FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 3 - Moving on

Storm ended up sleeping for over sixteen hours, not waking until past noon the next day. He got himself up and went outside to the shed where his team used to live, the place seeming unnaturally empty. He felt a pang in his heart, thinking about the team he'd never see again, and knowing that he was the only one who could do them justice. Storm took a moment to let all of his emotions; his anger and hate build up in him so he would have strength and power when he needed it.

Storm stalked off towards the town, a dangerous glint in his eyes. He would still have to be smart. He didn't know how many dogs had attacked his team, or who they were or what they looked like. So if Storm was seen by one of them, the whole thing could turn bad quickly. He would have to be careful about how he did this. As far as anyone knew, Storm was dead, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Storm went into the town. I need to try to attract as little attention as possible while not looking like I'm not trying to attract attention. Storm scowled at how little that thought made sense and yet how much sense it made.

Storm looked around, trying to figure out where a good place to hide a wolf would be. Getting Aniu was his first priority. Then he would deal with his own emotions, but Aniu had to be saved, as she very much deserved to have a chance to get home.

Storm glanced around and noticed a particularly large crowd of people heading towards the old warehouse. He knew dog fighting often went on in there, and although people usually didn't pay too much attention to it, if something...

Then it hit him. Aniu was in there, and she would be fighting. That's what was attracting so much attention.

He took off towards the building, swerving through crowds of people and dogs alike, earning him more than a few angry comments and gestures. While he wasn't allowed inside, Storm snuck around the back of the warehouse and climbed up a stack of boxes to a dirtied and partially broken window so he could look down onto the crowd below.

The ring where the dogs would fight was surrounded by hay bales, and currently two dogs were fighting in it. Both were at each other's throats, the crowd cheering when the larger of the two dogs bowled the smaller one over, slamming him into the ground and finishing him within a few seconds. The losing men then gave their money to the winners, and the next fight was to begin.

The crowd parted, and a man led the next fighter down into the ring. Storm instantly recognized the white furred yellow-eyed wolf, and he had to stop himself from leaping in through the glass right then and there. Getting himself hurt, or more likely, killed would help no one. Besides, Storm was sure Aniu knew how to fight, she was a wolf! All wolves knew how to fight, at least, Storm hoped so, or else this wouldn't be a fight but more like a slaughter.

...

It was dark inside the little room, but she could hear a lot of people outside. Some of them sounded happy, some sounded disappointed, but all of them were cheering about something.

Before Aniu even knew what was going on, someone opened the door to her room, allowing a bright stream of light inside, temporarily blinding her. The person then proceeded to drag her by the muzzle/collar thing that was around her neck.

She was then dragged into a large room absolutely filled with people, more than she'd ever seen in one area before. There were several men passing what looked like green leaves, as well as golden and silver coins between themselves. Dogs also sat, eying her curiously. The stench of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and most noticeably blood filled the room, and that was when Aniu realized what went on in here. These people would make bets on dog fighting, who would win and such, and that she was to be the next contender.

The person who was dragging her abruptly stopped, took off her muzzle, and threw her into the fighting ring. It was surrounded by four foot high walls made of hay bales, and though Aniu knew it was possible to jump out of there, she likely wouldn't make it very far, as a lot of the people in the crowd had guns.

"Pretty far from your home, aren't you wolfy?" A taunting voice commented.

Aniu noticed then the husky that was in the ring with her. He stood imposingly, a large dog that had many scars on him, making him look all the more fierce. The crowd shouted their approval, and made their bets. Aniu wondered what kind of odds she was getting.

Both stood facing each other, the dogs back to the crowd and hers to a wall. Finally a bell was rung that Aniu knew meant the fight had started, and the dog started circling her. Aniu did the same, and both turned counter clockwise until their positions were reversed.

The husky then lunged at Aniu, feigning left and attacking right. Aniu felt his snapping teeth glide through the white fur on her neck as she jerked herself back, the husky instead running into the wall that had been right behind Aniu.

She used the two-second time from his being dazed to her advantage, and leapt up on top of the husky's back and wrapped her forepaws around his neck. The larger dog easily threw her off and pushed Aniu back into the ground, stomach up. He pressed his paws down onto her neck, attempting to crush her jugular.

Aniu kicked between the dogs back legs, and his body automatically tensed up. Aniu broke free of his hold, clamping her jaws down on his neck and swiping her paws through his. And just like that, she was on top.

Aniu hated killing someone, but knew that if she didn't, the husky wouldn't hesitate, especially after what she'd done to him, to kill her.

The husky tried to kick her off, but his blows were becoming weaker each time. Eventually someone from the crowd leapt into the ring and pulled Aniu off, but it was much too late. The husky dog convulsed twice before lying still.

The crowd was in absolute shock, no one saying anything or moving for a few seconds. Aniu looked around at the crowd, all of their faces unreadable. Then a huge cheer went up, and people were once again trading their money.

Jones stood up triumphantly, collecting at least five hundred dollars in profit. He seemed to be content with that, for as soon as he'd pocketed all of his earnings, he quickly muzzled Aniu, who didn't resist due to the stick in the humans grasp. He took her back to the same dark room and put her inside.

He allowed her to eat a piece of meat, something Jones felt the wolf deserved for her performance. When she was done, he reapplied the muzzle, and then made her go back into the cage.

"Good job wolfy," he commented, "you sure proved them wrong. Keep performin' this way for me."

With that, Jones turned around and left the room, leaving Aniu in almost total darkness once more.

...

After watching to make sure that Aniu was once again safe, Storm quietly descended from his perch and breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried there. Even though the fight had lasted all of a minute, it had seemed like an eternity. More than once Storm had had to stop himself from jumping down into the middle of the fight. Aniu had performed well though, and was quickly taken out of the ring, much to his pleasure and relief.

Storm decided he needed a plan of action. He analyzed the ally he was in, and it looked like if he jumped from the stack of boxes, he could make it onto the slanted roof of the warehouse. Deciding to test that theory, Storm climbed back up the boxes, wondering why he had even dropped down in the first place.

Balancing carefully, he found he was easily able to clamber up on top of the building. Although it was a bit slippery, he was able to move somewhat quickly. From here Storm could see over most of the town, and he looked for the safest and quickest way out of town. While he was fairly confident in his ability to get Aniu out of the warehouse, despite the team that lived there during the night, it was getting her out of town and to somewhere that was safe that would likely be the biggest challenge.

Storm walked to one edge of the building, and saw that the next place over was within jumping distance, and had a flat roof, much to Storm's great surprise. He jumped onto the roof, landing with a quiet thud, and continued on. The next building was a house, again with a slanted roof. Storm kept himself hidden as he jumped to the roof.

He walked quickly across that one, and to the last, but probably most challenging building. Behind the house was an ally way that led directly out of the town. Storm leapt to the roof, sliding off immediately. He stayed skidded down the icy roof like a professional skater, and completed his landing magnificently.

Satisfied with his new escape route, Storm followed the ally out of town, and then circled around to Jarrod's house, which was thankfully about a half a mile outside of the town. Perhaps he and Aniu could hide there for the night, if she wanted to, then the next morning she could leave for her pack, or wherever she lived.

It was then that Storm wondered, what will I do when this was all over? The thought had crossed his mind more than once, but he'd never stopped to dwell on it until now. What would he do?

What Storm hoped was that another sled team would pick him up, although with no human master to trade or sell him; Storm knew that many mushers would be at least a little bit hesitant about allowing a stray to join their team. He shook his head violently, clearing all thoughts. Helping Aniu was the most important thing now; he could worry about what was to become of him later.

And he still wanted vengeance. Maybe, after Aniu was safe he would return to fulfill that, and if he got killed, so be it. There was no one left in his world to care for him, so perhaps he was better off dead? Again, Storm cleared his thoughts, this time banging his nose into the wall of Jarrod's house to do so.

Don't think like that, Storm. There's something out there for you to do, a team that will take you somewhere, all you have to do is sit back and wait for it.

And so he did, Storm sat back and waited for night to come, as he would need all possible cover. Just wait a few more hours Aniu, I'm coming for you.

Storm had been unable to do anything but pace around the house, anxious and ready to go. So when seven o'clock in the evening rolled around, Storm was more than grateful. He left feeling like he could run a hundred miles, and do so all in one day. He forced himself to stay calm though, and was also thankful that it was Monday night, so everyone would be going to sleep early as they had to work tomorrow.

Now Storm had to think of how to get inside the building Aniu was being kept. He walked down the quiet street, deep in thought. He supposed he could just walk in, but that would likely get him seen and noticed, then at the very least, thrown out.

"Hey, Storm!" someone called.

The husky in question looked up and saw three dogs, one male and two female, heading his way. Storm groaned inwardly. He knew these three, although their names escaped him at the moment. More than once they tried to get him to partake in activities he was not interested in. And he really didn't care tonight either, they would do nothing but take up his time. So as soon as they stopped in front of him, he spoke.

"Look, if you leave me alone now, I'll do whatever you want me to do tomorrow night, I promise"

"Really?" one asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes."

"Alright."

Storm briefly wondered what he'd just gotten himself in to, but he pushed that conflict aside for now, as he was free to move again. Storm hurried to the building where Aniu was being kept.

He decided to climb up onto the roof again, as an idea was forming n his mind. He went around the back of the large building, climbed up the boxes and onto the roof. He looked around for a moment before spotting what he wanted. Storm saw the brick chimney sticking out the top of the roof, and he took a quick glance down it. He couldn't smell any smoke, so he took that as a good sign.

Storm carefully lowered himself down into the hole, his heart rate and breathing quickening with anticipation, but also because of the small space. He managed to slide awkwardly down the tunnel, balancing himself by propping his back against one side of the brick wall, and slowly shifting his paws down.

He landed, out of breath and okay, albeit covered in a layer of black soot, which he realized would point directly to how he got inside, and once he left, it would leave a trail behind.

Storm attempted to shake the soot off, and succeeded in getting most of it off, but he still had a slightly black tint on his grey fur. All it did was make said fur look darker though. He then examined the room he was in. It was completely bare except for the fireplace he'd just come out of. It looked like someone might have lived there once, but was long since gone.

There was only one door leading out of the dark room, which had fallen off its hinges and was currently lying on the floor. He stepped over it and exited the room and came out into a fairly long corridor, presumably leading to the arena where the fights took place. Several doors were on each side of the wall, most of them closed. Storm went quietly down the hallways, trying to scent Aniu.

After six doors he caught her scent, and pushed the door open and went into probably the darkest room he'd ever seen. Storm could see the white wolf sleeping peacefully in her cage, her with an almost luminous quality to it.

"Hey." He said quietly, tapping one of his claws on the concrete floor. Aniu's ear twitched, but she remained asleep.

"Hey, Aniu!" Storm said again, this time a little louder.

The wolf sat up almost instantaneously, her yellow eyes locking onto him, unsure of who he was.

"Storm?" she questioned.

"Yes, that's me. I'm gonna get you outta here."

Storm took a step closer, trying to figure out how to open the cage.

"You have to move those two things," Aniu said, pointing with her nose at two latches. Storm used his claws to unlatch and open the cage door, allowing Aniu to crawl out.

"Can you get this off?" Aniu asked, meaning the muzzle. Storm was understandably weary. This would be his first time near her without her being restrained in some way. He trusted her when she was chained up, but...

"I'm not going to attack you, I promise." Aniu said, as if reading the grey husky's thoughts.

Storm stared at her for a moment, deciding whether or not she was telling the truth. After a long while he seemed to accept what she'd said, and nodded.

"Okay."

Storm took the leather collar of the device in his teeth, and attempted to pull it off.

"Hey, I'm gonna have to-"

"I don't care!" Aniu exclaimed, "Just get this thing off of me!"

Storm tugged once again, this time with all of his strength. The collar broke with a loud 'snap!' and went clattering to the ground as Storm released it.

"Ah, thanks. You don't know how good it feels to have that off."

"I bet I do."

Aniu just rolled her eyes. "How'd you even manage to find me? I thought you were... I thought they had killed you." Aniu finished hesitantly.

"Ya aren't gettin' rid of me that easily!" Storm teased. His eyes met Aniu's, and so the husky and the wolf stood, each entranced by the other, their noses inches apart. Aniu inched her muzzle forward, and Storm copied her until...

"Let's get out of here." The husky said abruptly, turning away and ending that short moment.

Aniu chided herself for staring and acting like that, what a fool she'd just made of herself! Storm was thinking similar thoughts, but both of them were caught by surprise when the door to the little room was flung open.

A large dog stood in the door. Storm's eyes narrowed as he leapt for the dog's throat. Storm plowed him over and smacked his head into the concrete floor, dazing the husky dog.

"I would kill you," Storm growled, "but if I did that I'd be just as bad as you." Storm settled for kicking him and knocking him unconscious. Aniu then dragged him into the cage and locked him up.

"We'll see how he likes that." She laughed.

"Ha-ha, yeah."

Storm took one step outside the room, where seven more dogs stood waiting. Aniu stepped to his side, but Storm pushed her back.

"No. They're mine."

In that moment Aniu saw a new Storm, one who wanted revenge and blood for the murder of his friends. It frightened her a little bit, but she knew the significance of these types of battles, and the meaning that it held for the grey husky beside her. So Aniu sat back, promising herself she'd only help if her friend really needed it.

Six of the huskies moved in a semi-circle, blocking both Storm and Aniu into the room. The seventh, presumably the leader was a silver furred dog, who sat behind the line, his eyes glittering with amusement. He wanted to see them suffer, and it only infuriated Storm more.

Storm became his name, moving like lightning and landing so many blows, while managing to stay untouched himself. A black paw managed to get in his face, so Storm took it in his jaws, crushing it easily in his adrenaline powered rage. He then jerked said limb, pulling its owner in front of him and blocking several more blows that had been directed at him. Storm let the husky drop, clawing another's eye and kicking him too, putting two out.

The fight had brought Storm out into the corridor, and the four remaining huskies regrouped in front of the silver one, each of them a lot more weary now, all having at least one claw or bite mark on them. The silver husky pushed through them.

"Stay out of this." He said in a commanding voice, the others obeyed immediately, scurrying off to probably get help, Storm thought.

The silver husky glared at Storm.

"Let's see what you've got."

He leapt at Storm, who copied the move he'd seen Aniu use and swept the dogs paws out from under him the dog who Storm had dubbed, 'Silver', landing on his side. Silver then kicked Storm in the nose, but he felt nothing at the moment.

Silver rolled away and was on his paws again, this time he would take a more cautious approach. Aniu watched anxiously from the doorway, wanting to hurry up and get out of the building. She hated to do it, but she waited until Silver's back was to her, and she leapt up with a snarl and knocked the dog down easily. Storm repeated his kick and he was unconscious as well.

"I'm sorry Storm," Aniu said quickly, seeing the glare she'd gotten, "but we need to get out of here. They're bringing help."

Storm glared defiantly for a few seconds, but he let the fire in his body die. He knew Aniu was right. As much as he wanted to fight all of them, he wouldn't stand a chance, especially if they brought humans, and especially if the humans had guns. He looked down at the three injured dogs around him, thinking that was quite enough for now.

The one who had the broken leg was staring at them, his eyes glazed over from being in so much pain. Even though it probably wasn't right, Aniu put him unconscious as well so he couldn't tell anyone where they were going.

Storm and Aniu hurriedly left the building through the front entrance, hurrying around to the back and climbing to the roof. Both only barely got up before the shouts of humans could be heard in the building below, sounding very angry.

Storm heard one man say, "The wolf is gone!" followed by a multitude of curse words, and he just had to laugh at that.

Aniu looked at him questioningly, but instead of asking him what he found so humorous, she settled for inquiring their next move.

"What do we do now?"

"Once we get out of town, we can either go back to my masters old place, or you can just leave now. It's your choice."

"I'll decide once we get to the house."

Storm nodded, and set off on the roof path he'd discovered earlier, but being sure to avoid detection. Below Aniu was being searched for, and Storm was sure he was wanted too for causing so much trouble. But night had overtaken quickly, so the people had to cut their search short until morning. Storm and Aniu were easily able to sneak out of the town, and back to Jarrod's house.

Aniu looked at it for a few moments. "I'll stay here for the night."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

Storm stood for a moment, deciding what to do.

"Well, I'm gonna go get something to eat. You can join me if you want to, but it's that dry food again."

"I really don't care what it is. I'm hungry."

Aniu had hardly been fed enough the past few days, and was more than happy to eat even some of the dry stuff. Tomorrow though, she'd go hunting.

After a few minutes of eating their fill, both went back to hide inside Jarrod's house. Storm figured that since his master was gone, he might as well get comfortable. He went into Jarrod's small bedroom, and jumped up onto the soft and cozy material.

Aniu, unsure of what to do, followed him into the room.

"You can sleep anywhere you want," Storm informed her.

"Up there...?" She asked, almost immediately regretting it.

"If you want."

Aniu jumped up beside her friend, and settled herself into the comfortable material.

"Oh, this is definitely a lot better than lying on that hard floor."

"I'll bet so."

Storm made sure to move over a bit, so he wasn't too close to Aniu. She sensed this though, as she was good at doing.

"Look... I can leave." "No, you're fine, honestly!"

Aniu looked skeptical, but said nothing more, settling her head down onto her paws. Storm was secretly enjoying the closeness of them, although his rational mind wouldn't allow him to admit that. He knew that he liked the white wolf. Who couldn't be completely enraptured by everything about her?

'Come on, stop that Storm!' one part of his mind argued.

'Why?' the other shot back.

'Because this is a wolf... and not only that, you've only known her for what, a week?'

'So? What's wrong with a wolf? It's not like you're going spend your life with her, she's leaving tomorrow!'

'Good, the sooner the better.'

Storm blinked a couple of times, clearing his frazzled mind. Aniu next to him was thinking similarly.

She knew her attraction to the husky dog was wrong, but she didn't know many wolves even who would've broken into a human building to save her. Although she knew he had wanted revenge, and that was part of the reason he had returned, Aniu could tell that she was the more important of the two. That meant something to her, even if it meant nothing to him. She was also worried about him, or more specifically, what he would do once she was gone.

Aniu suspected that Storm probably still wanted vengeance, and had only cooled off for the moment. She was worried that he would return to town and get himself killed. But she couldn't take him with her... no wolf would accept that, and he would probably end up getting killed anyway, which was stupid, because if they knew the grey husky like she did...

Aniu stopped a moment. How well did she really know Storm? They had spent an entire night talking and laughing with each other, but even then... Aniu glanced over at the sleeping dog beside her. His breathing even, his chest rising and falling rhythmically...

She cleared her thoughts similar to the way her friend had only a few minutes before. Aniu allowed herself to relax, and sleep to overcome her.

...

Storm blinked awake, and finding no sign of his friend, was up in an instant. She better not have left without saying good bye to me! Checking the whole building and finding no sign of the white wolf, Storm hurried outside and found his friend sitting and gazing at the red early morning sky.

"There you are, I thought you'd left."

"I wouldn't leave without telling you. I just like watching the sunrise. Red in the morning, we should take warning."

"What?"

"Some old saying, when there's a red sky in the morning that means something bad could happen later."

Storm nodded and turned his gaze upwards. Neither canine spoke for nigh on an hour, both unsure of what to say. They knew what they wanted, but none wanted to say it. Finally the silence was broken though.

"I suppose I should be going." Aniu said, standing up slowly.

"Be careful out there."

"I will, and Storm, what're you going to do?"

"About what?"

"Last night... I know, you are still angry. I hope you don't do anything stupid, not out of anger, it won't bring them back, and will only ruin you."

"I know that, but what else have I got? At least you've got a family waiting for you, I have nothing."

Aniu took a breath to say something, but it never came out. She had wanted to say, 'You have me, and ask if he wanted to go with her, but quickly realized the problem with said question, and kept that to herself, instead opting for a much more casual reply.

"Well, just be safe. And, thank you... for saving me. I'll never forget that, and I'll make sure that my pack knows of you."

"Nah don't worry about that... I'd have done it for anyone."

Aniu nodded, "I guess this is good bye then. I hope I see you again one day."

"Good bye and good luck."

Aniu said nothing more, turning away and starting off on her journey home.

Aniu took no more than four steps before she turned around and looked back at Storm.

"Um, I just realized... I don't know the way."

Storm just stared at the white wolf incredulously.

"You don't know the way?" "No... I was unconscious most of the way here, how would I know the way?"

"You just go that way." Storm said, pointing with one paw towards the direction Aniu was supposed to go in.

"Yeah real specific there," Aniu laughed, "but seriously, I don't know the way back. Think maybe you could... lead me?"

Aniu wanted this, for him to go with her. It was partially because she didn't want him to do anything stupid, but more so because of her other feelings. She did like the grey husky, and she told herself that that was the only reason. She didn't want him to get hurt.

Storm shrugged. "What else have I got to do?" Inside he was actually excited. Although he wouldn't show it, Storm did very much want to stay with his wolf friend, and would be more than happy to help her. He was a bit nervous though. A dog and a wolf could spell trouble, and from either species. Their most prominent worry was from the wolves at the moment. Dog and wolf pairs were so hated... and Storm would hate to have his friend killed for simply travelling with him.

"It could be dangerous though... if any other wolves see us together, they might get the wrong idea and..." "I know." Aniu responded, "We should try to stay away from them. I'm sure that I can convince my pack that you were just helping me, and at the very least they'll let you go free."

"I hope so, I don't wanna die yet."

Storm led Aniu back out, following the trail that he and his team ran, and that he had just followed back. He knew it by heart, and it pained him to think of his friends... killed like that. When he got Aniu where she needed to be, he decided then and there to return and finish what he'd started last night. Even if it meant his dying too.

"You're thinking of them, aren't you?" Aniu asked, gazing at Storm as she walked.

"Yes... I can't stop. Every time I think I've forgotten, something happens and I remember."

"It'll take time, maybe a lot of it. But don't let hate for their killers overwhelm you. It's okay to be angry, but seeking vengeance will only hurt you, Storm, and I don't want anything to happen to you. You're too good of a dog to do that."

Both went on, not saying anything else after that. It was about an hour before Storm felt the same feeling he'd had the night that his team had been killed. He felt that overwhelming sense of dread, it felt like they were being hunted. Aniu noticed his uneasiness and stopped.

"You feel it too?"

Storm nodded, and both scanned the area, each covering one-hundred eighty degrees. They watched and listened. There were no sounds, the forest was absolutely silent.

"Let's get out of here." Aniu said. Storm turned to reply to her, and that was what saved his life. The shot went right between his ears.

"Go, run!"

Storm and Aniu took off running through the forest as fast as they possibly could. Behind them, the yelps of several dogs and the shouts of at least three men echoed after them. The tree's became scarcer as the two climbed higher, finally reaching a plateau, where the snow thinned out as well, making running a lot easier.

Aniu, who was in front of Storm, stopped abruptly causing the grey husky to stop as well, and while trying to avoid her almost went over the cliff.

"Whoa." Storm's voice echoed down into the gorge. About twenty feet below a river rushed through, crashing against the walls with such force it could be heard from their position. The other side was too far to jump to, they were trapped.

Both turned around and saw the first of the dogs. Both recognized the silver dog, who they had fought last night, and who was likely here to extract his revenge. Behind him were more dogs, some of which were also from the previously mentioned fight. Behind that were the humans, all three of whom had their weapons ready.

Aniu turned and looked into her friend's eyes, and both knew the unspoken message that passed between them. They were going to jump. Storm and Aniu took one last look at their hunters, before leaping into the abyss.

The mountain water was cold, soaking through Storm's grey fur in a matter of a few seconds. It took his breath away for a moment, and he struggled just to keep his head above the roaring water. It soaked his ears, which felt less than pleasant, but that was the least of his worries. He couldn't find Aniu. Suddenly a rock appeared out of nowhere, and the current forced Storm to crash right into it.

He pushed off desperately, that having shaken him up even more. Storm was slammed into the walls of the canyon multiple times after that, slowly draining his energy until he simply lost consciousness, the whole world seeming so far away. He thought he heard Aniu call somewhere, but the sound was lost, as the dark tunnel overcame him and put him into a deep void, somewhere you usually didn't return from.

...

The river eventually calmed and flowed out of the gorge, allowing Aniu to pull her almost froze, battered, and drained self out of the water, crawling up onto land and falling in a mess of soaking white fur.

"Storm, are you alright?" She managed to say. When she got no response however, Aniu got back on her paws, scanning the river for any sign of her friend. She saw a flash of grey, but it disappeared underneath the water as soon as she saw it.

"Storm!"

Aniu, temporarily reenergized, dove back into the water, desperate to save her friend. She opened her eyes, ignoring the stinging of the cold water and searched for her friend. She saw him floating quietly along, not moving.

Aniu surfaced for a breath, before diving back down to save Storm. She swam underneath him, and swam up, with the husky on her back. Her strength ran out as she dropped him onto the rock that she'd been on earlier, stumbling back a few steps, she regained her breath and checked the husky over.

He wasn't breathing, but just lying there.

"No, don't you die on me!" Aniu pushed down on his chest with all the strength she could managed, and to her relief, Storm coughed up quite a bit of water, and seemed to be alright, albeit still unconscious. Aniu allowed herself to relax, until she heard something coming towards her. She tried to rise, but couldn't.

Three grey wolves stepped out, but Aniu was unable to see anything other than blurry silhouettes, as she finally passed out from exhaustion

Aniu was no longer cold, but was still sore from having been thrown into a multitude of rocks and almost drowning and then having to save her friend. She could sense that she was inside a den, and that someone else was in there with her, but who it was and what they wanted was what burdened her. Aniu decided to get up, rising slowly, she attracted the attention of the black and brown wolf. He watched as she stretched out before speaking.

"You feel alright?" The wolf asked. Aniu could swear she remembered this wolf...

"Uncle Tanner?"

The wolf nodded. Aniu remembered him. Tanner was Makota's brother. He had left when she was a young pup, but Aniu could recall playing with her uncle.

"It's good to see you again!" Aniu exclaimed, nuzzling the wolf gently. He returned the gesture.

"Good to see you too, but my question is why were you... near a dog?"

Aniu didn't meet his gaze. She knew she'd have had to explain her travelling with Storm eventually, but hadn't really thought about what she'd say. So she told the truth. Aniu explained what had happened to her over the past few weeks, from being captured to meeting Storm, said husky saving her from the men who made her fight, her not knowing where to go, and finally their being hunted which had resulted in them jumping in the river.

"So that's how we got here. Tell me, where is Storm now?"

"He's okay, he's being kept in another cave. We don't know him like you do, and therefore can't trust him."

Aniu nodded, understanding, "Can I see him though?"

"Sure."

Tanner led his niece out of the den she was in. The camp for the wolf pack was a nice place, surrounded by huge boulders and riddled with caves to hide in. The only way to get out of the camp was a single tunnel on the south side. The boulders were much too steep to try and climb.

Several wolves went about their business, stepping out of the way when Aniu and her uncle passed them by, so Aniu assumed that Tanner held a position of importance.

"I'm sure you know Aniu, that wolves and dogs should not get attached, and the consequences they suffer if they do." Tanner said in an even tone.

"I know that, but I don't understand it. I don't see why such relationships are looked down upon. The one thing I've learned from Storm is that not all huskies are evil and mean like the stories say they are. And I want to show him that not all wolves are evil like dogs think. You see, each is told horrible stories about the other, so when a dog and a wolf meet they fight, thinking that the other is a horrible bloodthirsty creature."

"I know, Aniu. I thought the same way once, until I saw the carnage their humans wreaked on a wolf pack. They came here first. We've done nothing to them, they hunt us and kill us for our fur, when we do nothing!" Tanner spoke with such emotion that Aniu was a bit taken aback, but she held firm.

"We'll never change that if we continue to shun those that try to know the other! We need to talk, to find out the truth, it'll benefit both of our species."

"Well that dog can stay here for tonight, tomorrow you're to tell him to go back to his home. I'll escort you the rest of the way back to your pack."

"You don't have to do that, I'm sure you're pack needs you here-"

"Aniu. Don't argue with me."

The white wolf stopped and stared down her elder. Tanner stared back for a full minute, relenting only to point at a cave entrance guarded by two wolves.

"Your friend is in there."

Aniu stalked past the two guards and saw Storm sitting, doing nothing but staring at the wall. He looked up when she entered.

"Oh, you're okay." Storm said, keeping his voice low," They wouldn't tell me anything about anything. What's going on?"

"They don't trust you." Aniu replied just as softly," They're weary of all dogs. And my uncle says that he'll take me the rest of the way home, so you can go back tomorrow."

"Oh." Storm murmured, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He didn't really succeed.

Aniu was disappointed as well, she didn't want to say goodbye to her husky friend yet. She had brought him on this trip partially because she needed the help getting home. She knew she could get home alone, but the larger reason was because she wanted to protect Storm from himself.

She knew he still had anger in him, and she didn't want him to get hurt doing something rash. So she had hoped that bringing him on this journey would be long enough that he would maybe not want vengeance or maybe have found something else to do when the time to say goodbye came.

But if Aniu was really honest with herself, she never wanted to say goodbye to Storm. And if she was really truly honest with herself, the white wolf knew that she liked the husky. 'Just as a friend!' Her mind would tell her, but deep down she knew it was more than that. Aniu knew she had an attraction to Storm, and now she would be forced to separate from him. 'Oh well,' she thought, Storm probably didn't care for her in the same way anyhow.

But he did. Now Storm had never been one to know too much about liking or loving anyone, and he had never had any sort of crush before, but he often found it funny how blind two beings were when it was so obvious that they cared for one another. Unbeknownst to him, he and Aniu were both victims of such a thing, neither sure of the others feelings.

What he did know, was that unless he said something or something else happened that caused he and Aniu to have to stay together, they would most likely be separating in the morning, as the husky was so unsure of himself that he knew his chances of actually talking to Aniu were negligible at best.

"You're going to have to stay in here for the night; they'll allow you to leave in the morning."

"That's fine with me."

Aniu glanced down at her paws. "I'll be seeing ya then."

"Night."

Aniu turned and approached her uncle, who waited outside of the den.

"I assume you'll show me where I stay for tonight?"

Tanner nodded, and led her back towards the same den she had woken up in.

"You can stay here, this den is unused, so you'll have all the privacy you want."

"Thank you."

"It's nothing, oh and Aniu? There actually is a problem..."

Watching Aniu and Storm interacting had gotten him thinking. He knew Aniu was correct, if no one ever attempted to know the other, both dogs and wolves would be filled with resentment towards the other. And who better to let talk than the two in front of him?

Tanner could see an obvious attraction, although he wasn't one hundred percent sure, he definitely saw some... Tanner's mind searched for the correct word... potential? In the two of them. So he decided to let them stay together. Maybe something would be changed and they could actually succeed in working something out that would eventually benefit both parties.

"What problem?" Aniu asked, waiting for detail.

"About my taking you home. You see, it crossed my mind that those hunters out there, the ones that chased you, might cause trouble for my pack. We've already had to deal with similar situations a couple of times last year, and I would just feel better if... I could stay with my pack. So if you've got no objection to continuing your journey with Storm, I'll allow you two to walk free tomorrow."

Aniu was grateful for this, but she could see right through her uncle's story.

"You don't have to make that up... I'm glad you saw my point. I just wish that others thought as you do too." The white wolf had seen the looks of hate on many of the wolves' faces, they all at very least disliked Storm, and it wouldn't be surprising if some sort of uproar was started when they learned that Aniu was to continue travelling with the dog.

"I wish so too, but that's why I'm letting you continue with him. Maybe you can change the way we think. It'll be difficult, if not nigh on impossible, but if anyone can do it, you two can."

"Thanks, we'll try our best."

"I'm going for an early morning hunt tomorrow, so if I don't see you when you leave, I wish you best of luck in your travels, and send your father my regards."

"I will. Goodbye uncle, and good luck to you and your pack as well."

The two wolves nuzzled each other quickly before turning their separate ways.