Chapter 7: The Tour.
12:30 P.M. Thursday, December 21st, 1922:
Jenna stared at the intimidating male for a few seconds longer, before she realized the dog she was looking at wasn't Devil at all, but instead another black and white malamute of the same size and shape as him. However, the sled dog did seem angry with her for some reason.
"Hey, watch where you're going!", the malamute irritably snapped, before comprehension dawned in his eyes and he realized he was talking to a female. The malamute rolled his shoulders, and just like that his demeanor changed. "Oh, I didn't you see there. Sorry", the canine gruffly apologized, before reaching out his paw for Jenna to grab onto.
Jenna reluctantly took the olive branch the dog offered her, and let him pull her back up to her feet. The anger and aggression the stranger had been displaying only seconds earlier seemed to have vanished completely from his expression, replaced by a self-satisfied smirk. But for some reason, Jenna was still felt uneasy around the canine, and wanted to get away from him as quickly as she could. There was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, some long forgotten instinct that was telling her to run, to get as far away from the dog as she could. Underneath his false smile and flirtatious eyebrows, Jenna could sense there was something wrong, something cunning, something evil about the malamute. But instead of bolting like a crazy person, Jenna just stood there, holding his paws. "Who are you?", she finally asked.
"The name's Steele, leader of sled dog team 51", the malamute explained, proudly puffing out his chest.
"Kaltag's team", Jenna realized silently.
After another dog walked past them, Jenna finally remembered where they were standing, in front of the front doors of the Old Mill. "Sorry Steele, I'd love to talk some more, but I'm kinda in a hurry", she awkwardly explained, brushing past the malamute.
As she was leaving, Jenna had the distinct feeling that Steele was staring at her backside, and turned to look behind her again. But Steele was already gone, having seemingly vanished in a moment's time. Jenna paused where she stood, deliberating. Despite the fact that she was still in a hurry to get home, she wanted to know more about the mysterious sled dog. Combing through her memories, she recalled something important she had discussed with Balto earlier that morning, during her visit.
"So, what's it like in there?", she had asked him, curious like she was now.
"I wouldn't know, I've only ever seen it from the outside. There's a pile of crates that I sometimes stand on so I can look through one of the windows", Balto had replied.
Jenna glanced around, scrutinizing, until she saw there was indeed a stack of crates on the side of the Old Mill, which stood right in front of a nearby window. Jenna quickly climbed up on top of them, and peered through the frosty window, clearing some of the fog away with her paw. Inside the Old Mill, she could see that the malamute was now talking to his subordinate teammates, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star. Even though she was on the outside, she could still hear Steele perfectly, because he was obviously shouting about something.
"Have you seen him yet?", the lead dog growled demandingly.
"Sorry boss, but the little runt hasn't even been seen around town for more than ten days", Nikki replied, though there was a nervous tint to his voice, as if he was scared of his own boss.
"You idiots. YOU FUCKING IDIOTS! I've waited three weeks to give that little freak what's coming to him, and you're telling me he's still out there, hiding somewhere?!", Steele lashed out, growing more and more impatient. Steele's violent outburst quickly drew the attention of everyone else in the Old Mill, but the malamute mostly ignored the stares of his fellow dogs, focusing more on his terrified teammates.
"We're trying our best to find him, boss, but it's like he disappeared off the face of the Earth or something", Star desperately offered an excuse. But instead of replying, the pissed-off malamute simply growled at the smaller husky, baring a few teeth at him. And with that, Star quickly clammed up and went to go hide between Kaltag, which hardly impressed his bigger teammate.
Jenna was stunned to say the least, seeing this darker, uglier side of the Steele, and she felt glad she didn't stick around him long.
"At least tell me that you've found Devil", Steele growled.
"We have, but you heard what Doc said, they're already leaving town in a few days. If we attack them first than it'll be considered unprovoked assault, and we might be the ones getting banished, boss", Kaltag explained, hoping the enraged malamute would listen to reason.
Steele closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, to get a handle on his temper, before he sighed in frustration. He knew that Kaltag's words were the truth. The true nature of the malamute was that underneath all his charm, arrogant boasting and lady-killing machismo, he was a coward, just like Balto had said. Steele always attacked people in secret, and only when there was a large crowd of dogs with him to back him up, in case things with south. He was not willing to risk any retaliation from Doc or his underling Jared. As much as he despised Devil for almost killing the woman of his affections, he also hated Doc and he didn't want to give the old geezer any reason to throw the book at him.
"I'm not going to take this kind of thing lying down, guys. Devil will pay for almost hurting my girl!", Steele vowed, he sounded calmer now while still being angry and vexed.
"Wait, 'my girl'? Is he talking about me?", Jenna thought, with raised eyebrows.
Oblivious that his dream girl was listening in, Steele and his cronies continued their not-so-secret conversation. "And he will pay, boss. But we'll just have to find a way to do it all discreet-like, like we always do", Nikki advised, sitting down on a nearby cushion.
"First Balto and now Devil. Since when did enforcing some justice around here become so difficult?!", Steele thought bitterly, lying down on another cushion.
While Steele was still fuming, Dixie and Sylvie saunterd towards him, to Jenna's shock. The husky's mouth fell open, and she pressed her face closer to the window. "Didn't they just see his freak-out?", she wondered.
"So, how did the last race go Steele?", Dixie asked coyly, taking a moment to fluff up her fur.
"Eh, it was fine. We beat our competitors' tails into the ice", Steele grunted, starting to chew on a large, meaty T-bone.
Jenna watched from a distance as Dixie sat down next to the grumpy malamute, and realized that the Brooklyn show dog was flirting with him, or at least she was trying to. "Is she out of her mind?", Jenna asked herself, worried about her new friend.
As Steele continued to gnaw on his steak bone, his mind elsewhere, Dixie slowly moved closer, until she was practically lying on top of the malamute's chest. However, Steele either didn't notice her or simply chose to ignore her, much to Jenna's relief. So far, the malamute didn't seem to very aggressive towards female dogs like her and Dixie, only the males.
"Dixie?", Steele finally spoke.
"Yeah?", Dixie answered, delighted the malamute had finally noticed her.
"Have you seen Balto anywhere around here? I haven't seen him in weeks", Steele asked, with a cold, raised brow.
On the other side of the glass, Jenna felt herself grow still.
"The stray? He hasn't been seen in Nome in over ten days, not since Jenna's fight with Devil anyway", Dixie replied, a tad confused.
"Hmm", Steele mused, unable to help looking a bit disappointed, before he swallowed his bone.
Jenna remembered the lead dog's words before, about tracking down someone who wasn't Devil and beating him to a pulp. She also remembered Balto's warning from a few weeks ago.
"Stop! Stop! They'll just me kill me!", he had shouted, cutting off Jenna's frantic cries for help.
"Wait, kill you? What are you talking about?", Jenna had demanded, confused.
"They all hate me. If the other dogs find me like this, they'll just use my moment of weakness as a chance to finish me", Balto had claimed, straining to talk over all the pain he was in from his injuries.
"Why would they do that?", Jenna had pressed on.
"Because I'm half wolf", Balto had explained, his teeth clenched from the pain blazing all over his body.
Jenna hadn't given Balto's words much thought since then but she now realized what the wolf-dog hybrid had meant, that his life was in danger every time he went into Nome because of Steele and dogs just like him. "Why? Why would he want to hurt Balto? He's never hurt anyone? Or at least I hope he hasn't", Jenna pondered, concerned.
She had only just met the wolf-dog and she already trusted him with her life. Perhaps she hadn't changed at all since her close encounter with Devil, she was still too quick to trust total strangers. The wolf-dog had seemed like a nice person, but then again, so had Devil, Wilson, and Cookie at first. She had let the dogs get close to her in a matter of minutes, but they had just been biding their time, waiting for the right moment to strike and seize what they wanted. "What if Balto is just doing the same thing?", Jenna wondered, for one horror-stuck moment.
As Jenna sat on her recent decisions, Steele stretched his arms and legs and yawned, causing Dixie to abruptly slide off his chest. The smaller dog yelped in surprise as she tumbled onto the floor, while Steele rolled over on his side, ignoring her again. Steele had had a long day and a good nap would give his brain a chance to recharge, letting him think of new ways to torture Balto the next time he saw him.
As Nikki, Kaltag, and Star settled down on their own cushions, Jenna realized that she wasn't going to hear anything else of interest and slowly stepped away from the window. The husky was deep in thought as she walked down the street, towards her familiar home with the broken fence. Things had all seemed so clear to her that morning in the trawler, and now she didn't know what to believe anymore or who to trust. All she knew was this: whether it came from Balto, Steele or even Devil, her life seemed to be in danger everyday now. She would have to find a way to fix the mess that she had gotten herself into, before it was too late for her and new human family. The husky wouldn't allow anyone else be put in danger because of her.
((()-()))
9:00 A.M. Friday, December 22nd, 1922:
The next day, Balto found himself walking down Front Street again, for the first time in over eleven days. Honestly, Balto hated being out in the open like this, but he felt the need to keep a promise he had made to a very special friend, even if it meant risking another encounter with Steele or Devil. Today was Balto's birthday, but it was also the day he had promised Jenna that he would show her the town. Balto's injuries were still a bit sore, so he had to put a little more effort into walking than usual. Since he was going to be spending at least a few hours with Jenna today, the last thing Balto needed was to reek of dirt and twigs when he was walking with her. As a precaution, the wolf-dog had taken an extra-long bath in a river that morning, trying to make the experience as pleasant for her as possible.
It didn't take long for Balto to find what he was looking for: Jenna's house. The hybrid noticed that despite Evelyn's complaints about the house when she had arrived two weeks ago, the Jones family's surrounding fence was still broken. The lock was as well, which allowed basically anyone to come in. Balto raised one of his paws and quietly pushed the gate open, not wanting to alert any of the humans inside the nearby house. On the other side of the fence was a small yard, which lead to the front door. Balto quickly looked around the lawn and found what he was looking for - a small wood pile. Balto ducked behind the logs and waited patiently.
He and Jenna had agreed on a specific hour, 9:00 A.M, and the clock tower in the center of Nome confirmed that it was now 9:00 A.M. But when the hands on the clock moved to ten minutes past nine and there was still no sign of Jenna, Balto started to worry about the husky. His mind began to reel as he thought of a dozen different reasons why Jenna could have been late. The best case scenario was that she had simply changed her mind and decided not to risk it, or she forgot. But the worst case scenario was that Jenna had met up with Devil and his gang again, and she had been brutally murdered as retaliation against her and Balto. That was a good possibility. Just as he was about to really start worrying about that, Balto's ears pricked up at a distinctive flapping sound. He knew it by hard. It was the sound of dog door opening, which meant someone was leaving the house. Taking a moment to sniff the air, Balto breathed a sigh when he recognized Jenna.
As the rust and cream colored husky stepped through the door into the yard, she still felt a little anxious. Despite what she had tried to tell herself, she knew that Balto still considered this tour to be a date, and that made her worry. The fact that Balto had enemies had unsettled her the day before, but she was even more worried now that Balto was messing with her mind, trying to get close to her so he could get what he wanted. As much as Jenna wanted to believe this wasn't true, there was only way to know for sure - spend more time with the wolf-dog.
Now that she was outside, Jenna quickly picked up a familiar scent, she had memorized it during the ten days she had spent visiting his trawler. "You can come out now Balto, it's only me", she called, knowing the hybrid had to be hiding somewhere in her yard.
With that invitation, Balto stepped out from behind the wood pile and smiled at her. "Sorry Jenna, had to be sure it was you", he offered.
Jenna nodded her head and moved to go join him, taking in his appearance. Balto looked different from the last time she had seen him. He had obviously washed his fur, and he seemed to be almost completely recovered from his fight with Devil. The wounds on his body were not only sealed shut, but thick scabs were starting to form around them. Soon, there would be no traces at all of the brawl ever happening, except for a few thin scars hidden beneath his fur.
"So, how are you doing?", Balto asked awkwardly, still feeling nervous around his not-so-secret crush.
"I'm doing fine", Jenna replied, feeling just as off-foot as Balto. "Sorry I was so late, Rosie was having trouble going down the stairs and I wanted to help her", Jenna explained, chuckling at the memory.
Balto laughed a little too. In two weeks, he still barely knew anything about the husky, but he could tell that she cared deeply for her human girl. "You're not too late, it's only 9:30", Balto reassured her, pointing towards the clock tower in the distance.
"So, let's get this date over with already", Jenna teased lightly, feeling a little bit more relaxed already in Balto's company.
Balto paused. "Wait, the what?", he asked, surprised.
"I was just joking, this is only a tour, remember?", Jenna asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah, sure, just a tour", Balto said sheepishly, fighting back the urge to blush.
Jenna smiled and rolled her eyes, feeling rather silly. How could she ever think that Balto was planning to murder her? Instead of a heartless and scheming killer, all she saw now was her charming and goofy best friend, the dog she was starting to develop feelings for. When Jenna had first moved to Nome, Alaska, all had she expected to find was a small town with a few other dogs in it, and maybe a good view of the Northern Lights. But the husky had never imagined that she might find love, or that the love she found would be directed towards a wolf-dog hybrid.
After another awkward moment, Balto walked over towards the gate and pushed it open with one of his paws. "Well, come on then", he beckoned, outstretching his paw. "Ladies first", he added with a smile and a squave wiggle of his eyebrows.
Playing along, Jenna stepped ahead. "Ooh, a gentleman", she teased him back, with a prompted an easy to miss tail wag from the hybrid.
Despite his concerns earlier, Balto already had a feeling he was going to have a great day. Then his eyebrows shot up as he realized Jenna was not waiting for him, and the frisky husky was already halfway down Front Street. "Hey Jen, wait up!", he called, running after her. "You can't have a tour without a guide!", he reasoned.
"Boyfriend" by Big Time Rush & Snoop Dogg begins.
((()-()))
Across town, inside the Old Mill, four dogs were lazily lying next to a boiler, trying to catch some sleep. Steele, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star had just finished another all-nighter, and were completely exhausted. Their musher, Gunnar Kaasen, had decided that the team needed more practice running at night, so they had spent the entire night running through the woods. However, the sled dogs were finding any chance of getting some well-earned sleep was impossible, since that annoying canine band playing only a few feet away from them. "Damn foreigners, why didn't Jared and his band of losers just stay in Canada where they belonged?", Steele grumpily complained in his head.
Across the room, the familiar Newfoundland Jared, and his three friends, Rocky, Jimmy, and Mac, were playing an upbeat pop-rock song. Nikki, Kaltag, and Star were unfortunately not the only boy-band in Nome, after Jared and his friends had moved to Nome the year before, they created their own band. The Canadians were actually pretty good singers, and Steele would have normally liked the song, if it wasn't interrupting his mid-day nap.
"Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boy! Have you ever had the feeling you're drawn to someone? Yeah, and there isn't anything they could have said or done (said or done)?", the band began, with Jared in the lead.
"Please, you're practically preaching to the choir", Steele thought bitterly.
"And everyday I see you on your own, and I can't believe that you're alone! But I overheard your girls and this is what they said!", Mac continued, taking over from Jared.
To Steele's annoyance, the song got even louder as the band entered the chorus section.
"That you're looking for a boyfriend, I see that! Give me time, you know I'm gonna be that! Don't be scared to come put your trust in me, can't you see all I really want to be is your boyfriend! Can't fight that, let me down you know I'm coming right back! I don't care at all what you done before, all I really want is to be your, your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend! Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend! Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend! Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend!", Jared and his band rapped, their voices echoing across the Old Mill.
Steele groaned to himself, all their annoying song did was remind him of how close he had came to meeting Jenna the other day, only to let her slip through his (hypothetical) fingers. Oblivious to Steele's rapidly depleting patience, Jared and his band continued onto the third verse.
"Let me take a little moment to find the right words (to find the right words), so when I kick it to you it ain't something that you've heard (something that you've heard)! I don't know what kind of guy that you prefer, but I know I gotta put myself for worst! See, I think got the kind of love that you deserve, and I heard that, that, that-", the group harmonized.
As the chorus section began again, an aggravated Steele briefly considered walking over to Jared and punching the dog in the face, but decided against it. "Ugh, there's too many witnesses", he decided, unable to do anything except suffer through the second chorus.
"That you're looking for a boyfriend, I see that! Give me time, you know I'm gonna be that! Don't be scared to come put your trust in me, can't you see all I really want to be is your boyfriend! Can't fight that, let me down you know I'm coming right back! I don't care at all what you done before, all I really want is to be your! Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, your boyfriend, your boyfriend! Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, your boyfriend, your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend!", the quartet rapped.
"If you tell me where, I'm waiting here! Everyday like Slum-Dog Millionaire, bigger than the Twilight love affair, I'll be here! Girl I swear! Looking for a, looking for a, that you're looking for a boyfriend (hey)! I see that, give me time you know I'm gonna be that (be that)! Don't be scared to come put your trust in me, can't you see all I really want to be is your boyfriend (hey)! Can't fight that (fight that), let me down you know I'm coming right back (right back)! I don't care at all what you done before, all I really want is to be your! Be your! Be your! By your!", the band continued.
"Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, your boyfriend, your boyfriend! Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, your boyfriend, Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, all I really want is to be your, your boyfriend!", Jared, Jimmy, Mac, and Rocky promised.
"You know, this song really isn't that bad!", Star grinned, shaking his head freely to beat.
Feeling thoroughly pissed-off, Steele growled out of the side of his mouth and raised one of his mammoth paws, before he was abruptly stopped by Kaltag."No boss, let me", he insisted, raising his own right fist. With little affair, the tan chinook hit Star over the head as hard as he could, instantly knocking him out cold.
Steele sighed and placed his head in-between his paws. He knew that it wasn't really Jared or Star he was mad at, he was angry at himself. Steele hadn't been there to save Jenna when Devil and his thugs had been after her. If he been the one who saved her, she would probably be putty in his paws by now, but instead the husky wanted nothing to do with him. "She probably thinks she's too good for me", he speculated irritably.
Steele hated being rejected. All his life, the malamute had tried to be the best of the best and he only accepted the best, achieving numerous things and climbing his way to the top of the social ladder, no matter what got in his way or who he had to sacrifice. Steele knew that he had to convince Jenna to be his. He didn't really care about the husky herself, but he was going to go crazy if he didn't get her attention soon. Steele knew that it was stupid and shallow to let her rejection get to him as much as it did, but he had already been denied his revenge against both Balto and Devil and he didn't know if he could handle another setback so soon. With that in mind, Steele resolved that he would set out and search all of Nome until he found Jenna again. And once he found her, he would wine and dine her until the husky fell for him.
Behind him, Jared and his band began the final verse. "Be your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, ooh! Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend, your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend! Yeah, yeah, yeah! All I really want is to be your, be your, be your, be your, be your, be your, be your, your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend! Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend! Hey! Your boy boy b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend! All I really want is to be your!", Jared and his band finished on a high note, and all the dogs in the Old Mill burst into applause, except of course for Steele.
Awakened by the sound of the all the other dogs cheering, Star slowly stirred. "Ah, what hit me?", he mumbled dizzily. But before anyone could reply, Kaltag lifted his paw and knocked Star unconscious again. The annoyed chinook had done it simply because he didn't want to hear his teammate complaining about how he had hit him again.
((()-()))
Shortly after Balto had caught up with Jenna, the tour finally began and the two started looking at different landmarks in Nome, starting with Nome's central building.
"So Jenna, we're starting here. This is City Hall, it's been a part of Nome since the town was founded in 1899", Balto explained, pointing one of his large paws towards the west. The capitol building resided on the Western side of Nome and seemed to tower over the rest of the town. However, the City Hall's massive size was not the only thing that made it look different than the other buildings of Nome.
"I don't believe it, there's marble!", Jenna delightfully admired. Instead of being made entirely out of wood like most of the other buildings in town, the City Hall had a marble roof and stone steps, making it instantly recognizable.
"Yep, the marble was shipped in from parts of the United States, and parts of Canada, I think", Balto supplied, pointing towards select parts of the building.
Jenna beamed at the thought, and turned towards her friend. "Do you think we'll ever become a state Balto?", she asked honestly.
Taken by surprise by her question, Balto considered his answer for a moment. "Maybe someday Jen. After all, anything's possible", he offered. Alaska had been trying to become an official state for decades, but so far, it was nothing more than a neutral country that the United States used as a dump site during wartimes.
"Like a husky being friends with a wolf?", Jenna followed up, broaching the subject tentatively.
Balto reflexively opened his mouth to answer her question, but then he paused, growing still as his striking, yellow eyes lowered in shame. By now, Balto even hated the word 'wolf', all it did was remind him of who he was, and who he could never be. After a long moment, the wolf-dog spoke up. "Come on Jen, let's keep going", he quietly decided, avoiding Jenna's question altogether.
The rust and cream husky wanted to press Balto more on the subject, but she decided against it. She had known the hybrid for only a few weeks now, but she could already tell that he hated everything about himself, and people who did that were often self-destructive. Jenna knew by now that Balto wasn't a killer, but she wondered if such a self-loathing individual would ever be capable of love, or if she just was fooling herself into thinking there could ever be anything between Balto and herself.
After walking and talking for a few more minutes, Balto stopped in front of another building, but this one looked strangely familiar to Jenna. She had seen both Balto and Boris standing in front of the building when she had been running from Devil and his gang, almost two weeks ago.
"This is the butcher's shop. It's owned by James Avery, and in my opinion it's the best source of meat in town", Balto declared, his mood lightening already.
"From what I've heard, it's the only source of meat in town", Jenna countered.
"That's what makes it the best", Balto smirked.
"Ah, funny", Jenna retorted sarcastically.
"This is where I come to scavenge everyday", Balto explained softly, directing his eyes towards the alley next to the butcher's shop.
Jenna followed his gaze, and as she looked into the darkened alleyway she let her mind wander. The purebred husky could barely even imagine what it was like being an outcast like Balto. "Having to sneak into human towns to try to steal food without being seen, just so you can survive another miserable day", she thought..
While Jenna was glad that she wasn't in Balto's position, she also felt really bad for the hybrid. "He's forced to live a life that no one should ever have to put up with, just because of what he is. It's not fair", she thought sadly. She turned her head and looked back at Balto again. The wolf-dog seemed to be in a better mood, but he also seemed distracted, thinking of something else.
"No wonder he doesn't want me to get close to him. It's not because he's afraid he might hurt me, he's afraid that he might ruin my life like how the other dogs have ruined his", Jenna realized. Her heart ached for her new friend, and she wished there was something she could do to help him. But she knew that there was nothing she could do to change the wolf-dog's biology or even how the other dogs saw him.
Unaware of Jenna's depressed thoughts, Balto's head suddenly snapped up and she saw the hybrid was grinning again. "Well, come on, we'd better keep moving, there's still a whole lot more to see", Balto cheerfully remarked, before walking further down the street.
Jenna sighed one last time and turned to follow her best friend, wishing that she felt as happy as he did.
"So, did you meet any new friends yesterday?", Balto inquired curiously.
Jenna hesitated at first but she decided to let Balto change the subject; she didn't want to ruin his good mood by dwelling on things beyond her control. "Just a few. I met a pair of show dogs named Dixie and Sylvie", Jenna answered.
"I think I've heard of them. Dixie won the regional dog show last year, the prize was a solid gold collar with a diamond on the edge", Balto mused, before wolf whistling, obviously impressed.
"They were singing a song, and it was a pretty good one too", Jenna recalled, thinking of her unexpected performance the other day.
"Ah, so I was right about dogs being able to sing?", Balto asked, sounding more than a bit smug.
"Just like I was right about your wounds being healed in ten days or less?", Jenna retorted, a tad miffed.
Balto cleared his throat, and decided it was best not to head any further down that path. After being quiet for another minute, a thought occurred to him. "So, uh, what are you going to do for your song?", he wondered.
"What song?", Jenna asked, confused.
Balto cocked a brow in surprise. "They didn't tell you? It's traditional for newcomers to perform their own original song whenever they arrive in Nome", Balto explained.
Once that sank in, Jenna felt herself freak out, just a tad. "What? But I don't know any songs!", Jenna exclaimed.
Balto bit his lip. "Ah, well, don't worry Jen, you'll have plenty of time to think of one. I might even help you with it", Balto reassured her.
"You?", Jenna said, surprised at his offer.
"Every good songwriter needs some inspiration to help them get started, Jen. I might be able to help you with that. Two heads are better than one and all", Balto reasoned good-naturedly.
"Ah, okay then, inspiration", Jenna nodded, still digesting everything that had just happened.
"Is there anything else that happened to you day? Anything inspiring?", Balto prodded.
Jenna took the hybrid's advice and consulted her memories for help. "Well, after I sang with Dixie and Sylvie, I met up with a dog named Steele", she replied.
But while Jenna kept on walking, Balto interrupted their leisurely stroll by stopping dead in his tracks. "Who?", he asked, his tone dropping a few decibels.
Jenna paused and looked back at her friend, wondering what the connection was between Balto and this sled dog. "Just some dog named Steele, and from the way he acted, it was almost like he knew you", she stated, subtly fishing for answers.
Balto gazed at the husky, and she saw something in his eyes that worried her. For the first time since she had met the wolf-dog, he looked afraid, very afraid. Not even when he had taken on three dogs at once had she seen him look the way he did currently.
"Jenna, what I'm about to ask you is very important. What did you tell him? About us, I mean", he inquired, still seeming deeply unnerved.
"I didn't tell him anything except that I needed to get home, and I made up some excuse about Rosie", Jenna replied, though that still didn't seem to calm the hybrid down much."Balto, what's wrong?", she questioned. The rust and cream colored husky was becoming increasingly afraid of the malamute himself, if this was the kind of reaction he evoked from Balto, her fearless rescuerer.
"Jenna, if Steele finds out about us, then he won't rest until either I'm dead, or you're permanently banned from Nome", Balto stated plainly, concern shimmering in his honey yellow eyes.
"Balto, I can handle myself", Jenna insisted, starting to grow a bit tired of Balto constantly worrying about her.
"You don't know Steele. He preys on people's fears and weaknesses, singles them out, and if he can't beat you alone, he'll rile up an angry mob until there's a whole town behind him, making it impossible for anyone to stand up against him. If he was to target you, then-", Balto cut himself off.
"Then what?", Jenna pressed.
"Then you wouldn't stand a chance", Balto finished, somehow sounding angry, afraid and sad all at once. Jenna couldn't said she didn't feel sympathetic.
"Listen Balto, I know the risks of being friends with a wolf-dog, but I know what I'm doing", she insisted, hoping that would calm him down. Instead, her comforting words only seemed to ruffle his nonexistent feathers.
Balto shook his head. "No, Jen, I won't be responsible for ruining your life. I think it's time we end this tour", he decided firmly.
"No!", Jenna reacted, putting herself in the hybrid's way before he could go anywhere. "We came all the way out here, and we've still got a few more buildings to go", she insisted.
"Jenna", Balto growled softly.
"Balto, please, you have to trust me on this", she pleaded with her friend.
Balto wanted to stand his ground, go around her and head back to his trawler, but something in that moment made him stop and reconsider. It was the expression on Jenna's face. It was the weirdest one he had ever seen. It was gentle and earnest, but also coaxing, insistent and shamelessly manipulative. Looking at it made him inclined to agree with her, even though he knew he was only doing this for her own safety. Her begging face (or was it her guilt trip face?) proved to be very effective. And when he looked at it a second time, it only seemed to grow stronger. Balto let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm going to hate myself for this later", he thought. "Alright", he decided, admitting defeat.
Jenna grinned and giggled lightly. "Now come on, let's just start over, before we started talking about Steele?", she suggested hopefully.
Balto wasn't quite ready to let the matter rest, but eventually he decided that arguing some more about Steele wouldn't solve the impasse the two friends were currently in. "Sure…", he reluctantly replied.
"Great! Well anyway, Dixie and Sylvie were nice and all, but Dixie just seemed so infatuated with Steele. She spent at least ten minutes trying to get him to even notice her, and to be honest, it was kind of sickening", Jenna admitted, shuddering slightly.
"A girl who spends all her time trying to impress a guy, that sounds like a good basis for a song", Balto suggested, deciding to play along.
"Really?", Jenna asked.
"Yeah, most of the songs I've heard are about relationships", Balto encouraged, smiling a little.
"Well, maybe we should also write a party song, something fun and peppy that will get the crowd off the floor and into the beat?", Jenna suggested.
"Sure. Who says we can't do both?", Balto shrugged.
"Well, we should get to it then", Jenna decided, grinning.
"I thought we were in the middle of our tour?", Balto reminded her, confused.
"Well, who says we can't do both?", Jenna teased, turning the wolf-dog's own words back against him.
Balto frowned at first, before he barked out a laugh and shook his head. "Okay then, next stop, the Old Mill", he chuckled, before walking off with Jenna by his side.
Along the way, the two friends soon started pitching ideas about Jenna's number.
"Okay, how about a song that starts out slow and builds over time?", Jenna theorized.
"Nah, those have been completely overdone", Balto disagreed with a shake of the head.
"Well, what do you suggest then?", Jenna inquired, a tad annoyed.
"How about a rock song?", Balto suggested.
"Maybe, but I've never been that much of a fan of rock and roll", Jenna considered skeptically.
"Okay, well, how about a crossover between a rock song and ballad?", Balto offered.
"A hybrid song?... I suppose that could work", Jenna conceded with some thought.
((()-()))
"Chicken Casanova" by Murray Gold begins.
After a few more hours, the two friends had finally settled on a song, or rather several different songs, some rock, some pop, and some slow ballads. And outside the Old Mill, the two dogs were currently practicing one of them.
"Let's get crazy! Get up and dance, take a swing, do your thing, it's worth taking a chance! Let's get crazy! Yeah, just kick up your heels, don't miss out, time to shout! Always keeping it real, let's get crazy!", Jenna sang slowly, trying her best to memorize every single line.
"You're doing great, Jen. I'm sure you'll have it down in no time", Balto complimented her sincerely.
"Thanks Balto, for doing all this for me. Taking me on this tour, and then helping me write all these songs", Jenna smiled, feel a touch embarrassed.
"Ah, forget about it", Balto replied, doing his best corny impersonation of a 1920's gangster.
"You know, you are terrible at impressions", Jenna remarked, trying her best not to giggle.
Balto simply shrugged in reply, unfazed. "Anyway, this is the Old Mill. The humans used to use it to cut timber, but now it's mostly used to keep dogs like you and me warm on cold nights", he explained, beckoning to the building above them.
"It's amazing", Jenna replied, staring in awe. The Old Mill was a whole lot taller and wider than most of the other buildings in Nome, and seemed to fit dozens of dogs inside it's massive rooms.
"Come on, there's just one more building left I have to show you", Balto called, tapping on Jenna's shoulder.
The red husky raised her eyebrows, but followed the wolf-dog as he trotted across the street.
"This is Nome's general hospital. In fact, it's the only hospital around here for miles", Balto explained, pointing to the building before them.
"It's so small", Jenna observed, puzzled. To Jenna, the wooden hospital seemed much more like a small hunting cabin than a public building, even Nome's City Hall looked bigger than it.
"Nah, that's just because you're looking at the glass half empty. This is actually pretty big compared to some of the other hospitals in Alaska", Balto informed her with a chuckle.
Jenna glanced his way. "Alaska must be pretty small then", she mused.
"You just need to keep an open mind, beauty is often in places where you least expect to find it. In fact, there's a whole other world hidden beneath this hospital that dogs and cats from all around travel miles just to catch a glimpse of", Balto explained.
"Wait, you're kidding me, right?", Jenna asked him skeptically.
"Well-", Balto started with a wolfish grin. But before the wolf-dog could continue, he was suddenly cut off by the sound of a third voice, one that made the hybrid cringe from the minute he heard it.
"Hey, wolf-dog!", someone shouted with a laugh..
Balto and Jenna's heads immediately whipped around in the direction the voice had came from, but Balto already knew who it belonged to. Standing behind the pair was the familiar shape of Steele, sneering at the sight of the two canines together. The lead dog had been inside the Old Mill, gnawing on a bone as usual, when he had heard voices coming from outside and both of them had sounded familiar to him. But when Steele went to investigate, he was surprised to find Balto and Jenna standing in front of the hospital, and they obviously knew each other. Realizing that the two were friends, or possibly something even more, Steele was determined to keep his dream girl far away from the half-wolf freak he despised.
As Steele continued to sneer at the duo, Balto's mind quickly comprehended the implications of Steele seeing both him and Jenna together. "No! Why did it have to be Steele? Why now?", he thought feverently, his heart crushed by the immense weight of his disappointment. The wolf-dog had worried that something like this would happen, that during their tour through Nome, Steele would appear and he would either banish Jenna from Nome or she would fall for the malamute and choose him over Balto. The wolf-dog knew that his dreams of being Jenna's boyfriend were both selfish and hopeless, but he had still been hoping and praying that they would come true ever since he had first met her.
Balto and Jenna never took their eyes off the malamute as he approached them, leering widely. To Balto's surprise, he realized that Steele was without his gang this time. They were probably still inside the Old Mill themselves, but their lead dog felt so confident today that he felt like he didn't need them.
"So Bingo, who's your friend?", Steele inquired, half-sarcastic and half-sincere.
"My name's Balto", Balto scowled, annoyed as always by Steele's taunting nickname for the half-breed.
"Whatever", Steele replied, with an arrogant eye roll.
Balto chose to ignore Steele's insults, and instead fought back the urge to lunge at the dog. Another fight would no doubt just worsen the bad blood between them, and Jenna would almost certainly be caught in the crossfire. Instead, Balto forced himself to respond politely to Steele's question. "Her name's Jenna, and she just moved here two weeks ago", he explained, feigning friendliness.
Balto glared at Steele as the malamute shoved past him and walked up to Jenna.
"Hello Jenna, sorry we didn't get properly introduced yesterday. My name's Steele, the fastest dog in Nome", Steele boasted, taking Jenna's paw in his own.
Jenna shuddered slightly at the feeling of Steele's paw on top of hers. Once again, Jenna felt the urge to get away from him, like some long-buried instinct inside her was trying to tell her that Steele couldn't be trusted. Still, Jenna ignored it and responded as politely as she could. "Hi Steele, I'm Jenna. It's a pleasure to meet another dog in Nome", she said, before shaking the malamute's paw.
"I heard all about what almost happened to you a few weeks ago. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help rescue you", Steele said apologetically, continuing his sickly sweet facade.
"Yeah, because I was, so where were you?", Balto thought bitterly, fighting to control his jealousy as Steele continued stroking Jenna's paw.
"It's okay. I'm just glad I escaped with my life", Jenna remarked, not noticing Balto's frown turn into an angry scowl.
"I'm glad too. Then again, from what I've heard, you were rescued by some mysterious stranger? Did you ever find out who he was?", Steele asked with a noticeable sneer. The malamute already knew from the other dogs that Balto had been the one who had stepped in to help Jenna, and that she had been seen dragging his body out of Nome, but he wanted to know more from the husky herself.
Jenna's heart beated heavily and she started to pant quietly (since dogs couldn't sweat). Still, she fought to control her nervousness so her body wouldn't betray her, while the malamute waited for her response. She knew that Steele didn't have any concrete evidence of her connection to Balto, and she wasn't about to give him any. Jenna couldn't risk being banished from Nome, or making Balto's life even worse than it already was. She risked a glance at the wolf-dog, who seemed just as on edge as she was at the moment. Balto had risked his life to save hers, and now she had to protect his.
"No, not really. I was just so scared that I kept my eyes closed the whole time, and by the time I opened them, Devil and his thugs were already gone", she lied as straightly as she could.
Steele's face immediately fell, and he cleared his throat, fighting to keep his rising temper in check. He looked at Balto and the two rivals glared at each other, before Steele spoke up again. "Say Jenna, why don't you hang out with a classy dog like me, and not a flea-bitten mongrel like that?", he suggested suavely, affably with a very pointed insult.
At the word 'flea bitten mongrel', Balto immediately clenched his teeth shut as tautly as he could, ignoring the pain it caused him. He did it to prevent himself from growling, because he knew what Steele was trying to do, what the manipulative malamute did best. Steele was trying to provoke a fight between them, hoping to make Balto look like the bad guy in front of Jenna. Plus, a public brawl would also be the perfect excuse to get the other dogs to permanently ban Balto from Nome, effectively killing any chance of the wolf-dog's survival. Still, the hybrid was also deeply afraid at that moment, but not because of Steele, but because one of his worst fears had just manifested. Steele had offered his own hand in friendship and companionship towards Jenna, and she would surely accept. "After all, why would she want to stay with a freak like me, when she could hang out with a much more attractive and successful dog like Steele?", he thought sadly, his ears flattening against his skull.
But instead of leaving with Steele like the wolf-dog had imagined, Jenna simply remained still, looking hopelessly conflicted. "I'm sorry Steele, but I already promised Balto I would tour Nome with him. Maybe some other time?", she offered, trying to keep a steady face, even though she was still nervous about Steele's reaction.
Balto stared at Jenna, both surprised and relieved by her loyalty to him, and after thinking for another few seconds, the hybrid felt incredibly sheepish for selling her short like that. "I'm such an idiot. How could I have ever doubted our friendship?", he thought, mentally slapping his forehead. However, the wolf-dog's good mood only lasted for a few seconds, before he saw that Steele had had a completely different reaction to Jenna's rejection.
Shock rippled across the malamute's face, followed by disbelief, and then cold anger. "What? You're rejecting me? FOR HIM?!", Steele thought, enraged.
Balto slowly outstretched his paw in front of Jenna, and beckoned for her to either get behind him or besides him, already knowing what Steele's next move would be. Jenna quickly obeyed and got closer to her friend, remembering the uncontrollable rage she had seen Steele in the other day, psychotically yelling at his own teammates.
But instead of lunging at Balto and Jenna, like the pair had expected him to, Steele fought even harder to control his anger, and stifled back a growl. Suddenly, he remembered something important, something that the malamute could probably use to his advantage. "Maybe my chances aren't quite dead after all", he thought smugly. After a few more seconds, Steele composed his face and even managed to fake another smile. "Oh, well then. There's a party at the Old Mill on Christmas Eve, maybe you'd like to come with me then?", he suggested, his voice deceptively calm.
Jenna immediately wanted to say no to the unstable sled dog, but she was worried that Steele wouldn't be able to control himself any longer if she rejected him twice, so she reluctantly stepped away from Balto. "Alright then, I don't see why not", she decided, taking up on his offer.
Steele smiled triumphantly, feeling like he had just beaten Balto yet again. Suddenly, the malamute remembered something else important. "Say, where do you live anyway?", he asked, feeling rather foolish for not asking sooner.
"Just down the street. I live in the house with the broken fence, just wait for me behind the wood pile", Jenna replied, feeling even more worried now that she had let Steele know where she lived.
Balto was nervous too, and jealousy began to wash over him again when he realized that Jenna was actually serious about going out with Steele.
"Alright, I'll see you two days from now, and make sure you wear your best collar", he requested with a devilish grin.
Jenna nodded in agreement, and the malamute began to walk away. But before he left, Steele threw one last hateful glare at Balto, clearly biting back a growl. Balto stiffled back one of his own, but the half-wolf figured he had to fight even harder than Steele to control himself.
Steele forced himself to keep on walking and not look back again. There was nothing he wanted more than to get back at Balto for beating him, burying him in snow and humiliating him three weeks ago, but he couldn't attack him now, not with Jenna there as a witness. He would simply have to wait until the time was right. Plus, it helped him to know that his trap for Balto had already been set. "Enjoy your little time with Jenna now, Bingo, because it'll be your last", Steele thought smugly, before walking away in the other direction. It had been the shortest and the calmest encounter Balto had ever had with Steele, and he knew it was only because Steele hadn't wanted to reveal his true self to Jenna, not yet anyway.
Balto and Jenna waited until Steele rounded a nearby corner and was out of earshot before they both sighed in relief, relaxing again. The two dogs laid down in the snow and let their heartbeats slow again for the first time in several minutes.
"What was all that about? Because I heard him in the Old Mill, talking about you the other day. Why does he hate you so much Balto?", Jenna panted.
"Because I'm half-wolf, and he despises all wolves", Balto replied bitterly.
"Well, that's just stupid. You can't help the way you were born, so there's gotta be some other reason", she insisted, having a hard time accepting the blatant injustice.
"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. I asked Steele about it once, but all I got was another speech about how wolves don't deserve to live in the same world as dogs. I dunno, sometimes I think Steele's gotta have some decent qualities to him. And sometimes, when I look into his soul, all I see is nothing but darkness and hatred", Balto mused.
"You see what?", Jenna said, feeling like she had missed something.
"Oh, right. I haven't told you about that part of me yet, have I?", Balto realized sheepishly.
"What part? The cool part?", Jenna questioned rhetorically.
"You know the old legends about how some wolves have special powers and freaky stuff like that?", Balto asked.
"Yeah?", Jenna followed him.
"Well, sometimes I think I can get a good read on people's souls", Balto explained.
"Get outta town!", Jenna said in sheer disbelief.
"It's no lie, I've felt that way since I was a pup", Balto replied with a grin.
Jenna took a moment to digest that notion. She immediately wanted to discount it as Balto just being silly, but honestly, she had seen so many strange things and Balto had opened her eyes to so many new ideas since she had met the hybrid, she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Alright then, what do you see when you look into my soul?", she playfully challenged.
Balto beamed and the hybrid started to scrutinize the husky before him. He frowned and seemed to concentrate on something for a few more seconds, before he offered his analysis. "I see kindness and compassion and bravery, and an incredible amount of stubbornness", he offered, unable to resist winding up her at the end.
Jenna simply rolled her eyes.
The pair of dogs sat up straight in the snowy road, and it was quite again for a while after that between the two friends. Jenna glanced in Balto's direction, and searched for the right words. "I've known for you over two weeks now, and I've never asked. Well, I did ask once, but I didn't get much of answer", she deliberated.
"Ask me what?", Balto inquired.
"How did a wolf-dog hybrid end up living in a human town, with a goose for a father and two polar bears as his best friends?", Jenna questioned.
Balto's mirthful face fell, and Jenna quickly wished that she hadn't brought up the subject, thinking she had just killed the mood again. But despite the obvious pain he felt over his childhood memories, Balto obliged her request and satisfied her curiosity. "It's just like Boris told you the day we met: my parents died when I was just a pup. In fact, I barely even remember them anymore. All I remember is waking up one morning, sitting inside an old, abandoned boat and surrounded by some old goose and two polar bears", he recounted.
Jenna listened carefully with an open mind as she absorbed details of her friend's past that she had never known before, especially since she knew she probably wouldn't be asking about them again.
"Boris told me that my mom and dad died trying to save me, but he never told me how exactly, and to be honest, I don't even think I want to know", Balto admitted somberly.
"Well, I'm sure that wherever they are now, they're proud of who their son has grown up to be", Jenna stated, offering her condolences.
Hearing his friend's comforting words, Balto was immediately reminded of something Steele had told him a few weeks earlier:
"Hah! Your mother was lucky to have died when she did, so she wouldn't see what a disgrace you were! You're nothing but a little freak, not that that bitch would have cared anyway", Steele had sneered with an evil smirk.
After hearing Steele's cruel words, Balto had immediately attacked the malamute and his gang, not caring what would have happened to him afterwards or the consequences of enraging Steele. Balto knew that he shouldn't have let Steele's words get to him like that, but it was only because he had feared that the sled dog was right.
"I'm not so sure about that. After all, I'm nothing but a-", Balto admitted, mumbling before Jenna cut him off.
"A hero", she declared resolutely.
Balto raised one of his bushy eyebrows and glanced over at the husky, confused. "A hero?", he repeated.
"Well, you saved me, didn't you?", Jenna reasoned, flashing him a pearly white smile.
Balto swallowed a lump in his throat, and not for the first time, he found himself getting lost in just how beautiful Jenna was, inside and out. "Yeah, well", the hybrid finally replied, shifting uncomfortably as his cheeks flushed a subtle red. The truth was, Balto had never really thought of run-in with Devil like that.
"Now come on, if I remember correctly, we have a song to finish?", Jenna suggested.
Balto stood up on all four feet again and nodded at the husky. "Alright then, we'll head back over to my place for lunch, and re-write some verses for your third song", Balto agreed, looking in the direction of his familiar boat home. "After you, milady", he beckoned mischievously, outstretching his paw.
"Mmm, the gentleman act still isn't quite impressing me", Jenna informed him.
Balto just chuckled and started following his friend, when he suddenly stopped and glanced behind him. He didn't see anyone else in the empty street, but for a few moments, the hybrid could have sworn he had felt someone else there, watching them. Balto shook his head and chalked up the feeling as residual paranoia from his unexpected encounter with Steele earlier, unaware that someone was indeed watching the pair of dogs from afar, even as they approached Balto's rustic sanctuary.