At the beginning of the March, things were going like usual, save for the fact that Dakota and Hallie were still not fit to return to the mail delivery due to them having puppies to look after. Beringo himself came every day and night to Aniu in the abandoned boat to make sure she was getting food and comfort all while their puppies could get her milk.
It was on the the day that marked exactly two weeks since Beringo had become a father to his puppies and he was resting home with his teammates, knowing that he had to be there at least one night while every second he could be with Aniu and his puppies. As he was waking up, he already noticed Dakota and Indiana looking at their bed.
"No, no, don't be sad, my puppies! Daddy and I will be going out for a walk with aunt Hallie and uncle Justin, but you won't be left alone!" Dakota was comforting her twins as they were not happy about the idea of their parents going outside and them being left behind. Indiana added to it: "It's alright, we won't be gone for too long!"
"Don't you worry, all four of you. Mommy and I are going to get some fresh air with your uncle Indiana and aunt Dakota and we won't leave you home alone!" Justin comforted his puppies in their bed all while Beringo was stretching, yawning and getting his senses clear, hearing Hallie say: "Beringo! About time you've woken up! We need you to do a favor for us!"
"Huh? What favor, I only got up!" Beringo wondered what was she talking about. Dakota also moved on to tell him: "Beringo, it has been a month since Hallie had given birth to puppies and we've been waiting for long to have at least one morning, the four of us, to go outside, relax and get some fresh air!"
"Are you saying that you're looking someone to look after your puppies?" Beringo asked them curiously, noticing those smiles on their faces as if he'd read their minds. Indiana even told him: "Come on, Beringo, old friend! We'd appreciate from you if you were to look after them this morning!"
"And what about Roger? Have you asked him?" Beringo wondered, hoping that he'd get his chance to head straight to Aniu's and see how the puppies were. Justin let him know: "If you have to know, we asked, but he outsmarted us. After all, he has Shanice as his love, remember?" In that moment, Roger came out of the kitchen.
"Hey, is someone talking about me?" Roger wondered when he was seen finishing his breakfast, for Justin to ask him again: "Roger, would you tell Beringo that we asked you if you considered to look after our puppies?" Roger's face showed that he was being let known about this: "Sure thing, Justin. Beringo, lately I have been committed to Shanice now that not long ago she and I finally made our relationship official. She needs me now!"
Clearly Beringo was in a check position and any wrong move would have taken him to a check-mate position so he agreed: "Alright, fine, I'll do it! Roger, say hello to Shanice when you see her!" Roger was already at the doors when he replied to him: "I'll make sure to tell her that all of you sent her your wishes, alright?"
"Right!" Others responded and once Roger was seen leaving, so were Indiana, Dakota, Justin and Hallie, but not before Dakota let him know: "Besides, maybe you'll learn something about puppies and puppysitting when you get to see yours, right? You will have us meet your puppies one day, right Beringo?"
It was not that time clearly nor anytime soon, but of course, Beringo let her know: "Yes, I'll tell you when you should come and see my family, but make sure that no one else knows until I give you that permission, alright?" That way or another, he showed that there were moments when Beringo's authority was not to be questioned.
"Right! We leave you with our puppies and may you enjoy today!" Justin let him know and they were seen heading outside, with Hallie being last who promptly told him: "Have fun with them! Oh, and believe it or not, some of the puppies, both from mine and Dakota's litter, see you as a role model. Even better, no?" Beringo was surprised that they'd say this, but pleasantly surprised when we walked Hallie out before being left alone with the six bundles of joy.
"Okay, let me see…" Beringo thought about all the puppies he had to look after. "Max and Audrey on Indiana and Dakota's behalf and there are Yukon, Molly, Michael and Palmer on Justin and Hallie's behalf. I have no problem in differing Max and Audrey. Molly is easy because she's the only female in the litter, but her brothers…"
"Audrey, stop! It doesn't have to go your way every time!" Max's voice yipped from their bed and sensing a potential turmoil, Beringo walked up to Indiana and Dakota's bed, where he saw Audrey pinning Max down mischievously, while Max showed no amusement on this. There Beringo asked: "Hey, hey, pups! What's going on?"
Little Max gazed at the gray male husky in surprise, while Audrey was not sharing that enthusiasm with her older brother, saying: "Oh, nothing, we are playing, like as usual, and Max thinks that I'm wrong about something." She was hiding something she'd done, which was unlike her parents from both side.
"And what's that if I may know?" Beringo smugly asked the dark brown female, only for her to go silent before answering to her puppysitter: "Nevermind…" Thus he realized that Audrey was trying to be a show-off, but his presence made her realize she had to back down. He then looked at the dark brown male puppy and asked him: "What's with you, little Max? What's so surprising?" He was amused by Max's surprise.
"You must be that Beringo mommy and daddy told me and Audrey about! How you're one of the fastest and best aces in Nome!" Max couldn't hide his joy, thinking that Beringo was a legend from another time and place and it was quite amusing to listen to it, all while Audrey rolled her eyes unamused: "Oh, brother…"
"Well, Max, I may be fast and good as your parents say, but there are others in history who have been faster and better!" Beringo hoped that little one would understand, but the puppy wagging his tail that he was glancing at the town her made him forget what he just said. There he asked him: "Is it true that you saved my daddy once in the wild and you fell in the mountains, but found your way back?"
"It is something like that, but why don't we tell aunt Hallie and uncle Justin's puppies to come over and I tell you all about that story?" Beringo avuncularly asked the little puppies and while Max eagerly accepted the idea, Audrey had other things in mind: "I have a better idea! Who wants to play in the house with me?"
"Me! Me! Me!" The yips from the other bed were heard and while Audrey leaped off her bed, she saw three males puppies excitedly coming towards her - Yukon, Michael and Palmer. While Audrey and the three brothers were about to play with one another in the room, Max stayed behind, asking Beringo: "Uncle Beringo… do you have a baby sister like me?"
"You can call me Beringo, Max. Don't you worry!" Beringo laughed how little Max addressed him and then he answered his question: "Baby sister? I have a sister, her name is Bethel, but she now lives in the town far away from Nome. I haven't seen her in years, but I do hope that one day I'll see her again…"
"Was she as nagging as Audrey is to me?" Max wondered even more and Beringo didn't actually mind Max's curiosity that much. He let him know: "Actually, she was more of a peaceful and docile baby sister. I always felt like I was the one who'd take care of her every time possible. She was one of the sweetest females I'd known in my life."
Just then, a soft whimpering came from Hallie's bed, being heard as: "Someone get me out of the bed! Why did you leave me behind?!" That had to be Molly, the only puppy who didn't go to play with Audrey from Hallie's bed. Beringo asked Max: "Max, would you come with me? I think this might mean something to you."
"Okay?" Max accepted, coming out of the bed and followed his hero to the other bed, all while trying to avoid the impact from Audrey and Molly's brothers' playtime. As they safely reached Hallie's bed, he asked Max: "Why don't you help little Molly come out of the bed?" To which Max blushed slightly, wondering what kind of suggestion was that.
"M… me?" Max asked, wondering if he was capable of doing something like this and Beringo delightfully asked him: "Why not? If your sister can be friends with her brothers, why don't you make friends with her?" It was reasonable to call them friends one another because those puppies from one bed to another weren't even related.
"Okay, ready or not… here I come!" Max prepared himself to jump into the bed and once jumping on the violet pillow, he saw the gray furred green eyed puppy trying to get out, but was clumsy to do so. There little Max asked: "Hey there! What's wrong?" Molly noticed now there was the male she might not have met before.
"I'm trying to get out of the bed, but the pillow won't let me go! And my brothers left me behind!" Molly complained about this, wanting to have some fun, but couldn't make it out and her brothers neglected her yelps. Max moved closer to her and pushed her gently with her head while saying: "Here, let me help you!"
"Oh… okay!" Molly was surprised by this gesture, but didn't hesitate to let him help her and once she could move freely in the bed all the way to the edge of the bed, she leaped down on the floor, followed by Max. Molly giggled how the older male puppy helped her, saying: "Thank you! I am Molly, by the way!"
Max blushed now how he helped the younger female out of her bed and then he gathered the courage he needed, saying: "My name is Max! You're welcome! Guess who's looking us: Beringo, the fastest and the best ace of Nome!" Instead of reacting like Audrey in her "Oh please!" fashion, Molly looked at the adult gray male husky who was their puppysitter and indeed, she gazed at him in surprise.
"No way! That same Beringo mommy and daddy told me about!? Awesome!" Molly gazed at the adult gray male husky who was their puppysitter, seeing that she had the puppysitter she had heard the heroic tales of before and went on to admire him and she yipped: "Yukon, Michael, Palmer! Look, this is Beringo! Mommy and daddy told a lot about him to us!"
"Yeah, yeah, cool!" Yukon said it, being more focused on the playtime with Audrey rather to notice the adult husky whose incredible tale of the return from the perilous mountains and two timed victories made him a legend. Not even Michael and Palmer seemed to care that much as if they were rather listening to what Audrey was telling them.
Beringo could already notice this split among the puppies. Two litters, none related to one another, one just twins, other quadriplets, yet there were some similarities. Audrey being that popular older female who had the attention of three younger males from other litter, whereas Max being not so popular like his baby sister while bonding with Molly.
"Uncle Beringo…?" Molly asked him, only for Max to say: "You can call him without 'Uncle', Molly, because he told me so!" Molly found that pretty exciting so she repeated, omitting the title: "Beringo? How did you survive that fall in the first place? Is it true that uncle Indiana almost had fallen down until you saved him?"
"That what you're saying is true, young lady! But if you want to hear my story, your siblings will have to hear it too! It's sensational." He gazed at four other puppies, three gray playing with dark brown one until he moved to them to tell them: "Hey, hey, hey, puppies! I have an exciting story to share with you! Your parents must have told you about it!"
"What story?" Little Michael wondered, being interested in what Beringo just said, only for Beringo to let him know: "Do you remember when they told you the story of the legendary Beringo falling in the mountains, only to return to them without a scratch and become an unstoppable ace? Well, say no more, that Beringo is me!"
"Whoah, no way you're Beringo!" Palmer denied the fact he was gazing at the dog who had the experience the first paw. "Yes way!" Beringo joked on Palmer's reaction, trying to let him know that his denial was pointless. He then asked them: "So, would you like to tell you all six the story?" Three brothers, including Max and Molly, seemed eager.
"Stories, stories, stories… those are for going to bed! We can play instead!" Audrey obviously didn't find the idea amusing and wasn't interested in hearing one. Beringo amusingly asked the stubborn female puppy: "Do tell me, Audrey, are you really going to convince all the puppies to join you in the game if they're all in favor of hearing the story? Maybe you'll learn something too!"
All puppies but her were gathering to hear the story, only for Audrey to sigh: "Fine… I'll go listen to the story, but only if we go play when you're done!" Beringo laughed as he pushed the dark brown female puppy to the rest, saying: "There'll be plenty of time for so, young lady! Now, do you want to hear the story how I survived there?"
"Yeah! Yeah!" The puppies were heard chanting, but no one as loud as Max and Molly, who were in first row. Beringo laid down in front of them and there he narrated: "It was a cold day in November, my team, of which are all your parents and uncle Roger, were returning home from the distant town of Elim. We had taken the path through the mountains to return home soon. Then, the unexpected snowstorm happened!"
"Ooooohhh!" Max and Molly both let that out, with Molly's brothers wondering who did that and Audrey rolling her eyes. Beringo carried on: "We were blinded by the ferocious snow and we were sliding down! Uncle Roger lost his consciousness and master Nash himself was hurt! But the worst came when your father, you two, was about to fall down!"
Then both Max and Audrey look in awe when he was saying all this: "I grabbed him as fast as I could and dragged him to the safety and just as it seemed like we were safe, the ground below my paws gave away and I was screaming and falling until I hit the ground, losing my consciousness!" All the puppies looked pretty surprised by this story.
"What then? What happened then?" Molly asked excitedly, wondering how'd he survive a fall like that? Beringo knew exactly what happened and who saved him, but knowing that they were too young, he used the old trick: "While I was half awake, I saw my mother, with her beautiful tan fur, coming to me and helping me to get out of the snowpile and seek the shelter. And so I did albeit weakened and hungry."
"How did you find mommy and daddy and uncle Indiana and aunt Dakota then?" Yukon wondered, being interested in this story. Beringo had a good pause over here so he moved on: "It was in the dawn when my pain was gone and I felt no hunger. I walked up on the sight of the sun and there I saw them all, wondering where they were going to find me!"
"But you came back to them, right?" Max asked, connecting the dots to the entire story he'd known so far, Beringo confirming his answer with a nod, He summarized it up: "We've returned safely home, albeit I was put on the rest for some time, but it is said that the fall just made me stronger and faster than ever! The friends hail me as an ace sometimes, while the, let's say enemies, are jealous on my success!"
"Beringo, will you teach us one day how to be as fast as you, pleeeeeeeeeeeeease!" Max hoped that he'd grow up not only by his parents' influence but also taught by his puppyhppd hero. Even Molly was excited, jumping around him all while Beringo cheerfully answered: "Alright, alright! When you're old enough, I'll show you the moves! Who else is with me?"
Molly's brothers got into discussion to decide what they could do all while Audrey didn't respond even if Max told her: "Didn't you say that you also want to be a sled dog, Audrey?" Even if they were a bit more than a month old, Audrey, Max and seemingly Molly were eager to become sled dogs, with Audrey answering: "I do! But we do have lots of time, Max!"
"You never know, maybe your brother is right? Sooner we go start, the better!" Molly said this, standing by Max's side to show her point of view. Now one might thing that Max could have wished for Molly to be his sister, but he had Audrey and nothing that he could do about it, not even begging his parents would work.
Then Beringo left the puppies to play with one another. Sure, all six of them had fun, but one could clearly notice the difference between the two groups. On one side were just Max and Molly, and on the other side were Audrey, Yukon, Michael and Palmer. One could clearly notice who was leading the game and playing the music.
"I can't wait to see how our puppies are doing!" Beringo recognized Hallie's voice from outside and even Dakota's response followed: "You're telling me?" No wonder, they were returning home, after being absent for a bit more than an hour. All of the puppies puppies stop playing and Max asked: "Beringo, Beringo! Was that mommy I heard outside?"
"You're about to find that out!" Beringo wanted to see how well would the little one figure out whether he heard the voices right or not. The doors opened and Beringo could already see four out of five of his teammates coming home, with Indiana's joyful voice heard: "We're home, everyone!" That definitely caught their attention!
"Mommy! Daddy!" All six voices squealed in joy when they started jumping around them, some of them ended up rolling on their backs to let the puppies jump on them as they laughed and laughed, but no one that cordially and genuinely as Beringo, knowing what kind of joy was this for the parents in the house!
"Hey, hey, hey, you four! How was the fresh air out there?" Beringo finally got to say something as all the puppies started to give some room to their parents. Justin even told him: "It was pretty good out there! Hallie and Dakota really enjoyed out there, right girls?" To which both Dakota and Hallie nodded in approval.
"Puppies? Were you good while uncle Beringo was looking after you?" Dakota asked her twins and mostly would Audrey, being a loudmouth, got her chance to say it, but Max got there first: "We were pretty good, mommy! Beringo told us the story how he saved daddy from the fall and returned faster than ever!"
"My, my, that's a story to tell!" Dakota showed some excitement so the puppies could see it. She glanced at Beringo, wondering if he used the version of story where he mentioned his mother or Aniu, but with Beringo mouthing the word "mother", she could take it easy for now. "And he told us he'd teach us the moves when we're old enough!"
"Outstanding!" Indiana appreciated this from Beringo, whom he was looking to ask: "Were they problematic to deal, Beringo? Maybe we should have let Roger puppysit them?" Only for Beringo's response to make him take that back: "What are you talking about? Of course I enjoyed puppysitting them! I had plenty of fun and told them stories! I learned something about them."
"You probably saw how Max and Audrey are getting along, right? I really hope that we'll fix that trouble so these two could get along one day." Indiana read Beringo's mind when it came to his twins' relationship. Even Justin came in: "Well, as for my pups, I sometimes notice that my sons don't even consider playing with Molly. It concerns me that she might feel left out!"
"You have nothing to worry about, Justin! She and Max met one another and look at them! They're like best of friends now!" Beringo pointed out at Max and Molly, who after greeting their parents, were now jovially chasing one another and at one point Max pinned Molly on her back playfully before she got back on her paws, chasing him back.
"Well, well, well, because of you, you killed two birds with one stone, Beringo. Thanks for dealing with that problem for us." Hallie heard Beringo before and she seemed fond of how Max and Molly were getting along, all while her brothers were busy following Audrey around. After receiving his batch of compliments, he let them know: "Alright, now it's my turn to get some fresh air if you don't mind me!"
"Help yourself." Dakota let him through and at the doors, he said: "See you later, puppies! The next time I get to look after you, you'll learn some basic moves!" While listening to their yips, he was exiting the house and made sure the doors were closed so he could get on the street and feel the fresh air in his muzzle and mushy snow with small patches of grass underneath his paws.
Beringo knew where to go. He didn't want anyone right now to bother him with unnecessary questions and question his motives. As for his other friends in the town, who were still not aware of Aniu's presence, namely Koyuk, Scottia and Lewis, these three were going to know one day about her, when the time was right.
Once he was far enough not to be seen and that he could advance to the old boat, Beringo found some old meat near the store to be thrown in disposal, but he gathered enough for Aniu to feast on these as she required food from someone who could bring it to her and of course, he was the one who had that responsibility.
Even in the white day out there, Beringo safely moved to the old boat and once he made it into the cracked part, he saw Aniu resting on her side all while the puppies were sleeping. She heard him coming and even Beringo's voice was heard: "Aniu! I've made it! Look, I've brought you something to eat too."
"You did? At last! I was starving!" Aniu gracefully accepted what Beringo had to give to her and he watched her eat, knowing that she'd not make it like this if she hadn't had someone to bring her food. When she was done, she warmly smiled and announced: "Beringo, you're not going to believe what had happened to the puppies this morning!"
"What?" Beringo was caught by surprise when he heard her. She looked at the first puppy in front of herself, that one being Juneau thanks to her remarkable gray face she had. She nudged her gently so the puppy would wake up. It took him a while to realize that while he was looking at his older daughter, she was looking back at him, with brown eyes!
"Juneau is now looking!" Beringo spoke in an amazement while noticing his daughter's pretty eyes all while the little one watched at two adult canines looking at her, one who offered a lot of mother love and one who offered a lot of father care. Aniu didn't stop: "But that's not all! Eyak's eyes really surprised me!"
"Really, let me see?" Beringo wondered what was with Eyak when he nudged the white male puppy and the puppy was awake. Indeed, it was something that Beringo did not expect either. His left eye was the same blue eye color as his were while he was bearing the brown-yellow color on the other hand. He knew what was that.
"Eyak has heterochromea. That's what my breed, huskies, is known for. What I said means that someone has two eye colors and Eyak has one eye colored as mine and one as yours, Aniu!" Once she heard why her older's sons eye colors were not matching, she had nothing to worry about anymore, realizing there was nothing wrong about it.
Beringo's excited voice woke Aurora up and once he saw her eyes, they were as blue as his were. He whispered to himself: "Aurora… you might be a daddy's girl with your looks and eyes! You're bearing the same looks as me!" Aniu noticed that excitement in his eyes, as if he were expecting Aurora to bear the same eye color as him.
"But look at Balto! Aren't his eyes something?" Aniu called him to look at his more wolf-looking son and indeed, he was pretty much amazed how his youngest pup's eyes were brown and unlike his siblings, he was bearing the yellow in his eyes. That made Beringo say: "Look at you, Balto! You're looking pretty cute with those eyes!"
The puppies were clearly adjusting to this sensation of looking at things, mostly to crawl around their mother or get the milk from her. Nuzzling one another, Beringo told his mate: "Aniu, I don't know what would I do if I hadn't come sooner. I should have been here when they started looking with their eyes first! Would you believe me that my friends asked me to look after their puppies?"
"Really, they did? How was it to be with the little ones?" Aniu was surprised to hear this, being only told while bearing his puppies, that his friends were parents. He said with a warm smile: "They were pretty adorable. Cute, funny, mischievous, hot-headed, but once our puppies are old enough, you'll love how fun they are!"
"I just hope our puppies won't end up being too harsh to one another. After all, maybe they'll meet the new friends like them?" Aniu wondered what was the future for her puppies once she could acknowledge how it was to have the half-breed puppies compared to purebred husky puppies Beringo's friends had.
"My friends are thinking of meeting our puppies one day, Aniu. Who knows, they may like them good enough to let their puppies play with them? It is all on the time we have now." Resting next to his mate, they were now observing their four puppies seeing the new world that was around them, hoping the world was going to promising to them all one day.