Meetings
Dan woke up, but he kept his eyes closed. He could see some light getting through his eyelids. It was morning. “What a crazy dream”, he thought. Meeting Balto and turning into a dog... That all just sounded foolish now. He tried to get up, but he noticed he was on a wooden floor, and it was a bit cold in the place. He also regained awareness of his own body, and felt his fur, his paws and his tail. He opened his eyes and looked around. It was Balto’s wrecked boat. Dan sighed. It was real. Then he just got up to start his first day as a dog.
Minutes later, Dan and Balto were already up, walking together heading to the small town. Dan had just told the older hybrid about his fame in the future.
- You mean they will make a movie about me? - Balto asked.
Dan nodded. It had taken some time some minutes ago to explain what a movie was.
- Yes, but the weird part is that in the original story, you were a purebred Siberian husky. – the young canid continued. - They even took some pictures of "you". When they made the movie about you as a hybrid, I thought it was just to make the story more interesting. In the true story, there was no Jenna, no Boris, and no Muk or Luk, and you never had pups.
- Why would they do that? - Balto asked, surprised. - I mean, you're seeing me here right now, I am part wolf, there is Jenna, Boris and the others and I did have children.
Dan thought for some moments.
- Maybe people that spread the fact only cared about the image, so they put another dog to pretend to be you, and he took all glory through the world, and someone that knew part of the really true story told it to Universal Studios, which found there a perfect opportunity to make a movie on that! - he said, revolted at the outrage, yet knowing it was just a supposition.
Dan thought that Balto would be shocked, but he was… chuckling?
- Why are you happy? - Dan asked, confused.
Balto turned his face to the other.
- If they had told the true story, they would take me away from Balto was right, it was better. But one thing was still not solved: who could know so much about Balto's story and told it to Universal Studios? Surely the director couldn't have guessed or invented all that. Such details only a dog could know, and would have to be very close to Balto. Dan decided to forget that for some time, it was irrelevant in the moment.
The hybrids passed by the totem with the animals from the legend that took Balto and Aleu to their Wolf Quest. "Gee, even the second movie was true", Dan thought. Though, he never really liked that sequel. It was bad-made. They finally got in the town. Dan halted to look at his surroundings. Everything was just like in the movie. The wooden houses and shops, the streets, the persons…
- Hey, Dan, come here! - he heard Balto calling, ahead of him.
Dan stopped his touring, and looked at where his friend was. Jenna and Kodi were there, beside Balto. Dan approached, a little pulled between happiness and nervousness.
- Hi. - he greeted with a smile.
- Hello, Dan. - Jenna returned the greeting, friendly.
- How’s it going? - Kodi greeted as well.
They were the same way he remembered from the films. Both dogs had their fur red and white. Yet, Kodi had some wolf characteristics, like the size and format of his muzzle. Jenna was very pretty, Dan had to admit, and she still had her red bandana. Dan remembered the past night.
- Oh, I wanted to thank you, Kodi, for helping me last night. - he thanked.
- Nah, it was nothing. – Kodi dismissed the thanking, with a friendly smile, but then changed his expression to serious. - But explain me one thing. Dad told me yesterday that you are a human, from the future, and that the northern lights turned you into a dog. Is that true?
- Well… yeah. - Dan answered, unsure of what the huskies would think.
Jenna looked at Balto, concerned.
- Is that true, Balto? – she asked.
Balto nodded. He and Dan explained all details of what happened, and how Dan got to - We’ll help however we can. – Jenna assured.
- Thanks. - Dan smiled.
- Dan wants to see the city. Kodi, could you take him for a tour? – Balto asked to his son, looking to have reminded something. - Boris is mad at Muk and Luk, and I better stop him from doing anything stupid.
- Okay. C'mon, Dan. – Kodi invited, then turning to Jenna. - Are you coming, Mom?
Before Jenna could answer, they heard the voice of a little girl.
- Jenna! Jenna! Where are you, girl? – the voice, that could only belong to Jenna’s mistress, Rosie, called.
Jenna turned back to Dan and Kodi.
- I'm sorry, boys, my girl is calling me. Maybe next time. Good luck, Dan. – she said, giving her last good-bye, and walking to where Rosie’s voice was coming from.
The husky and the hybrid started their tour around the town. Dan was enjoying it; Kodi was a nice guy to talk with, though he was still getting used to talking with creatures that were supposed to not talk at all. He couldn’t believe he was at last seeing - Kodi, will there be any sled race these days? I'm looking forward to see one. – Dan asked, remembering how he was wishing to see one since he first watched Balto's first film.
- Yes, tomorrow. My team against Dad's and Steele's. – Kodi answered, looking to be excited about the race too.
Dan braked, wide-eyed.
- Steele?! – he exclaimed. – Then he’s still here?!
Dan got angry and revolted. That dog would have let all children in town die just for his status. How could he still be around there after that? Kodi stopped, noticing his reaction.
- Don't worry, Dan, he's not gonna be a problem. – the husky tranquilized him.
Dan wasn't convinced, but decided not to argue about the subject.
- Uh... Dan, do you think… you'll ever be human again? – Kodi asked, reluctant, when they restarted walking.
- I don't know. - Dan answered, lowering his head. He didn’t know if he should feel sad. All he could feel was confusion. – It’s not like I really miss home, but I can’t let it all behind.
- Why? - Kodi asked, curious.
- Let's just say I'm as treated there as I was part wolf. But my family is there, and though they don’t treat me how I wished, they’re still family. - the ex-human explained, raising his head again, with an annoyed expression on his face.
Both stopped walking when they were near the beach. They sat on the snow, from where they could see the landscape. Kodi stared at Dan, unsure of what to think.
- How do they treat you? - he asked.
Dan sighed.
- Mom and Dad just ignore me. It's like I'm not even there. - he explained. - I just wished I didn’t have to live somewhere I don't make any difference.
The husky turned his gaze to another direction, confused.
- But hey, let's not think about that for now. - Dan broke the tense mood, smiling.
Kodi smiled back, happy to see that his friend was feeling better.
- Race to Dad's boat! Three, two, one, go! – Kodi said quickly, rushing to his father’s boat, leaving behind a confused Dan.
- Kodi! Wait! – The younger canid yelled. - I'm not used to run like this!
Kodi wasn't listening; Dan would have to run after him. He started running. He found it hard at first, but then he started to enjoy that, and suddenly he was at a speed he never reached at his human form. With some time, he was only some feet after Kodi, who seemed to not have noticed that he was so close. It was a good sensation, to feel the wind on his face, the speed, like no one could catch him. They kept running like this through the beach for some minutes. The ex-human noticed that dogs surely had more endurance than humans about some things, and surely running was one of them. Dan tried to go faster, but he started to lose his breath. He then decided to invest all of his last energies on trying to at least tie with Kodi. It was harder than he thought, Kodi was used to run his all life, and Dan was running in four legs for the first time. Dan got behind, fighting to keep breathing, his throat burning, and Kodi arrived first at the boat. The red and white husky leaped inside the boat, and landed skillfully on the deck. Dan, panting, climbed up the boat to find that Kodi, though a little bit tired, was not as exhausted as he was.
- Not bad for a first time. That's a good start. - the husky complimented.
Dan, though a little flattered, was still annoyed that he was so tired while the other was not, so he said nothing, still catching his breath. Kodi looked outside the boat:
- Hey, there they are. - he said, chuckling.
Dan stood up on the deck, and looked to what was calling Kodi's attention. Muk and Luk sat nervously on the snow away from the boat, with Boris yelling at them, while Balto was trying to intervene.
- It reminds me of when Aleu used to live here. Pity she had to leave with the wolf pack. - the husky remembered.
- Wait a second. Wolf pack? - Dan exclaimed, an idea coming to him. - Of course! Nava! He was some kind of spirit expert or something. He might be able to help me!
Kodi turned back, serious.
- How?
- Well, if Aniu was there when I was transformed, it surely has something spiritual involved. - the hybrid thought for a moment. - If the spirits are responsible for this, they probably did it for a reason, and I have to find out what.
Kodi agreed with those suppositions. They told this to Balto and Boris when they got back to the boat. The goose stopped being skeptical like before, and just got thoughtful about the subject. Balto thought for a moment too.
- Hmm... It would be hard to find him. - he said. - I remember where the territory they lived is, but I got there falling in a river, climbing a mount, falling from it and fighting a trio of wolverines and a bear! Besides we have no guarantee that Nava is still there, or even... well... alive.
Balto was right, Nava was not as young as he was before, and it was hard for a wolf to survive without the safety of a pack. But Dan had to try.
- Well, just tell me where it is and I'll go there. – he said, decided.
Kodi nodded negatively.
- We can't go there without any assurance that Nava's there. We need a plan. – he said.
Dan didn't try to convince them anymore. After some discussing, they decided to give time to time, and wait until a better plan appeared. They couldn’t risk themselves in “a wild wolf chase”.
At night, when everyone was sleeping, Dan got up from the captain’s quarters, and walked down the wooden board to the frozen beach again, to look at his reflection on the ice. He looked and saw again a wolf-dog, with brown eyes, and brown fur. He didn't know what reflection he was supposed to see for real. He imagined if all of that happened for a reason. He couldn't just be dragged through time and be transformed like that for nothing. He was liking this dog life until now, but he couldn’t just leave his family behind, they should be worried about him, and just giving up of everything to just leave like a dog in a small town? The idea of liking living as a dog sounded silly, but he couldn't help but feeling better like that. He shook his head, annoyed by the duality of thoughts. He didn’t even know what reflection he was wanting to see anymore.
- What am I supposed to be? - he asked to the nothing, lost.
~~~
On the next day, Dan was looking at the start line in the race track, excited that he was finally going to see a real sled race. Beside him there was Jenna and Boris. The teams were taking their positions. In Balto's team, there were Star, Nikki, Kaltag and some other dogs that Dan didn't know. In Kodi's, the only dogs he knew were Dusty, Ralph and Kirby. In the third team he recognized Steele leading the team, vainglorious, even if almost no one was paying attention to him, with exception of some females gathered behind the safety line that kept them away from the track. In the race, each team should deliver part of the mail to A man went to a side of the track and warned the mushers that the race was about to begin.
- On your marks! Ready... set... GO! - the man yelled and then shot with a gun to the sky.
The teams left, and Dan got impressed at how Balto and Kodi were fast. In a few seconds they were disputing the lead, slowly leaving the third team behind. Dan noticed that Steele was getting angry because of this, and started to run faster without his musher telling him to. The teams got away from the city, and slowly disappeared at distance, amongst snow dunes.
Dan walked backwards, trying to see the teams, when suddenly he collided with someone. He looked back to see who he had hit, and saw a young female husky. She looked to be about his age (as a dog). Her fur was light gray and white, and she was wearing a common dog collar around her neck. What really caught his attention was her eyes, blue, of a beautiful tone that made them look like sapphires. Lately he was getting used to dogs’ enhanced senses, and to distinguishing everyone’s scent… but there was something about this female’s scent that made him… nervous. He had never seen a dog like that. He could feel shivers running through his body, and froze in place.
- Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention. – she apologized with a smile.
She was looking at him a bit timid, and intrigued. Dan gulped. How could that be happening?
- Uhh, it's ok. - he said, nervously.
She smiled friendly.
- Hi, my name's Luna. - the young female introduced herself.
- I'm Dan. - he answered, smiling back.
Luna made a curious face.
- I haven't met many dogs with human names. - she said.
Dan smiled again.
- Well, Luna is a human name too. – he said. – And I think it's a beautiful name. – those last words came out before he could hold them.
Luna chuckled. She was even more beautiful when she was smiling.
A girl called Luna's name from the crowd.
- Nice to meet you, Dan. See you. - she said and walked away.
- Sure... - Dan said, though knowing she couldn’t hear it anymore. He unconsciously smiled, unaware of things around him.
But suddenly he gave himself an imaginary kick. It was ridiculous, he was a human! How could he feel like that about Luna? Even with that thought, he couldn't take his eyes off her until she disappeared within the crowd. “How on Earth did you get yourself in that, Daniel?! Cheerleaders, other schools girls, anything, but this?!”, he thought. That situation seemed just too ridiculous.
- Dan, anything wrong? - Jenna asked, taking Dan back to the reality.
- Nothing. - he lied, giving a last glance to where Luna had gone.
- Do you want to eat anything before the teams get back? - Jenna asked. - You look like you haven't eaten lately.
Jenna was right. Dan didn't eat anything since he arrived in - Yeah, please. - he accepted Jenna's offer.
- Okay, let's go to Rosie's house. - Jenna said, and started walking.
Dan remembered that he never knew how Balto fed. He had no master to feed him, so… While they were walking to Rosie’s house, Dan got closer to Boris.
- Hey, Boris. How do you and Balto get food? – he asked with a low tone.
Boris gave a tap on his own forehead, realizing he had forgotten the food subject about Dan.
- Oh, I eat fish from the sea. Balto hunts his own food. – he said, startling Dan.
He would have to hunt? The idea of killing an animal and eating its raw, bloody meat was… disgusting.
– I knew I was forgetting something. - the goose continued. - But you will need to get used to hunting soon, or you will starve, and we’re at the beginning of the winter!
- Gee, thanks for the relief, Boris. – the hybrid replied, sarcastically.
Dan imagined, if wolves could eat meat like that with no hesitation, and his body was a canine one, maybe his instincts would allow him to eat it. If he was hungry enough... But the idea was still repulsive.
They arrived at Rosie’s house. They got in through the back door, which led to some kind of basement. The room was fairly illuminated. Its only light was coming from a small boiler, used to keep the rest of the house warm. The place looked to be just for Jenna. There were her dog bed, some bowls for water and food, and some toys. One of the bowls already had some dog food inside, followed by some meat pieces. Jenna indicated the bowl for him to eat. Dan gulped and approached the bowl, unsure, and looked better at its content. Normally it would be a disgusting vision, but his dog nose was sensing a very good smell. It started to look very tasty. He gave it a bite. The taste was great. Delicious! He kept eating, forgetting his previous disgust. His dog teeth made it easy to chew the food. Boris and Jenna watched from another side of the room. Boris raised an eyebrow.
- He learned fast. – the goose said. – Don’t humans use covers to eat? – Boris asked, amused.
Dan swallowed his last bite, and chuckled.
- Even if I still had thumbs. - he joked.
Suddenly, he stopped hearing anything, like he had just gotten deaf. What was happening? His thoughts turned involuntarily to the race. He felt something was wrong, and the feeling of fear caught him. The sounds came back, and it stopped. Boris and Jenna stared at him, confused. For them he was just standing there, looking at nothing.
- Dan, what's wrong? - Jenna asked, worried.
- The teams! - he just exclaimed and stormed out of the house, leaving behind very confused Jenna and Boris.
Outside the town, Dan was running the most his legs allowed him, just being careful enough not to spend his all energies before getting to Kodi's team. After some minutes of running, he two teams running towards him: Balto's and Steele's. Steele’s expression was of boastful victory, while Balto’s was of complete anger, but he couldn’t stop running. They all noticed the young canid running towards them. Balto smiled, happy that he was there to help, while Steele just glanced at him with a despising expression. Dan let them pass beside him and kept on his way. Something surely had happened to Kodi's team if they weren't there with the others.
After some more moments, he could see at distance Kodi and the other sled dogs sat near their musher, who was still looking to be unconscious. Kodi saw Dan coming.
- Dan? How did you know? - he asked, relieved, but surprised.
- I guessed. We must get him to the hospital - Dan said, indicating the fallen musher.
He helped the other dogs putting the man on the sled, amongst the mail bags. Dan tied him to the sled as he could, using both teeth and nails, seeing he had lost his human hand coordination.
- Alright, take him back to the city. - he said to the team.
- But Dusty got hurt! - Kirby warned.
Dan looked at the gray female. She had her front paw raised away from the ground, apparently feeling pain.
- Okay, Dusty, get on the sled too, I'll take your place. - Dan asked her.
Dusty got rid of her harness and sat beside the unconscious musher on the sled. Dan managed to get in the harness she had left. The team started running again, dragging the sled back to After some minutes, they crossed the finish line and stopped. Some men came to help the hurt musher and Dusty, and carried them to the hospital. Some others that stayed noticed Dan in Dusty's place in the team.
- Hey, where did this one come from? - he asked.
Dan thought he would be thanked or anything like that, but no. The man took his harness with violence and tried to scare him away.
- Shoo! Get out of here!
Dan looked at him with an angry face, but walked away. He met Jenna and Boris with Balto, near the other sled.
- So, who won? - he asked.
- Balto's team. - Boris answered.
Dan saw that the whole team, which was still near the finish line with the sled, was happy about that, but they all turned to Steele, on the other side of the track, who wasn't completely glad to be in second place, but was happy enough to see Balto's son losing. Dan knew why. Kodi's team would lose their job until their next race, which would be next month! Dan snarled, feeling the sudden violent urge to jump on Steele and rip him apart, but he was able to hold it. He couldn't get a fight on his first days in - Don't worry. He just needs some time - Balto tried to tranquilize Dan, though he was sad himself.
Dan's rage at Steele returned.
- What happened there? - he asked, angry.
- Steele got close to Dusty and tried to bite her legs. She got scared and tripped, and the whole lost control. - the other dog explained.
- Cheater... - Dan commented, still angry. - He's not losing for waiting.
He was interrupted when they heard geese croaking. He looked up and saw in the sky a triangular formation of them, surely flying south because of the arrival of the winter. Geese… Dan had an idea.
- Hey Balto, is Stella still around
~~~
Later, they had already talked to Stella, who was living in - Well, all we can do now is to wait - Balto said.
They started walking back to the boat. Dan’s gaze got lost like his thoughts. Balto grinned, noticing that.
- So, who is she? – he asked, playfully.
The younger canid snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Balto. It was okay; surely he didn't know who he was thinking about. Dan looked to the ground, feeling an annoying insurance of what he wanted.
- It's complicated.
To be continued...