Grand Design
Chapter 2: When Life Gives You Lemons
Disclaimer: I do not own Balto, Balto: Wolf Quest, or Balto: Wings of Change, any of the characters from said movies, or the designs for Evvie, Faelan, Nessa and Brava. Those are the property of Universal. I do own the character personas for Brava, Nessa, Faelan and Evvie, the plot ideas and writing for this fan fiction, and all original characters appearing in it.
A wolf as white as the snow falling around her stood against a fuzzy gray background. But beyond the wolf, everything else seemed incoherent. This didn't matter of course; it was the wolf who was truly important - the only thing in the world that seemed to matter in this strange place. her face had a worried, motherly look about it, thought it was almost painful to gaze at her, she was so lovely.
"Aleu," the alto voice seemed to sing. It was feminine and caring, but with a hastened tone.
Aleu felt herself drifting, her mind slowly becoming more fragmented and her vision becoming incomprehensible. Edges were beginning to blur and the whites of the snow and the wolf were running together, as if the whole scene before her had been painted with watercolor paints and splashed carelessly.
"You are destined to lead this pack and unify them again, under the laws which govern the wild. But first you must learn what it is to be wild; to be a wolf. You can be a great Alphess someday, but you must not lose sight of that goal because of doubt, especially now that you've been given the oppurtunity to attain it. If you do not work for it, it will not come to pass."
The white wolf's form was fading, bluring into the gray that was all around the both of them. Finally black rushed in on it all and everything vanished right before her eyes, nothing but a ghostly echo in her ears as evidence that the exchange had ocurred at all.
Aleu's eyes opened slowly and the world swam into focus around her. Birds were singing, oblivious to the pain throbbing in her head, which caused her to shut her eyes again almost immediately. The smell of dried blood filled her nares and she snorted distastefully in response.
"Hey, are you all right?" a quiet female voice asked.
It took a minute, but Aleu gradually opened her eyes again and looked up at the one who'd addressed her. She was a wolf like herself, but she was mostly gray with the white flecking of age on her face and ears, from what she could see through the haze that floated in front of her vision. Aleu blinked hard, trying to clear everything and tried to roll to get up.
"Whoa!" The stranger placed a paw on Aleu's side, preventing her from moving any further. "You don't look so well. Just stay still for a little bit. What's your name?"
Aleu's cerulean eyes glared at the stranger at first, then softened. She didn't trust her entirely, and who could blame her? Something in her gut was telling her to at least be polite though.
"Aleu," was all she really had the strength to say before she felt some of the blood drain from her face. Had she not actually spoken it she wouldn't have believed it would have taken that much out of her.
"Well, Aleu, it looks like you've taken a pretty bad spill. That's a nasty gash on your head, but with the right care it should heal completely. Just stay still for a bit longer, and then you should be okay to stand if you do so slowly."
The stranger, who in the next few moments revealed herself to be a loner named Amity, passed the time by talking. Mostly about how she'd gotten to the area. She'd been traveling with another fae who was seeking a pack, and had found shelter with the neighboring wolves. When she'd smelled the blood, she couldn't resist coming to investigate.
"I'm sorry. I know I've pretty much trespassed here, but it was quite obviously wolf blood and I was worried she'd gotten into trouble somehow. Good thing I did come though." She gestured with a paw to the poultice of sorts she'd made mostly from now dried earth. "You'll need to wash that as well as possible in a few hours, but it will have stopped the bleeding by then."
"Thanks," Aleu replied shakily as she struggled into a sitting position. She never stopped watching Amity from the corner of her eye, afraid to turn her back. It was irrational to think that the female would turn on her after helping her, and she knew it, but it seemed that finally some of that instinct was kicking in. Better late than never.
"Why did you help me?"
Amity frowned and canted her head. "Does one wolf really need a reason to help another?"
The question made Aleu watch her even more closely, but the intensity of her gaze eventually lightened.
"Actually, now that you are doing better, I was wondering if you might have shelter for me in your pack, should your Alpha allow it?" When the Alpha Female looked at her bewildered, she quickly rephrased, "Not forever! Just for a few days. It does a body good to rest every now and again."
Aleu just slightly shook her head, for even that little movement was still making her brain a little loopy. "It's not that. I am the Alpha...or I'm supposed to be." She stared at the ground, wishing she could burst it into flame to ease some of her frustration. Evvie was right, she wasn't fit to lead; even this stranger couldn't acknowledge the slightest thought of her being a leader.
Amity frowned at first, then shot Aleu an apologetic grin. "I'm sorry. But what do you mean, 'supposed to be'?"
Aleu sighed. "I just don't know what I'm doing. I'm starting to think that I don't even belong out here."
"Weren't you born out here?" Amity asked, canting her head to the side in confusion.
"No. I was..." Aleu hesitated. Why should she tell this other wolf her life's story? She probably could care less about where she came from, much like Evvie. However, the kind gaze she was giving the hybrid made her feel like it was the right thing to do. "I'm not a full wolf. My father was half-wolf and was raised in a town far away from here. My mother was a husky. I never got adopted because I look more like a wolf than anything else." The sting of those words was still painful even to this day.
"Ahh," Amity replied. "That's an interesting situation indeed. The old Alpha left you in charge, I take it?"
Aleu nodded. "He said that the white wolf Aniu had come to him in a vision and told him that the one to lead the pack over to this land would come to them. When I turned up, and soon after, my father, they thought it was him at first. But then he decided it was me." She paused with a frustrated huff. "I don't really understand it all."
Amity's brows raised when she heard the name "Aniu," but she left the younger wolf finish before she spoke again. "Wow. I can imagine you wouldn't; that's a heavy bill to fill. And I can imagine you're thinking how you really didn't want it in the first place?"
To the older wolf's surprise, Aleu shook her head. "Well, I did. Or at least, I thought I did. I came out here looking for adventure, and looking to really find out who I am. I'm just not sure this is right."
The grey wolf grinned, some of the white hairs spreading as she did so. "Then perhaps you are on the right path." When the hybrid gave her a confused look in return she explained, "Life is complicated. Sometimes you know you're headed the right way, and sometimes you don't. Usually when you aren't sure, it just means you have to dig a little deeper. And also, you've shown some wisdom in knowing that you weren't sure in the first place. It means you're aware of what you're doing now, and you're actively trying to better yourself. I think you'll find that if you keep at it, you might surprise yourself."
A small smile sidled onto Aleu's muzzle as she thought about that. "You asked if you could stay with us, right? I don't see why not; it's the least I can offer for helping me." She struggled to her feet, swaying a little and Amity moved to support her for a moment. "Now I just need to figure out how to get back there."
Amity laughed at this, and it made Aleu almost feel self-conscious. "Just use your nose. You came all this way with the others, right?" Aleu nodded. "Well then, it should be easy to track their scents, especially after following yours back the way you came." She paused when Aleu gave her a more confused look than she had a moment ago. "You've never tracked anything with your nose before?"
"A little..." she replied. Truthfully, she'd been the best at this with her siblings, but the thought of using for anything other than play hadn't occured to her. Now that Amity mentioned it, it clicked in her mind. "Oh! I see! Instead of looking for a rabbit or mouse, I just look for myself."
"Exactly," the older wolf beamed. "It'll get harder as the trail gets older, but by that time you should be able to come across the scents of your packmates. I'll help you too."
With that they set off, following Aleu's trail back to the site where they'd first spooked the caribou and eventually on toward the pack's territory.
"If anyone should be in charge, it should be him! He's Nava's son!" Evvie shouted in Faelan's face. She growled as she stared at him, her hackles raised threateningly.
A younger male wolf, who looked astonishingly like a younger version of Nava himself stepped forward, glaring at Evvie. She stood down immediately, but then he turned that menacing gaze onto the beta.
"She's got a hot temper, and needs to learn her own place, but she's right. I am the rightful heir here and now." Yak and Sumac nodded in agreement, and were shadowed by Micah, Evvie, and Leila.
Faelan shook his head in return, puffing up his chest in his only show of authority. "No, you're not. You know just as well as Evvie does that the Alpha can pass on their rank to whomever they wish, so long as he makes it clear to the whole pack and so long as the candidate is worthy. Aleu will prove her worthiness when the time is right. You should have faith in her like your father did, Hinto."
Hinto growled quietly. "I don't care what that daft old fool believed." But he ended his statement there. Faelan was right, and he knew it.
"What we need to worry about now is getting her back, and safely. Nessa, you and Leila go search in the North end of this area. Yak, Micah, to the South. Evvie and Nuk will go West. I'll take Styx and we'll go East. Everyone else can stay and wait here, in case she returns. Hinto, you will be in charge while I am gone, and only then."
But Faelan heard Evvie's voice ring out just as he finished and he rolled his eyes at first. "We don't have to." He was about to round on her and remind her why he was beta in the first place when she continued, "She's back, and she's brought another outsider."
The brown and white wolf turned to see where Evvie was looking and then rushed to his alpha, who was being supported by a strange, gray female. He started to growl at her, but when Aleu glanced at him and shook his head, he stopped.
"Talking about me again?" she piped in, a frown on her face.
Evvie opened her mouth, but the words that were about to dribble out were contained by Hinto's glance. He stepped forward, looking Aleu over. She almost felt a little violated when he did this, and gave him the most ornery look she could muster. She recognized him from before the crossing, but she couldn't remember him leaving with them. The only guess that had come to her was that he'd slipped off before they'd crossed and decided to leave the pack, as she was sure some of the wolves had.
"My name is Hinto," he began simply enough. "I came across the ice bridge later. I felt I needed to have a chat with my father. I've come to take back what should by rights be mine."
It didn't take Aleu long to figure out what he meant by his father, and what was owed to him. Her lips curled in up what would have been a growl, but then her head reminded her that she was still injured. "Well, get in line. If you want the leadership of the pack, you can try to take it - after I feel better and the alotted time Faelan has allowed me to learn has passed. That sound fair to you?"
Hinto raised a brow at the reply. It was spunky, that was for sure. He'd touched a nerve for Aleu, especially since she was weak and irritated with Evvie already. He nodded, though his eyes were still narrowed and replied, "Yes, I believe I can take that arrangement."
Hinto turned and walked away slowly from the gathering, and as he did, many of the wolves followed him. The only ones who stayed were Amity, Faelan, Nessa, Nuk, Brava, and the black and white, timid looking wolf Aleu thought was named Styx. Brava looked at Aleu skeptically for a moment, as if trying to work out a puzzle in her mind, then gave her a small smile and walked off in the other direction, nodding her head to little Styx, who ran after her quickly.
Faelan heaved a great sigh. "Well that went well," he growled sarcastically. He then turned the full force of his gaze on Aleu and asked, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Aleu shook her head in response. "No, I'm not. But it's the only way to really earn the pack's trust. When the time comes, I'll beat him fair and square."
There was a confidence in her words that Faelan hadn't heard before, and it made him pause and look at her a little more carefully. He noted that she was even carrying herself a little more highly than usual - much more dignified than the way she'd been acting previously. He canted his head at her and smiled, then nodded to her.
"So, may I ask who our visitor is?"
Aleu relaxed a bit and then replied, "This is Amity. She helped me out back there when I got lost." She hesitated, then opted to leave out the bit about going after the sick bull herself. 'She's asked for a place to stay for a bit and I've obliged. Is that alright with you all?"
Again, there was a new note of authority in her tone. Although she was politely asking the others if they agreed, she was also telling them at the same time that Amity would stay, and there would be no question about it. They all nodded silently and then Nessa stepped forward first to smell the curious wolf.
"Thank you, for saving our Alpha," she said with a smile. Nuk nodded and growled contently in agreement with her.
"I was just doing what I thought would be right. And what I would have hoped any other would do for me," Amity said warmly.
Evvie's voice interupted the gathering again, though it was a shout from a little distance away. "Fae! Hinto's scented others on this land, from before we were here!"
Faelan rolled his eyes and Amity huffed. "I caught those scents as well when I entered the area. They're old, way to old to have been here within several months. Not to mention, there was no clearly defined border - those wolves never called this place home," she said.
Faelan nodded in agreement and then paused. "I knew I'd been forgetting something. Aleu, when a wolf pack claims an area to be its home, they mark the area with their scents to warn intruders not to enter it. It keeps them safe, most of the time, from invaders and some other dangerous animals. We've yet to do that here. Would you lead us in a run to truly claim this place?"
Aleu looked skeptical at first, and then Faelan demonstrated exactly how it was to be done. A light came on in her head and she made a face at first. "Alright. I suppose there's no other way, right?" she joked casually. When none of them laughed, she hesitated and then nodded. "Get the pack together then. Let's go take a tour of our new home."
The territory was vast - moreso than any of them had imagined it would be. It consisted mostly of tall, grassy areas, with groupings of trees interspersed here and there for variety. It was full of hills and rocky outcroppings too - so many that Aleu had to pause every once in a while to take a short breather before continuing with their run. Several small streams also broke the landscape here and there. To the South of their home lay the sea, the direction they'd come from. It was with a pang of sadness that they saw it, when they finished their cicuit, for it represented all that they had lost in coming here.
But they found that they had gained even more by leaving their old territory near Nome. This new land was rich with life, and from the way the caribou's trails littered it, they could tell that they ran through often. To top it off, the area was filled with lots of other animal inhabitants. It meant survival for them in a way that they had not known before, and the pack was greatful for that.
They all came together, nuzzling each other despite the hurtful words that had been said by many. Evvie still avoided Aleu, but slightly less so. Hinto even smiled at her out of gratitude, if only for a second. As the moon climbed high into the night sky, they all found places to sleep and curled closely together, beginning to act more like a pack again for the first time in months.
Amity was laying a little way farther from the pack, staring up at the sky when Aleu approached her.
"Thanks again, for everything this afternoon," she said quietly. "I don't know what I would have done without you."
"Probably still be laying there, bleeding," the fae replied, laughing.
"Actually," Aleu began, hesitating a little, "I was wondering if I could ask another favor of you." When Amity looked up with a puzzled expression, Aleu continued. "Well, I know Faelan really needs to try and keep the pack in line, especially with Hinto and Evvie around. And I still need help learning some of the basic things about life in the wild. I don't want to burden him with all of that at once. So, I was hoping that maybe you might agree to help me?" When Amity didn't respond right away, she quickly added, "If it's not too much trouble for you of course."
Amity laughed then, and the sound was like a rush of water breaking past a dam to flow. It gave Aleu goosebumps before she grinned herself in response.
"Of course I'll teach you. I'd only hoped I could help you out a little more for allowing me to take shelter with you for a little while." A wide smile spread across her lips and she nodded. "We'll start first thing in the morning. Be ready at dawn."
With that, the fae curled back up and went to sleep, leaving Aleu to find a place somewhere in between her and Nuk for the night. Soon they were all dreaming, some about Nava, others about Aniu guiding them onward, and still others about chasing rabbits. For the first time since Nava had begun talking with Aniu about moving the pack, all slept peacefully.
Right at dawn, Amity fulfilled her promise and nudged Aleu from dreamland. It took her a good ten minutes just to get the hybrid awake, and then another two or three to get her up and moving again. The rest of the pack looked on in amusement, except Evvie, who just scowled and walked off.
Aleu trotted over to Faelan and informed him of her decision to learn with Amity and, though he protested minorly, she told him it was an order, and that he was in charge of the pack for the time being. He gave her a nervous look and then nodded once to show he understood, before addressing the pack and announcing they would be going on a group hunt with the usual party. Again, the hunters set off, leaving Aleu and Amity to make their own trek in the opposite direction - toward a small grouping of trees nearby.
"Your first lesson will be on hunting small game. Nessa told me she'd taught you to fish before, is that correct?" Amity asked.
Aleu nodded bashfully. "Yes, but I wasn't very good at it."
Amity frowned and shook her head. "That won't do, especially since the territory is close to the water. Should the pack, or even just yourself, fall on hard times, you need to be at least proficient in catching seafood. But we'll work on that later, since I take it you've had more of the basics on that."
The older female gestured to a hole in the ground, just a few inches away from her paw. "What is this?"
"A hole?" Aleu answered uncertainly.
Amity rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's a hole. But what kind? What made it, and what is its purpose?" When all she received in response to her questions was a blank stare, she back tracked. "Small prey animals often make their homes under ground, that way they're safe from predators like us. Haven't you ever been chasing a rabbit and seen it run down a hole?"
"Yes," the hybrid said slowly, "but I always thought the holes were just always there."
"No." The wolf shook her head and sighed. Rabbits and other small animals, like moles for instance, are very good diggers. They actually live in these. And if you're chasing one and it manages to get to its hole before you catch it, you've lost your meal. You can try and dig to get to them, but usually you'll be unsuccessful, especially when the ground is frozen over with permafrost. They burrow pretty deeply to ensure their own safety."
"Oh." A light had clicked on in Aleu's head. "So, how do you keep them from getting to their holes, then?"
Amity smiled. "Unless you know where the hole is - and you usually won't until it's too late - the only way to do that is to catch them. And for that you have to be quick and smart. The smaller an animal is, the more quickly it will run, in general. If you can manage to catch up with it, you'll usually be in good shape, but without being smart, you'll almost never actually get them. You have to try and anticipate which direction they'll go in next, because they won't run in a straight line, and that tends to make them faster and your reactions slower. Sometimes, you can even make them run in a different direction if you're good."
Aleu frowned and growned. "This sounds hard."
Amity scowled in response and asked, "You want to eat, don't you?"
That look of disapproval was all it took to remind Aleu that she didn't have any room to complain like that anymore. She straightened up and perked her ears forward, indicating she was ready to listen again.
"Smell the hole. Do you recognize the scent?"
She didn't at first, but then she harkened back to a time in her puphood when she'd been chased by this creature back to her father's boat. It had long claws, and she'd been scratched on the leg, though the wound hadn't left a scar.
"It's a badger, isn't it?"
"very good!" Amity beamed at her. "Usually we don't hunt badgers, unless food is very scarce. And you'll know what you're hunting, or tracking as may be the case, by scent before you ever see it. Just remember that if you're not carefuly, they'll smell you too. Now, what kind of animals are near us right now? Don't use your eyes or ears."
Aleu obligingly closed her eyes and used only her nose to absorb their surroundings. Her nares spread widely and she inhaled, taking in the perfumes left by various animals. There were so many; more than she'd ever smelled before, and it was glorious. The few she could pick out, she began to name aloud.
"There's the faint scent of a bear, but it smells old. And there's muskrat. And us."
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Amity nodding. "Yes. There are others, as well. Now, close your eyes again, and tell me what you hear."
Again, those cerulean irises vanished beneath her eyelids. She heard the harsh cry of a raven somewhere above them and the rustling of the tree branches and what leaves they still had. There was also the wind, whistling today rather loudly in her ears. She began to name them off as she heard them, then opened her eyes and was astonished to find that Amity was no longer in front of her. The hybrid turned to find the wolf behind her and canted her head in confusion.
"A wolf needs to be stealthy, not just by concealing her scent, but also by staying as silent as possible. Our ears are weaker than the ones of those we hunt, and yours are weaker still because you have not yet learned to listen as we have. But you will. You must hone all of your senses and allow them to work in harmony, otherwise you will not have an easy time of surviving out here, especially if you should be separated from your pack."
It was a stinging lesson on just how far behind the hybrid was, but she steeled herself with determination and nodded.
A smaller smile lifted only the corner of Amity's lips, but the sign of approval was nevertheless there. "Now, we'll move on to hunting our prey, since I started you on tracking a little bit yesterday. It's the same general concept. And bear in mind, like in my lessons, in real hunting there are no do-overs. It will be better for you if you try and apply everything at once - you'll learn faster." She paused and scented the air, then turned to their left. "There's a rabbit not far that way. We're downwind right now, so go ahead and try to sneak up on him and catch him."
With a look of surprise on her face, Aleu nodded and began to step as carefully as she could toward the rabbit. Within a few seconds, she could smell it too, and then she saw it. The brown and white creature was munching lazily on a long piece of grass. But as she got nearer, the rabbit froze, its ears erect. She stopped immediately, wondering what she'd done wrong, and then realized there was a leaf beneath her paw. Though it was still fairly moist, it must have crunched a little, just below the range of where she'd been able to hear it. After a few moments wait, the rabbit returned to munching again, though more cautiously this time.
As she got closer, it stopped again and looked around in alarm. This time, though she'd stepped on nothing she could see, the little rabbit looked absolutely terrified, and ran off quickly. She relaxed her muscles in dismay and paid attention to what was going on around closely, listening. A woosh of air that she hadn't noticed prickled some of her fur and she sighed. The wind had changed direction on her.
"Well, that was unfortunate," Amity called as she trotted over to Aleu. "You were doing really well up until that point. But let's continue on. With the Sun as my witness, you will catch something before the day is done."
Five more unsuccessful attempts later, one of them ending in Aleu's head getting stuck in the opening to a mole hill, she had finally managed to catch a gopher. She carried the limp thing all the way back to the rest of the pack, her tail waving in the air proudly. Sadly, only Nessa was there to congratulate her on their return, and she informed them that the pack had made a kill a short distance away and they were waiting for the three of them to join in.
When they arrived at the side of the fallen caribou, Faelan stepped aside saying simply, "You first, Alpha."
When Aleu hesitated, glancing over at Hinto quickly, Evvie shoved her way past and opened her jaws to take a bite of the tender flesh. Instinctively, Aleu reacted with a snarl and her hackles, tail, and ears raised. She bared her fangs that Evvie, who immediately shrank and curled her tail beneath herself.
It was magic. Just like that the pack stopped and watched them, suspended for what seemed like an age. But then, Aleu relaxed and furrowed her brow in confusion and the spell was broken. Evvie's nose wrinkled and she growled angrily, but stalked away without another glance at the Alpha female. Even Hinto's eyes had widened for a moment, but then he scoffed and followed Evvie away from the circle. Aleu then ate until she'd had her fill, followed by the rest of the wolves present. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Faelan and Nessa smirk appreciatively and both Brava and Amity nod at her.