I.
Morning over the snow-filled terrain was still and cloudy. Togo leapt through the deep blue light filtering through from tree-to-tree until he reached a river cutting it's own path into an otherwise shore pine-lined trail. The husky made his way over to the water expectantly. He didn't feel the strain from his short night's run, only hunger and frosted lungs in his throat.
Togo sighed and trotted over to lick the water.
His pick tongue caught the surface and he frantically used his nails to pry it off.
Releasing a huff of air, Togo stared at his overlapping reflection in the hard, white, "Ice."
The husky determined. He breathed once through his nose.
"I got it!" Togo perked up. "I'll do what those foxes do when they're looking for mice."
It never quite occurred to him that he wasn't exactly a vulpine as he crouched down, let his bushy, tail tip twitch twice, and then leapt face-first into the rock-solid lake. His upper nose gave a slight crunch as his paws tucked forward to help spare the rest of his muzzle from a similar fate. Togo let out a little agonized whine as he rubbed at his nose and then took note of caribou in the distance. The pup's auburn eyes widened as an idea so grand came to him:
He could scavenge a carcass!
Togo rushed at the herd at top speed, his legs flopping back and forth in his excitement.
The caribou lifted their heads and sprang out of the way. Surprised, Togo felt an even bigger thrill of adrenaline course through him as he bound through the parting herd like a speeding comet catching fire. His pulsating run came to a sudden stop as he watched a big head rise to look at him. Togo saw of the creature antlers so white, he almost mistook them for sun-bleached driftwood. But this wasn't why he gawked; it was the memory of her. Big, white...
"Goddess," Togo murmured, finding his focus.
As the husky bolted toward the scent of a late night kill, the head buck returned to languidly chewing the grove of shrubs he had unearthed earlier as well. Togo skirted past the skeletal remains of the caribou and dove like a deer straight for the next line of trees. He searched.
He sniffed.
After about twenty minutes, Togo languished.
The idea that he was many miles from home finally set in.
"What'd I do?" He wondered aloud. "I can't go back..." Something else dawned on him. "I've got no one to go back t-," And there she was. They were just dots of black heading up what was essentially a similar rise of snow closer to town. Togo started running towards them in a split-second, hardly unable to contain his joy at seeing his Goddess again. She's there, right there! Togo thought as he raced toward the last wolf in the pack, who followed their straight formation without one look his way. But that was all right as Togo didn't care for the others.
If the rest of the pack went on without her, he wouldn't have noticed.
...
Aniu felt her stomach bulging a bit as she measured her pace behind Shanarow. He was the second-to-last in the pack but he was built long and wiry. What her pack lacked in bulk and brutality, they made up for in size and swiftness. Just then she caught a scavenger's scent.
This wasn't usually cause for alarm; a coyote, fox or vulture posed little threat to them.
No, this was something else.
The wolf looked up to see the strange canine from before barreling up to her.
Without fear, she noted curiously.
...
Togo saw her as his feet moved him from the thick snow and onto thinner tread. The white wolf had stopped altogether to watch the advance of the hurried husky. He wasn't sure why he hurried exactly - she clearly wasn't going anywhere - but the urge to be near her surged.
He felt his pace quickening even as the soft snow became harder.
The Goddess blinked once before adjusting her large head into a slight tilt.
It was then that Togo felt his paws nearly shoot out from under him.
Ice clear and solid appeared from nowhere; an unexpected pool of water opening up from the river. Togo clenched his teeth as he slipped and slid around. Getting control was hard as there were no big enough ridges to fit his claws into. The dog fidgeted around more hastily, desperate to find the brakes and not look like a fool to the wolf. But she was merely serene as she observed him motionlessly. Togo started to think she was a figment of his mind when he managed to splay his brown claws out and catch onto a little groove at the pond's end. It dawned on Togo two seconds later that he'd halted. Amazed, the husky peeked at his toes.
Aniu lowered her head down inches from Togo's forehead.
He casually glanced up and jolted back like she was an attacking bear.
The husky breathed hard as he stared up into her eyes.
Beautiful, yellow-gold eyes rimmed in black...
Togo got his panting under control and offered her a toothy grin, meaning to be sincere.
...
Shanarow yelped to her again instead of his father.
The white wolf glanced at him, back to Togo, and then followed the black-and-silver male.
"Wait! Where ya goin'?" She heard the scavenger call in his odd voice.
Aniu glanced at him, then continued after her pack as they headed to find a resting place.
It was no big deal that a scavenger was following them, it happened all the time.
There was nothing special about this one.
When she looked back a final time, he just stared after her. The confusion plain on his face a was good sign; it meant he got the message and would probably turn around soon. Maybe go back to his human encampment. Aniu felt better about her mistake of chasing that tiny marten so close into town, Shanarow had been right about the caribou stragglers near the outskirts. It had been Aniu who had ventured too close. Now, all was right and well again.
The white wolf turned to see that the scavenger was charging after her.
To be continued...