Puppy Adventures
Saba, Dingo, Kiona, Kodiak, Dakota, Aleu, Balto and Jenna.
Just a cute story I thought up on the drive home.
MU= Takes place two days before Balto 2: Wolf Quest.
Dakota and Kiona are the official, unofficial (which means Universal did not give those names, but the production staff DID in fact name them) names given to the unnamed pups brought to attention by "catwhohas14tails".
What a day today was, the sun crested above the endless sea beyond, the clouds were plentiful and offered minor relief from the spring heat. The snows of the winter had all but thawed out except for anywhere that was in the shade, and many times, this would be a great place to play.
Moreover, closer to home, in the basement of the Jones' home at the farthest end of Main Street, Balto and Jenna lie sleeping, their six beautiful bundles of fur tightly packed in-between their embrace. It wasn't cold in the house, it was the simple fact that the pups wanted nothing else in the world than to be right here in-between their mama and papa. Mama and Papa also wanted nothing in the world more than lying here doing the same thing.
Balto was the only one awake, but he would not dare move. Not because he wanted to avoid having to face the little guys, he loved everything from their occasional annoying tendency to bother him while he was tired, to the laughter they shared when they played their mind games with each other.
He laid there smiling, eyes closed, lost in his thoughts. Lost in memories of him and Jenna the first night they kissed, locking in the love the two shared, to the day that love turned into 6 more little ones to share with. Comfortable in Jenna's, now upgraded and larger, ultra-soft doggy bed, Balto felt his heart drop. Nothing really happened, but a thought crossed his mind. His family was, without a doubt, the most important thing in his life. What if something were to happen to any of them?
"Come on Balto, you need to stop thinking that way…" He mentally reasoned with himself
"But, then again, you've got to understand that bad things are eventually going to happen. It's better to mentally prepare for them now." His logical side spoke.
Balto continued his mind struggle for the better part of an hour, still too comfortable to even move a muscle as the 7 breathing bodies rested comfortably on his side, yet he was feeling restless now.
"I can't sleep 12 hours then lay here even longer. I have way too much energy" he thought.
Balto slowly opened an eye, and just a quick look at the room told him that the sun was up and shining into the room. He moved turned his head to the left and smiled when he looked at Jenna.
Her tiny nose was twitching every so often; Balto could only theorize that she subconsciously did that while she was lost in her dreams, to detect, and make sure that her pups were still around her, safe and sound.
"What an amazing mother she is…" Balto thought.
He moved his gaze now, to the puppies. All six were there, they've nearly doubled in size since they were born, and they were starting to overflow the bed. No matter for Aleu though, she often laid just under the side of the bed, on the hardwood floor, yet she was comfortable. No matter how many times she was asked to come sleep in a soft bed, she refused, saying that she liked it on the floor.
Balto had to extend his neck higher to catch sight of Aleu, and sure enough, she was there. Her tiny gray body pulsating with every breath.
He shook his head with a smile, but this action alone caused one of the pups to stretch, and thus, the chain reaction could not be stopped.
Balto seen this every morning, and he smiled as it went off nearly identical to yesterday.
Dingo would stretch, lightly kicking Dakota in the face, who would wake and shake her tiny head, who would disturb Kodiak, who would move Kiona, who would force her way out from under Saba. Within seconds, everyone was awake, everyone… Balto thought, except for Aleu.
He crawled slowly to Aleu, and pushed her with his muzzle gently.
"Aleu? Time for breakfast"
"Yeah Aleu get up! Get up!" Kodi budded in from under his father's legs.
Aleu didn't move.
Balto got closer and sniffed at her, making sure she was alright.
A tiny growl emitted from the sleeping pup, and like lightning she snapped up and locked onto Balto's nose with her small fangs.
Balto involuntarily yelped, not because it hurt, but because of how sudden it was.
A few of the pups laughed, Jenna included, as Aleu let go and stood high and proud.
"Haha I got you papa!"
"Okay, okay, you got me. Whoa… She really got me" Balto said as he shook his head.
Aleu was always a little bit crazier than her siblings, but at this age it was nothing more than cute laughter and fun. Balto was, admittedly frightened by the pups reaction.
"Aleu scared the fearless Balto?" Jenna said softly.
"It means that she takes after me. I couldn't be prouder that she scared me." He said with a smile as he watched her wrestling with Kodi.
"Yeah, well. How about we take them out to the forest today?"
"Are you crazy? They're only a month old!"
"Then when do you think they'll be ready… Soon they will have adoptive families of their own and…"
"Already? But… They're so young… I had hoped to spend more time with them…" Balto said sadly.
"Well? Then at the very least, you should try to enjoy the time you have with them."
"And I told you, they'll be within the same town. You'll likely see them every day!" She added.
Balto looked at his children with a smile; he was also thinking about Jenna's suggestion and figured she knew best.
"Alright then. Forest sounds great."
"Kids, you want to go play in the forest today?" Jenna asked.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Kodi said
"The forest? That's scary!" Saba said.
"Don't worry. Your big strong father will be there to protect you." Jenna said with a smile towards Balto.
"Strong? Aleu scared him!" Kodi said.
"Fine, then Aleu can protect us." Balto joked.
As he watched the pups run and jump around in happiness, a lot of things went through his mind.
"Eastern pack of wolves should be safely out a few miles… No bears have been spotted recently… I'll ask Boris to fly over us in case… The sky seems to be clear, so no blizzards to worry about… Human hunters know not to shoot me nor Jenna… The Moose tribe has since migrated for the winter…"
Every possible method of attack seemed out of the possibility to Balto. With a smile, he nodded to Jenna.
"Seems safe enough. Everything checks out."
"The wolves?"
"Yes"
"Bears?"
"Yes"
"Meese?"
"Yes"
"Weather?"
"Good"
"hunters?"
"It'll be fine Jenna." Balto assured.
"Let's go let's go!" Kodi repeated.
He was first to the door as his siblings soon followed.
Jenna and Balto smiled to each-other before walking to the door, and pushing the flap open.
The pups did not hesitate to spill out of the dog door into the cold snow right outside the door.
"Today is the best day ever!" Saba said as she jumped through last.
Balto and Jenna were about to follow when they heard a voice.
"Ho, ho! Puppies spilling out of this door here!"
Balto knew the voice, and after letting Jenna pass first, he followed, and confirmed that it was indeed Doc, the St. Bernard, who was already being attacked by the puppies.
"Alright guys, no need to jump Doc now." Balto said.
All of the pups except for one filed in line next to Balto as he said this. The one pup that left behind was none other than Aleu. She continued nipping at Doc's fore-arm
"Aleu, leave the nice man alone" Jenna said.
Doc shot a playful look at Jenna. He growled at Aleu to scare her, knowing any pup would be frightened from it, yet, to his surprise, Aleu growled back and continued to play.
"Tough one she is" He said.
"Yep… That's my girl." Jenna said.
"So where's the family off too today anyway?" Doc questioned.
"Oh, we're taking the pups to the forest for the first time. Should be a fun adventure for them."
"The forest? You be careful now Balto… I don't think I can handle any bad news-"
"Nothing will happen" Balto cut him off, admittedly a bit rudely.
"I know, I know. I'm just saying… Be vigilant. No matter how hard you keep track, 6 little balls of energy can, and will slip your sights now and then." Doc wisely added. He's fathered pups in his long years, and had experience with raising them. This Jenna knew.
"Thanks for the tip." Balto said.
"Well, I won't hold you; I've got to be somewhere important too. Well, not that hosting the quarterly town meeting is nearly as important as the pups first day out in the forest!" He joked, looking down at the still fighting Aleu. He gently picked her up and brought her to Balto before nodding goodbye to the two.
"See ya Doc." Balto said.
[intermission]
It was only around 10 AM, as the family reached the forest edge. Jenna felt a little better about this as soon as she realized that it wasn't dark in the forest like she thought. Admittedly, it's been a while since she's been out here, the last time being when she followed Balto last winter, and during that time her brain made it seem like memories of this forest were always dark. Like the canopy of trees were thick enough to block sunlight. This was not true. The forest was clear, and you could still see far into it with no problems. Rays of sunlight could be seen breaking through the leaves and with the snow on the ground, only in the shadiest parts of the forest, Jenna thought it was beautiful.
"Wow... I love it out here" Jenna said
"Me too!" Kodi budded in.
"Hey, I do too!" Saba added.
"I love it the most…' Dakota protested.
"None of you love it as much as I do. I was raised in the forest. This is my home." Balto said to them, earning mysterious looks from their tiny faces.
"Nah, I'm just kidding. I grew up on a boat rasied by a goose."
At this point the pups found it difficult to choose which story to believe, but within seconds, it was gone from their ever-changing short-attention spans. They continued jumping around their parents, waiting for them to progress.
"Here we go…" Jenna said.
[intermission]
"Are we there yet?" Kodi whined.
"My paws are tired" Saba added.
"Mine hurt the most" Dakota finished, always seeming to choose the same response.
"Haha, we haven't even walked a mile yet." Balto said.
"Well, in their defense, they do kinda have to take 10 steps to match just one of ours." Jenna said with a smile.
"Huh, didn't think of that." Balto said.
"Okay, I guess this is far enough."
Before he even finished his sentence, the pups were off, taking an incredible amount of brain power and energy from the both of them.
"Man, Doc wasn't kidding…" Balto thought.
With all the darkness on this site, I chose to keep this story with an upbeat, happy mood. Chapters 2 coming soon. 2000 WORDS?