Kindred Spirits

Kindred Spirits
by Cyberwulfe

The dog team. led by a large brown Akita, skidded to a stop inside the town of Nome, Alaska. Its musher, a young man who wore a fur-lined coat with gloves, a hat, and warm pants and boots, stepped off and looked about him. Here he was, at his final destination after three weeks of sledding over rough terrain and across treacherous waters. Nome, Alaska: home of the timber wolves!

He took the lead traces in one hand and led his team into the center of town. He got odd looks by a few people but others waved in greeting. He was a stranger in town, but still, a stranger out of the cold woods. He was greeted also by the town carpenter, Mr. Johansson, who invited him into his shop for a cup of coffee.

"No thanks," replied the young man," I don't drink coffee, but I'll take your fireplace instead," he smiled warmly, which was the only warm thing he had at the moment.

"Sure. It's in the other room," Mr. Johansson extended his arm towards a doorway.

"Thank you."

The young man untied his dogs from the sled and took them inside with him," I hope you don't mind?" asked the man.

"Not at all," replied Mr. Johansson.

The young man sat down in front of the fire while Mr. Johansson brought him a cup of hot chocolate instead.

"Thank you again," said the young man. He took a quick sip of the chocolate.

"You're welcome," said Mr. Johansson. He extended his hand toward the young man," The name's Johansson. Edward Johansson."

"Lupus. Russell Lupus. Not my legal name of course but I got the last part changed," replied the young man. He took Edward's hand and shook it firmly.

"So, where are you from?" asked Mr. Johansson.

"Well, I'm originally from Ontario, but after finishing University I've just recently moved in here, by way of airplane to Anchorage and then by dogsled. These are my guys," said Russell. He patted the lead dog's head and she hung her tongue out of her mouth, enjoying the attention.

"Looks like a good team. Do you ever race?"

"We've only been in Alaska for a few weeks," said Russ.

"Of course, I apologize."

"Not a problem."

Mr. Johansson excused himself while a customer came into the shop. He returned a few minutes later," So, what do you do for a living?"

"Well, like I said earlier I just graduated, but I have a partial agreement by the Ontario Government in cooperation with the United States to study wolves up here and relay my findings back to them. I'm here to prove that wolves are not vicious, bloodthirsty killers."

"I see," said Edward," How do you hope to prove that with so many people who would shoot a wolf so much as look at it?"

"Well, I believe the people just need to be educated. Just like they never thought people could ever live this far north. Look at us now. Over a dozen towns in Alaska alone. Think about it, if people knew that wolves are just simple creatures with a social life, personalities, whatever. They are as much inhabitants of this planet as we are."

"Looks like you have your work cut out for you. I wish you luck, Russ."

"Thanks. I heard there are a lot of wolves living around here. Is that right, or should I pack up and leave right now?"

"Nope, you heard right. In fact we've got a wolf-dog living in town right now. His name's Balto, and he's quite the hero dog if I do say so myself!"

"Oh really. Well hybrids, that's a cross breed, are often considered more dangerous than wolves themselves. They seem confused as to whether they are dogs or wolves. Confusion often leads to frustration, anger, and then aggression. Most hybrids look a lot like actual wolves, which means when they attack they give wolves a bad name."

"It looks like you sure know what you're talking about there," said Ed, amazed at what he had just heard.

"Top of my class," smiled Russ. He finished his chocolate and stood up to leave," Well, I thank you for your hospitality."

"No problem. Drop by anytime."

"Oh, by the way, where might I find this Balto?"

A little girl named Rosy was playing with her dog Jenna inside her living room when there was a knock at the door. Her father opened it and saw a young man standing on the front porch.

"Yes, may I help you?" he asked. He had never seen the man in town before.

"I was hoping you might be able to. My name is Russell Lupus and I just arrived in town via dogsled. I'm here by authorization of the Canadian and US government to study wolves in Alaska. I was directed to your house by Edward Johansson, who told me you owned a wolf hybrid," said the young man in a long-winded sentence.

"Uh, yeah. He's our dog," replied Rosy's father.

"I was wondering if I might see him... as a part of my study?"

"Well actually Balto is still a bit of a wild dog, but he lives with us because he and our other dog, Jenna, have become quite fond of each other. He's probably out of town in that old boat he lives in."

"I see. Well do you mind if I go see him then?"

"Be my guest, but be careful. He might not like being approached by a stranger."

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind."

Russ trudged along through the deep snowdrifts until he caught sight of the old abandoned fishing trawler. It wasn't hard to find because it was the only one sitting out by itself while most of the others were grouped together. At a distance of about sixty feet Russ could see the gray form of a wolf, sitting on the boat's bow. Not wanting to frighten balto away he whistled first. The dog looked at him and then ducked behind the gunwale of the boat.

"Darn, he's not going to let me see him now is he?" said Russ.

He kept walking until he was right next to the boat. He began to speak softly," Hey there. Do you want to come out? I'm not going to hurt. I only want to see you."

No sign of the gray wolf-dog. He decided to try to earn Balto's trust before he drew him out," Hi. my name's Russ. I'm a friend of Jenna's," Russ hoped that would work," Yeah. You can come and smell me if you want, I'm sure her scent is on my hands. I was just at your house, petting her. She's very nice isn't she?"

Still no sign of Balto. Russ stood up straight and looked onto the deck of the boat. It was empty. He climbed up onto the deck and began to walk around. As he walked around the square cabin his foot kicked something. It was a little cat-shaped toy. He wound it up and smiled as it squeaked and rolled away on three wheels, its head popped out every time it squeaked.

It bumped to a stop as it collided with a set of large gray paws. Russ looked up, but not too quickly as to frighten Balto away. Balto, the gray wolf-dog, looked at him curiously.

"Hi. I'm glad you decided to come out. I hope you don't mine me playing with your toys," Russ grinned. He sat down and crossed his legs to keep himself at a level with Balto. Balto sat as well and Russ smiled. It was a start.

"I came out here to see you. Yeah, I did. I'm studying wolves as a part of my job. I went to school to do this. I think wolves are the most wonderful thing God ever created. Yeah. I wish I had a dog like you."

Balto shifted his feet and looked towards town.

"I know, you already have an owner. And I'd hate to take you away from Jenna. I won't. I only said I'd like to have a dog like you. You re very nice looking. Can I pet you?"

Russ slowly reached out his hand towards Balto, who stood up and took a few steps away from him and sat down again. Russ whistled and began talking," Are you sure. I only want to pet you. I was very gentle with Jenna, I'm gentle with my dogs, I promise to be gentle with you. Your master told me you like to have your ears scratched. I'll scratch your ears. I'll rub your neck. I'll pat your belly. Hmmm" What do you think?"

Balto crawled a bit closer and lay down just a few feet from Russ.

"It's a start, but I can't quite reach you. Can I get up, or will you run away?"

Balto only sat there. Russ used his arms to slide himself closer to balto. He held out his hand to let Balto sniff it, then Balto licked it. Russ smiled. He had made a new friend. He patted Balto's head and then scratched his ears as promised. Then Balto's chest and neck. His fur was very thick and warm, and felt very nice and soft in his hands.

He patted Balto for a few more minutes before he stood up slowly. Balto just looked up at him," I have to go now. Are you going to come with me?"

Balto stood up and began wagging his tail. he nudged Russ' hand and looked at Nome.

"I guess that's a yes. Shall we...?"

Balto grabbed Russ' hand in his mouth and the two of them began the walk back to Nome.

Rosy's father was surprised to see Russ again, and even more surprised when Balto came inside with him," I really appreciate you letting me stay here. You're sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not. You don't have a place to stay yet so you're welcome here as long as you want."

"I'll be happy to pay you, for my food and stuff."

"Don't be silly. We don't mind at all."

Russ nodded and stepped into the living room. He watched as Balto and Jenna nuzzled each other. The affection between a wolf-dog and a Siberian husky. Russ made a mental note about it and sat down on the couch as the two dogs lay down on their cushions. Rosy came out and sat next to him.

"Hello," she smiled. Russ had never seen such a cheerful eight year old.

"Hi. My name's Russ. What's yours?"

"Rosy. Mom says you're going to live with us for a while."

"Yeah. She's right. I'm looking at wolves in the woods while I'm here. Do you like wolves?"

"Balto is a wolf. I love Balto!"

"That's nice. Maybe if your parents let you you might come with me to look at some real wild wolves."

"Oh really? Thank you thank you thank you!" and she hugged Russ. Russ only smiled. He had made his fifth friend in the short period of time since he arrived. Edward, Rosy's father, Rosy, Balto, and Jenna. Rosy's mom came into the living room to meet Russ.

"Hi there. I hope you're hungry."

"Yes ma'am. I could eat a grizzly!"

Rosy's mom smiled and then returned to the kitchen.

"Is you mom a good cook," Russ asked Rosy.

"Yeah, but she'll make you eat your vegetables."

Russ smiled and then laughed. He was sure to eat everything after nothing but three weeks of frozen meat and canned food.

Balto and Jenna watched as the grownups ate and the newcomer talked about his life. The two dogs had both met the man alone and felt that he was a nice person, but they still needed some time to find out exactly why he was here.

"He said he was studying wolves. Maybe I should go out and warn Kemo. He might be those people who look for wolves and then bring men to hunt them!" said Balto.

"Maybe he is like an explorer, only instead of exploring land he explores wolves?" suggested Jenna.

"How do you explore a wolf?" asked Balto, laughing slightly.

"The same way you explore land. You've got to find it first, find out things about it; is it safe, where is the best places to walk or live, and also how big the land is. He might just be looking for wolves."

"Well I still think I should tell Kemo. You know how he feels about humans, after what happened to his pack."

"Yeah. I know." Jenna nodded. She knew that Kemo's pack had been killed by hunters after being caught in metal traps. Kemo escaped, but was forced to stand by and watch as his family was shot.

"I'll tell him to avoid the human if he can and just leave him alone."

"If he comes near me I'll bite him!" said Kemo. He was angry that a human would dare invade his woods. He had lived there for several months now and wouldn't be forced to leave by anyone.

"I know, but I think he'll keep his distance if you growl. He apparently knows a lot about wolves and would know when you were angry," said Balto," He was talking to Rosy's parents last night and petting me and pointing out things about me that wolves did a lot. When I looked at him to get him to pat my head he said that wolves use eye contact and various types of body language to communicate."

"Well he has a lot to learn as far as I'm concerned," said Kemo. He sighed and finally gave in," Alright I'll just steer clear of him. But if he tries anything then I swear there will be a big red stain where he used to be!"

"Please don't do anything. Just scare him off. No use giving wolves a bad name."

Kemo just growled and nodded.

The next morning, Russ came out of the back room after a good night's sleep. Rosy was already eating breakfast at the table and Russ sat at the opposite end from her. Her mother was making oatmeal and offered some to Russ.

"I'd love some, if you have any brown sugar?" asked Russ.

"Of course," she reached it down from a cupboard," There you go," she said as she set the bowl of hot oatmeal on the table along with the sugar.

Russ scooped a few spoonfuls of sugar onto the oatmeal and began to eat. Rosy watched him and smiled. She knew how hot it was and it had taken her a few minutes to even get started, but Russ just "wolfed" it down.

"Are you going to take me to see the wolves today?" asked Rosy, anxious to meet her first wolf.

"Well, not today. And you still have to ask your mom if it's okay," replied Russ. He took a few more spoonfuls of oatmeal.

"Mommy," began Rosy.

"I heard. You'll have to ask your father if he'll go with you," she said. Then to Russ," It's not that I don't trust you."

"No, that's fine. I respect your discretion. I think it's an excellent idea. In fact, I could use another witness. Not everyone would believe me, and if my only witness was a little girl they'd ask her how much candy she was bribed with." He chuckled but Rosy only glared at him.

"I always tell the truth," she said.

"I'm sure you do. It's just that nowadays little kids say a lot of things. I'm sorry, of course I trust you Rosy."

Rosy smiled again. She finished her oatmeal and then went into the living room.

The dogs were gathered in the old sawmill that sat just across the street from the telegraph office. Russ' dogs were there too, meeting new dogs and getting acquainted. All except the lead dog, Blaze. She was an akita, a breed often known for their fiery tempers. Unfortunately for Blaze there was a male akita also living in Nome, who found her irresistible.

"So, how about you and me run away from all this and go find a nice place somewhere?" he said smoothly.

"How about I slash your shoulder open and leave you for the foxes?" she snapped back at him.

"Ooh! Feisty! I like 'em hot!"

A male member of the team, Fenris, approached the akita. Fenris was a large gray malamute who often got into fights with other dogs, which could be seen by his scarred eye, half ear, and slight limp. Regardless he was the fastest dog on the team and second place after Blaze.

"Leave her alone. She doesn't want you," said Fenris.

"And who does she want, Fido? You?" growled the akita.

Fenris growled back. The other team members gathered around," He's at it again," said Mina, a young husky who often winced while Fenris fought.

"Stop it! Now!" said a reddish husky. It was Jenna. She stood between the two growling dogs and looked at the akita," Go on, Anvil. You can't have every dog you see. Take a hint once in a while!"

Anvil just sneered at Jenna and walked away.

"Sorry about Anvil. He rarely sees other akitas and when he does he gets so turned on. He's like a big walking hormone!" said Jenna.

Blaze stood beside Fenris," That's okay. I wasn't going to let Fenris fight him. He's too old for this anyway. Would you believe he used to be pure white?"

"Really? How old is he?" asked Jenna.

"I don't know. That's how old," laughed Blaze," My name's Blaze."

"I'm Jenna. So, how are you liking Nome so far?"

"Well the hospitality leaves much to be desired!"

Jenna laughed," That's just Anvil. Then again, wait until you meet Steele. He's almost as bad, but he's gotten better. He used to be the number one walking hormone of Nome." Jenna grinned.

"Oh really. I think you used to have a thing for this Steele guy?"

"Are you kidding! I thought he was a total loser! All he ever did was harass me while he licked his lips! Eugh! It was really gross too!"

"Hmmm, well I'll keep an eye out for a big walking hormone," Blaze grinned again and returned to the corner where her team had chosen to sleep.

Russ adjusted the strap on his backpack and kept trudging through the snow. Balto followed just a few feet behind him. Russ was glad to have a companion on such an important trip into the woods, he only hoped that Balto wouldn't frighten away any of the wolves.

Russ kept his eyes open for any signs of wolves, but could see none. He looked behind him. Nome was totally out of sight now. Then, as he stepped over a large snow drift, he spotted a set of large footprints.

"Alright!" gasped Russ," Now this is interesting!"

He stooped beside the print and pulled out a notebook and measuring tape. After measuring the print's length and width he scribbled the dimensions in his book and began following the trail, looking around to see if the wolf who left it was still in the area.

Balto still followed a few feet behind. He had sniffed the print and identified the owner as Kemo. He felt like calling to his friend but the bark would distract the human and Balto was afraid of being hushed. He maintained his distance from the human and continued following him through the woods.

They came to a break in the trees where there was a small open field. Russ pulled out his field glasses and scanned the entire area. He could see the dark shapes of three wolves playing in the snow. He smiled and slowly made his way along the treeline. He crouched beside a tree and pulled out his notebook again. He wrote down his little discovery and then tucked it back into his bag. Then he started making his way across the filed to get closer to the wolves.

The wind was blowing towards him so he wasn't afraid of the wolves smelling him, but just kept crawling inch by inch until he was sixty feet from the frolicking canines. There he made some notes on colour, size, and also the way they were playing. The largest, which Russ identified as the Alpha male, was wrestling with the other two. Both of them were female. Russ put his book down and just watched the wolves for a few minutes. He loved these animals and wished to stay here forever, just watching.

Then the wind changed direction and blew his scent right into the nostrils of the wolves. In a flash they were gone. Russ grumbled and picked up his book. Balto whined and panted.

"Don't laugh at me. I saw them didn't I?" said Russ," I finally found some real wolves out here. Now I can begin my study."

He got up and walked back the way he had come. After wrapping some tape around a tree to mark the area he returned to Nome. Rosy greeted him and Balto at the door.

"Did you find any wolves?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes. Three in fact," replied Russ as he hung up his coat.

"Will you show me?"

Russ smiled and began walking into the living room," Maybe another time. But first I need to find out where they live and exactly how many there are."

Rosy looked sad, but understood. She would have to wait a little while longer.

Balto had gone out to sleep on his old boat for the evening when Kemo came out of the woods. Balto was surprised to see his old friend, who never traveled so close to Nome. Balto smiled as he climbed aboard the boat.

"Nice place you've got here," said Kemo.

"Thanks," replied Balto," I never thought you'd ever come out here. What's up?"

"Your human friend scared the heck out of my friend, Jed. He thought he was a hunter who had come to kill him and his pack."

"Did you explain what he was really doing?" asked Balto, not wanting the human to get into trouble.

"Yes, but Jed had a little bit of trouble understanding why a human would want to simply watch wolves instead of kill them. I think he understood though and won't do anything rash."

Balto sighed. The human was safe... for the time being. He laid down and yawned.

"I can see you're tired. I'll leave you alone then," said Kemo. He was about to jump off the boat.

"I'd like it if you wanted to stay. Just for one night?" asked Balto. He had hoped to get Kemo to stay on the boat, but Kemo was very paranoid about everything that was built by humans..

Kemo moaned, deep in thought," I suppose. Just for one night."

Balto smiled. Kemo loped to the other end of the boat, which was closest to the woods, and curled into a ball.

Russ was out again the next morning, hoping to catch the wolves before they got too far. Of course they were over sixteen hours ahead of him, but he hoped to track them from the marker at the field. His first stop was the boat, where he hoped that Balto would join him a second time. What he saw was a big surprise.

He peered over the side of the boat and saw Balto sleeping with a wolf at the other end of the boat. The wolf looked up and immediately jumped over the side of the boat and ran into the woods. Balto awoke from the noise and watched as the white wolf disappeared into the trees. Russ watched, amazed, and then looked at Balto.

"A friend of yours?" he asked, pointing towards the woods.

Balto just looked back at the woods and lay his head back down on the deck of the boat. Russ nodded and continued on his way to the woods.

Kemo returned a few minutes later, after making a wide U-turn to get away from the human. He stuck his head over the edge of the boat and glared at Balto.

"I thought I could get a good night's rest on your boat, but I guess I was wrong," said Kemo.

"Aww, come on, Kemo," said Balto. He yawned," What was he going to do? Kill you with his bare hands?"

"You never know. He might have had a weapon?"

Balto just shook his head and smiled," You still don't trust him?"

"I never will. I still hate humans for what they did to me and my family."

Balto sighed and stood up. After stretching the kinks out he joined Kemo on the snowy ground around the boat.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked his white-furred companion.

"Why don't we follow him and see what he does?"

"Sounds like fun."

Russ found his marker after a few minutes and crossed to the other side of the field. There were no signs of any wolf tracks. He tried to remember what direction the wolves had run yesterday and then started walking in a straight line. After a few minutes he discovered part of an old bone that was sticking out of the snow. He picked it up and examined the gnawed off end. It had many teeth marks on it that resembled that of a canine.

With this little marker for him to follow he taped another tree and continued on in the direction he was going before he found the bone. Then he stopped. In front of him was the carcass of an elk. It was mostly gone but a lot of it was still there. It reeked too. Russ pulled his scarf over his face to try to block out some of the putrid aroma, but it barely helped at all.

Several bloody footprints surrounded the elk and there were bones and pieces of meat lying everywhere. Russ crouched near the body and poked at it with a stick. It was frozen. He wrote his discovery in his book with a quivering hand. There were also some tracks leading away from the carcass, which were easy to follow because of the red stains. He hadn't gone far before he heard the distant call of howling wolves. Russ began to pick up speed. He was really excited now. A few wolves would have trouble taking down such a large animal, but a pack of five or six could easily do the job.

As he ran over a ridge he saw them in the distance. There were nine. He ducked back over the ridge and pulled out his field glasses. He watched them and made notes, comparing them to the wolves from the previous day. He was able to identify the three wolves he had already seen, and also made notes on the six new wolves. They were fully grown and appeared to be healthy. Russ was very excited now.

One disappointment was not seeing the large white wolf that had run from Balto's boat. Perhaps he was a loner? He would wait and see if it returned to the pack before he made any assumptions. Russ watched the wolves for another fifteen minutes before the cold started to get to him and he began to make his way back to Nome. On the way he spotted a pair of wolf tracks that ran alongside his. He looked around to see who had left them but saw nothing. They were good at hiding themselves, as well as keeping quiet while tracking.

When Russ returned to Nome there was another excited meeting with Rosy at the front door, this time he agreed to take her later that afternoon. She was very excited and ran around the house for ten minutes. It was time for lunch, and Russ had some time to tell about his discoveries and read from his book. Rosy's parents found his finding rather interesting, for they had always thought of wolves as dangerous. Rosy's father had once told Rosy to stay away from Balto because he was afraid that the wolf-dog would bite her. But he knew Balto was a good dog, and right now he was having second thoughts about wolves in general.

Blaze was laying next to Fenris, eating a bone in the old mill when Balto came in and walked right up to her," I want to know a bit more about your master."

"Like what exactly?" asked Blaze.

"Anything you can tell me."

Blaze swallowed and looked at the wall," Well... he's owned us for about five months now. We get along great and he treats us well. All I know about his job is that he has a big fascination with canines, wolves in particular. That would explain why he's here."

"Yeah, I know," replied Balto. He sat down.

"Why do you ask anyways?" asked Fenris, joining the conversation.

"He just found a wolf pack, the leader is a friend of a friend of mine and he's worried about what will happen to them. I'm worried too. Can I really trust your master?"

"Hey, if we can then you can. And if he ever did anything to hurt a canine we'd kill him if he didn't kill himself. We once heard him promise never to hurt a wolf, and to give his life in order to save even a single wolf. Quite a pledge, huh?" stated Blaze.

"Yeah. I guess so. I'm sorry if it sounded like I was accusing him of anything," said Balto.

"No, not at all. Hey, join us for a round of bones?" asked Fenris.

"Sure. Thanks a lot," smiled Balto.

Rosy peered over her big scarf. Her mother had made sure to bundle her up tight to keep her warm from the cold afternoon wind. Her father held her hand as Russ led them through the woods. Rosy had wanted to take Jenna with her, but her parents disagreed and left her at home. Now Rosy was starting to lose interest. She just wanted to see the wolves and then come home for hot chocolate.

Russ was excited as well. Not only was it his first live study of wolves, but he was bringing witnesses to watch his work and to assist in proving his theories. They would see what wolves were really like. The anxiety was becoming unbearable and Russ couldn't wait until they came to the ridge and looked over the edge.

They arrived at the field where Russ' marker was still wrapped around the tree.

"We're almost there," he said. Rosy giggled and became more excited.

Rosy's father just held her tighter and continued walking. He now trusted Balto, and after Russ's lunch time chat he was starting to trust wild wolves as well. But he wouldn't make up his mind until he saw them with his own eyes.

They reached the carcass of the elk, and Rosy's father held Rosy back to keep her from getting too close," Oh, sorry," said Russ," I forgot to mention the elk."

"Yeah, you did," said Rosy's father. He just led Rosy away from it and followed Russ.

Finally Russ came to the ridge and motioned for Rosy and her father to come beside him. He took a few more steps forward and looked over the edge. Nothing. He sighed," They were here this morning. I guess they've moved on?"

"What now?" asked Rosy, her hopes shattered by the delay.

"I can follow them by following their footprints. Do you want to help me?" asked Russ.

"Yes, please!" cried Rosy.

The trio walked down the gently sloping hill and down into the valley. After climbing up the other side to where Russ had seen the wolves they began looking around for footprints. Rosy squealed with excitement," Look look look! I found one!"

Russ came and inspected the indentation in the snow," Yep. That's a wolf alright. Good job!"

Rosy smiled with pride and took her father's hand," Come on! Let's go!"

"Alright, I'm coming," Rosy's father smiled. Rosy was so excited about seeing the wolves and he'd hate for her to be disappointed.

They followed the footprints and slowly made their way through the woods. They came to another wide open space. In the center of the open field were three wolves. Russ motioned with his hand for Rosy and her father to duck down. They did and Rosy crawled up next to Russ.

"Look! Wuffies!" she squealed with delight.

"See, I told you they were beautiful," replied Russ. He smiled at Rosy's excitement and then turned back to the wolves. They hadn't noticed them yet. Russ made some observations in his book and then set it down on the ground.

"What are they doing?" asked Rosy's father.

"They're just playing right now. See how that wolf with the stick keeps bumping the others. He wants them to play," said Russ.

They watched as the wolves played with the stick, pulling and tugging and pulling each other around. Then the wolf with the stick tripped one of the others and he and the other wolf pounced on their fallen packmate. There was a wild flailing of legs and tails but eventually the wolf on the ground managed to get up and then knocked the first wolf over.

Their game went on for several more minutes until they eventually loped away. Russ stood up to watch them through his field glasses and then gathered his things back into his bag.

"They're on the move again. I still need to find their den site, if any?"

"Don't you think we should head back home?" asked Rosy's father.

"Aww, dad! Do we have to?" asked Rosy, disappointed that her adventure was over so soon.

"Yeah. I think we should go back and warm up. It'll be time for dinner soon."

"It's alright, Rosy," said Russ," I'll put a marker here and we can pick up later where we left off," he wrapped some tape around a tree and then handed the roll of tape to Rosy," Here. You can carry my special wolf tape."

"Oh boy!" smiled Rosy. She tossed the tape up and down as they began the walk home.

Balto and Kemo were sitting under one of Russ' marked trees. Kemo looked up at the strip of plastic that was wrapped around the trunk of the tree.

"Why is he leaving these things behind anyway?" asked Kemo.

"It's his way of marking a trail. While we might scratch the bark off the trunk or in some other way, I think he'd rather tie something to the tree," replied Balto. He had lived with humans long enough to know how they thought and what they did.

"Do you think he'll keep them on my trees?"

"I don't know, but he might remove them before he leaves. If he truly loves wolves and the forest then he'll leave it the way he found it," Balto concluded. He looked up at the tape and then back at Kemo," How's Jed?"

"Fine. The humans are getting closer to his den. I may have to drive the human off if he gets too close or even finds the den," said Kemo.

"Does Jed have pups?"

"Two. That's his big concern. If the human finds the pups he might take one. Then I'd have to get it back!"

"Why would he take one? What would he do with it?"

"Keep it. If he loves wolves so much what would be better than a wolf as a pet."

Balto nodded. He knew the human meant well, but if it came to stealing a wolf puppy then Balto would certainly rescue the pup and bring him home.

Tricksy, a wolf-dog friend of Balto's and student of Kemo came out to visit.

"Hi guys! What's on your mind?" she beamed. Tricksy was always in a good mood and very mischievous. Her constant pranks and tricks had earned Tricksy her name as a puppy, and now she carried it proudly.

"We're just talking about that new human who arrived here a few days ago," replied Balto.

"I'm afraid that if he finds Jed's den site that he might steal one of Jed's puppies," said Kemo.

"He'd better not! That wouldn't be right!" said Tricksy. She put a nasty look on her face.

"Woah! Nasty! That reminds me of a look I saw Jenna give Steele once!" exclaimed Balto.

Tricksy just grinned. Not only was she a trickster, but she loved making faces too.

"If the human does find the den then I will chase him away. I won't even give him the chance to find the pups," added Kemo.

"Well don't attack him. That wouldn't give wolves a good name," said Balto.

"Yeah," said Tricksy," Then I'll have to bite you!"

Kemo only glared at her. She made a face back and Kemo shook his head and looked back up at the tape marker.

The next day, Russ left Rosy's house early. He carefully closed to door so as not to wake up anyone and ran to the edge of town. He straightened his collar and pulled his gloves tight. It was colder this early in the morning, but he could bear it. He had lived through three weeks of sledding through the Alaskan wilderness.

The first marker came into view. He stepped into the open field and gazed about with his field glasses. No sign of any wolves.

"They must still be asleep. Must be nice," Russ said to himself. He yawned and kept walking.

The third marker, next to the ridge, came into view and Russ picked up speed. His search was almost over. All he had to do was find the fourth marker and he would almost be at the den site.

He had done a bit of simple thinking. By marking down the locations of the wolf sightings on a map of the local area, Russ had been able to guess where the wolves' territory went, and also where the most likely place for the den was. There were a small set of hills just a few kilometers away from town, and from his present location was only a kilometer or less. He folded up his map and rushed to find the last marker.

It was still tied to the tree next to the second field. He checked his notebook and map before turning to the left and started running. His feet sank into the snow, forcing him to slow down, but he was determined to find the den site. His first great discovery for the sake of wolves. If he could prove his theories and also prove that the myths and stories about wolves weren't true then he would be famous.

He ran along the treeline and then stopped when he reached the opposite side from the marker. He taped another tree and checked his map. He was now facing the direction of the hills. He took a deep breath and started walking at a brisk pace. The wind started to pick up and was now blowing snow in his face. He pulled out a scarf and wrapped it over his face.

As the wind blew, Russ' visibility was decreased. He could barely see twenty feet now. He was surprised how quickly the wind had picked up. He'd never seen such bizarre weather in Alaska before. A large thick-trunked tree now loomed in front of him. He ducked behind it for a minute to catch his breath and check his map. Now he had no idea where to go. He decided the best thing to do was keep making a trail with his roll of tape. It took a lot of tape but he managed to get it wrapped around the trunk of the tree and then Russ continued on.

He found the hills by accident, by sliding down one of them. He landed on his face in a deep snow bank and lay there for a few seconds. Then he struggled and managed to sit up. He was now cold and wet and shivering. He looked to the hill he had just slid down and saw a small black opening. A cave! He crawled towards it and ducked inside. It was dark, but at least the wind didn't come inside.

Then Russ heard a deep rumbling sound. No, it was more like a deep growling noise. He reached into his bag and pulled out a box of matches. After lighting a match he found himself looking into the eyes of a gray wolf.

"Woah!" gasped Russ, his breath blowing out the match. He fumbled with another and managed to light it quickly. The wolf was still there, now more curious than angry at Russ' intrusion. It gave another growl and then turned and walked down into the cave.

"Oh my gosh!" Russ whispered. He blew out the match and lit another, then followed the wolf into the depths of the cave. His first thought was of how stupid it was, but he was more interested in finding the den than worrying about his own hide.

He went around a corner and ended up in a large rounded room. Inside were three of the nine wolves he had been watching as well as two puppies. Each of the wolves stood up and bared their fangs, growling viciously. Russ had gone too far now and intruded upon the wolves in their own home. He backed out of the hole and started running. There was a loud wolf howl. He looked back, but didn't see any dark shapes in the blizzard.

Wait, the snow seemed to be moving. It was the white wolf that he had seen on Balto's boat the other day. Russ turned and started walking, quickly enough to get away but not too fast as to get the wolf to chase him. He looked back after a few seconds. The wolf was still there.

"Oh great!" thought Russ," Who is he, their enforcer?"

Russ kept walking until he finally broke through the woods. In front of him was Norton Sound, which led out into the vast Pacific Ocean. There was a small cove which was home to Nome's harbor. He could see a few dark shapes that were houses, and tiny trails of smoke rose from their chimneys. He was at least four kilometers away from the town.

He checked his map to find out exactly where he was and then checked the location of his markers. He was very far from the last marker. In fact he was almost perpendicular to its own location. It was as if he had walked out into the woods, turned left, and then made a beeline for the lake. Russ sighed. The blizzard had totally screwed up his search efforts and, not only that, but he had failed to pinpoint the exact location of the den. He was right there, actually inside the den and he'd blown it.

Russ looked back to see the wolf merely thirty feet away and slowly advancing. Russ has no choice but to cut across the ice-covered lake towards Nome. He stepped out onto the ice and tested his weight on it. There was no sign of cracking or thin ice so he continued along at a quick pace. The wolf, doggedly persistent, continued after him. Russ looked back and saw clearly the white shape against the dark ice. He tried to speed up but it was difficult enough just to walk on the slippery ice.

After five minutes Russ was about fifty meters from the opposite shore. Hope was with him. Even if the wolf had evil intentions he would be too far behind to catch Russ. Just then there was a loud cracking sound. Russ looked down and could see small white lines making their way through the ice. Each time a new line popped into the ice Russ could hear a loud crack.

"Oh, shoot!" he said out loud.

His thin ice training now paid off as he lay down and tried to drag his body across the ice. By keeping his body weight spread over a larger area he kept the ice from breaking beneath him. There was one very weak spot where his leg fell through, but he quickly pulled it up and out of the water and crawled away from the spot.

He was almost at the other side. The ice seemed to be a bit thicker at this spot so Russ slowly stood up and began walking again. He turned to see where the wolf was. It was still right behind him, but getting closer to the broken ice.

"Hey!" shouted Russ," Get back! Go on!" The wolf kept coming," Get out of here, stupid!"

The wolf didn't listen and kept coming. It didn't realize the danger until he was right on top of it and it collapsed under his weight. Russ watched in horror as the majestic white wolf plunged into the icy water.

"NO!" he shouted. Russ ran to the spot and slid out on his belly to try and rescue the struggling wolf.

"Steady there. I've got you," said Russ. But the wolf bit his hands and tried to get himself out," Stop it now, you'll exhaust yourself!"

Russ was accidentally pulled into the water by the wolf as it tried to bite his shirt and pull itself out. The two were now in the lake. The wolf struggling to get itself out, and Russ trying to help. The cold water had hit Russ like a bee's sting that affected his entire body. He ignored it and concentrated on the task at hand. He had once said that he'd rather give his life to save a wolf than let any harm come to one. He was about to prove himself right.

Finally the wolf managed to get his front paws over the edge of the hole and up onto the ice. Russ ducked underwater for a second to try to push from underneath. The wolf was very heavy, but Russ pushed with all his strength, knowing it was either life or death for both of them. He wasn't going to let the wolf die like this.

He tried again, this time using one hand to pull on the ice to get extra power. It worked, and the wolf crawled away from the hole leaving Russ to try to pull himself out. He was almost frozen and totally exhausted. He could feel his body turning to ice. He breath came in rhasps and he had trouble moving.

"Well," he thought," At least... I... saved... the wolf..."

Mr. Johansson was outside his shop sweeping the light snow off his front porch when something caught his eye. It was a big white dog dragging a body into town.

"Call Dr. Welch!" he shouted. He ran towards the dog. It ran away.

Mr. Johansson approached the body and immediately recognized the blue-faced young man as Russ. He took off his coat and wrapped it around Russ and then started rubbing Russ' arms to get some heat into them.

The doctor arrived with three other men, some blankets, and a stretcher. They had Russ in the warm boiler room behind the hospital in a minute. Russ awoke after fifteen minutes and looked around slowly.

"St. Peter I presume?" he said weakly.

Dr. Welch smiled," You're a very lucky young man."

"Yeah. I know," Russ coughed and then relaxed. He knew he was in good hands.

Later that week his dogs were allowed in to see him. They were very affectionate and carefully licked his face and outstretched hands.

"Hey you guys! Stop that! I love you too!" Russ laughed.

Blaze was right up front with Fenris right next to her.

"He seems to be in good shape for someone who took a dip in the lake, huh?" asked Fenris.

"Yeah, but he's a tough old guy. He can take the cold pretty well... for a human," and Blaze smiled as Russ rubbed her head. The next visitor Russ saw that day was Rosy. She had drawn a nice picture of a wolf for him.

"Thank you Rosy. That was very nice of you," said Russ.

"Mommy thought it might help you feel better," replied Rosy.

"It did. It did. Tell her thank you, and I look forward to one of her nice hot meals!"

"I will."

Russ was ready to leave Nome a week later. With his notebook and mind full of his experiences, as well as Rosy's drawing folded away in his bag, Russ was sure to impress the big boys back home. He hoped to get his book written and published and distributed to educate everyone on what wolves were really like.

Russ shook hands with Rosy's father," Thanks again for your hospitality."

"No problem. Come by the next time you're in town," replied Rosy's father.

"Of course," then Russ crouched and smiled at Rosy," Thanks for the adventure, kid."

"Your welcome," and Rosy gave him a hug.

Balto and Jenna had also come to say goodbye. Russ leaned down and patted Balto's head," See ya later, Balto. Tell your friend thanks."

Jenna received a pat as well and then sat with Rosy. Blaze walked up with her sled harness strapped to her collar. The team was ready to go," Well, maybe we'll see you guys another time, huh?"

"Sure. Next time you're in town. I'm sure we'll have a lot to catch up on," replied Jenna.

"Yeah! A lot!" agreed Fenris.

The four dogs waved goodbye as Russ mushed the team into action. He disappeared into the woods.

"Do you think he'll be back?" asked Jenna.

"As long as there are wolves in Alaska he'll be back," smiled Balto.

Balto and Jenna watched the trees for a few more seconds and then followed Rosy and her father back home.

THE END

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