Chapter 1: The Ambitions

In the distant remote town of Nome, in early fall of the year 1932...

It was the time of year when the snow in the northern bits of the world would fall, the same snow that'd be usually falling everywhere else possible in late fall or early winter. But since this was in Alaska, there were no objections whatsoever when the snow would fall and when not!

Aside from the description of Alaska, what mattered now was the house of the young pup living in it. The pup was around more than a half year old, still growing up. It was a mixed breed of Alaskan Malamute from his father and the Siberian Husky from his mother. While he did look like any other husky or malamute by the facial markings, what stood out the most were his white ears.

Considering the fact that it was early in the morning, it was obvious that the pup was sleeping. He was precisely sleeping on the carpet in front of the fireplace that was in the center of the wall in the living room. As cold as it was, it was also pretty delightful to sleep in front of the fireplace during the cold nights.

But as the pup was sleeping, someone was pushing the dog doors of the front door on the opposite side of the fireplace. While the pup was sleeping, the other dog that was pushing the dog doors was not quitting his intention. In fact, when he managed to push through the dog doors, it was the another pup. It was around the same age as the sleeping pup. Not to mention both of them were looking alike! Only he had black ears, not white.

"Timber! Timber, wake up!" The black-eared pup whispered to Timber, the sleeping pup on the carpet. He nudged him several times until Timber finally woke up. Looking at the other pup, both of them revealed to have the same bright blue eyes, inherited from their father. Timber yawned, then asked: "Titanium? It's still early, why don't you...?"

"Please, brother! I must show you something!" Titanium, the awaken pup and Timber's brother, his older brother to be exact, was not willing to stop. He nudged him again and begged: "Please, come with me!" It was obvious that Titanium wanted to show him something.

Then, at last, Timber got slowly on all of his fours, stretched himself and asked at last: "Now what is it that you want to show me? I hope it won't take too long as I want to eat breakfast!" By the look on Titanium's face, it seemed like he was going to respect Timber's desire.

Titanium smiled happily, placed his paw on Timber's shoulder and said: "I swear, if we get there fast, you'll be back for breakfast in no time! Now come on!" Seeing that he could rely on Titanium, who happened to be his favorite sibling of all six of them, Timber said: "Okay, let's go then!"

Now that Timber was awake, yet was a bit grumpy that he had to skip the breakfast, at least it wasn't going to take too long. At least Timber thought so. Still, now that Timber's older brother Titanium was leading the way, Timber's curiosity was ever-present, causing him to ask: "And where are we exactly going?"

Because of his younger brother's curiosity, Titanium wanted not to reveal his surprise yet. Still, if he wasn't going to tell him anytime soon, Timber was easily going to return home. Looking at his brother as he stopped, Titanium said: "To the post office. If we get there before they do, it's gonna be even better!"

"Post office?" Timber asked, wondering what was so interesting about post office. All he knew that he wasn't really interested in that, but now that he was outside, he decided to follow his brother. Titanium, turned to the street at their left and said: "Alright, it's just across the street. I think they haven't arrived yet!"

Upon saying "arrived", it occurred to Timber that his brother was talking about sled team returning to the town of Nome. But which sled team this time? There were several of them so guessing either of these was pretty likely. As they arrived in front of post office, Titanium spoke: "Man, I can't wait to see them coming!"

"And I can't wait to get something to eat!" Timber responded to him quite mockingly, with Titanium rolling his eyes and saying: "Whatever, this won't take too long." Still, even if the team was going to arrive anytime soon, Timber was getting grumpier as he hadn't his meal yet, despite the time for so.

But as he was about to reach his grumpiness peak and say this was all "stupid", Titanium perked his ear in the distance. Then, the smile on his face stretched widely, with the grin on his face. He started barking happily: "Here they come! HERE THEY COME, TIMBER!"

And he wasn't lying. With Timber perking his ears in the distance, he could have heard the sled dogs panting as they were running towards the post office. Then, the sled team showed up and as the brothers were near the office, it had taken the team to pull over flawlessly in front of the office.

While Timber was still surprised by the perfection of pulling over, Titanium kept smiling and said to his brother: "Oh, this is Kodi's team! One of the best sled teams in the entire town of Nome, along with Dingo's team!" It was obvious that Titanium was so joyful regarding the mail delivery and being a sled dog.

Speaking of Kodi's team, that team was one of two best sled teams in the town of Nome (There were the other teams though). This team was led by Kodiak, better known as Kodi, one of town's finest sled dogs. Copper red husky, winner of the season 1928/29, and the proud son of Balto and Jenna.

Alongside him were his teammates, also some of the team's finest sled dogs. There was Kirby, the bulky brown husky next to Kodi. Behind them were Ralph, a fat gray Alaskan Malamute and Dusty, the slender gray female husky. These four were good friends since they all had become the team years ago.

"Ohhhh, look at Kodi. He is possibly the best sled dog I have seen!" Titanium was not hiding his admiration for the veteran sled dog, who was by this time around six years old by human years. As Kodi and the others were released from their harnesses, Kodi and Dusty were seen nuzzling each other as they wanted to get home and have some rest.

"Say, isn't Kodi the father of Koda? You know, the brown husky who is Taiga's mate?" Timber remembered a fact, and it was very well known to them both. Taiga was their stepsister, having the same father as these two, but another mother. Not to mention that Koda and Taiga were already parents of their five pups. Titanium didn't see that one at first, causing him to say: "You're right! I just got that!"

The presence of two young dogs was not ignored this time. When Kodi and Dusty had decided to head back home, they indeed spotted Titanium and Timber looking at them. Timber was surprised to stand in front of two legendary sled dogs, whereas Titanium's face was saying that he was easily going to burst out of the excitement.

"Oh, Kodi. Looks like you're having fans here!" Dusty mischievously whispered to Kodi, whose reply was: "Oh come on, Dusty." Still, even if that was something that made Kodi roll his eyes, he did smile back to the two young dogs and just asked: "Hey, you kids. You came to watch us return, right?"

Timber was at this point silent, not knowing what was he supposed to say anyways, but Titanium was excited enough to say: "You're right, Mr. Kodi!" By the mention of "Mr.", both Kodi and Dusty laughed on that, with Kodi replying to him: "It's just Kodi for both of you. I am not a human to have a honorary title!"

With the laughter, there was out of nowhere a growl. While it wasn't really loud, it was audible enough for them all to stop laughing, What was happening? Who and why did someone growl right now? Then, Timber sat down, placed his paw on his stomach and said: "Okay, Titanium. Thanks for the show, but now I'm heading home for breakfast!"

But as he was about to get up and leave, Dusty just let him know: "Why bother? I'll get some meat for all four of us, yeah?" That sounded like a tempting idea, with Dusty heading away to General Store to find some meat for them to eat. Now Kodi was left by two young dogs.

"Sooooo, I see that the two of you enjoy watching sled dog races, am I right?" Kodi asked them curiously, with Timber now smiling widely, thus both were pretty excited now. "Have you even dreamed of becoming sled dogs yourselves one day? There might be chances for you next year!" As if that was being called for!

Hearing about becoming sled dogs next year made Titanium even more excited, but at the same time, puzzled. Wondering what was Kodi trying to say, Titanium asked him: "Kodi... does that mean that the next year you're no longer going to be a sled dog?" It was obvious that Kodi's retirement was imminent as he was six years old now and he indeed deserved some peace after years of mail delivery. Kodi nodded.

Titanium was not really happy to hear that, but knowing that not every dog would run the entire life, he nodded, lightly disappointed. Timber just placed his paw on his brother's back and just said: "Don't worry, Titanium. When we are old enough, we're going to be the best sled dogs out there!"

The mention of Titanium's name had brought some kind of interest to Kodi, causing him to ask curiously: "Titanium? If you're Titanium, then you are his brother Timber. Aren't you two the sons of Steele and Elizabeth?" Steele and Elizabeth were pretty much known by this time in the town of Nome. Despite their backstories and lives in past, they were now well respected.

When Kodi asked them that, Timber was the one who said: "Yes we are. We're Taiga's stepbrothers as well!" The three of them knew that pretty well. When Taiga's name was mentioned, Kodi smiled proudly to think on his daughter-in-law. Then, Dusty was seen coming, carrying the bag of meat in her mouth, asking: "Did someone ask for a breakfast?" Her question was followed by the laughter.

Eventually, with a small talk between the four of them, three mostly as Timber was enjoying his breakfast, free breakfast to be exact. It was a pretty delightful meal for him, knowing that he didn't have his breakfast yet. As short as it was, the talk was over as Kodi and Dusty followed their teammates home, ready to get some rest.

"Well, did you enjoy your breakfast?" Titanium asked his younger brother, a bit sarcastically as Timber was really tempting to get the meal as soon as he could. Timber heard that tiny bit of sarcasm in his brother's tone, saying: "Yeah, and it'd be much better if you aren't going to be such nitpick about this."

Not seeing any point of arguing with his favorite brother, Titanium shrugged that off, saying: "You know, I think I may go now to Taiga. She's really into becoming a sled dog the next year!" But before he was about to go see his stepsister, Timber placed his paw on his brother's shoulder and timidly said: "You know... I think I'll go with you, okay?"

Seeing the change of mood in his brother, how he didn't eat home and was moaning to get some meal, then out of nowhere was looking like he'd casually socialize with him, Titanium couldn't reject his offer. He just said: "Okay, let's go then." Timber accepted his offer with ease.

Heading on the other side of the street and all the way to the alley that was there, it looked pretty narrow. Mostly snow and some scraps laying on the snowy ground, with the occasional building materials, it may have looked like it was a challenge for them both. But it wasn't. The scrap materials in alleys was just a walk in the park for them.

"Say, do you think that Taiga could be playing with Leela?" Timber wondered about that while making through the alley. Leela was the daughter of Taiga and Koda and out of her and her four siblings, she was the only one who did not end up being adopted. For so, she was being kept in her mother's home and now was living under her roof.

"I guess so. After all, she's just three months old." Titanium guessed, referring to little Leela. She was pretty amusing puppy to play with, always seeking how to play with someone. Suddenly, Titanium stopped at his tracks, perked his ears forwards and then he said. "Someone's coming. Let us wait here for a moment."

Timber was confused about that at first, wondering why Titanium was becoming so defensive at this point. How could there be anyone that'd show any kind of danger to them? Then, two female voices, sweet female voices were heard from the street, causing Timber to ask: "Do you hear what I...?"

He stopped talking as soon as both brothers saw two females passing. One was maroon-red with the blue collar around her neck, whereas the other one was slender gray. At first, they thought they had seen Dusty again, but upon seeing the face from side, it was obvious this was someone else, along with that female.

"Just saying, Allina. I just hope that with enough training, I'll be able to score my entrance to the sled team next year!" The slender gray female was talking to maroon-red female, Allina being her name. Allina smiled back to slender gray female and just said: "You have my support and all the best, Tenana, my sister." Now it was clear these two were sisters!

The first one to talk about was Tenana. Being older one, having the slender gray fur from her mother, that was resembling Dusty a lot, only with different facial markings and brown eyes, there were some things to say about her. Her personality was pretty much talkative, leadership-like, humorous and if not to forget - sometimes a smartmouth.

Then there was her younger sister Allina. She had that same maroon red fur like Kodi. What if she was a daughter of Kodi? If so, then Tenana was his daughter as well! Not to mention that Allina's facial markings were same as Dusty's and she had that indigo blue eyes. Plus she was wearing that blue collar with the silver tag around her neck. She seemed to be personality-wise contrast of her sister. Quiet, timid, shy and very kind.

Neither of these two were noticing that the two young dogs from the alley were looking at them. It was obvious how stunned they were by their looks. Even if these two were older than them, the young dogs felt like... as if they had something for them. Something to say, to show in any sort of way!

When the two sisters had finally turned to the street on their left, Timber and Titanium were looking at exactly the same spot they had left at. Both of them were quite stunned to see these two on the streets. It was Timber who broke the silence: "Wow... that gray one... Tenana, I think her name is... she looks so pretty, brother!"

"Oh you tell me who's pretty?!" Titanium happily exclaimed, being stunned by the fact that he was seeing Allina, that adorable red female right now. He just added: "And what about Allina? The red one? My goodness she is so gorgeous! I wonder what'd it have been if they saw us?"

Now that's something that had both brothers thinking... what if? What if these two saw them in the alley, how'd these two react upon seeing them? Questions aside, Timber nudged his brother by his shoulder, saying: "You know, let's go to Taiga's. And if possible, she may know these two... hopefully."

"Gotcha." Titanium agreed, wondering if Tenana and Allina were any familiar to Taiga. The thing was, they were quite resembling Dusty and Kodi respectively, and if Koda was Kodi's son, would that mean that Tenana and Allina were Taiga's sisters-in-law? These questions required nothing else but answers!

Making their way through more alleys and streets in order to get to Taiga's house, more obstacles could be find in these alleys, but none of them had proven themselves to be the match for these two young pups at all! In the matter of the minutes, Timber and Titanium had finally managed to reach their destination.

And not to mention that the one they were looking for, Taiga, was already there. Being on the spruce-wood crafted porch, Taiga herself, having a black fur, two black eye-patches, bright blue eyes, white underbelly, was resembling Timber and Titanium's father Steele. In fact, she was Steele's daughter, but not Elizabeth's, but Shira's.

Furthermore, Taiga was not alone. As was the case, there was a three month old puppy sleeping by her chest, Leela being her name. Being dark brown, as she had the combination of mother's black fur and father's brown fur. With Taiga cradling her beloved daughter, she was the only puppy not to be adopted from Taiga's litter.

"Hey, Taiga!" Timber called for his stepsister, with the whisper of course so that neither him nor Titanium would wake the sleepy puppy up. Taiga looked up to see who was there and seeing two of her younger stepbrothers, Taiga smiled widely and whispered: "Titanium, Timber, what a lovely surprise!"

"Hello." Timber politely greeted his older stepsister. Looking that there was a lot of space to lay down, both Timber and Titanium laid down in front of Taiga, who was curiously looking why they were here for. She felt the stirring on her chest and noticed that Leela was stirring in her sleep. She licked her behind the ear soothingly and Leela continued her nap.

Now that her daughter was peacefully sleeping, Taiga could finally ask: "What brings you two here? I'm sure you're full of questions to ask!" She was obviously showing that out of all six puppies her father had with Steele, she just adored these two the most. Titanium smiled upon having that opportunity so he said: "Taiga, we're wondering... you're going to be a sled dog next season, right?"

That was a pretty much asked question and Taiga nodded proudly. As her youngest brother Tayer was a sled dog, so why shouldn't she, her brother and sister Rodney and Sarah become ones the next season. Timber then asked: "Is there any chance that Titanium and I become sled dogs one day? I mean, is there a place for us?"

While it was known in advance that Taiga, when she was going to become a sled dog, that there were already other five sled dogs to become the team. She didn't want to hurt her stepbrothers' feelings, so Taiga just wisely said: "Since the town of Nome has already several teams, I am sure that there's one of these which will open your path to career!"

Yet before they were about to hear from Taiga about being a sled dog, in fact, before asking her to tell them, Titanium asked: "Taiga? One question - do you possibly know who Tenana and Allina are? Just wondering." He was hoping that he was going to conceal his affection for at least one of them, same with Timber.

Taiga didn't seem to suspect anything about her stepbrothers having the feelings for these two. She smiled joyfully and just said: "Of course I know! They're Koda's sisters." Now that they knew that, Timber and Titanium had that happiness bursting inside them, but they kept hiding it. Then, Taiga spoke: "So, you two ready to know about being a sled dog?"

Timber and Titanium looked at each other in surprise and happiness. It was Timber who was fast enough to ask Taiga: "Tell us more about it! We're so eager to become the sled dogs, Taiga!" While he did raise his voice a bit, and cringed, little Leela was still sleeping in her mother's chest. Taiga, making sure her daughter was sleeping, said: "Alright..." Thus for the rest of the morning, she was telling her stepbrothers about being a sled dog.