I found my self being lost in the beauty of the northern lights. I hated it. Slowly my mind began to go back to when I was just a puppy. The hours of play spent with my sister under the watchful eye of my mother. My father on the other hand. No! He was my step father and nothing more. I never trusted him no matter how it pained my mother to witness my aloofness towards him. The way he would approach me with that lecherous gaze still to this day causes me much discomfort. I can say this without hesitation; I blame my step father for the reason I don’t trust male dogs but…

“Hey Ms. Mute!” A snobbish voice said behind me. I cringed at the sound of her voice. I reluctantly turned to face my sister. “Aww, what’s wrong, cat got your tongue again?” she said with smug grin on her face. I bit my lower lip like always before speaking “Kelly, is there a reason you’re bothering me?” I said getting up. She rolled her eyes. “What, I can’t talk to my sister?” she replied. I briskly walked past her with my eyes closed. Hearing her laughing behind me I broke into a run. I slowed down then began to walk back down the hill to Nome.

I padded through Nome politely greeting any dogs who came in my direction. Then I came upon them. Nome’s cutest couple, in my opinion that is. Balto and Jenna. I used to think they were a rather odd couple but over time my opinion changed. Well, there was Balto the wolf/husky hybrid and Jenna the town beauty that every male dog was after. After Balto brought back the medicine for the children stricken with diptheria he gained the respect from the other dogs that I felt he deserved. I’ve always admired Jenna for her personality, looks, and popularity. I wasn’t really much to look at or so I thought but the males seem to think differently. The two came toward me smiling in my direction and I smiled back as they passed me. Sometimes I wish I could be like that with someone special.

Oh, that’s right I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Pridi and  I’m a Golden Retriever. I’ve been in Nome all my life with my family. I did have a choice about whether I wanted to be a house pet or not and I chose not to. I rather be free on my own than inside most of the time although I don’t have a problem with humans. My life consists mostly of taunting from my slightly older sister or the reprimanding from my mother about my lifestyle. Even though she did give my sister and I a choice about our path she still wasn’t too happy with my decision. My step-father miraculously became one of the most respected figures among the dogs of Nome. Any time I see him he's getting some kind of complement(much to my annoyance). Well I might as well just get on with my life by ignoring him although I might have a problem doing that with him on my case every hour.

Suddenly I saw a figure quickly run past me but upon closer inspection I saw it was Samantha. She was a grey husky with violet eyes and she was also one of my closest friends. "Samantha?" I said aloud. She whiped her head around and faced me. "Oh! Hi Pridi. I didn't see you there." she said walking over to me smiling. I smiled back. "So why are you in such a hurry?" I said curiously. The smile on her face disapeared and was replaced with a more frantic look. "There's a fight about to take place between a new comer and this other dog." she said tossing her head toward the futher part of town. "At this time of the night?" I said skeptically. She rolled her eyes "I guess they're night owls." My face turned serious "Is it going to get bad?" I said worrying about the well being of two dogs i've never even met. "I dunno but I want to find out!" She said already starting to walk. I got up too and began to follow her and before I knew it I was part of a large crowd of dogs.

 I looked into the center and saw two dogs glaring at each. One was scrawny and brown but had a determined look on face. The other one looked just as determined but was more muscular and was black with a white chest. The scrawny one charged at the other one but the other one didn't move. I watched as the scrawny dog bit the other dog's shoulder. Just as soon as he did that the other dog bit his neck and pined him to the ground. When I feared the worst was to come a voice snaped me out of my thoughts. "That's enough!" said said a rough voice. I knew that voice all too well. A few dogs steped aside and revealed my step-father Buck. He was a white Malamute streaked with a dark grey. My eyes followed his every movement. His eyes narrowed at the black and white dog who still had the other one pinned. "Spike, let him go." my step-father said calmly. I looked at the dog, who I now know as Spike, and searched his face for any sign that he was going to let go. I didn't find any. To my amazement he let go. The dog under him scurried away toward the outskirts of town. Without saying a word he walked toward my direction. He stopped for a moment until finally I realized he was staring at me. I stared back at him looking into his deep brown eyes. He shook his head then walked past me turnning into an alley way nearby.

 I turned my head back around to the crowd and found that the crowd had seperated and the only ones left were Samantha and Buck. Samantha smiled a slightly nervous smile then left. Now I was left with him. He looked at me and smirked. I mentaly rolled my eyes and turned my back to him. I could hear his footsteps approach me then they stoped. "So do you think I handled the situation well? I heard him say breathing down my neck. "You were just...perfect." I said behind clenched teeth. I uncomfortably moved from him. "I have to go." I said flatly. I turned and walked away cursing him. Then suddenly an image of Spike flashed across my mind. Why him? He wasn't anything special or was he?