Day 2, morning.
Kodi awoke with a yawn, and then added on a smile as he looked down. Siku had taken her usual position for sleeping, and placed her head right next to Kodi's. She said that hearing him breathe right into her ears helped her sleep better at night. It worked to calm her for some reason she could not accurately explain. Kodi once again, figured it was her lack of a father, and his breathing reminded her of even having a father... Once again, he made himself sad, but looking at Siku filled him with hope, and an irresistible urge to be everything Siku needed. And if it was a father figure, then so be it.
He carefully nudged her small body with his muzzle to wake her, and got a few noises of complaint from her, signaling that she was still pretty tired, and not wanting to get up just yet.
"Fine, I'll just go make breakfast." Kodi said with mock sarcasm.
Kodi kissed her on the head once, and then parted out into the living room.
Mr. Jones was awake already, like always, as his job needed him there early in the morning. However sluggish and lazy he seemed, almost every time Kodi walked in, a smile formed on his face. He loved dogs, and the fact that Kodi was pretty much the celebrity in town, only led him to be more proud of the little guy. With Jenna out of the house, choosing more and more to sleep with Balto at his boat, Kodi and Siku lived with Rosie and her parents much more now.
Mr. Jones stood and took a second to feel the full force of his hangover from last night's party, and walked into the kitchen. He poured two big bowls of dog food for Kodi and Siku and brought it to the garage.
Not surprisingly to Kodi, Siku jumped up now and greeted Mr. Jones as he placed the two bowls down. He knelt down to pet her for a bit, and Kodi watched with a smile at the two.
"Haha, I never knew wolves could act like dogs. You two enjoy your meal. I'm off to work!" He said, though not exactly sure why he was talking to two canines...
"Man I'm still drunk or what..." He muttered as he walked out of the garage door, wondering himself why he spoke to the dogs.
"It's good that he likes you, huh?" Kodi said.
"Yes it is. I am so happy to have a home..."
"You're a wolf though; I thought you guys would feel better in the forest?"
Siku stared at him with a flat face, more of the "duh" sort of looks.
"I've been alone my whole life... I don't have parents... Rosie and her parents are like the family I've never had!" Siku explained.
"Wait... Where do I fit in there?" Kodi asked.
Siku smiled and nuzzled his neck as he still awaited her answer.
"You're like my father, my brother, you're the family I've never had... You're my lifemate." Siku said.
"That's what I like to hear. I love that were mates... I always secretly disliked "girlfriend and boyfriend..." Just always seemed too childish for me." Kodi explained.
"Well you call me your girlfriend when you talk to your friends." Siku said.
"That's different... They..." Kodi stopped himself.
"What?"
"Well... They make jokes." He added.
"Jokes? What kind of jokes."
Kodi sighed and went to his bowl and ate a bit of it, looking back at Siku every once and a while as she stared at him the entire time.
"Kodi what kind of jokes?" Siku said in a serious tone.
He walked over to her now.
""Hey kodi how is it like to bang a wild girl from the forest?" Or "you should call your mate over... Here I'll help" then they howl like idiots... And my favorite "kodi likes to take a run on the wild side."" He finished off.
"Wow... Those assholes! And you call them friends?"
"See.. That's why I didn't tell you. They are my friends. Always have been since I was born... It's all just friendly joking." Kodi said.
"Fine, but next time I see them I'm going to have a talk with them."
"Please don't..." Kodi said.
"Or maybe I'll just go tell Balto? How would he feel if he knew the town's dogs still treated wolves like shit after he saved their owners asses..."
"Siku you're taking this a bit too close to heart... It's just all in good fun... Honestly." Kodi said in a calm voice.
Siku nodded her head in agreement.
"Okay you're right. Maybe I still don't understand how you dogs act."
"Good, now eat up. I wanted to go and spend some time with my parents before my run today."
"Sounds fun."
Balto.
Balto and Jenna were asleep like they always were, in the same room, on the same deck, on the same boat. Jenna had constantly refused and ignored Balto's pleads for her to stay at Rosie's house, saying everything from "it's cold here" to "I don't want you crowding up my bachelors pad". She didn't care if the winter frost froze her fur stiff. As long as she was with Balto, her heart was happy always. And with the town still a bit weary of the wolf dog, let alone the town allowing him to be adopted by anyone, that meant that she would stay with him at his boat. She didn't feel bad about Rosie, because happily for Jenna, Rosie had become more and more occupied with her own friends, school, and her training to become a musher. Rosie may have been entering her teen years, but she would never forget about Jenna, and though it pains her, she understood her choice to stay with her mate, and still came over nearly every day to visit the two anyways.
Balto stretched and yawned, moving slightly had caused Jenna, who was resting her head on his back, to fall and hit the hard floor with a noticeable thud.
"Oops... I'm sorry my love." Balto said.
He licked the left side of her head that hit the ground as she sat up next to him.
"Not one of my gentler awakenings..." She said with her left eye closed.
"Eh, you're fine." Balto said as he rubbed her shoulders.
She strained her forearms and leaned into Balto, moaning slightly from his magic paws as they worked their way down her long back.
"Oh, I awake to a massage? How romantic." Jenna said.
"Well, I figured the moment was right. You've had a long day yesterday, then you nearly get a concussion the next morning."
"What else have you got in mind?" Jenna said with a flirtatious smile.
"What else do you want? Seriously... I will give you anything... Just say the word my love." Balto said.
"Well, how about you get down on your back and-" Jenna leaned into Balto, as a voice cut her off.
"Balto!? If I may have a word."
"Ugh it's doc... We shall continue this... Uh... Don't move... You foxy beast." Balto said as he ran out of the room.
He quickly cleared the two lower decks and reached the ramp leading down to ground level. He was greeted by the old St. Bernard and his two 'minions' as everyone called them, since they were always by his side.
"Doc?" Balto asked.
"Now you know I wouldn't bother you unless it was an emergency..." Doc said.
"Really? Something wrong?"
"Marci was murdered last night..."
"Oh no..." Balto said, admittedly unfamiliar with the name.
"Marci, she was the mayors dog...?" Doc had to explain.
"Oh... OH! Marci? That's terrible! I can't believe she... Wait... Murdered?"
"Yes."
"Not trying to sound insensitive or anything, but if you guys know she was murdered, then why is it an emergency?"
"Because we have no leads."
"That's impossible! You're the best tracker in town, and surely scent or other markers could be used to trace the killer! Let me go take a look, I'll find this asshole..." Balto said.
"Balto... We have our best men on it... Nothing. They even tried the bite marks on Marci's body... Not even saliva could be traced." Doc explained.
"Wow... Looks like we've got a crafty motherfucker to work with..." Balto said.
"It would appear that way. I called you because I need your help to address the town. If this guy did kill without reason, who's to say he won't do it again."
"You've got my help doc." Balto said with a smile.
"Good. Now I'll get out of your hair, I see your son and his mate coming to visit."
"Morning son." Doc said as he passed Kodi and Siku.
"Morning sir... Hey dad. What's going on?" Kodi asked as he turned his head to Balto.
"Oh... Uh, come in. I'll tell your mother too." Balto said as he lifted his right paw, welcoming the two in.
"Hi Balto." Siku said as she passed him.
The three of them climbed down a deck onto where Jenna was at, and luckily Balto was the first to enter the room...
"Hey-" Jenna said in a seductive voice, but cut herself off as she heard more footsteps on deck.
"Uh, Jenna, pssst, kodi and Siku are here." Balto whispered.
Jenna froze for a second. She was lying there waiting for Balto to return, she was on her back, displaying all for Balto to see. She instantly stood and brushed her fur down a bit and moved the covers around, fixing up the place and herself.
"Oh Hey Kodi." She said as the two walked in.
"Hi mom."
Jenna nuzzled her son for a bit and smiled at Siku, who nodded back.
"Enjoying your morning?" Siku asked.
"We were..." Balto muttered.
"What?" Siku said
"Nothing. Now about what doc said..."
"Marci was murdered last night... And they can't find out who did it just yet..."
"What? But that's-"
"Impossible, I know. He said they've tried everything, usually only having to take 3 steps to find whoever committed a crime, when they threw everything they've got at this one and they still can't find out who did it." Balto added.
"Oh my... Marci was a good friend of Dixie's... She must be devastated..." Jenna said.
"Or scared..." Siku said out of nowhere.
"What do you mean?" Balto asked.
"Think about it... The attacker obviously knew what he was doing... If he has the ability to cover his tracks that perfectly and get away with it? I think it's safe to say he will kill again..." Siku expertly explained.
"Uh... You're full of surprises... Aren't you afraid of the dark?" Kodi asked.
"Hey... I'm not stupid." Siku said with a serious face, but giggled at her self being serious just a second later.
"Wait... What makes you so sure it's a "he"?" Balto asked.
"Easy. The detectives are all male, if it were a female attacker, then any scent the she would be able to cover, would not be enough. The male detectives would have easily been able to detect the minutest scent of a female, even months after she left the scene. A males scent, and obviously they would over look it." Siku said.
"That's incredibly sexist... Yet so incredibly true..." Kodi said.
"It makes sense..." Balto added.
"One more reason I guessed male, was that Marci isn't exactly the least desirable female in town... Apart from Jenna and yours truly of course, she's the cutest dog in town. No doubt one of the countless males that she's turned down would be furious when she got engaged to Fredrik." Siku expertly explained.
"Wow, how do you know so much about her? I didn't even know she had a mate, let alone his name..." Balto said confused at Siku.
"Her brother runs the sled team with Kodi, and let's just say, he and I have talked..."
"What in the hell do you mean by that?" Kodi popped in, slightly angry.
"Calm down Kodi. We just talked for a bit one day while you were on a run. He needed someone to talk to... He was rejected pretty damn hard by some girl in town." Siku explained.
"Who rejected him?"
"I did." Siku said with a smile.
"Haha, that's my girl." Jenna said.
"What?! Someone on my team tried to make a move at my girl?! Who is this son of a-"
"Don't curse infront of your mother..." Balto cut him off.
"Kodi I can't tell you... Because look at you... You're already enraged. Besides. He didn't know that you and I were mates."
"Aha! So it was Sinto! That new guy... That little... chicken shit..."
"Kodi!" Siku and Balto yelled.
"Sorry..."
"So Siku... You obviously know more about the victim than anyone else here... I want you to come with me as I talk to Doc and the others." Balto said.
"Can do." Siku replied.
"Let's go then. I'd like to solve this case before any more innocent lives are taken." Balto valiantly said.
"That's my man." Jenna said.
"I'll go with Kodi and visit Rosie. Nobody said that she had to come here everyday..." Jenna added.
"You still miss her, huh?" Siku asked.
"Of course... Everyday I think about it. But no doubt I am much happier here, with Balto." She added as she nuzzled Balto for a second.
Balto and Siku, forgotten past.
The two walked down the ramp into the snow covered ground on their way to town, and had a slight awkwardness between them.
"Hey..." Siku said.
"Yeah?"
"I wanted to talk about-"
"There's nothing to talk about. Don't you ever mention it again."
"I know I know... I just wanted to talk about it with you."
Balto growled and turned to Siku.
"Listen to me, nothing happened between us, nothing did, and nothing ever will. You got that?" Balto said, teeth shown.
"Balto... I love you... Like a father, nothing more. There was never anything between us... I know this. But we shouldn't ignore that night..."
"Siku just drop it... Please."
"You said you loved me... Then cried on my shoulder for three hours talking about how you 'ruined your family'... Balto you're the last person on earth I would think of that would cheat on your mate... But... Why did you say that to me? I haven't even met Kodi yet... There were ZERO ties you and I shared... To you, I was just a female wolf that you said you were in lo-"
Balto once again cut Siku off, staring her down, matching his yellow eyes hers; left eye a constant icy blue, right a crimson red.
He hid his aggression, and released her, seemingly coming to his senses.
"Ugh, damnit. I did it again... Sorry." Balto said.
"This really bothers you, huh?" Siku said.
"Of course it does... I have the best mate a guy would wish for... You're with my son and I could not be more proud of you both..."
"So? Nothing will change that. It's set in the past... I just want to know why you said it."
Balto ignored her for the most part, because the two were nearing the crime scene by accident. Balto just happened to choose the alley shortcut to the boiler room that Marci was killed in.
"Oh my... Siku don't look..." Balto said as he covered her view.
"Balto... I'm not a little girl anymore... I can handle it." She said as she pried his arms from her.
Balto let her go and she walked up to Marci's body. He was surprised that she didn't seem to be the least disturbed by death and even more surprised when she made her next move.
She put her muzzle under the body and flipped it. The lifeless corpse fell limp on the left side with a motionless plop. Luckily, it had not started to rot or smell up the place yet.
"Siku what the hell! Don't tamper with..."
Balto shut himself up and quickly walked over next to Siku... She was staring at something and slowly looked up to Balto as he came to her side.
"That's a clue... We better get doc."
Balto ran ahead, and Siku nodded then followed.
There, lied partially buried in the snow where Marci's body used to be positioned over, was a shred of orange fabric.
I don't exactly know where I'm going with this story... It's sort of a horror/CSI sort of thing. (And I've never seen CSI lol) ideas are flowing, so expect quick updates! :D