Balto's Story
Part 1: Balto's Past
Chapter 2: Wolf and Dog Meet Pt. 1
"The day I met Beringo was a day that would change both of our lives." Aniu smiled at her mate, and he smiled back, and Beringo joined his mate.
"I never thought I'd ever meet a wolf like Aniu in the way I did. I'm still glad that I met her just the same." Beringo added. Aniu licked Beringo's cheek and continued.
"At the time, Beringo was a sled dog. In fact, he was the leader of his sled team, which included Max and Molly's respective parents: Dakota and Indiana, and Justin and Hallie." Being sled dogs themselves, Kodi, Dusty, Dingo, and Dana paid closer attention, eager to hear more of Beringo's story.
Max told me about Beringo before. I should have known then that I was hearing the story of my own grandfather! Kodi thought to himself. As if able to hear his thoughts, Max and Molly glanced silently at Kodi and smiled in satisfaction before turning their attention back to Aniu and Beringo.
"My team and I were on our way back from delivering the mail to White Mountain, when a blizzard slowed down our progress..." Beringo continued.
Winter of early 1920
"Let's keep up the pace, team!" A grey husky encouraged, looking back at his teammates.
"Beringo, how far are we from home?" Justin asked.
"We're only about a day away!" Beringo answered.
"There's no place like Nome!" Indiana exclaimed. His teammates howled in agreement.
"Let's keep going, everyone! We're nearing home with every step, every second, every minute we take!" Beringo said. Following this, the sled team continued their journey back home. However, the journey would not go without any trouble. Before they knew it, a blizzard hit the area, and was slowing their progress.
"Ugh! I can't see anything in front of me!" A dark brown husky exclaimed.
"Hang in there, team! You as well, Rodger!" Beringo called out.
"Don't worry, we got your back!" The female husky Dakota encouraged.
A few minutes later...
"Are we still headed towards the right direction?" Indiana questioned.
"We should be." Beringo answered. He then began to run faster, surprising the team. "C'mon! Let's push further through this blizzard! This way, we can get out of it sooner, or at least find shelter sooner!" He ordered. As they continued to push through...
"Watch out! Watch out!" Rodger called. Everyone could see it: there was a cliff ahead of them.
"What?!" Beringo was caught off guard. He began an attempt to slow their speed down, and his teammates followed his lead. All of a sudden, they slipped and was thrown into the air. They narrowly avoided the edge of the cliff. Rodger was knocked unconscious, and their musher nearly fell close to the cliff. Fortunately, Justin and Hallie helped their human companion to climb away from danger. However, Indiana was almost falling down the cliff, and Beringo jumped to save his life and struggled to pull him up the side of the cliff. As he did so, the ground was suddenly beginning to give way. Beringo desperately threw Indiana to safety. Unfortunately, the ground gave way, and Beringo fell down.
"Beringo!" Indiana cried in terror. He and his teammates watched helplessly as Beringo fell down the cliff. They could even see that he was so overcome by fear and shock that he didn't even scream as he plummeted down the cliff. He could only stare back at his team. Then, Beringo saw black shortly after being buried by a white blur...
Before he knew it, the grey husky slowly woke up, gripped by intense cold. His body was shivering heavily. Beringo was too overcome by the cold that he was disoriented and couldn't focus fully on his surroundings. He then saw a mysterious white figure stare at him as it approached him. Beringo was afraid but was also too paralyzed by the cold to focus on his fear.
"Don't be alarmed. I promise I will not hurt you." The figure said in a soft tone.
"W-W- Where am I?" Beringo asked.
"You are safe. I found you after you fell down the nearby cliff. You were buried under a heavy pile of snow. I dug you out and brought you here to seek shelter from the blizzard." The figure replied. It was a female wolf with pure white fur and gold eyes. Beringo slowly looked around to observe his surroundings. He was indeed brought to a small cave.
"My... my team! I gotta... get... back to my team I gotta get back home!" Beringo shivered.
"You can't. The treacherous blizzard still rages on outside as we speak. Do not worry though. Your team has already moved to seek shelter." The female wolf answered.
"But... how will I... know if they made it?" Beringo questioned.
"I'm afraid there's little you can do now to check on your team. I assure you though, when the blizzard is over, I will personally help you return to your team. Or, if we can't find them, I'll still help you in getting back to your home. Perhaps we'll find your team then." The female wolf offered. "For now, you must rest." She then walked around Beringo and laid down on top of him to warm his body up. Beringo was surprised by the strange wolf's gesture, but did little to stop her.
"Are you hurt?" She asked.
"No, I'm not. The cliff didn't seem that deep, and... and... the snow must have soften my fall. If anything... I-I-I'd only have minor injuries." Beringo answered.
The wolf nodded. "Just rest for now. Again, I will help you return to your team, or return home."
Beringo heeded her wisdom. After the sun was almost set, Beringo woke up from a nap, his body no longer so paralyzed by the cold. He then found his female wolf companion in front of him, laying a piece of meat in front of his paws.
"Eat up. I saved this earlier from my hunt. You and your team happened to be approaching near my home by the time the blizzard hit." She advised. Beringo smelled the meat. It may not be food that humans made, but it would have to do. The white wolf watched as the grey husky ate his meal. She advised him that she also had meat saved for her self, and she ate along side him. Afterwards, the two remained silent for a while before the husky spoke.
"Thank you very much, Though I gotta ask: Why? Why did you save me out there?"
"I have no quarrel with you or your kind. I simply avoided hunters in my time alone. I could have just killed you while you were unconscious, or left you for dead under the snow, but I didn't. I couldn't just leave you to die, despite you being a dog." She answered. Beringo silently pondered her wisdom.
"May I... may I ask for your name?" Beringo asked. The cave fell silent for a moment. Beringo was not sure that she would answer back.
"My name is Aniu." She replied.
"Aniu..." Beringo repeated.
"Yours?"
"Beringo. My name is Beringo. It's nice to meet you, Aniu. Thank you for saving my life." He said.
"It's good to meet you as well, Beringo." Aniu replied.
"You know, your name: Aniu, is a pretty beautiful name. Its so... mysterious, yet relaxing to the ears." Beringo complimented. He watched as Aniu blushed and giggled at his remark.
"Why, thank you." Aniu added, smiling at him. Beringo smiled back. "Besides myself, are you alone? Don't you live in your own pack?"
"Indeed, I am alone. I have been living by myself since I left my parents and my birth pack, never finding my own pack to live in. You are actually the first person I have met since my departure from home." She explained.
"That's... interesting." Beringo replied. For a while, the two broke in conversation with each other. Afterwards, they decided to go to sleep. However, even as Aniu settled herself next to Beringo, they remained awake, mainly staring into empty space.
Beringo then felt an irresistible urge to look at Aniu, closer then he could earlier. What was it that drew his attention to Aniu, someone who he just met? Was it her defining and distinctive white fur, as white as snow? Was it her gold eyes that, though piercing, still wore a kind and friendly expression towards him? Aniu then turned to face Beringo, and he immediately turned away after meeting her gaze, a bit embarrassed.
"Sorry. I don't mean to stare." Beringo apologized.
"No apologies needed. I will say again, it was a pleasure to meet you today, Beringo." Aniu replied.
"Same here with you, Aniu." Beringo replied. He smiled at her, as she smiled back at him. Afterwards, the two finally settled asleep. Beringo was eager to reunite with his team, but he relented to the futility of trying to find them with the blizzard still raging outside. At least he has someone to keep him company until he can reunite with his team and return home.