Hello! I apologize for not posting this chapter as quick as the others, but I have a lot of things going on this summer. I will do my best to get the chapters out to you guys as soon as I can! I know some of you have been waiting for Balto, well here he is! Noriktheleader charging into victory!

Chapter 4

As Norik walked through the snow, he looked up to the sky and noticed a storm starting to brew, but he didn't care. As Norik was walking to the boat, a smile came across his face. A sense of freedom filled his body and it made him happy. Like a sailor with the ocean in front of him, or an adventurer with an unexplored jungle just waiting to be journeyed, he felt free. The wind was blowing straight into his face, and the snow was fresh, causing him to sink into the snow. This made it hard for him to get the boat in the amount of time he had wished.

When he was about 100 meters away from the boat, a gush of wind blew into his face. He slightly rose his head and took in a deep breath. When he did this, there was a scent that alerted him immediately. "Wolf." He whispered to himself. He lowered himself into a prone position and continued to advance quickly and quietly. He was able to lower himself rather low, considering his height. As he got closer to the boat, he started to hear, what he believed was, a goose and a wolf.

(Wolf's POV)

A voice came from outside, "Hey, Balto! You in there?" Balto walked out from inside the boat, "Yea, I was seeing what else we have to eat. The winter is almost upon us and I think there will be a storm soon, what do you need?"

"Well I was thinking, during the winter we never get to walk around the deck because of all the snow. So, why don't we build some sort of roof over the boat. Then no matter what weather it is, we can still go wherever we want on the boat." Balto shook his head and smiled, "Boris, of all the silly ideas you've had in the past, this is by far the worst. (He chuckles) Do you want me too just walk into town and ask the carpenter, 'Hey, do you mind if I take you all the way out-of-town to build a roof for a dog and a goose?"

"Well you don't have to get all snotty with me, it was just an idea. By the way, what was happening last night? You kept kicking around and making whimpering noises."

Balto climbed on top of a box and sat down, "Yea sorry about that, I had the strangest dream.

"You seem to be having a lot of those lately." Balto nodded, "This is true, it's been the same dream too, over and over. So there I am, in the middle of the forest during a snowy blizzard, and I'm just running. I don't know why or what from, but I'm constantly looking back to see what's there, but there's nothing there. Anyway, I do this for a minute or so until I look back again and then fall, right off the edge of a cliff." Boris was confused, "That's strange..."

"I know, but that wasnt even the strange part, after I fell, everything just went black. When I landed, I didn't feel any pain at all. I looked up from the ground to see a white she-wolf looking down to me. Now, when I say white, I don't mean pale, I mean WHITE. She was as white as a valley of fresh snow. Anyway, she was looking at me and directed me too look off too my right. When I did, there was a tree with a carving on it. The carving looked like a wolf standing on a hill howling. I was staring at the carving when the wolf said "Whoever bears this symbol, you must find and befriend. You will be completely different in every way, yet in some ways, the same. At all costs, you must work together to defeat the troubles that come your way. You and him shall do many wonders together." When I look back to the her in confusion, she vanishes, almost like she was never there." Boris was very confused about this dream, "Why havent you told me about this before?" Balto shrugged, "I don't see it too have any importance, it's just a dream."

"Balto, all dreams have importance, especially the ones that are described the way you are describing yours." Balto rolled his eyes, "Ok Boris, lets say this dream is a message, what is it saying?"

"Is it not obvious? You need to seek whoever bears the symbol that you see in your dream. And how about the she-wolf, isn't it pretty obvious who she is?"

Balto looked out towards the tree line of the forest, 'Yes, I assumed it was Her."

"If it was Aniu, then obviously this is obviously a message." Balto made a strange face, like he sensed something, but did not know what. He then put it aside like it's not important.

"Well, I guess we'll have to wait to find out what to do. Judging by the skies, I don't expect we'll see anyone until the storm ends. I'm going back inside to finish counting out our food, but keep in mind, there isn't very much."

(Norik's POV)

When Norik came up to the boat he put his back to the wall and waited. He waited until the animal noises seised. Not really knowing what to do about them, he decided to just get on the boat and show them he was harmless. He climbed up the side of the boat and jumped on the deck. Doing this accidentally startled the two animals on the deck. Norik, realizing he scared them, put his hands in front of him, "I'm not here to-". He was tackled to the floor by the wolf. Trying to stop the wolf, they rolled around on the floor for a few seconds until Norik got pinned by him. As they were struggling, Norik's eyes began to glow pale blue. The wolf, still fighting to keep Norik pinned, was frightened by this. A low, dark voice came from Norik, "You shouldn't have done that." Immediately, Norik rolled onto his side, causing the wolf to fall on the floor next to him. Norik swiftly jumped off the floor and pinned the wolf down. Norik, now with the upper hand, drew his hatchet from a side pocket in his backpack. Seeing this, the wolf's eyes got big, and he began to struggle even more. Norik rose his arm to strike down on the wolf. Right as he swings his arm down, the wolf pushes Norik's arm causing him to miss. This caused the hatchet to get stuck in the floorboard of the boat. Now that Norik was unarmed, the wolf kicked Norik off of him using all four legs. With Norik off of him, the wolf stood from the floor. They both regained composure, preparing to attack again.

With their eyes locked onto one another, they were both circling around the deck, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. This went on for a moment or two, until Norik stopped in his tracks and shook his head around, his head was aching in pain. It felt like hundreds of railroad spikes were driving into his head. Due to this pain, Norik knelt, grabbed his head and cried in pain. The two animals just stood there watching for a moment, they didn't know whether they should help him or wait. After about half a minute of screaming and yelling in pain, Norik knelt there breathing heavily. He looked up to see the two animals just staring at him. The wolf, still completely confused by Norik's eyes, charged Norik. Norik also charged, and they collided in the air. Norik took the wolf down to the ground easily. The wolf was winded and pinned again by Norik. With one hand on his neck, and the other in a clenched fist, Norik clearly could kill the wolf where he lay, but he hesitated. The goose, this whole time just stood by and watched. Norik, still on top of the wolf, seemed to be mentally fighting with himself. Again in pain, Norik let the wolf loose, stood up and back away. Once again grabbing his head and yelling out in pain, Norik's bright eyes begin to fade back to their normal color. When his eyes were back to normal, he knelt there light-headed and defenseless. Seeing that he had the upper hand, the wolf was about to attack Norik again, but was stopped by the goose.

The goose seemed to communicate with the wolf. Norik, still disoriented, looked up and saw the goose pointing at him. Seeing this, Norik was confused. The wolf slowly came closer to Norik and stared at him. This made Norik feel very uncomfortable, he tried to stand, but was in too much pain. As the wolf came closer, Norik realized what the wolf was staring at, he was staring at Norik's necklace. Norik, confused by the wolf's interest, looked down at the amulet, and back at the wolf. Norik then blacked out and fell to the floor.