"What have you done?!?" A snarl, a growl, a yell, a scream, not one of those could even begin to describe the sounds Raven was bellowing into the morning. Nicole was horrified, still laying on the ground. A red mist began clouding Raven's thoughts, and he fought with all his strength to keep from ripping Nicole's throat out. So he turned and ran.

Curse this damn fog! Why does today have to be foggy? Raven's thoughts raced alongisde him as he fought to keep up with Redd. He had already lost sight of her. Could he follow her scent? It was his best shot. Past Balto's ship, onto the beach, to the edge of the forest. And as the trail stopped cold, so did Raven. Where was the scent? Where was Redd?

"Redd!!!" He yelled. He had to keep moving! Raven headed deeper into the forest. "Redd! Please!"

Silence.

Raven's legs shook and gave out underneath him. He couldn't get up. His legs kept running, but he was going nowhere. All he could see was that look of sheer horror on Redd's face as she jumped out from between the buildings. Finally, exhaustion began to ovetake him. He croaked one last, "Redd..." before giving in to the darkness that pressed against him so hard. 

Gray, gray, everything was gray. The sky, the ground, the trees, the mountains. Gray, gray, gray. Raven had no clue where he was. He only knew he had to find someone. Out of the gray sky flew a blackbird. It started flying away. Raven tried to call out but no sound came out of his mouth. He followed after it. Soon, they came to a river. Raven squinted at it. Someone was drowning! He dove into the river. Maybe this was what he was looking for! The figure was bright red, the only bit of color in this gray world. Just when he was about to reach the figure, currents dragged him under. There was no air, not light, no nothing. Raven couldn't breathe. When at last he thought he was done for, he felt sharp pain in his neck. The blackbird had grabbed him and was saving him! The light started coming back. Before long, it became blinding, so bright that Raven couldn't see. And then, he woke up.

At first, everything was black. Then, slowly, little pin-pricks of light began showing through. Faces began showing through the dark, swimming through Raven's head. Slowly, they began to take shape and look more familiar. Dingo. Sandy. Mutt. Dad. Jenna. Akeela. Tucker. Slowly, the faces stopped moving, and the rest of the picture became clear. Raven was laying in the boiler room, in front of the furnace. A crowd of dogs surrounded him. They all sighed in relief as Coal whispered, "He's awake."

At first, Raven was confused. "Where's Re..."

Then all the memories came flooding back. Nicole, the walk, that cursed kiss, then Redd, oh, sweet Redd, finding them. He could only imagine what it looked like to her...

And with the memories came understanding. At once he leapt up.

"You!" he screamed at his father. "This was your idea! How could you do this to me? You made a damn promise! What kind of father are you?!?"

Raven wobbled unsteadily and fell down again as lights began popping in front on his eyes. Jenna approached him.

"Raven, I know you're upset," Raven growled at this. "But please, take it easy! You've been out for..." Jenna looked out the window at the dark sky. "about eighteen hours. Please, try to relax and eat something."

Raven bared his teeth in a snarl. Never before had he felt so...everything. Betrayal. Fury. Agony. And depression. The gripping depression he felt. Still, through all of his confusion, Raven knew that he had to listen to Jenna. After he ate, he hauled himself up and out of the boiler room.

Raven was barely aware of his friend following him. He didn't even know where he was going. He just had to...move. Something was stirring, deep inside him, like a monster clawing its way to the surface. By the time the monster had almost ripped its way out, Raven had reached the edge of town.

"Raven..." Dingo whispered. "we should go back. It's late, and you're probably exhausted..." He waited to gauge Raven's reaction.

"Then get out of here!" Raven whipped his head around to glare at his best friend. His eyes softened intensely and the glare retreated as tears took over. "I...I can't...I don't want..." He sighed. "I don't want to hurt you. Please. Go home."

Dingo's eyes remained steady as realization dawned on him. "Will you come back?" He whispered almost inaudibly as he dropped his eyes to the ground.

"I won't be able to find her..." Raven whispered.

"That's not..." Dingo tried to say, but his voice broke and he began crying. Dingo. That didn't happen. It just didn't. It wasn't supposed to.

Raven couldn't stand this any longer. He ran off, his friend's face stuck in his head. What did it matter? Redd was gone. Maybe forever. Still, despite what he had said, Raven couldn't bear the thought of leaving Nome behind, and he hadn't even lived there his whole life like Redd had. Just how bad had he hurt her? The thought killed him inside.

The sun began peeking over the tops of the trees. Raven looked around him. Had he really been away that long? Where was he anyway? The forest. Right. He could see a clearing up ahead, so he walked toward it. When he stepped out, he gasped and growled.

"No way."

He was facing Nome. I must have been going in circles for hours!!! Raven's thoughts raged. He really had no joice but to go home. As he approached the small town, he heard a soft, "Raven."

And then Sandy was there, burying her face in his fur.

"We thought you weren't coming back!" she cried, her voice muffled by Raven's fur. And then the whole town's dogs were there, most of them crying.

"Were you out all night for me?" Raven asked disbelievingly.

Dingo, from somewhere in the crowd, shouted, "Yes! We were about to go looking for you. Sheesh, how long has it been since you've looked at yourself? You look terrible!"

How long had it been? More that twenty-four hours. Much more. so much had happened in just the two days that Raven had known Nicole. Two days? Was that right? The thought was insane. It didn't matter now; Nome was Raven's home, Redd or no Redd. He would stay here for now.

* * * * *

Two weeks passed slowly. Raven was obviously a changed dog. His eyes had lost their competative gleam, his fur had lost its healthy shine. Extreme mood swings kept him distant from all of his friends, even at work. Life was dull and pointless; Raven was only a shell of a dog.

One day, while Raven was moping around town, he was approached by Nicole. As soon as he saw her, he snarled and turned around.

"Raven, wait." she pleaded. "I wanted to talk to you."

Raven turned to face her, his eyes dark. In a low growl, he whispered, "I thought I made it very clear I don't want you around."

Nicole sighed. "I know. But I'm just so sorry...I didn't want things to end like this.  I didn't think..."

"That's right,"  Raven interrupted. "You didn't think. You're so like my father that way. You do what you want in your best interest, with no feelings of others, no guilt, no weight of consequence. You're the kind of dogs who make this world a horrible place."

Nicole looked taken aback, and she winced at his words. She slowly recovered, and raised her head to look into Raven's eyes.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm always here," she whispered. "And that my invitation is always valid."

Raven's heart skipped several beats. He could feel the pumping slow drastically as his nerves frayed to snap. His ears slowly pinned back against his head, and his lips pulled back from his teeth to reveal a glistening snarl.

"You just don't get it," Raven snarled, barely able to control himself. "This isn't...you don't..." Raven sighed and decided to take a different approach. "I'll bet you've never been in love, right?

Nicole looked at Raven through her eyelashes, her blue eyes soft. "I saw you."

Raven scoffed and rolled his eyes. "No, I mean in like a relationship."

Nicole's eyes fell. "No."

"Well that's a surprise," Raven whispered almost inaudibly. "Doesn't matter. Plainly stated, you've never felt for anyone like I have...did for Redd. You can never know how torn my heart is. This pain is...unbearable. It's like nothing I've ever felt. So please, leave me alone. Any time I even think of Redd, it's like a bear is ripping my heart out. Please. Stay away from me."

Nicole's eyes were filled with tears. Her lower lip stuck out in that same doggy pout that Raven loathed. She intook a shaky breath and wailed, "But I need you!"

Raven lost his temper. Nicole fell to the ground as Raven towered over her. His hackles raised with a vicious snarl as his terrrifying voice ripped through the air.

"Listen to me, you spoiled brat! I don't care for you! I don't want you! In fact, if it weren't for you, I'd still be happy with my love! Get out of my way and out of my life before something happens that I regret!"

"You...you don't...like me?" Nicole whispered, her eyes huge.

Raven's eyes clouded over and he lost all control. He was barely aware of his teeth closing over Nicole's throat, or the reverberations as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Raven didn't notice as a crowd began gathering. The thing that drug him back to reality was a hard blow to his ribs.

When finally Raven's sight was controlled, he realized what he had done. Nicole was trembling on the ground, and Raven could see where his teeth had pierced her skin. Dingo stood over him, breathless, snarling.

"What were you thinking?" Dingo asked, staring at his friend.

Raven's eyes grew huge as he realized just how crazy this had driven him. Before anything else could happen, Raven leapt up and ran out. He didn't stop running. He couldn't. His limbs pounded across the tundra, reaching the forest seconds later. Raven had no idea how long he had been running, or where, but finally every inch of his body collapsed. He let out a low moan as blackness started to take over him.

Then, out of the bushes in front of him, a red figure emerged. Although Raven could barely see, he would always know that figure, that dog.

As the darkness finally close in, Raven managed to choke out, "Redd?"