Foreword
First off, I want to thank Xaqtly, as he has helped the development of this story in more ways than one. It was his great story "Balto: Son" that inspired me to start writing this in the first place, and he was also my beta reader for this story, helping to put in a few final adjustments before its release. Thanks Zak, for all of your help and inspiration.
If the summary for this story is any indication, this story deals with Aniu and everything that led up to Balto being born and her untimely death. There is actually something interesting about the writing of this story that I want to tell. While this story is the third I have released, it is actually the first Balto story I ever wrote. I started way back in March 2009, and finished a first draft by the end of June. However, I decided to put this on hold in order to work on "The First Day" and "A Second Chance". During that break, I was able to think of improvements for this story, and when it came time to bring this out for editing, I had new ideas along with greatly improved writing skills.
The result is a much more refined and compelling story than what I had originally written last year. That's right, once everything is said and done, I will have been developing this story for a whole year. However, I think the wait was worth it, as time only improved the story. Ah, but I've gone on long enough about this; you came here to read a great story, not my ramblings. So, sit back and enjoy iWolf231's third Balto fanfiction – "Like His Father". Who knows, there may be a few familiar faces that will pop up in this story. ;)
Prologue: Heritage of the Wolf
"I didn't want this to happen to you. I never wanted anything like this to happen to you my son, but I had no choice. I was torn away from you too soon; I just hope that it hasn't hurt you too much. You have grown up so much since I left you. You shouldn't lose hope in yourself. You still have so much potential; you just need to get up," the lone white wolf thought as she watched a brown wolfdog resign himself to his own misery.
The wolfdog sitting before her was known as Balto. He had been so noble, embarking on a mission to help deliver medicine to those in need. He wasn't doing it for his own glory; he was doing it for those he cared about. However, during the return journey, he had gotten lost and had fallen off a cliff with the cargo. He thought that he had failed everyone and would remain the outcast of the town. He wasn't a dog, but he wasn't a wolf. He was neither and it was because of that he had failed his mission. However, there was someone who thought otherwise.
"Please, don't fall into despair my son. You can succeed, but you must get up first."
She appeared to him and he looked up in shock. He didn't say anything and looked as though he had seen a ghost. He was looking at a snow white wolf with golden eyes – the same golden eyes as his own. She arched her head back and let out a long, lonely howl, to remind him of his heritage; his wolf heritage. She let the howl fall, hoping that he would respond, "Get up my son. Come out of the darkness of prejudice and know who you are," she thought as he stared at the sight before him, "Get up now; it's the only way my son."
Instead, he looked away, not wanting to admit the part of him that had caused him to be an outcast. He was ashamed of what he was and there was nothing else the wolf could do to convince him otherwise, "No, you cant give up on yourself now. You're so close," she thought as she looked over him, but he didn't respond. He continued to reject her, and by extension, his wolf side. Seeing that there was nothing else she could do, she left him, thinking she had failed. She had not been able to be there for him, and to show him who he really was. He was part husky and part wolf, but he saw himself as neither, when he was actually both. He had the best of both kinds in him, but any thought of that had been pushed out by his outcast status.
"This is not the life I wanted for you. I wanted you to be proud of who were. I wanted you to be safe. If you only knew where you came from-" her thought was cut short by a new sound. It was another howl, and looking back, she saw that it was him. Her own son was howling his heart out, finally accepting who he was. Relieved, she returned to him and howled with him.
After they let their howls fall, they took a moment to look at each other. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of familiarity as she looked at him. His appearance reminded her of someone she had loved years ago. Someone who had been torn away from her, just like how she had been torn away from her son. He regarded her with curiosity; she seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't make the connection. However, their reunion would have to be brief; Balto still had a mission to complete, "Go," she urged, and he complied, grabbing hold of the straps on the medicine crate and dragging it away.
"Finally my son, you have accepted who are. I'm so proud of you," she thought as he dragged the crate up the cliff. Little did Balto know that he had encountered no ordinary wolf. It was the spirit of someone who had passed, but was still bound to this world by their duty. She had vowed to protect him and to guide him on his path, and she would only pass to the next life when her duty had been completed. This wolf was named Aniu, and her reason for wanting to protect Balto was simple: she was his mother. While she was a spirit now, she had not always been this way. Years ago she had lived like you and I do. She felt joy and sorrow, had known the cold of snow and the warmth of the sun. She had lived, and loved, before her life had been ripped away.
Now, she saw his determination to help those he loved and couldn't help but smile. His devotion to those he cared about, along with his selflessness, reminded her so much of his father. Balto's father had been a sled dog, and the chance meeting between her and him would change both of their lives forever. They may have been from two different worlds, but they saw past that, finding that their two kinds were very similar. He had always been there for her, which made it all the more painful when they had been ripped apart.
"If only you had known him my son," she thought, "If you only knew who your father was, then you would know how proud your heritage is. You would know that you have always been destined to be a champion..."