The decision
In the next morning, Dan was walking in the woods close to The happenings of those days were just getting crazier. He had been taken to His daydreaming was stopped when Dan heard someone walking at a certain distance behind him. He turned back, but the trees were too close to each other, and his enhanced hearing made him think the creature was closer than it really was. There was a different scent in the air. He sniffed, and recognized who it belonged to. Only Luna could have such sweet scent. His shivers returned. It would be too confusing to be with her again, so he decided to leave as quietly as he could. But he stayed standing there. A part of him wanted to see Luna. It was irrational, taking in count all the reasons he had to avoid her, but he just wanted to stay and see her again. Before he could make a choice, Luna appeared from behind the trees. She saw Dan there, sat on the snow, looking at her. He fought to keep his expression neutral. Being stared at by her was disconcerting. She then, realizing what she was doing, smiled friendly.
- Hi, Dan. - she greeted, trying to hide her nervousness as she could.
Dan gulped.
- Hi Luna. – he returned the greeting, sounding just friendly. – I didn’t expect to see you here.
Luna, though not showing it, was just as nervous as he was. Both were hiding their true intentions from each other, afraid of each other’s reaction. Dan especially, because of his unnatural situation.
- What are you doing around here? – Dan decided to ask, trying to start a conversation normally.
Luna felt relieved that they could talk about something; it would make her less nervous.
- I use to walk around here. - Yeah, I like this place too...
Dan was reluctant to take that further, afraid that it would just end bad. But finally, he thought, why all that? They were just talking.
Luna gathered some courage to speak.
– Uhh… Luna... – the male started.
- Do you have plans for today? – both asked at the same time.
They looked at each other and chuckled.
- You first. – Dan said, smiling.
Luna smiled too.
- Well, it looks like our answers are the same. There’s a place I love to go. Wanna join me? – she asked, forgetting her nervousness, noticing Dan was interested too.
Dan felt happier inside. Just having a reason to be some more time with Luna was great.
- Sure. – he answered, not helping but smiling, and wagging his tail a little.
Luna looked as happy as he was, and though she was able to hold her own tail, he found Dan’s gesture cute.
- Great, you'll love it, the view is beautiful. - she said, and starting walking, now with Dan beside her.
- Where is it? – Dan asked, curious.
- It’s a surprise. – she answered, with a smile.
She leaded him through the woods, refusing to give more details about the place they were going to. Dan, though still reprehending himself, couldn't deny that he was happy to be with her. Luna was really interested on him. The conversation got easier. Dan started to act more naturally with her, and so did she. Luna started telling him about her story.
- I was born in Nenana. I’ve past most of my childhood there. My parents lived with a breeder. – she started explaining. – I loved them. But when I was old enough, I was sold to Annie, my current mistress. It wasn’t a bad thing, Annie is a great mistress, she never neglected me, and we are great friends. My parents still visited me sometimes. But then, Annie’s father got a job in Dan felt sad for her. He couldn’t imagine how it would feel to get away from the family, but then he remembered he was running that risk himself.
- I’m sorry. – he said.
- It’s okay. I got over that. – she looked at him. – What about you? Tell me about your family.
Dan got apprehensive. That was a dangerous subject. He needed to tell her the story he invented for himself, in a convincing way.
- I was born in - Wow. – Luna said, surprised. – You traveled from Dan remembered a map he saw on the internet when he was a human. She was right. - Well… - he started, but was fortunately interrupted by the vision they had in front of their way. They were out of the woods, and on their left, there was a frozen river, and on the right, a tall cliff. Dan looked up to see its top. They could really have a nice view from there. But how to get up there?
- Follow me - she said, keeping walking towards the cliff.
She leaded him to what looked to be a cave on the rocky wall. Inside, at first, Dan couldn’t see anything, but then his dog eyes adapted to the dark, and everything got clearer. He kept walking after the gray husky through some divisions and detours. After some moments, she called his attention.
- This way. – she said, entering a small tunnel at the left side of the cave. Dan followed her.
- Looks like you know this place very well. – he commented.
- I come here since I moved to After some more moments of playful insistence and laughs from both sides, he gave up of trying convincing her to tell what the surprise was.
Dan saw a light far away as the tunnel got steeper heading up, which surely was the exit of the tunnel, but his eyes were used to the dark, so it took some time until he could see clearly again. They walked out of the tunnel. The two dogs were now at the top of the cliff, having a privileged view of the entire land in front of it.
Dan widened his eyes, dazzled. They could see the entire forest from there. And also Balto’s wrecked boat far away, the town, and mainly, the sea, covering the entire horizon. Luna was right, it was beautiful.
- It's amazing! - Dan confessed, a smile on his face.
Luna smiled too, admiring the landscape too.
- You should see it in spring. – she said. – Oh, here comes the best part.
She approached the end of the cliff. Dan, worried about her safety, followed her, and looked down the cliff, like her. The ground was far away, but Dan wasn’t very afraid of heights. Suddenly Dan knew what Luna was waiting for. A wind current got to the wall of the cliff, and from there, rushed to their direction from below. They felt the wind hitting them continuously, giving them the feeling that they were flying. Looking at the landscape around them, they felt like they were soaring above the Alaskan lands, seeing the world from above... Luna looked at Dan, beside her. She admired his golden-brown eyes, his wolf-like face, his big paws… There was much of wolves in him, and she loved that. She wasn’t afraid of him like others. Just… intrigued. She closed her eyes to enjoy the wind again. Dan looked at her too. Though her eyes were closed now, he loved their blue shine. He admired her delicate face traits. He gave a look at her paws. They were not big as his, but its claws were very sharp. No problem with that, he loved it. He noticed some different traits about her. He evaluated the possibility of she having some wolf heritage too. She had some traits, though not as strong as his. He closed his eyes to enjoy the again. The current passed away, and they came back to reality.
- It's great! I’ve never seen anything like it! - Dan exclaimed, excited.
Luna looked at him and started to chuckle.
- What? – he asked.
- Your fur! – she said, starting to really laugh.
Dan looked at his fur, It was all tousled! He quickly tried to fix it with his paw, and looked at Luna's fur.
- You can't say much. – he said, starting to chuckle too.
She noticed her fur was the same way. Both laughed, and started trying to fix their fur. Only a small part of Dan’s head fur was refusing to get down. Luna, having already fixed her own fur, approached him gently.
- Let me do it. – she said.
She approached his head to Dan’s, causing him to have nervous shivers. She licked his head, and the rebel fur finally yielded and stayed in its normal position. She took her head off Dan’s, a bit nervous after realizing what she was doing. Dan decided to do something to make her less embarrassed.
- You missed some too. – he said, approaching her.
He licked the inexistent messed fur on a side of her face, and felt her relaxing. Luna was feeling the same things he was, but none of them would show it. She smiled at him, and chuckled, still a little embarrassed. Dan pretended it was all okay, and they started their walk back into the tunnel.
Back in the woods, they were talking and laughing. Luna knew some funny stories from - Hey, Dan, what about a race to the beach? – she suggested, grinning.
- Try to keep up. – Dan replied, grinning too. He loved a challenge.
They stormed out, and started racing heading to the beach. Dan was much faster than Luna, but he held back, just to run closer to her. What he didn’t know was that she wasn’t really playing to win. It was just to see him running. They stayed like that for some more minutes, running, chuckling, enjoying each other’s company, sometimes forgetting they were racing. Dan rushed ahead of her, just to show how he was fast. He looked back at her. She was chuckling, and was surely noticing what he was trying to impress her. Suddenly, when he returned to look ahead, he saw some ice in his way. He was going too fast to stop, and slid on it, out of control. He buried his claws on it, and slowly stopped. He got up, relieved. Luna was standing near him, chuckling. She surely had avoided the ice gathering.
- I thought wolves were more careful than that. – she joked.
- Oh, yeah? – he replied, grinning.
He jumped on her, and they started rough-housing, like two pups would do, laughing. After some play, Dan had pinned Luna. He stared panting at his subdued opponent, smiling victorious. She was tired too, trying to catch her breath.
- I thought dogs were more careful than that. – he said, ironically.
Luna grinned.
- We are. – she said, and with her rear paws, pushed the hybrid away from her, and while he was still confused, she jumped on him, pinning him.
He was now under her paws, defeated. She stared at him, smiling victorious the same way he was before. Dan looked back at her, felling his body get warmer. Being in such contact with Luna was driving him insane. Luna realized the effect she was causing on him, and found out that she was feeling the same. They managed to snap out of that, and chuckled.
- Ok, you win. – he declared, as the female stood away from him to let him get up.
Dan sat up, and shook the snow from his fur. Luna’s scent was all over him, and that wasn’t helping him controlling his shivers and warm waves that were running his body. Luna was going through the same situation. None of them was planning to ever tell each other what they were feeling. Both got a little embarrassed. Their playing had taken great part of the day, and the sun was almost setting in the horizon. Suddenly, Dan remembered something.
- Hey, Luna, do you still have time to see something else? – Dan asked, breaking the tense mood.
Luna got curious.
- Yes, why? – she asked.
- It’s a surprise. – he said, grinning, ironically refusing to tell, just as she had done earlier. Luna realized that.
- Aaw, c’mon! - she complained, chuckling.
They walked back through the woods, closer to each other, because it was getting dark, and they couldn’t risk losing sight of each other. Or that was their mental excuse for that. They got out from the woods, finally seeing Balto’s boat. When they finally got into the town again, night had already arrived, and the people had set on their homes’ lights. Dan leaded Luna to the already popular boiler room, but the door was locked. Luna looked a bit disappointed. Dan remembered Balto's first film.
- Don’t worry, I have the keys. - he said.
He used one of his claws to remove the door’s hinges. Once the door was just held by the locks on the other side of it, he pushed the door wider for Luna to pass.
- After you. – he said politely.
She passed, still curious about what he wanted to show her. She laid her gaze on Dan’s raised paw. She noticed again how it was big. Dan noticed that, and quickly put it back on the ground.
- It’s okay, I like your paws. – Luna said.
That was an unusual comment, but he still felt his face blushing. The room was just like in the movie. There was the boiler, involving the place in a golden and red light. There were some supplies placed around the place, and also some abandoned tools. The warmth from the boiler was relieving after so much time the dogs had spent outside in the cold. Dan searched the room with his eyes, looking for some other thing he saw in the film. He finally found it. A small door on the wall, big enough for them to pass, if they lowered their bodies a bit. He went inside it, followed by Luna. It was the space between the building’s floor and the natural ground. There were many pipes and spider webs scattered around. Wooden supports were sustaining the floor over their heads. Luna wasn’t quite happy to be there.
- Why are we here? It's creepy… - she said, really sounding afraid.
- Creepy? – Dan replied, smiling. – Many dogs travel miles to see this.
Luna looked skeptical.
- I can't see why they would.
Dan smiled.
- Just watch.
He saw the grate through which Balto and Jenna had found out that Rosie was with diphtheria, three years ago. And under it, as he was expecting, broken glass pieces. He walked closer and started to place them in the correct place.
- Uhh, Dan? What’s that for? – Luna asked, confused.
He looked through the grate. The lamp from the room above them was on, and its light was involving the floor.
- “The sun”... – he whispered to himself, still smiling.
- Dan, what are you… - she started asking.
Dan finished positioning the shards and blocked the lamp's light on them with his body. He gave a look at Luna’s curious face and walked away from the light. In the exact moment his body stopped blocking the light, the shards were illuminated by it, and reflected it to the opposite wall behind Luna. A multicolored aura involved the wall, creating a form like a floating curtain made of lights from all colors. Luna widened her eyes.
- The northern lights! – she said, dazzled. - Dan, you were right, it's beautiful!
Dan stood beside her, and though the light effect was indeed a beautiful spectacle to see, he was looking at Luna’s eyes. They were shining, reflecting the light. She was even more beautiful under those lights.
- Not as you are. – the words got out of his mouth before he could contain them.
Luna turned her face at him. She looked at his golden-brown eyes. Though they were not as shining as hers were, they were captivating. Both were almost hypnotized by each other’s eyes and scent. There was nothing in their minds except each other. Their faces slowly approached, and Dan nuzzled her face, softly, causing her to feel pleasant warmth waves running through her body. Luna returned the gesture, causing the same effect on him. They sat together, snuggling with each other, giving each other nuzzles and licks, causing mutual pleasure. There was nothing more in the world. Nothing more cared. All they wanted was to stay there forever, worrying about nothing else. Dan just forgot everything about his past. He wanted to have Luna with him forever, and would fight for it. They stayed like that, as the lights danced slowly in the wall.
~~~
- Hey! Dan! Wake up! - Balto called.
- Uh, what? - Dan woke up from his daydreaming.
They were at the boat in an afternoon two days later. Dan had been sitting on the deck, looking over the short wall to the town. Balto was concerned.
- You've been sitting there looking to the city since we came back from hunting! What's wrong? – he asked.
Dan was looking to the town thinking about Luna and what happened in the top of the cliff and in the boiler room. He didn't know if he should tell Balto what happened, but then he decided that there was nothing wrong with that, and told him.
Balto heard everything silently, expressionless. When Dan finished his story, he expected that Balto would get worried, or that he would reprehend him, but he just smiled.
- Looks like things are getting better to you after all. – he said, simply.
- Aren’t you gonna get mad at me for that?
Balto laughed.
- Mad? Why should I? You’re just doing what anyone would do.
- This isn't funny! – he cut off Balto’s laughter. – I still didn’t make my choice! Now I have bonds with people in both places. My family in the future, now Luna and you guys here. Now even if I have a way of coming back, I don’t know what I will do!
He was feeling angry at himself. He had lost notion of what he wanted to do, or what he should do. If he left his family, they would be devastated, and if he left Luna, she would too. Balto, who had stopped laughing since Dan started to talk, now looked concerned.
- Dan, I'm sorry. – he apologized, lowering his ears. – But do people there depend on you?
The younger hybrid sighed.
- Technically yes. They all love me, though some of them made some mistakes, I owe them all I am today. – he said. – Nobody’s perfect.
Balto remained silent for a moment, but then formed his opinion.
- Dan, if you want to stay here, we will find a way to tell them, it's their choice to believe or not, and if there isn’t a way to tell them, it won’t make any difference anyway. – Balto said. - You're just choosing your own path in your life. Your parents wouldn’t like to know that their son if afraid to get on with his life because of them.
- But I'm a human... – Dan said, confused. – I shouldn’t be here, and most of all, I shouldn’t be with Luna!
- Dan, you are what you chose to be. – Balto said, getting clear that conversation was over, and walked out of the boat, leaving behind a thoughtful Dan.
Balto had a point. He couldn’t be bound to his family. He should make his own decisions, and both he and his family should be strong enough to say goodbye. He had been taken there for a reason. What if it was because that was his true self? He was always out of place as a human, and not just because of social tags in school and solitude. But his opinions and ideas were so different, so detached… Even some common human customs were purposeless to him. He always found so many things in human life futile. He felt so great as a dog… Just living off what he needed, and not doing harm to things around him like humans did and do. Having to fight for what he wanted and being free to do whatever he wanted and go wherever he wanted… And Luna, he would have never met her if nothing of that had happened. He knew it was something special, and didn’t want to let go of that. He loved his family, but he was mature enough to let go of them, but he didn't know if they would do the same. They would be devastated if he just abandoned them like that to live a weird and unbelievable life. And Luna, if she ever knew about that, what he was, she would turn away from him. He couldn’t really blame her. Imagine the shock of falling in love with someone and discovering that they weren’t even the same species you were. He felt like he was influencing her. He couldn’t hide the truth from her. She had the right to know.
Suddenly, the hybrid heard wings flapping over him. He looked to the up just in time to see Stella landing on the deck, in front of him, exhausted.
- So? Did you find him? - Dan asked.
- Hey! Let me catch my breath here! - she complained, panting. She looked to have been flying for much time.
She finally recovered herself, and turned to look at him.
- I’ve found the wolf and I past him your message. He asked me to tell you to meet him on the mount where your transformation happened before sunset. – she said.
Dan had never told in the message where his transformation happened.
- How did he know where it happened? – he asked, curious.
- How do you want me to know?! Wolves are weird creatures, now for goodness’ sake I need some rest! – she said, cranky, and flew away.
- Thanks! – Dan yelled to her at distance, seeing her flying farer above the woods.
Dan had no time to call Balto; the afternoon was at its end. He quickly ran out of the boat and headed alone to the mount where he had gained paws and fur.
- Hey! Wait for me! – an accented voice called behind him.
Dan looked back and saw Boris running after him.
- Are you coming with me? – he asked, with a smile.
- Of course! I have to know the reason of all this too! – the goose replied, anxious.
- Why? – Dan asked.
- Oh, do you still think you're smart? Because you're one of us too now! Your problem is our problem. – Boris answered, reluctant in showing he was befriending the young canine. – Besides, I’m curious to see how this is going to end.
Dan smiled, appreciated, and kept his run to the mount with the goose after him. After a couple of minutes, they reached the base of the mount, and started walking up. Dan found it pretty easier than before, now he had four legs. He sniffed the air to track any different scent. There was one. No dog would have that scent. And seeing that it was a little similar to his, it surely was Nava. They finally reached the top, and climbed to the plain ground above.
There he was, Nava, sat near some rocks, looking to the sky. Like many of the persons Dan had met there, Nava was just like in the film. His fur was gray, with some more volume on his face, looking like a beard, passing the feeling that he was very old. His eyes were light brown. He noticed their presence, and turned his head to them. He politely got up and bowed his head, as a signal of respect.
- Greetings, Young Dan, and Master Boris Goosenoff. I'm Nava, ex-leader of the clan of the river territories. I received your message, and I'm here to help you as I can. – the old wolf greeted, politely.
Dan bowed his head too, showing respect.
- Thanks for coming, sir. I'm confused, and I thought that no one would be better than you in this kind of business. – he said. – How did you know the place where I was transformed?
- I sensed a great disturbance coming from this place some days ago, in the exact moment that night had fallen. I sensed someone with a wolf's soul was in confusion, passing through a great internal conflict. Now I know it was you. – Nava said, calmly.
Dan got surprised with all that.
- How could I have a wolf’s soul? I mean, I was a human before that transformation happened. – the hybrid said.
Nava sat back down. Dan did the same.
- Everyone is born as one kind of creature. Wolf, dog, human, bird... But not always the person's soul form corresponds to the physical form. Sometimes, the person's soul form’s influence is so strong that it may influence the person, in a way he or she feels imprisoned, like their true self couldn’t break free. – the old wolf explained. - Apparently it's your case, so you were always a wolf or dog inside. This is how you are inside. It is your true self. But transformations like that just happen when they have a mission, or pending business that still need to be solved somewhere.
Dan looked to the snow, wide-eyed. He was always a canine. That was true, he always felt imprisoned, and only now he really felt free. But, to what kind of mission he could have been sent? Why? Who was he before that?
- So, I was a human because I had a mission there? – Dan asked, as Nava nodded positively. – But what kind of mission? And why was I brought to the past?
- Well, it can be a mission, or a connection that bonds you with this place and caused you to be brought back by the spirits. It could be any of those, or even both. – Nava asked.
- You mean maybe I knew Balto and the others here before? – Dan asked.
- Maybe here, maybe in previous lives, it’s impossible to tell. – Nava answered.
- But why did I have to be born in the future? Why didn't I just born in - Maybe because you had to pass through some experiences in a human life in that time, and then when you were ready, you were brought back home. – the wise canine said, looking into Dan’s eyes, like analyzing something.
Dan remembered how he was brought there.
- Then what exactly brought me back here? I just saw some water tentacles dragging me into a pond, and when I got out of it, I was here.
Nava thought for a moment.
- The great spirits that rule our world help us getting in our right path. When someone reincarnates, they remember almost nothing of their past lives. Maybe they decided to get a more drastic measure to bring you back with your all experiences and memories intact. This may explain the water-made tentacles and your transportation to the past. – the gray wolf suggested. – But those kinds of interference are just used for animals, what just ensures that you are indeed a wolf inside.
- What about my transformation? The northern lights and all? – the young hybrid asked, his anxiety increasing.
- The northern lights were always were source of tremendous mystical energy and power, and a huge manifestation of the great spirits in only one natural phenomenon. They must have used their power combined with that to bring your soul form out, turning you into what you are now.
- What was Aniu doing here? Why did she bring me to the mount? – the hybrid asked, remembering Balto’s mother.
- She is one of them, an illuminated spirit. Depending on how the great spirits rely on her, she must have some power herself, but don’t have how to know. – Nava explained. – Her task in all this must have been to take you to the right place where you would be transformed. Maybe she has a greater role in this, and a connection with you.
Dan knew that all that fit together, but he couldn't understand what experiences he would have past though in his human life that would be so important to cause all this. He asked that to Nava.
- Experiences that have taught you lessons that will be useful here. – Nava stopped, and raised one ear, looking like he had heard something.
Dan raised his own ear, and heard something too. A group of creatures was getting close, but was still far away. Nava looked at Dan, looking a bit worried.
- I must go, you should leave now too, fast. – he said, starting walking away in a quick pace.
- Nava! Wait! – Dan called him back, doing the possible to keep his voice down. – Who’s coming?
- It’s my business, I can handle it. Don’t worry about me, just get away as fast as you can. You must not get involved. – the wolf said, and ran away, disappearing among the big rocks scattered around the place.
Boris was open-mouthed because of all he had heard. Dan made him put himself together, and they started walking fast down the mount back to the boat.
When they were far from the mount, the walk back got slower, until both halted for a break. Then he was destined to be there, to be a wolf-dog, to join Balto and his friends, and maybe even to meet Luna. But what about his family in the future? Dan made a decided expression. It was enough of waiting for things to happen. Dan would make the choices from now on. He remembered Balto's words: "You are what you choose to be". He wanted to be a dog, and a wolf, and he would be. He would tell his family if he could, but nothing would make him change his mind.
He felt snow flakes falling on him, and suddenly there were thousands of them falling from the sky, and the cold wind started blowing strongly. In the middle of all that there was Dan, looking at the sky, and with all of his will and drive, he howled to the wind. His howl resounded for many miles, and whoever heard it, knew that the wolf that was doing it was now stronger than ever. He had made his choice. That was what he wanted to be. That was who he wanted to be. After some moments, Dan stopped his howling. Boris was beside him, looking at him, proud. Dan was happy to at last be what he was meant to be. What he wanted to be. But then, he remembered that there was still one more complication: he still had to tell Luna.
To be continued...