if you want to know what Juji's voice sounds like, just picture Alucard from 'Hellsing' or Tsume from 'Wolf's Rain' for Juji – It's perfect, trust me! XD Or, you could picture him with Knives' voice from 'Trigun'
Chapter 7
JujiThe noonday sun rose high into the air, pouring its golden radiance down onto Nome and the surrounding area. The snow flashed and heliographed in the sunlight and made it hard to look at without your eyes watering. If you were a bird, just happening to fly overhead, you might happen to see three or four brown or black-looking specs and one white one, the last made almost invisible by the throwback reflections thrown by the snow.
Kavik was furious. No, scratch that; he was beyond furious, he was molten. A lot of it was his hatred of Juji beginning to break-dance it's way out of the woodwork of his heart but most of it was self-loathing. How could this have happened? Why had he allowed it to happen? He'd heard Jenna herself say that Boris and Sylvie were watching both her pups and Tricksey's on the old trawler. He'd heard her say it, yet he hadn't done or said anything, Gods curse him! He realized now that he should've taken Balto, Jenna, Kaltag, Tricksey out to Balto's boat and insisted that the pups be brought to the Old Mill.
They would've heard a horrible story of course – the story of his past was the worst story in the world for anyone to have to listen to and even worse for him because he was the one who was always forced to tell it every time. Yet that would've been better by far than the situation they were currently in, and looking at it now, Kavik realized a horrible thing, the worst one yet in a long and terrible line; if Juji had enough wolves to take control of an adult female, an Old Russian goose and twelve hyperactive pups, then his numbers must've been very great. Not that Boris and Sylvie would require much looking-after (they had probably been knocked unconscious at Juji's orders,) but twelve pups – all of them almost 3 or 4 months old – would be a handful even for half a dozen adult wolves.
He growled deep in his throat, a menacing, full-throated rumble as the thought of all of the pups being held hostage, especially Jenner, Kodi and Dusty most of all. He loved all of the pups with a passion – loved them like they were his own – but those three had somehow come first, probably because they were the ones who'd shown no hesitation whatsoever when they saw him up close for the first time. He would never forgive Juji for this, even if the crafty old serpent had only done it as a way of keeping Kavik from killing him, he couldn't forgive something like this; it wasn't in his nature to be able to.
He highly doubted Juji had done it for that purpose anyway. He didn't need any sort of extra insurance against a foul-up, not as crafty and slippery as he was. Kavik now suspected that it was far more likely that Juji was using it largely in part as a display of his power – he now understood they were outnumbered 3 to 1 at least. But Kavik understood that it was just another way of making his life as hellish as physically possible.
The hybrid fetched a heavy sigh as they neared the place Juji had specified and even though he couldn't see him, Kavik knew Juji was there just the same, crouched low to the ground, with maybe as many as a full dozen wolves behind him. Kavik's lips curled into an involuntarily snarl of hatred. He would KILL Juji for this! Rip him to pieces! He'd already had more than enough reasons to want the demon masquerading in wolf's clothing dead, but this was now the largest. It was the worst…even worse than what he'd done to her…
His mind tried to speak Lakota's name, but he wouldn't allow it; he couldn't let himself be caught up in the past at a time like this. He needed all of his concentration for this to go off without a hitch and he would be sent into exile before he'd be the one to screw it up!
They had at last reached the place at the edge of the Forest where 'negotiations' were to take place – although he knew better than to think of this as something like that. Negotiations were what you called when each side traded back something the other had, and Juji had both Jenna's and Tricksey's pups whilst Kavik and the rest had nothing. And Juji knew it too. Just more display…how pathetically arrogant.
The five of them stopped, the other four sitting down in the snow to rest while he kept watch. Their little group consisted of Balto, Kaltag, Tricksey, himself and – after a heated, but mercifully short argument – Jenna as well. Upon looking to his right, Kavik observed with not much surprise, that Jenna and Tricksey were both flaring with a fury that was almost as great as his own. You could smell it seeping from their very bodies, a reek not unlike that of brimstone, the scent carrying with it a tinge of fear and worry.
Looking closer, he also realized – with slight alarm – that Jenna had started to cry, Tricksey as well. They may've been angry, but almost as great as that anger was the fear that they might never see their pups again. Balto and Kaltag offered what comfort they could, speaking in soothing voices that Kavik barely heard. His entire body was rigid with tension, on the lookout for the object of his malignant feelings. After a few moments, Balto came over to where he sat and joined him in staring into the Forest where it began some ten feet away. Five minutes later, Kavik started, catching everyone's attention at once.
"What is it? Is it him? Is it…Juji?" Balto asked in a slightly tense voice that bristled with anger as well as nerves. All of them were angry – the two couples had lost all twelve of their combined pups to this evil wolf – but Kavik still held the position of highest temperament. His wolfish nature, now uncannily close to the surface, was spitting and insane with a species of blinding white rage that the angelic canine could barely contain. His hackles rose, and he growled like a semi rumbling up a hill.
"He's coming. Close…very close. Maybe 20...25 yards and closing." Kavik said, and had to struggle mightily to keep himself from simply rushing, fangs bared, snarling with rage towards Juji as he neared the place of their meeting.
"How can you tell?" Jenna asked.
"I could smell his rotting stink all the way from town when I stuck my head out the door and it's only been getting stronger all the time..." Kavik replied in a low, carefully controlled voice.
He was right on the money. Perhaps thirty seconds later, a huge gray wolf appeared, accompanied by at least five others that were almost three-fourths his size. Juji stalked forward, in all his bestial glory, eyes glimmering and flickering, his ancient battle scarred fur rippling as the muscles beneath it moved and flexed. His chest and throat were the worst, the ugly twists and knots of white crisscrossing and re-crossing both areas in a wide, almost hairless patch. His face also bore a large vertical slash along the right side, the white line beginning at the forehead, ending briefly at the eyebrow, and then picking up again at the lower lid of the eye. 'Yeah,' Kavik thought with something like black delight, 'can't forget that one, can we? Lakota was the one who gave it to him after all…'
Then his own faded blue eyes met Juji's own ones for the first time in almost a year. The eyes…
'Star was wrong, and so was I for that matter.' he thought, 'and how could I've been so stupid not to realize it before now? We got the eye colors wrong.' He concluded bitterly, as he looked Juji full in his deformed face. The left eye was a dull gold the color of a nuclear sunset, while the right – there was really only one way to describe it – sat in his slashed face, the color only able to be justified as an obsidian red.
The gray wolf grinned suddenly, exposing fangs the color of the snow upon which he now stood, and looking at his expression, Kavik judged it to be the sort of grin a loony wears right before they tighten their big toes on the trigger of the .30/.30 they just jammed into their mouths or prior to massacring their family members in their sleep; the grin of the insane, almost certainly.
"…Hello Kavik," Juji said, his very breath rotting and stinking of blood and spoilage. "…Long time no-see…"
((()-()))
Balto seethed as he followed Kavik's lead towards the place where the monster that'd kidnapped his children had told them to wait. Broiling with silent anger, he followed, squinting against the sunlight reflected off the snow. Five minutes later, they stopped and Balto, too anxious to be still, looked to his mate…and was startled to see her beginning to weep, the tears steaming down her furry cheeks. He went to her willingly and licked them away, saying, "Don't worry Jenna, everything's going to be fine, you'll see. I promise." He nuzzled her and Jenna's tears subsided for the time being.
"Oh Balto…" she said, almost moaning, "what're we going to do?"
"I'm not sure yet, but all we can do now is wait…and hope the plan we made goes off without a hitch."
"I'm scared, " Jenna said, her tears beginning to return, "…I don't care about anything other than our childeren! All I want is our pups back! I don't want to lose them!" Her tears flowed faster and Balto worked to quickly sooth her.
On the surface, he felt pity and woe for his beloved Jenna, who had in no way earned this brutal punishment, but underneath everything, a raging fury was burning within him, quickly shutting out anything else. It was his wolf's blood he supposed, and knew Kavik must feel the same way. 'Only with him, it's a thousand times stronger judging from the growls he was making while we were coming here…' He thought and knew it to be true from the way Kavik's eyes, usually so warm and gentle, had turned to twin points of black ice.
With Jenna quieted, Balto rose and took a seat next to Kavik, and could practically smell the sulfurous odor of the other's unquenchable fury, like a fire that would never go out, no matter how much water or earth you threw on it.
Kavik's hackles suddenly rose, and his anger blazed tenfold from his eyes and the scent became a miasma. "What is it? Is it Juji?" Balto asked, anger likewise flaring like an inferno that had just been feed an armload of dead wood. Yet underneath, was a slight case of nerves; he wasn't exactly happy to meet this guy, far from it, but if Kavik had tried to kill him and failed…then Juji must be one tough wolf.
"He's coming. Close…very close. Maybe 20…25 yards away and closing." Kavik growled, eyes smoldering.
"How can you tell?" Jenna asked, in what almost sounded like a rather tentative tone to her husband.
"I could smell his rotting stink all the way from town when I stuck my head out the door and it's only been getting stronger all the time..." Kavik replied in a low voice.
A few seconds later, almost as if on cue, the canine cause of all five dogs' furious tempers came striding into the light.
Balto stared, words failing him, even in his rage.
Juji was an enormous gray wolf, about the size and shape of Kavik. Yet that was where the similarities ended. He was followed on three sides by a troop of five others, all of which were roughly about three-quarters his size. His body was horribly scarred, the hideous white lines meshing themselves across both neck and chest. Yet most noticeable was the one along the right side of his face, which ran from his forehead, extending to the eyebrow where it ended briefly, and then picking up again on the lower lid and running on for some two or three inches. His build was strong and his body corded with sinewy muscle.
But the eyes…God, the eyes; they would haunt him in his dreams for the next few weeks, always those lamb-slaughterers eyes. The left was a gold the color of something almost like liquid amber and the right was best described as a black sort of red, with sparks seeming to pinwheel deep within both.
The Juji smiled, grinned actually. That look too would haunt both him and his mate for a period of time. When he took a moment to look back and think about it – after the exhausting events of the rest of the day had played themselves out this was – he would come to associate that sardonic grin with the look he'd seen on Band's face…only multiplied by a thousand.
Then, Juji spoke, his eyes never leaving Kavik's – whose, Balto now noticed had hardened to the likeness of twin blue titanium bullets – saying, "…Hello Kavik," and Balto felt a shiver shake his spine, his skin seeming to want to crawl from his body. The voice, it was worse than… well forget it; it was the worst he'd ever heard. Such evil…so much hatred. Balto came then to realize the animal before him was indeed no ordinary wolf; this thing was a devil. "Long time no-see…" Juji finished, eyes sparking in the ruins of his face.
((()-()))
Kaltag stomped along behind the rest, wallowing in Jenna's wake. He was burning with a passion the like of which he'd never felt before, and save for the slight similarity to the feeling he'd gotten when he and Tricksey had made love for the first time, it was completely new. This was like that, only this time, instead of intense pleasure and a furious kind of longing devotion, he now felt fury burning and festering within his guts, almost like hot metal pouring throughout his system.
His jaws clenched until the muscles working them were aflame, but even then he was unable to relax them. Never in all his life had he been so enraged…yet so frightened at the same time. He was crazy with anger towards Juji; the filthy wolf had dared to lay paws on all six of his perfectly beautiful pups, daring to defile them with his putrid touch. Yet at the same time, he was secretly terrified with the unconscious conviction that he would never see any of them again. He snorted and kept on moving…
Finally, when the five of them came to a stop at the place where Juji had instructed them to await his arrival, Kaltag risked a glance towards Tricksey. He felt his heart take a dipping wrench in his chest as he saw the slivery tears slipping gently down her velvet cheeks. He rushed to her side, giving and receiving comfort as she said, in a choked, shaky voice; "Oh Kaltag…I'm scared. I'm mad as hell, but I think I'm more scared than angry…" she looked into his eyes, hers still swimming with tears yet unshed.
He licked her cheek and then nuzzled her shaggy head against his own golden one. He tried to be strong (hell he could feel Tricksey almost needing him to be) but couldn't help but allow a small whine to escape him nonetheless. He couldn't deny it; he was as scared as she was.
"It'll be alright Trix, you'll see…." he whispered soothingly. "As long as the plan we all talked about goes okay, you'll see them again tonight before the sun goes down…" This seemed to give her new courage, for she stood back and blinked away the remainder of her tears, smiling with slight embarrassment.
"Sorry…I know we've got to be strong for this to work, but I'm so worried about Dusty and Marx and all of them…." She suddenly drew herself up, seeming to briefly overcome fear. "But I know they'd want me not to worry, so I'll try not to, for all our sakes."
Kaltag smiled and licked her muzzle again. "That's my girl." He said, and she returned the lick.
This little heart-felt moment was shattered when Kavik – who'd been sitting and regarding the Forest with a stony sort of impatience – suddenly jumped to his feet, hackles rising, a growl thundering from his throat. His kind eyes had been replaced with two chunks of icy blue flame that burned with a dark sort of anger, and Kaltag was dimly thankful that he wasn't on the receiving end of that look.
Balto, who'd been sitting next to him also jumped up, asking, "What is it? Is it Juji?"
Kavik nodded. "It's him. Close…very close. Maybe 20…25 yards and closing."
"How can you tell?" Jenna asked.
"I could smell his rotting stink all the way from town when I stuck my head out the door and it's only been getting stronger all the time…" Kavik replied in a low, carefully controlled voice.
Kavik was right. Almost precisely on time, the huge gray wolf came sauntering out of the woods towards them and Kaltag was helpless not to let out a little gasp. He was flanked to three sides by a group of five or six wolves, all about three-fourths his size, and he himself was as large as Kavik, with the powerful build to match. Kaltag's mind reeled as his gaze fell upon the heavily deformed areas of both Juji's neck and chest, the flesh was heavy with the old scars left by Kavik's teeth and claws from his former assassination attempt.
Looking at how deep the old wounds had gone, and how many there were, the golden Chinook felt his heart take a twist within the cavity of his chest. If Kavik had inflicted that much damage and still been unable to kill him…Kaltag gulped, thinking, 'Man! If he didn't go down after that, I'm not sure anything will stop this guy!'
All this he saw, yet Juji's eyes held the largest portion of his attention. 'Damn…how could Star have gotten so confused?' Kaltag asked himself. But then again, he reasoned, Star had just nearly been killed…again, so you couldn't really hold that against him. The left eye was the color of fermented honey with a spot of tar for the iris. The right eye held the deep red-black color of Heart's Blood. A long, gouging scar ran from the crown of his forehead, petered off for an instant at the eyebrow, but then started up again at the lower lid and ran almost to the corner of his maniacally curved mouth.
Then, the foul beast that had taken his kin hostage grinned expansively, exposing his snow-white fangs, the grin of one who has committed murder – and far worse atrocities – and found the act to be…an utterly delightful, almost sensual sort of pleasure.
The demon spoke. "…Hello Kavik…." The voice might very well have been the one of Satan himself. "…Long time no-see…." Juji's eyes glimmered with scummy laughter…
((()-())))
Over and over again, Steele asked himself why? What in the hell made Balto and Kavik think this plan would work? There had to be a million things that could go wrong, probably more. Then again, he reminded himself as he stole a glance back over his shoulder to snatch a peak at the half-dozen or so that were following, did he have any better ones? The obvious answer to that being no, the black-and-white Malamute who had once harbored a hatred for the very canine whose pups he was now risking his life to save, continued on with merely a grumble and a small stream of curses. 'I never should've agreed to this…' Steele mentally growled, remembering all too clearly how it had all gone down after Alex's terrified delivery of an apocalyptic message.
((()-()))
The second outburst of the morning ensued, everyone yelling and shouting incoherently until Balto stamped his paw on the floor. When that failed to produce the desired result, Kavik took a try, the floorboards screaming and all but cracking under his massive weight. This proved far more effective. Both Jenna and Tricksey were taking the news remarkable well but were still fairly shaken. And could you really blame them? After all, how often is it that you learn all of your children have been abducted right out from under your nose and are being held hostage by a wolf crazier than Albert Fish?
"Alright, alright, let's just calm down." Balto said, though he was clearly not at all calm himself. He was trembling all over, and looked scared out of his mind. "Let's think through this carefully and rationally. There's got to be something we can do."
A few brief seconds of silence, then Kavik spoke up, "Yeah," he said, "there is: you can let me go alone."
Kaltag – and not to mention almost half the room – opened their mouths to protest, but Kavik plunged forward before they could.
"It's obvious why he's done this," Kavik shook his furry head, brow creasing. "Why didn't I see it coming? This means Juji's been here longer than I first thought, if he knows who I'm closest to." He turned an apologetic gaze to Jenna, who looked only puzzled by the look in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said, "it's my fault the pups got involved in all this…If I could, I'd go back and – "
"Not change a thing." Tricksey finished for him, and when he only looked at her in surprise, she went on. "You're one of the best things that's ever happened to them…." She finished off this heartfelt fact with a tender smile.
"That's right." Jenna added. "Paradise turned into Heaven for them when they met you." She too smiled, and Kavik was deeply touched to see tears standing out in the corners of her eyes. "You're like a second father to all of them."
"Besides," Steele said, moving from his place among the others and into the small gathering of dogs in the center of the room. "We couldn't let you have all the fun now, could we?" he smiled. It was a hard grin, one that said he had heard enough talk to know that Juji wasn't the kind of wolf you could just run out; he was too great a danger to everyone to be left alive.
"Like Balto said, we've got to come up with a plan." Star said. It was the first thing he'd said in a while. "Like…a rescue mission or something."
"Get em' while their back is turned, you mean?" Kaltag asked, comprehension dawning in his eyes.
"Hit them on their blind side…" Balto added, nodding slowly.
"Yeah…" Angel said, "while Juji and everyone else's attention is focused on Kavik and the others, a couple of us could sneak up to the boat, fight our way in just long enough to grab the pups and then high-tail it outta' there."
"Dere's a variable youse missed," Nikki said, his dry, slightly amused tone of voice heightened by his naturally slurred tone of voice. "Dere's a dozen pups all together. Even if youse could somehow carry two at a time, dere'd have to be more than just a couple of youse to make it work."
"And that's if we could even get close enough to grab them in the first place, assuming we aren't all killed in the attempt…" Draco growled bitterly, jaws clenched in irritation.
"Still, we've got to try something!" Kirby, a youngster barely three years old spoke up. "I mean seriously! What're we gonna' do, just leave them there?"
"I feel the same way," Doc, a large old St. Bernard replied, "But what can we do? An approach from either side will be spotted almost instantly, and there's no way Juji would allow us to just waltz on through the Forest-side…"
A long, considering silence followed after this. It seemed as though all the dogs were coming to the same conclusion that it just couldn't work when, suddenly, a small, unsure voice spoke up.
"What about…through the water?"
All heads turned to look wide-eyed, at the owner of the voice. Axel – who had calmed down considerably – simply stared back, eyes a little wary, as if he was afraid that by speaking, he'd done something wrong. When no one spoke or did anything except stare at him, some with mouths agape, he went on. "Well…sure. It means getting wet and freezing your tail off on the going and returning trips, but it's the last place they'd expect an approach from if you ask me…" He finished with a nervous little gulp, eyes slightly jumpy.
There was a stunned silence and then Steele spoke. "Oh, that's gotta' be the stupidest, most idiotic plan I've ever heard!" Yet he did look like he was considering it as a possibility.
"…It's the best one we have, all the others would be suicides." Balto said, Jenna giving a slight nod of agreement from his right.
"It's not only the best; it's all we've got." Kavik said judiciously, looking around. "Unless someone comes up with something better in the next ten or fifteen minutes, we won't have the time work it all out anyway; we're pushing our luck as it is if we don't want Juji to get impatient…"
"All in favor say 'Aye'!" Balto called, voice sure and strong in the crowded room.
"AYE!" chorused the gathered dogs of Nome.
"Good," Balto said, motioning for them all to move in closer, "Now, here's how it'll work." He tipped his snout in Steele's direction. "Steele, can I trust you enough to put you in charge of this?"
Steele smiled crookedly and prepared to say something languid, but the strained look on Balto's face told him the half-breed was in no mood for his antics today. Instead, in a totally flat and serious voice, he said, "Yes Balto, I can handle it just fine."
"Okay." he turned his gaze to rest. "Anyone here who can swim maybe 40, 50 feet underwater without needing to stop to breath in between?"
For a moment no one answered and it seemed the plan would go down the drain anyway. Then surprisingly, Angel and Star both spoke up. "I can. My brothers and sisters and I used to do it all the time when we were little to see who could hold their breath the longest, and I was always the best." Angel's cheeks were tinted a shallow pink as she finished, as if embarrassed by her ability. Star gulped nervously before saying, "I don't know about being able to hold my breath for that long, I think I might be able to, but I know I could swim it the fastest." There were murmurs of assent at this; it was true. If nothing else, Star could've bragged about his swimming abilities all he wanted, that was for certain – not that he would've though, given his shy and quiet nature.
"Okay," Balto said, when it seemed no one else would speak. "Here's what I'm thinking…"
((()-()))
And now the whole thing was laid out in front of them, just as neat as you please, and Steele along with about seven or eight others had set out about ten minutes after Balto, Kavik and the rest had left. It'd been decided that Steele's group should stick to the network of alleyways and various side roads spread throughout the town, as a direct approach to the water would've been just as bad as one from the land or Forest side. All this would take place whilst Kavik and the others went to meet Juji…ugh. No thanks.
Steele's group or the 'Rescue Squad' as he himself was beginning to refer to them as, consisted of himself–leading, the rest following behind–Draco, Star, Angel–God in Heaven help them–AXEL, a large Siberian Husky named Dave and–surprisingly enough–an enormous and battle-scared Irish Wolfhound called Callahan. Steele took a moment to go over the plan again in his unusually jumpy mind for the hundredth time, and decided his first recollection of their outcome had been a teensy bit too harsh. They weren't going to be slaughtered. No, quite to the contrary, their chances at success had risen from 10 – 1 to those of 10 – 10. Fifty percent chance either way in other words. Well, it was better than nothing.
Steele shot a glance towards Draco who'd moved to flank his right, whilst Callahan moved to his left. "So…" Steele said casually to Callahan, attempting to lighten the wire-tight strain he could practically taste baking out from their little group, "where'd you come from…?"
Callahan was silent.
Steele tried again. "What does your Master do?"
Again, the dark-chocolate brown Wolfhound didn't speak. "Not, much of a talker, is he?" Steele murmured side-mouth to Draco.
His traveling mate gave a small smile. "I think he's a m – "
"I'm not, so don't trouble yourselves by whisperin' about it." Callahan cut in. He had a deep, powerful voice, but his gaze was disconcerted, as if he didn't care one way or the other.
Draco managed to conceal his surprised expression until Callahan dropped back to his former place in between Star and Angel. With a twist of amusement, Steele saw that the two smaller dogs didn't look too happy with the arrangement. Turning his gaze back to Draco, Steele asked, "How'd he know you were going to say m – "
"I've good ears, that's all. And I don't like to talk much." Callahan cut in again. Steele grumbled silently to himself again. What a merry band they made! Oh happy day, be still my beating heart! Yes, agreeing to lead this group had been a terrific idea. Oh, this was going to be so much fun! And there was the water. At the very sight of the thin scum of ice coating the black-looking liquid facing them, Steele's spine shook. 'Ah no,' he thought, distressed. 'Ah crap, I'll bet the temperature's freezing at this time of year…' he growled again to himself. Who was he kidding? He knew he was going to freeze his butt off, along with everyone else.
The point was, when you got right down to it…this whole situation really kinda' sucked.
((()-()))
For a moment, there was silence as their little group regarded the water and the ice covering it and then Star asked, in a low and stealthy voice, "Okay…who wants to go first?" In an almost universally comic sort of gesture, all heads unanimously turned and all eyes focused upon Steele.
The unfortunate Malamute, was at first seemingly oblivious "What?" He asked, then realizing the implication, broke out, in an unbelieving tone, "Oh come on! Why do I have to go first?" he almost whined.
"You're the leader…" Star mumbled in a tone that seemed slightly embarrassed when no one else dared to speak, for fear of laughing.
Steele's roundhouse glance was hard, but not altogether unwilling. "So…" he asked, in a resigned sort of sighing tone, "how're we going to do it?"
It was Angel's turn to speak. The whole thing sounded relatively simple – to her at least; She and Star would lead the other five through the water to the underside of the boat, to a place in the small, submerged portion of the hull, near the bow one by one. Balto had reportedly told them the wood that particular area was starting to rot a little…it had felt spongy to the touch the last time he'd been down there anyway. The first three would gnaw/claw their way inside, leaving a hole big enough for Star and Angel to guide the other four to until all were safely aboard.
Once they were all inside undetected, ("Assuming we aren't all discovered and killed before then." Draco put in dryly. Callahan gave him a look and Dave was forced to repress a snigger), Star would sneak around and try to figure out how many wolves were guarding the lower storage room – which was, of course, the only one with a still-working lock on the door, not that the prisoners needed it anyway. Once that was taken care of, Star would report back and they would go from there. If they could find a way to take out however many guards there were without alerting the rest, so much the better. If not…well, they'd get to that when/if it came up…
"But still doesn't explain why I have to go first." Steele pointed out.
"You've got the strongest jaws, other than Callahan, and Star and I don't want to take him out first because then we'd waste all our energy with supporting him, keeping ourselves from sinking and chewing through the wood all at the same time." Angel said in the patient tones of a parent explaining to a young child why it was unwise to stay up past his or her bedtime.
"…Any questions?" Star asked. All shook their heads. Axel himself looked – in sharp contrast to his latter attitude – calm and cooler than the ice that coated the water.
And, when no one said anything to the affirmative or otherwise, Angel said cheerily, "Good! Than let's get moving! We're wasting time as it is!" With that, she and Star guided a still muttering Steele – "…no-good-(curse)-dirty-little-(curse). Never heard nothin' about this (curse) stuff…" – who continued on in this manner until Star silenced him with a soft blow to the shoulder.
"What?" Steele hissed, irritated. The three of them were very close to the boat now, and all were afraid that by raising their voices any louder, they might attract unwanted attention.
"Would you cut that out!" Angel hissed, "don't talk like that in front of the little guys, you'll hurt their virgin ears!"
'Virgin ears my ass,' Steele mentally sneered, and then chuckled as another thought came to him. 'With Balto as their father…I'm sure they've heard one or two 'Bad Words' before…'
"Ready?" Angel asked. They'd come to the point of descent; a patch were the ice was the thinnest, the black water silent and unmoving beneath them.
"Ready!" Star responded.
Steele, most certainly NOT ready, tried to protest, but the other two had already taken him by his studded collar, and with a slight 'splash!' upon entry, the three of them slid into the water and deep into it's icy depths…
((()-()))
Whilst a certain Malamute was mentally shrieking at the freezing temperature of the water, another certain wolf was looking idly at five very-angry faces before him with mild interest.
"…Juji…" Kavik said, the words coming out in a snarl. "…I should've ripped your black heart out when I had the chance…"
In return to this cold-blooded threat, Juji's grin only grew wider. "Maybe you should've…but then again…you never had much in the way of guts when it came to killing outright, did you?" His smile shrank into a contemptuous smirk. "If only Lakota were – "
"Shut up, you devil!" Kavik snarled, body trembling with rage and rising fury. He wouldn't be able to control it much longer if this kept up. "Don't you EVER dare say her name again, you bastard!"
Juji's eyes gleamed as bright as firecrackers. "Oh, such strong language," he said in a mocking tone, "…looks like someone's a little angry today…" his gaze became wistful. "…Might it have something to do…?" he asked idly, "with a certain number of pups I have in my possession?" His serial killer's grin reappeared, accompanied this time by a sardonic laugh.
"You…MONSTER!" Jenna growled, bristling, fear momentarily forgotten in her flash of anger. "How could you…?" she seemed unable to finish due to the buildup of emotion, for her question ended in a growl that was soon joined by that of her husband and then by Tricksey and Kaltag.
Juji only looked politely offended, as if Jenna had merely asked him a bit-too-personal question at a private dinner party. "Oh my, were those yours?" he asked, sniffing the air as if trying to tell. "Oh, yes I see now…I wonder how I could've missed it…." He chuckled insanely. "After all, they all smell like week-old garbage just like their parents."
"Why? Why did you have to do this Juji?" Kavik snarled. "The pups had nothing to do with me and you or anything that happened in the past between us! They were innocent bystanders!"
"But it's so very fun!" Juji replied, as if this should've been obvious. "It's so much more fulfilling when you get to kill innocents that are close to your enemy. And pups are so delightful to torture! They make the most exquisitely awful noises when you cut them up, one small piece at a time…" he went on rapturously. "And you should've heard them when I took them prisoner!" His eyes flashed out again. "'Where's Daddy?' 'Who're you? Why did you hurt Miss Sylvie?' 'You're a mean person!' 'I want Uncle Kavik!' 'Go away! Leave us alone!' Oh, I tell you, it was like music to my ears!" he cackled, and the others behind and to either side of him joined in, sniggering.
"Shut up!" Kaltag snarled, and Juji gave him a half-interested glance, as though the sled dog was merely an irritating bug he wanted – but was quite ready – to smash. "Tell us what you want in exchange for our pups back!"
Juji's grin, which had shrunk to nothing more than a smirk, reappeared in an instant. "How quick to act we are," he said casually, eyes shifting to Kaltag, "How fast to make demands…" he seemed on the verge of laughter again. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by now…"
"What're you taking about?" Kavik asked, a seed of unease sprouting in his heart. This didn't sound right. Juji was too sure of himself, even for someone so cocky as he. He must realize that, even with his supporters, Balto and his brother Kemo could easily call for help to bolster Nome's own ranks to equal or overpower his. So…
In a sudden movement so quick that only Kavik's sharp eyes could follow it, Juji moved forward until his face was inches from Kavik's own. "Don't you get it yet?" he asked blithely, eyes blazing with sheer hilarity of it all, his muzzle all but pushed into the cup of his adversary's ear.
"You want me in exchange for the pups…" Kavik snarled, barely managing to stop himself from simply thrusting his head forward and tearing the golden eye from the gray wolf's face, leaving only a ragged bloody hole in its place. "Am I right…?"
Juji chuckled again. No, it was more like a titter, one that sent a shiver down his spine. "My dear Kavik…" Juji said, stepping back a bit and favoring him with a contemptuous look. "Whoever said I was only after you…?"
