Sean placed the chunk of meat down in front of Balto and went to sit and read. It was still a bit cold, but Balto expected that, and was used to it. Eating raw was normal to the wolfdog, and knew nothing more. He cautiously took a bite into whatever this animal was, it looked like caribou, but Balto wasn't sure. It also didn't make him feel sick so the hybrid kept digging into his meal. The wolfdog took note of Sean's appearance; if the two ever crossed paths again, Balto vowed to be friendly to him.
Perhaps not all humans were so bad, it was just like wolves, some weren't super nice, some might be downright evil, but humans can also be nice as well. Before Balto knew it, he was done eating, soon he'd be led out of the door into the woods. "You done bud?" Sean asked.
Dogs gathered into the boiler room, the air was full of conversations, the smell of chewed bones, and wet mutts. "Alright everyone! Settle down!" an old Saint Benard took center stage. "As some of you might know already, a wolf was spotted near town by Steele, and now he has an announcement to make," the old dog took a step back. "Thank you, Doc," Steele tried sounding polite. In truth, he was mad, the very beast that made a mockery of him was sitting inside a human's home as he stood in front of almost every dog in town.
"As all of you know, wolves are the scum of the earth!" every single single dog barked in agreement, all except for one. Jenna sat in the crowd, being silent, she couldn't say wolves were bad without having met one until this morning. The wolf she met was far from polite, but he wasn't mean. Balto at least stopped Steele from making the husky uncomfortable at least, which is saying more than some of the dogs in this room.
"Well, I now know where that wolf is!" Steele proudly paced on stage as he said this. "The wolf's being fed by a human in town, which is probably why it was so close to town to begin with," Steele continued. "The lobo will be released into the woods at any moment, and I plan on finishing him off, who is coming with me?" A lot of dogs started cheering at the thought of ripping a mindless animal apart.
Balto allowed Sean to pet him after he had finished his meal. "Now, I'm assuming you want to go back into the wild?" The human asked. The wolfdog let out a whine and walked towards the door. Sean chuckled as he put on his coat. "Let me come with you until you at least reach the treeline, somebody might shoot you if they see you alone," the human reasoned.
The wolfdog rolled his eyes, as Sean opened the door for him, better with some company rather than dead at least. Balto looked here and there, there were more dogs out and about, all of whom stared at him as Boris led Balto through town. Two of the dogs however, stood out, the same red and white husky from before, Jenna, and then Steele. As Balto expected, Steele was hitting on Jenna, and the hybrid would have intervened again, but chose not to.
While it did annoy even a wolf at how pushy the malamute was with his flirting, if Balto were to fight Steele right now, it would be suicide. Not only was he being stared at by multiple dogs and humans, but it was clear that Steele could outmatch Balto in an area like this, with nothing to use to out maneuver the malamut with.
Balto just shyly kept by Sean, despite being taught not to like humans on multiple occasions, this human was the closest thing to a friend he had. This made him wonder, why leave? Sure, the wolfdog could potentially find a lovely wolf and have pups to raise, and maybe even lead his own pack. If Balto stayed in town with Sean, dogs wouldn't like him, but that could change in time.
By the time Balto's thoughts subsided, he was already on the edge of town. "Before we keep on going," Sean interrupted the silence. "I wanna ask you, do you want to actually go out on your own, or stay here with me?" Sean asked. The two stopped when the human asked this question. Balto cursed the dog in him telling him to stay, he was a wolf, born and raised in the wild. Taught to believe every single human was a demon and that dogs are absolutely horrible. Though he was also a dog, having the strange urge to live with a human, Balto had a small taste of what living like one would be like.
Both the dog and wolf constantly argued and argued with each other, like one wanted to do different things. "Well pal?" Sean knelt down and placed a hand on Balto's back. Before the wolfdog could react, he stood up instinctively and rubbed up against the human.
Balto Then backed away with a bark, a bark, then started walking towards the woods. "I figured you wouldn't wanna stay, come and visit some time alright?" The wolfdog looked back at Sean for a moment, and continued on into the woods. Eventually he broke out into a sprint with a deep, long howl.
The wolf didn't know he had just alerted every dog in town.