Chapter 3: The Face of the Enemy
As they walked through the woods, none of them knew what to expect when they would meet this other pack. Not even Maska knew what their disposition would be when faced with a dog and a dog hybrid. The alpha wolf was wary about bringing them, but he trusted them enough to follow their wishes. "I hope you two don't begrudge me for not wanting Jenna to come," he said. "I only wanted to look out for your safety."
"It's not a problem," Jenna replied. "I know you meant the best and I'm glad you cared enough to make it known, even though we're not a part of your pack."
"Just because you don't live and hunt with us doesn't mean I don't think of you as one of my own. You two will always be welcome with me, and while you are with me as guests, I consider your safety to be my responsibility," Maska said. "If anything were to happen to either of you on my watch, I'd never forgive myself."
"Oh, you don't have to have to go that far," Balto replied.
"I don't have to, but I want to. You're my friends, and my land is open for you anytime you want to visit, or if you need help," Maska said. "Speaking of helping, I'm wondering how well things are going in town for you. The last time we saw each other, you came to us because you were having some trouble in town."
"I was, but things have slowly improved," Balto replied. "I still get the odd look but… I guess with the support from Kaltag, Rosy, Jenna and others it doesn't seem so bad anymore. It's mostly Spitz that I get the attitude from, but after a while it's looking more like he's just full of hot air."
"He may be full of air, but he's also the one who's causing this trouble for you," Maska continued.
"Partly, but those wolves have their part in this too," Balto replied. "After all, they decided to come into town and make trouble."
"True, but that husky must still be quite a headache for you," Maska commented thoughtfully. "Who knows what else he might be up to while you're out today."
Balto thought for a moment, but waved it off. "Nah, he's not the type to do that. Besides, I'm not the only one who looks after the town. Kaltag, Doc; there are many dogs who keep an eye on things."
"That's good… though I suppose we wolves do something similar with our packs," Maska mused. "Out here, you need to look after your fellow wolves in order to ensure the survival of everyone."
"Or in this case, wolves, dogs and everything in between," Balto replied, earning a chuckle from Maska.
"Yes, that's true," he said. "There are many wolves that only see their immediate families, or only think of other wolves as brothers, but I'm a little more open than that. I see you as an extension of my family, and the same goes for anyone who is close to you."
"That's good… especially if we decide to… add a few more to the family," Jenna said, looking right at Balto. Balto simply smiled back; he knew what she was getting onto again. He wasn't the only one, as Maska also caught on to her hint and chuckled a little, but decided not to comment. The rest of the trip passed in silence and it wasn't long before they reached a frozen riverbed where Maska stopped and sat down.
"Are we here?" Balto asked.
"Sort of; this riverbed acts as a buffer between our two territories," Maska explained. "It is a neutral ground where we can meet and talk. However, the last time we talked with them was over a year and a half ago. They aren't the most social of packs, so we've made it our business to keep our distance from them."
"Do we wait for them to come?" Jenna asked.
"No, we have to call them," Maska replied before leaning his head back and giving out a piercing howl. After a moment, they heard the crunching of paws through the snow as a grey-furred wolf came over the hill, descending towards them. As she approached, Balto recognized that it was same female from the night before. When she saw him, her expression turned very sour.
"You…" she growled at Balto, her eyes narrowing. "Maska, what is the meaning of this? What are you doing with these… dogs," she said, putting extra venom on the last word.
"Yes, it's nice to see you too Kisa," Maska replied flatly. "Getting to the point, where is Tikani? There's something that we need to discuss."
"I'm not going to trouble him with the whining of these pets," Kisa snapped.
"Oh you are, because if you don't I'm just going to march in there and find him," Maska shot back. "Either way, we're talking to him."
"… Fine, I'll get him," she mumbled, before trotting away.
"Now you see why we don't talk to them very much," Maska said to them and Balto and Jenna agreed. If they had neighbours who were that sour, they would be reluctant to talk with them as well.
Soon they saw Kisa return with a larger, dark grey wolf, whom Balto assumed was the alpha male. "Alright, what's all the fuss about?" he grumbled.
"Maska is here, but he's with two dogs from that nearby human town," Kisa explained. "I recognize one of them from the raid last night - the brown one."
"Dogs? Well Maska, I'm surprised. I never thought of you as the type to associate with those who would rather kill us all and take our land," the alpha wolf said.
"These dogs have done nothing to harm your pack; I brought them here because they only wanted to talk with you," Maska replied. "Besides, you should know that it's rude to not introduce yourself to those you meet."
Tikani grumbled at being addressed in such a way, but he maintained his composure. "Very well; I am Tikani and you've already met my mate Kisa."
"My name's Balto, and this Jenna," Balto replied. "Oh and for the record, I'm not all dog. I'm actually half wolf. That's how I gained Maska's trust. In fact, I'm not a pet either. I suppose you could call me a stray that decided to call Nome home."
"A mutt eh?" Tikani said before turning to Jenna. "Are you a mutt too redhead? Let me guess… part fox?"
"Honestly Tikani, there's no need for that," Maska cut in as Jenna scowled at him. "These two only wish to talk so the least you could do is hear them out."
Tikani frowned, but nodded, allowing Balto to speak up. "Instead of beating around the bush I'm just going to lay it out for you. We know that it was your pack that attacked the town last night and I have a pretty good idea why you did it too," he started. "I'm here because I want to resolve this before anyone else gets hurt."
"I think it would also be fair if we heard your side of the story," Jenna put in. "Can you tell us about the first time you encountered the sled dogs?"
"Fair enough. Many days ago, our scouts spotted a sled team entering our territory. They didn't seem to be heading towards the core so we weren't concerned, but I still wanted to investigate," Tikani started. "We may be protective of our territory, but we are willing to let others pass through… as long as that is the only thing they do."
"It soon became clear that the dogs had other plans in mind," Kisa continued. "We watched as the team approached a caribou, and the human used his weapon to kill it before taking it away."
"Having them poach from our territory is unacceptable!" Tikani exclaimed. "We need caribou to feed our own, and if the humans take too much, then we may not have enough game to hunt for ourselves! What gives you dogs the right to take from others?"
"They didn't mean to steal from you," Balto protested. "That man was simply hunting to provide meat for his own family and his dogs."
Despite saying that, Balto's explanation didn't sway the wolf. "That may be, but why are they taking it from our territory?" he demanded. "Wolf packs don't steal from others' ranges, so why are they taking from ours?"
"That's it; you're treating this like it's another wolf pack, but you're dealing with different creatures," Jenna said. "The rules of land for humans and dogs are different from yours. They don't know about your borders; they only see open wilderness."
"So you're saying that we should let them go above our laws simply because they use different rules from us? You're saying that we should roll over for them?" Tikani asked.
"I'm just explaining why they would stray into your territory, so don't put words in my mouth," Jenna snapped.
"Look, we can argue semantics all day, but I want to hear the rest of this," Maska cut in. "Shortly after you first saw them you started to confront them."
"Yes, but we weren't trying to kill anybody," Tikani said. "We were simply trying to deter them from returning and taking more caribou. You know… scare them off."
"I guess they didn't take the hint," Balto said, acknowledging that this fit exactly with Spitz's story.
"They continued to come into our territory, with their human even wounding one of our own with his weapon yesterday. We decided that greater action would be needed," Kisa replied. "If they weren't going to stop, then we would take the fight to them."
"So you thought an eye for an eye would solve everything?" Maska said.
"When you say it that way, you make it sound like petty revenge," Tikani countered. "This was compensation for what they had done to us."
"The plan was to give them a message to never come back again," Kisa explained. "We would knock some of the huskies around to show that even in their home, they wouldn't be safe. It was supposed to make them think twice about coming back."
"And then you tried to sabotage their supplies to keep them from hunting," Balto continued and Tikani nodded, confirming more of Balto's theory. "There's one last thing you did that still puzzles me a little. Why did you try to steal the caribou carcass they had hunted?"
"We weren't stealing it! It came from our territory, so we were simply taking back what was ours," Kisa barked. "Our plan would've gone on without a hitch had you not decided to interfere."
"I don't know about you, but most don't take too kindly to having others cause trouble in their town," Balto said. It was becoming clear that the wolves saw themselves as victims as much as Spitz and his team did. This was not going to be easy to explain back in Nome, especially to Spitz.
"Just as we don't take kindly to having unwanted visitors in our territory," Tikani said with fire in his eyes. "We may have lost our surprise and our kill may not have been reclaimed, but we still managed to damage your tools. That should give us at least a little peace."
"I hate to break it to you, but it might not," Jenna put in. "The human can simply buy new harnesses and traps from the stores in town. It may come at a bit of a cost, but he'll soon be back out here, hunting as usual… though he may be a bit more upset with you due to the cost that you incurred on him."
"If our efforts carry a cost, then we'll continue until they can't support it," Tikani answered with resolve. "We'll wear them down until they are unable or unwilling to come here again."
"That might not be the best idea," Balto countered. "If you cause enough damage the humans will see you as a threat. Once they do, they'll only send more hunters… except instead of hunting game, they'll be hunting you, and they will likely destroy you."
"Are you threatening me mongrel?" Tikani growled.
"No, I'm simply trying to stop anything that would cause unnecessary bloodshed," Balto replied. "So far there have only been a few skirmishes, and I'd like to stop this before it escalates into something worse."
"We will only stop when you stop infringing on our territory!" Tikani shouted. "That is the only thing we ask."
"Very well; since Spitz and his team come here for hunting, is there somewhere outside of your territory where game is still present?" Balto asked.
"There is a small herd of caribou just outside of our borders, maybe consisting of eight or nine animals," Kisa agreed. "Other than that, no; most of the caribou in the area lie within our borders. In fact, that is why we chose this place for our pack; it has ample game to support us."
"If you have ample game here, then could there be a way to share with the dogs?" Jenna asked. "If we could-"
"Absolutely not! We have put up with the poaching of our prey for long enough - no more!" he growled, before turning to Balto. "Okay wolfdog, we've listened to each other and now you know our position. You go and tell your friends that if they don't want to get hurt, they will stay out of our territory from now on."
"This wasn't much of a talk," Balto protested. "We know your position, but we've barely tried to reach an agreement. Can't we take some more time to-"
"NO! No deals, no compromises, no concessions. We don't negotiate with dogs," he said, before turning tail with Kisa and disappearing back into the woods.
"Yeah it was nice seeing you again too," Maska muttered, making no attempt to hide the sarcasm in his voice. Jenna's face fell and her ears drooped after being shot down by Tikani like that.
"Hey, it's okay Jenna, you tried your best," Balto said, leaning in to nuzzle her. "At least you tried. We all did."
"If there's nothing else we can do today, then we should head back," Maska suggested, and they followed the brown wolf back into his territory.
"So what now?" Jenna asked. "We didn't get them to stop attacking Spitz and his team."
"No, but now we know why they're doing it," Balto answered. "It's because they want to protect their food supply. The simplest option is for them to go somewhere else."
"It may be a simple option, but Spitz might not go along with it," Jenna countered. "You know that he doesn't like being told what to do, especially from you."
Balto nodded reluctantly, ears flat and face firm. Jenna had said the very thing that was eating away at him. "That's what I'm worried about," he agreed. "But it's the best shot we've got so far, so we have to at least try."
"And if he doesn't take your idea?" Maska asked.
"I… I don't know," Balto said. "They'll keep going into Tikani's territory and that will only lead to more trouble. They'll be on their own unless…" he stopped and looked at his friend hopefully. "Unless you could help us Maska."
"Me? What do you have in mind?" Maska asked, surprised.
"Is any way that you could help protect the teams when they're out here?" Balto asked, "Would you be willing to run interference for them?"
Maska shook his head. "I'd like to, but if I did, I would only attract more ire from Tikani. I think he's sour enough as it is what with me helping you. If you were the one in trouble, then yes I would come and help, but I owe nothing to Spitz and I can't risk provoking a fight with Tikani for him. I have my own pack to think of here, especially considering we have a few pups to look after."
"I see; then again it wouldn't be fair to push this onto you as well," Balto said, disappointed that another idea had been turned down.
Maska nodded. "When it comes to diplomacy, I'd be more than willing to help out, but I don't want to get caught up in a fight if I don't have to. However, I will allow our territory to be a safe haven for those who need it. If Spitz still refuses to leave Tikani's pack alone, just tell him to head west until they cross the riverbed. They'll find shelter here, as Tikani wouldn't dare cross into my territory."
"While they're there, would you allow any hunting in your territory?" Jenna asked.
The wolf lowered his gaze and sighed. "Once again, I'm sorry that I have to decline the request," he said solemnly. "As it is, our game is stretched thin, partly because most of the caribou lie in Tikani's territory. We've been having to turn to smaller things such as rabbits to let everyone get by."
"In other words, your paws are tied," Balto said, and Maska nodded. "I still appreciate your offer for sanctuary here Maska. Besides, it may not even come to that, as long as Spitz likes our plan."
"That plan is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Spitz snapped after Balto told him what he had heard from Tikani. "Why should we take a detour like that from such prime hunting ground?"
"Because someone's already living there, and they don't want visitors," Kaltag replied. Balto had called on the Chinook to help explain things to Spitz. He hoped that having the current lead dog of Nome's champion sled team with him would help convince Spitz. Unfortunately, even that wasn't working out.
"It really isn't as bad as you think," Balto continued, trying to reason with him. "The wolf we met said that there was another small herd just outside of his territory."
"That's the other thing I don't like; how you go off and try to make deals with wild wolves while the rest of us hear little about it," Spitz continued, ignoring Balto's suggestion. "I don't like how the three of you seem to have some sort of little club where you can do as you please."
"Well if you want to talk to them, I'll gladly take you to them," Balto suggested.
"I don't want to talk to any wild wolf," Spitz muttered. "I'm not dealing with any of those savages. Besides, we might be able to sneak in and out of their territory without them knowing."
"I don't think so; it's nearly impossible to sneak past a wolf intent on protecting their territory - believe me, I know," Balto said, remembering how he was caught by Maska's pack shortly after entering their territory. "And they aren't as savage as you think. If you took the time to talk to them and hear their side, you'd find out that they're simply trying to look after themselves."
Spitz paused to think, but he was still unconvinced. "The answer is still no Balto. It's my team, and I have to look after their needs too. Wolves aren't the only ones who need to eat," he finished before trotting away.
Balto took a deep breath and let it out in defeat. Had he been foolish to think that it would be that easy? "Well so much for that," he uttered in a low tone.
"But we can't let them just waltz in and get hurt again," Kaltag said. "We have to do something. Are you sure these wolves won't make any deals?"
"I don't know; they wouldn't make a deal earlier today and they aren't as open-minded as Maska," Balto answered. "We have nothing to offer them in return, so it'll take something big to even get them to talk to us again."
