MUSH! - 3. Chapter 3

Dinahei whined and scratched at the closed door of his room. When this elicited no response, he turned, pointed his front feet and leapt onto the sleeping form of his brother.

“Oof, fuck.”

Dinahei barked, nosed around in the quilts until he found Kinai’s bare skin and slobbered on his brother.

“Go away Dinahei…” Kinai emerged, blinking, into the brand new morning and growled softly. “Fuck! Did we miss it already?”

“No.” The husky shook his head. “If we’d missed it I’d be biting some rather attractive patterns into your forearm right now. Get up, we gotta get ready.”

“I’m up.” Kinai looked less than awake, but Dinahei decided to forgive him, because his human- shaped older brother opened the door with his foot and Dinahei scampered out into the hallway.

Socco had picked the Boxing Day Thirty as their first race because it made sense. It was not a qualifier for the Iditarod, not even close, but as Dinahei had said the day before, there was no point starting training without telling anyone and delaying the inevitable. And if Mak needed the evidence they could do this and be good at it, this seemed like the best way. Dinahei didn’t hate his brother, although such a thing would be very easy. He was adult enough to admit Mak was a strong dog, a good second wheel dog, and the team needed him.

He and Mak had never been what anyone would call close, not even when they were pups, before they’d grown into their fur. The six year age gap didn’t help much, but it was a year less than the gap between Dinahei and Socco, so the age thing shouldn’t have mattered. Dinahei had been attached to Socco and Natu from the time he could walk, and Mak had been picking fights with Socco from the first moment he could as well. Dinahei had always assumed it had been plain old pseudo-sibling rivalry. Socco had never been the fighting type, and he and Suda, another three years his senior, had always got on well enough. But as all the cubs in their massing horde had gotten older, and the relationship between Natu, Socco and Dinahei had started to become more solid, if not any more definable, Mak had started to pick more and more fights. There hadn’t been a day they’d all been together when Mak hadn’t sniped and growled at Socco. And usually, it was about Dinahei.

Mak and Kipa had been teenagers when their chemical scents had switched on, and the first time they’d both shifted into their fur, they’d also ended up sweaty and orgasmic. It was not an image Dinahei liked to linger over, but his brother’s mating with Socco’s sister had somehow managed to make Mak even angrier that Dinahei favoured the grey and white husky with the expressive eyebrows.

Dinahei had been only eleven when he’d grown into his fur, just three years behind Mak’s own shift, and that had been the moment when he’d finally known exactly what it was about Natu and Socco he adored. Scent had solidified what he’d always felt, and Dinahei had rubbed against the two dogs he adored to show them how much he cared. Something about the wag of the white underside of his tail not only drove Socco and Natu slightly mad in a very good way, but made everyone else in the family alternately worried, angry and generally disapproving. It had taken another two years before Dinahei had gotten his first kiss, two years of love and adoration spun around in circles, and Dinahei was sure it had been the long wait which made their bond so strong. If anyone had ever bothered to ask him, Dinahei would have happily denied it had been Socco who had been the one who had initiated their mating. Sure, the physical stuff had been Socco's doing, but the young husky had been fourteen by then. Physical mating between the three of them had been the absolute last point of the relationship, and everything else that was important had been established long before. Because of that, he knew, roughly, where his mates were and how they felt. This was how he also knew the men he loved were angry and arguing in the kitchen. His claws scraped on the wooden flooring as he slid in a slightly undignified heap into the kitchen doorway.

“You’re not even going to come and see us off?”

“And why should I?” Mak was shouting, whereas Socco was simply standing with his arms folded over his bare chest. “I don’t want you to place. Not after what Gran-papa said.”

“You’re that sadistic you want the three of us to be miserable forever?” Natu was sitting at the long bench in a long sleeve jumper and boxers. His yellow eyes lit up when he saw Dinahei. “Hey there babe.”

“That’s what you don’t get, do you?” Mak’s voice was a snarl. “There shouldn’t be ‘the three of you’! It’s weird, and wrong, and worse than the fact you,” he jabbed a finger into Socco’s chest, “turned him gay in the first place.”

Socco snarled.

“Do you have nothing new to say on the subject Mak?” Natu asked as Dinahei jumped up, hooking his front feet over his legs. “Just shove off if you’re not going to wish us luck.”

“Good luck finding another wheel dog.” Mak spat. “I know some stuff about the Iditarod too. You need twelve dogs to start the race Soc, and you’ve only got ten.”

“I’m working on it.” Socco huffed. “Never fucking mind, you’ve always been an ass Mak, you always will be.” He turned from the angry young man and knelt down to open his arms for the blue and white husky with the curly tail. “Dinahei!”

Dinahei barked and leapt from Natu’s lap to run to the arms of the other boy he loved. He saw Mak tense half a second too late. Socco went sprawling on the stone tile, as Mak pushed him, and he grabbed the scruff of his younger brother’s neck before Dinahei could leap after him. The young husky snapped and snarled but stopped short of actually biting his sibling.

“Fuck’s sake Mak! Let go of him!” Natu was on his feet, helping Socco get up.

“This is not a good choice for you!” Mak shook his brother violently, and it was enough to make Dinahei snap at him hard, catching the hem of his shirt and tearing it. Mak dropped him quickly. “Fuck!”

“What did you expect?” Dinahei snarled at his older brother. “They have been my mates longer than you have been fucking Kipa! Why would you think you can change anything?”

“Do not talk about my mate that way!” Mak growled.

“Well then don’t talk about mine either!” Dinahei gnashed his teeth. “You told Gran-papa you would run if we placed in the race. We will place Mak. And we will live together when we get back from Nome. There’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

“I won’t run.” His older brother huffed, clearly angry.

“Instead you’ll let your entire family know how shallow and hateful you are?” Socco practically spat the words. “Oh maybe your father might be fine with it, and Oki will probably support you, but it’s easy to see Gran-papa approves of our relationship. And others. Suda gave us scrimshaw, just like he gave one to you.”

“This distorted thing you pretend is a relationship.” Mak’s words were almost indecipherable through is rage. “It is not the same as what I have with the woman I love.” He turned on his heel, aimed a kick for his younger brother that failed to connect, and stalked off.

“No.” Dinahei sighed as he shifted, and finished his sentence naked and human. “It’s better.”

“Sorry babe.” Socco put his arms around the boy, who shivered very slightly. “I didn’t try to argue with him, I just wanted to know if he was going to come watch.”

“We’re coming.” Taba yawned as she entered, dropping a blanket over Dinahei’s shoulders. “Put some clothes on buddy, you’ll freeze.”

“Excited to race?” Seeba crossed straight to the cupboard and began to assemble sandwiches of day old bread and scraps left over from the roast. “Should be a good day for it, no snow overnight and there’s almost no wind. It’s like minus seven out there, you’ll love it.” She handed the sandwich over to Socco as she spoke. “The ground’s going to be really tough though, you guys want some help with your feet?”

By the time Suda and Kal arrived in the kitchen along with the team’s great-grandmother and Dinahei’s parents, the other members of the miniature running team were dog shaped and having ointment worked into their paws by their family. Dinahei lay on his back with his head and shoulders in Socco’s lap as the young man worked the herbal ointment into his paws. Anysie was doing the same for Natu, though he was stretched out on his side and watching Dinahei with happy eyes. Being touched by each other, regardless of how non-sexualised the touching was, it was something they all needed. Shifter’s were primarily haptic creatures, and huskies were pack animals, which meant they needed contact more than most. Suda switched forms and handed each paw to his wife in turn.

“Having fun down there Dinahei?” Tana asked as she wandered in. “You guys have enough ointment?”

“We’ll need to make some more mom.” Anysie replied. “We got through three tubs last run and we’ll need much more now that we’re going to be racing.” She dipped her fingers into the six ounce tub and rubbed a glob of the sweet smelling balm on her cousin’s back foot. Foot care was important for the team, and racing was going to take its toll on them. Dinahei figured they’d need booties before they ran over two hundred miles straight in order to qualify for the Iditarod. Often they didn’t bother, because they weren’t pushing the sorts of speeds, distances or lack of long overnight layovers they would be trying for in order to place at the last great race on earth. Dinahei purred under Socco’s hands in his fur and sniffed at his paws. The balm his aunt and cousin made contained beeswax, almond oil, and Shea butter and smelt faintly of coconut as well. He wriggled his toes gently as the ointment dried like an invisible second skin. Tana put a vitamin E supplement into the ointment, and it made their paws strong and supple. And as Dinahei has also discovered, it made excellent lube in a pinch.

By the time the six dogs were done and their paws were ready, mostly everyone was up and about. Nocus and Natauq had already gone out to work, because although the Ranger’s station wasn’t officially open, the trail head area still needed to be checked over. A few years ago a couple of winter tourists had driven out to watch the snow fall over the trees and gone to sleep in the back of their car with the engine running to keep warm. They hadn’t meant to sleep all night, and the battery had died. Dinahei remembered having to stay suddenly human shaped unexpectedly as the two humans were fed and watered and warmed in the big kitchen, wondering at the number of dogs living in the Sabaakax household.

Mak still hadn’t reappeared, and neither had Kipa, but everyone else agreed to come and watch the start of the race. Most of the shops in town were still shut, including the ones owned by the family, and everyone was planning to enjoy their day off. Dinahei trotted out with his two lovers to the sled shed.

“You think maybe Gran-papa has brought everyone around?” Natu asked with a tilt of his head. Dinahei shrugged as he walked, his high curved tail flicking from side to side. “Even father is coming to watch.”

“It’d be nice to think so.” Dinahei shrugged. “I just want everyone to be together and be happy. It would be nice not to fight with my brother before breakfast.”

“Did you even eat anything babe?” Socco cocked his head at his mates as he opened the doors to the sled shed. Natu grabbed the six harnesses in his teeth as he followed. “You can’t run on an empty stomach.”

Dinahei grinned, his tongue lolling, and jumped up onto the lose canvas sled bag and placed his front paws against Socco’s broad chest. As much as he adored and worshipped Socco’s grey and white fur, the sight of his mate in human skin always sent little flame hot chills running directly to his loins. His brain had been doing it to him since long before he was old enough to understand what they meant. He licked Socco’s face, the stubble rough on his dry tongue, and the older man scrubbed at the fur behind his ears affectionately.

“You can’t live on kisses pup.” Natu sighed. “And quit waving your tail in the air. You’ll make it hard to concentrate.”

Dinahei scrambled down from the sled and rubbed the whole length of his body against the grey brindled husky, making them both shiver in a way that had nothing to do with the cold. He licked Natu’s muzzle with a smile.

“You know, if you catch me…” He wriggled his hips in a way he knew was downright provocative. “Then it won’t be quite so hard to deal with…” The widening of Natu’s eyes let him know he’d had the desired effect, and sure enough, the big dog hissed as his length peeked from its furry sheaf.

“That’s cruel babe. C’mon, let’s get the sled out there.”

Because the dogs had already had their paws seen too, they couldn’t change back to help, but Taba and Seeba were on hand to help scrape the runners on the little rig while Socco got all the tug lines straightened out. The dogs mostly got into their harnesses by themselves. The line system on the little rig worked in pairs, so it made sense for Socco to harness Dinahei and Anysie side by side, because though Anysie was not a lead dog, she was like the blue husky, small and swift and light of feet. Natu and Kinai came next, and Natu made sure he stood right behind his mate, and while Dinahei was distracted, grooming and nibbling at his foreleg, the big grey brindle put his cold nose right up under Dinahei’s tail. The dog yelped in surprise.

“Natu!”

“Tease.” Natu replied.

“Oh boys…” Anysie sighed. “Are you guys gonna flirt all the time and make me regret doing this?” She shook her brilliant white fur and turned to her cousin. “Taba, remind me why I’m doing this again?”

“Because you love to run?” Taba shrugged in her thick deerskin parka, looking shapeless, but very warm. “You’ll do great. You all set Soc?”

Socco finished harnessing Suda and Cenai at the back of the traces and clicked to Dinahei, who walked forwards, holding the tugs out nice and tight against the brush bow of the little sled. Seeba stood on the rear brake, keeping the sled in place. The team didn’t often use a quick release, because they all knew not to pull a sled off without their driver. Unlike the pack dogs that ran trails for their masters, they were smart, loyal and knew all about having responsibility.

For racing, sleds were normally empty, since there were no layovers, no stops and no breaks in the race. It is a sprint from start to finish. Just because part of the race was happening in their proverbial back garden, didn’t mean Dinahei trusted the universe, weather, the gods and the cold not to rally against them. He packed into the bottom of the sled bag a torch, a medical kit with the most useful and basic of items, a zip-lock bag full to the brim of jerky Yakona had made, a spare pair of gloves, a hunting knife and a twelve gauge shot gun. If something bad did happen, or the weather suddenly turned on them, he and the team would be fine. The emergency kit weighed next to nothing, compared to the heavy sled load the dogs usually ran with, and it made everyone happier to have it on board. After all, if they raced well, Socco would probably let them all eat the jerky on the finish line.

“Well don’t you make a pretty picture?” Kova trotted over from the house, wearing his fur and classic black, tan and white Burmese colouring. “Even if you don’t win, you’ll look great.”

“Thanks papa.” Anysie rubbed against her father’s ruff. “Aren’t you coming to watch?”

“No sweetie, your uncle Pakak and I are going to meet you guys at the finish line on the alpine trail. The others have taken the two trucks and left ahead of you. They want to get a good view.” Kova rubbed against his daughter, and then put the side of his muzzle against Dinahei's head, his chest thrumming with pride. “I won’t pretend to understand everything that goes on in your head pup.” He cocked one ear forwards. “But you deserve to be lead dog. You’ll do great.”

“Thanks uncle Ko.” Dinahei wagged his tail vigorously. It was nice to know, even if Kova was no more enlightened than the rest of the family about what it was that Dinahei shared with the men he loved, he at least accepted there was indeed something there.

“You’d best be off kids.” Pakak, fully dressed in a thick red all-weather coat with a fur lined hood stood in the porch. “You don’t wanna miss the start.”

Socco made a last round of the team, and Dinahei and Natu rubbed against him and licked his face.

“You ready for this boys?”

Natu barked in response

“Get on the sled babe.” Dinahei licked his lover’s hand and purred as Socco rubbed his ears. “We’re gonna run!”

“Alright everybody.” Socco planted his feet on the runners. “Mush!”

Kova ran with them as far as the end of the property, barking in delight as the dogs trotted swiftly south. The starting line for the thirty mile sprint was at the Chugach state park, right on the coast of the salty Alaskan Gulf. Dinahei had looked across the route map the previous evening in front of the fire in the den.

The three of them had been exhausted and hot after their training run, ten miles of running as hard and as fast as they could. Anysie was still having to use her weight pulling harness, which was far from ideal, and they had adjusted Socco’s new gear to fit Suda, which made sense, but made Socco irritated in a way he couldn’t describe. Socco had gone for a shower, and by unspoken agreement, the three of them had ended up back in the den, wearing their fur, and the need to look at the map had been easily overtaken by the need to get all hot and sweaty again. There was nothing Dinahei loved more after a long hard run than lying on his belly with his tail in the air, Socco thrusting his hips with abandon while Natu stood over them both. Socco had kissed him, and Dinahei had angled his muzzle upwards to lap at the hard length of his arousal.

Even though his brother Mak was the most outspoken of all the team about his dislike of their relationship, when they were out on the trails, it was easier to be together. In the cold and wind and snow, everyone pretty much minded their own business, and if the wind was bad, various combinations of dogs would bed down together to keep warm. Mak and Kipa, and a few others might not have approved, but they didn’t have the energy to care. They stayed in their fur, because if anyone wandered in, somehow the punishment would be less. Dinahei knew his next-eldest brother considered having sex in fur far more intimate than screwing when human, but mostly everyone else thought the opposite. And after the debacle when they’d first started mucking around wearing skin, being four-legged during sex was now their favoured method.

The length of the thirty mile run was mostly urban, and the trail ran from Chugach Park, up and along the coast near the old Seward highway, before jumping west towards the point of Kincaid Park. Once around the park the trail route headed pretty much into the centre of downtown Anchorage and there was a good sprint down the not-exactly-green strip of Delaney Park. From there they would need to head around the back of the university area, pointing south and go much more rural as they came down the long side of the Far North Bicentennial Park. The last ten miles were back on home turf and they would race up the trailhead and pass the ranger station where Nocus and Natauq would be drinking tea on the front stoop and sprint along the frozen trail to the end of the south fork of Campbell Creek trail, whip around the check point and race to the finish line at the trailhead car park. It wasn’t far, but the terrain would be varied and interesting. Dinahei was trusting the dogs who would break away quickly in the urban section wouldn’t cope as well running on the looser snow. During the last leg of the race, the Sabaakax team would stand a better chance of moving quickly. There wasn’t a rock, tree or frozen stream in the whole of the glen Alps area that Dinahei, Socco and the rest didn’t know like the backs of their own paws.

It did not take long for the small team to get to the start of the race, and it was a nice warm up. Socco called a halt to the sled as the team slowed and they entered a world of barking dogs and shouting men. There were little rigs, just like theirs, tied up to trees and stakes with long ropes and quick releases. Some of the dogs were straining at their traces, yapping and excitable, others barked and snarled. A musher in yellow and black shouted and beat the air over two of his team, little fine boned Siberian’s, all of them black and white in classic patterns, as they fought and snarled. Suda barked angrily, and the fighting dogs calmed. The musher shook his head and huffed and walked back to his sled.

Socco set the brake into the snow and came around to the front of the sled as the dogs stood. Suda sat instantly, yawning wide, his jaw creaking.

“God I hate the barking of normal dogs.” Suda huffed. “At least they were smart enough to shut up.”

“You did yell at them rather loudly bro.” Cenai nuzzled her brother’s ruff. “We all set Soc?”

Socco crouched down at the head of the line and stripped off his gloves to dig his fingers into Dinahei’s fur. Anysie rubbed the top of her head against his knee.

“I gotta go sign in bud. You gonna be OK here?”

Dinahei yapped. There wasn’t a great deal of point in talking, because while musher’s did chat to their dogs, they didn’t have the sort of conversations Dinahei and his lover would want to have. The blue and white husky simply rubbed his face into Socco’s lap, sniffing at his crotch. Socco chirruped in the back of his throat and fluffed Dinahei’s fur.

“Keep ‘em in line bud.” Socco ruffled Natu’s ears too. “There’s my best boys.”

As Socco walked off to sign in, Dinahei sat down and put his head on his paws to watch the comings and goings of the starting line. He could sniff out the location of his parents and his family, they were in the park, not far from the actual start line, and he was sure his great-grandparents would have found somewhere where they could easily see the team run past. Before he’d retired, Ujarak had made his living, along with his extended family, as a sled dog. Dinahei was sure that, wherever they placed, Ujarak would be both proud of them, and would critique and analyse the way they had run the course.

Not all the teams were as small as theirs; many were bigger. The Boxing Day Thirty allowed teams of up to twelve to compete. The other dog teams weren’t all Alaskan breeds either, and Dinahei watched a musher from out of state check the feet of his eight red setter dogs, stroking the long silky ears of each one as he moved through the team. The enormity of what they were about to do dawned on the little blue husky. There were about to run a race, against teams who ran light loads and short distances all the time, with one practice under their harnesses. If they didn’t place, which meant getting in on the top five, Mak and Kipa would refuse to train with them. They wouldn’t get into the Iditarod, let alone do well at it.

Socco, Natu and Dinahei had dreamed of the Iditarod since they’d been cubs, and Socco’s adoration of the race was something Dinahei was happy to attribute to the eldest of his lovers. But Socco had always loved to run, even more maybe than some of their other cousins, so Dinahei had grown up dreaming of the earth’s last great race, dreamed of running ahead of his mates towards the ends of the earth. It seemed faintly unfair that the only person who wasn’t going to be running when they crossed the finish line, was the grey and white part-malamute who loved it so much.

“What’s the plan?” Kinai sat and rubbed his black nose against Natu’s fur. Dinahei twisted in the traces, but not enough to tangle the lines, as he looked at his brother. “Tactics?”

“We ain’t winning this thing by flat out running.” Suda rolled his shoulders. “You’re lead dog now Dinahei, it’s your responsibility.”

“But don’t I do what Soc tells me?” Dinahei folded back his ears. “That’s what I did when we ran back on Christmas Eve.”

Natu barged his shoulder into Dinahei's rump and nipped at his tail.

“We always told you running up front is a great big responsibility babe. Socco can’t do everything, good as he is.”

“You have to pick the good ice now.” Cenai said softly. “You need to know where we’re going, pick the best trails.”

“It’s your job to set the speed.” Suda chipped in. “I just set my shoulders in and haul.”

“So what’s the plan?” Kinai repeated.

“All set kids.” Socco returned to the team, tucking his registration papers into the inside of his jacket. He pulled out a bag of body-heat defrosted mini meat chunks. They smelt like seal. He knelt on the hard snow and fed each of the dogs, ruffling their collar-fur. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re going to be faster in all the corners than the other teams.” Dinahei tried to sound decisive. “I don’t care how much practice they get. I think we should push to sprint through the dense twisty bit from Delaney Park through to the edge of town. If we take the first leg up the coast nice and easy and keep the same pace until we get to the trailhead we should make good time.”

“And once we’re past the trailhead, we’re back on home turf.” Socco smiled and shook the lead dog’s face gently. “Good job Dinahei.”

“No one knows the trails on the Glen Alps like we do.” Anysie grinned. “We’ll beat ‘em all out for the finish.”

Socco rubbed her ears in response. He turned to the sound of their name.

“Hey Sabaakax!” The speaker was a young man, warm but stylishly dressed under his currently open wool lined waterproof coat. He grinned openly and shook hands with their musher. “Socco right? Or Suda? I can never tell you guys apart.”

“I’m Socco. I’m better looking.” Socco grinned as his brother huffed in the traces. “Good to see you Hansen. Are you racing today?”

“Indeed we are, trying out our new lead dog today. She’s a Canadian husky, with lovely markings. I have high hopes for her. This your team?”

“This is them.” Socco tried not to sound too proud.

“So who’s your lead dog? The pretty blue fella there?”

“Aye, Dinahei’s gonna do well for us I hope.”

Hansen frowned, his smooth face suddenly lined. “Isn’t that Mak’s little brother’s name? Odd choice for a dog.”

“Makes things fun.” Socco shrugged off his mistake, and Dinaehei put his muzzle between his front paws. “Plus dog-Dinahei and human-Dinahei are pretty similar.”

“You know, I never thought I’d see the day when you finally got off your ass and raced.” Hansen grinned again. “Or did you get sick of being with your family all the time on the trail runs?”

“It was more finally talking the parents round to the idea.” Socco smiled. Being a big family who weren’t all human much of time, the way the children of the Sabaakax clan interacted with the outside world was important. No one who wasn’t a shifter knew all of them, and they were encouraged not to talk about other members of the family too much or too specifically. As a result of this, no one in Anchorage quite knew for certain how many people lived in the big house, or any of the other residences, and weren’t sure of the number of dogs owned by the family, just that it was somewhere between ‘many’ and ‘lots’.

“We’ll see you at the finish line eh bud? Best get back to the dogs; snow this hard, I’ll want them in booties.” Hansen petted Dinahei’s head and the blue husky resisted the urge to snap at his fingers. “Good luck Sabaakax.”

Socco waved him off, and then bent his head to touch his forehead with Dinahei’s. Natu strained at the tug and behind him. Suda walked forwards so he too could join the little embrace. Dinahei licked the grey brindled muzzle and then nosed at Socco’s wide cheek with his tail wagging.

“We’ll do great eh babe?” Socco kissed them both quickly. “You’re my best boys.”

“Love you.” Natu whined, and it was clear to Dinahei he was talking to them both equally. “I trust you. You’ll do great.”

A shrill whistle blew up ahead, and set off every dog barking madly while their mushers all cracked whips over their heads, yelled and called their lead dogs back to attention. Socco merely stood, pulled on his gloves and clicked his tongue.

“Love you boys.” He muttered. “Good team. Let’s go.” Socco jumped on the back of the sled and Dinahei moved forwards in the mass of men and dogs to the starting line. There were being set off in groups of four, and the order would very quickly establish itself. All the non-competitors were moved off out of the way and Dinahei found himself standing level with Hansen’s new lead dog in the third grouping to be set off.

The Canadian husky was caramel brown and white, and Hansen had been right, she had excellent markings. She would probably make very fine puppies. She was also in heat, a fact her musher should surely not have failed to notice, and every dog behind her was straining and pulling at the sled. Every other musher had their sled tied up or hooked in some way, but Socco hadn’t bothered. The Canadian husky looked Dinahei up and down and waggled her tail at him. Natu growled before Dinahei even had the chance to.

“Mine!”

The dog flipped her ears back and huffed, sitting in the short snow. Her team mates barked and yowled, and decided now would be a good time to start a fight over her affections.

“No way am I coming in behind that.” Suda shook his thick head. “You’d best be ready to run up there pup.”

“I will.” Dinahei was already looking at trail ahead. Natu had shown him how when they’d run out the previous day, though that had been home turf. Looking for soft spots, looking for areas of the trail where other sled runners had worn the ice smooth and slick. He could smell the snowshoe rabbits hiding underground, knew where there were burrow entrances that could trip a dog or twist an ankle. Socco had been proud of how fast he was learning, but then he’d been watching the Sabaakax team, in all its incarnations, run over snow and ice with the sled all his life. You learnt.

The first teams were set off, and then starter’s gun went for the second group as the first bunch spread out along the trail. Socco clicked his tongue to the team.

“You ready Dinahei?”

The blue husky barked in response.

“Alright team.” The gun went just as Socco shouted. “MUSH!”

Dinahei had never thrown himself forwards in the harness as hard, and he was pleased find Anysie matching him with her own tug. The sled, unsecured by any tie downs or quick release belts, began to move instantly as Socco pushed it off. In the back, Suda growled and his claws dug into the snow and ice, and they were off.

The pack of mushers and dog teams instantly strung out and separated as they made their way through the first part of the park. Dinahei pulled forwards, jumping on his hind feet. Hansen’s team pulled ahead of theirs, but Dinahei didn’t care. This was not a free run over a quarter mile, this was a thirty mile race, and he knew if they ran well, he could place them above the pretty Canadian husky with the flirty tail. Behind them the starter’s gun went one last time and all the teams were in the race. Dinahei put his head down, and ran.

He smelt their family before he saw them. Up ahead and to the left, the mixed wash of scents of his cousins, parents. He picked out the scent of his great-grandfather, and as they came into sight was surprised to find the big silver husky standing at the feet of his wife, attached to a lead and collar that were purely for show. Dinahei barked excitedly.

“Gran-papa!”

“Run pup! Go!” Ujarak yowled. His thick bushy tale wagged in pride and it was impossible not to feel emboldened by the scents of love and pleasure that came from their family, watching them run the race. Dinahei felt the snow shift under his paws, swung his head forwards to see the curve in the trail ahead of them. He barged Anysie with his shoulder, they needed to turn left harder.

“Socco!” Sighai shouted. “Get back in the race!” For someone who had been against the idea of them racing, Socco’s father’s shout had been adamant and full of passion.

“Haw! Haw Dinahei! Haw!” Socco twisted the little sled around and Dinahei pulled every dog to the left, crossing his own feet as he ran. The others pulled right into line behind him and they made the turn.

It was easy to be distracted by the idea of looking good for their family as they ran. To feel the sense of pride was amazing. But more important was to run a good race, and stay on the trails. Dinahei put his head down between his shoulder blades and pulled. The running in the park was good, but they passed through the gates very quickly and were out onto the boarders of the Old Seward Highway, running on the smooth snow of the verge. Dinahei picked up the pace to run at a swift loping canter, much faster than a straight trot, and they made good time up the coast towards the first big turn-around at Kincaid.

Dinahei knew Socco would much rather be running, but for all of his complaints he was an excellent musher. As they went over rough patches he pushed at the back, at the corners Socco climbed high on the sled and lent to the side, holding on with both hands. Each of the six huskies pulled for the joy of running, pulled for the love of moving forwards and feeling the weight around their shoulders. And they pulled again for the brilliance of wanting to win, to race, to prove their worth.

Mak had not believed they could do it. Mak did not believe Socco and Natu loved him just as much as he himself loved his mate, but Dinahei would prove his older brother wrong. He loved to race, he loved to run, but today Dinahei wanted to love to come in somewhere before sixth place, and then they could indeed enter the qualifier and run the last great race on earth against the biggest collection of running dogs in the world.

Socco had told him about the history of the Iditarod from the time they were kids, his stories better and better the more he found out and the older they got. He told stories of Leonhard Seppala and his dog Togo, how the man had absolute faith in the Siberian husky, the breed which Dinahei most closely resembled as his line was less interrupted and dilute than Socco’s mixed heritage. The King of the Trail was a figure of legend, a better hero to grow up with than anything computer games or comic books could describe. Socco had spent hours before the fire, painting pictures with words about how Seppala and his team had raced against Scotty Allan in the Great Alaska Sweepstakes and had won by being kind to his dogs, patient, slow to start and quick to run. Four hundred miles could not be completed in a day, and Seppala had promised he would run his own race, and not have the run dictated by the timings of his rivals. The little charismatic and good-looking musher had promised to never abuse the trust of his dogs. Dinahei had always wanted to race, to be one of those dogs who brought a race home and earned the love of the man who stood on the back of the sled. Now the man standing on the back of the sled was one of the men he loved, and Dinahei wanted to prove himself worthy of that love. He was a sled dog, and now he was a lead dog, and he was going to run even faster to keep things that way.

They made the turn at Kincaid point somewhere in the rear third of the pack. As they past Sand Lake and headed towards the crossing at Raspberry Road, Dinahei barked at his team.

“Off we go guys!”

“Whatever you say bud.” Cenai replied quickly. “Weave up to Delaney is it?”

“Nice and fast around the corners.”

“I’ll just pull eh?” Suda laughed, his deep voice booming. “Mush!”

Dinahei had been right, and none of the other teams, malamutes, huskies or red setters could beat them around the tight and many turns, because Socco jumped up on the back and he knew in a way other mushers couldn’t ever possibly know, exactly how the turn felt, exactly when the dogs would need to turn and exactly how much pressure to put on each runner to make a turn in a smooth clean line. They never banged the sled, never clipped the lines which marked the course, and never even came close to coming off the track. Dinahei pulled left to whip around and overtake a group of six mismatches huskies a bit like themselves pulling a sled flat out. There were going too fast for the corner and as both mushers gee’d their dogs, Dinahei pulled ahead, Socco got them round and other team had to draw up short with a mass of tangled lines and barking as they halted before running off the road.

The team scented their family again as they came rushing up to the strip of Delaney Park at near full tilt. Dinahei barked once and pulled harder with his shoulder, setting his feet forwards. He reached further, pushed harder against the ground and was delighted to find the whole team responding to him, pulling equally hard, taking the weight of the sled behind him and Socco cried in wordless delight as they swung onto the straight. His mother and his aunt Opik were there on the side lines, two women in fitted clothes and fur caps, smiling and waving as they sped onwards. Dinahei barked to his mother, pulled up his neck and ran for a hundred yards with his chest puffed out and his hind feet landing exactly in his front paw prints. He gleamed in his new harness and he knew he looked the part.

“Looking good babe.” Natu barked from behind, his words rushed with the breathlessness of running. “Let’s put on a show!”

They ran the whole length of the park as fast as they could, and Dinahei figured they were probably clocking nearly twenty eight miles an hour as they sped across the flat land. It was a great feeling to pass other teams and put themselves in the top third of the pack. But they needed to come in at least fifth or above in order to place and get Mak and Kipa to agree to join them for the qualifying race. They made good time through the next section of urban running and arrived at the other side of the university area out of breath and right up in the top rankings. There were only two teams ahead of theirs and they had passed Hansen and his fluffy lead dog twenty minutes previously. Dinahei slowed them back to a trot for five miles and then they loped towards the trailhead.

“Hey Sabaakax!” Hansen called out as his dog team drew level. “See you on the finish line!”

“Dinahei!” Suda growled, but the little lead dog didn’t react and didn’t speed up.

“Trust me.” Dinahei turned back his ears and waved his tail. “We’ll be fine.”

“I trust you babe.” Natu said, taking the opportunity of the slower pace to nuzzle his running mate, since he couldn’t put his muzzle in Dinahei’s fur. “It’s nice to have the break.”

“You going to be ready to dash when we get to the trail?” Anysie yapped.

“Keep going kids!” Socco called from the little rig. “Ja, ja!”

They had run hard for an hour and twenty minutes when they reached the trailhead, the scent of home, the sure footedness of their territory. They had slipped back to the middle of the pack rankings, but as Dinahei caught the strong waft of his father’s scent, combined with the loud and excited bark of uncle Kova, he put on speed again. The rest of the waiting Sabaakax cheered as they raced through the checkpoint at the trail head station, speeding up from a simple lope to an all-out, wide open run. The entire team set their shoulders to the traces as they started to turn down the last part of the trail. Here the trail had been broken through the old snow and followed the line of the mountain ridge, all the way down the Campbell Creek trail

“Last run guys.” Socco shouted from his position at the back. “Let’s go Dinahei! MUSH!”

And so they ran. There was delight in the tightness of the tug behind them, the sped of the sled picking up as they ran. They whipped past three other teams in as many minutes and didn’t bother slowing down at all at the ridge. They’d been over it yesterday, and Dinahei knew exactly where to clip his step and jump as the sled sped up down the other side. Suda pulled hard with every step, and his sister matched him the entire way. With the turn post and final checkpoint in sight, Dinahei fixed his eyes on the back of Hansen’s sled and barked.

“You want it babe?” Natu grinned when he spoke, despite running flat out. “Let’s have him then.”

They were less than a mile from the turn around at the last marker and Hansen’s sled was three hundred yards away and moving quickly. Dinahei put his head down and lurched the sled forwards.

“Jesus Dinahei!” Kinai shouted, his body dragged forwards by the tension of the traces. “Slow down.”

“No!” Dinahei pulled harder, if such a thing were possible. He had to get around the next sled and have the time to slow down before the turn around. There was no way they would make the turn without crashing the sled at anything more than a simple trot. It was too tight and close. No one was all the way around yet, the leader of the pack, twelve English setters, making the turn as they vanished from sight behind Hansen’s sled. Dinahei barked as they came level with the other team.

“Hi Hansen.” Socco obviously couldn’t keep the cockiness from his voice as his sled began to draw alongside. “See you at the finish?”

Hansen’s eyes went wide and he cracked the whip at his team. They were exhausted, having run on full power the whole way, now no longer able to do anything more than canter. Still fast, but not fast enough. The lead dog turned to look at them, her ears laid back and eyes wide, as Dinahei barrelled past her at top speed. He couldn’t help the smug grin, the flick of his tail in pride.

“Sabaakax!” Hansen’s yell was panicked. “Oh fuck! MUSH!”

They were clear of the other team, the turn-around was coming closer and Dinahei didn’t want to slow down.

“Dinahei! Whoa!” Socco’s voice in his brain snagged at him, the order punching him between the eyes in a way he’d never known about before. He had no choice but to slow his pace. “Good boy. Gee over Dinahei, gee! Gee!”

Socco guided the sled slower with the brake and they made the turn safely, fifth in the line. They were going to place as long as no one overtook them, but Dinahei didn’t care. He wanted not just to place, but to place higher. He barked, calling to Socco, and the man stepped off the brakes and kicked the sled forwards.

“MUSH!”

“You heard the man.” Natu cried gleefully. “Let’s go! Hike!”

They ran. They ran so hard and so fast Dinahei didn’t think he’d ever be able to stop. His pulse thudded through his feet, his tongue lolled, cooling him in the frozen air. He could feel the heartbeats, in time with his, of every dog in his team, of his two mates behind him. Socco might not have been physically running, but it didn’t mean his pulse was doing anything other than racing.

They passed another team, a group of dogs clipping along at a fast canter which wasn’t enough to hold the gap or close it after Dinahei over took. They were third, they were running, and the car park at the trail head was in sight, there were two teams there already and Dinahei could see his family, humans and huskies alike, calling for them, his great-grandfather and uncle Kova straining on their leashes. They were going to place, they were going to come in third and there wasn’t going to be a single thing Mak was going to be able to do about it.

Dinahei could see the future, and it was clear and bright, and right in the centre was a little space where he, Natu and Socco, could be together always. Barking, panting and with a host of madly wagging tales, they arrived at the finish line. Socco abandoned the sled, ran to the front of the team and fell to his knees with his arms wrapped around his mate’s necks, burying his face in their fur.

“My best boys! My best boys!”

Dinahei could help but laugh. They had run for not quite two hours. He was exhausted, and his feet burnt from the speed at which he’d run, but it was going to be a damn good day.