Chapter 1- Way Of Life

"My Child!"

That last, strangled howl was what dragged Sabaec from the land of sleep into the waking world.

He surged up, his paws grasping for ground during the panic. He thrashed involuntarily, and rammed his head into one of the fallen support beams that was laying sideways, caught in the shack's frame. A low whine escaped his snout as the blow took effect, and Sabaec was finally able to get his paws underneath him. Shaking slightly from his escapade, he forced himself to gaze out into the frozen tundra, facing outward from Cedarlark into the wilds. The wolfdog finally got his breathing under control, and shook his head to clear his thoughts. Growling to himself slightly, he rose to his paws, gently stretching his shoulders forward. The contrast of his black and white pelt grew sharper in the sunlight, and yawning slightly, Sabaec padded out of his shack into the snow.

The wolfdog picked up a steady pace as he made an arc, turning around to make his way into town. His underbelly blended in perfectly to the expanse of white, while his back and spine were startling from above. Sabaec knew he stood out like a sore dewclaw in the snow, so he didn't doubt that he would be noticed before entering Cedarlark.

In fact, the little padding of small paws sounded in the distance, and Sabaec turned towards the sound. A grayish-brown coat gave away the owner, and Sabaec couldn't help but smirk a bit in response. Let her have her fun...

He continued on, trying to ignore the sound of another dog gaining on him, and he kept up his obliviousness, even when the sounds came right up from behind him. However, his surprise was real when his stalker finally launched herself into the air, and Sabaec found himself being knocked the ground, with a force he didn't expect to come from his half-sister.

With a startled yelp, the pair landed into a snow-drift, and Sabaec coughed as some of the snow fell down into his mouth. A muffled laugh sounded from above, and Sabaec shook his head violently, and he gave a mock glare at his captor. "For God's sake, Luka, could you be more annoying?"

His sister continued to laugh, even as she sprung off of him. "Oh, you know I could, but I'm feeling merciful today."

Sabaec huffed as he rose to his paws. "And how long will that last?"

"An hour, or two, let's just see how that goes."

Sabaec shook his head a bit, but still gave his sister a weak smile. "I'll be sure to enjoy it while it lasts."

Luka rolled her eyes slightly at this, but still gave Sabaec a quick lick along his left ear, as she padded over to stand beside him. Luka was a gangly pup at the time, only about five months in age. It being her first winter, she was practically ripping up the Canadian turf with excitement, much to the annoyance of her big brother. Even now, as Sabaec watched her knead her paws over who-knows-what, he could see the anticipation in her eyes.

"So," Sabaec spoke again, padding alongside his anxious sister. "You finally got off the leash, huh?"

Luka turned to glare at Sabaec, as the wolfdog mimed a step back in "fear." "I've been free for at least a month, you know," she said dryly, "I'm almost ready to join the team, it's about time that you noticed."

"Just don't let Buck hear you say that," Sabaec teased, and he barely ducked it time to avoid Luka's incisors.

"Dad's just getting used to it," Luka growled as she returned to the turf. "He'll come around."

Before Sabaec could continue the conversation, Luka jumped in the air, and than took off towards the town. "Race you!"

Sabaec chuckled again, and than barked back. "Okay, you asked for it!" Digging his paws into the snow, Sabaec leaped forward, and then ran full speed, focusing on his sister's fading form.

Despite her head start, Luka could quickly hear the pounding paws as Sabaec gained on her. Flattening her ears, Luka stretched her paws out wide, clawing at the snow as she flattened her body. Sabaec, noticing his sister's tactic, let his tongue fall out in a loopy grin, and extended his own stride as well.

Slowly, he started to come from behind, just as the pair was reaching the home stretch of the trip. Luka gave a playful growl, and went full speed as Sabaec come up on her right haunch. The two entered Main Street in a blaze of black and gray-brown, Sabaec barely pulling ahead of Luka by a nose length.

"Hah!" the wolfdog barked, as he skidded to a halt a few meters away from the finish line.

Luka, however, wasn't as lucky. She hit an ice patch going full throttle, and soon found herself spinning out of control. Her claws scrabbling in the packed snow, she spinned down out of the street, and finally found herself with her paws splayed in a low ditch on the street side.

Sabaec, seeing his sister's crash, swiftly padded over to her side, his ears flattened against his head. "Hey, is everything all right?"

Luka raised her head, and than gave her brother a miffed look. "Well, save for the fact you beat me again, yes."

A wide grin broke out on Sabaec's face, and he swiftly crouched down to help his sister up. "You know, you were going pretty fast there," he said as the pair climbed to the top of the ditch.

Luka opened her mouth to reply, but a snide voice from the opposite side of the street interrupted her. "Jesus, could you be lying any worse?"

Sabaec flattened his ears as he turned towards the source of the noise, and he heard Luka give a low growl under her breath as well.

Sure enough, Uyak, Pakak, and Sura, three of the newest team dogs, were standing in an alleyway on the other side of the street, swiftly making their way over to Luka and Sabaec.

Uyak took the lead, and gave a wide smirk at Sabaec, even as the latter bared his teeth. "I mean, come on." Uyak started, "she got beat by the wolfdog, she so damn fast!" With that comment, Uyak and his posse began to laugh, so amused they were by their own brilliance.

Sabaec continued to growl, as he slowly made his way towards the trio. Insulting him was one thing, something he had learned to live with. However, insulting his sister, his babysister, was a wrong pawstep forward. Of course, Luka herself was right beside him, her hackles raised and her tail fluffed out to full width, with low growls rumbling out of her throat.

"Oooh, scary," Uyak taunted, while Pakak and Sura began to look around a bit more nervously. Obviously, the sight of the wolfdog himself coming at them was a bit nerve-racking.

Sabaec stopped a few yards away from the pair, letting his snarl to the talking. Meanwhile, Luka stood beside him, and lashed her own tail. "Oh, could you be anymore of an idiot, Uyak? Did you trade your brain out for snow on the last run?"

Uyak just smirked at Luka's jibs. "Well, it seems that the runt is standing up for her mutt brother. Wish you were a rabid half-breed too?"

Luka let out another growl, but then grinned slightly. "No, but I wouldn't mind it. It beats being a purebred SOB."

Uyak's back bristled slightly at this. "Hey, watch your snout. Whether you like it or not, your brother's a half-breed, a damn stray. He's worth nothing."

Luka glanced back at Sabaec, to see him stony now, frozen in his crouch. "Oh, really?" Luka snarled , getting more indignant. "I can think of one wolfdog that was worth something. Ever heard of Nome, Uyak?"

Uyak blinked a bit at that, and then snarled a second later. "Don't start on your damn lineage, Luka. Sure, one wolfdog eighty years ago made a serum run, but it was a fluke, big whoop. Doesn't change the fact that our current mutt is a flea-infested piece of crap."

Luka was shaking now. "Oh, you would see that he's not piece of crap, if you weren't so busy smelling everyone's as-"

"EH!"

That sharp bark was what finally brought Sabaec out of his stupor, and the wolfdog shook his head as he came out of his crouch. Both Uyak and Luka froze, while Pakak and Sura began to slink away in fear. They knew that voice, and from past experience, they were going, fast.

Sabaec finally glanced black, and let out a low sigh of relief as he recognized the gray-brown husky bearing down on the group. Buck was running down Main Street, his tail erect, and his hackles raised. The pelt he shared with his daughter, Luka, was slighty crusted with snow, and his sky blue eyes narrowed slightly as he approached Luka and Uyak's stand off. He pushed himself in between the pair, and than glared at both Uyak and Luka. "What the heck is going on?"

Sabaec watched as Uyak shrunk, his legs slightly shaking at the sight of his team leader. "Nothing, sir, I was just going..."

Luka let out a humorless laugh. "No, you weren't, you son of a-"

"Luka!" Buck snapped, causing his daughter to finally shut her mouth. He turned back to Uyak. "I have my sucspicions, Uyak, and I've heard you taking with the other dogs. Let me make something very clear-"

Buck stalked closer to Uyak, causing the dog to fold more into himself. "Sabaec may not be related to me by blood, but he is still my son. You know who I'm descended from, so an insult about being part wolf insults me as well. Watch your tongue."

Buck stepped back, and then let out a low snarl. Uyak wasted no time in scurrying down the alley.

Buck sighed, and then turned back to his daughter, and the wolfdog he considered to be his son. He had supported Sabaec's mother, Aurora, when her first mate disappeared a year and a half ago, and had gotten close to the two pups that survived from her first litter. Despite having pups of his own now, Buck still felt like he was obligated to Sabaec, and loved him as he would Luka and her siblings.

Now, he looked at his children, his ears twitching. "Are you two alright?"

Luka wagged her tail, and gently said "Yes, Dad, we're fine." She swiftly nuzzled Buck underneath his jaw, and Buck couldn't help but grin as he returned the favor. He glanced up at Sabaec, who was shaking slightly. "How about you?"

Sabaec's voice was flat as he spoke. "Yeah...fine. I just...need to go."

Buck could only watch as Sabaec took off, heading back out to the plains. He flattened his ears, and sighed gently, while Luka fell silent as well. There was only so much a stepfather could do in these circumstances.

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He had to move now.

The darkness was closing in, and Sabaec was as ready as ever. He didn't want to, but did he have a choice?

Aniu had been clear. Now was the time. Destiny called.

He let out a low huff, and disappeared into the wind, as he watched the black-and-white wolfdog run out from the town, and into the snow.