Toby Part Eleven: The Lost Shall Be Found

Luna smiled, enjoying the calm, easy feeling of a hand stroking her head, massaging every trace of anxiety from her mind like water from a fountain washing mud out of her fur.  Connie was kneeling next to the basket, petting her.  Toby was sitting on the opposite side smiling at her, standing vigil like some canine guardian angel.  And in between them were the objects of his protection: six perfect little puppies lay snuggled up in a pile against the curve of her stomach, fast asleep.  Somewhere outside her visual notice, a fire burned in the hearth and filled the room with warmth.  The husky mix closed her eyes and thought, ‘It doesn’t get any better than this.’

A cold breeze blew into the room and Luna shivered, moving a paw to pull her children in close.  But her paw met nothing.  She opened her eyes and stared into the basket.  No trace of the puppies, not even impressions on the blankets where their bodies had been.

“Toby?” she asked.  “Where are the kids?”

Toby just looked at her blankly.  “I think Connie took them somewhere,” he replied.

Luna turned her head to look at Connie.  As she did, she became aware that the room had changed.  The fire was no longer crackling in the hearth, and the room had grown dim and otherworldly.  She could still see the floor and the walls and everything else, but she felt an odd floating sensation, as if the house had become some miniature of outer space.

Connie had mysteriously been teleported over to the kitchen door and was walking in their direction, but she was moving slower than her steps should have carried her, as if the floor were going the other way and she were walking only just faster than it.  Her face and body were lit as in the room’s previous brightness, even though all around her was darkness.  As Luna watched, Connie too began to fade into the void.

“Connie!” barked Luna in fear, wanting to run to her girl but somehow unable to do so.

Connie, seemingly unaware of what was going on, held out her hand and said something, but no sound left her mouth.  As she was within inches of reaching Luna, she faded away completely.

“Toby, what’s going… Toby!” Luna cried.  For now he too was being ingested by the gloom.  He was hanging his head in sorrow, and just before he vanished she heard him say, as if from afar, “It’s my fault, Luna.  It’s my fault.”

“Toby?  Connie?  Kids?” Luna called out to the suffocating stillness.  Over and over she cried out.  “Anyone?  Please?  Where am I?  Somebody help me!”

She began to run through the cosmos that had swallowed everything else up, calling, “They’re lost!  Everything’s lost!”

Then a touch on her head slammed everything back to normal.  Once more she was in the room.  Connie was there, staring at her in concern.  “Luna?” she asked.  “What’s wrong, girl?”

Luna forced her breathing to come down to normal and stared around.  Toby was nowhere in sight, and neither were the kids.  And as the clouds of her dream drifted from her mind, she knew that the kids never would be.

Sometime later, Luna heard a familiar scratching at the pet flap.  “Can I come in, or are you getting dressed?” came a joking voice.

She rolled her eyes.  Normally she would have laughed at the joke, but after her nightmare she didn’t feel like laughing.  But in as cheerful a tone as she could muster, she answered, “Come in, Toby.”

The familiar brown face poked through the doggie door.  “So, what’s up?” he asked brightly.

Luna shrugged, working hard to hide her discomfort.  “I’m fine,” she replied.

She tried to keep her mind on the conversation, but some twitch of her ears of flick of her tail must have betrayed her emotions, for at last he asked, “Are you alright, Luna?”

 She nodded wearily, although she was tired of the question and even more so of the fact that the real answer was ‘No, I’m not fine.  My body’s such a wreck I can never have puppies.’

Toby sensed her unease.  “You want to go do something?” he suggested.

She shrugged.  “What did you have in mind?” she inquired.

“I don’t know,” he replied.  “I was thinking maybe we could go to the crystal caves again, if you like.”

She smiled.  Toby wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but he did try to cheer her up whenever he wasn’t trying her patience.  “Sure,” she agreed.

As they strolled the streets of Nome, Luna’s ears picked up the sound of tiny barks.  ‘Don’t look,’ she told herself.  ‘Do not look.’

But despite her efforts, her head turned as if an invisible pair of hands had seized it and forced it to point in the direction of the sound.  There on the side of the street sat a long-haired black and white female dog walking around, trailed by a litter of puppies like the Pied Piper leading, as it seemed to Luna, all the children in town.

Toby frowned.  “Why do you keep doing that?”

She snapped out of her chance and willed her eyes to look at him.  “Doing what?”

“That mournful look you get every single time you see a dog walking around with puppies.”

Luna lowered her eyelids and stared at the ground.  “It’s just not right,” she quietly lamented.

Toby sighed.  “Look, I know you’re disappointed.  But you need to let it go.  It’s not going to happen, and there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“I know that, but…”

Toby’s tone took on a slight edge.  “Look, it kills me too, especially since I’m the cause of it…”

“Don’t remind me,” she interrupted.

“But we can’t change the past.  It happened, and that’s all there is to it.  I…”

She snapped.  “Oh, stop it!” she shouted.  “OK, so we can’t change the past.  But for crying out loud, stop lecturing me about it already!”

Toby was taken aback.  “I-I’m sorry, Luna.  I didn’t think-”

“That’s the problem,” she retorted.  “You didn’t think about it, you just started talking my ear off.  I know I’m taking it hard, but I have every right to, don’t I?”

By now, other dogs had stopped and were staring at them.  Even a few humans, though deaf to their words, were taking in the altercation.  “Luna,” Toby pleaded, “You’re making a scene.”

“Who cares?!” she demanded.  “You have no idea what this is…”

Toby sized up the crowed, considered his bereaved mate, and started to walk away.  ‘One thing at a time,’ he thought.  ‘And there’s only one way to avoid a spectacle,’

“You get back here!” snapped Luna.

Toby disappeared behind a woodshed.  “No,” he replied.  “You get back here.”

“Ooooh!” Luna growled in frustration.  Seething by now, she followed him behind the shed.  “Now, what…?”

Toby sat down.  “Luna, please, just take a deep breath.”

Luna, despite her pain, took a deep breath and then let out a choked sob.  The torrent of emotions inside her was subsiding to a river of pain and sorrow.  “I’m sorry,” she gasped as she quietly lay her head against his shoulder.  “I just… I just wanted it so much, but…”

Toby raised a paw and patted her neck.  What could he say?  ‘It’s all right’ would never work, because it wasn’t all right and it never would be.  ‘Calm down?’  That might set her off again.  Finally he whispered, “I’m here, sweetheart.  I’m here.”

Luna fell to the ground, tears drenching the fur on her face.  Toby circled around, lay down beside her, and leaned against her in hopes of giving her some of his strength.  It was all too obvious she didn’t have any of her own to spare.

“I feel so hopeless,” she whispered.  And she did.  Her heart felt like a sponge that someone had completely wrung out and still continued to wring until the torque broke it in two.

Toby didn’t know what to say, and he decided there was only one place to go where he could find out what to do.

“I just don’t understand,” Toby complained later as he paced like a lion surrounded by a moat of hot lava.  “I mean, I wanted to have kids too, but she’s been miserable ever since she found out she can’t have any.  It’s been two months now and she’s worse than ever!”

Terry sighed.  “Well, Toby, I’m not sure you can understand fully why she’s so upset.  Since I’m not her, I don’t think I can either.  But for one thing, it’s her body that has something missing or out of place.  She’s the one who suffered physical damage, not you.”

Toby didn’t know what to make of this.  “And you think I’m not bothered by…” he started to shout, but she gave him a look.  Not an angry look, or even an impatient one.  It was just a quiet sort of expression that somehow snapped his mouth shut like a mousetrap.

“Let me finish.  The other part of it is that she has certain instincts.  Nearly all females do.  She needs something, or rather someone, that depends on her and that she can take care of.”

“But she acts like it’s the only meaning for her entire existence.”

Terry considered this and replied, “I suppose that’s because to some extent it is.”

Toby’s mouth fell open.  “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, try thinking about it this way.  You don’t spend every minute of your time with her, do you?”

He shook his head.

“What do you do when you’re not with her?”

Toby thought for a minute.  “Mostly play with Charlie.”

“And when he’s not around?”

Toby was beginning to wonder where this was leading.  “Well, sometimes I practice tracking.”

“And when you’re not doing that?”

Toby shrugged.  “There’s not much else for me to do.”

“Exactly,” she answered, lifting a paw and setting it down with a thump for emphasis.  “Luna’s not a tracker like you, and her humans aren’t home all the time any more than yours are.  So when they’re not there and you’re not there, she has nothing to do.”

Toby nodded slowly as this sank in.  He remembered the time when Luna had been in the hospital for the very accident that had started this whole mess.  She had begged him to visit her as often as possible, and apparently her relatives had visited her too.  Even with so many visitors she complained about how maddening it was when she was all by herself, and without her around to play with, Toby had suffered some of that madness.  “So in other words, she’s trying to find something to do with her time?”

“Well like I said, I’m not positive on any of this.  But I think it’s more of an empty space than empty time.  There’s a hole in her life, and she needs something to fill it.”

Toby thought hard about that.  “What if I try spending more time with her?” he suggested.

Terry furrowed her brow.  “I’m sure she’d appreciate it, but try not to overdo it.”

“Why?”

Terry smiled an odd little smirk.  “I used to have you around twenty-four seven, remember?  I almost lost it.”

“I’m not like I was then!” he protested.  “I’ve grown, I’ve matured, I’ve…”

“I know you have,” Terry interrupted.  “If you were the same now as you were then, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.  But take my word for it, she’d go crazy just like this morning.  Any female would if her mate was always hovering around her.  Just look at what’s happened with Pete.”

Toby thought about what he had seen of Pete’s behavior with his various girlfriends.  It was true, he did tend to hover, and he never managed to keep a girl around very long.  He had even heard Luna comment that when she had dated him during her bout of amnesia, he had been unbearably clingy.  But then he thought of something else.  “Didn’t Pete’s dad live in the same house with you?”

Terry closed her eyes for the space of about five breaths, still pained by the memory even now.  “Yes he did, and we also got into a fair number of spats.  Your father and I have argued now and then too, both before and after we became mates.  Any two dogs will have times when they don’t get along, even a pair like you and Luna.  That’s why you can’t go trying to fill every single place in her life any more than she can try to do it to you.”

Toby nodded, imagining what it would be like if Luna tried to take Charlie’s place in his life.  “Yes, I see what you mean.  So what can I do?”

“Just be there when she needs you,” she replied gently.  “That’s all anyone can do in a case like this.”

Toby nodded, pretending he understood.  The truth was, he felt more confused than ever.  “Thanks Mom,” he uttered sullenly.

Terry rewarded him with a smile, albeit a sad one, and nuzzled him.  “I don’t know how this is going to turn out, Toby, but if I know you two then you’ll figure out some way to pull through it.”

Toby nodded.  “Thanks.”  A nagging pull at the back of his mind told him it was time to be elsewhere, so he excused himself and departed.

Terry stared after him.  ‘I wonder if these mood swings…’ she thought to herself.  Then she shook her head.  ‘No, it must be the stress of finding out she’s barren.  But if I didn’t know better…’

In spite of his mother’s advice, Toby felt compelled to go and settle his earlier dispute before it had time to fester.  He found Luna at her house, lying in her basket inside despite the warm sun outdoors.

“Luna?” he inquired.

She lifted her head and looked at him.  “Oh.  Hi.”

Toby inwardly frowned.  Luna’s words were flat, drained, like someone who had just been a vampire’s snack.  He took a deep breath.  “I’m sorry about this morning,” he began.  “I should have been more understanding.”

She smiled weakly.  “It’s alright,” she told him.

Toby breathed a sigh of relief.  ‘So far so good,’ he thought.  But a tiny voice inside told him not to belabor the moment, so he decided to quit while he was ahead.  “Well, you probably want some space right now, so I guess I’ll be going.”

He turned to leave, but Luna’s voice stopped him.  “Wait,” she called.

He turned and watched as she lifted herself to her feet.  “You still want to go to the ice cave?” she asked.

Toby thought carefully about this.  Don’t hover too much, his mom’s voice echoed in his mind.  Still, Luna had brought it up.  “Only if you want to,” he answered.

Inside, Luna wasn’t sure if she wanted to.  She was worried about running into another family, afraid that she might not be able to take it a second time.  ‘But isn’t that what being mates is about?’ she thought to herself.  ‘Depending on each other when we can’t get by on our own?’  “I want to,” she insisted.

Toby stopped as they passed by the hospital.  “You know,” he commented thoughtfully, “I bet it would look really nice if we went there at night with a lantern and the…” he stopped, and both of them turned their heads.  “What’s that sound?” he asked.

Luna tilted her head.  “A dogfight?” she asked out loud.  They followed the sound to an alley and a scene of utter madness.  Street dogs were locked in deadly combat, biting and tearing at each other.  Neither of them had ever seen anything like it since the revolt of Nick Carson’s dogs.

“What’s going on here?” asked Toby.

“I don’t know,” answered Luna.  “I’ve never seen the street dogs fighting before.  Aunt Chase always keeps them in line.”

Toby stared and the melee.  “Well either they’re having one heck of a drill or…” Both of them winced as one dog grabbed another by the neck and heaved him against the wall.

“That’s not a drill,” Luna concluded.

“And we don’t know which side to fight for.”

One of the dogs took a blow and fell back, standing beside a female.  As he did so, he bumped an unsteady load of old, nail-loaded boards leaning against the wall.  The boards swayed, and started to come down.

“Look out!” Toby shouted, but it was too late.  With a crashing sound like a rhino charging through a tool shed, the propped-up boards fell on the two dogs.  They had enough time to let out a frightened yell before the boards and their rusty nails silenced them forever.

The dogs stopped at the crash, and only then did one group realize that there were more dogs than before.  “They’ve got reinforcements!” one of them shouted, mistaking Toby and Luna for backup on the other side.  “Let’s get outta here!”

The lesser group beat a hasty retreat, followed closely by Chase’s troops.

“Think we should go after them?” asked Toby.

Luna shook her head.  “I think Aunt Chase’s troops have it under…” she stopped as her ears detected a faint whine.  “What’s that sound?” she asked.

Toby perked his ears up and swiveled his head for a moment, then sniffed.  Following his nose to an overturned trash can, he inserted his head.  “I think there’s some kind of animal in-OW!”  He quickly backed out, a few drops of blood adorning his snout.  “I don’t know what it is,” he grumbled as he rubbed his muzzle with a paw, “But it’s got a great set of teeth.  The thing bit me!”

Luna came alongside him and peered in from a distance.  Two small eyes peered back from a thin face, attached in turn to a hunched-up brown body.  The animal ended in a tail with brown and black stripes.  Its scent was so clouded with garbage that it took Luna a moment to realize…”

“It’s a puppy!” she exclaimed.

Toby stared at it.  “Either that or a baby raccoon,” he noted.

Trying to ignore the stab of pain that she felt whenever she saw a pup, Luna tried to coax the pup to come out.  “We won’t hurt you,” she promised.

“Go away!” yipped a small, high-pitched voice.  “If you touch me, my mom and dad will kill you!”

Toby and Luna exchanged a worried look, then glanced at the dead dogs in the alley.  “Is your mom brown and your dad black with some patches?” asked Toby.

There was a brief silence from inside the can.  “Yeah, that’s them.”

Luna clicked her tongue and sighed.  “I don’t know how to tell you this, but they’re not going to be doing any killing.”

“What are you talking about?!” demanded the pup.  Curiosity overriding discretion, she came out of her little bunker.  As soon as she spotted the bodies of the two dogs, her eyes bulged.  “Mom!  Dad!”  She ran over and began to nudge them as tears leaked out of her eyes like a faucet just barely turned on.

“It’s no use,” Toby told her.  “They’re dead.”

“Toby!” snapped Luna, giving him a reproachful look.  She turned and walked towards the weeping puppy.

“What did I do?” wondered Toby aloud.

Luna sat next to the girl pup.  “I’m… I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

The puppy lay down.  “It’s all my fault,” she cried.  “I’m the reason it happened!”

“Now hold on,” Luna gently rebuked.  “This isn’t your fault.  It was an accident, I saw the whole thing.”

“They were fighting,” sobbed the pup.  “They said they wanted me to grow up to be free instead of having to be part of some army.”

Luna raised an eyebrow.  ‘So, her parents were rebelling against Chase?’ she pondered.  But this was no time to concern herself with politics.  “Listen,” she said softly.  “Can you tell me your name?”

“Arrow,” replied the pup.

“Where do you live?” asked Toby, feeling the need to take charge.

Arrow sniffled.  “With the others,” she replied.  “In an alley not far away.”

Toby nodded and looked at Luna.  “I suppose we should take her back,” he reasoned.  “Maybe she has relatives who…” he stopped at the pleading look in Luna’s eyes.  It was an expression that spoke of a thousand kinds of longing and emptiness, all of which seemed to sum up in one plea.  ‘Oh, no,’ he thought.

“They’ll be back for me,” Arrow whimpered.

Luna forced her face out of its desperate pleading look and turned her attention back to Arrow.  “If we take you back, you’ll only get caught up in the crossfire again.”

Arrow stared back at her, her face a mix of pain and defiance.  “Yeah, so?”

Luna clicked her tongue, hoping more than anything that she knew what she was doing.  “I have an idea…” she said slowly.  Then, unable to bear the tension, she asked in a rush, “How would you like to come and live with me?” she offered.

Arrow scowled.  “Why would I want to do that?” she asked.

Toby’s mind was racing.  Could Luna really be serious about this?  Her face told him yes, but taking in a puppy off the streets seemed a little extreme.  And his own past experience taking care of a pup had been, by and large, a nightmare for himself and a matter of great amusement for Luna as she had watched him try to cope with simulated parenthood.  Who knew what kind of trouble this pup could get them into?

“A safe warm place and three square meals a day,” he inserted.

Arrow rubbed a paw across her eyes and stared up at them.  “So you want to adopt me?” she asked.  “Well, think again.  I’m not going to turn into some sissy housedog.”

Despite the heartbreak brought by the words, Luna couldn’t help but think, ‘She sounds just like Toby did when we were pups.’  “It’s not so bad,” she persisted, trying not to beg.  “Trust me, I’ve spent weeks out in the wild, and I’ll take a warm house over that any day.”

“Forget it!” snapped Arrow.  “I’m going back to the rest of my gang!”

Luna stared after the pup as she walked away, her mouth hanging open as if to say something else.  Toby trotted past her and slowed to a walk alongside of Arrow.

“I already said no,” repeated Arrow without even looking up.

“I know,” Toby replied, “But at least we can make sure you get back there safely.”

Arrow gave him a skeptical look.  “You’re not gonna kidnap me or something, are you?” she asked.

He shook his head.  “You have my word,” he assured her.  He turned to look back at Luna.  “You coming?” he asked.

Luna shook her head and walked away in silence.  Toby wondered if he should go after her or stick with Arrow.

 ‘I’m sure she’d appreciate it, but try not to overdo it,’ he remembered his mother saying.

“OK, Mom,” he muttered as he continued to walk the stray home.  “I’ll do it your way.”

“What?” asked Arrow.

“Huh?” asked Toby, snapping out of his reverie.

“You said something.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” he replied.  “Just thinking out loud.”  Then thinking about his mother reminded him of something else.  “You know,” he commented, “My mom used to be a street dog.”

Arrow looked up at him.  “Really?” she asked.

He nodded, noting that her tears had stopped.  ‘Quick recovery,’ he noted.  “Yeah, it happened when my…” he tried to think.  He knew stepdad wasn’t the word, so what was Pete’s dad in relation to him?  “When somebody close to her died,” he finished.  “She ran away from home and ended up on the street for a couple weeks.”

“Couple weeks, huh?” Arrow snorted.  “I bet she couldn’t take it so she went back to the leash-life.”

Toby’s temper flared briefly at this insult to Terry before he remembered that Arrow probably hadn’t been taught much about manners.  “No,” he replied.  “My dad found her and talked her into going back home.”

Arrow nodded.  The conversation had begun to settle her down a bit, but a firecracker of suspicion suddenly went off in her head.  “I’ll bet he just did it so she’d go with him,” she quipped.

Toby’s eyes widened and he had to bite his tongue not to bark in indignation.  “No,” he answered after taking a moment to regain his composure.  “He did it because he’s a police dog, and it’s his job to look after dogs like her.”

Arrow rolled her eyes.  “Yeah right,” she muttered.  “He’s probably some creepy old housepet like you and what’s-her-name back there.”

By this time, Arrow’s insults were on Toby’s last nerve.  And they were going at it with all the delicate touch of a meat grinder.  Toby had to take ten deep breaths before he felt calm enough to go on.  ‘If there were a school for low blows, she’d graduate in a week with high honors,’ he thought.  ‘She’s insulted all three dogs closest to me in less than a minute.’  “You probably wouldn’t say that if you knew what she’s been through lately,” he replied.

Arrow snorted.  “I just lost my parents.  Try to top that.”

Toby was just about at the end of his rope, so he decided to tell the kid straight-out.  “The vet told her she’ll never get to be a parent.”

Toby had hoped for at least some reaction to this, but Arrow barely even blinked as she remarked, “My mom would have loved to trade places with her.”

This time there was nothing Toby could think of to say.  What did Arrow mean?  Had her parents not wanted her around?  What kind of dogs could bring a puppy into the world and not love her?

Finally he sighed.  “I’m sorry to hear that,” he told her.  As they passed by Luna’s house he commented, “If you change your mind about us ‘housedogs,’ Luna lives right here.”

“Thanks.  I’ll be sure to forget that.”  And so saying, Arrow slipped under a building on the opposite side of the street and disappeared, ending the discussion point-blank.

Toby shook his head.  ‘She doesn’t even talk like a kid,’ he thought.  In a twisted kind of way he was almost glad he and Luna hadn’t been able to convince Arrow.  Otherwise they might have gotten stuck with more pup than they could handle.

Arrow crept under the house, out the far side, and through five or six alleys before she reached the headquarters of the rebel gang.  Her older brother Samy was waiting for her.

“We thought you wouldn’t be back, kid,” he remarked by way of a greeting.

“Those mutts held me up,” she replied sullenly.  “Mom and Dad are dead.”  She started to slink to the crate she and her siblings had used for shelter, but he stopped her.

"Groven wants all latecomers to check in with him,” he warned.

She snorted with disgust.  “Isn’t the whole point of this an escape from being bossed around?” she asked.

He shrugged.  “Hey, you want to make him mad, it’ll just be that much sooner that you’re back with Mom and Dad,” he pointed out.

Arrow frowned and skulked to the uttermost part of the rebel gang’s “headquarters,” where Groven sat on top of a box like some kind of statue on a pedestal.  No one really knew Groven 's history.  He was a drifter who had come into town some time ago, mostly keeping to himself.  Then one day he had exploded at Chase, whom the street dogs of Nome regarded as somewhat of an army general.  In that one outburst he had managed to acquire enough followers to start a rebel pack, which he ruled through shady dealings and iron-fisted discipline.  He was the one thing Arrow openly feared, and he was the dog who now greeted her with an impatient glare.  “What is it?” he asked in a voice like a millstone.

She gulped.  “Arrow reporting, sir,” she said, trying not to sound as petrified as she was.  She had seen what the boss did to other dogs who displeased him, and knew that there was no one who would help her if he decided to remove her from his misery.

“I assume this is important,” he growled, “Seeing as you’re late.”

Arrow tried and failed to keep her tail out from between her legs.  “The raid went badly,” she informed him.  “We made no kills, but two of our own were killed.  We were forced to retreat when two housedogs interfered.”

He growled deep in his throat at this.  “Housedogs?” he repeated.  “The others made no mention of that.  You are sure this is true?”  Arrow nodded, and the black-and-white dog turned to one of the dogs at his side.  “Question the raid leader again to see if this is true.  If it is, deal with him.”

The dog nodded.  “How severely?” he asked with a sadistic glint in his eye.

The boss considered.  “Leave him able to walk on his own, but make sure he can’t breathe without severe pain for, say, two or three weeks.”  After a pause he added, “On second thought, make it four.  We can’t underdo it, now can we?”

The lieutenant trotted off on his heinous assignment, and Arrow breathed a silent sigh of relief that she had not been assigned punishment as well for being late.

“Now,” Groven added as if he had read her mind, “Why did you come back late?”

Arrow tried not to shake.  “I was delayed, sir.  By the housedogs.”

He snorted.  “Then how did you get back at all?”

“They didn’t want to hurt me, sir,” she explained.  “They just delayed me is all."

Groven snorted.  “Typical housedog weakness,” he muttered.  He growled some in the back of his throat, seeming to consider whether or not to question her further.  Apparently he decided it wasn’t worth his time, for he turned his head away and commanded, “That will be all for now.  You are dismissed.”

“Yes, sir.”  And Arrow wasted no time in removing herself from his presence.

As always happens when there’s an uproar in a quiet town like Nome, word spread quickly.  And as soon as it reached the ears of a certain bloodhound, he instructed Toby to get those involved- namely Luna and Chase- together for a briefing of the incident at his house.  “So tell me how this all started,” instructed Rex.

Chase furrowed her brow, obviously bothered just to be discussing the matter.  “About a month ago, a dog named Groven came to Nome and joined the army.  He wouldn’t say where he came from, just that he was looking for a quiet town.”

“Any family here?” Toby put in.  “They might know something.”

Chase shook her head.  “No.  He said his parents were gone and his siblings were scattered.  I wasn’t sure what to make of him, but Ketch voted to let him stay.”

 Rex nodded.  “I see.”  He paused to mull over this information, then asked, “So when did this whole rebellion business start?”

“About three days ago, just after Ketch left town.”

“Ketch is gone?” asked Luna in surprise.

“Yeah.  He heard his long-lost sister was living in White Mountain, so he went to go see how she was doing.”

Rex didn’t say anything, he just nodded in a way that beckoned Chase to continue her story.

“Anyway,” Chase went on, “The day after Ketch left, Groven started shouting during the afternoon drill.  He said I was a terrible leader and that street dogs should be allowed to do what they wanted instead of taking orders from some cripple.  I had to keep my lieutenants from tearing him apart, and somehow he convinced a good chunk of my army to listen to him.”

“How many dogs are still on your side?” asked Rex.

Chase furrowed her brow.  “About half,” she answered bitterly.  “He got some good soldiers, but most of the dogs who decided to go with him were the younger ones and the drifters.”

Rex nodded.  “That’s to be expected,” he observed.  “They don’t know the quality of your leadership as well.”

“So where do we go from here?” asked Toby.  Privately, his thoughts were rather focused on his dad.  During the time he had spent training with his father, they had developed a strong bond that allowed Toby to sense when something was on Rex’s mind.  And right now there was definitely something on his mind.

Rex cleared his throat.  “There are still a few questions to be answered.  One is what this Groven fellow is really after.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” countered Chase.  “He wants to take over.”

Rex frowned.  “If he’s clever enough to wait until Ketch was gone, chances are good that he would wait until he had more of an army before going on the offensive.  Power may be one of his reasons, but I do not think it’s the only one.”

“So if we figure out what he’s doing, we can stop him?” asked Luna.

“Not necessarily, although knowing what he really wants can only help us in this matter.”  He nodded to Chase.  “I suggest you go back to your troops now in case Groven tries to pull something else.  If you remember anything that might be important, let me know right away.”

Chase nodded.  “Will do.  And thanks!”

Rex murmured a quiet “You’re welcome,” and left the room.

Toby turned to Luna.  As much as his “dad-sense” was nagging him to find out what his father wasn’t saying, he was more concerned about the practically radioactive vibes from Luna.  “You’re worried about Chase, aren’t you?” he asked.

She nodded.  “And Arrow.”

‘How did I know that was going to pop up?’ he wondered.  “I think there’s something my dad left out,” he commented, changing the subject.

“Like what?”

He shrugged.  “I’m not sure, but I’m gonna find out.  Wait here.”

He quickly made his way up the steps and into his father’s house, where he found the bloodhound studying a map of Nome.  “Dad?”

“Yes, Toby?” Rex replied.

“I get the feeling you had some thought on this whole raid business.  Something you didn’t mention out there.”

Rex smiled ever so slightly.  “You’re becoming more perceptive every day, son.”

“Dad, what are you keeping back?”

Rex shrugged.  “Well, I was thinking how strange this all is.  It’s like déjà vu.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the last time there was trouble with the street dogs several years ago was when I first met your mother.”

“Yeah, so?”

“I was just thinking how odd it is.”  He turned an eye on Toby and added, “Odd too, that you come to me about something hidden when you yourself left out some details.”

Toby flinched.  He’d forgotten that his dad had way more experience at picking things like that up.  “Well, I guess there is something,” he admitted.  “When Luna and I saw that fight where those two dogs died, we found out that they were mates.  One of their kids saw it happen.”

Rex nodded meditatively.  “A grieving orphan in the middle of an uprising,” he mused.  “It’s almost like history is repeating itself.”

“Luna wants to adopt her,” Toby went on.

“I imagine she would,” Rex assented.

Toby shook his head in agitation.  “I’m just not sure we should get into this,” he explained.  “It sounds like a great idea, but… well, you know how my last attempt at playing ‘dad’ went.”

Rex chuckled.  “Yes, I heard about that.”  His demeanor sobered and he looked at his son.  “And now you’re not certain you’re up to the job?”

“Well, no,” he agreed.

Rex shrugged and rolled his shoulders, his joints popping slightly.  “Well, I don’t know what to tell you about that,” he admitted.  “Raising you wasn’t exactly child’s play for me either.  But I did enjoy it.  And if history is in fact repeating itself, then it looks like Luna may soon get her wish of, if not bearing a pup, at least raising one.”

“She’ll be glad to hear that,” Toby said, his tail beginning to wag.

“Mmm, I wouldn’t blow the whistle just yet.  Remember how much she got her hopes up about having puppies when you two tied the knot.”

Toby nodded regretfully.  “I remember, alright,” he agreed.

“You should think it through, at any rate,” Rex went on.  “As the chief always says, ‘Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.’”

Arrow dreamed about her parents that night, envisioning how they had died.  She hadn’t seen the horrible event, it was true.  But she remembered seeing their bodies, and her mind reconstructed the event itself in horrendous detail.  The falling wood, her parents’ fear, the death itself, all playing back in her sleeping mind until the relief, blessed relief, of waking up.

She whined and got up, listening to the bustle of dogs going to and fro outside her little box.  Tentatively she stuck her head out and saw that nobody seemed to be paying attention.  ‘Good,’ she thought.  With her parents gone, nobody seemed to even notice her.  But she slipped out of their hideout quietly anyway, using the “back door” that only she was small enough to utilize.  Under one building, through a narrow gap between it and another, and out from under the house.

“Arrow?”

She jumped, her fur pricking out like a porcupine’s quills.  Frightened, she bolted back into the safety of her crawl space.

“Arrow!” called the voice again.  “It’s okay, it’s me.”

The pup peered out and saw the light-orange dog coming into view.  “What do you want?” she asked tensely.

Luna picked something up from behind the garbage can where she’d been hiding.  She brought it out and set it in front of Arrow’s hiding spot.  “Here,” she offered as Arrow skeptically eyed the food dish.  “I thought you might be hungry.”

Arrow certainly was hungry.  She’d had a hard time getting food now that her parents weren’t around, and her stomach had been growling almost nonstop for days.  Still, she hung back.  “I don’t trust you,” she called from her hiding spot.

Luna frowned and studied her for a moment, then pushed the dish into the space with her nose.  “Better?” she asked.

Arrow was still suspicious, but in the end her stomach won out and she took a bite.  The food tasted good, and she began to eat ravenously.  “How did you find me?” she asked between mouthfuls of food.

“I talked Toby into telling me where you were,” she replied.

‘Big-mouth,’ Arrow thought as she continued to stuff her own mouth with food.

Luna smiled as she watched the puppy eat.  Arrow ate and ate until her stomach bulged out like a ball and she knew she had to stop.

‘Stupid,’ she thought.  ‘The other dogs are sure to know I’ve been eating extra.’  But it felt so good to have a full stomach after so long, she decided a little suspicion would be worth it.  “Thanks,” she burped.

“Anytime,” Luna smiled.  She reached in and hooked a paw around the dish, snapping Arrow into the realization that Luna could have grabbed her at any time while she ate!

“Bye,” Arrow called, crawling away through the space under the house.

“Bye Arrow,” Luna whispered, staring after the pup and wondering if she had been successful.

As days passed, Luna brought Arrow food again and again, so that gradually the pup learned to trust her and would even come out right into the open to eat.  Both of them knew it could get them into trouble, but the truth was that Luna couldn’t bring herself to stop.  And as risky as it was, Arrow missed having a mother.

One day when she returned from one of her times with Luna, she was greeted by Samy.  His face was stern, and his voice was unforgiving.  “The boss wants to see you,” he told her.  “Now.”

“Where have you been?” demanded Groven.

Arrow hung her head.  “I was… I was talking to the housedogs, Toby and Luna.”

Groven snarled at the mention of their names, and a demonic gleam appeared in his eye.  “You’re not going soft, are you?” he pried.  “I’d hate to think what we’d have to do if you are.”

 Arrow shook her head fervently.  “I’m not going soft!” she snapped.  “It’s Luna and Toby!  They won’t get off my case!  And no matter what I do, Luna always seems to know what I’m doing!  It’s like she’s part wolf or something.”  She wisely decided not to mention that between her and Luna, the evasive routine had become sort of a game.

The boss’s ears pricked up at this.  “Part wolf, did you say?” he asked.  “Interesting…”

Arrow didn’t know what was going on behind those glinting eyes, but just thinking what it could be made her shiver as if the north wind were blowing right through her very soul.

“Luna, you know this is a bad idea.”  In the den at Toby’s house, he and Luna were having an uneasy discussion of Luna’s recent visits with Arrow.

Luna nodded, a mixture of sadness and joy in her manner.  “I know, but I really feel like I’m having a breakthrough,” she rationalized.  “She trusts me, Toby, I can feel it.”

“Luna, I know that.  It’s not you or her who I’m doubting here.  You can’t forget, Groven's still on top of that end of the situation.  If you get careless, it could be bad for…”

He was about to say “bad for Arrow,” but a scratching at the door cut him off.  “Can I come in?” called a voice.

“Arrow!” Luna exclaimed.  “Come on in!”

The brown and black pup slipped in through the dog door.  “I hope I didn’t come at a bad time.”

Luna shook her head.  “No problem,” she replied.  “Are you still hungry?”

“No, I just wanted to ask you something.”  Arrow stirred a paw one the floor uncertainly.  ‘This is wrong,’ she told herself.  ‘I shouldn’t do this.’  “Um, I decided I don’t want to be with Groven's army anymore,” she began.

Luna’s ears pricked up and her tail began to wag ever so gently.  “Do you mean…?”

Arrow nodded.  “I want to stay with you.”

Luna let out a cry of pure delight and ran to nuzzle Arrow.  “I’d love it,” she beamed, almost crying with sheer joy.

Arrow smiled at the feeling of Luna’s muzzle rubbing against her head.  It was almost real.  ‘Mom never did this,’ she remembered.  Her parents had always taken care of her, but they had never been so close, so kind.

Toby walked up, smiling a little uncertainly.  “Are you sure this Groven won’t come after you?” he asked.

Arrow shook her head.  “No, he never pays much attention to me,” she lied.  “That ugly mutt won’t even know I’m gone.”

Toby nodded.  “Well, as long as it’s safe,” he replied.  “I don’t want you getting in trouble on our account.”  ‘Or us on yours,’ he mentally added.

Arrow smiled.  “Thanks, Toby.”

In spite of his nagging sense that something was amiss, Toby smiled.  “You’re welcome,” he replied.  “And call me Dad if you want.”

Luna decided to keep Arrow out of sight until the evening, when her family was gathered in the living room.  Then she strolled over to the couch and poked her head under.  “Okay,” she whispered.  “It’s show time.”

Arrow hung back, both guilty for what she was trying to do and afraid of what would happen if she couldn’t pull it off.  “What if they don’t like me?” she whimpered.

There was some room for doubt.  Even though Luna had spent a good hour or two combing Arrow’s fur as best she could with her claws, the pup still wouldn’t look too presentable to a human.  And in retrospect, having her hide in all the dust under the couch had been pretty stupid too.  But Luna smiled and reassured her, “Don’t worry.  They’ll love you.  Now just come on out and remember to be nice.”

She withdrew her head, and just as Connie’s father started to ask,” What were you doing under there, girl?” Arrow emerged.

Connie’s father stared in surprise at the dusty pup.  Connie’s mother happened to glance up from the quilt she was making and copied her husband’s wide-eyed stare.  Not to be left out, Connie and Eugene soon noticed the newcomer in their presence and did the same.

“A puppy!” exclaimed Connie.

“Now how’d you get in here?” asked Connie’s father, getting up from his chair and peering down at Arrow.  Arrow, intimidated by the man’s large size, backed up under the couch again.

Connie reacted quickly and got down on her hands and knees by the couch.  “Come on out, puppy,” she urged in a cooing voice.

Luna stuck her head in.  “It’s alright,” she whispered.  “This is Connie, my girl.  She’s nice.”

Arrow hesitantly came far enough forward to allow herself to be scooped out of hiding by the girl, who picked her up and cuddled her against her chest.

“Connie!” exclaimed her mother.  “You’ll get your dress filthy!”

Arrow, not sure if this was an insult to her or just a comment on all the dust on her, looked to Luna for her cue.

“Better not get Connie’s dress dirty,” Luna whispered as she hopped up on her hind legs and plucked Arrow from Connie’s arms.  Dropping back to all fours, she curled into a crescent position around the pup protectively.

“Luna, what in the world has gotten into you?” asked Connie’s father.

“I think she’s decided to adopt,” Eugene remarked.

“That’s right!” Connie agreed.  “Remember the vet said she couldn’t have puppies?”

“Oh, no,” groaned her mother.  “First kids want dogs, now dogs want dogs.”

“Can we keep her, please?” begged Connie, her eyes doing a pretty fair impression of puppy eyes themselves.

“How do you know it’s a her?” asked Eugene.

“Girl’s intuition,” Connie answered.

“Listen,” their father interjected, sparing Arrow from a severe embarrassment, “I really don’t think we can take care of another dog.”

“But you said I could have a puppy when I turned eight,” Eugene protested.

“You’re not going to be eight for another month,” their father reasoned.

The mother looked thoughtful.  “We can’t just turn the little thing out into the streets,” she reasoned, laying a hand on her husband’s arm.  “Why don’t we hold onto the puppy until then, and if things go well then Eugene can have her?”

He paused, considered, and finally nodded his head.  “Alright,” he conceded.  “If she behaves.”

“Yay!” cheered Connie.  She bent down and patted Luna on the head.  “You hear that, girl?” she asked.

Luna had heard, alright.  Her thumping tail was proof enough of that.  Arrow had mixed feelings about the matter, especially when the next words she heard were, “First order of business is a bath.”

Later that night, Arrow slipped outside.  A bitter wind was blowing, and the shadows made everything look at least twice its normal size.  The tiny pup shivered in fear.  “They took the bait,” she whispered to the shadows.

A black dog emerged from the shadow beside her, like a ghost materializing out of thin air.  “Good,” he growled.

Arrow jumped.  “Y-you can tell him they don’t suspect anything,” she stammered.

The dog bared his teeth.  “Will it be true?”

“Trust me,” Arrow affirmed.  “They know nothing.”

“Good.”  And the black dog retreated into the shadows, as if he had ceased to exist.  “Remember,” his voice called out of the blackness, “If those dogs don’t keep their noses out of our business, there’s only one alternative.”

Arrow shivered and quickly disappeared inside.  She scampered upstairs to Connie’s bedroom, where Luna lay slumbering atop the blankets.  Somehow she managed to climb up on the bed, where she crawled under Luna’s foreleg and tried to warm up.

The touch of cold fur awoke Luna, and she looked down to see Arrow.  “Huh?” she asked, momentarily confused.

Arrow looked up at her innocently.  “Mom?” she groaned as if just waking up.

As Luna’s brain dragged itself into greater alertness, she remembered why Arrow was there.  “Arrow,” she yawned, “Why are you so cold?”

Arrow stared down.  “I uh, had to go to the bathroom, so I went outside.”

Luna tilted her head in confusion.  Even as sleepy as she was, she saw the hole in Arrow’s story.  “Since when are you housebroken?”

‘Gah,’ thought Arrow.  ‘That was a dumb story.’  “I, uh, know a few dogs who got booted out of their homes for going in the house, so I went outside,” she lied.

“Oh,” Luna yawned, laying her head down again.  A moment later she was asleep again.

Arrow curled up and tried to go to sleep too, but it took her a lot longer.

Over the next few days, as she saw less and less of the street dogs, Arrow began to relax.  Toby and Luna were nicer to her in one day than any dogs she’d ever known had been in a week.  They were always willing when she wanted to play, always concerned when she fell, and always there when she needed to talk.  Luna kept her warm with her fur at night, Toby kept her spellbound by day with stories (from which she learned, to her amazement, that Luna was not only part wolf but in fact closely related to Chase), and Luna’s humans were nicer than she had ever thought people could be.  By the end of a week, Arrow had almost forgotten about the strays and the rebellion.

Then her brother showed up to remind her.  “Hey, Arrow!” he whispered one morning as she was out enjoying the sun.

She whipped her head around and saw him peeking around the corner of the house.  “Samy?” she asked in surprise.  “What are you doing here?  You’ll blow my…”

“Come on,” Samy told her.  "Groven wants all strays together now.”

Arrow nodded.  “O-OK,” she agreed with some reluctance.  Make that a lot of reluctance.

She made her way with Samy to the main entrance to headquarters, where two dogs were guarding the entrance.  “The kid can go back to her job,” growled the one on the right.

Samy blinked.  “Nobody told me that,” he protested.

“Straight from the top,” the one on the left emphasized.  “The kid stays at her post.”

Samy shrugged and turned to Arrow.  “Well, you might as well go back I guess,” he told her.

Arrow nodded, but now her curiosity was piqued.  So she headed to the back door and slipped through.  Once inside, she stayed on the edge of the crowd near a wall, ready to bolt for the exit and praying she was the only one who knew where the back door came out.

The strays surrounded their leader, who stood on a makeshift stage assembled out of pushed-together boxes.  The furry bodies packed together like fans at a rock concert, although the hushed conversations were more akin to what might go on right before a choir performance.

Groven barked to the assembled strays, “Soldiers- and I’ll only call you that for a little while longer- the time has come to make our move.”

A cacophony of howls and barks went up from the group until someone asked, “How are we gonna take ‘em out?” The leader of the strays paced the stage once as he spoke.  “Chase’s dogs are better trained, more organized, and they have us outnumbered.  A direct assault won’t work.”

That quieted things down a bit.  Several dogs stopped barking and exchanged uneasy looks.  “So what will we do?” asked one of the strays.

Groven smiled, showing all of his teeth.  “Simple,” he replied.  “We’ll use a superior battle plan.”

Arrow shivered as she listened further, and a knot formed in her stomach as the boss explained his scheme.  'Why did I agree to this?' she asked herself.

The following afternoon, Arrow tried to relax and enjoy resting next to Luna’s head as she had so often wanted to do with her real mother, but pestilential unease kept addling her brain.  ‘She doesn’t know,’ she thought to herself.  ‘She trusts me, she loves me, but she doesn’t know me.’  She tried to drive it from her mind by thinking about Chase, the cause of all of this.  ‘It has to be done,’ she thought to herself.  ‘That wolf-dog is pushing us strays around, and she’s got to go.’

She’s not pushing you around, a voice in her head told her.  She’s a peacemaker, and a good one too.  Groven's the one pushing everybody around.

 ‘Chase is a wolfdog,’ she told herself.  ‘Why should half-breeds matter to real dogs?’

Luna’s part wolf, but she matters to you and you know it, her conscience snapped back.  If it had been in a human body it probably would have been waving its hands in frustration.  Look at you!  She loves you more than both your parents put together, and you’re using her emotions like a toy!  You’re going to just let her family be killed.  Is that the kind of freedom you-

The dam broke.  “Aaagh!” she cried in a mad combination of pain, aggravation, and distress.  “I can’t take it anymore!”

Luna jerked her head back like a doe that had just heard a gunshot right next to her ear.  “What… what…?” was all she could manage.

Arrow bolted to the door.  “It’s your aunt, Chase.  She’s in big trouble, I’ll explain later!”

Luna didn’t have the slightest idea what to make of this, but she recognized the urgency in Arrow’s manner and didn’t ask questions.  Hurriedly, she picked Arrow up by the scruff of the neck.  “Where should we go?” she asked.

“To the alley where she runs the army from!” Arrow replied.

Like an enraged bull, Luna bashed the pet flap open and, barely taking long enough to lift Arrow over the bottom of it, bolted out the door and into the snow.

As Arrow hung swinging from Luna’s teeth, she had a fleeting image of someone being hanged.  ‘I just hope it isn’t me if we don’t get there in time,’ she thought.

They passed Toby, who whirled and raced to catch up with them.  “Luna, what’s going on?” he asked.

“Chase… is in… trouble!” Arrow explained as she bounced in Luna’s teeth.  “There’s no… time to… explain… now… but we… need to… get there… fast!”

Toby nodded.  “Where?” he asked.

“At her headquarters.  Groven sent a messenger to challenge her to a one-on-one match in half an hour, but he’s really planning an ambush.”

Toby nodded.  “We’ll have to get some backup.  Luna, you and Arrow go get my dad and tell him to meet us there with as many dogs as he can round up.  I’ll go see what I can do.”

Luna nodded just a little, not wanting to shake Arrow any more than necessary, and dashed off.  Toby ran too, heading for Chase’s headquarters.  ‘I wonder how Arrow knows so much about Groven's plans,’ he pondered.

Luna ran for all she was worth, zig-zagging through streets and passers-by with a degree of speed and agility which would have won a gold collar in the Canine Olympics if there were any.  With a spray of snow she swerved into the lot where Chase’s army was headquartered.  There were already dozens of dogs, lined up on opposite sides to watch the spectacle.  Chase and Groven were in the middle and apparently talking.

Luna set Arrow down.  “Get somewhere safe,” she ordered.

Arrow didn’t want to get out of the line of fire.  She wanted to help, to make up for what she had done.  “But…” she pleaded.

Luna shook her head.  “Now,” she insisted.

Arrow hesitated, then scampered off.  Luna moved forward to join the strays on Chase’s side of the area.  “They’re planning something,” she whispered to one of the dogs.

“Duh,” the dog retorted.  “Everyone knows that creep can’t be trusted.”

“No, I mean-”

“Shh!” hushed another dog.  “Can’t you see they’re talking?”

“I’ll give you one more chance to give this up,” Chase warned Groven.

“Oh, you’ll give up all right,” Groven replied.  “Or your troops will.  You, on the other hand, won’t have the chance!”  And with that he threw himself at her like a tornado.

As the two dogs fought, sometimes grappling and other times darting in and out, Toby appeared at Luna’s side.  “Where’s Arrow?”

“Hiding somewhere,” Luna replied.  “I told her to go somewhere safe and stay out of the line of fire.  Where are the reinforcements?”

“Couldn't find anyone, so I came alone.  Now what’s going on?”

“They’re fighting,” she answered.  “Arrow mentioned some kind of scheme, although I don’t see how Groven’s dogs can do anything to her without…”

And then Groven rammed into Chase, hitting her in the shoulder and driving her into the line of his dogs.  They pushed her back, and in the commotion Luna saw several of the dogs striking Chase in the same shoulder.

“So that’s it!” exclaimed Toby.  “He’s getting them to weaken her for him!”

Luna's teeth were grinding like a millstone.  “Toby, we have to do something.”

“Like what?” he countered.  “If we attack, they’ll fight back and any number of them can tear her apart in the melee.  I’ve seen your aunt fight before, Luna.  She can handle this.”

But as the fight went on, Chase continued to weaken.  Groven was a tougher fighter than he appeared, and the repeated beatings by his troops were taking their toll.

Finally, Groven backed a battered and exhausted Chase up to his line, which moved aside to give him plenty of room for the final round.  “Time to finish you off, you miserable parasite,” he gloated.

“You double-crossed me!” Chase snapped.  “You’re the reason for this, not me!”

Groven's eyes narrowed.  “Well I suppose you’d know all about betrayal.  Isn’t that right, Second-in-Command?”

“I’ll show you who’s second!” she answered as she tried another slash at his shoulder.

Groven evaded the blow, and to Chase’s surprise he started to laugh.  “Oh, you’ll never be my second,” he replied.  “I’m surprised you’ve forgotten the dog who actually founded this whole army.”  As he continued to sidestep strike after strike, he grinned.  “See anything familiar?”

‘Of course!’ Toby thought, feeling like an idiot for having missed something so obvious.  The muscular build, the black-and-white markings, and the nasty disposition.  ‘He’s another one of Steele’s kids!’

Chase must have realized the same thing, for her eyes widened and she hesitated for one split second.  That was all it took.  With a roar, Groven leapt at her, flipped her on her back, and pressed his paw against her throat.  Chase, who was already short of breath, began to utter a gasping noise like water through a pinched hose.

Groven chuckled as his paw pressed down on Chase’s throat.  “You lose, wolfdog,” he mocked.  “Time to finish what my father started with your leg.”  Leaning in and speaking low so only Chase could hear, he added, “And I didn’t even need the ambush.”

Chase’s eyes bulged from lack of air as she flailed her legs, each kick more feeble than the last.

“Let her go!” raged Luna, desperate to join the fight.

Groven growled.  “I’ll deal with you next,” he snapped.  “Then the mutt who sent my father across the continent,” he added with a nod at Toby, “And then that half-breed Balto for dessert.”  Once more he focused his eyes on Chase.  “You’re the reason my father was driven out of Nome,” he spat.  “But you can’t stop us forever.  We’re not weak like you wolves.”

Toby watched the scene helplessly.  What could he do?  They were closer to Groven’s side than Chase’s.  ‘If I do anything, Groven’s mutts will attack and it’s game over!’ he stewed.  There was no escape, no way to win.

Suddenly his eye caught a flicker of movement from behind Groven’s lines.  By the time he focused on it, it was gone.  Tentatively, he sniffed the air.

“Arrow!” he breathed.

Sure enough, the pup had crept through the crowd unnoticed and climbed to the top of a stack of crates.  ‘Oh no she’s not…’ Toby thought with a mix of wry humor and abject fear.  If she was doing what it looked like she was doing, she had learned from his stories all too well.

But she was.  “Pick on someone my size, creep!” she yelled, leaping from the top of the pile.  She came down like… well, like an arrow, sinking her teeth into the rebel leader’s tail.

Groven's eyes widened.  “Harooo!” he howled in pain and whirled around to face Arrow.  His eyes flashed, glinting with a look straight out of any pup’s nightmares.  “I’ll make you pay for that, runt,” he snarled.

“Forget her!” came a voice from behind him.  “You haven’t finished with ME!"

Groven turned just in time to see one back paw driving straight for his face.  The kick was quickly followed up as Chase threw herself at him, lashing out with a merciless barrage of teeth and claws.  Tired and battered as she was, she still had plenty of fight left.  “Get out of here, kid!” she yelled through a mouthful of skin and fur on the back of her enemy’s neck.  “I’ll take it from here!”

“Get that pup!” screamed the insurgent as he tried to fend off the attacks.  With the contest broken, violence erupted once more like the second eruption from a volcano.  Three dogs quickly zeroed in on Arrow, but before they could strike two of them were met by Chase’s troops, leaving only one to attack the pup.

One was plenty.  The dog pounced on top of Arrow, swiping a paw and sending her into the stack of crates she had leapt from.  She let out a cry of pain as her body struck the wood.

"No!" Toby cried, trying to get past his opponent.  "Arooooowww!"

The dog leapt at Arrow again and stood over her, glowering down at the pup.  Dazed and in pain, Arrow tried to get away, but the dog followed her every move like a cobra waiting for a shot at a snake charmer’s face.  She moved to the right, and he copied her.  She moved to the left, and he followed.

Luna, who had been watching the scene as best she could in the midst of a struggle for her own life, suddenly had a fit of inspiration.  “Arrow!” she called.  “Hard left!”

Arrow obeyed, and the dog followed.  He should have paid closer attention to his surroundings, though, because this brought him crashing right into the boxes already unsteady from Arrow’s impact earlier.  He and Arrow both looked up and bolted in opposite directions, out of the way of the avalanche to come.  “Boss!” the dog yelled.

Groven slammed against Chase, driving her back several feet, then turned around just in time to see the crates come down.

CRASH!

All the fighting ceased at the resounding noise of the falling packages.  When it was over and the echoes had died away, the black-and-white dog lay beneath the pile like a tree struck down by lightning.  His body was mostly covered, and it was clear that the crates had done their work.  Groven was dead.

Few things of much note happened after that fight.  Chase made a public announcement that anyone who didn’t want to be part of the “army” was free to leave.  Sadly, about a dozen dogs opted to do so even after the revelation that Groven’s plan had simply been a plot to get his revenge on Chase.  On the other hand, most of the former rebels decided to stay with Chase.  As one of them philosophized, “Somebody’s always going to try to boss us around.  Might as well follow a leader who works.”

Groven’s body was taken out of town and buried in an unmarked spot, and everything returned to normal.  Well, almost.

Over the next several days Toby and Luna noticed a change in Arrow.  She picked at her food like a bird, and she spoke far less than before.  Finally one day when they were alone together, Luna decided to find out what it was.

“Arrow,” she queried, “Is something wrong?  You haven’t been yourself lately.”

Arrow hung her head in shame.  “Well… there is something I need to tell you.”

Luna tilted her head.  “What is it?” she asked.

Arrow stirred her paw in the dirt.  “The reason I knew your aunt was in trouble is because… well… cause the boss told me to keep you busy.”

Luna blinked.  “Say that again?” she queried.

“The boss didn’t want you messing things up again, so he told me to… to pretend that I really wanted to be adopted so you and Toby wouldn’t get nosey.”

Luna looked hurt.  “You mean everything… it was just a lie?”

Arrow nodded remorsefully.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t want to do it, honest.  But he said if I didn’t, he’d throw me out or worse.”  She was quiet for a long time before she spoke again.  “You must hate me now.”

Luna was sorely tempted to agree, but she bit back the words.  After taking a deep breath she said, “I don’t hate you, Arrow, but…” she paused and willed her tears not to flow.  It didn’t do much good.  “Do you have any idea what you did to me?” she asked.  “You took my dream and made it nothing but a lie!  I really cared about you, and you lied to me!”

Arrow licked Luna’s cheek.  “Honest, Mom- I mean Luna- I didn’t want to do it, I just did it because… because…” she fumbled for an excuse.  Because Groven would have killed her?  She could have played double-agent.  Luna would have kept her safe, especially with Toby and his dad to help.  She hung her head.  “Forget it,” she finished.  “I used you, and that’s all there is to it.”

Luna stared at her, her eyes barely visible through the tears.  “Leave me alone,” she sobbed.  “Just… just go away.”

Arrow got up.  “Okay,” she whispered.  And she walked out the pet door.  ‘Now what do I do?’ she asked herself.  ‘Luna doesn’t want me anymore.  I can’t go back to the strays, they wouldn’t have anything to do with me if they found out.  And Toby…’

What could she tell Toby?  That she had used him too? That she had played his mate like a harp?  That both he and Luna had been duped?  No, there had to be another answer.  But what?  She could just imagine what Luna would tell him.  Vividly she pictured Luna’s tear-streaked face, almost heard her choked voice describing the betrayal…

Arrow shuddered.  ‘Well, he’s going to know sooner or later,’ she decided.  ‘I might as well tell him myself and take my lumps.’

To Arrow’s surprise, Toby listened quietly as she told him the truth.  But his face wasn’t silent, and as she explained everything she could see his emotions hopping all over the scale like popcorn in a frying pan.  “I didn’t know what else to do,” she concluded.

Toby’s face was a mix of anger, sorrow, and strangely enough pity, then settled on just disappointment.  “You know,” he said softly, “I really wanted to see Luna happy.  And I cared about you too.  You made me feel like I really was your dad.”

Arrow felt her eyes starting to leak.  “Why don’t we just ‘pretend’ that I already feel bad and you don’t need to rub it in anymore?” she suggested.

Toby just stared at her for a long moment.  “There’s only one thing I want to know,” he said.  “You say you were supposed to keep us in the dark.  But then you warned us instead.  Why?”

Arrow took a deep breath and was silent for several moments before she answered.  “I guess it was because… well… I saw that you and Luna cared about me, like you said.  Not just about having me as your kid, but really cared.  About me.  And… well, I guess I learned something from you guys.”

Toby’s face softened.  “Well,” he said at last, “I’m glad we were able to do that.”

 Arrow nodded.  “Can I ask you something?”

 Toby considered.  “Go ahead.”

 Arrow stared at the ground, then looked up at him shyly.  “This is going to sound silly…” she began.

 Right at that moment her stomach made a noise like a volcano on the verge of erupting.  Toby nodded.  “Very silly,” he agreed.

“No, not that!”  Somehow her stomach’s sudden call for nourishment made it easier for Arrow to speak.  Taking a deep breath, she asked, “I was kind of wondering if… well, can I still call you Dad?”

Toby, Luna, Terry, Groven, Samy, Connie, Eugene © Dragon Tamer

Chase, Ketchikan © redwolf03

Balto, Steele © Universal Studios

Arrow © Dragon Tamer, design © Kirada

Arrow is now included in the cast available for interviews at http://baltosource.timduru.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=15835&hilit=+Toby+Series