They were just where they left off before Aleu’s triumphant seize of power and Niju’s retreat into his heritage and home. He didn’t win, oh no. But neither did she. Winning in these lands was merely surviving- and they were both still very much alive. This time, there was no Balto or Nava to stop the two forces from destroying themselves.

Her eyes- the impossibly blue depths, drew him in once more. All he could see for a moment was how they sparked with a fire, a fire he recognized in himself. Pride, and maybe a bit of haughty arrogance, though her face showed no other signs of these emotions, he could read them within her. Ok, so maybe Nava was beginning to rub off on him. He’d practiced various exercises with Nava, but had little use for them. As soon as them had come, the emotions disappeared into the wise, and respectful doe-eyes of the young alphess. A very irked juvenile-immature aplhess, yet wise beyond her years, and there was not a trace of raw emotion. 

 It seemed like eons passed, while he waited for the spark to return, for her to tackle him and their world to collapse into one of pulled fur, bloody nails and bruises. Sure- she looked angry seeing as she had everything to lose and he had everything to gain from the impending battle- but Niju saw no trace of the arrogant pride in Aleu had picked up on before. Even if it only lasted a moment, he saw how even the most pure and morally just of leaders could become drunk on their own power over others. He wondered if Nava ever felt that way and if he personally would be able to control himself if he ever became leader.

Oh yeah. The damn roadblock of his power was standing right in front of him.  Pinning her ears and stepping forward in the sand- with bits of wet sand falling from her coat she demanded of him. “What are you doing here?” a hateful emphasis on the ‘you’.

Taken aback by her fools bravery and accusatory tone, he retorted. “ I might ask you the same question.” He turned to face the cragged cliff sides. “I live here, no thanks to you.” Was she really so thickheaded that she forgot his reasons for being here? 

 Aleu had not forgotten about him since the day they had come clashing together for the first time. Two separate stands on an issue that needed urgent attention: survival. They simply could not coexist; one would eventually destroy the other- if the initial splitting up of the pack didn’t destroy them first. There was no neutral when it came to surviving, it was either his way or her way and the pack members had to chose for them. There was no wait and see; the time to act was upon them. They chose her.

Seeing him again gave her a sense of pride- immature arrogant pride. A power over him, and she felt good, almost sinfully good. It was as if her power was an emotion in and of itself, but she was conscious as to how feeling so superior could cloud a young alphess’s judgment. However, she would be lying to herself if, even for the briefest of moments just then, she had wanted to see Niju’s carcass. An obvious victim that had succumb to the elements and starvation, so she could prove just how wrong he had been, and just how right she was in her decisions. She could rub it in his face one last time. She had been right, and here was the proof as his corpse. Her young mind brewed brutal thoughts, but she banished them quickly when she blinked and her eyes became the blue slates they always had been.  Niju was not dead. He stood before her, growling softly and breathing as intensely as his dark blue stare. He waited for her end of the explanation.

“ I am looking for Nava.” She refused to meet his gaze. To do so would involve her looking up at his quite tall form, making herself seem weaker. She could not afford to remind him that he could probably still potentially crush her small wolfdog frame. She had little energy to fight to be honest. The terrible swim seemed to suck all life from her bones.

She allowed herself a peak up into his eyes and saw that his brows had furrowed further. Not a good sgin.

“The old one…” Niju paused when he thought of Nava. He thought of how Nava’s breath could be leaving him this very moment, and how desperate Nava sounded when he sent Niju away from the cave.  “…Is resting.” Niju wasn’t sure if Nava had become one with the spirits yet, but he didn’t want to go back just yet to find out. Ad he’d be damned before he’d actually help that mutt.  After he rid himself of her, he planned to check on Nava. Not speak to him, just see if he was still breathing. If so, Niju planned to bed down in a different cave and sleep alone. Come morning, he was almost certain the old one would be gone.

Aleu’s temper flared- her suspicions seemingly confirmed by Niju’s hesitance. Her voice grew high with a juvenile whine. “Niju! I swear….If you’ve so much as touched him- I’ll…I’ll…”

He decided now wouldn’t be a bad time to mock her, as he padded a half circle around her. “You’ll what…? You have no power over anyone here, mutt.” He softly butted heads with her as he stared down at her.

He refused to give her satisfaction of knowing Nava had not met death by his wrath for vengeance. “So why don’t you swim back to your little clan? You said it yourself- these lands have no longer have anything for the clan.”

As he fiercely invaded her personal space, she could feel his immensely powerful muzzle and jaw-line wrinkle into a disgusted scowl.  She thrust her weight into his solid forehead and shoved him back a few steps- they danced like fighting stag beetles.  “What have you done with Nava?!” She shrieked.

“ Nothing.” His harsh cool tone returned. He knew she wouldn’t believe him- just like he wanted. He wanted her gone, that much went without saying, but part of him just wanted to push her. Wanted to watch the “wise” alphess dissolve into the self-centered, whiney rebel he knew she was.

“Yeah, right.” She scoffed.

He delighted inside-there it was. Such a juvenile utterance, was only to be expected of an immature leader. This was the side he would triumph over easily. The side prone to flares of temper, the side prone to making horribly rash decisions, the side that felt arrogant pride in her new leadership.

 He turned and began to trot back towards the woods, knowing full well she would trail after him. She was utterly predictable, in a dangerously unpredictable world.  When he could no longer feel the sand beneath his paws, and trees surrounded him he heard a twig snap gracelessly behind him.  He could sense the huffiness in her gait as she pushed past him and all but blocked his path.

“Niju I’m warning you. I must see Nava, take me to him- NOW!”  Her adolescent tone prevailed.

“Warning me? You can’t banish me from my own homelands.” A dangerous smirk passed over his features. Enraged, he was prone to making rash decisions too, as had been proven the last time they met. Now he was just toying with her. Making things as difficult as possible. If she was really driven to find Nava, she could spend days searching the cliff’s nooks and crannies, only to find his body- lifeless, as Niju was sure it would be whenever she finally found him. Her skills as a tracker were no doubt subpar. 

“I didn’t banish you last time, you ran.” She impishly snarled back at him. “Take me to Nava.” She attempted to butt heads with him again, showing him she was just as testy.

He gave her head a shove with his before drawing back from her. It never occurred to him how badly she must need Nava if she was willing to knock herself from her pedestal to ask him for his-HIS help. Now he was genuinely curious what she was doing here.

“Why do you need his help?” He noted her slight twitch when he ended with the word “help.” As if she didn’t need anyone’s help to run a pack.

“I don’t have to answer to you, I just need you to take me to him.” Now she’d done it- she’d let it slip. Need. Damn it. She didn’t need anybody’s help- or anything from anyone, really. Especially not this hulking, cowardly, power hungry, brute’s help.

His chiseled jaw gave way to a smirk that had her blood boiling. Her ears down to the tip of her tail were nearly shaking with rage and she was becoming unbearably hot. Like the time Rosy had left her inside with her siblings and the windows shut.  Who did he think he was?! Had he completely forgotten who he was speaking to?

“What was that again, half breed? You what?” He was getting her just where he wanted her, breaching the sharp edge of her wise beyond her years persona, he knew who she really was. He wanted to cause that infantile, temper tantrum, throwing side to appear. He’d never actually seen her throw a temper tantrum, but she was shaking so much she didn’t seem far from it.

 Nava would never approve, but to hell with what Nava thought- there was something about her that caused him to throw his newly learned altruistic tendencies to the wind. He guessed it was supreme irritation and a pressing need for vengeance. But it was Nava’s teachings that were keeping him from snapping her pretty, innocent, little neck on the spot. Plus he wasn’t a murderer. He just wasn’t afraid to use the quickest methods possible to achieve a greater good. The greater good being what was best for the clan.

“I said: I need to see Nava.” She subtly amended her second statement. He noticed.

“No. You said you needed-“ His voice broke into an obnoxious scoff. “You needed me to take you to him.” His words mocked, his implications of her incompetence blatantly clear. 

She lost it, submitting to the flare of her temper. “ I-you…Ugh! You’re just jealous and a bully! I’ll have you know the clan’s never been better without you, Yak, Nak and Sumac especially! They can’t believe you tricked them into thinking they were your friends; they now see how you only used them to better yourself! They see you for what you are! Just a big-fat bully and a cowar-“

She had gone far enough. He was never a coward. Niju always stood his ground. Always. He would never be called that by anyone, especially her. Now it was time for his blood to boil as his voice boomed with barely controlled rage- cutting her off before she could even finish the last ‘d’.

 “Hold your tongue, mutt! Or I’ll make you regret the day you were born, if it’s the last thing I do before I join Aniu!!” He took two menacing steps towards her.

This was out of control; Nava would never want such a fate to befall his kin. But he just couldn’t stop.  He urged just to tear at her, knock her down physically and rip her masked persona to shreds.  Finish her, while she was at his mercy. Like felling a caribou, there was a sordid thrill in winning against something that was fighting for its life. Knowing full well that he held the jugular vein between his mighty jaws, it continued to fight on until the end. So Aleu would fall. Nava- gone or alive couldn’t stop him now.

Swiftly, the flames danced in front of their panicked eyes, soon the spread in front of them and all around them. They could do nothing for a few seconds but stare dumbly as the flames threatened to consume them. Engulfing tree after tree, the smoke descended in an inky black curtain around them. If they could somehow navigate their way back to the sanded beach, they stood a chance.

As they inhaled smoke collectively, panic set in and clear reasoning seemed to flee. In the inky, heated darkness illuminated by flaming trees, bushes and shrubs; herds of deer may have run past them thinking the same collective thought: Run.

Niju had one thought and one word pass his throat- Nava. He never knew if he actually said it aloud as he tore through the burning pines, singeing himself.  His thoughts did not once stray to Aleu, who yelped and gasped as her lungs took on smoke. Intoxicated with panic, she literally tore after him blindly. Not thinking of where she was going, and not being able to discern which way the sanded oceanfront was from the circle of flame engulfed trees in which she had found herself.

The fire was fast and furious, coming upon the two suddenly. Things had been so dry- that all it took was a little ignition before it turned into a raging inferno. In their distracted anger they had missed all the early warning signs from other animals and their senses, their disoriented panic wasn’t helping them now either.

Somehow, he scrambled into the now burning hillsides. Nava would still be inside the caves that jutting from them, his fate sealed now. If Nava wasn’t gone before the rush of inferno, the heat and choking smoke would be the end. There was no saving him anyways, Nava was too gravely infirm and ill, but there would be definitely no saving him now. Niju stopped dead when he looked up at the glowing hills- Aleu slamming hard into his side from her dead run. “No…”

Niju was too late, but he never bothered asking himself why he tried at all. There had been no chance at all. Aleu’s chest pounded as she could feel the flames- the white-hot burning ones catch up with her. They had to move. She followed his gaze for the briefest of moments- to the higher hillsides. She could make out the outline of caves. Had Niju been trying to get Nava out? Is that why he ran here?

With the sound of fresh whistling from the wind, and the crackle of flames drowning out all reason, she knew they had to run. Niju just stared with his mouth slightly agape before tearing after her. Blind of their direction they could have very well ran in circles. Smoke clouded their eyes, and it felt like they were exhaling as much as they were inhaling of the inky burning vapor. Trees succumb to the flames and crashed down, sending an angry army of sparks and embers showering down around them.

They tore through the burning at the same pace, moving like a school of fish, when one made a random blind turn- the other followed the movement, almost like it was a planned dance. Aleu cried out when a particularly sizable tree fell in front of them and blocked their path, this happened a number of times and eventually Aleu had run out of energy and oxygen to make but a squeak. She had been running on empty before the blistering run from the flames. For a wild fire, this seemed to have no end to its burn.

They had been running for hours, they were sure. Not one of them had diverged from the other for even a second, mainly because they were both running down the only path there was to run down. Just ducking flames and burning shrubs, jumping blackened and enflamed logs, the other’s presence made no difference. Had they been here individually they would be making the same path regardless; it was the only way to live without being burned alive.  

The smoke was absolutely impossible to navigate, and the flames were impossible to escape now. Niju was on his last legs and Aleu was beyond that, strength drained by smoke and heat that burned at them. Collapse almost seemed like a better option now, they bumped against each other, dodging through the flaming underbrush until the ground suddenly seemed to give way under their paws. Down they tumbled for a short period until their world seemed to go truly black and silent after a loud splash.

A dark and icy shock to their systems awaited them below. Water. The river had taken them in. Plundering and disoriented, they floundered towards the orange glow of the burning forest that was the surface. The icy wetness was a welcome sensation, but the river was strong and fast here. They tumbled blindly, the river sending them head over heels and backwards down violet bends in the river. Fighting the undercurrent, they battled their way to the surface before they were dragged down again. This went on again, and again. All energy to swim was gone- not that there had been much to begin with. Drowning was on both of their minds, but they hadn’t the energy to think of how ironic it would be. Adrenaline was gone, leaving them with the pain of their bodies fighting to survive. Aleu had already been through this once in the past 12 hours.

Finally the river ended their prolonged suffering by leveling out, and slowing down into a small creek with a rocky bank. Once of the many divisions of this river passed its rushing point, they found themselves struggling onto the bank. The stones wedged themselves between their paws, as their legs shook violently. Aleu and Niju collapsed as soon as the water was low enough to allow them to breathe on stony bank.

Copious amounts of river water welled up and out from their throats as they communally hacked, sputtered and panted together, their faces merely centimeters apart.  As the water left their insides, the ragged panting set in. It was as if they feared they would never breathe again and they must store up, they hadn’t been able to breathe right for hours and now they were filling the void as fast as possible. Air, they just couldn’t get enough of it. Not that the air here was all that great. It was smoky- so much so that it covered the sky in a dark cloud. It was probably dark by now anyways, though, they couldn’t be sure.  Faint embers glowed in the air around them; charred stumps emitted strange red and orange light amidst the velvety darkness. They could see in the distance, upriver, where the fire still actively raged on.

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The noise of a charred tree crashing down somewhere in the distance startled them both awake.

Niju wasn’t sure how long they’d been out for, but it didn’t feel long enough. He could lie there forever. Aleu’s eyes- bright and reflecting embers in the orange glow caught his attention, partially because they were about a centimeter from his own and partially because they were open- meaning she was awake….or possibly something more sinister indeed.

 It never occurred to him that him and Aleu had never been formally introduced; it’s not something one dwells on when staring into the eyes of a rival. It didn’t matter now anyways. He knew her name, and that was all he needed now. “Aleu…?” He croaked slightly, the smoke, water and lack of oxygen over the past hours was evident.  

She blinked and shifted weakly. Definitely not dead. At this point he didn’t care to argue if that was good or bad. She would still continue to be useless to him either way. She looked confused, but neither of them even tried to make movements towards getting up. It wasn’t as if they could. 

“Wh-where are we..?” Her voice didn’t fare much better than his against the elements.

“ I don’t know, maybe… Maybe the northern river fork.” He glanced dazedly at a tree burned beyond recognition. Wherever they were, they were far from where they wanted to be or needed to be. He had no energy left for hostility, it almost felt pointless now anyways. He didn’t even feel weak in his current position in front of his rival… enemy… whatever she was now. 

“ Could Nava have survi-“ She began to ask, weakly optimistic, before he cut her off. “No. Nava is gone. There was no chance for him.” He stared blankly ahead.

“ You didn’t kill him.” She admitted plain and simple her pervious suspicions. The escape from the fire and nea -drowning had seemed to give them an air of seniority over their previous moods. No more snarky- hostile words, they were past that energy level. Nothing left but blatant honesty.

“No. I didn’t.” His voice flat.  He thought of what befell Nava-either illness or suffocation, he hoped it was the former. Niju hoped his old leader had died in his sleep before the fire, quick, easy and painless.  He drew a large breath and slowly released it. “We stayed a pack until the end.”

A wave of guilt passed over Aleu, as much as her extreme fatigue would allow. Her body felt weightless yet unmovable, as if she literally had no muscles. All pride in her was gone. Her fur was matted and slightly singed in paces, her face held a few shallow cuts that the stream had cleaned of blood, and her body was splayed out into his. Their back feet were touching, but they felt nothing now. A runner’s high to put all others to shame was upon them, after passing out their bodies flooded with endorphins. Staring at each other, they were in a trance. Come what may, they weren’t getting up.

A lengthy hesitation passed.  “I- I’m sorry.” The words came surprisingly easily from her formally sour mouth. The apology was a vague one. He didn’t seem to notice its possible double meanings, one for her transgressions, or for Nava or maybe -all of the above.

“ Yes. He was a wise leader, a patient teacher, and a caring friend. He was as empathetic as he was forgiving. It’s going to be difficult without his guidance.” Niju admitted without difficulty. He sounded more ‘real’ to Aleu now- remorseful even. He sounded like he had a voice that served to do more than threaten or challenge her. She knew he was exhausted; she didn’t even have the energy or collected thoughts to worry about him trying to kill her for leadership.

“You know, I’ve had dreams where those who have joined Aniu come back to guide me.” Aleu spoke without arrogance in her tone, changing what could have been a brag into an honest confession.

“Must be nice.” Niju sounded somehow colder.

She explained, “ My dad never had dream visions that were very clear, but him and I were guided by a raven. That’s how we found the clan. I think it can happen to anyone, when the spirits really need you to listen.”

 She knew her father was plagued by bad dreams all while she had known him, but none of them were explicitly clear like hers had been. Balto’s dreams seemed to warn him, but they never told him when, where or what to do next. Aleu’s dreams often involved her talking with mysterious spirits- and they instructed her on what was to happen and what her and the clan should do.

“Why are you here, why didn’t your precious dreams warn you of this?” It was clear she didn’t see the fire coming.  They could have died countless times over.

His words stung, in a way he couldn’t have predicted. “I-I don’t know… They never mentioned it.” Her pretty blues looked a little vacant. Her answer wasn’t enough, even in this state.

“No, why are you here?” Her pride seemed to return as she avoided his gaze as best she could. Granted- it was difficult when her lashes nearly touched his. “I-“

“Answer me.” Niju’s voice was demanded, but in a softer manner than usual. It wasn’t laced with a threat. He felt compelled to know why she would just leave the clan behind- and be so blind to the fire, and possible even more dangers before. He remembered coming across her unconscious form that morning. God. She was having a rough day. She must have made the crossing with almost no ice floes; in the summer only the great big ones remained.

“ I-..Aniu…It’s just that…” Her brows knitted together, exhaustion and an endorphin spike were clouding her thoughts. Her confession sprang forth like a ground-well. There was no going back.

“ The clan isn’t getting along so well- I mean everyone is still arguing. It seemed great when we got to the new lands, but…But now they are still divided. Summer is upon us and all the caribou are so strong now…and..and” She hit a small roadblock in her thought train. “Idon’tknowhowtohuntthem.” Came out as a single phrase. “No one knows about that, I just disappear during the hunts, I pray no one sees me. They’d know I wasn’t right to lead but- I can’t let them all down. Some of them are so cold towards me, it’s like they know it. They don’t fight with me, they fight with each other.”

In all of the days horrors, she still had the strength to start breathing hard once more. “We’re going to starve- the pack needs to be strongest now, with the caribou being so strong. But it’s falling apart; no one is listening to each other. The strong take what they can kill- the weak get nothing. I don’t get..I can’t- I can’t kill. I’m forced to take what others don’t when everyone is arguing. I can’t ask for help- I should be giving it!” Her beautiful eyes seemed to water around the edges. So drained, yet her soul could still cry from inside her. “ Nava always brought them all together…somehow… I heard some whispering one night; they don’t think I can live up to it. It’s not just a few rebels, it’s like…like…”

Her voice drew into a throaty whisper. As if no one in this world or the next should hear her. “Everyone. They’ll be right behind me one minute, yet just waiting for me to mess things up the next. I have no one to confide in completely. I can’t trust anyone with a secret without a risk of…judgment. I’m sure there are some who want to overthrow me, but without a clear leader it would be chaos…” Suddenly remembering where she was and who she was talking to, she silently shook.

Her pride had committed suicide. She had opened everything, but she didn’t open it for him- she was admitting it to herself. She hid her face from him, he just couldn’t see her cry. She had to be better than this. “ We can’t cooperate as a group- we can’t take down caribou.”

Her voice finally cracked in her whisper. She couldn’t feel her paws, but brought them up to hide her face further.  She repeated, “We’re going to starve…what canwedowe’regoingto starve.” As if it were a one worded mantra. Her voice faded into an indistinguishable squeak.

A lengthy time passed before he finally spoke, “I thought Aniu would guide you.”

Her voice shuddered in a drawn out sigh, she wasn’t sobbing but was near to it. “I haven’t ever seen her in a dream. I always see a dark shape in the shadows, but it turns away from me before I can call out to it. That’s all I’ve been dreaming of lately. Again and again and again until I’m just…Just so tired.” Behind her paws her eyes grew wide.

“Ohno…I’ve become Papa. I’m not in place-just like him. The dream plagues me over and over, but I can’t fix t. I can’t just turn away.” She squeaked in a tortured whisper. “I haven’t even seen Muru in months. I need to ask him why he sent me the wrong way. I…” Her breathing began to slow down.

“I need Nava.” She finished.

She wasn’t inviting Niju to attack, or take charge but she assumed he would start asserting his superiority right away. She walked right into it, but Aleu was so tired it didn’t really matter to her anymore.

“You shouldn’t be here. The clan can’t survive without having a defined leader.” His voice was flat, but notably void of condescension.

“I told them I was going on a journey. No one asked me any questions. It’s up to them whether or not they have enough faith in me to hold it together until I come back.” She sniffed- catching a whiff of the smoky dampness of the river and the charred surrounds and the musk of her counterpart.

“ I should go home. I should tell Papa I’m sorry I left him, I should visit mother too…. And my brothers and sisters…Rosy too…” Aleu rattled off. Niju didn’t know who she was talking about, but he knew when she said home, she didn’t mean back to the clan.

“ I never was in my place. Everyone was right.” Aleu never told him ‘you were right’ but he was included in that everyone. Aleu wasn’t angry or distressed, on the contrary she was feeling quite calm considering. She felt like she was finally making the right decision.

“Maybe I don’t know who I am still, but I definitely know who I’m not.  I don’t mind spending my whole life not knowing, it’s not worth the pain and suffering. Mine included.” She wasn’t only talking to him, she spoke to herself mostly.

“So do y-“ Niju began to inquire. He was beginning to grow tired again. He wasn’t sure what he was asking, but she cut him off before he could.

“ Yes Niju, it’s yours. Just take care of your clan, I hope you can. There are some really good wolves in the clan, and I’d hate to see them starve.” Her voice was empty.

“ They’d never believe me. Believe it or not, I don’t have the best reputation. You didn’t help that.” He thought for a moment.  “Neither did my stubbornness. They’d think I killed you and Nava, then proceeded to take charge.” He put things bluntly.

“You have a point. But you’re good at force; they need a more experienced leader. You said you wanted to lead.” She sounded a little distant.

“ Yes. I said I wanted to lead-“ He added a catch. “In my homelands.”

She sighed and looked around the charred darkness, illuminated only with faint embers. “ Look Niju- there is nothing left here. Not for the clan, and not even for you, now.”

Oh. Yeah. As much as it pained him to admit, most of life sustaining game had already left, and the fire would take care of the rest.

“How long have you been away from the clan?”

“A week, I think. I was running from some bears after I took their kill. It was really stupid, but I was so hungry. It knocked me off course for a few days.” Her limbs were beginning to lose their numbness, only to be replaced with a crushing weight. Her whole body felt like it was sinking into the bank as her eyelids felt like they melted into each other. She just couldn’t go on. But it was all right. There was no place to go.

Niju, who was looking up at the embers flittering across the smoky night sky, noticed her sudden stillness.

“ If I go back. I’m going to need you too. I can’t force them all to believe me, and listen to me. They’ll take some convincing. From someone they know and trust, for the most part. You’re not a liar, wise or not, they know you’re pretty truthful. Truth has always been important to the clan…” He trailed  off, realizing she was out.

Still buzzing with endorphins, his mind felt separate from his fatigued body. He didn’t have the energy nor the desire to remove himself from her proximity. It would take effort he wasn’t totally sure he had, and to be honest- he liked knowing she was there. Normally he would have felt arrogant pride lying right next to the one thing that stood between him and his clan- his power.