Destiny of the Small

(started 2/22/08 - ) 

Summary: In “Balto II: Wolf Quest”, Aleu met her spirit guide – a small field mouse named Muru – and discovered that she was meant for a different purpose. But how did Muru learn about his destiny to become a spirit guide? All will be told in a tale about the life of one ordinary brown mouse that was so small but had a special fate all his own. This is the . . . Destiny of the Small.

Rating: G for General Audiences. There’s nothing too horrible here, except for maybe a bit of intense peril and danger . . . and maybe a character death too, but they’re not too bad. It’s all necessary for the story.  

Disclaimer: Any official characters and events from Balto and Balto II: Wolf Quest are the properties of Universal Studios, Inc. This story is complete fiction, despite being based on actual characters from the films. However, any personalities of characters that were mentioned but not shown in the films or mentioned and not given much additional information/screen time are created from the imagination of Juuchan17, the author.  **Also, the characters of Anyu and Tulugaq are my own original characters. Please do not take them, okay?**

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Piece II: The Wrong Choice 

Several moons had passed and I watched as young Muru grew quickly from a newborn mouse-child into an active adolescent mouse, ready to do his share of work to maintain the family lifestyle of caring for the house.

He was quite intelligent for a mouse-child his age – at only two moons old, Muru learned how to make a den for himself out of stones and tiny twigs a couple of inches from his parent’s much larger home. He even weaned himself from Mother’s milk, much to the surprise of his parents. Within the next moon, he learned to find food and groom himself without the help of Quillac, who always seemed to have a knack for fur cleanliness. As each moon went through its phases, Muru grew to become more wise beyond his years. 

Meanwhile, his parents – Kahu and Quillac – had begun to live their dream once they finally got their wish. Now that they were like other mouse families, the young couple easily connected with local family groups of mice as their son grew before their eyes.

“Muru,” his mother called him with her gentle yet squeaky tone one night. “Come here, my son.” 

The mousy-brown rodent twitched his round ears towards the sound of Quillac’s call, quickly rushing out of his personal den and into where his parents awaited him. “Yes, Mother? What is it?”

Both Kahu and Quillac smiled at their son, but it was the male that spoke. “Tonight is a very special night, little one.” Actually, the two were really amazed by the quick growth of the blessing that I had promised them. To think that a tiny mouse-child could grow into a more intelligent mouse than anyone that their parents knew . . . one may not be able to believe it unless you saw him with your own eyes. “Six moons ago, the Great Spirit Aniu blessed us with you, Muru.” 

“I know, Father,” Muru replied with a sense of acceptance. “I can see Sister Moon’s face in full tonight from the top of my den. She seems to be smiling down on me tonight.”

“This is true, Son,” Quillac pointed to the tiny hole that was above them. “Once you came from me, the Spirit of the Moon shone her blessing down upon you. It is what Aniu promised us.” 

“I know this as well,” the light-colored male nodded. He was not being boastful nor did he mean to sound as such, but what he stated was indeed true – he already knew this information through his dreams. I knew that once he was old enough, Muru would be able to communicate freely with myself and the Great Spirits through his dreams, but all of this was necessary for a later purpose that not even he knew about until later; at about three or four moons old, he taught himself how to reach the Great Spirits at whim as he slept. “She has told me this herself as I slept beneath her light.” The six-moon mouse looked up at the lunar radiance and gasped with soft awe. He seemed almost engulfed by the silver sheen, much to the surprise of the young parents. “Ah! It’s much brighter here than I thought!” He chuckled and began to dance on his hind paws. “Oh, how lovely it is!”

“Kahu,” Quillac murmured into his dark-brown ear, using a tiny paw to not allow their son to hear them. “are you sure that Muru is all right? I’ve never heard him . . . speak this way before.” She was nearly in tears once she finished her sentence, but she tried not to let her son see her cry. “It’s almost like he’s . . . someone else . . .” 

“Oh, nonsense. Muru is just fine, darling,” The male mouse nuzzled his mate, comforting her with a series of gentle strokes on her back. “He’s a normal young mouse-child . . .” He paused to take another glance at their son. Muru’s current delight at the lunar ray made him clutch his paws together and squeak with glee. “You see? All young mice are fascinated by moonlight.”

But now the young mouse’s squeak began to sound more like . . . a howl. 

“So fascinated that they howl like the wolf?” Quillac replied back.

Kahu stammered for a moment. It was rather odd for a mouse to cry like a wolf’s howl, but the half-year old mouse was very fond of all creatures . . . most especially the wolf. “W-w-w-well, . . . Muru is very smart and very knowledgeable when it comes to nature and the customs of the Ancient Ways, right?” Well, at least he was thinking of his son’s positive qualities. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” The female crossed her arms as she spoke softly. “but what other mouse actually knows everything there is to know about the Ancient Ways . . . at only four moons old?” She knew that only elders – mice that were lucky and blessed enough to live past twenty years old – were the wisest of all mice in their home groups, but not even they knew everything that the six-moon old Muru now knew.

“Uh . . .” For once, the dark-brown male had to think. Placing a paw on his chin, he tapped a foot to the ground to get himself deep in thought. “. . . well, you got me there.” He finally answered. 

Quillac only leaned into her mate’s arms once more with a heavy sigh; somehow Muru was still unable to hear them due to his unyielding enthrallment with the moon. “Oh, Aniu . . . what is wrong with our son? Why is Muru so different from the others?”

I knew that Kahu and Quillac were not as tuned into the voices of us Great Spirits as young Muru was, despite their strong belief in the Ancient Ways, but his natural ability only seemed to make him easily stand out from all the other mice. He tended to speak with a sense of dignity and almost ultimate wisdom, but other older mice that were nearby that heard him refused to listen to him. They knew how special he was to the young couple by being given to them as a blessing from Aniu, but the other mice chose listen elsewhere for their connection to the Spirits. 

Because of the silent treatment that he had been given, Muru had a series of choices that he could have made:

Easily, he could have endured the idle chatter, continuing his happy life amidst the watchful eyes of his parents; despite his non-violent demeanor, deep within his heart, he could not withstand the fact that other mice like him could not take him and his words seriously. Muru knew his words were correct, given to him directly from the Great Spirits and myself – his belief in that would never falter. 

Also, he could have become rebellious and filled with fury, releasing his hatred of being ignored towards those that would not hear him out; again, his calm personality and passive ways would not be able to succumb to such a method of revenge.

The only other choice he had left . . . was the most difficult of them all – he had to leave his family and never return again. 

Muru loved being with his family more than anything, even more than learning about the Ancient Ways. It broke his heart that he had to abandon the only home he had ever known in his short life of six moons, but if he could find a place that would accept him as he was and continue his quest for knowledge, then so be it.

It was near the end of his sixth moon – January of 1925 – when young Muru, armed with only a tiny sack over his shoulder and his never-faltering faith as a guide, traveled by the light of “Sister Moon” and into the dangerous field where many like him had perished beneath the silver glow. Although he had survived a couple more weeks among the talk of his mouse enemies, Muru felt led to leave on this certain night on his own power, not because a Great Spirit told him to. His parents were fast asleep in their den, unaware that their son was gone from their territory. 

“Sorry, Mother . . . Father,” Muru muttered under his breath as he scampered onto a high rock, although he knew what could happen to him if a hawk or a raven came his way. “But I have to do this . . . for our sakes.”

It was my own fault that they did not know sooner . . . but because of it, more lives were saved that night than lost. 

Oh? You do not understand why this is so?

I’m sure you haven’t forgotten the child that I bore when I last roamed the Earth?

Well, let me explain what I mean: about a few years before Muru was born, I was given the chance to return to Earth as a young white she-wolf christened Anyu. Her curiosity allowed her to fall into a forbidden relationship with an Alaskan Husky named Tulugaq, and within months, she was exiled, gave birth to three half-breed pups, and with her mate, sacrificed her mortal life to save her children and return to her Great Spirit form as me, the Great Aniu. When Anyu was killed by her enemies, her only son – my only living son that remains – was left abandoned in a small town called Nome, Alaska at the age of six moons old by Tulugaq before he too was killed. For almost three years, he endured intolerable torture by purebred huskies and silent glares by his fellow wolf, but he knew that his destiny would lie just around the bend. His name was Balto.

Earlier that moon, a deadly epidemic struck the most vulnerable of the small shore town – the young children and the elderly. The sickness was called diphtheria, and the local doctor lacked the necessary medicine to cure them . . . so all of the victims could have perished . . . if it wasn’t for my son’s quick actions. Secretly, he ran out into the wilderness to search for the team that was sent out to retrieve the serum and bring it back to Nome in one piece. However, the team got lost within a blinding winter blizzard, but Balto took over the leadership role and guided the team to safety. 

But the journey home wasn’t without its own set of natural dangers along the way.

His personal trail had been rigged, accidentally leading them to a steep mountain cliff. The gray-brown hybrid bravely saved the medicine, but he was also sent tumbling down the mountainside, his pride and spirit was as severely injured as his physical body. 

It was on that same night that Muru had fled from home when I felt it necessary to show myself to my son in my Great Spirit form in order to remind him of his proud heritage as a wolf. He didn’t recognize me at all and was quite doubtful of himself because of the fact that he was equally both a tame husky and a wild wolf, but silently, I showed him that because he was both, he could achieve the new destiny that was awaiting him once he rescaled the high cliff to his adopted team – he was meant to become a hero.

Unfortunately, I could not be in two places at once and I personally felt that my son was more important, but I was shocked by what lie in wait for me once I returned to the meadow of the field mice. 

The moonlight was setting, preparing for the dawn, but the dark clouds that drizzled a bit made me realize that “Sister Moon” was crying, almost as if she were mourning someone. Kahu and Quillac were no longer asleep, but out in the grassy field near the beam of white light that glittered straight up into the sky. The light’s source came from the tiny bag that young Muru carried with him – inside, there was a small piece of crystal prism, which was a gift from his parents from his six-moon celebration. It was then that I noticed the translucent form of the mousy-brown rodent floating in the air above the weeping eyes of his parents.

“Mother . . .! Father . . .!” He cried, tears forming in his eyes as well. “I’m right here! I’m okay!” 

The two mice could not hear their son’s cries from above, for they clutched his lifeless body in their arms, grooming its dried wounds of blood with their salty tears.

“Why, Great Spirits?” I heard Kahu screech out as he lifted the body of his son towards the sky. “Why must you punish us so? Why didn’t you protect him like you promised us?” 

At the moment, even I wanted to cry. It was then that I realized the error of my ways – because I went to be by my son’s side, Muru’s life was tragically cut short and his parents now had to mourn another mouse-child lost.

Apparently even the oldest of spiritual creatures can make mistakes, despite our omnipotence . . . but there was a way that I could atone for my sin and selfishness. But how would I tell the grieving parents after I let them down so? I let out a deep yet soft sigh, knowing that I had to do what was right. 

“Muru, . . .” I called the mouse’s soul, knowing that he would recognize me and my voice. “Come towards me, my child . . .”

The youth dried his eyes and floated toward my voice. “Aniu?” He sounded surprised, but his tone grew sad once I nodded. “What happened to me? All I can remember is . . . I don’t know, it felt like a jolt . . . surging through me as I ran. I felt blood . . . fall from my body, as if someone was grabbing me . . .” He lowered his head, shuttering in confusion. “ . . . and then . . . I couldn’t feel . . . anything . . .” It was clear that he couldn’t understand what had just happened to him. 

“It’s alright, young one . . .” I nuzzled him gently with my muzzle. “You shall feel pain no longer . . . Your soul will be at rest now.”
 
“Then why do I still feel sad?” He gazed up at me with large, dark eyes. “I miss Mother and Father . . . and they sound like they miss me just as much!” He sniffled back his tears, but it was to no avail. “They can’t even hear me . . . Why can’t they hear me? Isn’t there something I can do to comfort them?” Muru brushed off a salty stream with both of his paws. “Oh, Aniu . . . I’ll do anything to speak with them again!”

I paused for a moment, looking back down at the forms of Kahu and Quillac. They were now being comforted by the local mouse families that had once spoken down upon Muru’s beliefs and knowledge, but now, they all gathered to mourn losing such a bright and intelligent adolescent that they never gave a chance to understand. 

I never explained to the young mouse that he was, in fact, already dead, but I figured that he would discover it on his own rather quickly. Personally, I found the quickness of death as a natural part of life – I had actually died several times throughout my long, long life as a spirit from the times when I returned to Earth in a mortal form, so I was quite used to the bitter chill of Death’s hand on your skin. I knew that all mortals only lived once, so I felt that they were lucky that death was usually a one-time experience.

“I believe there is a way . . .” I murmured to him, much to his personal delight. However, he had no prior awareness of what I had planned to do, but I knew what would happen next would not be easy for either Muru or his parents to accept. 

He had no choice – this was now the start of his destiny.

(Piece II completed – 2/24/08)