I really hate ice.

It was a couple of months after Danny and his mom adopted me. The winter came in and swept over all of Nome; seeing the sun was a rarity now. The winter had left some of the beach frozen. I was given a bandana like mom wore, though it was blue. Danny's mom was a nurse and fed me every morning at around 7, and Danny was off to school soon after. It was easy living for a pup.

I was normally with Saba and Dusty during these times. Saba was a neighbor, which made adapting into pethood a lot easier. She told me that she had no idea Dad was so famous, and that our parents had such a romantic love story. I hadn't heard too much about this part of the story, I only cared about the fact that our dad saved the town. Whenever we started talking about our dad, the conversation lead to Aleu. We had no idea how she's been doing. Our mom told she wasn't adopted, and that she's been living with Dad all of these months. We should've gone to see her sooner, it's just gotten really cold out this winter.

It was a different atmosphere when Dusty was there. She was my only non-family friend so far, yet I was comfortable talking about my family with her. She had met everyone apart from Aleu and Dad, and wasn't on any bad terms with any of them. It was just different having her there.

Dusty wasn't like Saba, Aleu, or Kiona. Saba explained to me that she was a "tomboy" when I asked her why all Dusty wanted to do was play and explore. Aleu was like this too, but like I said earlier, it was different. I liked it. Dakota and Dingo weren't around much, so I needed a friend like Dusty to keep me active. Dusty liked to run, which was perfect since my Dad taught me how, and I loved it. We'd race all around Nome until we were too tired to move again. She made me less stressed out about everything.

She really wanted to meet Dad. Usually he's down here with Mom, but after the adoption day, he had isolated himself with Aleu, protecting her probably. I wasn't entirely sure if taking Dusty to go see him was a good idea or not, considering how protective he is of her. He always had a soft spot for Aleu. Now that I knew why the "wolfdog" part of the story of how my dad became famous was significant, I understand why he had to guard her. Even though he saved the town, there was still a prejudice toward wolfdogs, and she was more wolf than dog to top it off.

I wasn't afraid of Dusty having any prejudice against my sister, but I was afraid of Aleu doing something that made Dusty mention our heritage.

It was almost Christmas, and all of Nome was decorated with bright flashy lights and festivities. The giant tree propped up in the corner of the living room was the spectacle in every house I noticed. All of the dogs of nome were meeting and having fun, and the thought of Aleu and Dad missing out made me not want to enjoy the festivities of Christmas.

This was Dusty's opportunity to meet the Hero of Nome. Saba, Dakota, Dusty and I would go the next day to introduce the fan, pick them up, and have some fun. It was nice seeing Dakota again. He had grown the most out of all of us, and started getting Dad's scruff. However, he was nowhere near as wolflike as Aleu.

The four of us started a trek to the boat on the coast. Dusty told me how scared she was, and I reminded her that he was just a Dad, and not to think of him as a hero.

"Oh and also," Saba, being the responsible one, said, "Aleu doesn't know we're part wolf, so don't bring it up."

"Right, got it." Dusty replied, now stressing about this.

Dakota snorted. He had a strange sense of humor now. He was almost like an endearing smartass, but charming.

It was getting dark, and the sunset was only giving off so much light. Visibility was only slightly diminished however. We were walking on ice at this point, and about half way there. I was too focused on not slipping to notice the dark figure lurking behind us. Saba screamed and then all of a sudden, she and Dakota were on their bellies sliding on the ice, while a familiar voice was laughing her head off.

Standing proud and tall for the prank she just committed was my wolfish sister, Aleu. She was bigger than me, and almost the same size as Dakota, but she was way more intimidating than the puppyfaced dog. What struck me most by surprise was the size of her paws. They were larger than our dad's! She could probably decapitate someone with those talons as well. If no one could guess I was a wolfdog by my strictly dog appearance, then no one would ever think Aleu was remotely husky. She looked purebred.

"Hahahahahaha, I've been waiting to do that for months!" bellowed Aleu. Saba and Dakota snorted and recollected themselves. I ran to my sister and gave her doggy hug. It was the first time I've seen her since the adoption day. She licked the top of my head, and I felt like a pup again.

Dusty stood awkwardly as we siblings reconciled. I knew she was intimidated by Aleu's stature, and not to mention she had probably never seen a wolf before in her life. However, Dusty was good with people unlike me, so when Aleu finally noticed her and pinned her to the ground playfully, all Dusty said was.

"Oh it's on!" She said, and the two girls laughed. I sighed with relief; Dusty was too amazing to be true. Any other person would've called Aleu a psycho and run off, claiming they were attacked by a wolf.

"So what's it like?" Aleu had finally asked us. The awkward silence was almost unbearable. We all had felt horrible about Aleu's lack of pethood.

Finally, Dakota said coolly, "It's not as great as free living like when we were pups."

"Oh, come on!" Aleu exclaimed, "That can't be true."

"No really," Saba said sweetly, "It's actually kinda boring not having all of that freedom."
This was partly true. Being a household pet had it's perks, but not being able to just go out whenever was not that desirable. Dakota didn't have this problem; he had always found a way out of the house. So when he told Aleu it wasn't like "free-living" he was just being nice, because he was basically a free dog.

"Yeah, but people!" Aleu said. She giggled and sighed, "The last time I saw a human, I had gone out exploring and I found a dock. This was near the end of summer, and there was a little old man sitting on a stool. He was catching fish with just a stick! I couldn't believe it, I was so amazed, I had to go see!" There was an uncomfortable silence, "But as I approached him, he screamed like a little girl. I jumped around to see what was so scary, but I heard a splash, and the man had jumped into the water, hiding from whatever was scaring him! I searched everywhere to see what he had been afraid of, but I couldn't find anything. He must have seen a ghost or something."

All of our hearts sank. This was too much, I felt so bad. But how could I possibly tell my sister that the reason that she wasn't adopted and the reason why the man jumped in terror was because he had seen her and she looked like a wolf. I know that as time goes on, the worse it's going to be when she finally finds out. If she finds out.

"Maybe he got scared of the fish!" Dusty said, and we all uncomfortably laughed, except for Aleu who looked at Saba Dakota and I weirdly.

"What's wrong with you three?" Aleu asked. We quickly told her nothing, and pretended nothing happened.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the last uncomfortable situation that night.

Once we were finally at the boat, Aleu had to go wake up the slumbering celebrity. We heard a startle, and I think he woke from another plaguing nightmare, as he usually had them. In a few moments, out emerged the Hero of Nome, the Savior of Alaska, the Canine of the Year! Balto! Actually no. It was just my dad. No matter what, I still saw my scruffy Dad who overslept as usual. Dusty on the other looked like she was seeing a God on four paws.

"Well isn't this a surprise," Balto said, stretching. I now noticed how toned his leg muscles were. My Dad really was a powerhouse when it came to running, wasn't he?

Dusty was completely mesmerized. This was the moment she'd been waiting for her entire short lived life. It's a good thing she was good with people.

Dakota Saba and I went up to give our dad a doggy hug. He wasn't clean at all, though luckily he didn't smell.

"What've you been up to Pop?" Dakota asked lying down.

"That." Dad said referring to Dakota. He laughed at his own dad joke, while everyone else snorted.

"Nice, Papa." Saba said sweetly. It was a wonder how fit Dad was considering how lazy he's been. I don't think our dad was awake enough to notice Dusty's presence so I finally took initiative.

"This is our friend Dusty." I said, "She's a fan."

I said this a little coldly. He hadn't told us of his famous story before. He stared at me and my siblings and sighed. He looked over at Dusty and eyed her.

"My son is rude," I stare at him, horrified.

"Dad!"

"You're not that dirty." Dad said. This was a really stupid joke.

Dusty started laughing, much more than expected. She was actually really nervous, and Dad could tell, so he tried to ease the situation.

"Aren't you Kaltag's daughter?"

"Yeah! He talks alot about you!" Dusty said excitedly.

This was where the conversation went. Skipping ahead

"...wait, you want to take Aleu to town?" Dad asked us, skeptically. Aleu was not about to let this opportunity pass by.

"Oh please, Papa!" Aleu begged, "I haven's seen mom since adoption day, and I want to see Dingo and Kiona also! And the other dogs, and the other humans, and maybe I'll get adopted! Please!"

Dad looked at Dakota, Saba, and me individually as if to say, "You never leave her side." and then he looked at Aleu and said aloud, "Okay..."

"YES!"
"But be careful!"

"I will Papa!" Aleu said jumping off the boat. Dusty laughed uncomfortably again, and followed. Soon, the five of us were heading in the direction of Nome, the entire time I was praying that everything go well.

/

"Mom!" Aleu howled as she pounced on the dog with the orange bandana. Mom went down without a fight, grunting as she received a giant lick in the face from her overzealous daughter.

"Aleu, my baby!" Mom said recollecting herself, giving Aleu a long dog hug. Aleu was already the size of Mom. By the time she's done growing, I bet she'll be bigger than Dad.

"This is a pleasant surprise," Mom said, "Does your father know..."

"Yes he does, mom." Saba said, "Dakota invited us to meet some of his friends, so we probably should get going."

"Oh..." Mom said in a, 'no way are you taking my baby to meet some of Dakota's trash friends' way, "That's nice."

Mom eyed us like Dad did. We convinced her it would be fine, and she headed off toward Dad's boat, seeing him for the first time in months.

Dakota hd left us earlier to prompt his friends about Aleu. He was a good brother, but I could tell there was something off about these supposed 'friends' when he mentioned them to me. Dingo and Kiona were meeting us there. When they heard we were bringing Aleu, they rightly figured that we would need help and support.

Majority of the humans were inside now, sleeping. I knew that I'd have to sleep on the porch tonight, which is okay since Saba is next door and we can keep each other warm. Dusty will probably have to join in as well, unless she can figure out how to go through a window. The only lights we had on the streets were lanterns hung on each individual building. Dakota told us to meet him in the boiler room, which is perfect for this weather.

Kiona and Dingo joined us on the way there. Kiona was sporting a new collar, while Dingo was sporting a limp.

"Dingo, what happened to your leg?" I asked my brother. He looked darkly at me and frowned. He had an edge to him that you basically had to get used to.

"Oh, this is nothing. I was stupid and fell down the stairs." He said almost rehearsed. He gave me a reassuring smile, but I knew something was up, because his house was only one story.

I decided I'd ask him later. Pestering Dingo about something constantly never got anyone anywhere.

"Dusty, you're looking spiteful," Kiona said formally. She was an eloquent girl, and the family who adopted her was always, as she said it "well mannered."

"I just met one of the most famous canines in the history of the world," Dusty said, "I'm great!"

We all laughed. This was something we had to get used to: Fame. Not that any of us were famous, but the fact that we are connected to it made us seem almost like royalty. I hope people don't treat like that.

We got to the boiler room, and Dakota met us outside. "The guys are inside. Be warned, they don't have a 'filter'."

"Dakota," growled Saba. Aleu looked over at Saba innocently and asked

"What's wrong Saba?"

"Nothing, sis." Saba said quickly. We knew this probably wasn't going to be pretty. We should've all turned around and left the boiler room and Dakota and Dakota's friends, but Aleu was already inside before we could change our minds. Though, I have to say, it felt really nice in the boiler room after trudging through snow for the last couple of hours.

There were four huskies in the boiler room relaxing on the ground. They were all big and bulky, and in all honesty terrifying. Aleu, being Aleu, wasn't terrified at all and lied by the boiler, and just started talking.

Oh boy I thought. I lied next to Aleu, and Dusty followed. I could tell she was not comfortable at all with current situation. Dingo Kiona and Saba filed in and were in their own personal bubble.

"Do you have humans?" Aleu asked. The 4 dogs looked at each other and they laughed, "Because I don't have a human yet, I'm getting one soon, I don't know why it's taking so long, but hopefully it'll happen sooner or later."

"Maybe it's because you talk too much," One of the dogs said. I lightly snarled.

"Maybe, though, I haven't talked at all for a couple of weeks since I live with our Papa, and he likes to sleep. Yeah the last time I talked and had a conversation was with our uncle Boris, the goose. He's really funny. That was a week and a half ago...I think."
Good lord I thought. Who's bright idea was it to bring her here? Oh that's right, me! Stupid, idiot!

"You need someone to talk to regularly," said one of the dogs in a way I did not like at all. "I can talk to you, all night if you want."

"That's enough of that." I barked. Saba growled, and among the siblings, there was a disturbance.

"Kodi, please calm down, the nice dog is only trying to be friendly." Aleu said.

"A little too friendly if you ask me." Dusty muttered.

A little while later, we just stopped talking all together -thank god- and just relaxed. Dusty fell asleep with her head resting on mine, which made me feel warm inside, but maybe that was because we were in a boiler room.

"You and ol' Kaltag's daughter a thing?" one of the dogs asked. I got really flustered. The thought of that was absolutely crazy.

"Of course not!" I said, a little too defensively. "She's my best friend."

After I said this, I realized that that had hurt Aleu. Aleu only had me to call her best friend, because she was never given the chance to meet new people, I was all she had, and I basically just pushed her aside for another. I felt terrible.

"Oh," Aleu said softly. She sat up and,looked around at everyone before saying, "I'm going to go home, Good night." and she ran off.

Dusty and I followed her. I convinced the others it was my fault and that I'd find her, and Dusty wasn't going to stay in that boiler room without me. We followed her scent out of town and onto the ice. She wasn't going home.

"Where do you think she'd go?" Dusty asked.

"I have no idea. It's like she's new to me," I said sadly. I hated that I wasn't close to my sister anymore. I would make up for it, after I found her and took her home.

I wish Dusty had gone home. If Aleu got upset about me replacing her with Dusty, bringing Dusty wasn't the best idea ever.

It was getting really cold, and it became almost impossible to walk across this ice. Dusty leaned into my bandana to keep warm. I wrapped it around her, so she wouldn't freeze to death. I personally preferred the cold over the boiler room. It made my body feel tense and ready to go. I could faintly see the lamp of my dad's boat in the distance, but Aleu's trail led elsewhere.

Once the ice started feeling less stable, I heard her. Howling in sadness was my sister, sitting on the unstable ice, singing to the stars.

"Aleu!" I called. She stopped howling and turned to face me. Sadness fell upon her face when she saw Dusty, and then the ice under her feet started shaking. I watched in horror as the ice began to break.

She was too far away for me to hear her scream "Shark!" but I ran at her, as the giant black mass tried to break the ice and get to Aleu. She yelled at me to turn around, but I didn't listen. I kept running, until the ice was no longer solid. She was on one side, I was on the other, and I jumped without thinking.

I saw her face as I fell through the ice and into the icy water. My body felt like it had been stabbed, and now it was numb, and I couldn't move a muscle. I heard Dusty and Aleu's screams from above the water, but I couldn't hear specific words.

I blacked out as the black mass grabbed me and pulled me away...