A New Leader 1

It had been two days now since Aleu took the role of the alpha

 of Nava's pack.  She could still vividly remember the moment

 when she last saw Balto's face before floating away on the

 iceberg that took her and her new pack to their new home.  The

 land was bountiful, full of every creeping thing that a wolf would

die for to sink their teeth into.  Aleu chose a rocky area for them

 to live, since it reminded all of the pack of their long gone

home.  Aleu decided that she wanted some time alone to hunt,

and left the pack with the subordinate wolf to keep them under

 control.  She made her way through the silenced woods, as

 quiet as a mouse, and as attentive as a lioness on the hunt.  A

 shadow caught her offguard.  She glanced up to see the raven

that had lead her to her father, then to Nava.  A smile spread

across her face.  Maybe it will be fun to run with him for a while,

just like the old times...  She followed the raven over vast

stretches of tundra and through deep forests.  Without warning,

 it flew up into the clouds.  Hey, where'd he go?  Aleu looked

around.  I don't recognize this place.  Where am I?  She searched

for traces of other packs.  The place was desolate, not a soul

lived there.  What have I gotten myself into?

Flint, a young, gray wolf, pounced on his brother's tail.  "Stop

 that Flint!  Do you know how annoying that is?!"  Yes.  "I was

 just trying to have fun," Flint whimpered, "there's nothing to do,

Aleu usually plays with me at this time."  Flint's brother, Shale,

glanced left and right.  "Where is Aleu?  Tok, have you seen Aleu

lately?"

"No, I thought she went to get dinner."

Flint rolled his eyes.

"I told you she's missing!"

Shale grabbed his little brother by the tail with his paw.

"Let's see if we can find her then."

The temperature started to rapidly drop.  Aleu shivered in the

 cold.  Night was settling in---fast.  Alaskan winter nights have a

tendency to dramatically drop, and in Aleu's case, it was in the

below 20's, still going.  "I need to find shelter before I freeze out

 here," Aleu muttered to herself.  But where to go?  A closeby

howl startled her, sending her bristling.  The howl sounded more

dog than wolf.  She strode to it.  It seemed friendly enough not

 to fight.  A few other vocals joined in; one soprano and a whole

 bunch of altos.  Her couriosity got the best of her.  She peered

 between a cluster of pines.  A group of huskies sat, howling into

 the sky.  Aleu instantly recognized one.  I can't be?!  Can it?  She

 trotted out into the open.  The howling stopped, and the

 huskies turned to stare at her.  The red and white husky stood

 up.  "Aleu?"

"Shale, are we lost?"

"No," Shale retorted, "I'm just a little mixed up...not to mention

 confused."

"We are lost!" Flint wailed.  "N-no we're not!  Home's just that

 way...or maybe, that way?"

"What if we starve?!  Or freeze?!  Or---"

"Flint!  Cut it out!  We'll find shelter somewhere, and go back to

the pack in the morning!  Maybe Aleu will turn up then."

Flint nodded slowly.  "Alright.  Where do we go?"

Shale sniffed the air for any scent of a roaming animal.

He smelled "canine" not too far away.  I don't want to risk me

and Flint getting attacked, so I should ignore it, even if they could

be friendly, I'll stick to the safe side. "Uh, let's go west."

Flint bounced behind his brother, seeming to be in elated

spirits.  "So-o-o...what do we have for dinner?" Flint asked his

brother.

"Nothing."

"What do you mean, "nothing"?!"

"It's pretty late, and so our prey would be far from here; to them

"here" known as hunting grounds, or in their words, "let's go

 get killed and eaten by wolves,"." 

Flint shrugged.  "That makes sense.  If I were them, I'd do the

excact same thing."

Shale grunted as he lost his footing.  He was laughing a few

minutes later though.  "I just found our shelter, Flint."  Flint cock-

ed his head.  "But it's so..."

"...tiny?"

"I was gonna say cramped, but that fits the description better."

Shale climbed into the small hole, beckoning for Flint to follow.

Flint reluctantly scrambled in, sitting on top of Shale's head.

"I guess this will have to do," Shale said with a sigh.  "It's hot,"

Flint complained.  Shale pushed Flint off his head.  "Deal with it."

That night was incomfertable for both wolves, but it got worse. 

In the middle of the night, a wolf howled, followed up by several

others.  Flint's eyes popped open, his heart thudding against his

chest.  "Sha-ale...they're out there..."

"Go back to sleep," Shale mumbled, squirming to get

comfortable.

"But-"

"-Go to sleep," Shale snapped.

"Don't blame me if we get attacked," Flint said haughtlily as he

poked Shale on the head.  Flint peeked out of the small opening.

Large, black, brawny figures ran across the slick snow.  "Shale,"

Flint hissed into his brother's ear, "They're close!  I can smell

them!  And you know what?  They smell REALLY bad!  D'you

think you could take em' on?"

Shale wearily lifted his eyelids.  Flint was pointing out the hole, a

nervous expression on his face.  "Look!"  Shale groggily stuck

his nose out of the opening.  A strong scent smacked him head

on.  His heart skipped a beat.  "I  recognize that smell." He

turned to face Flint.  "They're not friendly.  We need to get out

of here before they smell us."

"Who are they?"

Shale's jade eyes widened.  "Galeth."