Mending
A blur of colors. No defined shapes or edges. Everything seemed to have a soft look as the world spun before his eyes. Sounds were muffled and possessed an odd echo. His mouth was dry, as was his nose. The only sense that appeared to be available to him was touch. He realized that he was lying down, and something was caressing his face. The spinning seemed to slow as a familiar form coalesced in his vision. "Jan?"
The form seemed to shake its head. "No. Do you not recognize me?" a muffled voice asked.
"Where am I?"
Another form appeared next to the first. "You're safe now. Don't you recognize this place?"
Rather than answer, he shut his eyes posed the one question he had to ask. "Am...am I...dead?"
"Far from," the second voice asked
"Then why can I not see? And why do I feel so weak?"
"You were shot," the first voice explained. "A pair of humans repaired your wound. I observed them stick something into you before they began. Perhaps that is what causes the problem."
The second nodded. "It will pass. You've had a rough day, Kemster."
Kemster? He closed his eyes again, trying to recall where he'd heard that before. "Tricksy?"
The owner of the second voice smiled. "In the flesh."
His vision gradually solidified, and he could see his company a bit more clearly. His eyes fixed on the owner of the first voice. "Kiska."
Rather than saying anything, Kiska licked his face again.
Tricksy smiled. "She's been watching you all night. Wouldn't even sleep. I don't know what she sees in you. After all, you've caused us quite a bit of trouble, what with you going and getting yourself shot."
Kemo relaxed and closed his eyes. ". . . wasn't intentional..." Within a minute, he was asleep again.
"You'd better let him rest for now," a voice said from the entrance of the cave. "He's got a lot of healing to do." Tricksy and Kiska turned to face the speaker.
"Why didn't you come in when he woke up, Balto?" Tricksy asked.
"I'm still disowned, remember?"
Kiska shook her head. "I'm sure he's past that, considering what happened."
Balto shrugged. "Maybe. Call me picky if you want, but I'd prefer to make sure everything is clear between us. I don't want a half-hearted patch-up made because he thinks he might die. I'll wait until he's fully conscious before talking to him."
"You're right. That is picky," Tricksy commented.
"I prefer to keep a low profile."
"You were proven to be, once again, correct," Kiska said. "You have shown that you possess more wisdom than the wisest among us. I would think that this would be a cause of joy to you. Hardly reason to keep 'a low profile' as you say."
"Joy?" Balto shook his head. "Too many lost their lives today for me to call it joy. I'll be back in a couple of hours?"
Tricksy rolled her eyes. "Going off to try to secondguess every decision you made today?"
"No, to find something to eat," he replied calmly. "You don't know me as well as you think." He turned and walked out of the den.
Kiska and Tricksy exchanged glances. "He is troubled," Kiska remarked.
"You said it."
"Blaming himself for this?" Kiska asked, nodding at Kemo.
"Most likely. Let's just hope that he sorts himself out while he's gone."
Balto padded silently through the snow, lost in his own thoughts. He had known to expect treachery from Eyak, yet the aggressive leader had still managed to get the drop on him. He knew that he should not be considering the what-ifs, but he had lost many that he considered as friends that day.
"Halt!"
Balto's mind snapped back to the present as he subconsciously chided himself for not paying attention to his surroundings. Dalag stood before him, flanked by several other wolves. "What do you want?"
Dalag took a step forward. "Simply to warn you to be wary. The humans have several teams hunting wolves. They will likely shoot you on sight."
Balto glanced at his surroundings and realized that he was indeed close to the human encampment. He also became aware of an odor that did not belong. "What's that smell?"
Dalag's gaze hardened. "Follow me."
He led Balto to a small rise and crawled slowly to the top. Upon reaching the top, Balto saw the source. A large fire was built in the clearing outside of the camp, and there was only one thing he could think of that the humans would be burning.
Dalag answered the unspoken question. "They've been burning our dead for the past few hours. The other clans are in hiding, but we have observed a couple of their hunter teams dragging new kills to the fire. Luckily, none within the last two hours. We of Eagle Pass Clan are now acting as lookouts."
"I'll bet Eyak loves that."
"We no longer give allegiance to Eyak."
Balto looked at him. "Then who is the leader of your clan? You?"
Dalag shrugged. "For now, I suppose. Eyak is in exile due to his crimes against our clan and others, but I do not wish to be leader. We would gladly take Kemo as our leader or even join Kiska's band. I only hope..." He broke off, appearing very uncomfortable.
"What's the matter?"
"I...I hope that we can somehow regain the trust we lost through our naivete. Yet you do not speak to us as enemies. I would have expected you to say..."
"'I told you so?'" Balto shook his head. "It's not my style. But for Eyak's sake, I hope Kemo recovers. Otherwise I'll be looking for him, and our next meeting won't be pleasant."
Kemo again opened his eyes. Time seemed to have stood still, as it was still dark outside. He tried to rise, but a searing pain caused him reconsider this action.
"Glad to see you awake again."
Kemo slowly turned his head. Kiska was staring at him with a look of relief on her face. "Kiska?"
The smaller wolf nodded. "How do you feel?"
The white wolf lowered his head to the ground again. "I will manage."
She walked over and dropped a rather scrawny snowshoe rabbit beside him. "Are you hungry? I know it isn't much, but it's all I had time to hunt."
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Almost two days now. You will be happy to know that the human you saved a year ago came through for you. He and the other human worked for two hours to fix you."
Kemo stopped eating. "What other human?"
Kiska hesitated. "The one the others wanted to kill. He did most of the work."
"I don't believe it."
Kiska stared quizzically at him. "I would not make up a story with something such as this."
"But are you sure?"
"Yes. After Balto led them to you..."
Balto? "And after all the things I said to him..."
"He's maintained that he was your brother from start to finish. He's been worrying over you since you were injured. You should feel lucky to have one such as him."
"How could I have been so wrong? First the human, then Balto, then...how many did we lose?"
"It is not important at this moment..."
"Please."
Kiska didn't hesitate. "Twenty-two. Perhaps twenty-five. Right now, all the clans are scattered. Weakened. No one knows for sure."
"Twenty-five?" Kemo closed his eyes. "We weren't prepared. Didn't have the strength. I led the others into a trap. And after I was shot, Eyak...he left me. I failed and he..."
"Stop." Kemo blinked in surprise at the sharpness of the command. "Do not try to take responsibility for all that happened. You made some mistakes, yes. But so did every other clan leader, including myself."
Kemo averted his eyes. "Trusting me as leader," he whispered.
"Do you not understand? You cannot take responsibility for those we've lost. It was Eyak who betrayed them. Eyak who betrayed you. Do you not see? It was his manipulation that roused support for a strike at the humans. He planned Mandan's death to force the issue. It was his premature attack that led to the slaughter. It was his lack of conscience that made him leave you to die when you were no longer of use to him. It is not your fault."
"But I allowed myself to be guided...misguided at that. I think..."
"Don't."
Kemo whipped his head around to face the new speaker, wincing in pain as he did so. To his surprise, Balto was sitting just inside the den entrance. "How long have you been listening?"
"Long enough." Balto rose and strolled nonchalantly inside so that the wolf could see him without aggravating the wound in his shoulder. "For what it's worth, I don't hold anything against you. In hindsight, I should have been open with you to begin with."
The white wolf nodded solemnly. "That would have helped, yes. And I should have listened with open ears before jumping to conclusions."
Balto closed his eyes and sighed. "You're taking far too much blame for this. I really should have told you the full story."
"Or taught your daughter not to speak out of turn."
Balto opened his eyes and looked quizzically at Kemo. Seeing the light-hearted twinkle in his eyes, he smiled. With that simple joke, both realized they were brothers again.
Two Weeks Later
Balto sat on the bow of the old fishing trawler with Jenna beside him. All but the smallest traces of snow had melted days ago, and their pups playing outside and enjoying the warmer weather. Balto shook his head as he watched Aleu wrestling with Jenner, Rush, and Kodi at the same time, and making a good show of it.
"Still having trouble deciding?" Jenna asked.
Her mate shook his head again. "I'm almost decided."
"Balto, dear, you're running out of time for a decision. You do realize that they've only got one more week with us. They'll likely go to local families, but they're still going to be moving on."
"I know, I know. That's part of the problem. I mean, with everything that's happened, I've missed out on almost half their lives so far. Trying to rush anything concerning the pups seems...wrong.
"Besides that, I remember what it was like growing up as a half-and-half. It wasn't easy. Rush, Jenner, Kodi, Dingo, and Kala shouldn't have to worry about it. They look enough like you that no one thinks about them being part wolf. I don't want them to get hurt."
"But what about Aleu. She looks exactly like you. She's going to find out eventually, so wouldn't it be best if it came from us rather than someone that wanted to hurt her?"
"You said yourself that they'll be going to humans around here. Everyone knows that if they mess with my family, they have to deal with me."
"Balto, how would you feel if every time something happened, someone came running to take care of every problem for you?"
"I wouldn't know, now would I?"
"You're avoiding the question."
Balto sighed. "I guess I'd feel embarrassed. Unconfident. Pressured."
"Then you understand where I'm coming from."
"Yes, but...she's still so young, Jenna. There's no way she could possibly understand what being part wolf means..." Balto trailed off thoughtfully. "After everything that's happened this past week, I'm not sure I even know what it means anymore. After what has happened, I tell you now that I'm not interfering in wolf business again."
Jenna raised an eyebrow. "When you get that tone, it means you're brooding again."
"It's just that being part wolf separates you from those you love. I'd rather they didn't have to deal with that just yet. I'd rather she not have to deal with that just yet. Let them be young and innocent for a while longer."
"You still have a little more than a week weeks."
"I know. And you know what? I'm going to make every minute count. The hero of Nome is taking a break from every problem except those in this family. Now that the humans have decided to make some sort of wildlife park instead of a rich-man's hunting lodge, my schedule is free."
Jenna leaned against him. "But you are going to tell them, right?"
Balto shifted his paws uneasily. "Eventually."
"Promise?"
He cracked one of his wolfish grins. "My word is good as Klondike gold."
"Oi! Dat is the first sensible thing you've said in a month!"
Balto snapped his head around and saw Boris standing on the railing behind him. "How long have you been eavesdropping?"
"Only for the past five minutes, and you know what Old Boris think?" The goose stabbed a wing at his nose. "He thinks you'll try to find some way to weasel out of telling."
"And I think you don't know me half as well as you think you do."
"And I did not raise you from being knee-high wolfling without knowing more than you think."
"Don't worry. I'll tell the pups at the right time."
"And when might I ask is..."
"Good evening. I hope we aren't interrupting."
All three turned to see two wolves standing down below them. Balto, grateful for the interruption, greeted them enthusiastically. "Kemo! It's good to see you getting around again. I suppose Kiska has taken good care of you."
Kiska smirked. "It was not easy. Kemo is stubborn, headstrong, and generally difficult."
Balto laughed. "So true."
"I manage to limp around just fine, thank you," Kemo replied.
The pups meanwhile, stared in awe at the majestic visitors. Recognizing who they were, Aleu quickly recovered and bolted toward them. "Kiska! Uncle Kemo!"
Kiska smiled. "You should make that Aunt Kiska, young one. We have forged Anvil Creek and Eagle Pass Clans into one Great Clan. Kemo has decided to join us."
Balto jumped down from the boat and walked over to his brother. "That's excellent news."
"So what will you do now?" Jenna asked.
"We will be moving the clan a bit farther away from humans. After what happened, I am not sure that staying in the vicinity is wise," Kemo replied. "Not yet, anyway."
"Are you sure? Haven't you heard what the humans are doing?"
Kiska nodded. "We have, but bad feelings die hard. We will be moving into Eagle Pass Clan's territory for now. Do not worry, you'll see us occasionally."
"What news of the human that saved my life?"
"He's taken a liking to Nome. He's moving here with his family very soon."
"For once I am truly glad that I was wrong about someone."
Balto smiled. "We wish you the best."
Kemo nodded and looked at the other pups, who were still frozen. He slowly approached them. "I foresee great destinies for all of you." He turned his gaze on Aleu. "Especially you. Listen to your father when he speaks." Kemo raised his eyes to his brother. "He will never steer you down the wrong path."
The pups nodded solemnly in reply.
"Farewell, Balto. If you are ever in Great Clan territory, let us know."
"Take care, Kemo."
A few minutes after the two wolves had disappeared into the forest, the pups began chattering excitedly about what had just happened. Balto was silent for a long time, thinking about what his brother had said about Aleu having a great destiny before her. He's probably still stuck on her becoming a wolf. Well, as much as I love and respect him, my daughter is going to be all dog. With that decision made, he was sure that he would sleep well that night.
That night, wolves and ravens began to haunt his dreams again.
