HOME | DD

Description
It was a cold and bitter night. The wind howled wildly and whistled through the thick trees, tormenting, unrelenting. The sky was dark and blanketed with heavy clouds, not a sign of rain, but of heavy snow. It was a dreadful sign, and it shook a certain she-wolf with a terrible chill despite her thick white fur. Her heart was slow, desperate as she wandered shakily through the wooded area. She stumbled, almost plopped into soft snow below her paws. Pain shot up from her flank, and she almost whined. Instead, a pitiful groan slipped from her muzzle as she steadied herself.

She needed to hurry, she told herself harshly. She needed to get to the den before it was too late.

The sight of the towering fern caught her attention. A small amount of relief brought a small smile to her exhausted face, but she wiped it off to push her way through the snow towards the tree. At the base, a large boulder, one that led to a dark, deep, occupied cave, remained embraced within the heavy roots of the tree above. The cave was partially hidden behind a section of these roots, but there was enough room to squeeze through to enter. She could smell them. Young, innocent, unaware of the inevitable danger they were presently in. She quickened her pace, hissing as blood plopped against the clean, white snow with every step.

She reached the den. Breathing heavily, she took a minute to lean against the root at the entrance. She tensed when she was reminded of where exactly her wound had been. She leaned off, turning her head to examine the gaping hole in her flank. Blood freshly slipped from it, staining her once gorgeous pelt and trailing down her leg. The slightest movement sent electric shocks up her side.

There were more important things to tend to than herself at this moment, though. She turned her attention back to the den. It was dark and quiet, just like she had left it. Carefully, she put weight on her injured flank and pushed past the roots.

There they were. Small, helpless, huddled in the back corner of the den, just where she had left them. The smaller pup, Balto, felt a new presence in the den, and therefore peeped open his eyes. They glowed in the dark seemingly, and after a long, loud yawn, showing tiny teeth, he shook his head and peered up at the white wolf. He then wigged his tail, a sweet smile appearing upon his small muzzle. At the movement, Denali raised his head, yawning, before he swiveled his head to look at the large female.

Aniu forced a small, doting smile. She did not speak in the beginning, though, and she crept towards the two. She locked them in her blazing yellow gaze, and lowered her muzzle toward Balto to touch her tongue against his head.

"We must leave." Her voice was slightly pained, but she suppressed her groan and picked Balto up by his back.

"Where are we going, Momma?" Denali stretched, his rump wiggling in the air and his little front paws outstretched before he began to follow her.

She halted him by nudging him with her nose, sitting him down. "You need to stay hidden. I will be back for you, Denali." Her heart tore at the thought of leaving him, but he was still so little, so young and with so little experience of being outside the den. He would become tired and would collapse from the cold, she needed him to stay here if he were to survive.

"Whatever happens," she warned softly, allowing Balto a second to rest onto his paws while she pressed her forehead against Denali's little body, "do not make a sound."

With those words, she reclaimed Balto within her jaws and backed out of the den. She grunted as she turned away, looking back towards the way she had come. Snow was already falling in the distance- hopefully it would cover her tracks in time. She dreaded the idea of running, but she made an attempt to trot away from the den.

She could only pray, desperately pray, that Denali would head her words and stay put in the den, silent and in the shadows. It would only be just until she returned. She needed to hurry.

She didn't have a lot of time.

.................

This is kind of a prequel to this: dragonwithashotgun.deviantart.…
I plan on redoing that image to fit this situation. So this is basically an idea I've had on how Aniu dies. She is a spirit, after all, according to the second Balto movie.

Aniu was shot by a hunter, but Balto and Denali do not understand that they are in danger yet. Aniu takes Balto to find a new place to hide her pups, but has to leave Denali behind to come back for later when she finds a new home. She runs into the town of Nome, and decides that because hunters aren't allowed to hunt within town borders, she could hide there until she healed over. The problem was, that because she had moved to the point of exhaustion, by the time she hid Balto and had left the town to retrieve Denali, she became too exhausted to continue, and I imagine she either bled out or froze to death out in the blizzard before she could reach Denali.

I will reveal what happened to him after while.

Art and Denali by me.
Aniu and Balto by Universal Studios.

Description
It was a cold and bitter night. The wind howled wildly and whistled through the thick trees, tormenting, unrelenting. The sky was dark and blanketed with heavy clouds, not a sign of rain, but of heavy snow. It was a dreadful sign, and it shook a certain she-wolf with a terrible chill despite her thick white fur. Her heart was slow, desperate as she wandered shakily through the wooded area. She stumbled, almost plopped into soft snow below her paws. Pain shot up from her flank, and she almost whined. Instead, a pitiful groan slipped from her muzzle as she steadied herself.

She needed to hurry, she told herself harshly. She needed to get to the den before it was too late.

The sight of the towering fern caught her attention. A small amount of relief brought a small smile to her exhausted face, but she wiped it off to push her way through the snow towards the tree. At the base, a large boulder, one that led to a dark, deep, occupied cave, remained embraced within the heavy roots of the tree above. The cave was partially hidden behind a section of these roots, but there was enough room to squeeze through to enter. She could smell them. Young, innocent, unaware of the inevitable danger they were presently in. She quickened her pace, hissing as blood plopped against the clean, white snow with every step.

She reached the den. Breathing heavily, she took a minute to lean against the root at the entrance. She tensed when she was reminded of where exactly her wound had been. She leaned off, turning her head to examine the gaping hole in her flank. Blood freshly slipped from it, staining her once gorgeous pelt and trailing down her leg. The slightest movement sent electric shocks up her side.

There were more important things to tend to than herself at this moment, though. She turned her attention back to the den. It was dark and quiet, just like she had left it. Carefully, she put weight on her injured flank and pushed past the roots.

There they were. Small, helpless, huddled in the back corner of the den, just where she had left them. The smaller pup, Balto, felt a new presence in the den, and therefore peeped open his eyes. They glowed in the dark seemingly, and after a long, loud yawn, showing tiny teeth, he shook his head and peered up at the white wolf. He then wigged his tail, a sweet smile appearing upon his small muzzle. At the movement, Denali raised his head, yawning, before he swiveled his head to look at the large female.

Aniu forced a small, doting smile. She did not speak in the beginning, though, and she crept towards the two. She locked them in her blazing yellow gaze, and lowered her muzzle toward Balto to touch her tongue against his head.

"We must leave." Her voice was slightly pained, but she suppressed her groan and picked Balto up by his back.

"Where are we going, Momma?" Denali stretched, his rump wiggling in the air and his little front paws outstretched before he began to follow her.

She halted him by nudging him with her nose, sitting him down. "You need to stay hidden. I will be back for you, Denali." Her heart tore at the thought of leaving him, but he was still so little, so young and with so little experience of being outside the den. He would become tired and would collapse from the cold, she needed him to stay here if he were to survive.

"Whatever happens," she warned softly, allowing Balto a second to rest onto his paws while she pressed her forehead against Denali's little body, "do not make a sound."

With those words, she reclaimed Balto within her jaws and backed out of the den. She grunted as she turned away, looking back towards the way she had come. Snow was already falling in the distance- hopefully it would cover her tracks in time. She dreaded the idea of running, but she made an attempt to trot away from the den.

She could only pray, desperately pray, that Denali would head her words and stay put in the den, silent and in the shadows. It would only be just until she returned. She needed to hurry.

She didn't have a lot of time.

.................

This is kind of a prequel to this: dragonwithashotgun.deviantart.…
I plan on redoing that image to fit this situation. So this is basically an idea I've had on how Aniu dies. She is a spirit, after all, according to the second Balto movie.

Aniu was shot by a hunter, but Balto and Denali do not understand that they are in danger yet. Aniu takes Balto to find a new place to hide her pups, but has to leave Denali behind to come back for later when she finds a new home. She runs into the town of Nome, and decides that because hunters aren't allowed to hunt within town borders, she could hide there until she healed over. The problem was, that because she had moved to the point of exhaustion, by the time she hid Balto and had left the town to retrieve Denali, she became too exhausted to continue, and I imagine she either bled out or froze to death out in the blizzard before she could reach Denali.

I will reveal what happened to him after while.

Art and Denali by me.
Aniu and Balto by Universal Studios.