The Wolf Returns

By Commentaholic - Alpha 05

A/N: Well, here's another Balto story... This one's been spinning around since before the idea for my other Balto fic came to mind, so I'm kinda interested in how this unfolds. Title's a work in progress... Not sure what to put.

Another depressing start, I'm warning you. Will get happier later, perhaps.


Prologue: Empty Streets, Dead Eyes


The wolves prowled the empty streets, sniffing at the scraps left behind by the townspeople, who were long gone from this place, at least, those that survived the outbreak. Distheria's scourge had consumed the small town, beginning with the children and, once it breached quarantine by way of a roaming rat, moving on to the adults who were not immune to its deadly presence.

Those who hadn't been fortunate enough to survive still lay where they had fallen, bodies preserved by the cold snow that perpetually fell in the northern wastes. A pair of wolves gnawed at one of the bodies until another growled at them, telling them to let the bodies be. These dead were contaminated and not safe for consumption. The pack continued to stalk through the town, ears alert for the sound of guns being prepared. Many times had the pack been shot at for nearing the town in search of sustenance, and many times had they been driven away by the loud devices that slew several of their number before the pack managed to retreat to a safe distance.

In this cold, unforgiving land, there was little food to spare, and with mating season coming on, they would need a new source of food to feed the new pups. That was why the pack's Alpha Male risked searching the town in the hopes of finding some forgotten tidbit of food left behind by a previous search.

But one pack member in particular wasn't searching for food. Lifting the pins from the hinges of the door of a small shed set against the side of a small building just outside of town, he poked his nose inside, sniffing.

"Jenna?" asked Balto, "Are you there?" The shed was filled with her scent, for it was where she had been kept at night when her humans were asleep. No reply. Balto's eyes fell upon an orange bandana lying in a bundle upon the ground. He padded over to it and inhaled its aroma. It smelled so much of Jenna. It was hers, after all, so why wouldn't it? But where is she? he wondered. He picked it up, slipping it over his neck. A memento of his past life and of the female husky to whom he had always regretted not confessing his love.

Balto looked around for any sign: A discarded bone, half eaten dog food. Nothing substantial remained. Balto grabbed the bowl of dog food so that he would have something to show for his slipping away from the group. He carried the dish in his jaws, keeping it level so that none of what lay within spilled out onto the ground. It wasn't much, but it was food nonetheless, and thus was not to be wasted.

A howl filled the air, causing Balto's ears to perk up and prompting him to pick up his pace. The pack's call meant that they were done here. Working through the back streets that he knew so well, Balto soon found his way in the center of town where the rest of the pack congregated with their various findings.

Jiska, a dark-furred female, had found some beef jerky at the bottom of a bag in the general store; Gurden and Lyron, twin brown-furred brother wolves had managed to drag over the frozen husk of a caribou that had been left behind by the humans. They would no doubt be praised for their 'catch'. They always were, Balto thought bitterly. They were either very skilled or very lucky. The other four members of the pack: Rynil, Vergot, Naydar and Loptir, the Alpha Male, hadn't found much, but they would survive for a while yet with Gurden and Lyron's scavengings, if they made it last.

Loptir swept a critical eye over the collected consumables, noting with a frown Jenna's bandana around Balto's neck, before nodding. It would be enough. He turned and began heading back towards the forest, the rest of the wolf pack following, food being carried along in their jaws.

Balto looked back as the pack entered the treeline, casting one more sorrowful gaze over what had once been the town of Nome, Alaska. Jenna... he murmured, turning to follow the pack. His pack.


A/N: Brief, yes. Emotional... yes... Don't worry, I will explain, you can count on that happening... R+R!

-=Commentaholic - Alpha 05=-