One summer morning, in the forest nearby, a lone groundhog was seeking some food for his hibernation the following winter. Whatever it could find, it'd help him a lot to stay full during those long and cold winter times. Unbeknownst to the groundhog, it was being stalked from nearby. It was turning itself into a prey.
That was Balto, now being six months old. He was learning how to hunt, accepting that duty as something necessary for his survival. Sure, he had Boris go to Nome and find him leftovers or have Muk and Luk catch fish in the shallows, but Balto knew that it was him who had to hunt for his own survival, not being puppysat by them.
While the groundhog was burrowing the moist ground, Balto was silently creeping behind and was ready to have it served for a meal, but his misstepping on the branch revealed his position. The groundhog wasted no seconds to drop what it had found and started running for cover. Balto had to hunt it down swiftly, who was missing his one chance to have meat for dinner.
"No!" Balto spoke in utter disbelief after making a wrong move and in despair, not thinking a single bit, went after his prey. Him chasing that critter did not go well when it dunked straight into the hole it dug before and Balto rushed with his muzzle to reach the groundhog, but it was too late. It was already gone deep underground.
"Darn it, that was too close!" Balto groaned in defeat, seeing how close he was to have a decent meal for today. Clearly Boris was nearby to see how Balto was hunting and once he walked up to him, he spoke: "Balto, you have thought this too fast! Someone like you who has wolf blood should know better than me!"
Balto lowered his head down when he heard this from him, clearly being disappointed at himself for letting this happen. He raised his head to tell Boris: "But one day, you will see, I'll have at least one of these animals caught all by myself! That way, Boris, I won't have to depend on any of you, alright?" His determination was saying a lot.
"I don't doubt you, boychick, but you shouldn't go hunting without a strategy! Now let's head back to the boat, I'll head to the town to find something for you to eat!" Boris placed his wing around the pup's shoulders and beckoned him towards the old boat, showing that his training was over for today, even if Balto didn't want to accept it.
Soon when they were on their old boat, climbing on the deck, Balto moved to his belongings Boris had gotten for him. Aside from the old, wide and gray blanket he slept underneath, there was a metal bowl of water Boris had found in the town, no longer after Balto met Muk and Luk months ago. However, there was nothing as different as seeing a cat toy nearby.
An orange and red colored cat toy, making squeaky noise once it was winded up from behind, it served to Balto as a source of fun and relief, mainly in those nights when he had nightmares of him being separated from his mother. Boris found it in the alley in the town, at around the same time when he had gotten him that water bowl. It had been months and months and Balto's mother… hadn't been found.
"There you go, mal'chik. You rest over here while I head to the town and try to find something to eat in the town, alright?" Boris let him know what to do and the fact that Muk and Luk weren't going to be here today. Then, Balto got on all his fours and asked: "Boris, I am six months old at this point, why can't I go with you to the town? I can take care of myself!"
Boris stopped here, fearing that Balto was going to say that. Truth to be said, he could no longer prevent the little one from staying here while he was in the town. At the same time, Boris would always try to come to the town in secret, having his troubles with places like that. Not to mention, being a wolf and dog hybrid was not something welcoming for Balto.
He looked at the pup raising on the ledge of the boat and observing Nome in the distance. That town had a lot to offer and Boris, who walked next to Balto, looked at Nome. He glanced at the pup and let him know: "Alright, I don't think I can stop you from going there, but remember, I'll stay behind when you go there, is that clear?"
"But why aren't you…?" Balto didn't understand why Boris wouldn't come with him to the town. Placing his wing around him, he explained to him: "Remember, Balto, I have been finding you food in secret all those months. I didn't want to have those humans find out anything about me because they'd have me hunted down and served as meat!"
"That… that can't be right!" Balto watched him in disbelief, wondering why'd anyone have him being served for dinner. Boris sighed and further let him know: "I wish I was just kidding, Balto. Look, I'll escort you to the town, but then you're on your own. How is that for a compromise?" It didn't seem like something fair.
Still, he wanted to prove to him that he could rely on himself now to which he answered: "Alright, if you say so. But I will not let you down when I'm in town, okay? I hope that I will meet my friends there!" If only Boris would tell him the truth what the citizens and dogs thought of wolves and wolf hybrids like Balto was.
"Good, just be who you are and show them that you are the master of your destiny! We will go tomorrow morning first, of course!" Boris encouraged him only to a certain extent, feeling that bitter disappointment coming to him. He knew how this could go for Balto and yet, he had no courage to tell him what he was going to face tomorrow.
The next day, Balto was ready as soon as he woke up. First, Boris made sure Balto had a proper meal first, consisting of the leftover bone from last night and water he poured him. Even if it was a visit to the town, it felt like it was a big deal for the young wolf dog pup. Boris was going to take him there, but a tour through the town?
"Alright, kiddo, here we are. Remember, I will wait for you here! This is not a big town so it'd be ridiculous if you were to get lost in a place like this, alright?" Boris wanted to make sure that Balto had this all memorized before parting ways. Balto looked at the houses in front of himself, answering: "Boris, I won't get lost! I just wonder what to do if humans spot me?"
"Best thing right now is not to be seen by humans, Balto. Since you bear wolfish looks from one side, I don't think they'll be that kind to you. Maybe one day they'll think otherwise. Now off you go!" Boris let him know what he should do before Balto was on his own in this rather new place. Truth to be said, he didn't enjoy hearing the fact that humans weren't going to like him.
"Well, this is it. I better make sure I remain hidden in this tour! Unless I make some friends?" Balto wondered, walking on the humid summer soil in Nome. Passing these houses, now this time closer than he ever was before, this was a rather new sensation to him. Those houses were the residences of many humans living here and others too!
Walking down the alley, he heard someone's voices on the other end and stood by, making sure whether the voice was friendly or not. Just two humans, walking next to one another and discussing something. They didn't notice the wolf dog puppy in the alley looking at them. They were probably too busy having a talk with one another.
"Those humans don't seem that scary, but if Boris says so, I'll make sure that none of them sees me! Maybe there is something I can do for humans in this town and they actually like me?" Balto whispered to himself, passing into another valley. What caught his attention was the smell of beef drying on one of the hooks on one of the houses in the alley.
"That meat smells so delicious! But it is too high for me to reach it! How am I going to get myself the food for later?!" Balto asked himself, craving for the dried beef up there, but since there was no other way to get it unless there were humans nearby, Balto lowered his ears, thinking how it was impossible to get that beef without being spotted.
"But wait… what's that smell?" Balto caught another scent, leading into another alley on the other side of the street… Taking a quick look out on the street, it seemed quite empty, save for one human that was busy maintaining his house, so Balto could slip by without being noticed. That way or another, he was closer to the source of the scent.
"Oh, this smells a lot like the meat I saw before, even better!" Balto thought happily, thinking how he was going to get used to this town relatively easy. It wasn't that big of a deal and he liked how this place looked like. Just there, on the crossing of two alleys, next to the garbage can, was some meat wrapped in a greasy paper. The looks of what he found in the wrapping made him really hungry!
Bones, ribs, legs… everything he could dream of was inside! Was this a lucky day for him?! Could it be that some human was not able to finish this delicious meal and so decided to dispose of it outside?! Well, this was good news for Balto, thinking he found his meal for today. Well, they seemed like good news…
He was too busy to notice that he was no longer alone. Behind him were four other pups, around his age. One was a black Alaskan malamute pup with black eye patches and icy blue eyes, other one was a reddish brown chinook, next to him was a chubby brown chow-chow and last but not least, a violet gray husky pup, who seemed to shake for some reason.
"Steele, look! Someone has found our secret stash of food!" That reddish brown chinook puppy alerted the black Alaskan malamute pup by the name Steele and indeed, he was not really glad to have someone take their food, but even unhappier he was for seeing how the "thief" looked like. He startled him with: "Hey, who do you think you are to touch our food?!"
"Huh?!" Balto turned around for one hundred and eighty degrees, afraid of the tone of that voice. Then he noticed there were four other pups behind him and each one of them looked less friendly than the last one, starting with that violet gray pup to Steele. Steele got closer to him to ask: "I said, who do you think you are to touch our food?"
"Me?... I, uh… Uh… I didn't know this was yours! I… I just found it here…!" Balto stuttered, not knowing whether to trust them or not. He further spoke: "And I am Balto, by the way…!" He was hoping that at least introducing himself to them would warm things up. Well, he was wrong when the chinook pup asked: "Steele, I notice something about this fellow!"
"Do tell us, Kaltag!" Steele allowed him to speak, chuckling on something as if he was finding this situation sickly funny. Kaltag, the chinook pup, told him: "Look at him, isn't he a wolf? I don't think a dog puppy looks like that!" It wasn't until Balto, who was at first confused, corrected him: "Hey, I'm not a wolf! I just happen to be half wolf, half dog puppy!"
That didn't help at all, which made Steele, Kaltag and chow-chow pups laugh, with the gray pup behind laughing rather anxiously, as if he were coerced to do so, with Steele looking at the chow-chow and asking: "Did you hear that, Nikki?! He says he's a half wolf, haf dog puppy!" Their laughter was starting to make Balto insecure, ditching his desire to get that food and leave their presence, anywhere he could.
"But on whose side is he a wolf?" That gray pup asked, as if he wanted to be popular among them and Steele, before facing the wolf dog puppy, answered: "You let me handle it, Star! Now, where were we? Oh yeah, about you, Bingo…" He deliberately mispronounced his name, whether out of fun or spite, until Balto firmly told him: "It's Balto!"
"Bingo, Balto, both sides of the same coin! Do you know what we think of anyone who is related to wolves in this town?" Steele asked him with a fierce mocking tone, him and his cronies encircling him. Balto had no idea where to go, being frightened by the presence of these four rather unfriendly pups, stuttering: "N… no?!"
"It is simple, we don't welcome them in this town!" Nikki spoke, as if Steele wanted to have someone say it other than him. Balto was shocked by this atmosphere, his pupils shrunk in shock. He was not welcome in the town of Nome for having wolf blood?! Kaltag asked him mockingly: "And do you want to know why we don't?"
This was now clearly Steele's turn before Balto's dreams of future and hopes were shattered by something he could not accept. However, Star broke out with his scream: "YOU TELL HIM, STEELE!" This was clearly not a good timing for Star when Kaltag's swift and hard paw punched him from above, stunning the violet gray pup for some time.
"As Star was saying, I'll tell you why: Do you know what happened to the town's ace by the name Beringo?" Steele asked him straight in his face while Balto got pressured back in the corner. The revelation of the name "Beringo" did not ring any bell to him and he even genuinely answered them: "No… what happened to him?!"
Steele smugly looked at his cronies and nodded, thus giving Balto the answer: "My disgraced father, who never bothered to care about me, at least cared to tell me this story at least: He found out that Beringo fell once from the cliff and returned in the fine condition, but ever since then, he was a deranged dog, threatening his teammates on daily basis. Rumor has it that the wolf ensnared his mind."
Hearing this story was already making Balto very frightened and the mention of someone he had no memories of being related to him wasn't making this any easier to him. Moreso, Steele continued: "Then they found Beringo dead outside the town! Ones say that the storm had killed him, but his wounds say that a wild animal, a wolf, was the one that killed him that day!"
"Are… are you saying that because of the wolf…?" Balto lowered his tail, slowly realizing that he shouldn't have mentioned his wolf side. Kaltag from Steele's left side answered him: "If you're a half wolf, then on whose side is it? Tell us!" Being in this situation was already too stressful for Balto and someone demanding him was inflicting the wound to this.
"I don't… I don't remember if I had a dad… I only remember my mom being the wolf in the family!" Balto answered, hoping that they'd let him go if he revealed. He could only hope so when the others the others made that: "Ooooooooohhhhhh!" faces, even Star after coming to it and of course, he was the last one to do so. Nikki asked him: "But why aren't you with your wolf mommy then instead of being in this town, uh?"
"Because I got separated from her! She hasn't returned to me ever since then!" Balto growled at them, being genuinely hurt when they were talking rudely about his mother. Steele smirked at this situation, answering sarcastically: "Don't worry, we'll handle this. We'll give the call to your mother! Ready, boys?!" Kaltag, Nikki and Star stuck to one another.
All four of them let out the howls to echo throughout the alleys and streets. Listening to them doing this not to help him, but rather mock him for his wolf blood, Balto had that anger flushing in his face and letting himself to the anger, he moved one step ahead and growled at this group of pups, noticed by Star, who surprisingly did it first.
"Hey, Steele, look out! He's got dangerous!" Star alerted his chief and of course, when Steele saw the angry pup glare at him, his cronies were fast enough to stop that and he spoke: "You really think you can scare all three of us?" He was interrupted by Star: "Hey, what about me?!" Only to be smacked by Kaltag once again, falling into the ground.
"Alright, four of us! Why don't you make like a tree and get out of here?! We better don't find you anywhere near our food again or better, anywhere in this town!" This last one coming from Steele was full of spite and quite literally when Steele spat on Balto's muzzle, much to the twisted delight of Steele, Nikki and Kaltag, all while Star was counting the stars around his head, figuratively.
Seeing that he wasn't concerned anymore, Balto just made a run for it, trying hard not to break in tears in front of those bullies, all while their laughter was echoing from where he'd come from. Of course, their laughter was broken when Star, who'd come to it again, asked: "Did I miss something?! Where'd Balto go!?" Despite two concussions in his head, it was surprising how Star was able to memorize Balto's name that fast!
As for Balto, the tears were seen in his brown eyes while running across alleys and streets. He was on the brink of crying with those insults and taunts and he did not care where he was heading. He couldn't even care any less if there were humans around who might have spotted him. Even one was heard saying: "Hey!" But it wasn't for certain whether the human was telling that to Balto or someone else.
He hid in an another alley, near one trash can and making sure that no one was looking, Balto dropped his head and facing the ground, he started crying, feeling genuinely hurt how instead of making friends, he was bullied mercilessly and how they taunted his mother, whom he had not seen in months. Nothing more could hurt than having a mother taunted as an orphan.
The tears were dropping down on the humid ground. Balto couldn't focus on anything around himself, not even the fact that he was no longer alone in this alley. Being busy while crying, someone approached him, another canine, a female one. While letting the tears drop down and coming to his senses slowly, he noticed a pair of front white paws in front of himself.
"Hey, are you alright?" The voice spoke to him. It was a female voice and a genuinely sweet one. Raising his head, Balto noticed the scarlett red female husky puppy in front of him, having those amber brown eyes. By her looks, she might have been at least two months younger than him. Her appearance really had him awestruck.
"Are you alright? Why are you upset?" The female pup asked him once again, looking and sounding sweet. Her looks and voice were actually encouraging him to say something and he stuttered: "Y… yes… I'm fine. It is just that… there were pups… who hurt me and taunted me…"
"No, they wouldn't do that? Who were they?" The female asked him, not being really happy about what she heard. Balto gulped before revealing: "It was this black pup named Steele…" He mentioned that someone this female was already familiar with: "Steele? I heard from him that he's the coolest pup on the streets, but to be this kind of bully is really shocking!"
"You… you know him?" Balto asked her, wondering if her sweetness was transparent or real one. Yet, she asked him another question: "What's your name? Don't be shy, please!" She sounded as if she were here to help him even if she were younger than him. Looking her in amber eyes, he answered: "My name is Balto."
"Balto? That's a pretty nice name, I have to say! My name is Jenna!" She happily introduced herself to the wolf-dog pup, much to his surprise how she was this nice to him. "Really… I, uh… thanks!" Balto answered back to her, yet he couldn't resist anymore. He asked her: "Jenna, you aren't afraid of me?"
She raised her eyebrow and asked him: "No, why should I be afraid of you? What is it, Balto?" Looking around himself, left and right, hoping that there was no one around listening, he looked at her again and let her know: "It's because I'm a half wolf, half dog." He was expecting her to back away and flee in terror in fright because of the wolf part.
Instead, she told him: "Half wolf, half dog? Don't be afraid, I think that you're looking pretty cute for some who is half and half actually!" Did she just call him cute? Balto's brain froze on a few seconds when he heard a female husky puppy like Jenna say something like that to him! He stuttered, having that warm feeling hitting his face on his muzzle: "T… thank you…!"
There she giggled, which sounded so sweet that Balto wished it could echo in his head for a long time. Then she asked him the same from before: "Why did Steele make you upset? Because you're half and half?" The moment of joy and laugh passed for Balto and he nodded slowly, telling her: "And he taunted my mother… and I haven't seen my mom in months…"
"Oh no, why?!" Jenna gasped in shock when she just heard this, feeling sorry for this wolf-dog puppy and his loss. He looked away, as if he had no courage to tell her in face: "I lost my mom in the snow storm when I was only two months old, she was a wolf… and I don't remember if I had any brothers or sisters or even dad… and if my mom was a wolf, then my dad was a dog…"
"I… I don't know what to say…" Jenna whispered in shock, thinking how Balto was one of those pups and other young ones in the world who were forcingly separated from their parents. She lowered her ears just so she could tell him: "Well, I still remember my parents and my siblings, but all of them moved away and I haven't seen them in weeks, maybe months!"
"But… but why?" Balto looked at her, wondering why she had no parents and siblings with her. Was the world this cruel to have their young ones separated from their parents against their will or what? Shr kept her optimism: "Well, I was adopted by this young human family who have their own young one, who is at least two years old, so I don't mind my new life with them!"
"You live with humans?" Balto was surprised by this revelation, being alien to a pet life unlike Jenna. She smiled weakly and answered him: "Yeah, they're very sweet and their little one is a very cute girl! One day, when it comes, I'll lead you to them! Who knows, they may like you!" Hearing what Jenna was going to do for him left him speechless.
"You would do that, for me?" Balto asked her, not believing what he was hearing. She came closer to him and despite being noticeably shorter than him, didn't feel intimidated by his appearance, answered: "Yes! And do you know why? Because you're my friend!" She just called him "friend", something he could not believe he'd hear from someone in this town, not after this cruel accident with Steele.
"I… I am?" Balto asked her, wondering if his dark brownish gray ears heard him right. She backed off a bit and put on a mischievous smile, telling him: "If you don't believe me, why don't we play here! I'll show you that I really mean it!" At last Balto felt motivated to move from his spot so he moved towards Jenna, slowly.
Then she made a run for it across the alley and with the spirit of joy, he felt the urge to chase her playfully and smile once again! It was a really wonderful feeling now that he had a puppy to play with. Their laughs were echoing in the alley as Jenna always seemed faster than him, but he was also incredibly fast, she couldn't deny it.
Eventually she stopped in her tracks and turned around him and before Balto could react on time, Jenna leaped and pounced Balto in process. The wolf dog pup lost his balance and landed on his back right on the humid ground. She was standing very close to him and seeing what just happened, they were both delightfully laughing, as if Balto's misery disappeared!
"See, what did I tell you, Balto?!" Jenna asked him if he could now accept it that she saw him as her friend and before he answered, she delightfully licked him in the forehead while he was getting up. What he could feel was his heartbeat quickening and was he awestruck when his brain froze on a few seconds again, before he stuttered: "You… you weren't wrong… Jenna!"
Just as she was going to answer him, there was a human voice calling: "Jenna! Jenna! Come on, girl! Time to get something to eat!" Jenna heard her owner, an adult man from one of the houses nearby. Jenna dropped her ears when she knew what that meant, telling Balto: "I'm sorry, Balto… I have to go now, my human is calling me home!"
"Jenna! Wait, will I see you again?" Balto got on all on his fours when he realized where she was going. She remained positive and looking at him cheerfully, she answered: "Well, if you live in this town or nearby, then of course you'll see me again, just like how I will see you too! It was very nice playing with you, Balto!"
"And it was very nice playing with you too, Jenna!" Balto reached for her as she was running back to her house, but not before she turned into the street to her right and with her beautiful amber brown eyes she gave him that warm and friendly look. Then she went behind that corner and Balto stood there for a minute, still feeling that friendly lick she'd given to him as a symbol of their friendship.
"It was very nice playing with you too, Jenna…" Balto repeated his last sentence, as if he never wanted for this meeting to ever end. Still, she had humans who looked after her, a family, who fed her, gave her water and offered her a home. He had none of it, he had to rely on his wits to survive this merciless and cruel world by finding the food and water by himself, knowing that Boris couldn't feed him like a little puppy anymore.
"Oh, right! I forgot! I better find some food before I return to Boris!" Balto finally realized why he was in the town in the first place. He had to find any food he could in this town, be it brand new or disposed of. It didn't matter to him, all that he wanted was to remember this precious meeting he had with Jenna and how she was this kind and sweet to him. He headed back in the new alleys and streets, hoping to find something to satisfy his hunger before returning to the old boat.
"Was it because of Steele and his friends the reason why Boris didn't want me to go to the town?" Balto thought to himself, seeing that if it wasn't for humans that Boris didn't want him to go to Nome, then it had to be Steele! He was hoping that the meat he found below the hook wasn't his or his friends' so wasting no time, he grabbed it as fast as he could and much to his fortune, it was his favorite - sausages.
Carrying those in his jaws, Balto had to make sure he returned to Boris first before both of them could return to their old boat. Sure enough, he saw his feathery father figure in the distance, tapping his right leg on the ground, wondering what took Balto so long. If this day started off bad with Steele, it ended up unexpectedly good because of her… Jenna!