Well, you get the drill. I only own OCs.
Eli H. Lee
Nava, Niju, and their new pack left during the same week. Either way, with only the amount of time they both had with the members, Steele felt his ears go back as he watched Ayanna sit on the hill in the distance. He wasn't sure how long she had been there, gazing out to where the pack had gone to, but the idea of her sitting there for three days slightly unnerved the malamute. Walking up to her, he felt unsure if it was a wise decision to comfort his friend. Oh, so you're finally admitting that you two are friends. Congratulations, thick-head. Oh shut it.
"Ayanna?"
The she-wolf didn't move, the snow sticking to her fur as the wind kept blowing. If Steele hadn't see one of her ears move, he would have thought she hadn't heard him.
"Ayanna, come on."
A twitch of a tail was his response. Steele sighed and walked up next to her, looking aside at her face. Her blank expression didn't surprise him, he's been used to it plenty of time when she often listens to him goon about a race and all. Her eyes however, seemed darker than usual and much warmer. The sled dog nudged her cheek, only to feel her turn her head away.
"You can't just sit here. You stand it, yourself, you wanted to let go of your past and the pack was to be your last way of letting it go! You can't just keep sitting here waiting for them to retu- oof!" Steele's ice blue widen as Ayanna rubbed her head into the thicker fur around his neck. It took him some seconds to register that this was shockingly the only time he ever knew Ayanna crying. She wasn't sobbing, but he could feel the tears running from her eyes and onto his neck now.
"The pride in himself and his own pack, having no fear of death, the fear of change itself… he's so much like his father…"
Steele's ears went back before giving a look of concern and looking down at her with a little more of a joking look added. "Actually, I was under the idea that Niju took more after you, really." He smiled when he heard her chuckled.
"I guess he took only Siku's coloration in looks," she replied, a small smile forming on her face. Steele's on the other err… paw, started to fade a bit. If Ayanna had noticed, she definitely didn't show it. "He'd be so proud of him…"
….
"Where is he? He was supposed to be here 30 minutes ago," Sonya barked, pacing back and forth in the broiler room as Alpha kept watch at the door.
"Please, Madame, I am sure zhat our dear friend Monsieur Steele will be here soon!"
Sonya's glare to Tenino made him go for a quick retreat behind Tupit, the Saint Bernard already taking a small nap from the waiting. Beside the huge dog, Coal and Salina were fighting over an over chewed on bone while Tony just kept scratching his ears.
"Zenino has point, Sonya," Alpha began only for Tenino to lift his head and give a frown.
"It is Tenino!"
"Vhatever. Steele vill no doubt come. He probably has another stupid excuse again." The chow-husky mix left his post at the door and went over next to Sonya, nudging her with his rather short snout. Sonya looked at him, still with her angry pouty expression before smiling dearly at him.
"True, darling. I really should be used to all this by now." She gave him a nuzzle earning stares from the twins, Tony, and a mix of a bored expression from Tenino before he laid down on Tupit's fur comfortably.
"Oh, I envy zee missing monsieur. Granted I vould very much be likely to be stuck with Mademoiselle Ayanna, but that'd probably be better for moi than here," he whispered. However, his words did not go unnoticed. At least by Tony.
"Ayanna? That wolf-dog girl? Steele's with her?"
Everyone turned their gaze to Tenino, waiting for a confirmation on this information. "Well, I cannot be very well sure right now, but zey have been seeing each ozher a lot lately." By this time Tupit woke up suddenly sleepily.
"Wha- what's going on?"
"Steele's in a relationship with Ayan- Wait, is he in a relationship with her?" Coal looked at Tenino while asking the latter part. Tenino made a struggling face.
"The monsieur, he kept denying, but he seems very much the sensitive aboot her. And it is zee rumor of zee zown."
"Steele's in a relationship with Ayanna!" Salina barked, finishing her twin brother's exclamation. Tupit's eyes grew wide, though due to his massive fur, it was hard to see the expression of his mouth.
"No, with his taste in females?"
"I vill not deny, zhere is talk of zhem that I remember," Alpha said, a thinking expression being placed on his face as Sonya stayed nuzzled against him. "But zalk can be misunderstood."
"Alpha's right. Rumors can be rumors. Though if they are true…" she spoke, giving a more understanding and thoughtful expression that was very rarely given in front of her team.
"How can these rumors not be true?!" Tony exclaimed while giving a gleeful childish smile. "They're practically perfect for each other! Sure Ayanna's no looker, and she does have a smile that makes me shudder, and she really isn't friendly, but… um….." Tony soon began think on what he did know about Ayanna that was positive as everyone gave him a black expression. "Um…. she has… pretty eyes?"
Sonya rolled her eyes and Alpha gave an unimpressed frown. Coal and Salina both shrugged as Tupit whispered in Tenino's ear, "Two bones on either Sonya, Alpha, Steele, or all three decking him on this trip." Tenino smirked and whispered back, "Make it cept, mon ami."
"Well, they're both crabby, for one." Salina pointed out.
"Contrariwise, they're both not pleasant. Not no how," Coal remarked, earning a few nods from the others. The door to the boiler room soon flung open however, revealing Steele entering and walking towards them.
"Sorry I'm late again. Was out… um… busy. Again."
"In all other words, you're neither on time nor earlier due to not wanting to leave your girlfriend," Salina smirked, wagging her tail as she stepped on the bone she and her brother had been fighting over earlier and grabbed it in her mouth. Steele paused as he reached the furnace.
"Gi- girl – girlfriend?"
"Oh come on now, Tenino told us all about you and Ayanna, Steele old pal."
If looks could kill, Tenino might as well have been friend up French fry gone wrong. The canine in question gave an unsure grin as he hide more behind Tupit, hoping for protection by his big fluffy friend.
"There's nothing between Ayanna and I. How many time do I have to tell you, Te-"
"But she is the reason why you were late, right?" Sonya asked, a small glint in her eyes.
Steele looked aside, suddenly taking interest in a nearby flicker of the flames. "She was dealing with some… family problems."
"So you were vith her?" Alpha smirked knowingly. Steele gave a small scowl before flicking a small pebble away.
"What sort of family problems?" Tony asked, always interested and curious of other's problems. Steele sat down, still not looking at any of them.
"None of your concern."
"Come on, tell."
"No."
"Tell."
"Tell, now," Alpha commanded. Steele's face soon began to look like he was holding back a growl as he turned away from the group and towards the door.
"It's only between her and me. She's just dealing with some family problems. That's all I'm telling you all. Now if that's all you're going to ask of me, I'm leaving."
"You get your glory hound behind over here this instance, and stay!" The rest of the team seem to move back a good foot or two away at from Sonya at this outburst. Steele stayed, as if frozen at where he was, and defiantly made no effort to join the rest of the group again. "We're making a trip to Sinuk next week. There's going to be a little bit of … a change in arrangements. Everyone here knew of it already while we were waiting for you to get yourself over here." Steele turned his head towards all of them.
"What sort of arrangements?"
"I'm not coming along."
The words in Steele's mind were the following: YES! YES! YES! Finally! I am free from the alpha's little pain in the behind queen! Yes! Yes! Yes! Where's the nearest champagne!? YES! YES! YES! Ok, number one, you can't get drunk. At least not without getting your owner in trouble. Number two, isn't there going to be a catch in this like always? Ok, what part of the situation of Sonya not coming on a trip that's probably going to be three to five days at the least and therefore not joining Alpha on threatening to get me off the team do you not understand? All questions are invalid. Enjoy the relief!
"And since there's going to be a hunter traveling with us, his dog is going to take Tenino's place as he'll take my place." Steele took note of Tupit's and Tenino's rather unsettled and unease expressions.
"Should I ask why you're not coming, Sonya?" Steele asked, trying to keep a calm face. Sonya looked towards Alpha with a small smile before holding a paw to her stomach. Realization took over as the malamute notice a small bump forming. Oh sh-. I told you there was a catch. If the trip's next week, she'll be in no condition to make the trip. Great. Just great. There's going to be a bunch of mini Alphas and Sonyas. Just great. Told you so. Then something else came into realization to Steele. There weren't a lot of hunters in Nome. There were a few, but enough that you'd know all their names if you were a canine. "Which hunter are we dealing with?"
"A Monsieur Ethan Rogers," Tenino answered. "You know him of course?"
Steele's face couldn't hide the realization this time, because he knew very well that when the son of Ayanna's owner visits Nome, he uses Ayanna as a hunting dog. Oh crud.
Hey, something that has somewhat of a plot here. What do you know.
To state something here, like I always do, I based Coal's and Salina's personality on the very loose (note the word loose) idea of Tweedledee and Tweedledum from Alice in Wonderland. More so on Coal's personality. This is actually why they're also in the back of the team, since it is questionable if they're actually all there in the head. There is also some influence of Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter in Salina's character.
Tenino was originally, almost around the time of Chapter 2 in this fanfiction, to be based on Pepe le pew and try to take Steele's place as the lady's man (or canine if you prefer) of the town. Instead I made him more of a gossiper and someone who's not that good at keeping a secret. Oh, before I forget: little trivia here; Tenino has a crush on Tupit. There, I said it. Tenino's gay/homosexual/attracted to other males/ whatever you want to call it, whatever floats your boat. Now if you're not a whole yaoi or whatever you call it fan, than whatever. I could really care less.
Tupit's…. mostly based on my own Saint Bernard, Charlie. Expressive eyes, Mouth/muzzle that's hard to really see if that's what you look for in expression also, loves to pull sleds (still have to figure out where Charlie pulled my purple sled last time it snowed) and almost always lying down. Now granted, Tupit also has a crush on Tenino while my dog Charlie technically has a "girlfriend" of his own that lives right next door.
Alpha and Sonya…. I think I've made them pretty clear. Sonya's really the one that calls the shots, while Alpha's mainly in more charge of racing between the two. They're pretty much Alpha male and female of the team, complete with their own relationship.
Then there's Tony. He's based of off one canine from each of the three trios. Which by the way, has anyone else notice that there's always a trio in all the Balto movies? That can't just be me. The three canines in question are Star, Sumac (small brown wolf), and somewhat of Ralph, but more on the former two. I wanted to give him more of a wondering mind and curious outlook at the world really.
