Saba and Kanai

I awoke to the sounds of tiny growling and eating noises. Kanai was eating something? Surely he hadn't gone out and caught something on his own? But then it hit me... Last night we met another wolf... Or wolf dog or something. He promised food for us in the morning and sure enough, it was the back ends of a baby caribou that Kanai was feasting on this morning.

"Good morning Saba!" Kanai said.

He dropped the food and walked over to me, for some reason nuzzling my neck. I felt bad for the pup… He's lost his mother, and I feared for the worst that he was starting to grow attached to me.

"Morning little one. Enjoying your meal?"
"Yeah! Come eat!"
"You fill up first… Say… You didn't catch that on your own did you? Where's the other guy from last night?"
"I don't know… He left after he brought this meal and didn't say a word."
"That guy seems very distant… Wonder what his problem is."
"Maybe he is just looking for his home too!"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, I am looking for my home… You are looking for your home… We are all looking for our homes!"

The words that came from this little guys' mouth were very wise, yet so innocent. If our savior and host was indeed as easy to read to a little pup like Kanai, perhaps I could get a better read on him… But where did he run off to?

About another hour passed; Kanai and I had finished off the rest of the meal, and even though we were both stuffed, we still enjoyed the bones as much afterwards. I waited and waited for him to return, so that I could at least thank him for the meal and shelter… Waited and waited… Until the sun was high in the sky above. It was maybe 3PM when I finally decided that it was time for us to take our leave.

I cleaned out the remains of our meal, and straightened up his home out of respect, then we were off…

Just in time for him to return.

"Well it's about time you've come home. Me and Kan-"
"This is not my home…" He cut me off.
"Okay… Well, thanks anyway. Where have you been all morning?"
"It isn't of your concern. Please forgive me Saba, for I must take my leave again. I only came back here to make sure you two were well fed and rested, then I would hope that you would be moving on by now yourselves."
"Of course… But… Something has been bothering me since last night… And you just reminded me."
Rusty seemed to perk up as I asked him a question, seemingly hoping that I would ask the right one.
"How on earth do you know my name?"

I watched the light escape from his eyes… He froze again, just like he did last night. Once again, I felt like I had unlocked memories deep in the back of his mind, and soon he would snap at me and yell at me to leave…

"It's… uh… A long story."

His reply did both surprise, and intrigue me…

"I've got all the time in the world."
"It also is not for your ears."
"Aw, come on. I always love a good story."
"My story is not a good one!" He finished his sentence with a slight growl.

I took a step back and looked into his eyes… Something was there… Something had turned this once bright soul, black. I hoped that one day I would be able to pry it out of him… I wish my sister was here, Aleu… She knew how to get anything out of a boy.

"Then… Uh… I guess me and Kanai will be leaving now." I said.
"That isn't necessary. I'd suggest helping you and Kanai to an old friend of mine. He is the alpha of a pack that… Let's just say I did not have a good experience with, but I know he could help… The Alpha, I mean."
"Sounds great… Maybe there is a slim chance that Kanai's mother is there."
"Couldn't hurt to try." Rusty said.

I couldn't help but smile at him as he spilled his plan to help us… To help Kanai find his home. I knew I wouldn't find mine… But something deep inside me wanted my home to be with Rusty. I shook the thoughts away, once again I was thinking too far ahead. We had barely met… But I'd be lying if I said he wasn't attractive.

"Say… What is your name anyway?"
"Rusty ma'am. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier." He said with a bow.
"Wow, you're such a gentleman… Wolves like you are rare… Or dogs… What the hell are you anyway?"
"Well, long story short, I am part wolf, part something else."
"What something else?"
"I am half wolf. And that is all you need to know."
"Fine… Come on Kanai. Rusty here is going to help us on our journey."
"Yay!" Kanai jumped up with a bone in his mouth, but dropped it and ran to us.

Rusty walked up to his old den, a place he could almost call home, then did something that shocked us… He destroyed it. Pulling the main log down caused the rest to fall, and all that was left was a pile of old tree trunks. Something told me that he was not planning on returning.

He then walked off past me and Kanai, ignoring both of us, and I soon followed with Kanai by my side.

Balto, Siku and Jenna

The three canines were deep into the forest trail... One that Balto rarely ever followed to its end, nearly 15 miles past Dragon's fire, which was a marker set upon the highest mountain peak along the western Alaskan coastline. Even though it was nearly 30 miles inland, sailors and pilots alike used it as sort of a marker for Nome.

Today it was their marker home... Surely, without the complications of a blizzard to deal with, the three and at least even Jenna, could find their way home using their noses, but Balto wasn't going to take chances. He said that they would not leave the view of Dragons Fire, and if they could not see the peak, then they have gone too far.

Jenna and Siku walked together, with Siku more and more growing attached to the older couple as if they were her own parents. Jenna thought it was cute; and since Siku was Kodi's mate, they've all but adopted her as their own child at this point.

"You know... This reminds me of the time you had a similar travel with Aleu..." Jenna finally said back to Balto.
"I suppose it is. Though, this time Saba knows who she is... And what she is, or whatever Aleu told me." He said with a slight chuckle.

"Let's hope it doesn't take two weeks and you coming home without my little girl again..." Jenna said.
"But... I told you okay? Aleu is safe and sound with her own pack... Nava needed a successor, and Aleu fit the bill."
"But what if she can't run a pack? What if-"
"Listen... It's rare for a wolf pack to be run by a single female alpha... But Aleu is one of the most hard-headed, stubborn wolf I know. She will run her pack with pride..."
"But there are dangers out there... What if someone attacks the pack! What if they go to war with another..."
"See... You're still worrying about her... And that is fine. But you don't see me worry for one second. You know why?"

Jenna turned her had as if she was asking why, but didn't say it.

"Because she takes after me."
"Let's say, hypothetically, she were to come across an unknown in her territory... She wouldn't kill them... I know she wouldn't. She'd give them a fair reasoning and see why they decided to come in the first place."
"That sounds like her... Maybe you're right... But... We're so far out, why can't we visit her?"
"I'd give anything to see my little girl again... Saba too... Which is why I am out here looking for my daughter. I don't look for Aleu... Because she's found her home already. Why would I look for her at home?" Balto said.
"You sound like your mother." Jenna teased.
"Well, admittedly we can't visit her because she's gone to the very same place we've named her after."
"The Aleutian Islands?" She asked.
"Correct. Remember I told you about that ice bridge? Well ever since that one time, years ago, not once has the ice bridge returned..."
"I check every month of the cold season..." He added.
"Really? Wow... How did I not know about this?"
"I don't know... It just seemed like my thing"
"That's going to change... From now on we will do this together..."
"That's what I like to hear."

Balto nudged Jenna forward as the two looked at Siku. She had not said a single word and seemed to ignore their conversation completely... She was sniffing for something this entire time.

"Find something Siku?" Balto asked.

She only flicked an ear back at him, but surprisingly Balto understood, even confusing Siku a bit.

"She's concentrating... Taking the time to respond back could throw her off the faint trail already."
"Wow, you wolves have some secret language I don't know?"
"Well, I've already taught you how to read howls, so to you, nope."
"I wonder what she's got..."

Balto got low to the ground, muzzle just a few millimeters from the soil, and tried his best to cypher out any scents... Nothing. Whatever Siku caught onto was one that he could not. Perhaps it was due to her full wolf side versus his half tainted side.

"Siku, at least let me know if the scent you're following is important..." Balto asked.
"It is. You'll see." She replied without changing her position.

Balto looked at Jenna and shrugged his shoulders then the two watched Siku run off.

"She's got something... Maybe it's Saba!" Balto said with happiness.

The two ran off after the small white wolf, and quickly lost her trail... But then, her growling could be heard from the other side of Balto...

"Siku... Wait, it's me! What are you-"

Jenna yelled in horror as Balto was jumped by a random flash of white, and upon further review, it was a wolf that they were dealing with…

Siku growled and attacked the wolf... But it wasn't a wolf, perhaps some type of hybrid? It didn't matter though.

Siku jumped onto its back, ready to kill it using her trademark move, but this attacker was a crafty one. He threw Siku off and slammed her against a tree, knocking the wind out if her. Helpless, she watched as Balto's attacker stared her down with two beaming silver eyes... Who was this monster?

Alex growls and snaps at Balto, and Balto was ready to accept his fate... Yet... The wolf hybrid did not attack.

"Agh, god damnit!" Alex yelled, and then he jumped off from on top of Balto, who instantly found his feet again.
"You... You again... What are you doing in my territory?"
"This is not your-"

Balto was jumped by Alex yet again, but he did not allow it this time. He flipped him over and pushed off with his hind legs, causing Alex to hit the ground hard.

"Heheh, you out up a worthy fight... Had I wanted to kill you, I would have already..."
"But I know you wouldn't." Balto said.
"What the hell is going on here!?" Jenna said. She sat back and watched the whole thing with both terror and confusion fighting in her mind.
"Jenna, meet the son of Amarok, aka the 'demon wolf'" Balto said, mocking his own words and putting a funny twist on 'demon wolf'.

Jenna and Siku looked at him with a confused face... He was introducing him as if he wasn't a visions killing machine that he was.

"Pleasure to meet you, Jenna. And the little one here?"
"Siku... And if you think I'm going to stand by and allow you to throw me like that, you've got another thing coming!"

Siku charged Alex, who stepped out of the way, expecting Siku to fly past him and hit a tree. He had already begun laughing, as he thought he got a good read on Siku... He's dealt with the blind fury type fighters in his day, and he's mistaken Siku as one of those.

As he turned to chuckle at Siku's failure, he felt a sharp tingling pain in his tail.

He yelped in pain and instantly jumped the smaller wolf...

"Why does this seem so familiar? It's as I I've done this before..." Alex thought.
"That's enough, Alex. Siku is our friend, and admittedly, our only guide in this mess."

Alex smiled at the smaller wolf he had pinned under him, she was still growling and snapping at him furiously.

"Fine." He said, then released her.

Siku stood and shook off the dirt and leaves from her coat, and walked over next to Jenna and sat down. She had a look of sadness as if she had been beaten.

"Don't feel bad, Siku. If it means anything, you've put up a worthy fight compared to most of the assholes I deal with."
"The feeling is mutual." Siku replied coldly.

Alex chuckled a bit, then walked over to Balto.

"Now, I'll ask you again. What are you doing in my territory? The last time I saw you, you were all but dead as your team had crashed in the middle of a blizzard."
"We're here looking for our daughter, Saba." Balto said.

He looked at the two sitting to their right, and motioned towards Jenna as of to ask: "you and hers daughter, right?"

Balto nodded and gave him a look that said: "come on man, the white wolf is but a year old..."

"Anyway, I cannot help you more than tell you that not a single scent of any wolf or dog matching yours has come across my territory."
"I'd refer you to someone I know... Someone I know who can help you... Someone I used to be able to call... Friend."
"Really? It'd mean a lot, thank you."
"Your thanks isn't needed, nor is it necessary."
"His name is Black Eye, and as soon as you recognize the large gray wolf. His eyes are a shade of Chrysler green, and you will recognize the white patch of fur that starts from under his jaw, down to his chest."
"Very well, where can I find this 'black eye'?"
"Two miles west of south peak. He knows everything that leaves or enters his territory and he claims the better part of the entire western Alaskan frontier. If anyone knows about your daughter, he'd know."

Balto bowed to Alex, and walked off with Jenna and Siku following.

"Nice moves back there, Alpha Supreme."
"What the hell did you just call me?" Siku yelled back.
"Alpha supreme...?" Alex teased with a smile.

Siku was more or less confused by this, and could not, for the life of her figure out why that name had meaning. She quickly set her thoughts aside and left Alex behind, turning her head back to him about 3 more times as she got further away, and he simply sat there looking back at her every time.

"Haha... Good luck you three... And you find your daughter, Balto."

Alex walks back to his den and curls up for the night. Helping others... Wasn't his fortDŽ, but he did not ever wish for a man to lose his daughter... That was one of the things he is proud to say he would fight for. Maybe it was his moral code, but had anyone else shown up in his territory like that, they probably would not have gotten away with their lives. Alex curled up a bit tighter as the cold air seeped down into his empty den, and slept alone. This lazy afternoon, a slight smile on his face as he felt content with helping someone else for once... But a thought did dawn upon him as he slipped away... Black Eye hated dogs, and even moreso, wolf hybrids.. Perhaps he should have mentioned that to Balto and company...

W00t! Another character to tie into this story... Alex, AKA son of Amarok... AKA the 'demon wolf' belongs to 'Wolf Assassin 7477' whom I wish I knew his name so I could reply to him a hit more formally, but whatever.

Chapter 6 coming June 2015