wolf pup adventure part 2
The sons and daughters of the Canyon Clan watched their father leave. "Great! So we're left alone again!" huffed Dante, causing his siblings to look at him. The eldest of them glanced sidelong at his brother. "Don't be so sure. Papa will send someone to look after us." But Dante just scoffed at him. "We don't need a babysitter! Besides, we have you to protect us! We're the safest pups in the world with Dad's future beta!" The last remark oozed mock praise, and it was not appreciated. However visibly angry it made him, Tier turned back to the cave entrace. Keep it together... Balto stood as well, his white claws protruding out of his dark brown paws. "Dante, shut up! You're just wasting time taking like that! We don't need your stupid hide dogging on everyone!" Dante's eyes never left Balto's even as the pupils shrank in the red iris from anger. "What did you call me?" His tan tail raised and his fangs showed, ready to strike. But Balto's head remained high. "I said you were a stupid DOG!" At such an insult the tan pup lunged for the brown one with enough force to send him backward. Balto rolled with the gravity flow however, kiking into his brother's exposed belly. Breath knocked out of him, Dante slammed onto the earthen ground outside the cave. When he arose, his hackles did the same. His snout bled from scraping the stone before he stopped, trikling onto his bared teeth and streaming into his gums. He growled and met his brother head on, the two becoming a loud tornado of snarls and flashes of white teeth and small drops of red blood.
Behind them Eska looked frantically for an opening. She signaled for Tier to do the same, and he nodded as he crept to her opposite side. They reached within the blur, nearly swallowing their brothers' tails. The red pups yanked hard on them, pulling away from each other. The blood on their snarling faces made them look all the more ghastly. Dante struggled the hardest, and Eska clamped on his backbone for him to stop. But he whirled on Eska, aiming his wide mouth at her face. Tier dropped his brother in alarm and jumped to catch his brother's scruff right before his mouth closed on her ear. His grip on the tan pup's limp body hardened as he dragged him into the clearing just outside their home. Tier released him long enough to flip and pin him. "Not a word, or I give you to Papa," he warned. Dante gave no reaction, so he continued. "Brothers or no, we still have to respect each other. I know you're worried about Mama. We all are. But you can't take it out on me or Balto. You keep losing your head like you did back there, and you could lose your position as my beta when I am appointed Alpha." Dante appeared to think it over, and nodded curtly. Tier did as well, and was just about to release him when a large shadow blocked the sunlight. "What's this?"
Tier looked up in surrise, recognizing the voice. "Papa!" he cried in surprise, lifting his paws from his brother's tan and now-red chest, who rolled onto his stinging belly. Dante whimpered quietly as dirt founds its way inside the cuts, then shifted his eyes upward to his father. Taku spoke cooly, despite the anger in his silver eyes. "What's this, what happened and who else is hurt?" THe red wolf bent down to lick his son's wounds as his eldest explained the situation. The cuts along his face clotted. Taku tipped him over on his back to check for more, gasping quietly as he saw the dirty gashes on his belly. To Dante's horror he was about to lick them, when something his brother said caight his father's attention. Tier repeated himself and the Alpha raised his head to call for "Mudball." After a moment he limped forward, his left front paw trailing blood through the cave. Taku narrowed his eyes at his other injured son. "Dante..." he said between growls. "I am taking you and your brother to get cleaned up, but you do NOT leave my side until I say. Do you understand?" Dante nodded, all pride gone from his cut face. I blew it! he sulked as he looked away. Papa's going to be so pissed when he hears my side of the story! A sharp yelp broke into his thoughts and he whipped his head in the sound's direction. Apparently Balto had tried to stand on his hurt paw but couldn't, due to the grimace on his also cut face. Atka stood beside him ,licking his paw in attempts to ease the pain. Suddenly the other tan pup's mouth had gone dry. Oh no...
Taku walked over to his brown son, craning his neck for a better look at the injury. He opened his mouth to clean it but was halted by his son's weak voice. "Papa..." For a moment, silver eyes met amber just as they squeezed shut. He appeared to shake his pain away, which only resulted in him swaying off his center. Atka acted on the spot and gently grabbed his arm to steady the fall. Too late. Balto retched on the grass and tilted to the side... Into his father's soft coat. His brother let go of him then waited. Taku studied his sick son for a moment, figuring out what he needed, then faced Atka. "Go into the woods just over yonder. You'll find a caribou carcass. Bring it's liver to the creek; I'll meet you there." Atka nodded. "Yes, Papa," he said, and ran into the trees. He looked at Tier behind him, noticing his children's worried looks within the cave. "Take your sisters out to play for a while." His eldest son began to protest but Taku barked firmly. "Your brothers will be fine. If I need you I will get you." Tier nodded glumly then turned to gather his sisters. He returned a moment later, Eska and Aniu casting worried sidelong glances at their brown-furred brother as they passed. After his daughters were out of sight, the father wolf took to stopping Balto's bloodflow.
"Dad, what's wrong with him?"
Taku stopped midlick, bristling head whipping around to face his tan pup. "So now you care?" He snapped. Dante shrank back, but remained silent for once. He did deserve that. He waited for his father to gather his thoughts. He was about to speak when he saw two of his hunters, the strong Nuk and the clever Yak, trotting up to him. "Is there anything we can do, Alpha?" asked Nuk, glancing at the brown cub. His superior smiled despite the current situation. "Why yes there is! Could you---"
"OH GREAT SPIRIT, NO! IS DE BALL OF MUD DEAD?!"
Awoken from Sumac's outburst Balto jolted from sleep, only to throw up on the ground again for moving too quickly. The Alpha glared at the gangly wolf that sidled up to Yak. "No he is not dead. Thank you for your concern." He cleared his throat and looked at Nuk. "Watch over my children, will you? They should be by the lake." The three wolves bowed and ran off in their direction. Taku turned back to tend his son's wounds and was a bit surprised to see Dante licking them. "Son, you don't have to do that." But Dante looked up at him, eyes pleading for the first time since birth. "Dad, yes I do! It's my stupid fault he got hurt! My pride that got hurt when he called me a dog..." He tried to lick at the bleeding pink pawpad, but then stopped, shame replacing the hurt. I don't even know wny I got mad. Mom's the dog in the family, so that makes me one too..." he turned away from his father. "I'm a disgrace to my ancestors..." Taku was just about to disprove that statement when a young howl floated along the wind. Atka. He must be waiting for us at the creek. He looked at Dante's back, wishing he would turn around. "That is a lie. Come. I must clean you and your brother." He gently picked up Balto by the scruff and headed off in the creek's direction. Remembering his father's words the tan pup scurried like a scared mouse to his father's heels, all the time worrying for Mudball.
Quite nervously, Dante looked at is brother as he bobbed in their father's grip, the blood dripping from his injured paw. I screwed up so bad this time... Maybe I can apologize... "Dad?" No response; Taku fixed his eyes on the creek's brush. At feeling the blood splatter in his face, he set the brown-furred pup down. His tan brother watched him, still nervous. But his father didn't turn to reprimand him... yet. For now he simply adjusted his hold on Balto's dark scruff and resumed his fast pace. Dante sped to keep up, his bitten legs whining. With the faster speed they reached the creek quicker, the thicket-like cover obscuring their brother Atka. He could see them, however, and howled at their approach. They followed the sound at met him. He set the liver down and nudged it closer to his weak brother. "Eat up, Balto Junior," he said with wavering confidence. But it did not die. The still-fresh liver went closer to Balto's mouth, but he turned away in disgust. His hazy eyes tried to meet his father's. "Please, Papa, don't make me eat that. I'm sick enough..." At the thought of eating it, the pup got sick on the dry grass. It went ignored however, and was replaced by his family's caring nuzzles. "But you gotta eat, Mudball," pleaded Dante, stepping back to give his brother air. "You'll feel like caribou poop if you don't." Taku did not pull away, forcing Balto's muzzle up with his nose so that their eyes met. "You must eat, dear one," whispered the Alpha softly. His silver eyes brightened with an idea and he turned his attention to the liver, glancing at his sons. "Help me."
After a few moments Dante, Atka and Taku had torn the liver to pieces. They had hoped it could help Balto eat better, and turned around hopefully. But he was not there. They followed his trail of blood to the creek, where Balto stood on three legs drinking his fill. "Will you eat now?" asked his father, ushering him closer to where his food lay. Balto nodded weakly and chewed slowly on a sliver of meat. Although he spit up a few times, with encouragement from his father the pup continued eating. Eventually his strength returned, much to his brothers' relief. "Thank the Great Spirit," breathed Atka, and Dante nodded in agreement, silently thanking Him for giving his father enough wisdom to know what to do. He looked at his father, who had yet to stop nuzzling his brown furred son. His punishment was soon to come no doubt, but his brother was slowly getting better, and that was enough for him. Happily he padded over to his brother, nudging him lightly. "Atta boy, Mudb--Balto," he stammered with a laugh. In all that had happened recently the tan pup had forgotten the only request of is brown brother: to call him by his real name. Yes, Mudball knew that the nickname was a show of affection, but still... The name was to be respected. He was not the first Balto in existence, was he? 'Sides, I owe him one, thought Dante as he lay down next to his dozing brother. We share the same color after all...