**DISCLAIMER: Because Boris doesn't have the same voice actor he had in the original movie, every chapter that narrates the events of the sequels has him keep his Russian accent instead of changing it to a Yiddish accent without any explanation. Some of his lines in the second movie are rewritten to reflect his Russian accent.**
"I betcha you two are having some good time off this morning now that your mates are looking after your pups, right?" Sylvie asked Jenna and Molly that morning on a streetwalk on the Main Street, with Dixie and Aurora also being a company. Audrey was likely absent, possibly having a valid reason. Molly lowered her ears and answered: "Well, Jenna has, mine are mostly adopted."
"Oh yeah, about that, Molly. How did that go? I also found out you have a new master too?" Dixie wasn't short on surprises and in fact, the two huskies and a female wolf-dog saw it coming. Molly answered: "To be honest, I will miss Sigrid and my old masters, but this new master is a nice human. He's also an aspiring musher so that's a good thing."
"But what about your pups?" Aurora wanted to know. She was thinking how much her friend was missing them. Her answer was: "Before master Seppala left with his family, he let Sigrid choose which puppy she was going to take. She chose Katmai and Audrey… well, she was sad that her favorite nephew was leaving, but she wished him luck. Allina and Kobuk were adopted the same day, but with Dusty we had two days of no luck." It was possible that Katmai's departure hit Audrey harder than Molly, explaining her absence.
"So what did you do then?" Jenna asked, concerned for her friend's daughter and she had a valid reason. She had more pups than her and if it happened that at least one pup of hers wouldn't get adopted, she'd fear for their safety. Molly let her know: "My new master Simpson took the three of us in and even took Dusty as well. He has a plan to train her to become a sled dog too when she's old enough."
"What's your worry, Jenna?" Dixie asked. She had her reason why she raised concern for her pups, but simply let the Pomerian know: "Nothing really, Dixie. It's just that the next week all my puppies will be given for adoption." Every other female looked at each other in hopes to comfort their scarlett red friend.
"Jenna, don't look at it the way your puppies won't be adopted! I am sure many humans won't resist them!" Sylvie tried her best to comfort a friend even if she wasn't always there for her. At least she tried. Aurora added up to it: "Look, your pups may be wolf-dogs like my brother is and I am, but my brother has a comfortable place to live with you and I am often mistaken for that other dog breed instead of being part-wolf!"
"Do you have any idea how I can make their last days under my paws something they'll always remember?" Jenna asked all four of them in hopes they weren't pumping the hot air. At first, they were actually quite puzzled how to fulfill her wish, but a candle lit above Molly's head: "I know how! Why don't you host a sleepover at your place?"
"A sleepover?" Jenna didn't really think of that idea but at the same time, it didn't sound all that bad. "Yeah, I can bring Dusty to sleep at your place for a night. You can try to have your other pups' friends to come sleep at your place too! What do you say about that?" Molly suggested her how to get that done and Jenna paced around to consider her idea.
"Of course, they'd all love it! There's one catch - Aleu would be the only one without a friend. How do I deal with that?" Jenna noticed there was a flaw in this plan, but Molly's suggestion was possible to remove it: "Max told me that your son Yukon has two friends and while he's close friends with the female, why not her brother be friends with Aleu?"
"Huh, I didn't think of that actually. Though, now what you mention Yukon's friends, Balto mentioned how the other day these two, Yin and Yang, told Yukon something and let him know to tell the others when they aren't present. Apparently, it makes them very upset." Jenna just figured out that she had to have a word with her eldest son once she was home.
"Oh well, your son can tell you that before the sleepover." Sylvie let her know when she could ask him that question before causing any further drama. At the moment, Jenna actually loved this idea and thanked Molly: "What'd I do without you, Molly? Balto will love the idea once I tell him and… did you say you'd bring Dusty?"
"Bring her to your place and she can sleep with you. Don't worry, we've been friends for years and I trust you both that she'll be safe with you there!" Molly made sure Jenna wouldn't think of making her qualms about Molly, her mate or sister-in-law not being there too. She didn't want to argue with her anyhow: "Thanks. It means a lot coming from you."
"Jenna, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but can I be there too? Well, Kane and me that is." Aurora asked, hoping she'd be looking after pups with her boyfriend. Sure enough, Aurora was always welcome because she was a relative, but Kane wasn't. Then again, Jenna shrugged it: "I don't see why not, Aurora. My pups are very fond of you and Kane."
"Thank you, Jenna! I'll let him know when I can." Aurora smiled brightly now that she was going to look after so many puppies one of these nights. She was most likely excited to see her eldest niece Aleu. Besides, Aleu was fond of her aunt too. Dixie asked the female wolf-dog: "Aurora, speaking of you and Kane, how are the things doing?"
"Pretty good actually! He's very sweet when it comes to dating and quite sensitive for the matter! Sometimes he makes some mistakes but I keep it down because I'd not want to upset him, you know?" Aurora admitted how she enjoyed dating Kane but kept some things for herself. All she wanted to be was a loving girlfriend to that heterochromic red husky.
"Well, I hope you two don't mind me that I didn't ask you to come puppysit with us." Jenna looked at Sylvie and Dixie. Last thing she had to worry about was a plethora of gossiping. Sylvie answered with a relaxed voice: "Nah, you're fine, Jenna. As much as I like your puppies for being sweet, let's say that their teething my ears is something I'm not very fond of."
Clearly Sylvie had one time to look after Jenna's puppies and she knew how difficult that was. She wasn't alone because even Dixie admitted: "One of your sons likes to joke a lot, Jenna. He clearly made some practical jokes on my hair and those weren't really nice!" Jenna, along with Aurora, could only guess once who was that, much to their amusement.
It was the day after when the sleepover was decided to take place at Rosy's, even if the humans were likely to be at their place. A house that'd have four adult canines and twelve playful puppies meant a true send-off before the adoption of Balto and Jenna's pups. Just as the sun was setting, Balto and Jenna were the ones who'd pick up their guests, but not before Aurora and Kane showed up to look after them.
"Balto, I just remembered something from yesterday. Yukon mentioned something about his friends and their secret he'd share with us. I think we should talk to him about it." Jenna reminded her mate to talk to their son, to which he answered: "Yeah, I was wondering why he didn't tell me. Yukon? Yukon, son, we need to talk."
"Sure, what is it, dad?" Yukon paced to his parents, being ready to have an amazing sleepover with his friends. His father told him: "You know the other day when we were in a boiler room and that same day you met your friends? What was it they told you?" This was something he should have asked better and more formally, not overly demanding.
Yukon's cheerful mood vanished for a short while. He knew that he should have spoken about this to his parents and siblings, but he didn't. He knew what was coming so he took a deep breath and revealed: "Yin and Yang don't have parents." This made both Balto and Jenna gasp in shock and disbelief. "Oh… but how?!" Jenna asked.
"Well… they never met their dad because he walked out on their mom before they were born, mom." Yukon further revealed, which made his mom gasp in shock once more while Balto made a disgusted face. Yukon's voice turned more somber as he spoke: "And their mom… she died in a house fire…"
"No, that can't be!" Jenna's voice was filled with grief and shock, not believing how two innocent and adorable puppies were orphans. Yukon did his best to reveal to them how that happened: "Their mom woke them up and she managed to get Yang out of the house… Yin was trapped inside so her mom rushed to save her… but one of the house beams fell on her… she managed to muster enough strength to get her out and then… then…"
He couldn't take it anymore, choking in his own tears. Jenna pulled him in a hug while she heard him stuttering: "I-I-I'm so sorry, mom, d-dad. As I w-w-was telling you t-this… I had a dreadful t-t-thought the same h-h-happened to you…!" Jenna licked the tears from his face and assured him: "Yukon, honey, know that something like that will never happen to us!"
"Yeah, I love your mother and I'd have never walked away on her for bearing you. In fact, I was overly thrilled the day when I found out!" Balto made it clear with his son, nuzzling him out of comfort while Jenna spoke in her sweet motherly tone: "Besides, nothing will ever stop me from loving all of you, remember that!"
"Okay, thanks, mom, dad. That's why Yang is always around Yin, always being protective..." Yukon calmed down albeit his ears were still a little bit red. Then the dog doors were seen opening and soon enough, Saba let everyone else know: "Look, aunt Aurora has come! And there's uncle Kane!" This made all the puppies rush to greet their aunt and "uncle" and even Yukon, whose grieving mood was replaced with cheerful one.
"Hey, hey, hey, puppies! Are you excited about your friends sleeping over at your place?" Kane asked the puppies delightfully, seeing how they were bouncing all around the room and yipping. Aurora looked at each one of them and noticed only red puppies were on the carpet. She asked: "Aleu? Where are you, Aleu?"
"Right over here, aunt Aurora!" Suddenly, she felt a puppy leaping on her head and teething her ear, which she honestly found amusing. Kane found the sandy gray puppy on his girlfriend's head pretty adorable. The puppies were wondering when they were going to get their turn, but for Balto and Jenna, they were made sure they could get another six soon.
"Alright, you six, listen to your aunt and uncle in here! Your mom and I will be back as soon as possible with your friends!" Balto let them know they were heading to get their six friends to play with tonight and sleep together. The puppies obeyed their parents' words even after they were gone.
As for Aurora, she let Aleu leap on the sofa and as the little puppy wasn't careful enough, Aurora caught her by a surprise: "Gotcha!" Aleu rolled on her back and she knew what was coming "No! No, aunt Aurora! Not the tickles!" Only for the adult female wolf-dog to reply: "Yes the tickles!" Aleu was delightfully laughing when Aurora pressed her wet muzzle against Aleu's tummy and rubbed it against her.
Then Aurora let her go, asking: "Aleu, how are you, my niece? Are you excited about the sleepover?" Out of all six nieces and nephews, Aurora just had the joy to be with her eldest one. The answer she got was frankly, discouraging: "I'm okay, aunt Aurora. To be honest, I'm more excited to see you and uncle Kane than my siblings' friends."
"Why? Did you make friends with them first?" Aurora wanted to make sure someone didn't make fun of her. Aleu sat on the pillow and answered her: "No, I actually am good with Nunivat's friend Thunder or even Saba's friend Josh. The thing is, they are all best friends of my siblings and I have none!"
This made Aurora sigh in disappointment. Out of all six of them, she was the only pup who had no best friend like them. She looked at Kane, who had a delight to run with pups around the room without causing ruckus and when she saw her eldest nephew, she realized something: "But wait, there's one possible friend you could make!"
"Who would that be?" Aleu wondered if that was going to happen tonight. Aurora let her know delightfully: "Don't forget that Yukon has two friends, Yin and Yang! Who knows, maybe you can make friends with Yang so you have your own best friend!" She remained optimistic on her last resort, even if Aleu wasn't interested in that idea.
Still, she wanted to make her aunt proud and therefore, let her know: "Okay, aunt Aurora, I'll try to. Though I hope Yukon will be fine with that too." That made her raise the eyebrow when she mentioned her brother and itching with curiosity, she asked her: "What do you mean by that? Yukon's your brother, why wouldn't he be fine?"
"Well, let's say that whenever I howl, he likes it the least? I don't know if it is me or if it is him?" Aleu gave her one last clue before she hopped down the sofa and joined her siblings to play. Kane caught some break to catch up with Aurora whom he nuzzled and in his sheer optimism, let her know: "These pups are becoming more and more fun every time I see them!"
"And they really like you too, Kane. Now that I talked to Aleu, I have a pretty bad feeling about how different she is compared to her siblings." Aurora hinted him for what was the problem. Not even Kane was oblivious to Aleu's different looks, seeing the sandy gray ball of fur compared to red ones.
"You know her more than I do, but I think I know what you're pointing at." Kane got serious for once, which was odd because of his fun, loving, sensitive and optimistic demeanor. "I'll talk to my brother about her being different and if the pups are aware of being part wolf. Jenna told me the time for them is coming soon."
"Time for what?" Kane could only think how tonight they were going to have a sleepover with their friends. Aurora whispered: "Time for them to be adopted and have their humans. Don't tell them that, it'll make them upset!" Indeed, they were reaching the age in their lives to be adopted by humans and that had never been an easy task.
"Don't worry, I won't say a word. I don't want to be guilty for spilling beans." Kane shuddered at the thought of him actually doing so and having Balto, Jenna and Aurora being mad at him for upsetting the puppies while it was on them to mention the adoption. Just then, the dog doors opened, pouring with six more puppies and two adult canines.
"We've made it! Now the sleepover can begin!" Balto happily announced when he and Jenna came in last, having all the puppies yip in joy when they were reunited with their friends. Balto and Jenna walked to the other side so they could observe with Aurora and Kane. Balto asked them: "So, there were no problems while we were picking up their friends?"
"No, not really. Well, we had a talk about Aleu." Kane revealed what they were talking about during their absence. Clearly Balto and Jenna were aware this discussion would come and the former one spoke: "Is it because she's the only one who didn't make a friend the other day unlike her siblings?" He knew this couldn't lead to any good.
"She even told me that she's more excited to be around me and Kane than with the other pups. Don't get me wrong, I dearly love my niece, but she should be with someone of her age like her siblings!" Aurora pointed that out and the four adult canines looked up at the puppies in the center of the living room, eyeing Aleu who was looking up to meet Yang after Aurora suggested she could be friends with him.
"Aurora, I know she's different, but I really don't want to make her feel like she's the odd one out. She deserves the best like all six puppies of ours. After all, they are all wolf-dogs!" Balto didn't want to make this problem sound too serious but he clearly didn't choose his words wisely. Jenna and Kane remained silent in this debate.
"I know, but hear me out. I may not be experienced in this, but you should tell all your puppies about their wolf heritage! Sooner they find out, easier it'll be for them to deal with that fact!" Aurora let her brother know what he should do. She wasn't wrong, but at the same time, seeing all those puppies play with one another and viewing themselves as huskies, he didn't want to abruptly cut their joy.
The serious matter had come when Kane said: "Hey, Aleu's coming back. She doesn't look so happy." Indeed, when Balto, Jenna and Aurora looked where Kane was looking at, they noticed Aleu walking towards them with lowered ears and Jenna came to ask her first: "Aleu? What's wrong, honey?"
"Nothing, mama. I took aunt Aurora's advice to make friends with Yang, but he looks like he doesn't want to have anything with me!" Aleu let them know how her attempt to make friends with Yang bore no fruits. Jenna hugged her daughter to make sure she wasn't an unloved pup here and even Aurora laid down close to help up.
"Mama, aunt Aurora, is it because I'm different from my siblings that he doesn't want to be friends with me?" Aleu was hoping it wasn't her oddball looks that made the two faced pup ignore her. For a moment, neither said anything until Balto told her: "Aleu, of course it isn't you! Yang is a pup who had something that happened to him in life."
"But what happened, papa?" Aleu asked. Balto gave both Aurora and Jenna the look that was saying: "Work here with me, please!" In order to give her a sincere answer, Jenna told her: "Yang and Yin lost their mother back then and because they were all by themselves, he hardly wants to talk to anyone while this all is going in his head."
"Besides, when I was the other day with Saba and your brothers in the boiler room, he was hardly hanging out with others. Don't worry, you should give him some time until he's ready." Balto managed to conceal the truth from his daughter by flavoring it with another true fact which wasn't something she was looking for, but at least she understood.
"Don't worry, Aleu. Your siblings are good with you and if you hang around with them, their friends would hang out with you too! Look at the bright side at once!" Kane made sure that after rain, there was always the Sun to bring happiness and joy. The sandy gray puppy looked at the heterochromic male and asked: "Do you think it will work, uncle Kane?"
"Why don't you find out by yourself?" Kane let her know, giving the pup some hope that if she couldn't be friends with the pup her aunt suggested, she still could be around her siblings and their other friends. She wagged with her tail and nuzzled all four of them before returning to playtime that was happening in the living room.
"Kane, you always look on the bright side in dire situations, I noticed. How do you manage to do so?" Jenna was surprised how Kane saw every situation optimistically even if it could look inappropriate at the times. Kane's smile was gone when he sighed, giving them a reason: "Ever since I moved out from the town I used to live in, I haven't seen my family. I just remind myself every morning that I'll see one of them sometime soon."
"Maybe we can borrow some of your optimism? We just want to make sure this whole situation with Aleu has a good outcome." Balto joked about his optimism before giving a rather serious thought to all of them. Aurora rolled with her eyes when she listened to her brother, but said nothing when they looked how the puppies were doing.
In fact, it wasn't as bad as they thought it'd have been. Sure, each one of their puppies were playing with their best friends, but a good thing was that Kodi and Dingo's friends, Dusty and Dana respectively, actually took a liking for their wolf-looking sister and were even having a delightful talk with one another all while Kodi and Dingo looked like they were fine with that!
Soon enough, playtime was slowly being replaced with sleepover. Puppies were finally getting tired and this time around, Balto and Jenna already made sure they were going to have their bed be that big bed for all those puppies while these two would find a comfortable place to sleep at.
Thankfully, what seemed like a pawful of work to do, Aurora and Kane were gladly helping Balto and Jenna find all the puppies and tuck them in bed, with Aleu being the last one. She was carried by Aurora and was placed near Kodi and Dusty just because of how the slender gray female puppy was being nice to Aleu before.
"There we go! The playtime didn't go out as we expected, but I hope when they wake up the next morning, they spend some time together!" Aurora suggested this even though Balto and Jenna had in mind to take the puppies home before their masters, save for Dusty, were going to find out their puppies missing, leading to some sort of scandal.
Just then, the doors opened and it revealed Rosy with her parents coming back home at this hour, likely being at someone's visit. Rosy, while being sleepy, happily announced: "Balto, Jenna! We're home! Looks like you've brought your two friends Aurora and Kane while we were outside! That's nice of you!"
The little red haired girl didn't miss her chance to pat and cuddle all those canines she could see and all four of them know how much she adored dogs so they returned their greetings by licking her face. Then she noticed an adorable sight by gazing at the bed that was standing in front of those four canines.
"Wow, look at that! You've brought some more puppies too? They must be their friends, right? Hey, I think this one with Kodi and Aleu is from Max and Molly, she's got Molly's looks!" Rosy whispered when she noticed how the bed was filled with six more puppies, clearly recognizing Dusty among them.
Jenna just couldn't resist but to tickle Rosy with her wet muzzle around her face. Kane, Aurora and Balto watched Rosy laugh sweetly because of Jenna's gesture before she heard her father calling the little girl it was time for bed. "I have to go now, but I hope I'll get to see the puppies tomorrow morning when I wake up, all of you."
They were going to make sure this pretty green-eyed, red haired girl had that chance in the morning before they were going to take them back home. She gave each one of them a big and warm hug as much as she could before she headed to bed. No long afterwards, Kane and Aurora announced they were heading home too, leaving Balto and Jenna with a dozen of puppies in a dimly lit room.
Day after day, the day for puppies to find their new home was creeping behind the corner. To sum it up, no mother or father could ever take the adoption of their puppies lightly, but letting go was something each individual would do. It was something that'd feel like a complete shock at first, but eventually it'd come to them they'd done the right thing.
It was one of the nights when Balto was on his old boat for the sake of good old days before he came to live with Jenna. Laying on his side under the blanket, he had a dream. A dream he had not had for two months straight. He remembered exactly how it started… a totem pole in the middle of frozen lake, a wood-carved raven at the top.
The raven had come to life, springing from its' wooden habitat! It was all over again, fleeing from that raven like in the old times and Balto had to run as fast as he could on the frozen lake from the black bird. It didn't even help that he was seeing an ice wall in front of him, making him realize everything was going to be the same…
...or was it?
"Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalto." A familiar, sweet voice echoed in the distance. There was a small shed in front of nowhere with a very bright light coming out of it. A small figure in the distance was standing there and Balto realized who that was: "Jenna?!" Suddenly, instead of running towards the ice wall, Balto took a sharp turn towards Jenna.
This had never happened before! Jenna never appeared in his dreams with raven, but he hadn't dreamed of the raven in two months so there was a chance anything could have changed! He rushed to his mate as fast as he could, but only too late he realized the raven was above him and he was catching up! He was right on him…!
"Ahhhhh!" Balto stood up, noticing the raven was gone and he was facing the wood ceiling on the old boat. He took a few moments so his head could get clear from that nightmare-ish chase before he laid down again, trembling because this was the first time the raven had caught up with him. He spoke to himself in a tired tone: "Oh… I haven't had that dream for a whole."
"Balto!" Jenna's voice was heard from outside the boat, much clearer and sweeter than in his dream. "Jenna? Oh no." Balto realized he wasn't actually dreaming and also realized whose turn it was to look after puppies. He blamed himself for not remembering that! But there was nothing else he could do so he headed to the deck of this old boat.
Upon gazing below the boat, he had a pretty sight to observe: Jenna sitting down while their six puppies were playing with one another. "Good morning, sleepyhead!" There was nothing more sweet than seeing his entire family out there playing with each other and Jenna being their sentinel out there.
"Did you forget about watching the pups today while Rosy and I go on a picnic?" Jenna wanted to make sure first. Her mate responded while yawning: "What? Me? Forget? Never." The puppies were chasing one another near the boat when Balto came down and walked up to Jenna, from where she noticed eyebags on her mate's face.
"Balto? You look so tired! What's wrong?" Jenna raised her concern for her mate's well-being because Balto's eye-lids were only half-open. The wolf-dog's response wasn't encouraging because he didn't want to tell her. He gave her a smile just to make sure she had nothing to worry about: "Oh nothing."
Then, as he wasn't looking behind him, he felt one of his six puppies leaping on his head and taking a quick glance above, he noticed it was Saba. "Hey, pups!" More puppies showed up to their father and Balto's tired face was gone with his delightful laugh changing the tone: "Good to see you too!"
His laughing didn't cease when he rolled on the ground and had the puppies jump on his belly and around him. He protested, to no avail, when all those numerous tiny paws were jumping around and on him: "Hey, watch it, now! Come on. That tickles!" His protests fell on deaf ears and honestly? He couldn't care any less.
Once rolling back on his stomach, all his puppies swarming him but Aleu, who stood by the side and being the eldest pup in the litter, she first growled and then barked as a sign to race them all to the sea! This joy was something Balto would not miss for anything on this world when he saw all six of them racing. Even Kodi got a little bit faster since their training.
Watching all six of them from the distance, Jenna joined her mate. They had some words to share before she headed away to catch up with Rosy. Balto looked at his mate and asked her something that gave him an idea: "Say, why don't they spend the night with me and then tomorrow we can all go on a picnic?" This indicated that Balto's pups only slept at Jenna's, not on the old boat.
His idea was sadly rejected: "Balto, don't you remember? Tomorrow is the day for our puppies to find their new homes!" This was something Balto and Jenna were discussing for a while, but Balto couldn't believe it was this soon! He asked her in disbelief: "Tomorrow? But, Jenna, they're… they're only eight weeks old!" If a mother couldn't handle this by herself, how could a father handle it?
"I mean, what's the hurry?" Balto was hoping it wouldn't be this soon but at least one more week or two. Jenna knew how he was feeling, but there was absolutely nothing she could do but provide her words: "I know how you feel, Balto." If only it wasn't this soon and they were still one big family together.
"Puppies! Come to uncle Boris!" Balto and Jenna could hear a familiar Russian accented voice waddling through the shallows when Boris was heading to the puppies for a hug. All six puppies noticed a familiar figure and all together in an unisom, yipped in joy: "Uncle Boris! Uncle Boris!" He rushed straight into their "trap" like Balto had!
As for Balto and Jenna, who paused for a moment to see Boris taking care of the puppies, they resumed their adoption discussion: "Oh, but it's their time now. I was their age when I was adopted by Rosy." It seemed like the tides had shifted in Jenna's favor to handle this adoption well when Balto bowed his head down.
"But I… I don't think I can let them go, Jenna… not yet." Balto was in denial, having the tides strike him the hardest now the next day would be the start of him sleeping with Jenna and not a single puppy in sight. Boris' yelling in the distance disrupted their discussion when he was swarmed with puppies: "That's tickling me! Ow! Ow! OW!"
Like how sled dogs carried a sled, the puppies took on Boris by pulling his wing ahead as if he were a sled while he protested: "That's my wing!" Continuing where they had left off as Boris was pounced in the shallows, Jenna reminded him: "Balto, each of our puppies have their own lives to live. It's our job to love them and then…"
"LET GO!" Boris unintentionally finished what Jenna was saying all because he was swarmed by six puppies jumping on him, tickling the goose or biting his legs, namely Aleu. Jenna carried on nonetheless: "If we wait until they're older, it'll be harder for them to find homes! You know how humans have a soft spot for puppies."
"Yeah, and so do I." Balto expressed how much he was going to miss his six sweet puppies after the adoption was over. No more giggles in their house, no more running, no more jumping, no more cuddling and snuggling. It was pretty painful for him to take all of these. Jenna at least tried to encourage him: "Come on, Balto. All their humans will be from around here!"
She was right. The nearest town was hours of walk and the only transport Nome could rely on was a ship which docked only once in a month so the odds of their puppies leaving the town were very, very low. Then, Jenna remembered: "Oh, I've got to go meet Rosy now! Enjoy them, Balto! And watch out - they're teething."
Just as she was leaving, Boris gave her his remarks: "NO KIDDING!" The puppies just couldn't get enough of teething their uncle Boris so Balto had to intervene, telling them: "Come on now. Uncle Boris isn't a chew toy!" As soon as Balto intervened, the puppies mischievously spreaded out and rushed to the wooden pole sticking out of the sand.
Except for Aleu. She was still busy chewing on Boris' leg so Balto had to remove her by himself: "Hey, take it easy there, tiger!" He was amused by her antics nonetheless before he grabbed Aleu by her neck scruff all while Boris bounced back as soon as he was parted from the little wolf-dog's bites.
Aleu was laughing and running in the air when Balto was placing her down in the sand. Clearly having not enough from her father carrying her, she jumped a few times to catch her muzzle, only for her father to rub his against hers. Trying to look "dangerous", she growled on that gesture before she ran towards her siblings by the wood pole.
"Strange…" Boris made his way to Balto while watching the sandy gray puppy rush to her siblings, carrying on: "...her brothers and sisters look just like dogs, yet Aleu looks just like…" Balto didn't let him finish: "A dog. Aleu looks like a dog too!" He then remembered one of the things he clearly did not do - take Aurora's advice to talk to his puppies about their wolf heritage. Was it too late to tell them the day before adoption?
Boris wasn't remotely intimidated by Balto's reaction, chuckling before he answered: "Funny, but from where I stand, I see daughter…" The goose eyed Aleu who had noticed an orange butterfly flying above her head so she'd given chase all while Boris told him: "...who looks even more wolf than father."
"Look, Boris. I just don't want her to be… different." Balto admitted how the pressure of him not having the talk, suggested by Aurora, with his puppies, was kicking in. Boris was seeing it the other way around: "But she is different! And viva la difference!" For someone like him with a Russian accent in this land, he wasn't really bothered with that issue.
"Come on. Being different is painful. Nobody knows that better than me." Balto was opening the wounds of his past he'd hoped never to open again now that he was liked in this town by humans and dogs. The truth was, he wasn't liked by every dog in this town, as he had explained that to Kane the other time.
"You know how some of the dogs around here still tease me because I'm half wolf?" The credit for teasing him was going to the dogs who weren't his teammates or Jenna's friends. Not even Doc the St. Bernard dog was like that to him. He made sure of one thing: "Aleu may look like a wolf but she's going to be all dog!"
He spoke too soon. Aleu was standing on the top of the wooden pole and howled like a true wolf would, much to Balto's disbelief and Boris' look of "I told you so!" before reminding him: "I wouldn't count on it." As much as he hated to admit it, Boris could have possibly been right in here.
Aleu's howling and puppies' yipping ended up attracting the attention of two new companions, white and thick furred, much to Boris' horror: "Uncle Boris! Balto! We've heard the puppies from the distance! Are they still around?!" Muk and Luk came from behind and smiled widely when they had caught their chance.
"You two are right on time, boys! Be easy on the puppies first!" Balto reminded the two polar bear cubs while Boris hid next to Balto to avoid their hugs and licks. Luk mumbled his suggestion to Muk, which he asked: "Hide-and-seek? Oh yes, the puppies would love to play hide-and-seek with us!" Both clapped with their paws and headed straight towards the puppies, taking it easy as Balto told them.
"Then again, have you let go of Muk and Luk by now, Boris?" Balto wanted to turn the tables in his favor, which made Boris comment something under his breath on Russian. The wolf-dog amusingly told them: "Something tells him you're still not intending to let go of them, huh?" After all, Muk and Luk weren't just like someone to let go of after these two were now getting their round of tickles and teething!
That same night, Balto and Jenna slept together with their puppies for the last time. From tomorrow on, nothing was going to be the same. Both of them knew how hard it was going to be to have their puppies living in someone else's residence. In order to keep the grief away from the others, Balto and Jenna made sure they were alone with their pups tomorrow.
The day had come. After the breakfast, the six puppies were being placed in the crate, the same one Balto had carried the medicine one year ago. Both of them were going to stand by the crate while the puppies were going to be taken to their homes. If anything, they'd provide comfort and solace to one another and puppies when they were going to be taken home.
They were out on Main Street, on one of those wooden sidewalks, catching the eyes of many bypassing. As for puppies, they were eager to meet their future owners and play with them as soon as they were taken home, or even at least with other dogs living in their houses! The excitement was so high that Aleu was the most vocal one, howling.
Clearly none of her siblings liked that, Yukon being the best example as each one of them covered their ears with paws. Much to their relief, Jenna let her eldest daughter know: "Aleu, honey, please don't howl like that." Aleu clearly listened to her mother and so her siblings could finally release their ears and even Yukon exhaled in relief now that he had no longer to listen to her sister howling.
"Sorry, mama. It just happens when I'm excited!" Aleu explained why she'd howl every time at the cost of her siblings' annoyance. Then, she was being pounced by Saba, who shared the enthusiasm as her bigger sister: "I am excited too! I can't wait to get a human and chew on their socks!" Any puppy in the litter could show their excitement, no doubt.
Even Nunivat hopped around and asked her father: "Papa, are you going to get a human too?" While her father wasn't Rosy's official pet and even if he was always welcome at Jenna's, Balto simply overlooked his daughter's question while rubbing her head with his paw and answered: "Nah. See, humans like cute puppies like you. Not old grizzy grownups like me!"
And so it had begun. The first humans were finally noticing the puppies in the crate and they were finally looking up what puppies they'd go with. The first lucky pup to get a human? It was Saba. For Balto and Jenna, seeing their very first pup getting adopted felt difficult to observe, but as they had told themselves, they had to push through.
It wasn't until long after when another human had come and after giving it a thought, chose Yukon. Most likely because how he had a darker red fur, hazel brown eyes or how his appearances looked appealing. Yukon was waving to his siblings and parents away, leaving four puppies inside.
Eventually, not just one, but two humans had showed up and each one of them had come to adopt Dingo and Nunivat respectively. Seeing how fast the puppies were being adopted, Jenna fell in tears as she was letting her puppies go. Balto comforted her the best way he could even if he, admittedly, was holding his tears back.
Kodi and Aleu were the only two pups left in the crate. While they still had some time left, they were playing with one another. However, Kodi unintentionally bit his sister's ear a bit too hard that it hurt her. A little red maroon pup saw that and in his act of comfort, licked his sister's cheek and out of tease, she did the same thing to him!
But then, one last human was seen approaching the crate. He was laughing in joy upon figuring out that there were some puppies left. Kodi and Aleu were both wagging with their tails while looking at the human, both hoping either of them would get adopted. The human ten made his choice - Kodi was the one who had been adopted! Aleu got on the edge of the crate to wave goodbye to her youngest brother.
The dusk had fallen. Aleu was seen sleeping in a crate. No other humans had showed up to see if there were other puppies. Balto and Jenna feared this would have happened - having the oddball in the litter not having a human. Balto even told his mate: "It's been a long day, Jenna. Let's go home."
Jenna didn't falter yet: "But we can't! Well, not until a human adopts Aleu!" She tried to look at the brighter side of the coin for the well-being of her daughter, but Balto was looking at the darker side: "Face it, Jenna. Aleu looks more like a wolf than me. No human is ever gonna want her."
"That's not true! We'll just have to keep trying!" Jenna was persistent in her intentions, watching her daughter sleep alone in that crate. It was getting dark outside and the only possible option they had was to take Aleu back home and come tomorrow and see if there'd be humans who'd adopt their wolf-looking daughter.
"Tomorrow will be a better day, I'm sure of that!" Jenna let her mate know when he picked Aleu gently by her neck scruff and went with Jenna back home. Passing through the streets and alleys, they had realized that once they got home, they'd have only four paws instead of six times four paws running around the house.
Then they passed in front of Aurora's house, but weren't paying attention to what was happening inside. A canine like shadow was visible on the window and soon enough, Aurora emerged through the dog doors, saying: "Balto? Jenna? How did the adoption go?!" She noticed her beloved niece sleeping while being held by her father.
"All of them, with the exception of Aleu, have been adopted, Aurora. We're taking her home and see if tomorrow someone will adopt her." Jenna spoke in a pretty tired tone. Not even Balto looked any better. Aurora couldn't believe it - Aleu had not been adopted?! That was something she couldn't possibly handle right now.
"I think I have an idea! Balto, would you mind if you give me Aleu for a moment?" Aurora had the only possible option left. Balto wondered what was his sister trying to do right now? If this was going to benefit their daughter, then he gently put the puppy down on the ground and Aurora picked her up. She looked at the door of her house and scratched them.
"What's going on out there? I hope you're not scratching the doors, Balto!" One of two of Aurora's masters, Stephanie, spoke in annoyance when she heard the doors being scratched again. When she opened them, she was surprised to see it was Aurora who did that! Moreso, she was even surprised to see her pet carrying a puppy she'd not seen before in her jaws.
"Aurora? Where did you get that puppy?" Stephanie asked her dog, wolf-dog unbeknownst to her. Aurora was giving her master that innocent look in hopes she'd take the puppy in so Aleu would have a human, even if it meant having to live with her aunt. This even gave some hope to Balto and Jenna!
That hope had sadly died down when Stephanie let her know: "No, girl, we can't take someone's puppy in if she's not being given for an adoption. I'm sorry, but you'll have to take her back to Balto and Jenna. I don't think they'd accept it kindly if you're taking their puppy just like that!" Aurora lowered her ears and stopped giving her master that "puppy eyes" look. If only she could talk to her masters! And if only she knew Balto was her brother...
"Come on now, give them back their puppy and come inside for dinner!" Stephanie told her and Aurora gave up, walking back to her brother and sister-in-law. She placed her niece gently by her brother's paws while she slept and told them: "I'm sorry, you two. I really had hoped my masters would take her in."
"Don't be sorry, you did good. We'll keep trying, Aurora." Balto let her know, trying to warm up to his mate about her views on how Aleu would be adopted. Aurora sighed and wished them both goodnight before she headed back inside. This left Balto and Jenna go back home with Aleu, having some hopes Aleu would be adopted any day soon…
Still, there was one good thing they could bear in their minds - all of their puppies were going to live in Nome. The first thing tomorrow they could also go with was to see where their puppies were living in this town and wish them all the best with their new masters. Moreso, they were sure their friends would know where to find them!