Lightning Eye’s

By Noblewolf

Balto was standing stiffly on a snowy hill. His eyes were narrowed, yet sad. The chilling wind blew his fur to the north. He raised his muzzle, and scented a wolf nearby. He lowered his head, and sat down. He and Jenna had gotten in a large fight…ending with teary eyes and tails between the legs.

Balto had growled at Jenna when she had said, "Well, did you learn that from the Wolf?" They had been talking about pups, which Balto did not want. He had said something about letting the feeling for pups come naturally, and that set Jenna off. She had said some serious stuff, and Balto just eventually stormed out.

He stared at the starry skies now, wondering why. Why did he come to live here? Why did he desperately love Jenna? Why did his father mate with a wolf…to create him? He raised his muzzle again suddenly, and scented a wolf again. Only this time it was close. Very close.

He swiveled around, and his gaze met the sapphire eyes of the most beautiful wolf he had ever seen. Her fur was sleek and a snowy silver. Her muzzle was elegant and long, and her ears were bushy. She had a slender form, with a large, bushy tail. She padded closer to Balto, gently placing her delicate paws down on the soft earth each time. When she was lessthan 5 inches away, she sat down gently. Balto ruffled his fur, and growled. She was not intimidated.

She smiled and licked her paws. "I've seen you before," she said in a voice that was like a the mid-summer breeze. "You have a husky for your mate…a very beautiful creature she is. I believe her name is Jenna?" She cocked her head and waited for Balto to reply.

"You've been spyin' on me??" He tried to sound scary, but he only made the she wolf laugh.

"Oh, no." She said softly. "You are just always out howling, and a wolf can sense your feelings," she paused for effect. "…I've heard you howl and it's amazing."

She smiled, and Balto smiled back.

Balto blushed under his fur, and smiled thankfully. He had to admit, no one had ever claimed his howling to be "wonderful" before! He was beginning to really like this wolf.

Well," she continued. "My name's Lightning Eyes but you can call me Glisten for short. I know it has no relation to 'Lightning eyes', but…" she laughed.

Balto smiled at her. "What, uh…pack are ya from??" He questioned her eagerly.

"Oh, I'm from Glacier's pack. We call ourselves the 'Snow paws'! Where are you from?" She smiled. Her muzzle tilted gracefully, as she sniffed the ground. "Hm…I smell humans." She paused. "Have you been in the village!!?" she seemed very scared as she gazed with wide eyes at the stiff Balto.

"Uh, yeah. I live there. I'm part…husky you know…" He sounded ashamed and alone.

Glisten nodded, then got up. She looked even more beautiful as she stood gracefully. Her neck arched smoothly into a perfect back. Her shoulder blades slowly moved up and down as she padded closer to Balto. Her tail was carried like a sickle and her eyes flashed like lightning.

She pounced clear over Balto and disappeared in a gust of snow. "Glisten?" said Balto sadly as he looked around for the amazing wolf. She was gone. Even the wolf hates me for being a half breed! He scolded himself, and walked away when he heard barking from behind him.

It was Glisten, and she was surrounded by 5 male wolves. They were smiling slyly…obviously they wanted her to be a mate. She raised her upper lip, exposing her pink gums and teeth of ivory. She wouldn't let these beasts touch her. On tried to jump on her, but she sliced into his neck, ripping the flesh into shreds. He landed with a thud on the snowy ground. His blood stained it. The others didn't care. They cornered her near a pine tree, and pounced as one.

Then she did something amazing. She flung herself right at them, and her teeth sunk into the necks and shoulders of them. Not 1 escaped alive. When she came out of the fight, her fur, her beautiful silver fur, was torn and matted. Her muzzle was bleeding, and her left paw was limp. She collapsed in the snow. Balto dashed over to her, and licked her bleeding muzzle tenderly. Slowly, she raised her head and tried to smile at him.

"You see?" she whispered. "Being beautiful can kill you!" She tried to laugh. "But…" she was losing it now. The blood was sinking into the ground. "…At least they didn't touch me. Not 1!" She smiled proudly as she laid down again. "Well," she started again. "I guess they did scratch me up a bit…" The life was slowly draining from her, hanging on each word that dripped out of her mouth. Her eyes began to glaze over.

"No! I hardly knew you…" started Balto.

"Of course you knew me Balto…" started Glisten. "I am the one who who has always been in your spirit. I am the one who led you to find Aleu. I am the Wolf Spirit within you!" Balto didn't understand. But he did feel a terrible feeling as that wolf's eyes began to lose life. "Balto…" she started again. "I have sacraficed myself for you. Now you must find out why, and understand that being a wolf is a…wonderful…thing."

With this, her head fell to the earth, and the life escaped her in her last breath. Balto raised his muzzle and howled a mournful how. Then Jenna appeared in the snow. Balto ran up to her and they nuzzled in forgiveness to each other. He understood that night when Jenna was asleep beside him. He understood that being a wolf meant sacrificing yourself for the one's you love. Like Glisten. He would do anything for Jenna…the one he loved.

 The End