Beringo didn't have to ask twice how his friends' double date was like. Seeing how both couples cuddled were and even if it had Nash to wake up in the middle of night due to a sand stenching all across the house to wash Hallie. Undoubtedly, they were in love with one another and so was Beringo, although this secret was not to be revealed to others.
While he made a step ahead to claim his love for Aniu before them, Beringo knew deeply inside himself that it was all on him to ask Aniu out. Sure, no one was meant to know whom he was dating but his friends, but Beringo had to rely on his wits how he was going to do so. All he had to do was to meet with Aniu the following night.
"Good evening, Aniu." Beringo came to his dear wolf friend that night, who had a pleasure to see her husky friend coming to see her. Aniu, who knew that Beringo was not coming because of how there some other dogs on the beach last night, greeted him: "Beringo, hi! I was starting to think that you wouldn't show up."
"Don't worry, Aniu, I had to make some space for my friends yesterday." Beringo nuzzled her to make sure that nothing bad had happened to him and since he was on the old boat with her, they gazed at the night sky from where the bright moon and stars were reflecting against the sea. Aniu spoke: "Beautiful, isn't it? The skies hold a lot of mysteries, Beringo."
"Really? Like what?" Beringo found that topic quite interesting as he was not really well known to this. Aniu looked at the constellation of bright blue stars above herself, for which she commented: "When I was little, my parents and my mother's brother used to tell me the tales what the stars tells us, like those I am looking at above."
Beringo gazed at that same constellation and he found the way of her talking about stars genuinely surprising. She continued: "If you have ever wondered why my eyes are black and not white like anyone else's? I was born on the passing of one year to another and in that moment, the stars were in position to grant a newborn wolf black eyes instead."
It was this revelation that made Beringo wonder why he never asked her a question like this before, maybe because he did not want to poke at her because of her eyes? Anyhow, the way Beringo was looking at her while she was looking at the stars in the sky and the moonlight was passing through her snow white fur, Beringo knew he had to do something.
"Should I tell her? Should I ask her out? I have been seeing her for months almost every night and I have even told her that I love her! I must make sure that I didn't do it because I was desperate, but because I really do!" Beringo thought to himself, wondering if him claiming his love for Aniu was foolish for brave.
The night breeze had blown and Aniu's fur looked like as if it was shining because of that wind! Beringo's blue eyes widended in awe how the mother nature was calling for him to take his chance and open his heart at last. He further thought: "I can't hold it anymore. I have to ask her out! For everything we've done at this point, I can no longer sweep it under carpet!"
"Beringo? Are you alright? What's wrong?" Aniu noticed the anxiety in his eyes as if he were struggling to tell her something. She didn't think that Beringo's behavior was not because of something being wrong, but due to him hesitating this long to say something. In fact, he was waiting no more.
"Aniu, it's alright. I'm alright. It is something else I should tell you." Beringo started to reveal it slowly and steadily in front of her, who turned her head towards him and wanted to soak every word he had to say: "You have seen my friends last night there on a beach, haven't you? They were having their date, all four of them."
"That I did, because it looks like they're having feelings for each other." Aniu connected that with what she'd seen last night, but decided to let him speak: "Now that I see how they have spent a great night together, I have been thinking myself, but not because they were outside last night, but for some time."
"Like what?" Aniu couldn't wait to hear the answer he had to offer her. Beringo noticed that sweet look in her eyes and her head tilted slightly to the right, as if she were a dog waiting for her treat by doing some kind of trick. Beringo carried on: "Aniu, would you go out with me soon? You know, you and I have a wonderful night together!"
Aniu didn't know what to say at first and Beringo thought that his words were a bit too much for her and as he was going to sigh as if he were saying: "Never mind.", Aniu moved closer to him and much to his surprise, she had deeply nuzzled him by his neck, as if she had told him what his answer was by asking: "Is that… yes?"
"It is!" Aniu's answer was swift and surprising and Beringo's brain froze for a few seconds, all while he said to himself in this state: "She said 'yes'!" He laughed nervously while taking this answer from her and even she told him: "I have never thought that someone who is not a wolf like you would be someone I feel this special bond!"
Knowing that this was leading for better, Beringo asked her: "It is my honor, Aniu! When would you like to go? Where are we going to go?" He thought that he might have asked a bit too fast over here. He didn't, thankfully, because Aniu gazed at the sky and told him: "In three nights we can do because the stars tell me something special will happen then!"
"Huh? Oh, alright." Beringo chuckled, not being sure what she was saying by that, but he decided he was not going to dismiss it as some nonsense but ask her: "Where would you like to go? To the beach further or into the forest?" Both options offered and surprisingly, none were in her mind because she gazed at the west.
Beringo looked westwards too and his reaction where Aniu desired to go was surprising. "To the town?! Are you sure that is what you want?" Aniu's look on her face didn't seem like she wanted to back down because she told him: "I may have had a hard experience with humans when I was a puppy, but as long as I'm hidden and in shadows, I fear no danger."
That was some brave talk over there coming from her and as much as it was surprising for him, he didn't want to dismiss this one either but to play by her rules, telling her: "Alright, I'll take you to the human town and for the first time you'll know how it is like for someone like me to live that life!" It seemed like as if Aniu was eager to find that out, judging by the look in her eyes and smile on her face.
Two days later, the morning of the day before Beringo's date…
Beringo was back home in his bed, laying on his back and with his blue eyes partly opened, he blankly stared in the spruce-wood ceiling above his head and while his teammates were more or less asleep, he just could not stop thinking on how he was going to have a wonderful time of his life tomorrow evening!
"What should I do? Who should I consult with? Where should I begin at?" Beringo's mind was riddled with tons and tons of questions about how his date with Aniu had to look like. He wanted to have this date to live up to his claim that he loved Aniu. His friends were in love and he could prove it himself that he was in love with her.
Beringo rolled on his fours, got out of his bed and stretched his body and yawned, moving to the kitchen. While moving on, Beringo thought of how wonderful it was going to be in a few months when he and his friends were going to return to the sled duty! As for now, this whole resting thing started to make him feel agitated.
Once he was in the kitchen, he saw the bowls of food being filled with dry food and pieces of salmon each. Beringo chuckled on this because if his master Nash could understand their thoughts, Indiana would have been much happier. Still, a dry food with bits of salmon? Just the way Beringo could wish for. It didn't matter what kind of flesh he had to eat, as long as he could enjoy it.
"Morning, Beringo." Dakota's yawning ended the silence in the kitchen once she entered the living room, batting with her sleepy blue eyes. "Good morning, Dakota. How did you sleep?" She moved to her bowl and noticing what was for breakfast, she got on to eat hers while telling him: "You know me, ever since Indiana and I bonded closer with one another, every time I sleep with him I feel cozy and comfortable.
"You don't say?" Beringo slyly asked her, clearly amused by her choice of words over here. Beringo helped himself up with the meal and asked her in process: "Tell, me, how did you feel like when Indiana told you? You know, when he said 'I love you'?" Dakota wished she could relive that moment again because it made her emotional like never before.
"For the first time in my life I felt… I felt like as if my heart opened, as if my heart had found the one I always dreamed in my life!" Dakota described her feelings, clearly feeling like as if Indiana had spoke her those words just a minute ago. She told him: "I know that we've been knowing each other since we were little, but who'd ever say that the love can go from puppy days?"
"I have no idea, to be honest." Beringo answered her, being halfway done with his breakfast. He had the point in here because he didn't fall in love with Aniu as a puppy but in his teenage days or early adolescence days to be precise. He looked at her and said: "But now that you're dating while clearly in love, I should do the same with Aniu."
Unlike Hallie, Dakota was less prejudicial towards wolves, but even she had some limits on them, to put it mildly. She asked: "You're going to ask her out, aren't you, Beringo?" While she had that supporting tone in her voice, she was still reluctant about her opinion. She added: "What do you have in mind with her? What are you going to do?"
"I am still thinking of the tactics what to do on our date, but I certainly need some advice and I know from whom I'm going to find them!" Beringo had at least something up his sleeve. Dakota was done at least three fourths of her breakfast when he told her: "I am going to talk to Lewis about this. But, don't worry! I am just going to tell him as if it is a simple idea, not the actual thing. You get me?"
"I take it that Lewis does not know about Aniu, does he?" Dakota already noticed a trick in Beringo's plan and Beringo's face oozed a sly smile thanks to her intelligence. She figured out that Beringo had always something in his mind to surprise them and she added: "Help yourself in that, because even if Indiana and I dated one another for months, I don't think we have any special tricks or secrets to share, honestly."
"That's fine, you two are alright. I should be going now!" Beringo didn't resent her for not even trying to think about what she could and what she could not do. He finished his breakfast and licking his muzzle to collect the last bits of food, he made it to the door just when Indiana came in, greeting him: "Morning, Indiana."
"Morning, Beringo. What's for breakfast?" Indiana greeted him, being half asleep himself while letting his friend pass. Just as Beringo was at the front door, with Justin, Hallie and Roger slowly waking up, he slyly answered him: "Why don't you see for yourself? Who knows, you might like it… or not!"
With that being said, Beringo left the house with chuckles, in the precise moment to hear Indiana complaining: "Why can't master understand at once!?" Only for Dakota, whom Beringo could hear thanks to the open window, to say: "Indiana, sweetie, it's not that hard! If you want to, I'll take all the salmon bits for you!" Not knowing why, Beringo chortled while trying to remain as quiet as possible on his way to Lewis'.
While heading to him, Beringo had to make sure he sounded like as if he wasn't doing this for real, but in theory. Lewis had no idea about Aniu and it could be a potential risk that a fatherly figure would possibly blow his cover. Mostly contributing to the fact that Beringo never asked Lewis anything about wolves and his opinions.
Just as he could have expected, Lewis was with his master Higgins walking down the street, just after a successful early morning fishing. He was fast enough to catch up with him: "Morning, Lewis!" Hearing a familiar voice to him, Lewis glanced at his right to see the young dog next to him: "Beringo, ye lad! What brings ye here this early?"
"Oh nothing much. I see that you've been fishing now?" Beringo noticed the bucket Higgins was carrying in his hand, containing lots of fish in it, to which Lewis laughed: "Ach, yer ha' nae idea! The summer is braw fur fishing and ma auld master Higgins dinnae ken what fortune is yon!" As if Lewis was starting to slowly adapt to his life as a fishing dog.
"I really wish I could play a fish joke on my friend if your master would let me have one of his fish, you know?" Beringo already thought how this could have been a good chance to pull Indiana's leg by himself once in a while, without any hard feelings. Lewis let him know: "Master Higgins dinnae give his fish easily."
"I was just joking, Lewis." Beringo already accepted that if he couldn't get any right now, then he could get himself out of this situation without making a fool of himself. Just then, he asked him: "Say, Lewis, there is something I want to tell you. Well, I'm not doing it for real, but it is a 'what if' question, should it happen some day."
Whatever that was, Lewis had his chance to prove himself. He asked him: "Dae tell me!" Beringo stopped, thinking how this was going to start so he'd not make Lewis question his actions and he inhaled and exhaled before revealing: "You know how I have no female for myself yet? I have been thinking lately, what if I do get one, now that no one goes with that false rumor anymore? What if there is a female for me? Is there anything you could help me in here?"
Hearing what he just said, Lewis was given something that wasn't too hard to think about, but at the same time, there were no simple solutions and therefore, he started: "Yer saying that ye ha' nae bonnie lassie, but at the same time yer saying yon yer looking for yin? Interesting." Since Lewis had told him about his mate and his pups living in the distant land of "Nebraska", then he had to know something.
"Ach, aye! Ah ken what ye need to dae!" Lewis remembered his young days back in that distant land when he was seeing his mate, also a lovely Scottish shepherd like he was. He let him know: "Noo remember, first things first, never talk about yerself too much. Lassies dinnae like yon. Lassies find yon boring. Ask the lassie what she likes and let her life be a part of ye!"
"Like I should let the female talk about herself and connect with her if we can relate into something?" Beringo never thought about that before. Truth to be said, he and Aniu had some things in common, from them being apart from their parents, having their wisdom, knowledge and kindness inherited and how they had two brothers and one sister, albeit Aniu's were adoptive.
"Aye, they like yon. Long time ago when ah met ma lassie, we both ha' love fur guarding sheep, living in peaceful places and even fishing! Ah ha' been fishing down there on burns, nae seas!" Truth to be said, Beringo honestly started imagining that Lewis'd go with his master fishing in the pit of fire, but that would make no sense so it had to be either "lake" or "river". It was still funny to him nonetheless.
"What else should I know?" Beringo asked, not trying to embarrass himself or Lewis because of "burn" he'd just heard. Lewis continued: "Whatever ye dae, just dinnae be a crabbit like ah am! Ah may be crabbit, but ah mean nae harm. Dinnae chitter too or lassie thinks yer frightened. At'd be guy glaekit if yer chittering in front of lassie."
"So, I should not be afraid to ask some? No offense, but I don't think I'm that kind of dog who'd be that brave in front of a female." As long as he played his act and didn't let his guard down, he could be safe. He was thinking that maybe at some point Lewis was going to know about Aniu, but he could not be sure about that, at least not for now.
"At's normal nae to be entirely brave, but yer looking like a lad who dinnae get easily frightened. Ach, always ha' a flower and make sure yer ha' odd number! Even number means sad moment!" He wasn't talking nonsense in here because it was common that even number of flowers was for mourning and odd number was for celebrating.
Beringo counted all what he needed in his head: "Don't talk about yourself for too much, connect yourself with Aniu's life, don't be frightened, show some confidence and give an odd number of flowers…" Now that there were some tips from him, Beringo happily concluded: "Lewis, what am I going to do without you? You have taught me a valuable lesson for today and one day when I get in relationship with a female, I'll remember you and your words!"
"Dinnae sweat it! At was a pleasure ah could help ye, lad! Noo ah should go home so lang may yer lum reek!" Whatever he just told him, Beringo knew that Lewis' greeting was benevolent even if this "reek" didn't sound like so. Still, Beringo knew that some of Lewis' tips were working, but he needed some more things to know in order to make them practical for his date tomorrow.
The closer his first date with Aniu was coming, the more anxious Beringo was. He wanted to look neat and spot on clean for his date with Aniu and also wanted to give her a flower that was neither too fancy nor too modest. Something that was spot on. Plus he had to make sure that only others that could know about this date were his teammates but Roger.
The next day, in the late afternoon…
"Dakota, I honestly appreciate what you and Hallie are doing for me." Beringo stood in front of the mirror as Dakota was doing the grooming part. Sure, she was not going to make herself look like as if she was cheating on Indiana. She made sure that his fur was spot on for tonight. "And thank you for distracting Roger for an hour or so."
"Hehe, don't mention it. Just let Justin and Indy tell him how it's not right to leave him out of some things by taking him for some decent free meat humans offer, Beringo." Dakota let him know, as if she and others had devised this plan so Roger wouldn't have to suspect that Beringo was seeing someone, as he still believed that he and himself were single.
"I never really thought that you'd not be against me and Aniu together, or maybe I'm wrong?" Beringo asked her, since he never heard any honest opinion about Aniu from Dakota. While it was not the best, it was better than Hallie's: "Beringo, I may not be really that fond of wolves, but I do respect that if you love her and that she saved your life. That I honestly appreciate about her!"
"Well, I cannot really say that I am happy for your distaste, but at least you are not that prejudicial towards her like Hallie is." Beringo let her know, feeling a slight relief that there was someone who'd not let him down even if the whole thing would look pretty bizarre to them. Only Indiana did not tell him anything about wolves, or at least his direct opinion. Then, he heard: "And I'm done! What do you think?"
Beringo gazed himself in the mirror and he never looked this smooth to be precise. As if she managed to make his messy fur as smooth as silk and soft to touch. His answer was, while looking at her reflection: "Thank you!" Dakota's response was a blush, which was fairly normal considering the fact that she never really expected any greater things in her life.
"Hey, hey, hey, did someone look for a flower?" Hallie's voice asked from the outside, or more specifically, from the dog doors when she pushed into the house, carrying an orange tulip in her jaws. Beringo saw the flower and his face said it all: "Spot on, Hallie! This is the flower I was looking for. Thank you!" Hallie smiled, knowing what was the best for a friend.
"I wish you luck out there, Beringo, and sense if I may say? Sorry." Hallie's prejudices were a bit too strong when she said this and Dakota's stern look was saying it all how she made a poor choice of words and she lowered her ears. Still, Beringo didn't mind that much because he announced: "This is it! I have been waiting for this for a long while!"
"Enjoy out there!" Dakota warmly wished him all the best as he was leaving the house, making sure his fur was smooth and groomed all while carrying an orange tulip in his jaws. Making his way to the beach, without being seen by other dogs or humans alike, he was soon enough on the sand beach, trotting all the way to the old boat.
When he was less than one hundred meters from the boat, there he could have seen the white wolf raising on the deck. He saw that she was herself looking very pretty, cleaned and smooth, as if Beringo had witnessed a divine event right in front of his eyes. Gracefully jumping down in the sand, leaving none on her paws, she told him: "Hello, Beringo!"
"A… Aniu!" Beringo tried to hold his confidence because not only that Aniu was looking very pretty like this, but he never ever thought that a skilled hunter like her would put that much effort. She really cared for their date tonight and when he saw her coming to her, she whispered softly as a wind: "Is… is that flower for... me?"
Beringo looked at the orange flower in his jaws and not saying a word, he placed it down at her paws and backed two steps behind. By the look in Aniu's eyes, she was intrigued by the beauty of this flower, the one she'd never seen in her life as it was most likely it had come from the distant land. Even her look was saying: "Thank you."
"My friends helped me up to make our first date wonderful." Beringo proudly stated this out, hoping that Aniu would be easy on trusting his friends save for one she didn't meet but was told about few times. She gracefully nuzzled him to show how a simple gift like this flower meant a whole lot in comparison to any fancy gifts that exist.
When they parted, he raised his paw and told her: "It is pretty dark out there, so if you want me, I'll take you to the town. We'll have to stay hidden, if I have to tell you." He didn't, due to her sad memories of the two wolves who were her father's friends passing away in front of her when she was little. She took that memory off her mind to let him know: "Lead the way."
Now that Aniu carried the tulip in her jaws, Beringo led her to the town and once they were reaching the first houses, he led her in the dark alleys where they'd be able to stay hidden from any curious eyes. It would have been a dangerous night for them both. He'd give the pleasure to Fritz of making his rumor be true and she'd be found by humans.
"So this is how an advanced human lives like, Beringo?" Aniu asked him that question that almost made him chuckle. 'Advanced human'? What kind of talk was that? But since she was a wolf and was not a lot in contact with humans, he had to suppress his laughter by behaving as if he understood her: "Yes, they live in those wooden and concrete houses."
"I have never been to any settlements where advanced humans live, only near the ones where those tribal ones live." Aniu explained to him why she was amazed by this settlement. 'Tribal humans' actually didn't sound funny to him because it was synonymous to 'native', and there were lots of natives living in Alaska and the population of Nome was partly consisted of natives.
"Ssshhhh! I hear someone! Stay hidden!" Beringo suddenly heard few pawsteps coming from the street nearby and Aniu listened to his words by making sure she wouldn't be seen by whoever was passing. She hid behind one crate and Beringo behind the other one and in that moment, two black malamutes were passing.
"Come on, Fritz. I know that our date under that music hall will relieve your mind. You should be careful around the boys!" Della was heard talking, hoping that Fritz, whose mind was clouded with Cosmo, Laurel and Hardy's influence a lot over the past few months, felt like some kind of pressure was lifted off his chest, or at least it looked like so.
"Della, I know that you want me to feel happy, but you just can't do it. No one can, but at least you can try to make now that I'm not around them." Fritz's words weren't sounding quite encouraging and even if he and Della were looking neatly groomed for their date under the music hall, he didn't find any excitement in it. Della's excitement had also faded because of his cynical nature.
"Look, just forget on it for one night, okay? You will see how the music will refresh your mind and who knows? Maybe the next morning you'll be as excited as puppy?" Della was hoping that her intentions were going to work so Fritz'd have broken free from his gloomy thoughts. Then, he picked up the scent coming from the alley were Beringo and Aniu were.
At that point, it was for the first time in his life that Beringo was terribly anxious because of Fritz's appearance out there on the streets. His eyes were widened for the imminent… if he was going to find out that there was someone with Beringo, then this was going to be a date gone terribly wrong and also lead to the exposure to Aniu! The anxiety increased as Aniu looked helplessly due to a malamute in front of her who did not look pretty friendly.
Instead of moving to the alley and finding out, Fritz backed a step behind and turned to Della, letting her know: "That is Beringo, I think. He is not worth my time, Della. Let's go to that music hall as you told me!" Della wondered what made her boyfriend turn a cold feet on finding out that Beringo was in the alley, with her saying: "You're right, we have better things to do. Just relax and enjoy the evening that unfolds in front of us!"
There they left and all the tension and anxiety that was growing in Beringo's body was now slowly fading away and Aniu also felt the relief that she was not discovered. The curiosity itched her over here and it wasn't for too long that she asked: "Beringo, is that the dog you told me about who said that rumor for which all the dogs feared you?"
"Yes, that is him, with his love. He is not the only one, because he's always with three of his friends who aren't with him right now." Beringo answered her. Even though he was glad that Aniu was not exposed tonight, he felt like as if he'd been insulted when Fritz had said that he was not worth his time. Sure, these two were not friends, but this felt like a bigger insult than any profanity Beringo ever heard in his life.
He looked in Aniu's eyes and knowing that there was a lot in front of them to be unfolded, he told her: "Let's forget all this and why don't we grab a meat at one house? I am sure that you'll enjoy the dinner!" Aniu's face revealed a warm smile and she let him lead through the alleys, making sure that no one was going to see her.
"There we are! Look at the window up there!" Beringo showed her once they reached the other end of the alley they had entered once they had crossed the street. On the hooks were few poultries hanging and even if they were raw, that did not matter to them as long as it was fresh to eat. He leaned to her and whispered: "I normally don't take anything away if I don't beg, but I hope that no one will judge me if I take without asking."
"You know that I won't." Aniu knew that Beringo wanted to offer her something for their dinner tonight and she gazed how he reached the hooks with his rear legs and he'd reached for both of the legs of the meat, most likely a turkey or goose. He returned to her with them both in his jaws, offering her the bigger one.
"Oh, this is something I'd never tasted. Thank you!" Aniu accepted the leg of the animal she'd never caught or even tasted in her life. Beringo was enjoying it normally and Aniu took the bite from the leg. She was enjoying it as her look was saying it all. After her second bite she asked: "Is this what you dogs eat under the care of advanced humans, Beringo?"
Beringo suppressed his laugh because the term 'advanced' sounded too silly to him, but he knew that he could not make fun of her for that! He counted to five to remain normal and there he answered her: "We mostly eat the meat what humans hunt down around Nome in the wild because it is hard to obtain the food here. It is mostly elk or birds like these that humans hunt, Aniu."
"But why do humans hunt down wolves? Tribal humans would never truly harm a wolf or that may anger the spirits as they believe." Aniu had been asking herself this for more than two years ever since that skirmish took place two years ago when she'd witnessed the darkest day in her entire life. Beringo felt how uneasy it was going to be for him to answer her.
"Humans are sometimes hard to understand. They look at your breed as a blood-thirsty savages who soil their property and do nothing but terrible things to them. There are even dogs like Fritz who'll most likely say the same thing, but I'm not one of them! You know that I never saw you that way, Aniu!" Beringo wanted to give her a general view at least.
"Not even when I kept you safe in that cave?" Aniu asked her as she was mostly done with the leg she was gnawing the meat off. Beringo knew that even there he didn't fear her, since she was genuinely benevolent. He answered her: "Not then, not today and not in the future. When you were looking after me, I felt the warmth, comfort and safety there."
It was touching for Aniu to hear that Beringo meant these words and how he defied the prejudices about the wolves while they were done with their dinner. Leaving nothing but bones, she was about to leave it here, but Beringo let her know: "Bring it with yourself! You have no idea how delicious it is to gnaw it!"
"Oh yeah?" Aniu wondered about this and seeing that Beringo didn't get rid of his bone, She decided to bring it with herself! Even better, if she were to carry it with herself, no one would never find out what happened to the legs of that dead bird and there'd be no trace. It was the middle of summer and it hadn't been raining for days.
"Where are we going now?" Aniu asked her when they were strolling in the shadows, with Beringo not offering her a lot to be honest. He looked at her and let her know: "Aniu, I really wish that I could take you somewhere around Nome, but the thing is, this town doesn't have to offer a lot. I would take you to that music hall if Fritz and Della weren't there."
"Well, if I have to be honest, Beringo, I think I'd rather enjoy if we go to the beach now. I know that you want me to show this experience around this town as you call it, but I just cannot adapt to this environment. I am thankful that you'd at least tried." Aniu admitted that strolling in shadows and alleys was not something she was enjoying.
"You know what? You're right. Instead of hiding in the town, why don't we just go to the beach and enjoy the freedom out there?! That way or another we may go gaze at the stars in the sky much more easily than anywhere in the town!" Beringo understood her for feeling uneasy in this environment and he decided not to push further but let her be.
Thus the dog and the wolf were moving towards the sand beach and many of these buildings she'd seen were making her quite curious all because the tribal humans were prone on creating those simple buildings instead. All that Beringo wanted was to let Aniu learn something from experience and enjoy it one way or another.
Soon they were outside the town and there they were running along one another on the beach and they seemed to be both impressed with how both of them were running. Beringo's sled dog's experience was keeping him up and Aniu's swift and soundless pacing made him amazed by how she was doing it! What was her secret? It had to be a secret!
"You must be wondering how I was running like a wind now? I will tell you, there is no secret behind it because if a wolf wants to be a great hunter, he or she has to master to run together with the wind, like how I just did, Beringo!" Aniu revealed to him, as if she was reading his mind and truth to be said, Beringo felt a bit disappointed that she had nothing to reveal to him.
"But I am sure there are many more secrets you have and that you'd love to share them with me for someone like you, am I right?" Beringo mischievously asked her when they were nearing the boat and this time she was surprised how he was reading her mind. All that she did was stroking his chin with her tail and answering: "All in the time, my dear friend."
There they stopped to gaze in the stars that were shining above, brighter than ever. When they were exchanging the words about the night sky and the stars above, Aniu told him that those stars which shine bright to her were the ones where her parents' deceased friends were. Their spirits were lingering above in the skies to remind her that even after a lot after their untimely demises, they were still there for her and the ones she'd spent her puppyhood.
Beringo was genuinely intrigued by this, never thinking about it how and why were some stars shining brighter than other ones. Their talk eventually led them to the old boat and knowing that it would not have been fair from him to leave her here and go home, asked her: "Aniu, would you like that this time you and I sleep by one another tonight?"
Truth to be said, every time Beringo and Aniu were sleeping together, they'd be two or three meters apart from one another, but this was a huge step ahead in their relationship, to which her answer was: "I… I'd love that! We can take that gray cover in the boat and share it together on the deck to gaze at the stars!"
Just the way how he dreamed of! They made it into the old, damp boat and found that old gray sheet laying in the boat, which Beringo brought with his jaws to the deck and placed it on the old and wet floor. There both he and Aniu got under the sheet and rested on their backs while gazing in the sky above them.
"Beringo, this was a wonderful date you've brought me to." Aniu looked at him when they were covered in the old sheet and she snuggled her body against his, laying her head on his chest. Beringo looked at her with his blue eyes and whispered: "It was nothing much that I could offer you for tonight, Aniu. I could have brought something better!"
"It is alright, I enjoyed it nonetheless! Maybe next time when we go on our date, we can go to the forest out there." Aniu offered him this chance and imagining the date to take place in the wild made him feel pretty excited about it! He answered her: "I… I think that sounds like a pretty good idea! Maybe we'll go there once the Northern Lights start dancing in skies again?"
To have a date with the Northern Lights in the sky was a marvel to behold and Aniu's look was saying it all. Just as they were ready to get some sleep, Aniu said something no one else would believe her: "Beringo, for all the time we've been knowing each other and been in love ever since that night you've told me, I've made a difficult, but I hope an honorable decision - I no longer desire to live a life as a lonely wolf, but a life with a friend like you."
"You… you would do it… for me?" Beringo asked her, amazed by that revelation and her slowly nodding by his body was confirming his answer, much to his amazement: "I… I don't know what to say. That sounds pretty amazing!" He didn't have to say anything else but to be thankful that Aniu was doing this for him.
The two stars in the sky were shining very brightly and both noticed that, with Aniu knowing what this meant. She felt the excitement in her soul that those two stars, where she knew that the souls of her father's friends were, were approving her decision. Then the sleep hit them, with Aniu telling him: "Good night, my friend. I hope the dreams will come true to you."
"Sleep well, my beautiful Aniu. May your dreams come true like mine." Beringo whispered to her ears and under the star sky those two were in their sleep, enjoying the aftermath of their wondrous date and the another one to come. What was going to be in the future about their relationship was yet to be unfolded.