VOICES:
-Mya: Hillary Swank
-Aleu: Lacy Chabert
-Triton: Sean Murray
-Dash: Patrick Warburton
-Jenna: Briget Fonda
-Balto: Kevin Bacon
I paced back and forth, listening to my girl, Kate talk with her parents.
“They’re gone! I called Emily and she said Atka’s gone too! Everyone said that they haven’t seen them either!”
I new just how she had felt. How could my own two brothers and sisters just abandon me and their families? Danny and Samantha were both devastated; Danny’s father and Danny were both missing dogs from their teams. Atka wasn’t really good at anything but leading, so I knew she was the one responsible for this. She was getting more and more annoying as she grew up and now this! Suddenly, Kate darted past me and out the door. I leapt after her and ran down the street after her. She stopped at Rosie’s house and knocked on the door. Rosy opened the door and let Kate in. My mother, Jenna smiled and wagged her tail and stepped out.
“Hi Mya” she said licking my forehead. “What’s wrong?”
“
“Don’t talk like that! Atka and Aleu fight enough already! I don’t need another feud!”
“She deserves it” I grumbled.
“Let’s go talk to your father about this… if anyone knows something about this, he will”
We walked together over to Balto’s abandoned boat while I planned revenge for Atka. Halfway through my plans, I heard my dad greet us.
“Hey daddy!” I said nuzzling him. “Do you know where
Balto nodded solemnly.
“They came here last night. Atka left and Nero and
“I knew it!”
“What?”
“Nothing I grumbled”
I stalked off, angry that I only had one sibling left in
The next morning, I was woken up again by my humans. Danny, the only son in our family was rushing around to get ready for his race and Kate was getting ready as well. I watched, amused as Kate’s father stepped on the cat’s tail and Kate’s mother spill something all on the floor. I put my head back down on the bed but Kate called me as she jumped out the door. I hopped up and followed her again. Danny had his little sled ready to go and had no dogs on his team, so he had borrowed three dogs from someone else. They weren’t very good sled dogs. Both gaped at me and didn’t listen to Danny. After some encouragement, Danny was finally able to get the small team to the start line.
They didn’t do well at all. Danny’s team finished the kid’s race in dead last place. More people started to come, as did other dogs, as the bigger race started to get underway. I plopped down on the ground at Kate’s feet, disappointed that I had no one to cheer for. The teams started off and there were three of them today; one was from out of
“Jenna? Oh, hi Mya! You know you look just like your mother?”
“Hi Sylvie. Hi
The tall hound and little fluffy dog wandered up to watch the race too. They were really my mom’s friends but they talked to me if my mother wasn’t there.
“Did you know that one of the teams has Steele’s pups on it?”
“No, I didn’t” I murmured. “Who was Steele again?”
“You don’t want to know!”
“Disgusting and brainless”
“But he did have good looking blue eyes!”
“The iciest blue!” Sylvie added with a sigh.
Suddenly, a flare exploded in the air.
“Oh they’re coming!”
I sighed as the crowd cheered. Another flare burst in the air and I knew that any second, the lead teams or teams were about to turn the corner. The first team to come around was led by a black and white husky with blue eyes, undoubtedly a son of Steele. All the dogs on the team were black and white with blue eyes. Another team was close behind. It wasn’t Danny’s dad’s team. I focused on the leading team. There seemed to be some kind of dispute. The lead dog was practically dragging the second dog and the female behind it looked furious. Suddenly, the female snapped and bit the dog in front of her. Their musher yelled as the second dog yelped, hopped, tangled the lines and fell. The whole team tumbled and the team behind them passed and won with ease. Even Danny’s dad’s team passed them as they struggled to get untangled.
At least they didn’t come in last I thought as Danny’s dad raised his arms in the second place victory. I looked back at Steele’s team which was in chaos. People came in from the sidelines and helped unhook the dogs. The disgruntled musher motioned to let the dogs go. The first four to get unhooked shook off and wandered down the street. They didn’t wait for the fifth dog that was the last to get freed and the one that had caused the pile- up in the first place. He whined when his owner gave him a pat on the head and glanced down the street at his family. He lowered his head and tail and crept away in the opposite direction. I couldn’t help but to feel bad for him. He was even worse then I was at pulling a sled and that was saying something.
“What a race!” Sylvie breathed.
“Yeah!”
“Come on Mya!” I heard Kate call.
“See you guys later. I’ll tell my mom you said hi”
I turned tail and followed Kate once more as she went to congratulate her dad and tell Danny better luck next time. I sat down next to Kate and waited for her patiently, but I knew it was going to be a while. I wasn’t paying attention until someone cleared their throat behind me. I peered over my shoulder to see the lead dog of Steele’s team standing proudly, trying to get my attention.
“Oh, hello. Nice race”
“Thanks” the husky said, almost as if he was expecting the compliment.
I wasn’t sure what else to say so I moved a little closer to Kate. The husky seemed shocked that anyone could deny his presence. He moved back in front of me and puffed out his chest.
“Do you always watch these races? I haven’t seen you here before”
“Yeah, I only stay around
The husky sized up the team nervously watching the two of us.
“Then you haven’t seen our kind of racing before. It’s more intense and faster. We almost never lose”
I was starting to get sick of this dog who was obviously very interested in himself. I tried to pay attention to what Kate was saying.
“Where are my manners!” the stranger said “I’m Dash”
“I’m Mya” I mumbled, wondering if giving my name was a good idea.
Thankfully, before Dash could say anything else, Kate started to walk away.
“I’ll see you”
“You can count on it” Dash said coolly.
I shivered and hurried after my human. Kate still talked with her dad until they got at the point where he needed to drop off the dogs he borrowed. Kate waved goodbye then broke into a run to Rosie’s house. They seemed to becoming friends since Emily had stopped hanging out with Kate. I was happier since I loved to see my mother and even if Emily had Atka, I hated Atka now.
“Hi Mya” Jenna said, getting out of her bed and stretching.
“Mom, did you know a dog named Steele?”
Jenna’s smile melted.
“Why?! Is he back in
“No, no.
“Hewas the top sled dog. Then he lied and ditched important medicine when kids could have died. Rosie could have died”
“His pups are in
“Watch out for them!”
I nodded and took the advice to heart even though I knew I would never like Dash. Then, Kate ran past me once again.
“Can’t she stay in one place for more then two seconds? Or at least walk somewhere?”
My mother laughed as I chased after Kate once again. She jumped off Rosie’s porch and ran down the street again. I hated running and I needed a break. I kept track of where she was going and decided to walk after her.
“Hey! Are you Mya?”
“Yeah…” I said, turning to see two more black and white, blue-eyed huskies.
“Dash told us who you were and if you’re friends with Dash you’re friends with us”
“And who are you?”
“I’m Sheila” said the tall, white faced female.
“I’m Shadow” said the female with the white between her eyes.
“Um, good race”
I tried to walk faster; I didn’t want to be rude and run home, but I really didn’t want to be friends with them.
“Are you a sled dog?” Sheila asked.
“I tried but I’m not very strong”
“We have a brother like that” Shadow scoffed.
“The one that fell down in the race today? He looked like he was trying hard”
“Triton is the runt of the litter. He shouldn’t be on our team”
“But he’s still your brother…” I didn’t bother to finish my sentence. Family didn’t seem to matter to them: both had blank expressions on their faces.
“Never mind”
The house was closer and I walked as fast as I could without jogging. But Sheila and Shadow easily kept pace.
“Are you a purebred husky?”
“No, but I’m pretty close to it”
Sheila and Shadow gave each other looks and I tried to make myself shrink. We finally reached the porch and I leapt up the stairs.
“See you later. Nice meeting you both” I lied, slipping through the doggie door. I was never that happy to get away from anyone. I trotted over to my bed and plopped down. Running around all day didn’t suit me very well.
The light stopped coming through the windows, the moon started to rise and I was just about to close my eyes when I heard a scratching at the door.
Oh great, I thought, More black and white huskies. I silently walked over to the window and peered out. On the porch were two figures, more wolfish then husky. I crept out through the doggie door to see my father standing there.
“Hey daddy! What’s wrong?”
“Nothing” he smiled. “Why don’t you ask your sister?”
I thought immediately of Atka but Aleu stepped into the light instead.
“Aleu?! I’m so glad to see you!” I jumped forward and nuzzled her forehead.
“Thanks” she said, taken aback that I cared.
“Where have you been?!”
“Nowhere I want to go back to” she mumbled. Her head was low and her tail almost brushed the ground. This wolf was nothing like the Aleu I used to know.
“
Aleu looked up and gave me a small smile.
“Where are you going to stay?”
“With dad for a while, but I want to be adopted, if anybody wants me”
“Speaking of which, we need to go back” my dad said, looking at the moon.
“Goodbye! I’m glad you came back Aleu!”
The next morning I showed Aleu around town. It hadn’t changed since she’d left but I was lonely since my two brothers and sister left. I never saw much of Kodi either since he was training to be a mail dog. We were walking down the main street when I heard the dogs I least wanted to see.
“Hi Mya”
Dash strutted up with three of his younger siblings in tow.
“Hi Dash, I was just showing Aleu around
Dash frowned at Aleu, who tucked her ears back and wagged her tail. Then Sheila and Shadow approached us.
“Hey Mya! - who’s she?!” Sheila scoffed looking Aleu up and down.
“You don’t look like a purebred!” Shadow chimed in. “You don’t even look part husky!”
I expected Aleu to snap back but she stayed quiet and let the insults get to her.
“Leave her alone! She’s my sister!”
Shadow and Sheila’s expressions were a mixture of shock and confusion.
“I thought you said you weren’t a purebred dog”
“I’m not!” I snapped. “Aleu’s just as much husky as I am! And we’re both part wolf!”
“Like Balto?” asked the fourth black and white pup, named Nick.
“He’s our father!”
The look on the group’s faces once again changed dramatically. Nick looked almost jealous, Sheila and Shadow looked at us in awe and Dash looked shocked.
“You do kind of look like him…” Shadow said, taking a closer look at Aleu.
Aleu puffed up her chest, acting a little more like herself. She started to talk to the huskies but I wasn’t listening. Something caught my attention. Something was moving in the back alley.
“I’ll see you guys later… see you later Aleu”
They almost didn’t hear me over Aleu telling stories about our dad. I slipped away and trotted toward the alley.
“Hello? Is someone here?”
Something jumped and knocked into a trashcan, and that in turn knocked into other trashcans and lids. It caused an avalanche of trash that piled up on the poor victim.
“OOF!”
I cautiously walked over to the pile and pulled off a bag of human things. There, now covered in garbage, was the dog from the other day that had caused his team to lose.
“Hi!”
The husky seemed at loss for words though his icy blue eyes were locked on mine.
“Um…hi…”
He shook his head, pulled himself out of the reeking pile of trash and shook off. Something flew off of his coat and onto my face.
“Sorry” he mumbled, embarrassed. “You kind of surprised me”
I cleaned my face with a paw but smiled.
“You’re new around here, right?”
He nodded and shuffled his feet in the slushy snow.
“What’s your name?”
“Triton” he mumbled again.
He looked at the ground and didn’t say anything. I was going nowhere with this. Losing interest, I started to turn.
“Well I guess I’ll see you around” I said dryly.
Triton finally looked up and looked like he was struggling to say something. I got up and walked away.
“Uh… miss, please wait!”
I turned back around. Triton walked back up to me, eyeing his siblings who hadn’t yet noticed him.
“Sorry, I just…I’m just some… I’m not good at talking”
I smiled at him. He still hunched forward even though he was much bigger then me and about as big as Dash.
“So, um… what’s your name?”
“Mya”
“Are you a sled dog or purebred?”
“No” I said, feeling a little sense of dread that he would be like his siblings.
“Good” he breathed, relieved.
“But aren’t you both?”
“Not really. I don’t want to be purebred… and if you saw me race… you can bet I’m not a sled dog”
“It’s hard to be a sled dog… I tried it and wasn’t good either”
Triton stood a little taller.
“I’m sure you’re good at something…”
“Nope” he said simply.
Why was he so willing to admit someone was better at everything?
“Well look who came out of the shadows!”
I whipped around to see Dash striding up with Aleu and his siblings close behind. Triton seemed to shrink.
“Where have you been?!” Sheila scoffed, curling her tail proudly.
“Around…” Triton mumbled.
“Thanks for leading us to him Mya” Dash smirked.
Triton glared at me, hurt and embarrassed.
“I didn’t lead you to him!” I growled. “I didn’t even know who he was!”
“Doesn’t matter. You, on the other hand” he sneered, turning to Triton “Need to be taught a lesson after you lost us that race!”
Aleu backed up next to me, ears back, knowing that this was mean as well as I did. The four older huskies closed in on Triton who seemed to shrink into the snow.
“Leave him alone” I blurted.
Sheila and Shadow looked at me impatiently, Nick kept growling at Triton and Dash whipped around.
“He cost us the chance to be as great as our father or even yours”
A sense of justice bubbled up from within me.
“All he did was trip! Dogs trip all the time! They never get beat up over it!”
“How would you know?” Dash grinned, trying to be charming. “You’re part wolf and the most graceful thing on four legs I’ve ever seen”
I almost lost my breakfast.
Triton squinted at how cheesy the pick up line sounded. I tilted my head, motioning for him to run. He nodded and smiled graciously, then leapt up and sprinted away. Dash was about to follow him but I walked over to him and rubbed under his chin, letting my tail turn his head toward me.
“Now that you said it, I am graceful, but not as graceful as you are”
Sheila and Shadow’s jaws dropped. Nick was as focused on me as Dash was. Aleu cocked her head, and then understood.
I pretended to circle Dash but peered over the husky’s form to make sure Triton had gotten away. I walked back in front of Dash and sat down, fluttering my eyes at him.
“Maybe I’ll see you later” I gushed, trying to sound attracted.
He grinned and looked at his siblings to see their reactions. I stood up and Aleu got up to follow me. As soon as we had gotten far enough away, we started to jog.
“Wow, I wish I had the courage to do that!”
“I don’t think I did! I almost through up when I nuzzled him!”
Aleu laughed as I made a face. But on the inside, I knew this was going to come back to me in a bad way…
Mya, Dash and Triton (c) me
Aleu, Balto and Jenna (c) Universal