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“…I just don’t get it! I mean, they made it seem like everything was fine, but-“

“Ralph?” Balto addressed the large dog, who frantically expounding his confusion at Dusty’s behavior.

“-Not to mention that blood on Kodi. And she’s – she was shaking! I’ve never seen her-“

“Raaaalph?” Balto tried again, to no avail.

“-Because Kodi wouldn’t have – but what about those other dogs she was talking about?”

“RALPH!” Kirby startled the panicky canine before Balto could try to quietly silence him. Ralph, looking slightly miffed, glared at Kirby, while Kirby gestured for Balto to speak.

“Thank you.” Balto said politely as he held the door open with his paw, the warm air from the bar washing over them. They stepped inside, where the party was already underway. Balto had seen this place before, but never imagined it could look as homely as it did. Somehow or another, there had been a fire started in the fire place, the source of the heat. In front of it, several multicolored shards of glass, from several broken bottles had been placed in such a precise manner that the light from the fire filtered through the glass. The filters of color wrapped around the room, dancing hypnotically as the flames flickered and bounced from the unevenly chopped wood. From the outside adjacent windows, it would like a kaleidoscope. There were already more than several guests here; many of them Balto had seen around town frequently, but a good number that Balto did not. He thought he heard the odd accent from Sylvie, and didn’t hesitate for a moment to guess that she and her inseparable pal Dixie were behind the large turnout.

The trio slipped inside, and tried to find a relatively quiet corner to resume their communication; it was more difficult than it sounded. Not too long afterwards, two large dogs arose from the cubby by the door, and proceeded towards their friends beckoning them. Balto wasted no time in hunkering down in their old spots. He kept his eye out for Jenna, but to no avail. If he had to guess, she was busy tending to some aspect of the gathering, rather than enjoying it like she should have been doing. His search for Jenna was interrupted by Kirby, who seemed just as anxious as Ralph to decipher Dusty’s odd behavior.

“Alright, Balto. Spill it. What’s going on with those two?” Kirby demanded. Balto’s face was particularly expressive, and he could likely tell that Balto had some semblance of an idea.

Balto shook his head firmly, denying the soured Kirby his perceived insight. “I don’t know. But I agree with you, their behavior is incredibly odd.”

Not to be dismayed, Kirby pressed on. “Come on! You have that- that look on your face! What did they say to you?”

Balto quickly frowned, now trying to control his facial expressions as deliberately as possible. “They didn’t say anything to me! I just have – I have an… idea.” He looked melancholy as he mulled over the pieces of overheard dialogue in his head again, jumbled and hazy, but the general tone coming across as strong as ever.

“…If I’d have gone there alone… if they’d have found me… Kodi, do you really think they would have…”

Balto could only guess that her life or well-being was in very serious danger. Her comparison to Saber only served to worsen the mental image he was conjuring. Gender was not often a concern for Balto; dogs were who they were, regardless of whether or not they were male or female. But Dusty IS female, and that fact alone left her vulnerable to a much more sinister threat. Balto shuddered.

“No…” he said shaking head weakly. “NO! It’s not my place to say anything, ANYTHING.” he emphasized again for the looks of objection on Ralph and Kirby’s faced. “It’s not my place to say anything about it. It isn’t fair to them.” The two dogs bowed their heads, knowing that Balto’s sense of honor was not going to be swayed. Their ears perked back again as Balto continued. “However, about things we DO know… what’s this about blood?” He asked Ralph demandingly.

Ralph was struggling to find his words, but Kirby was eager to jump in.

“Kodi and Dusty came back from their date, and Kodi had blood all over his muzzle!” He expelled rapidly. Perhaps he thought that a bit of give and take would coax Balto’s theories. He would have to give a little bit more.

“Blood? From what?” Balto fired again.

“We… uhh… we don’t exactly know. Kodi said it was from a raccoon, but now I’m not so sure. It was an awful lot…” Ralph offered slowly.

“A raccoon?” Balto asked incredulously. “Kodi would never – he COULDN’T…” Of all the things Kodi was, a hunter was not one of them. Even as a pup, Kodi didn’t like wrestling with his brothers and sisters; he was fearful he might hurt them. There was no way that Kodi could have gone so far as to kill a raccoon for food, even if he was trying to impress Dusty. “That’s not possible.” He said stoutly.

Kirby nodded, and offered his perspective. “I hear you on that. There was another dog that they had come back with, and she looked a bit more feral. Maybe she was the one who had done something about it.”

Balto scratched his head with his rear leg, his neck craned looking upwards. “ANOTHER dog? This doesn’t make any sense…” Balto had learned almost nothing from the other two, and only walked away with more questions than before.

He jumped up on all fours, head still swimming trying to piece together the bits of information and speculation he had gathered. “You know what? Why don’t we just wait for them to tell us about it?” Kirby and Ralph looked uneasy at first, but both had a revelation that it was likely the best course of action. They nodded frankly.

“Yeah…” Balto said quietly. “Jenna did a fantastic job with this, and it would be a disservice to her to waste our time here worrying. It’s Christmas, after all!” Balto was very poor at disguising his frustration and burning curiosity. “Let’s just grab some food, find some friends, and have ourselves a good time, alright?”

Kirby and Ralph exchanged glances with each other, and both replied with a modest “Sure thing.” They both shared the same discontent that Balto did.

Balto paced in a circle twice, before coming to a stop and practically commanding the other two to – “So… uhhh…. Go, um…. Go have fun! Hop to it!” Leaving the sled dogs bewildered, he turned around into the small crowd, looking for Jenna. He brushed past Mel and Dipsy, both of whom had drawn quite a crowd with their quarry of food. Not distracted, he continued his search. She always had a way to make him feel better. Always.

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Mel looked behind him as best as he could, struggling against the weight of the bag while turning his neck. The building up ahead had several dogs from around town gathered around it, and the window featured a very strange colored light waving about inside. This had to be the place.

Dipsy’s rationale didn’t do much to console him, however.

“If armed hunters can’t seem to scare it away, why would – PAH!” A piece of material had ripped into Mel’s mouth, and he promptly spat it out before grasping at a different, less worn part of the excess baggage. “Why would a bunch of dogs on a sled? I think they are just lucky, that’s all. If Kodi’s insistence on running all of the time keeps up, it’s going to run out eventua- OH! Kodi, Dusty!” Mel had been so absorbed in his apocalyptic mutterings that he had absentmindedly been approaching the two. “I umm… I’m sorry.” He offered, but neither Kodi nor Dusty seemed to notice. They both seemed especially distraught. “Ish everything okay?” Mel kept his eyes on them as he and Dipsy pulled closer to the front door.

“We’ll see you inside.” Kodi said shortly.

Mel shrugged, or tried to anyways. His shoulders were held down by his neck and head toting the jerky. The smell was becoming less and less appealing as the strain in his spine grew exponentially greater the closer and closer the two inched to their final destination.

“I’m glad SOMEONE agrees with me! This monster problem is becoming a erm… monster problem! I hope it goes away before anything gets too bad. Of course, it won’t. I know it, I just know it. I don’t know that Nome can go without supplies for another season. I mean, you remember the outbreak, right? Icebound, and no help in sight? How are we supposed to eat? They aren’t going to make me go out and try to track animals for food, are they? Dipsy? Dipsy? Tell me it won’t happen, please! I’m a lover not a fighter…”

Before the two of them knew it, they had popped in the front door, the warm air offering astounding relief to the two dogs who had been lugging this overweight bag across several city blocks. Mel’s tail caught momentarily on a dog walking in front (or rather behind) them, but the dog paid no heed as it vanished into the crowd again.


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“Of course… it’s what I’m here for.” Kodi whispered softly to Dusty. He couldn’t imagine what Dusty would have felt if he hadn’t been there, but he surmised that the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach offered at least some insight. The sensation was so strong that he even felt guilt for something that hadn’t happened.

If he had done what he normally did, and stayed in the guest cabin by the warm fire while Dusty was out and about exploring…

His ears pricked as he heard the door swing open, slamming against the pine wall perpendicular to it. Kodi raised himself from his comfortable post in front of the lazy fireplace to investigate. His legs still felt stiff from the mail run they had finished from Nome to White Mountain but hours ago. The carpeted floor gave way to the wooden floor of the main hallway as he stepped forth, and his paws notified him with a sharp, reflexive jerk. It was dark in here – very dark. The moonlight didn’t shine through the window like it normally did, and his eyes hadn’t adjusted from the orange haze of the den yet.

A lamppost flickered outside, illuminating the silhouette standing in the door frame at the opposite end of the hallway momentarily. It was Dusty. She appeared slumped over, her body posture a violent contrast to her normally strong and proud stance.

“Dusty?” He asked the shape. It was completely silent. And then –

A sob.

“Dusty!” Kodi bolted forward, rushing towards her. But –

“What?” Kodi ran past the counter, through the doorframe to the entry room. Suddenly, the room seemed to blur. Kodi found himself running past another counter, and through another doorframe. The room blurred again. Another counter. Another frame.

The hallway seemed to double in length as he ran harder and harder towards Dusty’s figure, the sobbing growing more and more urgent. The small house multiplied each time he bolted through the entry way frame. He was getting closer each time though! He knew it. He had to be.

“No… I’m coming! Just… hold on!” He panted. The hall kept stretching. This wasn’t possible. “Come back!” He shouted, although Dusty’s figure didn’t appear to move. The small box created by the light flickering madly through the doorframe grew smaller and smaller, yet Kodi continued to power towards it. He held his breath, trying to muster as much of his oxygen to his muscles as he could. His eyes closed for just a second, the still air of the cabin causing them to tear up as he blazed past it, and he tripped. Without opening his eyes, he slid across the wooden floor seemingly without traction. Without a warning, and without collision, he came to a stop.

He opened his eyes and looked up. There, at Dusty’s feet, he saw her face. She looked miserable, hopeless, defeated. Her eyes appeared deadened, her expression utterly hollow.

He gasped, and tried to lift himself from the floor to bring her inside. With all the effort he could muster, he arose from the floor, flecks of snow from the outside landing upon his nose.

“…Dusty?” His voice cracked as he slowly moved his front left leg forward towards the door frame, threatening to pierce the veil between his shelter and the untamed world outside. The door slammed shut in front of him, separating him from Dusty, still hunched over in the cold, desolate streets outside.


Kodi gasped in Dusty’s ear during their embrace. He pulled apart, taken aback by the alarming vision. There was a rumbling to his right… it was Mel.

“We’ll see you inside.” Kodi told the fuzzy voice, snapping back to his full sensibilities. He didn’t know what Mel had said, but Kodi only wanted to placate him.

He inhaled and exhaled deeply, breath clear against the cool night air. “Dusty, I – I know that I didn’t exactly…. I didn’t – I didn’t…” Kodi fumbled trying to admit how much he had endangered her. His poor sled steering driving them off a cliff, for one. His running headlong into the woods, resulting in Dusty’s nose being victimized by a porcupine, for two. Finally, his inability to control his fears, where he had run straight into the reticule of a jumpy hunter’s rifle, putting Dusty directly in the line of fire. A little over twenty four hours after vowing her safety on his watch, his carelessness had nearly killed her.

“I know I didn’t exactly keep you safe. Worse yet, I was the one that nearly got you hurt all of those times yesterday…” He continued.

Yet, despite his follies, he had saved Dusty. He saved her from donning the lifeless expression on her countenance from his nightmare. Perhaps he had saved her from a fate worse than death.

Kodi struggled to carry on. It was difficult to find the words. “I know that I can’t control everything that happens to you, or to us.” He spoke resolutely. “But I know that I can be there with you, through thick and thin.” He licked her nose gently, a friendly and (hopefully) uplifting gesture.

“So… what do you say?” He questioned her as charmingly as he could. “You want to go to that party at last?”

He couldn’t think of a better place to be; surrounded by friends and family. Surely there was nothing more comforting than that?

Jenna was busy putting the last minute touches on the party, she'd managed to get some other dogs to bring what they could, so there was plenty of food. In all honestly, she was a bit surprised at just how much of a party it really was. A bunch of dogs had managed to put together a pretty impressive party most humans would've enjoyed. All that was missing was music and it'd be perfect. But of course, most dogs didn't really know how to play music, though they did sing. Then again, just who didn't from time to time?

She was considering starting a song once everyone got together, to add to the festivities. She'd kind of hoped Sylvie and Dixie hadn't gotten quite this large of a crowd, but they had told her they'd made absolutely sure to mention Fang and Sally and their good points. The two might be gossips, but they weren't insensitive, especially sense both of them understood having Steele for your father could not have been a pleasant experience. That and Sally's presence being known was a rather clear deterrent for Saber's band of delinquents.

She looked around, she'd heard some dogs mention Balto arriving, but hadn't seen him yet. She had trouble finding a single scent, no matter how well she knew it, in the mass of canines. She was glad, however, to have such a sizable crowd present, as that meant if Saber did show up, he'd finally be the one outnumbered, as this group were friends in some way or another, if not to the family, then to friends of the family.

Finally, she caught sight of the brown coat of her mate and managed to slink her slender body through the crowd. "Oh, there you are Balto," she said, greeting him and giving him a nuzzle. "Bit more of a turn out than I expected, but word of mouth travels fast. Though I will admit, having this many dogs in one place makes the whole thing seem a bit safer."

"Fang and Sally were among the first ones here, I think things are going alright," said Jenna, knowing her mate would want to know about them as quickly as possible. "So, where is Kodi?"

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"So you slapped Steele after he came back?" asked Fang, conversing with Dixie. He was still a bit on edge, not all the dogs were that accepting of him, many were, but many weren't. He assumed most of those who actually knew Steele could guess he wasn't world's greatest dad. Dixie and Sylvie had been pretty kind towards him though, so he couldn't help but talk with them.

Dixie nodded. "Yep, I was a bit...smitten with him back then, but when I saw what he was really like, I let him have it."

Sylvie nodded. "Yeah, she certainly slapped the taste out of his mouth, that's for sure.

Fang nodded, giving a little chuckle. "So that's why his...retelling of the story never mentions what happened with you," he said. "Steele told a twisted version of the real story, probably closer to what he told you when he came back than the real deal, but I got the real story later," he explained. "Considering how he treated me and my mother, I believed the real story over his."

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Sally simply set where she could watch Fang. She could tell her being there was keeping some dogs from making any sudden moves. After all, she doubted many of them who knew what a skunk was wanted to mess with the son of one. Still, she was glad to see how civil many of them were being. Deciding he was alright for now, and seeing Ralph and Kirby come in, she slunk her way over to them, dogs either giving her a cautious greeting or just getting out of her way.

Finally, the skunk reached the two and looked up. "Hello there," she said, sitting down across from them. "Quite the party Jenna set up, though I must admit, I feel a little out of place, considering most of the dogs here are walking on eggshells around me. Can't blame them though, it's just a little bit of a downer," she admitted. "So how did the White Mountain trip go?"

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Dusty slowly began calming down, but pretty much had a similar vision in her mind to that of her mate. Except, instead of being inside trying to get out, she was trying to get to him, to safety...feeling so, alone, so violated she just couldn't stand the thought of herself. Then when she reached him...she just couldn't bring herself to tell him. She felt so dirty, so...so she just lied and tried to pretend it never happened. And THAT made it scarier, just imagining herself feeling so utterly wrong that she lied about it and tried to run away from the truth.

She jumped as Mel and Dipsy nearly hit her and Kodi, then looked to Kodi as he talked. She finally smiled. "I believe you..." she said, putting a paw on his. "We'll protect each other. That's what a sled team does," she said, giving him a nuzzle. It calmed her to know how much he loved her. How much he'd protected her. "Alright, let's go enjoy the party," she said, then smiled. "Let's make it a date, alright?"

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Dipsy rolled her eyes. "Mel, THINK. You're not even the right BREED to be used for hunting. Your owner wouldn't use you that way. I know you're paranoid, but you KNOW your owner a lot better than that, don't you?"

Balto sniffed the air as he and Jenna pulled apart, and caught just the slightest whiff of smoke and pine on the copper husky. He surmised it must have been her that had started the fire or placed the bottles in front of it.

“You did a really outstanding job with this, Jenna!” Balto complimented her enthusiastically. He placed his front paws on the medium rungs of a barstool beside him, occupied by a rather large malamute with a blue collar, and he looked around to see the décor. Obviously, the colored lights contributed vastly to the atmosphere, but the minor touches were very distinct upon further examination. Old wreaths, with some of the green needles shedding almost as rapidly as the wagging tails of the dogs around them lined the walls. A couple even had the trademark red bows still attached. Baubles and other decorations were placed almost strategically along the counters and shelves surrounding the main room.

As he scanned the room from his vantage point, he saw Fang sitting on the open stage where live bands would have played had the bar not been condemned. He stood out strikingly, despite the crowd drawn by the two gossip-hounds he was conversing with all but surrounding him. Balto couldn’t think of a better way to spread word of Fang’s good nature and positive demeanor; it seemed all of the news and opines passed through Sylvie and Dixie at one point or another.

“There’s Fang… now where is Sally?” Balto asked aloud to himself.

In the corner that he had left Ralph and Kirby in, Balto noticed a gap in the crowd. He wondered why, considering that both Kirby and Ralph were fairly social and popular dogs, but he caught just a glimpse of a bouncing white and black tail with a distinctive shape that indicated Sally’s whereabouts.

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“Eh, give it time, Sally,” Kirby reassured her. “Dogs around here have even warmed up to Boris, and you know how much of a pain he can be!”

Ralph nodded profusely in agreement. “Yeah! They’ve taken to Fang pretty well already – I’m sure it’s just a matter of time!” He called out, pointing with his covered paw towards the stage where Fang was. Kirby’s gaze followed Ralph’s direction, and acknowledged where Fang was.

“Would you look at that? It seems like everybody likes him already…” Kirby mumbled impressed. It was hard to tell, given the sheer numbers of smiling faces all around, if they were reveling in Fang’s company, or simply just having fun on their own accord. However, In the short time Kirby spent observing Fang and the dogs around him, he saw at least two uneasy stares and looks cast upon the hybrid.

“Well… almost everyone,” he added sheepishly as his eyes travelled back to the skunk in front of him. Not before, however, resting on Ralph’s boot, which he was certain Sally noticed, or would notice.

“As for our trip to White Mountain, it was something alright.” Kirby recalled, gesturing the second skin on Ralph’s paw. Ralph immediately lowered his paw, as if to hide it, however vain the attempt.

“No kidding…” Ralph agreed. “In fact, we’re STILL not sure what exactly happened. The trip there was bad enough, with us nearly sliding off of a cliff…”

His yearning for knowledge seemingly reignited, Kirby told Sally the circumstances by which they would all find out that evening’s happenings. “Kodi and Dusty went on their first date, but… something happened. Something they glossed over. Hopefully they’ll fess up once they get here, wherever they – What great timing! There they are now!” Kirby exclaimed loudly at the couple walking in from the front door.

“Kodi! Dusty!” He called over the crowd of bustling hounds, vying for their attention.

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“Sounds like a great plan!” Kodi agreed with Dusty happily, and they entered the brightly lit building together. “Look how cool – LOOK HOW COOL THIS IS!” He spoke in his normal voice, but the wall of sound between the inside and outside of the building was too powerful for his standard speech, and he shouted his observation out loud. He hoped it wouldn’t take long for his ears to adjust, so he didn’t have to scream in Dusty’s ear whenever he wanted to tell her something. It wouldn’t take long at all.

Kodi’s sense of hearing was impaired upon entering the café, but he was still able to just barely make out his name, and the voice it came from. Kirby wasn’t known for his patience, or his subtlety, and Kodi knew exactly what he was going to ask. Feigning ignorance, Kodi shuffled in through the crowd, keeping as close to Dusty as he could. Kodi never liked crowds, but he was willing to make an exception for his tastes today. Offering protection from isolation, and a great distraction, the Christmas bash and all of the attendees was turning out to be stupendous.

“Stay close to me,” Kodi instructed Dusty, though he suspected she would have done so regardless. He didn’t know exactly where he was going, and he paused to get his bearings and look for a familiar face. Be it his mother, or his father, he was anxious to get out of the crosswalk of the many canines. The pause was just enough time for –

“Oof!” A smaller, grey and cream Siberian Husky walked headlong into Kodi, prompting an exclamation from both.

Kodi supposed he shouldn’t have come to a dead stop in the center of the room, and offered to apologize immediately. “Sorry about that, I stopped for just a second…”

The other dog shook off the blow, and replied to it. “No problem, not at all – Hey, aren’t you Balto’s kid?” He interrogated Kodi almost instantly.

Kodi looked downward, humbled just a little bit at the recognition. “Yeah! My name is Ko-”

“Do you know where Balto is, by chance? I’ve been dying to talk to him, but he’s just a bit reclusive, you know? Is he here?” The other husky cut Kodi off, rather rudely Kodi thought.

He sighed exasperatedly. “I’m sure he’s around somewhere…” Kodi uttered most dispiritedly. The husky didn’t seem to notice, and blathered on.

“Well, if you see him, let him know I’m looking for him, alright? I’ll be around!” As quickly as he came, the Siberian Husky vanished into the thicket of dogs again.

Kodi mumbled “I sure will…” so lowly that even he couldn’t hear it. Not that it would matter – he didn’t know the other dog’s name. But the other dog knew him – as the son of Balto, at least.

“How do you like that?” He asked Dusty jokingly as they continued to traverse the room. For as small as the bar looked, it seemed to drag on forever when you were wading through throngs of canines. It wasn’t soon before he collided with yet ANOTHER dog!

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“You… you’re probably right… At least, I hope so.” Mel exhaled slowly to the long-eared Basset Hound, the smell of smoked jerky mixing the smell of smoked wood from the nearby fireplace. Mel was never fond of the aroma – it always reminded him a house burning down – but the strain from the hefty bag on his back was only exacerbating his negative association.

“Hey, I’m going to take just a little break, alright? My back is killing me!” He expounded. “Well, not literally of course, that would be just terrible. Can you even imag- AH!” Mel bounded forward as another dog rammed into him from behind.

“Sorry! Oh! Hey Mel, Dipsy!” Kodi called out to the shocked Mel, who recovered almost instantly at the sound of a friendly and familiar voice.

“Kodi!” Mel bounced up to him and Dusty cheerfully. “I know you just bumped into us, but do you think you could help us with this?” Mel pressed his paw atop the large burlap sack of jerky.

The copper husky offered his affirmation immediately. “Of course. I’m amazed you two managed to get it this far in the first place, the bag is nearly bigger than both of you. Where do you want it?” He queried.

Mel shrugged and looked around. He was short, and couldn’t see too far around without his favorite ledge to leap upon. “I’m not sure… we were bringing this to Jenna. You see her around?”

Kodi craned his neck, looking around for a sign of his mother. As he swept along the bar, noticing the spirited decorations he saw…


“There they are!” Balto exclaimed to Jenna when he saw Kodi’s relieved face exchanging eye contact with him. “Looks like they made it in… I was a bit worried.” He told his mate with a touch of concern.

“Over here!” He barked to both Dusty and Kodi, who looked to be wasting no time in making their way to them, a bag of jerky from seemingly out of nowhere in tow.

"Oh you poor darling," said Silvie. "I can't imagine how it must have been like to be Steele's son, I can't believe Jenna was the only one who saw through him."

"Believe it or not, at first he wasn't that bad a father," explained Fang. "...Until he found out my mother was part wolf, that's when he got bad...I can't believe he let himself get consumed by his hate so easily..." he said, pinning his ears, genuinely feeling bad for his father. The dog had thrown away the one chance he'd had of being genuinely happy just because of his racism.

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Jenna smiled as Balto thanked her for her good job. "Why thank you Balto, but I didn't do all the work," she admitted, looking around the room. "Without the other dogs bringing all sort of supplies, I never would have been able to make the party this successfully." Jenna was happy at how it turned out. She hadn't expected so many dogs to bring supplies, it had worked out well.

She then heard him call Kodi and turned to see him. "Oh, there he is," she said, wagging her tail. She was glad it seemed whatever dark cloud had been hanging over them had faded.

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Dusty was blown away by the room, it was amazing. "Wow, I'm pretty sure most human parties are less impressive than this," she said, then continued looking around. She jumped when the dog bumped into them and started asking about Balto. She didn't even recognize him, but knew Kodi wasn't going to enjoy it. So she nuzzled Kodi once he left. Finally, they ran into Mel and Dipsy, Mel appearing to be in the middle of a paranoid delusion. "Mel, are you panicking again? Can't you relax to enjoy a party?" she asked, feeling like Mel could use a little break from the paranoia and just relax. He probably needed it, given how often he panics.

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Sally listened to what they asked, then looked to Fang, noticing that Fang was at least being accepted by some dogs, which was a relief. After all, he needed some good in his life.

She heard what was said about the mail run and blinked. "Wait, what happened now?" she asked, confused. "Are they ok?" she asked, concerned. She cared about everyone in the group really, they'd brought her and Fang in and acted kindly towards her and Fang. She was concerned that something bad might have happened to them. "Did anyone get hurt?"

Kodi lurched forward with the jerky following suit, the damp bag lifting ever so slightly as it scraped across the wooden floor. He didn’t know exactly where Jenna wanted it, but judging from the plethora of bones and various other treats that seemed to be scattered throughout the festivities, he was sure that it wasn’t going to be heavily vied for.

“Dad! Mom!” He shouted cheerfully, the bag dropping from his mouth. He offered his mother a loving nuzzle, his tail bouncing spiritedly. “I don’t know how you managed to do it!” Kodi told her with admiration. “The place looks so bright and lively.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Balto’s head bobbing up and down in agreement, as though Balto was wordlessly mouthing the same thing.

“Hah… I’m guessing you’ve heard that a couple of times already, huh?” Kodi chuckled.

Balto stepped down from the rung of stool, the blue-collared dog’s seat shifting minutely. “I know she did from me,” he said, corroborating his son’s theory. “I’m glad you both came.” He expressed with a bit more concern than he probably meant to portray.

Kodi nodded genially, deliberately reserved in his response. “Of course… Where else would we be on Christmas Eve?” The question was framed to draw attention from Balto’s unquestionably burning queries about Dusty’s recent fit.

Balto, having raised several pups who tried to avoid incriminating questions with just such a tactic, was not deterred. He noted the company he was with however, looking at his mate who likely had no idea what Balto, Kodi, and Dusty were skirting around. Subdued, he replied with a question of his own. “That’s a fair point… and Dusty? How is she doing?”

Kodi looked behind him, watching his girlfriend (it still sounded awkward, even as he thought it!) converse with a wide-eyed Mel. She looked amused yet concerned as Mel was acting as he usually did. Perfectly normal otherwise, not scared or shaky at all like she had been outside.

“I’m sure she’s fine.” he told his father with a false certainty.

Nonplussed, Balto called for Dusty’s attention himself. “Dusty! Come say hello, and grab a bite to eat!”

Kodi sighed.

-------------------

“I know! I know!” Mel looked bashfully at the two females in front of him. “I just don’t normally… you know, get out that much. I don’t recognize – AHH!”

A stout Malamute, quickly shuffling towards a friend across the room, was unaware of Mel’s small figure below him, and practically trampled over him. As Mel hopped with surprising form forward, the dog quickly called behind him a duo of apologies before continuing along his merry way with his friends.

Mel breathed out shakily, and continued. “I don’t even know who that was! There are so many dogs here, but I don’t remember seeing practically half of them around town! How do we know who to trust? What if-” he paused, a look of horror spreading across his face. “What if there are spies?”

He whipped his small frame around, as though certain he would catch many nefarious canines analyzing him with their stares. He didn’t. He didn’t seem relieved at all, only frustrated that his “antagonists” weren’t revealed.

“So many… Is it really hot in here? It’s really hot in here. Does anyone else notice that? Dipsy? What do you think? Tell me it’s not just me. Is that smoky smell from the fire normal? It’s awfully strong…” He asked his no-doubt perturbed basset hound friend. In his fit, he didn’t hear Balto calling Dusty’s name.

-----------------------------------------------

"It's like we said," started Kirby, "We don't exactly know what happened
after we got there." He admitted.

"But that trip there? We're lucky to have made it there at all!" Ralph
finished dramatically.

Kirby always felt he had a knack for storytelling. He and Ralph often times worked in tandem to accomplish it. Kirby would lead in with the first lines to set it up, using whatever pattern he thought most appropriate to
captivate their audiences. Then Ralph, with his simplistic enthusiasm, would finish with flourish. The two weren't brothers, but they might as well have been.

"I'm not sure how much it hit over here, but to the east, a bit past the range, we had a pretty fierce flurry of snow," Kirby described. "We ran around in circles for a bit in the woods, couldn't recognize anything."

Ralph continued, eager to ramp up the suspense recalled the uneventful, yet entirely harrowing portion of their wait. “We had to wait in a small clearing while Mr. Simpson - He’s our owner or musher, in case you didn’t know – found us on the map. All the while, the snow was coming down just a little bit faster each minute. It felt like hours.”

“Hours.” Kirby echoed. He left out the embarrassing bit of Kodi and Dusty’s relationship being exposed by the duo’s masterful deductive skills. “Anyways, we start heading out, right? Around this series of ridges we hadn’t ever travelled on before.”

“By now, I couldn’t see a darn thing in front of me. I could barely make out Kirby’s huge head!” Ralph teased.

“Big head nothing!” Kirby barked, “But really, we were blind.” He switched his mode of dialogue rather swiftly, from scathing to soothing. “Kodi couldn’t see anything at the front, and we almost went over a cliff!”

Ralph looked hurt at how enthusiastically Kirby recalled the near death experience, especially considering who was closest to the edge. “It was terrible… Dusty was holding on for dear life to a tree root at the back. If Kodi hadn’t come through with that idea of his…” Ralph felt horribly guilty looking back on the event; he had blamed Kodi for nearly pulling them over.

“Yeah, yeah. Kodi saved the day. ” Kirby snapped. Ralph’s reflection, he decided, was detrimental to the flow of the story. “After that, we finally get to town. It’s already dark, we’re all tired and a little bit cranky. Some more than others,” he noted, watching Ralph twitch from the corner of his eye. “We got some food, and then me and Ralph wrestled a bit before we went to relax in the guest cabin of the post office…”

It was there that they both stopped. For everything they had actually witnessed, they nailed the main points pretty well. However, the bulk of White Mountain’s extracurricular activities were known by Kodi, Dusty, and Sable. Neither of them were sure as to what precisely happened to fill in the blanks between Kodi and Dusty’s departure on their date, to their subsequent return with the town in an uproar, and Sable in tow.

Then Kirby had an idea. “Kodi and Dusty went on their first date while we were resting. I think THEY should tell you how the rest of THEIR story goes. Isn’t that right, Ralph?” He demanded, his ear twitching.

Ralph looked a bit confused until he realized what Kirby was plotting a moment later. He didn’t like it – it was a bit low, leveraging a third party (Sally, in this case) to pry information from a reluctant source (Kodi and Dusty). Ralph already knew that Balto would be trying to do the same thing, although for reasons likely more pure than Kirby’s. He simply shrugged, doing his best to appear as non-committal as possible.

“Maybe later, Kirby… what do you say we go say ‘Hi’ to Fang instead? We’re going to be helping to train him, after all. There’s plenty of time for stories later” He uttered slowly, surprised at his own objection.

Kirby inspected Ralph with the slightest glimmer of annoyance, but agreed. “Of course,” he mumbled, looking to the stage where Sylvie and Dixie were listening intently to whatever it was Fang was saying. “That is, if Sally wants to wait to hear the end of it.” He threw in with a mild hint of desperation. “It’s up to you, my dear.” Kirby said. His curiosity was killing him.

Dusty promptly face pawed before looking to Mel. "Mel, it's a party. And Dixie and Sylvie were responsible for spreading the word, and you know how things are when it comes to them, tell them something they're free to tell and half the town knows by sundown," she explained. Dixie and Sylvie were gossips, but they wren't untrustworthy. They could keep a secret. They were good at heart. But tell them something they could tell or you wanted them to tell and the whole town would know by sunset.

She then heard her name being called. "Excuse me, someone is calling," she replied. "Dipsy, please make sure Mel has fun, ok?"

Dipsy nodded. "No prob."

Dusty trotted over to her boyfriend and nuzzled him, then looked to Balto. "Merry Christmas, Balto, Jenna. This is some party," she said. "Exactly what we needed to unwind."

"Now wait," said Jenna. "What was Balto asking if Dusty was ok? Is something going on?"

Dusty looked uncomfortable. "...Well, we had a VERY stressful run, that's all...nearly fell over a cliff, and a few other things...You know, it was a new run so it wasn't the safest, we'll be safer next time."

----------

Sally blinked. "Well, I'm sure they have reasons for being private," she said. "While sometimes things need to be made known, other times it's better to, pardon the expression, let sleeping dogs lie," she stated, not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. She knew that some times beings had reasons to keep things private. Let's go say hello to Fang, shall we?" she asked. She then noticed the boot on Ralph's foot. "Now what exactly is that for?"

“This old thing?” Ralph asked with a genial nature to his voice. After standing proud in the group portrait earlier, he didn’t feel nearly as self-conscious about his new adornment as before. He stopped quickly amidst the crowd to lift his boot closer to Sally, nearly toppling over in the process as several hounds scraped past the trio with gentle pushes and nudges. Ralph lowered his paw hastily, hoping the brief view was enough for her to examine.

“I had an infection on my paw,” he explained. “For the longest time, I thought it was just a stubborn hangnail that wouldn’t go away!” He admitted.

“So did I,” Kirby clucked, looking irritably at the group of four dogs in front of him, Ralph, and Sally. They were at the precise length and distance from each other that it was impossible to tell whether or not it would be considered rude to sidle between them. “So did everyone. Ralph always complained about that thing.” Kirby finished as he budged his way through two of the dogs, both looking incredibly miffed about the intrusion.

Following as quickly as he could behind his friend so as to minimalize the interruption, Ralph defended himself. “It was really painful! Anyways, after some convincing, I showed it to Mr. Simpson, and he took me straight away the next morning to that doctor. That’s when I got this.”

Kirby looked embarrassed at the mention of the “convincing”. Ralph’s decision was very quickly swayed by the odd medicinal know-how that Sable seemed to possess. Sable saw very quickly through Kirby’s typically charismatic charade. The ordeal bothered him an awful lot, and he wasn’t particularly fond of her uncanny perception. Kirby was also certain that she was in some way responsible for Kodi’s ridiculous decision to train yet another disciple – Sakak - after their long trips to White Mountain (Kirby reminded himself to discuss that matter with Kodi before the night was through). Yet, he still regarded Sable with a sincere respect.

The steps lining the far left of the stage where Fang and the two gossip queens were stationed were blocked by yet another gaggle of dogs. “If you’ll excuse us…” Kirby muttered to them, to no avail. Louder, he tried again. “HEY! Could you please move?”

The dogs turned to look at him, a scowl lining their faces, which turned to a most tentative expression when they saw the skunk keeping him company. They moved aside with little hesitation, and Kirby led the other two up on the stage, spirits restored and grinning slyly.

Ralph made out Fang’s unkempt fur quickly, and called out his name to the figure. He wasn’t sure if Fang would hear him over the crowd, and a distracting dog bellowing the words “Song! Sing us a song!” for the rest of the room to hear.

----------------------------------

Kodi nodded his head profusely, almost violently.

"Yeah, yeah, it was awful! Dusty she, uh..." Kodi looked at her, and he could sense her discomfort. With Dusty's resistance to speaking up about her ordeal, Kodi inferred that she was just as leery about it as he was.

"She, uh... almost slid off a cliff," He stammered as he recalled his heart nearly stopping when she and the sled disappeared from sight, and the wave of relief when she wrenched herself up again, spitting up blood from her aching jaws that held her up. Kodi couldn't recall what happened to that sapling.

Balto analyzed his son and Dusty's nearly symmetric mindsets, and their nearly opposite reactions. They both shared an uncertainty about... whatever it was that happened, but Dusty appeared to be acting more uncomfortable and reserved in her evasion. Kodi, on the other hand, was all too eager to end the topic as soon as possible. Something wasn't right, and Balto was growing increasingly uneasy about it.

What could have happened? For as long as he had known her, Dusty had always appeared stoic in the face of obstacles. The only time he had ever seen her falter was when her loyalties were divided between Kodi and the others when Duke's plane had crashed, and (more recently) when she had discussed her own abusive father. Furthermore, Dusty had nearly slipped down a cliff during that race, and she was just fine. This was something... more. Something worse. Balto wanted to help in anyway he could.

"Well,, if that's all..." Balto said, clearly unconvinced. "But you know, if you want to talk-" Balto was suddenly drowned out by the jeers and cheers for a song. It started from the stage, a lone hound calling for a tune. Like a wave, the entire room seemed to turn their heads to look at Jenna expectantly.


Kodi stared intently at his father's disappointed reaction, and he reassured himself that his evasiveness was for his own good. And for Dusty's. Following the eyes of the crowd, Kodi smiled and joined in the crowd's humble request for a long-awaited Christmas carol.

Fang heard his name being called and walked over slowly, giving his mother a nuzzle. "Hello...this actually isn't too bad, it's fun," he admitted, feeling good. He felt like he belonged, was accepted. "I can't believe Jenna did all of this herself," he admitted. "She's amazing." He then heard the chants for a song. "Who's singing?"

-----------

Jenna was concerned about Kodi and Dusty's reactions, but understood some things needed time to be brought forwards, and didn't want to force the issue if it could be avoided.

She then heard the chants for a song and smiled. "Alright, I suppose we could have one," she said, hopping up on the stage, her friends making room. Jenna, while she wouldn't admit it, dogs said she was a very good singer, and naturally, she would've been voted up to do it anyway. "Alright, everyone, quiet down, we'll have a song then.

"It's Christmas time once again.
It's time for the joy and merriment to begin
We gather to celebrate this special day.
While it is here to stay.

Throughout the year, we may not get along.
But on this night we can gather in song.
Lay aside your grudges and fights.
And welcome in peace under the Christmas lights."

"It's Christmas time once again
It's time for the joy and merriment to begin
We gather to celebrate this special day.
While it is here to stay." the crowd joined her in song.

"On this special day we gather round
Not a grudge or vice to be found.
And celebrate the holidays as one
Keep on until the day is done.

It's Christmas time once again.
It's time for the joy and merriment to begin
We gather to celebrate this special day.
While it is here to stay.

We shall gather together as family.
For a Christmas jamboree!
Let peace on earth reign tonight.
As we gather under the Christmas lights!

It's Christmas time once again.
It's time for the joy and merriment to begin
We gather to celebrate this special day.
While it is here to stay."

"It's Christmas time once again.
It's time for the joy and merriment to begin
We gather to celebrate this special day.
While it is here to stay.

And when it's over, we can't wait for when
Christmas time will come again," finished Jenna, drawing the last note out for a few moments as she finished the song.

Fang followed the song has it was sung, listening close. He'd heard singing before, but never a song with a room full of dogs all singing together as one. It made him feel like...like he belonged. That feeling was one he simply didn't feel all that often before, except with his mother, and it felt so good. He looked around the room after the singing stopped, listening to the attempts to recreate the song. While singing came as somewhat of second nature to dogs (howling was musical, and that was ingrained in their genetic code), not everyone did it often enough to really get good at it like Jenna clearly had.

----

Jenna headed off the stage over to Balto and gave him a nuzzle. "Balto, are you having a good night?" she asked, though her natural instincts told her something was going on with her mate. She did pride herself as a good judge of character. "Nothing like a Christmas carol to get everyone in good spirits, is there?" she asked, having always enjoyed this time of year. Rosie's family didn't forget their dog either. "Are you enjoying Rosie's present for you?"

---

Sally sung along with the song when it was being performed, not one to brag but being fairly good at it herself, which was surprising to a lot of the dogs around her, who had rarely heard a skunk say anything but hiss at them to get away. While she didn't have the natural affinity for it that dogs did, she'd developed it to sing Fang lullabies when nightmares of the traumatic separation he'd endured had reared their ugly head.

"So, you're a skunk?" Sylvie asked. "No offense, its just a bit unusual for any animal other than Muk and Luk to actually communicate with dogs around Nome."

"No problem," said Sally. "I understand perfectly. Skunks aren't normally very social creatures, I kind of picked it up with Fang."

"So...you're Fang's mother?" Dixie asked, still trying to grasp the concept. Sure, Boris raised Balto, but a skunk raising a dog was a still strange to hear.

"We both consider me such," said Sally, thinking about it. "But his real mother was run off by Steele, poor thing. I adopted him, but that poor girl loved him, she's probably out there somewhere still wondering if he's alive..."

---

Fang turned to Kodi and Dusty as they arrived on stage. "Oh, it's been great. A lot of dogs really seem to be taking a liking to me, I finally feel like I fit in here...it feels really good..."

Dusty gave a small smile. With all the chaos and trouble they'd gone through in White Mountain, she'd almost forgotten that Fang had had troubles of his own. In addition to wanting to be on the sled team so badly, he was quite obviously Steele's son, and everyone knew it. But him finally being accepted was a big step, even if some dogs still looked at him with anger and bitterness. If she had to guess, it was very likely that Balto taking Fang under his wing had helped with that fact. After all, if the one Steele had harmed more than anyone had accepted Fang, that held a lot of weight even without Balto's heroism.

"So...how was White Mountain?" asked Fang, cautiously.

Balto watched Jenna’s mouth move, silently, wordlessly. She was saying something, saying something to him. She looked cheerful, but Balto could tell there was concern flecking her beautiful brown eyes. As if his ears had been smothered in a dense, viscous coating that suddenly burst free with a resonating pop, all of the sounds of the party exploded to him. He heard Jenna’s question suddenly erupt like a gunshot signaling the start of a race; “Are you enjoying Rosie’s present for you?”

Balto hazily recalled what else she had asked. It was there, but only just. Was he having a good night? Balto supposed so. Nothing like Christmas carols to raise spirits. Yes, he quite agreed. Balto felt guilty for his distancing this evening. Life seemed so much simpler when Kodi was a pup, and didn’t leave his father’s line of sight. Balto could see everything that Kodi got into, and be the first on sight for any puppyhood crisis. Kodi slipped or fell, or got into a petty squabble with his brothers and sisters. Now, Balto had no idea. Jenna, his amazing mate, was putting up with Balto’s own preoccupation on something she had worked so hard on. It was downright uncanny how savvy females were to this sort of thing. That, or Balto was painfully obvious about it. He didn’t think so, but that was probably the reason.

At any rate, Balto thought it best to share his thoughts with Jenna. Maybe she had insight if she had noticed their odd behavior also? Unlike Jenna or Sally, he wasn’t an expert on understanding emotions, but he was confident that she would be grateful for his wanting of shared insights.
But what of Rosie’s gift? Mini-Balto! It wasn’t here of course – Balto wouldn’t chance it possibly being grabbed by another, or possibly being damaged in any sort of commotion (like Jenna’s carol!). Regardless, he knew exactly where it was.

“Little me, you mean?” Balto cracked a smile. “It’s great. He’s tucked safe and sound underneath my blanket on the boat.” He explained. “I know you can’t really tell her, but thank Rosie for me again, if you could,” he nuzzled her again, his wet nose faintly rubbing against hers. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to articulate it… you always have a way with expressions…” he confessed to her, intending it to be his own obscure admission of his own bizarre behavior.

Balto lifted his head from the slight bend it was situated at just below Jenna’s muzzle, and he peered around the room. Kodi, Dusty, Fang, Ralph, and Kirby were all on the stage still. He leaned in closer, as if to nuzzle Jenna again. He half contemplated simply doing that and letting it be, but he knew better now, after the fiasco with concealing his outburst at Kodi from her.

“Listen, Jenna…” he started uneasily, executing another quick glance to the sled team. “Have you, um, have you noticed anything… strange, or different, or anything at all with Kodi and Dusty? Since they got back, I mean.” If she didn’t notice them, Jenna most assuredly noticed Balto’s own behavior, and could probably deduce from his line of questioning where it was coming from.

--------------------------------------------------------



Kodi felt genuinely glad to hear about Fang’s seemingly successful integration into Nome’s social structure. It could be that Fang was sugar-coating the truth to avoid making Kodi worry too much, which was awfully nice of him. Maybe Kodi had a predisposition towards it, because he was going to do the exact same thing.

“White Mountain was uhh… it was different,” Kodi admitted a bit coyly, “Without going into too much detail, it was certainly one of the more crazy ones.” His eyes flickered at Dusty, unable to gauge her reaction. “You know, the weather got pretty rough and all…” He finished.

Kodi then remembered what exactly what it was he was avoiding, and despite it being a catastrophe on almost all fronts, it was a big first step for he and Dusty – their first date! It would not have happened if not for Fang’s arrival to town, after all!

“But more importantly, Dusty and I went on our very first date last night!” Kodi exclaimed proudly. With a sudden abatement, he abashedly admitted that “If it weren’t for you arriving in town, and uh my… uh… poor behavior…” (Kodi shuddered in repulsion at the scathing memory). Kodi quickly collected himself and carried on. “Dusty and I would never have talked, and uh… got together.”

Kodi thought it sounded strange to even fathom that he and Dusty were in a serious relationship, and telling Fang, a near stranger, sounded even more surreal. However, after admitting it out loud, Kodi immediately felt emboldened.

“So now,” Kodi spoke in a crisper, cleaner voice, “we’re officially together. And we have you to thank for it, so uhh… thanks. A lot.” Kodi didn’t want to leave it at that though – he wanted to show Fang his appreciation. “If there’s anything you need,” Kodi offered “Anything at all that I – or we- can do for you, please let us know, alright?” He smiled at Fang, then at Dusty, then back to Fang again. He felt better about it already, despite the details of the fated date still lingering.

Jenna was beginning to get concerned as she noticed Balto seeming in a bit of a daze, but was glad to see him snap out of it and answer her question. "Well I'm glad you enjoy it, and I'll try to let her know," she replied, remembering Rosie working all night making Mini-Balto for him. Rosie had the biggest heart.

Jenna looked concerned when her mate brought up Dusty and Kodi acting strange. She had wondered if anyone else had noticed them acting strangely. "Yes, I noticed...they seem closer...but also, something odd...they don't exactly seem unhappy...but there's definitely something on their minds other than the party...Dusty seems a little scared...no, that's not quite right...more shaken than scared...I don't know, Balto...I'm a little worried too...I think something may have happened in White Mountain."

----------

Fang had difficulty resisting a chuckle at how awkwardly Kodi said the sentence. However, he was more busy blushing at the statement. "Gee...thanks...I'm glad I could help...but I didn't really do anything, I just showed up..."

"Sometimes things work out like that," Dusty said, giving a chuckle at Kodi. "But you set it in motion, so we do have you to thank for it, at least a little bit," she said, putting a paw on Kodi's.

Fang blushed a little more. He wasn't used to this kind of thing, he didn't really know what he was supposed to say. "Well...I guess it was just good luck is all...I'm glad I was able to help though..." he said, his natural timidness showing itself a little bit.

Dusty smiled. From what she heard of Steele, Fang was almost his opposite. There wasn't one ounce of hubris in the dog's entire body. She liked that about him.

"...Other than helping me train, that's really the only thing I want, and you were going to do that anyway..." Fang finally said. "And you don't owe me a thing..." he said, then looked up at them. "...You said there was rough weather, are you all alright?" he asked, both genuinely concerned and looking for a little change of topic before it go too awkward.

UNCLASSIFIED / NONE//

Balto tilted his head back as though he were about to howl - something that he rarely did, for the peace of mind of the townsfolk - but he abstained. Rather, he exhaled a loud, sigh of relief. Someone whose advice he held so sacred confirming his suspicions worked wonders for his mixed feelings, and tipped the scales from "I'm worrying about nothing" and "I'm just being paranoid" heavily into the category of "something IS actually, legitimately wrong."

Balto didn't know why he felt relief. If anything, that something could have been wrong should have been more disconcerting. But that notion that his hunches was correct, that his parental instincts were coming into play at long last... that he could potentially help his son and prove that, despite his violent outburst, he still truly cared for his son. That was enough.

"So, it's NOT just me? You noticed it too?" He queried Jenna excitedly, inching towards her and speaking in a hushed tone. It mattered not, as the drone of chatting canines in the room would serve to keep their conspiring well under wraps from the dogs he was concerned with.

Balto could tell from Jenna's worried face that he was proving to be far too enthusiastic on the whole for this occasion, and immediately dialed down his fervor.

"I um..." he coughed, making for a fine excuse to lower his voice further, "I wonder what exactly it was that happened," he mused. "Ralph and Kirby mentioned something about blood - I don't know any specifics!" He interjected. "Kodi kept on citing that he and Dusty stuck together, and that's why they are okay. There might have been a fight... or an accident on the way - or-or something! I just don't know." After Balto had just counseled Kirby and Ralph to maintain a code of silence and leave sleeping dogs to lie (so to speak), even he thought it poor form to come crawling back asking for more information to glean.

Balto made no attempt to veil his frustration now. This is precisely why he was so grateful that Jenna had come to the same conclusion as he had - at the very least, they could work put their heads together and work something plausible out. Something, hopefully less sinister than what he had in mind when Dusty was paralyzed outside. Hopefully. It had to be. Anything but that.

He looked to the stage where Kodi, Dusty, Fang, and Sally were all engaged in lively conversation, and sighed dejectedly. All of he and Jenna's theories and rhetoric would be fruitless, as it appeared only Dusty and Kodi knew the truth. The incoming brainstorming would accomplish little else than a baseless tempering of Jenna and Balto's expectations, but that was far preferable than stumbling about in the dark.



---------------------




Kodi appreciated the concern that Fang showed. He appreciated that Fang didn't ask the specifics about their date. He appreciated that he wouldn't need to lie about it. As well-traveled the topic of weather was for a conversation, it was always relevant in Alaska. The main reason that Kodi and the remainder of the postal team still had their jobs was owed to the crippling winds that man-made machines could not best. It was something that he, and soon Fang, would have to be able to adapt to every time they put the harness on. So, weather worn though the topic may be, Kodi too appreciated it.

"We are all holding up alright, for the most part," Kodi started. "The conditions were more grueling than usual this time out. Of course it was cold and blustery," he added matter-of-factly. "But it was worse. You've seen Ralph's new accessory, I'm sure," he recalled, the photo shoot taking place only hours ago in which Ralph donned his protective boot with an absurd sense of pride (or humility in defeat, Kodi couldn't tell).

"The worst part of the winds and snow is visibility," he continued. "We almost ran off a cliff..." he faded, picturing Dusty nearly being swallowed by the chasm in his mind's eye. Just the obstinate sapling that she held to with her aching, bleeding jaws made the difference between their relatively happy gathering and a bleak bout of suffering at the bottom of a ravine.

He flared his nostrils, discouraging one of the many questionable circumstances that brought about their current whereabouts and condition. When he thought about it, not much worse could have happened yesterday - the odds certainly seemed stacked against them. However, those same questionable circumstances had brought them alive and (speaking for himself) mostly well to a most glimmering and spirited Christmas party, with friends and family in great abundance. "Almost," Kodi finished wistfully.

Kodi lapped at the side of Dusty's muzzle in a sort of haphazard kiss with his tongue, an abrupt and spontaneous gesture of comfort. A hasty caress with a tongue wasn't going to do much for her aching jaw, but emotional support would hopefully be more tangible. After the breakdown outside, Kodi felt that is what she needed the most. Even if his affection might seem overtly sentimental or excessive, he needed her to know that he was there for her.

To quell the awkwardness that was undoubtedly walling the three feet of space between them, Kodi inquired about Fang's training. If that was truly all that Fang wanted, Kodi would do everything in his power to let it be. Even if not for the relationship that Fang's arrival had spawned between Kodi and Dusty, but still to make up for Kodi's own prejudice.

"If training is what you need, I will most happily oblige," he boasted with a faux-salesman-like inflection. "I may not be as experienced in coaching as Dad - er, um, Balto - but I will try my best."

His eyes widened, realizing that Fang had already been training with his father for the past day! "Oh my goodness, but - you've already had some training with Balto! How did that go for you?"

Kodi was already acquainted with his father's training regime, and he remembered it vividly. He wanted to know - HAD to know - how much different Balto had coached them. Was it harder? Easier? The same? Kodi didn't know what to expect, and he didn't want to throw a million questions at the green wolf dog in front of him. He would interpret the answers his own way, and draw his own comparisons.


*OOC Back in the states, and back from the dead! *

"Blood?" asked Jenna, looking concerned. Kodi may have no longer been a little rust colored puppydog, but he was still her baby. Anything involving blood and him scared her a bit. She looked to Kodi and Dusty talking to Fang. They seemed perfectly fine...still, she had noticed the subtle unease and it did worry her a good bit. She'd always worried about Kodi no matter what he was doing.

She looked back to her mate. "I'm not sure what it might be," she whispered to Balto. "But something is definitely going on..." she said, then gave it thought. She liked to think things out before doing them...well, she hadn't really thought out attacking that bear to save Balto, but she was glad she hadn't. "We can't just ask, they probably won't tell us...Ralph and Kirby may not know anything major...And I'm not spying on them...I suppose the only way we'll find out is to get them to tell us..."

-------

Dusty couldn't help blushing at Kodi's kiss. She smirked and gave him a nuzzle in return.

Fang nodded slowly. It did sound hazardous, but he already had expected that. He'd have to be pretty naive not to realize that already. He then listened to Kodi's question and blushed a little. "Well...first we found out I need a lot of training, then we fixed my running stance..." he said, a little embarrassed truth be told. Admitting he was a poor runner was not easy, and he doubted it would be for anyone. "But your dad's a good teacher, so I learned quick," he said, showing his running stance, which was actually a bit better now than when he'd learned from Balto. He'd been practicing on his own a bit. "But it isn't easy, that's the truth."