Epilogue: One Year Later
"I can't believe Aleu is leading her own wolf pack," Jenna said. "When I said I wanted her to find a home, this isn't exactly what I meant."
Balto smiled at her. "I know, love. And believe me, it was not easy for me to let her go, either. But you should have seen her out there. Strong, independent... you would have been proud of her. When she left, I had no doubt in my mind that's where she was supposed to be."
Jenna stretched and yawned, and lay her head on Balto's shoulder as they sat in front of the big iron stove in the shed behind Rosy's house. "You know, Jenna... All our kids have homes now. I think it might be time to take that trip back to the Falling Leaf Tribe. Spring is nice and warm this year, no snowstorms this time... it would be a great time to go."
"Can I still go with you?" Jenna nuzzled Balto's nose.
"Of course, I was hoping you still wanted to go with me. And since Kodi isn't doing anything special, I want to take him too."
Jenna smiled. "Kodi would love that. You told him the story of what happened, but I bet he would love to meet Dakarai and his tribe."
Balto nodded. "All right, it's settled. I'll tell Kodi tomorrow, and we'll leave the day after. How's that?"
"That's fine. But right now, it's just you and me," she said with a grin. She pushed Balto over with her nose, and he lay on his back looking up at her, smiling.
"I will never get tired of looking at you, Jenna," he said as the light from the fire in the stove made her red fur glow. "You're even more beautiful than you were on the first day I saw you."
"And you are more than I could ever have hoped for in a mate," Jenna replied. "I love you Balto, and I always will." She bent down to kiss him, and he wrapped his paws around her and pulled her to him.
Two days later, Kodi showed up at Balto's boat just as the sun was rising over the mountains to the East.
"Dad! Dad! Come on, dad!"
Balto groaned and pulled his blanket over his head. Kodi jumped onto the boat and walked up to where Balto was sleeping. "Come on dad, I know you can hear me."
Balto sighed. "All right, all right, I'm up. Have a little respect for your elders."
Kodi laughed. "Come on, you know how excited I am to make this trip. I've been practicing running up and down the beach, and I can do it!"
Balto looked at his son and smiled. "I know you can, Kodi. I never doubted it."
"You're the best, dad," Kodi said, and nuzzled him.
Balto closed his eyes and nuzzled his son. "Well, we better get going. We don't want to keep your mother waiting."
The two of them left the boat and ran to Jenna's shed at the back of Rosy's house. When they got there, Balto nosed the door open. "Jenna?"
"Come in, my love," she said. "Good morning you two. Ready to go?"
"I've been ready for an hour!" Kodi said.
Jenna laughed. "In that case I'm glad you went to get your father first. Shall we?"
The three of them left the shed and headed out of town towards White Mountain. They ran at a medium pace so that neither Jenna nor Kodi would have any trouble maintaining it. They took breaks when they needed to, and they still made good time to the mountain. They reached the forested foothills, and Balto lead them in the direction he remembered coming from when Mulu had lead him back to Nome.
It was a beautiful day, and the warm sunlight streamed through the trees as they ran. They could smell the fresh pine and the grass, and they were all enjoying it very much. They continued up the side of the mountain for a while, and eventually Balto thought they were getting close.
"I'm pretty sure we're near it now. Keep your senses open, see if you can identify anything," he said.
Just then, a large grey wolf emerged from the underbrush in front of Balto. "Balto? Is that you?" he said.
"Mulu! Yes, it's me! And this is my family, my mate Jenna and my son Kodiak."
"Kodiak...!" Mulu said in awe. "So you did get the medicine back in time, then! And what a handsome pup he is."
Jenna giggled, and Kodi frowned. "Hey, I'm not a pup any more."
Mulu smiled. "My apologies, Kodiak. You remind me of a yearling I once knew."
"That's a compliment son," Balto nudged Kodi.
"Oh! uh, thank you sir," Kodi said, embarrassed.
Mulu grinned. "Allow me to escort you to our home. My alpha will be thrilled to see you all."
"Thank you, Mulu," Jenna said as they began to follow him.
As they walked, Balto told Mulu about Aleu and how she had become the leader of her own wolf pack. "I will be sure to remember her name if we ever run across her pack," said Mulu. "She will be as welcome among us as you are."
After a short while, they arrived at the home of the Falling Leaf Tribe. When they got there, Mulu howled for his alpha to come down and join him.
"Yes Mulu, what's..." Balto, Jenna and Kodi watched as the red and tan wolf stopped in mid-question as he saw Balto sitting next to Mulu. "Balto?"
"Hello Dakarai," Balto grinned. "This is my mate Jenna, and my son Kodiak."
"Nightfall!" Dakarai yelled. "You're going to want to come down here and see this..."
Dakarai walked up to Balto, and the two of them looked at each other for a moment, then Dakarai nuzzled him. "It's good to see you well, Balto. And even better to see your son Kodiak."
Dakarai stepped back to take a good look at Kodi. "Hello, Kodiak. I am Dakarai, leader of the Falling Leaf Tribe. It is good to see you alive and well."
Kodi lowered his head humbly. "My father told me what you did for him. I... I'm glad to be able to thank you in person. You saved his life, and mine. I just wanted to thank you."
Dakarai gently nuzzled Kodi. "You remind me so much of my Kantu. I am happy that you came to see me. And I'm happy to see your mother here as well," he said, turning to Jenna.
"Thank you for saving my mate's life," she said. "I will always be grateful to you."
Dakarai nodded. "I'm glad he was able to get back to you and Kodi safely. Ah, here comes my mate now."
A beautiful all black female with bright blue eyes descended from the caves above, and approached the group. She smiled when she recognized Balto. "Hello Balto, it's good to see you again," she said.
"Nightfall, these are Jenna and Kodiak, Balto's mate and son," Dakarai said.
"Kodiak," she whispered. "I'm so glad to see you alive. Your father risked everything to save you, but we never heard if he was successful. It appears he did get back in time after all. Such a handsome young pup you are."
Kodi began to blush. "I - thank you," he managed to stutter.
"He reminds me of our Kantu," Nightfall said to Dakarai, and he smiled. Just then, a pair of yipping, barking balls of fur ran down from the caves and attacked Dakarai. One was pure black, and the other was a reddish-brown color, with black paws and muzzle and black circles around his eyes.
Dakarai laughed as he succumbed to the attacks of the two wolf cubs. Nightfall smiled. "These are our two new pups, Inaya and Kanto. They were born two months ago. Kanto bears a striking resemblance to Kantu, don't you think?"
Balto stared at the two wolf cubs. "They're beautiful! Dakarai, Nightfall... I'm so happy for you."
Jenna gasped. "They're adorable! Oh, you must be so happy."
Nightfall smiled and nodded. "Aniu has rewarded us for helping you, Balto. To see your Kodiak alive, and to have two more pups of our own... this is all the thanks we would ever need."
Dakarai grinned and looked up at Balto as the cubs growled and chewed on his ears. "There's nothing like being a father, is there?"
Balto looked at Kodi and smiled. "No, there isn't. Nothing in the world."
~ finis ~
Added bonus: Picture of Nightfall and Dakarai. [ ]
-Xaqtly
