Balto: Howls of Destiny

[Baya]

The engine of the pickup truck roared as it traveled across the snowy landscape. The human driving it was singing quietly to himself along with the radio. Sitting in the passenger seat of this truck was a large white wolf. He was looking out the window of the truck at the snowy scenery of his soon to be new home.

"Amarok. I don't think you'll have to try to hard to get used to this place boy." The human said as he stroked the wolf's head. Amarok yawned, revealing his razor sharp teeth and then continued looking out the window, whilst wagging his tail. Prior to moving out here, they lived on the other side of the woods but it had become too secluded. No one dared live on the other side, because that was where the wolves were usually inclined to go for food, due to the low population of humans. That made it far more dangerous.

Now, they were moving to this new village of Nome. Amarok sat up in the seat, with his paws against the door, and his face looking outside. They were driving through the village itself now, and Amarok took note of several dogs in the area, and smiled slightly, wagging his tail. At least here he wouldn't be so bored or lonely, as it seemed there were others like him!

The truck screeched to a stop near a medium sized cabin around the borders of Nome. Amarok barked excitingly and wagged his tail. "Calm down boy! I'll let you out in a moment!" The human said as he turned the key, silencing the great mechanical beast. He then stepped out of his car, and went around to the other side. The human opened the door for Amarok and the young wolf jumped out of the seat, rolling around in the snow.

"Haha! Boy o boy! I think you love this place more then I do!" His human said as he stroked Amarok's head with both hands. Amarok wagged his tail and quickly ran up to the wooden door of their new home. Amarok's master quickly opened the door, and went to the back of the truck to get some of his belongings.

Amarok's claws clicked against the wooden floor as he entered his new home. His eyes scanned the room for a comfortable spot for him to call "bed". He looked to a mat in front of the currently dead fireplace and walked towards it. He walked around the mat for a bit and finally laid down on it. He was exhausted from his trip, considering he couldn't sleep because of all the bumps and rough turns. Amarok closed his blue eyes slowly, and eventually dozed off.

When Amarok awoke once more, he looked around the cabin to see all the furniture and personal belongings of his master were in their place. He gazed at the heads of game animals that he hunted over the fireplace. A deer, a moose, and a grizzly bear. Amarok shuddered slightly, as he had encounters with all three of the creatures those heads belonged to, and it wasn't at all fun.

His master walked back into the cabin and put a leash on Amarok. "Come on boy. We got to go to the post office."

Amarok was confused what the string around his collar was for. He never had to wear it, and when his master began to walk it dragged him with his master. Amarok had no choice but to follow.

Amarok walked through the village of Nome, his massive paws leaving deep prints in the snow. Several dogs looked over at him, he smiled and they ran off quickly. Amarok figured those were the weirdos of the neighborhood.

Amarok and his master reached the post office, and Amarok's leach was tied around a sturdy post. Amarok sat down near the post, knowing if he tried to get away he'd just choke himself. His master went into the post office and Amarok let out a deep sigh.

He looked around for any trace of the dogs he saw near here as he was driving, but nothing. No one was here anymore.

[ImaniFaith]

Shila grinned, breathing in deeply the scent of fresh snow. It was a common scent in Nome, true, but one that never lost its beauty to her. As she plodded along next to her master, a slight young man of twenty-five, the black German Shephard joyfully glanced back at the tracks her jet paws made in the fluffy white drifts.

To her suprise, she wasn't the first dog to have made them there today. Cocking her head, she saw that a small husky was motioning to her excitedly. Her amber eyes clouded with confusion, for this was Pukiq, a dog usually known for being quite austere and collected. 'What could have upset him so much?' She wondered.

"W- wolf!" He finally barked, eyes wild, "Wolf!"

Shila frowned, was he talking about her? Certianly, her lean, muscular body, solid black fur, and pointed ears made her look somewhat like a wolf, but really, he'd known her for months now!

Then, as she and her master neared the post office, she saw what Pukiq was so frantic about.

A huge white wolf sat outside the door to the building.

Her master halted in his tracks, but Shila would have kept going. After all, it was obvious that-- wolf or not-- it was tethered.

At last, her master took a rather roundabout path to the post office, tying her as far away from the wolf as possible and praising her to the hilt for not barking. "Good girl-- you stay there, now!"

'Where am I supposed to go?' Shila smirked to herself as he made his way inside the building, 'I'm tethered now too!'

The wolf seemed to be watching her, and even though Pukiq was still motioning to her from his haven down the street, she felt it was rude not to at least say something. "Uh, hi." She began awkwardly, "You... you're, uh, new here, huh?"

[Baya]

Amarok noticed the panic in the new comers eyes for a moment, and wondered what was so wrong with him that made all the dogs around her so upset. His blue eyes stared to her for a long moment, before she took notice that he was staring. He quickly looked down in embarrassment, knowing it was rude to stare. That was one thing he learned on his own during a hunt one day involving a bear.

"Hi." Amarok said in his gentle and quiet tone. "Yes, I'm new here. My master just moved here. Did you not see or hear the truck coming through town?" Amarok asked with a tilt of his head. He flicked his ears and took notice of her appearance. She was a bit smaller than him, with more dulled teeth and an all around different build.

A long awkward silence followed after their greetings to one another, until Amarok got the courage to speak again. "My name is Amarok [Prounounced, Amarewk]." He said quietly, not looking at the dog. He felt that she probably thought him rude or something, being the reasoning behind why she was so awkward in the beginning.

Amarok waited for a response, and while he did he noticed that some humans were hesitant to get near him and the dogs avoided him all together. Perhaps if this dog was willing to talk to him, she would tell him why everyone in this village was so weird.

[YFWE]

Balto stepped out into the glaring sunlight which reflected into his eyes off the new-fallen snow that had blanketed Nome only the previous evening. His paws sank deep into the snow as he stepped off the stairway from which he came. He had slept late that day, as he often did those days due to both not having much to do and, well, his old age. Balto had certainly aged quite a bit by then, and the time was quickly approaching in which he would be unable to do anything at all if he was needed. That said, he saw to it that he remained at least somewhat active, this including a brisk run around Nome one day, perhaps assisting his son Kodi with the mail service another.

As he padded out deeper into the snow, Balto decided he would take a walk around Nome to witness the happenings of that day, though he doubted that there would be anything of great importance. Nome had been quite quiet and inactive since the big race a few years prior. It was developing, like any normal town might be during that period, but things had certainly calmed down. Balto did not mind this; as he had gotten older, he had learned to appreciate tranquility.

He rounded the corner and onto the main road through Nome. As with any other day, there were people out and about, along with a few of the animal variety as well. Conditions for Balto had vastly improved since he first saved the town's children from the diphtheria epidemic; nowadays he was greeted enthusiastically by almost anyone who passed him. "Hello, Balto!" and "Good afternoon, Balto!" were common cries heard from the humans, and occasionally other animals would stop to have a bit more of a conversation. As Balto watched his son Kodi near, he knew that this day would be no different.

Kodi was a bit flustered, as were many of the other animals he both passed and spoke to. Kodi did not tell Balto why this was at first, but instead directed him to the post office. Bidding his son a bemused goodbye, Balto padded off toward the post office, his mind swirling about as he wondered what the problem could be, what had been bothering the others so much. And then he saw it.

There was a white wolf tethered to a pole outside the post office. Though it seemed docile from a distance, Balto knew from his past dealings with wolves that this was rarely actually the case. A german shepherd, whom he instantly recognized as Shila, was nearby the wolf, and the two seemed to be speaking. This eased Balto's tensions a bit; if they were merely making civil conversation, he figured he had nothing to fear. Still, the other animals had seemed quite apprehensive about their visitor. He would at least greet the wolf and welcome him to their town. At least then he would no longer be running on preconceived notions of the canine.

Balto walked hesitantly toward Shila and the wolf, poking his head out from behind Shila so that he was in the wolf's line of sight. "Er... hello there," he cleared his voice before speaking. "Don't mean to interrupt. I just... saw you were new in town and wanted to welcome you. My name's Balto," he said, sending the wolf a curt nod. "Good afternoon, Shila," he added, giving a small smile in the dog's direction as he did so.

The wolf-dog paused, allowing time for the wolf to reply before continuing. "What brings you out here, eh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone of your kind... tethered up like this."

[ImaniFaith]

"Hello, Balto." Shila replied. She had seen the town hero coming before the tethered wolf had gotten the chance to reply to her. It didn't matter, though, for she would learn all she needed to know from what he said to Balto.

Balto was one of the few dogs in Nome to be so open-minded as to speak with this wolf, she thought to herself, and why wouldn't he be? After all, he was half wolf himself.

Still, this particular wolf seemed to be full-blooded, and what's more, he lacked Balto's gentle features and warm brown eyes. Everything about Amarok was as fierce and sculpted as the winter landscape around them.

And as white.... She found herself subtly admiring his pristine fur, the exact opposite in color from her own. Then, realizing what she must look like, she averted her eyes, trying to focus only on Amarok's words....

[Baya]

"Thanks for the greeting. I am Amarok. I come from waaaay beyond the woods over there." Amarok said pointing his nose towards the direction of the woods. His kind? Balto had never seen his kind tethered up like this?

"Oh. I'm not a wild wolf. I have a master, since I was a pup." Amarok replied quietly, finally getting the courage to ask either of the two dogs before him the question that was itching at his tongue.

"Why is everyone in this village so odd? They run from me, like I'm some sort of...ghost or bear." Amarok asked, his head tilted in confusion once more. He knew what he was, but he did not know what others thought of wolves. He figured Balto was an exception for some reason, but he was still interested as to why everyone avoided him.

"You are serious? You are SERIOUS." A brown furred husky murmured, overhearing the question. "You are a wolf! The most vicious thing on this barren wasteland! Humans keep guns in their home because of your kind! You think those sharp teeth, and claws are just for show?" The husky male growled, from quite a distance from Amarok.

Amarok's eyes widened slightly and he looked down. Did they all think the same as this loud mouth? Did they honestly think he would use his teeth and claws against them? Were they comparing him to his wild brothers, and cousins? He was not like them! He never craved blood. He felt regret for killing beasts that need not be killed.

The husky snorted and stepped back slowly. "S-Stay away from us, and you won't get hurt wolf. You may have those teeth, but we have numbers." The husky said as he ran off. Amarok looked to Balto, no longer needing him to answer the question.

"What he said. Does he speak the truth?" Amarok asked, as he then turned his gaze to Shila, wondering if she thought of him the same way. Just a vicious beast. Amarok, deep down, was sort of disturbed by the husky's answer.

[YFWE]

Giving the wolf another quick nod, Balto attempted an affable grin so as to seem as unintimidating as possible to Amarok. "It's nice to meet you, Amarok. Welcome to Nome. I'm sure you'll like this place just fine. There's rarely anything going on, so it's a pretty quiet town."

Balto cocked his head at Amarok's comment. "Nonetheless," he said, "I've never even seen a non-wild wolf. You're the first one I've seen, and from what I can take, you're the first most of the rest of the town has seen as well."

This was not a problem to Balto, of course. Amarok seemed tame enough, perhaps even completely docile. Had Kodi or some of the other animals of Nome merely taken the time to speak to the wolf, they would have known this. Balto opened his mouth, about to reply to Amarok's next query, when he was interrupted by a voice that came from behind them. Balto turned on his forelegs to see a brown-furred husky, whose name he had never actually known, butting into the conversation, his hostile comments dripping with aggression.

Balto's expression turned to one of disgust. Baring his teeth in a low growl, he took one step toward the husky. "That'll be enough, I think," he spat as the husky backed away, getting in one last biting comment before retreating. Sighing, Balto turned back to Amarok and Shila. As he expected, Amarok seemed fazed by the husky's words.

"...well, yes and no," said Balto, unable to conceal the absolute truth. "Wolves are generally feared around here and even shot if they venture within the town limits. But you, Amarok, you have nothing to worry about." Balto attempted to send the wolf a weak-yet-reassuring smile. "You're a tame wolf. You're not dangerous. Just you wait; the other animals will warm up to you. They just need time." I hope, he thought.

[ImaniFaith]

'Yeah, time.' Shila thought darkly. Just like they'd needed time to get used to her. While she certainly wasn't a wolf, her heritage as a German Shephard had been the cause of some fright and prejudice in this town. After all, German Shephards were generally said to be vicious dogs who bit children and killed small animals for sport. How often had she herself seen other dogs snarl and glare at her when she had first come to this place?

Still, she decided to follow Balto's lead and give the poor newcomer some hope. "Yeah, and you've already made two friends-- us-- so that's a good start."

Just then, a small dog came trotting by-- then yelped and raced for the hills at the sight of the wolf.

Amarok watched it go, his arctic blue eyes dull with hurt and confusion.

"Then again...." Shila quipped.

[Baya]

Amarok smiled slightly at the kind words of the two new dogs he just befriended. Perhaps they were right to think the others would warm up to him in the neighborhood as they just had. He could tell that it certainly would take some time due to the ignorance of most of the dogs here, but with that time would come progress. "Thank you Balto, and uh... I never caught your name?" Amarok asked his head tilting slightly once more.

When that little dog ran off in fear Amarok chuckled quietly. "No, it's alright. I will try my best to be as kind as possible. Those who don't accept me can continue fearing me if they wish. I won't force anyone to see me for what I am." Amarok said quietly.

Amarok turned his head to the doorway of the post office as his master came back out with a small package. "Common boy! Time to go home!" The human said, untying Amarok from the post. Amarok's tail wagged as he followed alongside his master, but not before giving Shila and Balto a nod of good bye. He knew he would be seeing them again. Even if he had to hunt them down.

Amarok was taken home, and fed some Venison. He might not like killing the deer, but he definitely loved eating it! When he finished his meal, he quickly went to bed. The full moon outside was beautiful from his point of view on the mat near the fire place. He felt a strange urge building up inside him, but he surrpressed it and closed his eyes, dozing off to sleep for the night.

The next morning, Amarok awoke early and looked to his master who was sleeping on the couch. He then looked to the open window. That was his only chance of getting out of the house! But he was definitely no cat, the only way he'd get to that window sill is if he had a running start.

After several painful failed attempts at the window, Amarok finally got out. He stuffed his head in the snow for a bit to soothe the pain of many bumps on the head. It was a surprise his master didn't wake up from all the loud banging and yelping. He was a VERY heavy sleeper.

Amarok took in the crisp cool morning air through his nostrils before trotting towards the main village. He wondered if he could find either Balto or Shila nearby. Of course, as he walked through town some of the early out goers were avoiding him all together.

[ImaniFaith]

Shila had risen eariler than usual and persuaded her master to set her free on their front lawn-- or rather, the large patch of snow out front that should have been a lawn. As she said her good-mornings to the dogs who passed by, she happened to see Amarok coming down the street.

The husky Shila had been conversing with saw him too, and said a hasty good-bye as the white wolf approached; then beat it as fast as she could go the opposite direction.

After shaking her head in frustration at the dog's idiotic behavior, Shila called out with a smile, "Hello, Amarok!"

The wolf smiled back at her, and for some unknown reason, she suddenly felt shy.

"By the way," She said, "my name is Shila. You said you didn't catch it yesterday-- but I forgot to tell you."