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New Friends (Chapter 3)

Well, here we go again, another wonderful title on this 'un. I just couldn't think of anything for it, so Chapter 3. Yup. Again, the characters are owned by their respective owners, including Universal, Don Bluth, and United Artists. Also, it seems that I have to give some credit to the bands Rainbow and Black Sabbath, particularly the Long Live Rock 'N' Roll LP and the Dehumanizer LP... It seems that I write easier when listening to them. So yeah. Enjoy... By the way, Google Docs, I Googled (how ironic) the word 'leapt', and it IS a word. So suck it, Docs!

The darkness surrounded him, cloaking his face in shadows. That was fine; it suited his purpose. Wearing the darkness as a shroud, he slipped forth through the narrow muddy streets, making sure not to look around so as to avoid seeming suspicious. He knew there was no one else out at this hour; there never was; in case of something new this night though he kept his ears up, listening for the slightest hint of movement near to him. However, all he could hear was his own breath rasping in his throat, panting from excitement. Finally, after months of waiting, calculating, it was his chance. Spotting a narrow two story house, he took a quick look around, checking the coast one final time. After affirming the emptiness of the street, he grinned malevolently and padded his way silently up to the house, poking his head through the door before following with his body. By this point, he was shaking with excitement for what was to come. Fell deeds were afoot! Balto was feeling quite tired. He had gone out on a little hunting trip trying to find something good to eat, but it had been in vain; he hadn't even caught the faintest whiff of a hare or elk. However, now he was just happy to finally be going home. However, as he entered Nome, he thought something was off, and paused, looking around. Following his 5 senses, he could detect nothing wrong, but inside of him it was as if a silent alarm was going off, warning of some impending disaster. His entire body felt wired; the blood in his veins felt like it was alternating between boiling and freezing and his heart was pounding at a thousand miles an hour. Trying to collect himself, he forced himself to take deep breaths, and slowly his heart rate calmed slightly, but he still felt a horrible feeling of dread deep within the pit of his stomach. Suddenly, all he could think of was Jenna. Charging down through the rutted streets, he dashed haphazardly through the town, sliding out several times on sharp turns to end up sliding several feet through the wet mud, coating his shaggy fur in a layer of muck. However, he could not care less; his only thoughts were on getting home. It felt almost as though there were a charge in the atmosphere; some foul miasma hanging over the entire town, and breathing it in seemed to weigh him down. By sheer strength of will, he ploughed on nonetheless, and soon he was standing before the familiar house, taking in it's familiar odours. Upon first inspection with his senses nothing appeared off, but at the same time everything was off; it was as though he could sense an immense evil hanging over the tiny house.

Chest heaving like bellows, Balto walked up to the house cautiously, smelling furiously at the air around him. Nothing smelled off; he could not detect the odour of any other dogs, but he was now so filthy that all he could smell was the odoriferous waste he had fallen in. Raising his muzzle from the ground, he poked his head gently through the door, then followed with the rest of his body when he couldn't detect any motion.

The first thing he noticed was a dark shape lying on the floor near the sofa, where Jenna often slept. Heaving an immense sigh of relief, his head sagged, even more exhausted than before. "Thanks the gods..." he whispered, padding slowly towards his mate's sleeping form. However, even then he could not shake the feeling that something was dreadfully wrong. However, he walked over to her, and whispered "Jenna!" in her ear. When she didn't stir, he nuzzled her neck gently. That was when he felt the warm wetness upon his muzzle, something which logically made no sense to him. Confused, he stopped for a moment... And then smelled the blood in the air, and realized the truth. "Jenna?" he whispered in her ear, unbelieving. Not seeing any response, he yelled "JENNA?", but it was to no avail. At this point his eyes began to dark-adjust, and he noticed the dark pool of coppery smelling fluid lying on the floor before him, and everything clicked into place. In shock, his hind legs collapsed, forcing him into a sitting position. Raising his quivering muzzle, he opened his maw wide and let out a high howl, knifing through the early morning air like a scream. He howled, and howled, and...

"Balto? Balto! Wake up!" He felt two strong paw clasping his shoulders gently, shaking him. Hearing the voice again, it took him a moment to realize what it had said was "Are you okay?". Groggily opening his eyes, he stared blearily around for a few seconds, eyes unfocused, before coming to rest upon a large tan blur above his head. Slowly, as the sleep cleared the fog from his head, the image focused into the worried face of a handsome German Shepherd, and instantly everything clicked into place. "Hey! Wake up!" Charlie growled, shaking Balto briskly.

Rolling over onto his stomach, Balto growled "All right, all right! Jeez, I'm up! Lay off it, Chucky." Balto laughed slightly as he saw Charlie's reaction to the nickname: an eyebrow went up, the brow set slightly into a frown, and his entire body posture changed to one of irritation. "Relax, big guy. It's a joke," Balto laughed out, standing up and shaking out his fur, snowflakes flying as his breath puffed out in cool puffs of mist. Of course, he had aimed slightly, and was not disappointed to see several large clumps strike Charlie's tan fur and stick there, melting from the heat of Charlie's body.

Naturally, Charlie wouldn't let something like that slide. Growling slightly, he made as if to turn away and shake out his pelt, but then gathered his powerful thighs and sprang, bowling Balto over to come to rest on top of him. Balto yelped in surprise, but when he realized it was all in play he fought back gently, kicking Charlie off and rolling over on top of him. They played like this for a minute or so, but as usual Charlie's larger body placed him on top of Balto at the end, albeit panting like an overtaxed engine, little wisps of steam rising from the melting snow upon his fur.

As Charlie stood over Balto, his hips dropped slightly, and suddenly both of them felt a warm bit of friction on their sheaths as they rubbed together. Charlie quickly lifted his hindquarters, but that brief touch lingered on in both of their minds, and as they stood/lay there, Charlie staring directly into Balto's face, they both felt a sudden heat springing up in their loins, and both felt a slight pulsing within their sheaths. Charlie looked into Balto's eyes openly, widening slightly in a silent question, and Balto nodded slightly in answer.

Hesitantly, Charlie lowered his head toward Balto's, sniffing gently along the wolf's strong muzzle. Slipping his tongue out of his muzzle slowly, he licked Balto's jaw, tasting his fur's slightly musky scent. Moving back, he reached Balto's smooth black lips and gently gave them a tongue bath, but before he could finish Balto opened his own muzzle, and before they knew it they were kissing.

Balto was conflicted at first, but when he saw the loving, questioning look in Charlie's beautiful eyes, he gave in to his new, unexpected feelings. Not satisfied with simply a tongue bath, he opened his own muzzle, taking Charlie's tongue inside and writhing his own tongue against it in a dance of passion, tasting all Charlie had to offer. Charlie's eyes initially widened in shock, but then he fastened his gaze on Balto's gorgeous golden eyes and kept it there, seemingly exchanging lifetimes worth of love in that one glance.

As the kiss progressed, Balto rolled his hips upwards, grinding his thickening gray sheath against Charlie's. Rubbing back and forth, he felt Charlie's sheath pulsing against his in perfect sync, and the wonderfully electric feeling he got from this almost had him spurting before he was even hard. Driving his head further upwards, he tilted his muzzle off to the side, allowing for a deeper kiss, and felt like the luckiest dog in the world. Grinning slightly around the kiss, he felt his tool beginning to pulse out from his sheath, knot expanding slightly as he felt Charlie's own unsheathing rod rubbing up against his. He felt as though, if he were to die now, he would die a completed dog (at least when he and Charlie were through).

Suddenly, Charlie's head pulled away quickly, dislodging Balto's tongue from his mouth and snapping a little string of drool which had connected their muzzles back into Balto's face. His ragged ears perked up, twitching slightly, and then he sprang off Balto, looking worried. "Do you hear that?" he asked, swiveling his ears slightly. "I could've sworn I heard... There it is again!" he exclaimed, gesturing to the door. That time Balto had heard it too; a faint cry for help coming from the town proper (they were at Balto's boat). However, what really galvanized action from the two of them was the voice itself; it was clearly Itchy, even though he was over a kilometre away. Leaping out of the boat, Charlie sped towards Nome on swift paws, hearing Balto following behind him. By this point all thoughts of what had nearly happened between them were gone; they wouldn't resurface for many hours to come.

As they neared Nome, Balto felt a horrible sense of deja-vu, remembering the way he had felt on the night of Jenna's death. However, Itchy's cries on this particular day gave him hope; while he could call for help he wasn't dead yet, and Balto didn't plan on losing another loved one in the same way. Putting on an extra burst of speed, he outpaced Charlie, dashing away at top speed towards the source of the sound, knowing that Charlie would be right behind him.

Racing through the streets of Nome, the two narrowed in on the source of the sound, apparently the old factory on the outskirts of town. Flurries of snow exploding from the ground as their paws pounded the loose top layer, they rounded the final corner, paws skittering slightly on the slick surface, and then slowed to a fast walk before the factory, looking around quickly. The inside of the building was lit by a flickering red glare; most likely one of the boilers had been left fired up through the night to keep the warmth from escaping. Walking carefully up to the doorway, they could see several shadows dancing on the ground, backlit by a hellish red glare. This only added to their internal fears of what they may find inside, but they both stepped through the threshold regardless, deep and powerful growls building deep within their bodies.

The angry red glow of the boiler was the first thing they saw; immediately afterwards were the dogs. There was no mistaking who they were; Steele and his gang of thugs and idiots, even if they all appeared red as blood. Steele was watching with a smirk on his ugly face while his cronies encircled a fifth dog, smaller than the rest. Itchy (for he was the fifth dog, obviously) was bleeding profusely; one ear was partially torn off and his front left paw looked pretty chewed up, blood spattering every time he took a step. However, his assailants weren't without their own injuries; Nikki had a long gash along his muzzle which dripped slowly with blood and Kaltag's left front leg was dripping blood from some unseen injury. In the brief time before they leapt into the fray, both Charlie and Balto felt a brief swelling of pride for the little dog; his small form belied his true courage in dangerous situations. He wasn't even scratching!

Itchy's eyes lit upon the two of them, and a relieved grin sprung up on his muzzle, tail wagging slightly. Nikki had time for but a brief "Huh?" before something large and hard slammed into his side, and with a creaking snap he felt several ribs give way. Screaming as he flew through the air, he struck the cast iron side of the glowing boiler... And if his screams before became like whispers compared to now. Falling off, his fur was lit instantly on fire where it hadn't been melted off, and the skin on the left side of his body was a mass of ugly blackened burns. Howling and yelping in agony, he fled, his body a blazing inferno, crashing against the door frame as he leapt outside into a snow bank. Needless to say, he was out of the fight.

Charlie shook his head, instantly feeling the pounding of a massive headache coming on. The headbutt had hurt, but it had been worth it, and had taken the second largest mutt out of the fight right out. Slightly dazed, he didn't notice Kaltag swinging towards him, jaws open for a killing bite to the neck, but Balto and Itchy both did. Both leapt at Kaltag at the same time, Balto landing on Kaltag's back and Itchy... Crumpling up about a foot from where he'd started; he'd forgotten his crippled paw. Clasping his jaws around Kaltag's neck, Balto bit down hard, making sure not to kill the mutt, but enough that he'd feel it. Twisting his strong neck, Balto flung Steele's lackey away, and in a lucky happenstance Star happened to be standing in his path. Kaltag's thick skull slammed hard into Star's, and instant blackness overcame both. Nodding his head in satisfaction, Balto took a moment to spit out Kaltag's blood, and in this moment of inattention Steele struck.

Having crept stealthily towards Charlie while Balto fought, he exploded forwards and gave Charlie a vicious body check, sending Charlie flying backwards. Now, ordinarily Charlie could have shook a blow like that off with relative ease, but as fate would have it, his head smacked into a support pillar as he landed. Already dizzy from his attack on Nikki, Charlie felt his skull crack slightly, and thought 'Oh shi...' before his vision went black, body collapsing limply.

"Charlie!" Balto exclaimed in horror, leaping back to his side. Oddly, Steele withdrew, allowing him to tend to Charlie. Keeping a wary eye on Steele, Balto quickly checked Charlie's breathing, making sure it was steady (and still happening at all). Affirming that Charlie was merely knocked out, Balto spun around, snarling explosively at Steele. "You son of a bitch!" he growled angrily, spitting out the last word so that it positively dripped with malice. He and Steele faced each other across the room from each other, both lifting lips and baring teeth, tails down and their body language speaking of the fight to come. Steele's fur was mangy and tattered, his once immaculate coat now covered in filth, but there was nothing murky about his furious glare.

"Well, this'll be fun. Finally get to complete the set," Steele said, grinning arrogantly at Balto and exposing his sharp white cuspids. "You know, I've been looking forward to this for years, wolfie. You disgust me. Believing you could ever be one of us? Ha, don't make me laugh. You're a freak, and if your mother hadn't been a wolf slut she would have killed you at birth," he spat out, eyes glinting with a maniacal light.

While most of this made no impact on Balto, he suddenly realized what Steele had said. "What do you mean, complete the set?" he asked, golden eyes flashing in the dim light. Suddenly, he felt the blood drain away from his face, and had his thick fur not been covering it he would have turned pale as a corpse. "You don't mean... Jenna?" he choked out the final word, hardly believing what Steele was implying.

Smirking, Steele exclaimed "Ah! And finally the great wolfie gets it! God, I knew you were stupid, but to not realize that? I mean, how much more obvious could I have made it?" Giving a brief, bitter laugh, he smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes. "You know... You took everything from me. You took my reputation, you took my honour; I could maybe have dealt with that, but you took my bitch. She was to be mine. MINE! When she left me to go... Run with the wolf, so to speak, I suddenly realized her true nature. She was a scheming, conniving, two-timing bitch, and she had to die. Of course, since you'd stolen her from me, you'd have to die too... But that's only natural, really," Steele trailed off, face twitching slightly.

Balto felt his legs quivering again, on the verge of collapse from this epiphany, and felt a twinge of nausea deep in his stomach. However, he fought back these feelings, knowing to collapse here could mean instantaneous death, and likely the deaths of his friends. Itchy himself was still awake, but was keeping out of this fight; Balto had shook his head when he tried to move and he seemed to get it. Locking away all his thoughts deep within his head until the fight was over, though, Balto let the rage flow through his body, and felt a rush of adrenaline strike his muscles, energizing him once again. It seemed Steele was determined one of them die this night, and Balto determined right then and there that it wouldn't be him. Steeling himself, he forced himself to appear calm, although on the inside he was a seething torrent of fury.

"Well, you got one thing wrong there at least, Steele. She never left you... She despised you, every little thing about you," Balto said, smirking at Steele's angry expression. "She made her own choice, and she chose me. Funny how that happens, eh? You had everything, and yet you had nothing. Quite funny, actually," Balto said, forcing himself to laugh. He wanted to catch Steele unbalanced; he knew that even with some of the little tips on fighting Charlie had given him that the larger husky could overpower him and likely kill him if he was in the right state of mind. So, Balto was determined to not let that happen.

Snarling, lifted his lips, exposing dirty, yellowed fangs; no matter how unkempt they were, though, they could still easily kill: it seemed they had been filed to points. "You lie, you son of a bitch. She was MINE!" he yelled, spitting at Balto. He dodged the gobber of sputum easily; this wasn't the first time though.

Forcing himself to grin wider, Balto laughed at Steele's face, exclaiming "What, can't face the truth? Open your eyes, you deranged psychopath. She hated you! And you know what?" Balto asked, feeling somewhat ashamed for bringing this next bit up. However, he knew it would have the desired effect upon Steele, so he gritted his teeth and continued. "She was great. If you know what I mean... A pity you never got to try her... Wet all the time. For me, that is... Delicious. Best fuck I've ever had," Balto finished, dry-humping the air a couple times for effect. He hated himself for saying that; she had been so much more than that to him, but it was do or die here, and he was determined not to die, if only for the protection of Charlie and Itchy.

Steele's sunken eyes grew bigger with each word, and by the end they were wide as dinner plates. With a furious snarling howl, he launched himself at Balto, jaws wide open, ready to spill the blood of his hated enemy. However, Balto was no idiot; he had seen the jump coming long before Steele had actually launched himself, and sprang out of the way, cutting his teeth deep into Steele's side as he sprang past and feeling Steele's hot foul blood pour out.

Landing with a gasp of pain, snarl suddenly cut off, Steele felt the deep pain in his side, and craned his neck around, seeing a long thick cut where Balto's teeth had torn through his furry hide. Howling insanely, he wheeled around, but Balto was once again no longer there, and suddenly he felt a sharp bite to his left hind flank, drawing blood from his thigh as well. His leg felt suddenly jelly-like, as though his muscle had been replaced with gelatin, and with a somewhat scared snarl he wheeled around, this time catching Balto with a sharp bite to the neck; the only thing which saved Balto was quick reaction time and his long fur. He leapt back slightly too slowly, but still enough for Steele to miss any major arteries, and his thick fur fouled up Steele's bite, catching in his teeth and preventing Steele's bite from doing any major damage. Still, Steele could taste Balto's hot salty blood on his tongue and licked his lips, savouring the flavour. To him, it seemed he couldn't lose; Balto was just putting off the inevitable.

Wheeling away, Balto panted, a little shaken at how close to losing he had just come. For an instant the old fear of Steele kindled up; this fear had probably been what saved his life as a pup growing up in Nome, he had avoided Steele like that plague until he was large enough to fend for himself, and then he still kept his distance although the fear had been replaced by hatred. A low moan reached his ears, though, and he saw Charlie stirring slightly; the sight of his friend in such a dire state got Balto's fighting spirit back with a vengeance. He couldn't see Itchy, and that seemed vaguely worrying, but Balto couldn't do anything about that now.

Deciding now was as good a time as any, Balto pressed the attack, pushing forward towards Steele while avoiding as many of the malamute's attacks as he possibly could while inflicting as many of his own as he could. This carried on for about half a minute, but this strategy didn't seem to get him anywhere, and both of them disengaged with faces dripping blood, covered with a plethora of small scratches and bites. Both felt the effects of their prolonged fight, though, and were both panting, breath clouding around their faces in a fine vapour. Balto knew the end of the fight was coming soon; it was up to him to decide the outcome for his own, and with a feint to the right, Balto dove in to the left, ducking under Steele's swinging jaws and bowling the massive dog over, clamping his jaws tight around Steele's neck, being forced to breath in the dog's foul stench. Apparently, he hadn't bathed in a long time... Balto grimaced, but held on, snarling "Submit, Steele!" around his mouthful. Steele, however, continued to struggle, kicking his legs at Balto's underbelly. Swinging around sideways, Balto got out of Steele's range, but the older dog started to buck wildly, and Balto knew the fight was slipping out of his favour. He needed to do something quick, but he couldn't bring himself to kill Steele, regardless of how evil and twisted he may be.

Suddenly a loud clang rent the air and Steele went limp, neck collapsing weakly in Balto's jaws. Surprised, Balto held on for a moment, but when he saw Steele's tongue lolling out of his mouth he let go of Steele's mouth, spitting out a clump of filthy, mucky fur. Looking around wildly, he saw a long, thin metal pipe laying on the ground beside Steele's head. Small clumps of blood and fur were stuck to it, and it had actually seemed to bend around Steele's head as it struck, forming a nice parabolic shape. However, this still explained very little, and Balto looked up further, to find the cause. There, before him, was Itchy, leaned up against the far wall and panting. His own paw pads were cut from the rough surface of the rusty old pipe; blood dripped slowly from his wounds, but he looked relieved at the same time. "Itchy!" Balto exclaimed, amazed. "I... I can't thank you enough. I... I couldn't do it, I couldn't make myself kill him," Balto explained, stretching out his stiffening muscles. Ooh yeah, he was going to feel this tomorrow.

Itchy merely nodded, then his face broke out into a sunny grin which seemed to wash away all the sadness. "Oh, it's not a problem. Thanks for coming... I think they were gonna kill me!" he exclaimed, only half-jokingly. Smile dropping away slightly, he looked around with a dazed expression on his face, and noticed Charlie stirring slightly. "Finally!" he muttered, limping over to his dear old friend.

Slowly opening his eyes, Charlie was greeted by the sight of Balto and Itchy looking down at him with a mixture of joy and worry writ upon their faces. Charlie popped them an insolent grin, then leapt up to his paws with a distinctly Charlie-ish lack of foresight. Instantly a blinding pain flared in his head, and he groaned loudly, wincing and whining slightly at the pain. His first reaction was to check for his watch; some habits never die. Then he remembered where he was, and his grin came back, although somewhat ruefully. "So guys, how'd we do?" he asked brightly, looking back and forth between them and Steele. "Nice job, kids..." he said, looking at the bent and blood-encrusted pipe. "Holy shit... Who hit him with the bloody pipe? And how hard did you crack the sucker?" he exclaimed, noting a bloody wound on Steele's head, blood pulsing sluggishly outwards.

Grinning back, Balto said "Well, I'd love to take the credit... But alas, for it was Itchy who struck the final blow." Turning to Itchy, Balto smiled in gratitude, eyes lighting up slightly, then continued. "Of course, I had him licked already..." he laughed, giving Itchy a gentle punch to the shoulder. "This little bugger interfered!" Looking back at Charlie, both asked at the same time, "And what did you do?"

Knowing they were jesting, Charlie merely laughed at the two of them, standing in mock-proud poses over their downed foe. "Oh, not much... Just a little busy having my bloody skull cracked, nothing important," Charlie said, raising his nose and looking away as if indignant of the others. Raising his muzzle to the air again, he sniffed, and for the first time caught a whiff of the stench filling the building; the smell of spilt blood and pain, of burnt fur and scorched flesh. Suddenly, he felt his stomach turn over slightly, and took that as a hint. "Hey, whaddaya say we get out of here, yeah?" the shepherd asked, eyes gleaming slightly in the reddish light. "I don't know about you, but it stinks royally in here..."

As if they had just come out of a trance, the smell smacked Itchy and Balto in the noses like they had just run into a brick wall, and they suddenly couldn't agree with Charlie fast enough. Waiting for Charlie to come side by side with them, they all trotted out of the building together, Balto and Charlie lifting Itchy's front end off the ground with their heads so as to spare his sliced paw pads. Letting Itchy down gently on the cool snow banks outside, they turned back, looking upon the scene for one final time. Kaltag and Star still lay where they had fallen, stirring slightly every once in a while, only to lapse deep back into their comatose states. From those two their gazes drifted on collectively to Steele, the large dog laying crumpled in a dirty pile of filthy fur and spilled blood. Looking at Balto seriously for a change, Charlie looked pensive, then opened his muzzle. "You know this isn't the end, right?" Noting Balto's questioning stare, he responded "Steele and you. Steele and us. I know his kind; they just don't give up. I died twice at the paws of a dog like him." Of course, Charlie and Itchy had already explained their story to Balto; any other dog listening to this might have a little trouble following their conversation though. "He will be back..."

Balto looked at Steele with a hard expression on his face, eyes glinting like cold diamonds. Abruptly, though, it appeared a decision had been reached, for he gave a sigh, and it seemed all the anger flowed out from his body. "You know, it never even occurred to me that he had something to do with Jenna's... Murder. I mean, he loved her! Well, wanted her at least... I don't know if he was ever capable of love." Looking back at Charlie with a strange expression on his face, he continued. "If you want, later I will tell you exactly what happened that night." Sighing again, he continued. "I thought... I... Well, when Jenna died, I swore I would avenge her. I swore I would kill whoever had done it. Standing there, though, Steele's neck in my mouth... I just couldn't do it. A simple bite would have been all it took; no stronger than I might eat a rabbit with. But..." he trailed off, sighing again. "It's different. I... I couldn't kill him. The idea of killing others for personal gain... It's repulsive to me. I couldn't do it! Gods, what is wrong with me?" he whined, crying softly to himself.

Smiling gently, Charlie strode around directly in front of Balto, followed closely by Itchy. Both sat directly in front of Balto; and in his blurred vision the rising sun behind them appeared to give them a bright aura surrounding their entire bodies. He gasped, for this vision was the most beautiful sight he could ever remember seeing. In the pink light of early dawn, they looked exactly like... Angels.

Reaching out gently, Charlie cupped Balto's muzzle with his paw, lifting it gently. Smiling, he gently brushed the dirt and blood away from Balto's muzzle, exposing the beautiful gray fur to the morning light. "You know, I think I know how you feel, Balto," he whispered gently, nodding at Balto's surprised look. "When Carface killed me, I swore I would get back at him. A little more selfish cause, obviously, but similar principle... All it got me was more pain, for both me and those around me. Revenge isn't the answer; it took me a long time to realize that. Hell, I've had many more chances than most; I've died twice and only now do I realize the really important thing is love," he said, smiling gently at Itchy, and then turning back to Balto. "I... I guess I'm proud of you, Balto. And I know, I know... It's cheesy, it's corny, it's kinda pitiful, but it's the truth. You're above Steele; you proved that today..." Trailing off, Charlie gave a goofy grin, offsetting the somber tone with which he had been speaking. Rolling his eyes, he laughed slightly at his own speech, tail thumping into the snow banks.

Again, as Balto looked at the handsome pair, he was overcome with a sudden sense of awe that he should have been gifted with these two as friends. Suddenly, he had an idea, and before he could think against it, he gently brought Charlie and Itchy's muzzles together with his paws, and then brought his own forward and planted a deep kiss on both of their furry lips. Pulling back, he blushed, abashed at his own forwardness, but the others just shook their heads and motioned him back.

Leaning forward again, Balto opened his muzzle slightly as the others did the same, and for the first time the three of them kissed deeply, panting into each other's maws. Arranging themselves in somewhat of a triangle, they all pushed forwards, getting in as deep as possible, tongues mingling and dancing in the heat of passion. Exchanging this bond of love with each other, they looked directly into each others eyes as lovers might, without fear of raising the others' anger. Much was communicated silently between them as they suckled on each others' tongues, but the greatest thing was an overall sense of love flowing between them, and as they stood there they felt invincible. As long as they were together, nothing could separate them again. Breaking the kiss lingeringly, the three all gazed deep into the others' eyes and tenderly whispered "I love you," in harmony, voices blending together into a sweet, melodious sound. Turning their heads, they stared off into the sunset without fear and set off away from the factory together, blissful in their love for one another.

Here ya go, another one of these stories. Hopefully you enjoy it; I seem to make not reading it through after it's finished a habit, so if you have any comments on how to make it better, they're welcome. Of course, positive comments are always welcomed too. In case anyone is reading just for the hope of good yiff, I envision that the next installment, whenever that may be, will likely have... Well, a fair bit, to put it lightly. Hopefully, at least. Enjoy, and until next time, peace!