "Hmm, Kian. Yep, that's him. I'll take him please." Hank said to the guy by the crate.
Kian sniffed though the crate at Hank, his new owner. He couldn't wait to meet all the other dogs.
Hank grabbed the crate and drove Kian home. He opened the crate inside the house, away from the other dogs, instead of Jack. It was two days until the iditarod started.
Jack got up and padded towards the newcomer.
Kian stepped out of the crate and took in his surroundings by smell, sound, and sight. He looked at the male that had walked up to him, with his light French accent he said, "Hi, my name is Kian, what's yours?"
Jack bowed his head to greet him. "Nice to meet you Kian, I'm Jack, the eldest of the team. And those youngsters outside are Kia, Max, Aiden, and Heather." Jack replied.
Kian replied, "It's nice to meet you Jack, what position are you on the sle team? I'm Swing Dog #1." Then he blurted, "There's girls here?" He quickly covered his mouth with his paws.
Jack gave a small chuckle. "Yes, there are plenty of girls here. And we're about to get another one soon. I think the musher said her names, Luna, or something like that."
Heather came inside and padded passed Kian, without noticing him. SHe went into the kitchen and lapped up some water.
"That's Heather, she's the youngest of the team, and yet so cute in a puppyish way." Jack continued.
Kian watched her pass by him, "She's one hot husky!" he thought dreamily. He asked Jack, "How old is Heather? And how old are you? Not to be offensive, just curious."
"Well, in human years, she's almost two years old, and I'm 13 years. I've been on sled teams all my life, and this is my 7th team I've been on." Jack replied.
Heather came padding back by with her eyes closed, witch she accendentally bumped into Kian. "Whoops, sorry." SHe said before she dashed back outside with the others.
Kian laughed, "Huh, she's only a little bit younger than me. I turned 2 about 3 months ago," then he focused on what they werereally talking about again. "What was the highest position on a sled team, when you were younger, that you've ever been on?"
"Well, I was leader for the first four teams, then i got older, which my age made me slower, so I went down the ranking, from leader, to swing, to team, and now wheel. I retired after the 6th team from a serious injury on my leg. But, now I'm back in business." Jack answered.
Kian nodded, "Man, it must've been fun being lead. Sorry you hurt your leg, even though it's better now." He looked outside, "Hey, do you mind if I go outside with the other dogs for a while?" He trotted off outside.
Jack shook his head. "I don't mind at all." He got up and lapped up some water and laid back down by the fireplace.
Gina noticed all these new dogs enter and she hid right under the table. Out of all of them so far, she was the smallest and probably the youngest.
Hank came in the kitchen and noticed Gina under the table. "Aww, come here." He picked her up and set her outside in the backyard with the others.
Heather came up to her and asked if she wanted to play.
Jack stayed inside and ate before the other dogs hogged the food bowls.
Gina felt how strong Hank's arms where and soon she was set outside with the other dogs. She was a bit nervous a first but one of the dogs came up to her and asked if she wanted to play. "Yes!" Gina said without missing a beat and tagged the dog to the ground and ran for it.
Heather giggled and ran after her. She tagged her in amatter of seconds and dashed away, still giggling.
Jack came outside and pounced on Heather. He chuckled and ran at his fastest pace. He was faster than a human, but slower than the other dogs.
Gina laughed and chased after her when another dog pounced on her. She quickly came to a halt and sat there.
Jack halted and padded up to Gina. "Hello, I don't think we've met. I'm Jack."
Heather got up and shook the snow off of her fur.
Gina smiled at Jack. "I'm Gina, it's very nice to meet you."
Jack nodded. "Nice to meet you." Jack replied.
Heather was romping around with the other dogs in the snow.
Gina smiled at Jack and then walked over to the house and laid herself under the steps. But instead of sleeping, she was watching the other dogs play. She knew this place far more than the rest and knew its secret passages.
Jack went by the glass door and laid beside it with his head on his old paws.
Heather was busy playing in the snow with her other friends.
Kian saw yet another dog come and he saw she was scared. He ran up to her and introduced himself, "Hi there, my name's Kian, who are you?"
Heather saw the dog she ran into earlier and a mew dog. She padded up to both of them "Hey, what's you guys' names?"
Gina saw this new husky and the same husky she played with and said, "I'm Gina and you guys are?"
Kian jumped up as if he were a puppy again and ran around Gina, trying to get her to play. Then he ran around Heather and tagged her quickly, but as he was on top of her, he looked into her eyes, he couldn't look away, they shone in the Alaskan sun. He finally hopped off of her and ran inside, feeling embarrassed. He ate his food and drank some of his water, then laid down in his cage right beside Jack's cage.
Heather froze. She giggled a bit, and continued playing.
Jack was sleeping by the fireplace. The ashes of the wood dimming the light of the decreasing fire.
Gina stopped playing with Heather and Kian and then laid under the porch steps. She then watched the other dogs play and sighed.
Hank was done fixing the dogs' meals. He whistled for all of the dogs to come inside. When he watched every dog run inside, he closed the door and locked it.
Heather shook herself, her fur gleaming from the fire, The sun set a few minutes after the dogs began to eat. Heather only took a few bites and was done. She padded to the master bedroom and hopped on the bed. She curled up in a ball and slowly fell asleep.
Jack ate his fill and padded onto the couch again. He was really tired, and fell asleep as soon as he lay down.
Kian had fallen asleep, and had a dream that he was Lead Dog #2, right alongside Heather. They were both going the same pace, and then they won the Iditarod! Everyone was screaming and cheering for their team and as a congrats, Heather licked Kian on the muzzle, then nuzzled him. He sighed dreamily, if only it really happened.
Gina ran into the house but instead of diving in for her food, she licked and nuzzled her head against Hank's hand. She wanted him to pet her and wherever he went, she would go to.
Hank picked Gina up and nuzzled her. He patted her head and set her back down. "Good girl." He praised. He yawned and stretched his arms. "Well, good night everyone." He said before brushing his teeth and getting in bed with Heather on the end.
Gina followed him into the bedroom and curled next to him on his side. She licked his hand and then fell asleep.
Hank got up early to work out and make breakfast. He made bacon, eggs, and pancakes for himself. He wiped up the dog's their favorite dog food and yelled, "Breakfast is ready!"
Heather's ears shot up and she uncurled herself. She hopped off of the bed and padded over to Hank He gave her a good rub behind her ears. She wagged her tail and padded over to her food bowl and began eating.
Jack got off of the couch and lightly limped to the kitchen and also began eating.
Julie woke up and realized she had to take Aiden to practice. "Oh my gosh! It's 8:00! I have to be there in ten minutes." She quickly jumped out of bed and brushed her teeth and hair. She got dressed, not knowing that she was wearing two completely different socks. She got a cup of coffee.
Aiden woke up to see that her master was rushing around the house, all of a sudden her leash was being put on before she was even awake. "Come on girl, we're late," she said. Aiden got up, stretched and whimpered, she was hungry. "Oh, of course," Julie said "You need breakfast!" She got out the food bowl and let Aiden eat.
Kia yipped and sat down after she had eaten her share of food, Kia's heart was racing, she was excited and couldnt wait to get out and run.
Max sat down and looked at Heather,Kia, and Jack. He too was Excited about the big race.
Hank let the dogs outside in the backyard to run around. Even Jack ran a bit. Heather was the last to get outside, and she ran in the fresh snow.
Hank was waiting for Julie to arrive with Aiden. He sat on his couch and watched his small black and white TV.
When Aiden finished her breakfast Julie clipped her leash again and ran out the door with Aiden behind her. She jumped in her old truck and drove to Hank's house.
Luna was ready to practice! she wanted so badly to try and help win this big race!
Julie knocked on the door. She noticed Aiden was aching to play with the other dogs "Go on girl," she smiled and let her off the leash. She knocked again.
Luna barked and then laid down, wondering if some day she will get noticed by the other dogs...not just some other dog on a team practicing for a race.
Aiden barked back to Luna, "Hello, I don't think we've met before." She smiled.
Luna looked up, "no, i dont think we have... They call me Luna," she said.
"My names Aiden!" she said "Wanna play?" she asked.
Luna smiled, "Sure!"
Hank heard the knocking and dashed to the door and opened it. "Oh, hello Julie." He answered.
Jack came inside and came to where Luna and Aiden were talking.
“Hello Hank," she said, smiling "So, let's get down to business." she said.
Aiden ran outside with Luna and started romping in the snow.
Luna tackled Aiden. she laughed as she got snow in her face.
"Yes, let's." Hank replied.
Heather came inside to get a drink, and saw Aiden, Jack, and a new dog outside in the front yard. She came up to them and said, "Hello, who are you?" She asked the new dog. "I'm Heather by the way."
"Luna," she replied smiling.
"Nice to meet you Luna." Heather replied. "Well, shall we go to the backyard and greet you to the other dogs?"
Luna nodded and followed.
Aiden followed behind, the snow still on her face.
Julie smiled and went out back. She whistled and immediately Aiden came to her side and sat stock still.
Hank whistled for Jack. "So, what's the busyness you were talking about?" Hank asked.
Heather was still walking beside Luna, introducing the whole team to her. "Everyone, this is Luna, our new team member!"
Jack sat by Hank's side and yipped a bit.
Luna barked a hello and turned her attention to Jack, who yipped, she perked her ears and listened.
Jack blushed from embarrassment. He smiled and wagged his tail.
Luna smiled and then stepped around some other dogs and went to a tree to rest for a time.
"Well, first we need to train the dogs," she said nodding her head toward all the dogs not paying attention to either of the humans whistles.
Aiden, being the good leader she is, barked for attention. "Excuse me, but I believe either Jack or his master have something to say." she said.
Heather padded beside Jack and sat down.
Hank then whistled to all of the dogs and said, "Okay, today is our final day to practice for the big race tomorrow. I will assign you your positions and we'll get started." Hank said to the dogs. "There are two spots on the sled for two people; would you like to come along?" He asked Julie.
Heather yipped and jumped from excitement.
Luna stood and waited.
"Of course!" Julie said "But wouldn't that heavy the sled a lot?" she asked. "We'd need more dogs to take two people." she said.
"I can pull double my weight, I can be of help," Luna offered.
"Oh, don't worry, these dogs can handle that." He replied with a smile. He loaded all of the dogs on their harnesses and was about to give them their positions.
Heather jumped more.
Luna waited for her position.
Kian woke up to the sound of dog food and trotted to his bowl and stuffed his face in it. Then he lapped up some water and dashed outside to get his rein on, to practice for the Iditarod.
Luna noticed Kian and then raced into her place, ready for hook up.
Aiden wondered what her place would be. She hoped lead, she always wanted to lead, and she was pretty fast.
Julie was still worried. "Well, can I at least get some support dogs? Please I know the perfect two. They're fast and they Malamutes. It would make me feel better."
Hank lead Heather and Kia to the lead position. He hooked them up, so they couldn't get away. He then took Kian and Aiden to the swing positions, then Luna and Max to the first two team positions, and Jack and Gina to the wheel positions. "There, all dogs have a position." Hank said.
Luna liked her position, she enjoyed teh feel of the harness again.
Aiden lowered her head, she had wanted a lead position but at least she got swing. She looked back to see where Max was.
Julie was waiting for her question to be answered.
Kian looked in front at Heather, she looked so beautiful today. Then he looked back at Aiden, "Hey, I haven't see you before. What's your name? I'm Kian."
"Hello, I'm Aiden." she said "My owner is Julie."
Hank nodded. "Sure. If it will make you feel any better." He replied.
Heather was surprised. She thought she would be a team dog for sure, or a swing at the most. She barked from excitement.
Kian nodded, "Nice to meet you Aiden. It'll be nice having someone like you behind me." He then looked ahead and pretended like he didn't even say anything.
"Yay!" she said and ran inside to make a phone call.
"Congrats on making lead Heather!" said Aiden, she knew she should be gratefull she made swing dog, that's the best she'd ever done.
"What do you mean behind?" she tilted her head "I'm beside you."
Heather looked back at Aiden and Kian. "Thanks. And congrats on making swing! That's what I thought I would be, or a team dog." Sh turned to Kian and looked in his eyes. She quickly tuned around, while blushing.
While Julie made the phone call, Hank loaded the sled with food, water, and a first aid. "There, now we just need those other dogs." He said to himself. He walked up to Heathr and kneeled in front of her. He gave her a good scratch behind her ears.
Heather wagged her tail and yipped.
"Well, I thought I'd be a team dog too," she said "But there was a little glimmer of hope that I'd be lead."
Julie came out of the house and said "Well, I got two more dogs and they can pull three times they're weight." she said "They're very well trained. My friend is bringing them over right now."
"Thanks Julie." Hank said. He waited for her friend to bring the dogs.
Heather wagged her tail and sat down, looking around with a smile on her face.
Jack had little boodies on, so his old feet won't freeze.
Julie’s friend came with te dogs. "Thanks a bunch Mac." she said taking the dogs from him. "No prob Julie." He smiled and drove off. "Well, this is Sari, and this is Judd." She said, nodding her head toward the two.
"Hmm, they look really nice sled dogs. Okay, I'll tie them up behind Max and Luna." He replied. He tied them up and got on the back of the sled. "You coming?" Hank teased.
Heather got ready to run.
Kia looked at heather and Jumped up and barked with joy. "I didn’t think I would be Lead!" Kia said and smiled and jumped up again
Max looked at Aiden, and there gazes met. He shook his head and yipped with content of his position. Max watched and waited for them to take off.
Julie smiled "Yeah, just let me tie my shoe, oh.. and put my hair back." she teased back and got on the sled.
Aiden smiled at Max and got ready to run.
Hank got ready and looked at the dogs. 'Okay now, MUSH!" Hank yelled. Heather heard those words clearly and yanked her harness and began to run.
Kian sped up behind Heather and Kia. He was having the time of his life. He would stay in racing until he couldn't do it anymore.
Aiden tugged and started running. She loved the feel of the snow under her paws the wind in her face. She didn't even notice that she was starting to outrun Kia. She suddenly got tangled in Kia's lines and tripped.
Hank shouted, "BRAKE!" Heather stopped and looked beside her and saw Kia and Aidedn tangled. She then saw Hank walking towards them.
Kia fell from Aiden and wound up pulling Heather along with her. She yelped as the harness pulled down on her.
Heather fell beside Kia and Aiden. Hank was at the front, padding his foot in disappointment. He sighed and started to untangle the harnesses.
Jack squinted to see what happened at the front.
Aiden's paws were a tangled mess.
Julie got off the sled "Aiden! what has gotten into you?" she said. Aiden whimpered. "I'm sorry Hank, sometimes she gets carried away. "She apologized while untangling Aiden.
"No, that's alright. I emember Jack doing the same thing before he broke his leg." Hank replied.
Heather whimpered and lowered her ears.
Kia whimpered. "Sorry Heather" She said knowing that she wasn’t running as fast as she should have. ‘Come on Kia! You don’t want to loose your spot! You know you can do ALOT better!' Kia said scolding herself.
Hank got the tangles out with the help from Julie. He walked back to the sled.
Heather shook herself. "That's okay. It happens." She replied.
Aiden was ashamed "I'm sorry Kia, I didn't mean to, I just kinda got caught up in the run. I do that sometimes. If it starts to happen again just kick my chest a little."
Kia nodded. "I’m not going to kick you, it would be wrong, and I might slip, so ill softly nudge you with my tail" Kia said and smiled at Aiden.
Hank waited for Julie to get back on the sled. The sun started to set, and the wind got colder. "Burr, I think we should head back home."
Heather sniffed the air and it seemed they were going to get hit by a small storm. "Guys, we might be heading back home."
Kia looked at Heather and sniffed the air. "Yea, a storm is coming in" She said and looked back at Hank and Julie then foward again.
Max looked at Aiden. "Hey, don’t be embarrassed" Max said and smiled. Then he nudged her with his snout.
"Thanks for not being mad guys," she said. Then she looked at Kia "Okay, nudge me with your tail, but if that doesn't work kick me, not too hard though," she smiled and got back in position. Julie got back on the sled.
Hank got ready and yelled, "Mush!" and Heather tugged on her harness. She turned around and headed for home. She had this bad feeling that the race tomorrow was going to be a disaster.
Aiden ran behind Kia, this time not getting carried away.
The team got home in a matter of minutes. When they got inside, the winds picked up and snow pounded on the ground and the roof of the house. "Dang, looks like we got here just in time." Hank said.
Heather got by the fireplace and laid down.
Julie looked outside. "Yeah, I don't think I'll be able to make it home." she said nodding her head toward the window. The truck was snowed in and you couldn't see but two feet infront of you.
Aiden barked and looked out the window.
Hank nodded. "You may stay in the guest suite if you'd like." He replied. "Well, I better get in bed before the dogs take my spot. Good night Julie." He said before going into his room.
Heather followed and hopped onto the end of his bed. She curled up and almost fell asleep.
"Good night Hank," whispered Julie. She whistled for Aiden and went to bed.
Aiden invited Max to come in Julie's room with her.
Hank took a quick shower and brushed his teeth. After thirty minutes or so, he was in bed, with Heather at his feet.
Jack was on the side of the coutch and fell asleep.
The stars faded as the sun rose, and gulls cawed as a new day has come.
Part 2 will be coming shortly!
