MUSH! - 5. Chapter 5

“Natu!” Cenai stood with hands on hips out front of the big Sabaakax family home. “Get your damn self in the truck or we’re leaving without you.”

From the doorway the shape of her younger brother separated from two others and he muttered as he walked out, stuffing his hands deep in the pockets of his fur lined parka.

“That’d be a fine thing.”

“I heard that.” Suda looked across at him, stuffing the last of the bags into the bed of the truck. “Don’t grump Nat, it’s not like we won’t be back tomorrow for training.” Suda ruffled his younger brother’s hair, and even though Natu was trying to be in a bad mood, he leant into the touch automatically. “See? Come on, up ye get.”

They packed the six of their immediate family into the Dodge by squeezing Kal in the front with their parents, and Cenai sat between her two brothers on the bench seat in the back. It had been wonderful to be with everyone over Christmas, to have all the family there, but Cenai missed her own bed, her own room, and the ability to make a single move without knowing that somebody somewhere wasn’t watching you. The Sabaakax were not as a rule, judgemental people, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t nice to get some privacy.

“You know, I’m looking forward to a whole couple of months without any delivery runs.” Suda sank back into his seat as they pulled onto the main Glen Alps road.

“You kids are going to give up carrying mail and packages?” Pakak asked from the front. “Is that wise?”

“We have enough money saved up.” Cenai ran the finances for the team, because when they’d first started taking on jobs when Suda was twenty-two, someone had needed to be in control of everyone’s spending. Now that Dinahei was in the team, everything they earnt got split twelve ways, a portion each, and one for the reserve, for the sled, for emergencies. “Anyway, I don’t see how we’d be able to fit in anything reliable in between training, fundraising and qualifying. We’ve not got even two months until we need to be in Dawson City for the Percy de Wolf Memorial Mail Run.”

“You’re doing the Percy as your qualifier?” Opik turned around in her seat as best she could to look at her three children. “You know your gran-papa ran it when he was a young dog.”

“But the race only started in the late seventies mom.” Cenai glanced at her brothers. “That can’t be right.”

“What your mother means pup,” Pakak glanced at his children in the rear view mirror, “is that your great-grandfather used to run with Percy de Wolf back in the day. He was lead dog for a year or two before he married your Gran-mama.”

“Really?” Natu was sitting forwards in his seat, invisible ears pricked up, almost quivering with excitement. “That’s so cool. Did he ever run the Iditarod?”

“No. The Iditarod is for crazy son’s o’bitches and mad men.” Both women in the front of the truck tried to attack him and Pakak laughed. “What? It’s true. Every musher who has ever run it still calls it ‘that goddamn race’.”

“Do you think we’re stupid to try pa?” Cenai asked her head on one side.

“No little girl. I think you’re all a bit loopy, but I don’t think you’re stupid. You’re strong dogs, quick runners. I think you’ll find it a lot tougher than you think it is, but I know why you want to do it.”

“We’ve got a lot of planning to do guys. First stop, training.”

“We’ll need a car.”

All of Natu’s immediate family turned to him in puzzlement.

“For building muscle mass and stamina. Iditarod teams train early on by towing an old car filled with scrap metal and heavy shit.”

“You are kidding?” Suda stared at his brother. “I thought we were done with heavy loads.”

“Nope.”

“Pa, you know when you said this was going to be harder than we thought? I think you were right.”

Pakak laughed heartily, and drove them home.

The house in which Opik and Pakak lived with their children was outside of the Abbot Loop Community Park. Truro Drive was a good street, and their house was like many of the others, with garage, a patio above and a pitched roof over the main house. Big windows and whitewashed wooden panelling, and a lawn boasting three huge spruce trees. Cenai yawned into her fist as they parked up, and Natu was first to jump down from the truck. He’d shed his clothes before opening the door, and grabbed up a stick from the fresh white snow and wagged his tail as he trotted back towards his sister. Cenai checked the mail box, retrieved the little stack of envelopes, then grabbed the end of the pine stick offered to her and played tug of war for two minutes with the overexcited husky.

“Come on sis!” Suda stood with his arms around Kal on the driveway while Pakak unloaded the truck. Opik had already opened the house, changed and come out again, and she tussled with her youngest son on the lawn, making a mess of the snow.

“You wanna go and join them babe?” Kal kissed her husband with a smile. “Go on, show your brother who has the biggest paws.”

Cenai turned as her brother appeared from the garage having shed clothes and skin, and threw the stick across the front yard, watching her brother’s and her mother give chase. She shook her head, and headed for the house, bags in hand while the three dogs fought over the branch.

The house seemed very quiet after the mass of family at the Glen Alps house, and it was sort of cold inside. Opik only kept the heat on high enough to make sure the water in the pipes didn’t freeze when everyone was gone. Cenai left the mail on the table, Christmas cards which had been dropped in while they had all been away and a couple of cheques from various people, and wandered into the house. The first thing her father would do, she was sure, would be to boil the kettle and light the fire in the living room.

Pakak’s family had not been people from Alaska, and he had come as a teenager with his parents, intent on getting away from the hectic life Down There. Pakak had embraced this idea rather whole heartedly, studied tree surgery for a year or so at college and gone into the logging business when Suda had been but a baby. Now the big man felled trees and chopped wood for everyone around who had a wood burning stove or proper fire, which was a great deal of people. One of the team’s regular runs was to haul in cords of wood for Pakak and his clients. A cord of wood could keep a small family going for half a winter, and there was good money to be made in the process.

Cenai opened the back door just as her family appeared in their fur, having run around the side of the house, and stomped out to fetch wood from under the back eaves. Sighai had helped to build the lean-to at the back of the garage, which in-itself was not a structure which ever held a car. The garage was full of tools, odds and ends, and bits of bone and antler. Cenai watched her brother’s tussle. Despite being younger, Natu was not much smaller than Suda, and they were quite well matched in their mock-war. Opik trotted up to her daughter with her tongue out and her tail waving in the air.

“You got ‘em well beat hey mom?” Cenai knelt to ruffle her mother’s fur. She had what on a collie would be called tri-colour patterning in black, toffee brown and white, and Opik nuzzled at her daughter before receding further into the house to get changed again.

After that it was simply a case of unpacking everything they had taken with them for Christmas: presents and extra cooking pots, bedding, quilts, jumpers, extra boots and socks. Cenai dumped all of her stuff on her bed and fingered the neat hollow oval of antler which Suda had given her. Every couple, each mated pair had received a scrimshaw, a beautiful little carving. Her brother had made her a pendant, and lovely as it was, Cenai met her own brown eyed gaze in the mirror and wondered when she might find a special someone to share one of her brother’s scrimshaws with. It would not be one of her cousins, that was for sure.

“You don’t like it sis?” Suda stood in the doorway, one naked shoulder leaning against the frame, dressed in nothing but a pair of loose fitting boxer shorts. “I can make you something different if you like.”

“No Su…” Cenai turned to rub his shoulder in reassurance. “I love it. I was just thinking.”

“Well you are always doing that.” Suda cocked a dark eyebrow.

“Oh like you’d know. D’ye not think you might have to move out on your own one day? You’re practically thirty.”

Suda grabbed for his sister and knuckle-rubbed her hair.

“Oh you’ll miss me when I’m gone.” He let go and held up the four leads in his hand. “Kal wanted to know if you wanted to go for a walk with us.”

“Sure, suppose Natu’s already signed up?”

“Yeah, and mom won’t come out of her fur either. Come on.”

Kal and Pakak were used to taking their shifter family members for walks. The leads were all for show, because every human thought every husky was too independently minded to stay with people of their own free will, and Suda, Cenai, Natu and Opik all trotted happily four abreast as their humans walked swiftly down the residential street. Other people were out and about, and they were waved at, greetings of the season called across streets and cars and they headed into downtown.

“Where the heck are we going to get a car?” Cenai asked as they walked. There were other dogs about too, but their conversations tended to be less interesting. “I don’t think pa will be best pleased if we steal his truck.”

“Well no shit.”

“Suda darling do you have to swear quite this much?” Opik nudged her eldest son. “You’ll have to get a dead one from the scrap yard. Boris will help you out I expect.”

“Jees, you know him and Mak wind each other up the wrong way. It’s all about who’s got the biggest c-”

“Young lady mind your tongue.”

“Aw mom…”

“Wolves are territorial, and if Mak wants to get along with people he should know better than to piss on their fences. Socco too, he’s a fine on for winding other people up.”

“What’s say we wander over to the fish market and get some snacks?” Kal ruffled her husband’s ears. “You want pollock for dinner?”

Suda barked in agreement, and they took the road north into town.

“Hey Pakak!”

Cenai looked up at the voice, her tail raising and wagging quickly. The speaker was coming across the road towards them, a young man wearing jeans, heavy boots and a padded red and white checked jacket, with a wide smile and sparkly blue eyes

“Hey there, Gunnar. Happy Christmas and all that stuff.” Pakak hugged the young man swiftly. “You gonna be up for a bit of work in the New Year?”

“Yes please. I like working with you. We had fun in the forest, and my old man loves it when we bring him the choice cuts back for the workshop. I bet Sivoy does too.” Gunnar grinned, and glanced down at the dogs. “I swear you have more every time I see you. And who is this pretty lady?” He crouched down in front of Cenai and offered her his gloved hand to sniff. Cenai immediately put her ears under his fingers and yapped happily.

“That’s Cherry.” Kal had learnt early on in her relationship with Suda to lie seamlessly. “I think she likes you.”

“You’re cruel babe.” Suda sat at his wife’s feet and pressed his face against her leg. Being human, she could only guess at the particulars of what was being said between the dogs. “You know she’s been crushing on him for ages.”

Natu rolled his eyes.

“Oh lord.”

“She’s a lovely looking girl. Is she Sam’s sister?” Gunnar offered his hand to Suda, who huffed and wagged his tail. “Didn’t I hear your nephew raced in the Thirty? Socco, right?”

“That he did.” Kal grinned when she replied. “He took three of these guys with him. Sam here is the best wheel dog, aren’t you boy?”

“Is he gonna race again?”

Cenai barked.

“We’re doing the Iditarod.”

“This year?” Gunnar looked shocked. “Wow.”

“Spread the word bud, the Sabaakax are sending a team.”

“I will do.” Gunner stood up again. “Hey, say hi to Cenai when you get back eh?”

Cenai whined as Gunnar waved and continued on his way.

“Sis’s got a crush; sis has got a crush…” Natu sing songed as they walked. “I thought you were going out with that bloke with the stupid blond hair.”

Cenai growled at him and laid back her ears.

“You are kidding? That was just sex.”

“Cenai!” Their mother looked aghast. “What on earth are you saying?”

“Oh god mom!” Cenai stopped dead, causing Pakak to walk past her, which tugged on her collar. “I’m not having this discussion now.”

“Youd better believe we’re gonna talk about this when we get back young lady.”

Cenai crossed to the other side, putting Natu between her and her mother.

“You boys are lucky you never get this much hassle.” When Natu flattened one ear, she shook her head. “Sorry. Yeah. Never mind.”

At the fish market the six of them headed straight for the family’s favourite smokehouse, the scent of salmon and imported maple wood chips, making the dogs excited and yappy. The smokehouse was run by a literal bear of a man, and he grinned as the shifters approached.

“Sabaakax! Wondered how long it’d be before I saw you again. Hey there little one. You back for some more fish?” Ukiuk grinned at Natu and threw him a tail end piece which he snapped out of the air before Suda could grab for it. When the others growled, the big polar bear placated them with open palms. “Some for everyone. Here you go guys.” Each of them caught their fish pieces. “Kal my darlin’, what can I be doing for you and your pa-in-law here?”

“Hey Uki. Got any pollock?”

“Yup. You want them whole darlin’?” Ukiuk held up a pair of big silver fish, each easily two feet long, by a finger in the gills. “You can make great stock outta the heads if this lot don’t eat them up first.”

“That’d be great. You got another two in there? Six hungry mouths to feed.”

“Only six, my my.” Ukiuk grinned. “I suppose you’ll be back getting the lumber in soon enough Pakak? My sister is running low on her stash, give her a call for me won’t ye? I don’t want her running out up there and having to hibernate or some such rubbish.”

“No worries Uki. You be safe a’right?” Pakak handed over the money as Kal took the wrapped fish, holding the bag in the crook of one arm to keep it warm. “See you soon.”

Natu barked, and turned to the polar bear. A lot was lost in interspecies translations, but a meaningful look to Kal made the young woman smile.

“You know our cousin Socco is going to run the Iditarod this year.”

“With the team? Well damn that’s good news.” Ukiuk grinned massively. “I’ll bet he’s proud as punch, and pissed about not running, right there Nani?” The polar bear smiled to Natu. “Ah well, you’ll all live. We’ll put up some posters for you if you guys want, about time someone showed this town what real sled dogs can do.”

“That’d be great Uki.” Kal hugged the frosty bearded bear hard over the width of his stall. “You take care now.”

“Will do. Bye Sabaakax!”

It was a nice walk home, knowing there would be good food for dinner, and Cenai relaxed right up until the point her father let her and her youngest brother go, and Natu chased her across the lawn and pinned her into the biggest snowdrift at the base of the three big pines in front of the house.

“You got the hots for dad’s work buddy!”

“Oh get off Nat!” Cenai rolled to dislodge him, but her brother was heavier than he looked.

“You’d better stop sleeping around if you want him to notice you…” Natu licked her muzzle, and jumped away. “Have fun ‘Cherry’.”

“Dick.” Cenai spat, but after a while she followed Natu in to get changed and get warm. There was work to do if they were ever going to run in the Iditarod.

*

“Kal you got the phone?”

“Here babe.” Kal handed the device over to her sister-in-law. “Are you alright hun? You look frazzled. It’s supposed to be your day off isn’t it?”

“Training doesn’t start until tomorrow.” Cenai yawned into her hand and stretched at the same time. “But that doesn’t mean I trust the boys to handle all this paper work stuff. You reckon Socco will have downloaded any of the forms we need yet?”

“You can’t do it all for him hun. Get him over here.”

Cenai grinned and waggled the cordless phone.

“Way ahead of you Kal. I’m on it.” She sat back in the little swivel chair, long retired from its use in the office at Eternal Natural Jewellery by her mother for being too damn shabby, and stared at her desk. She had downloaded and printed off about a dozen forms that they needed to fill in for the Iditarod, the Percy, for vet clearance and customs to get into Canada. Cenai sighed, she was going to need a fresh pen at this rate. The phone ceased ringing.

“Sabaakax eight three oh four.”

“Hey Kipa, it’s Cenai.”

“Hey there hun. What’s up?”

“Can I have your brother for a bit.”

“You can keep him forever.” Cenai could tell her cousin was grinning devilishly. “SOC! It’s for you!”

“Hey!” Socco sounded out of breath, a near impossible feat for a shifter of his stamina. “Babe I was hoping you’d call. You think we could get Dinahei away for a couple of hours tomorrow and go for a run and stuff?”

“Hi Socco.” Cenai had the delight of knowing their newly appointed musher had just gone white with shock. “You really should check who you’re talking to before you open that great big gob of yours. Dad would’a skinned you alive.”

“H-hi Cenai…” Socco’s brash confidence had vanished. “What’s up?”

“I need you to get over here and be our ‘responsible human’ for a bit. We got work to do if we’re going to get on this crazy plan of yours.”

“We do?”

“You’re so lucky you have me Soc. Get your butt over here would you? And bring a pen.”

It would take Socco probably half an hour to reach them, once he’d dressed for the cold and argued about borrowing the car in order to drive over from the house near Patterson Street Park. Cenai dialled the next number on her list, and happily, exactly the person she wanted picked up.

“Hey there Seeba.”

“Hey cus. You’re not getting everyone organised already are you? You never stop.”

“You know me. I’m organised so my brother’s don’t have to be.”

“What do you need?” Seeba was, in comparison to her older sister, sensible, mature and straight to the point. Cenai smiled.

“You’re always doodling things. Everyone knows you got all of the two-dimensional artistic talent.”

“Flatterer. Continue.” Anyone listening would have been able to hear Seeba’s smug expression down the line.

“Team needs a poster, a flyer, something to help us raise some money and get sponsorship. You wanna be even more perfect than you already are?”

“Don’t you always know the best things to say? I already started on something good. I was going to get it over onto the computer tonight.” There were the noises of keys and electronic clicking from Seeba’s end of the phone. “Well at least I can prove to grandpa that a graphics qualification can be useful after all.”

“You remember the model you made of that restaurant?”

“And he had no idea why I’d stuck little green painted q-tips to it either.” Seeba laughed. “ ‘How many times grandpa, they’re supposed to be trees.’ ”

Ceeba did her best impression of her great-uncle Sivoy.

“ ‘But pine trees ain’t round.’ ”

“I’ll get on your flyer Cenai. How do you feel about team hoodies…?”

Cenai handed the phone off to her brother when she hung up, and read his tilt-headed expression perfectly.

“Yes. Socco is coming.”

“Really!”

“Gosh Nat, you saw him this morning.”

“I’m calling Dinahei.” Natu was already dialling as he spoke. “You’re the best sis!”

“I phoned him because I need him!” She called after her brother’s retreating back, but he was no longer listening. “Oh hell.”

Unfortunately, after dealing with the ever efficient Seeba, waiting for Socco to arrive gave Cenai a bit too long to ponder their meeting with Gunnar Phillips. Gunnar was a nice guy, the kind of big, rough and ready man that made funny things happen to her insides when she thought about him for any length of time. On top of his complete hotness, there was also the added draw he was funny, smiley, honest, hardworking, and open about his feelings and his desires. He liked chocolate ice cream and country music, which most people in the high north considered weird, but made Cenai smile and wish he was hers.

And he could be. Natu’s mocking taunt about her sleeping around wasn’t an actual threat, because Cenai was careful and she was damned if she was going to let being a shifter and having to pick relationships carefully ruin her chances of actually having a good time when it came down to the really fun stuff that could be done naked in the dark. Cenai knew which boy’s she could call for a bit of fun, and she knew better than to bring any of them to the house or introduce them to her mother.

The problem was, she liked Gunnar. She could see a wonderful space where he would fit into her life, slotting in as neatly as the sum total of a spread sheet column, and that made her nervous. The last time she’d seen him he’d been driving off in his truck, and she’d waved in a manner she had later analysed as being too enthusiastic. They got along great, and even Kal had elbowed her gently and told her to go for the natural chemistry which was evident to everyone. But then there would be the lies.

Lying came hand in hand with being a shifter. The Sabaakax family had it easier than people like the wolves, and much easier than poor Ukiuk who needed to worry for his safety when he shifted. ‘Wild’ animals might be shot in town, whereas the worst that had ever happened to a dog was to be caught by a human and claimed when the family noticed they were missing. Yakona always knew if one of her pups was in trouble. As a shifter you lied about yourself, and your family. You lied about your job, your hobbies, hopes and ambitions. You lied about where you went and who you knew, you lied about what you ate, and the things you liked to do. Cenai was an excellent liar, as they had all been trained to be from a young age; every single one of them had a poker face which would earn good money at Californian casinos. But Cenai didn’t want to lie to Gunnar.

Suda of course, hadn’t had much choice about not lying to his mate, because he and Kal had slept together, and her scent had driven him totally nuts. For about a week he had been hell to live with, all his energies directed away towards wherever his mate was. Without any warning, Suda had gone ahead and told her their secret, and luckily for all of them, Kal had been just as crazy about him. Seven years later and they were as cute and saccharinely sweet as they had always been.

Cenai did not like lying, and she had stayed clear of anything approaching a relationship ever since boys had started to blip on her radar. They had all been proof against silly high school relationships, except for Kipa and Mak. There was too great a difference between her youngest brother’s two lovers for them to have run amok through the school system. Socco and Dinahei had never attended the same school at the same time. She hated the idea of lying to Gunnar, lying even more than she did already. Leaving her desk, Cenai wandered downstairs to the main room where her father was adding another sweet smelling log to the fire.

“Hey daddy.”

Pakak turned to smile at his daughter and opened up his arm. Cenai snuggled instantly against his side, watching the dancing flicker of the fire.

“Oh my little girl. What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” Cenai turned to press her face into the fluffy woollen jumper her father had received for Christmas. It had a Nordic pattern of snowflakes around the chest.

“I know that expression. You’ve got yourself upset about something. You never call me ‘daddy’ anymore unless you don’t feel great.”

“You know Gunnar?”

“Well yes sweetie. I do work with the kid. What about him?”

“How did mom tell you about being a shifter?” Cenai put her head to one side. The only humans who knew about them being shifters were the ones who had married into shifter families, or the unlucky ones with a shifter parent who didn’t end up with fur. Cenai shuddered, she would have hated for one of her brothers or cousins to have ended up without the ability to join in their husky games. Telling was not taken lightly; theirs was a secret to be guarded closely.

“Well you know how it went.” Pakak smiled and brought them both to the sofa. He had told the story many times before. “We had been dating seriously for four months, it was about to be your mother’s birthday, I wanted to buy her a puppy. I really wanted to get her a ring, I’m glad I didn’t in the end.” None of the shifters wore wedding bands, because they got broken, damaged and lost during changing when they were inevitably forgotten about and not removed. “I told her I was taking her to pick out a puppy. I’ve never seen anyone panic so quickly. I was confused, your mother loved dogs. Of course, I thought her family had dogs, though I never seemed to see the same ones every time. It confused me.”

“What happened then?” Cenai folded herself up on the sofa, crossing her legs and tucking her socked feet under her thighs.

“I didn’t see her for a whole day, and I honestly thought she was going to leave me. It nearly broke my heart – after all, I wanted to marry her. She showed up at my apartment, looking tired, and told me she had to show me something. Then she smiled, got naked and turned into a dog. I think I might have fainted.”

“You weren’t that bad.” Opik smiled leaning down to kiss her husband, wiping soap suds from her hands. “He took it rather well really. Are you thinking of telling someone Cenai?”

“Um…”

“Because you haven’t ever brought anyone home to meet us, and this better not be some stupid two day crush which you think is the real deal.”

“Mom!”

“Go easy on her love. Our girl’s not stupid.” Pakak stroked her hair. “Maybe you should actually start dating him first eh?”

“You’d be OK with it? Dad, you work with him.”

Pakak chuckled, standing up, his arms going around his wife’s slender waist.

“He’s only the nicest man I know. And he likes you. Go find out more about him.”

“But I don’t wanna lie to him.” Cenai pleaded.

“Everybody lies hun.” Opik kissed the top of her only daughters head. “We tell these lies to protect the ones we love. If he’s right for you, you won’t have to lie for long. I’m going to take the car down to the workshop and stare blankly at my drawing board for a while. Do we need anything while I’m out?”

Cenai shook her head and watched her parents wander off. She lay back on the sofa and wondered about Gunnar Phillips. A date, an actual bona fide date, with dinner, maybe a movie. Could she sit still through a whole movie? Cenai tried to remember the last time they’d sat down to watch a film without ending up bored and wandering off, play fighting in their fur or falling asleep. She couldn’t. Gunnar liked dogs, so that was fine, although pretty much everyone who could be counted as a friend of the family sort of liked dogs by default. And her father said he liked her. When Natu crossed the lounge Cenai grinned and held out her hand for the phone.

“You call your boy?”

“Yeah, he’s on his way.”

“I’m surprised they let him go. You know what aunt Luava is like about you three hanging out together.”

“Um…”

“Oh little brother, what have you done?” Cenai barked. Natu looked guilty as hell. “Please tell me he is not running here?”

“It was his idea!”

“And if he gets hit by some idiot driver who’s been at a family dinner, stuffed his face and had one too many beers? You forget he’s still a kid.”

“It’s not like anyone would drive him over…”

“Oh Nat. Whatever will we do with you? Let me know when Socco gets here eh? I’ve gotta make a phone call.”

“Yes ma’am.” Natu flicked his hand in a mock salute, and wandered up to his bedroom aimlessly. Truth was, none of them were great at being human for long periods of time. They spent too much of their lives playing as huskies or running the trails to really be comfortable for days at a time in their skin. And even though they had raced yesterday, Cenai knew her younger brother was itching to be out again in the harness. She was too, even though she didn’t want to admit it.

Hey Gunnar, it’s Cenai. It was nice seeing you this morning and- But that wouldn’t work, because as far as Gunnar was concerned he’d seen Cherry the husky, not Cenai the person.

Hi Gunnar I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime… And that made her sound like she was some idiot high school freshman. Who ‘hung out’ anyway? Was it actually possible to have fun hanging by the scruff of your neck?

Hey. I’m secretly also a husky and I was hoping you might be kind of into that… Cenai put her head in her hands and exhaled loudly. It was no use. Keeping away from relationships meant the only thing she was really confident with was flirting along the shortest path to no-strings sex.

The phoned bleeped, and started dialling. Cenai stared at the device in horror, realising she must have hit the ‘call’ button with her forehead.

Oh shit…

“Hello?” Gunnar’s voice on the other end of the line sounded friendly and slightly distracted. Then there was silence. “Hello?”

“H-h-hi!” Cenai wanted to stuff her fist in her mouth and throw the traitorous phone out of the window.

“Hi…?” Gunnar sounded slightly confused now, and in the background there was the drop in volume of someone turning down the radio. “Cenai?”

“Hey, how’d you know?”

Gunnar chuckled.

“’Cause I was kinda hoping you’d call? You OK? Merry Christmas by the way, I haven’t seen you since before you guys went out of town. How was the trip? I heard the snow out there was wicked deep and-”

“You’re gonna have to slow down if you want me to actually answer any of those questions bud.” Cenai grinned to herself. Her father had been right, because blurting like that usually only meant one thing.

“S-sorry.”

“It’s cool. So I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out sometime.”

“Damn it.” There was a silence on the other end of the line and Cenai frowned. It had not quite been the reaction she was expecting. She was about to say something to query the statement when Gunnar started talking again. “Sorry. I just- I was hoping to ask you out first.”

“Oh…” Cenai found herself biting her lower lip and grinning happily. “You want me to pretend I didn’t say anything?”

“Would you?” Gunnar chuckled. “How was your trip?”

“Good snow, not too many blizzards.” Cenai held back from talking about the advance of Dinahei to the position of lead dog. It was never made clear to the world at large who from the Sabaakax family went where or why or how, or generally, who mushed. “Did dad tell you Socco is entering the Iditarod this spring?”

“He did. Your cousin is one crazy dude. It’s so expensive.”

“Fundraising starts now.” Cenai grinned. “Ukiuk at the smokehouse is gonna put out a jar for us.”

“All my change’ll go in it.” Gunnar coughed. “So, um, I was wondering if maybe you might wanna come out to dinner with me?”

“Sure. I’d like that.”

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow? Say like, seven?”

“Sounds great.” Cenai could feel her non-existent tail wagging, a warm melting sensation like honey in the pit of her stomach. “See you then.”

“Tell Socco I said good luck. Bye Cenai.”

Cenai was still smiling at her lap, the phone lying forgotten on the sofa, when her younger brother came barrelling past to get to the front door. Socco had obviously borrowed his parent’s truck to come on over from Banbury Drive. Natu doubled back into the lounge, staring at his sister with an odd expression.

“You smell funny.”

“So does your face.” Cenai answered automatically.

“Who were you on the phone to just now?”

“No one in particular.” Cenai lied quickly. All the Sabaakax’s were taught to lie. The downside of this was that it was incredibly difficult to lie to another shifter, especially if you were related. Natu walked over to her and inhaled. “You smell all gooey and sweet. You’re thinking about some boy… Gunnar. He asked you out?”

“None of your business bro.” Cenai jumped up and shouldered into her little brother. Natu pushed her back, and by the time Socco arrived in the room they were both on the floor in absolute stitches, trying to simultaneously wrestle and tickle each other.

“Good job I didn’t expect a welcome party.” Socco stood over them, hands on hips. “You two make rubbish guard dogs. Suda had to let me in.”

“Hey babe.” Natu looked up at his mate from his prone position on the floor as Cenai jumped back to her feet. “You’re upside down.”

“You’re a silly bastard Nat. It’s a good thing I love you.” Socco helped his mate up and the two young men wrapped their arms around each other quickly and Socco placed a kiss on Natu’s temple. “What did you want me for?”

“OK. First, let go of my brother, and follow me to my office.”

“Sis, you don’t have an office.” Natu whined. “What am I supposed to do while you two are doing paperwork?”

“You need me to do paperwork? Oh hell Cenai I thought you were joking about the needing a pen thing.”

“You wanna be an Iditarod musher or not?”

“Alright, alright!” Socco held up his hands in defence against Cenai’s sharp tone. “I’ll come and be bored stiff. Sorry babe,” he hugged Natu again quickly, “but I gotta go and focus. Be down in a bit ‘kay?”

“OK…” Natu stuck his hands in his pockets, and Cenai thought for a moment her brothers sulky attitude was going to ruin her afternoon plans, but Socco kissed him again in a manner that made her look away rather quickly, and Socco followed her upstairs smelling of love and hormones.

The second eldest husky of the Sabaakax ‘litter’ looked at the pile of paperwork and mess of forms on the desk, and tried to run away. With the patience of a saint, Cenai pushed him towards the desk chair, and grabbed another for herself. Together they started going through the forms.

“So what’s this one for?” Socco waved another piece of paper under her nose.

“That’s the Rookie Musher Reference Form. You need to fill in all your details and we need to find another Iditarod musher to ‘sponsor’ you – basically to say you’re OK.”

“Cool. Who’s gonna do that?” Socco took up his biro and began to fill in his name in the carefully block capitals of those who do not trust writing, words or their ability to spell.

“That’s up to you cus, you’ve gotta find someone. After all, as far as everyone else is concerned now, you’re the one who had been running dogs all over the North all season. The rest of us have nothing to do with it.”

“Fabulous…” Socco rolled his eyes. “Yet another thing to get done.”

“Indeed. This one here is about the dogs. We need to list them all, by name, and fill in microchip details.”

“You know we’re short two dogs to start the race?”

“I know. You need to get on the phone and find out who will run with us for the first half day. We can drop two dogs at Yentna and run the rest of the way with the ten of us.”

“We’ll be the smallest team running won’t we?” Socco looked at his cousin through the weave of his fingers, and Cenai wondered if he was finally realising the enormity of what he was doing.

“Yes and probably the cheapest. We can’t do it for free, but I reckon we can probably give the big boys a run for their money without spending an hundred thousand dollars.”

“Hang on…” Socco stared again at the Dog Identification sheet. “What the fuck is this about microchips?”

“Didn’t you work it out Soc?” Suda was standing in the doorway. “Before we go out for the qualifier, you’ve got to take us all to the vets.” Suda grinned. “Your boys are here to see you.”

“Oh Suda, we’re busy…” Cenai complained, but it was too late. Dinahei burst through the door, fine flecks of snow still peppering his fur, followed by the grey brindled shape of Natu with his pink tongue lolling. “Never mind then.”

“Hey babe!” Socco opened his arms and both dogs jumped for him, their front feet planted on his chest, their fluff pushed against him, tails wagging. Socco’s face lit up, and suddenly Cenai was sure he was the happiest man in the universe to have the boys he loved with him. “I still gotta fill in paperwork.” He pushed his fingers into both of their thick ruffs. “You guys OK to play without me?”

Two barks answered him, and soon Socco had at least half his mind turned back to the papers while Natu and Dinahei played a nearly silent game of tug-of-war with an old bit of thickly woven rope. Together they filled in what they could of the musher forms; leaving blank spaces for the information they either didn’t have or had no clue about. Socco picked up the Dog Identification form again.

“Right, remind me what we call everyone again? And we have to make up some ages. Crap.”

From the floor, Dinahei, now lying snuggled against Natu, raised his head and whined.

“You can’t remember my name?”

“It’s for the human’s babe. I have to use the false dog-names. Yours is the same o’course.” The pup looked much happier after that.

“Ok, so Dinahei.” Socco began to fill in his lover in the first space of twenty. “All the initials are the same right?”

It took another two phone calls to both sets of their grandparents to remember all the names, but after twenty minutes Socco sat back in his chair and looked at his team-on-paper. Dinahei; Nani instead of Natu; Cherry; Suda became Sam; and the sisters became, laughingly, Truman and Shorty; his sister was Kia, and Mak became Mike; Amy went in place of Anysie; and finally Kinai became Kev. Socco stared at the sheet, and then turned to watch his two lovers on the floor. Cenai looked up from the questionnaire she was reading through about meat and booties, handlers and whether or not they had dogs for sale, to watch the three of them.

Natu and Dinahei were wrapped around each other on the floor, a merge of blue, white and multi-shaded grey fur, and Socco smelt desperately of the desire to go and be with them. Natu’s yellow eyes blinked slowly at his mate and sister.

“Oh don’t look at me like that.” Cenai shook her head. “It’s not like I’m taking him away forever.”

“How on earth am I gonna take you all to the vets?” Socco sighed. “I cannot see Mak, or Kipa, or any of the others standing still to get checked over by some stranger.”

“You are kidding?” Cenai stared at her cousin in disbelief. “Socco, you have actually thought this through right? The dogs have to be checked at every stop by the vets, that’s what the log book is for. On top of that there is a full work up including an EKG done on each one prior to the race. And we have to get full veterinary clearance and shots before we can go to Dawson City for the qualifier.” Cenai put her head in her hands. “The rest of the world thinks you’re running a team of ordinary sled dogs into the Interior. They aren’t to know we’re literally your family as well.”

“Ah fuck.”

“Indeed.” Cenai rolled her eyes. “Jees Soc. Look, sign this, will ya? We don’t need the ITC to contact anyone for us about booties or meat or handlers. And we certainly don’t have dogs for sale.” Socco signed the paper distractedly. “If I fill out the stuff for entering The Percy will you at least stay human enough to sign it all?” When Socco nodded she sighed heavily. “Roll around on the floor with your boys, I’ll do this.”

“Soc, you should be doing your own paperwork.” Natu cocked one ear and grinned. “I can keep our boy busy by myself for a bit.”

“Don’t tease him Nat.” Dinahei licked the side of his mate’s muzzle. “It won’t make him finish any quicker. Now what’s all this about microchips?”

*

Cenai grumbled as her father fitted the yellow nylon collar around her neck, her tail hanging between her legs.

“Don’t growl sis. We all have to do it.” Suda nuzzled his little sister’s ruff and licked her ear. “It’s not gonna be that bad.”

“Socco’s late.” Natu was sitting by the front door, collar already in place with his tail tucked around his feet. “We’re the first pick up, and he should be here by now.”

“Can you imagine the trouble he is having with Mak?” Suda huffed and flicked his ears back and forth. “I cannot see a way in hell our cousin is happy about visiting the vets, or wearing an actual collar.”

“He’s a-coming.” Natu had his nose in the air, sniffing at the cold sky. The temperature had dropped again, which was nice for the dogs, and there was no wind, which made scenting Socco, the truck and the mess of emotions which made up Kipa, Mak and the human-shaped young man who drove a lot easier. The vehicle had been fitted with a cage trailer in which Mak, Kipa and Lena currently stood, chains from their collars attached to the sturdy mesh.

“What the hell is aunt Lena doing in her fur?” Cenai wondered aloud.

“Mom’s gonna run with us for the first day.” Socco jumped down from the cab in jeans, thick soled work boots and a padded checked jacket. “And we’re picking up uncle Kova too. We have twelve dogs to start the race with!”

“Yippee.” Mak rolled his eyes. “Can you guys get on in here already?”

“Off you go kids.” Pakak ruffled his youngest son’s velvet ears. “Go and have fun at the vets.”

“Come on babe!” Socco opened up his arms and Natu ran, jumped and leapt against his chest. The two of them nuzzled each other as Cenai and Suda came trotting out. “You wanna ride up front with me?”

“Hey no fair!” Kipa’s pale grey fur bristled and she laid back her ears. Her husband licked her cheek gently.

“Hey, I’m kinda biased.” Socco let Natu crawl from his arms onto the front seat. “Hang in their bud.” He opened up the cage and Cenai and Suda jumped up neat enough and sat down next to the side. Socco apologised as he clipped them on.

“Don’t sweat it Soc.” Cenai licked his hand, and nipped him without breaking the skin. “Just don’t throw it around the corners like you usually do eh?”

As Socco got back into the cab and began pulling away, Mak lay flat on the floor of the trailer with his head on his paws.

“Please don’t tell me it’s gonna be like this all the way to Dawson city?”

“Course not.” Cenai shrugged. “We have to be in crates for that.”

“WHAT?”

The next half hour was spent alternately trying to calm Mak down again while they picked up the other members of the team. Usually they all made their own way to the main house, dropped off by other trucks and cars or going on foot towards the trailhead. By the time the truck reached the big house, everyone apart from Kinai and Dinahei was in the back, getting a bit in each other’s way and trying to avoid getting trodden on.

“Maybe crates won’t be so bad after all eh?” Kipa said softly as Kinai was loaded onto the trailer.

Cenai watched their lead dog dance around Socco’s feet. There was no question that he was going to get to ride up front too. Getting as far as Dawson city, a drive of more than twenty two hours suddenly seemed like a much bigger challenge than running the thousand-odd miles to Nome with a sled behind them. What seemed like hours later, they finally pulled up into the car park of the Anchorage Canine Veterinary Clinic.

At any time of year, there were enough dogs in and around Anchorage to make the specialist clinic viable, but since mushers from out of state had started coming into the area in December to start training, the centre catered almost exclusively to mushers in the months between Christmas and the start of the race in March. There was another truck in the car park, a beat up mess of a monstrosity of a vehicle that seemed to have been built from bits, duct tape and hope, with a long trailer boasting the full complement of twenty crates. The musher was dressed in an assortment of rags, and it wasn’t hard to see how his clothes had reached their current state.

The poor man was trying to lead two dogs back towards the howling crates, and both of them were having issues with this. The dogs tore at his sleeves, his parka, and his trousers. They were hellish. Mak wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“Remind me again why we want people to think we’re the same species as them?”

“Come on Mak.” Cenai grinned at her cousin with one cocked ear. “Don’t you wanna show all those humans how a really good team behaves?”

Socco had jumped out of the cab by this time and Dinahei and Natu walked with him as quietly as well schooled gun dogs would. The other musher, having managed to stow the more violent of the two dogs, locked the hatch on the second and turned to watch.

“Bloody hell boy, you’re taking a bit of a risk with all of them in an open space aren’t ya?”

Socco opened up the trailer cage and began to unclip each member of his family, reattaching their collars to a long line. There were much closer than they would have been on a standard tether line, which kept dogs well out of touching range even if they pulled towards each other, and thinking of Cenai’s words, each of them sat, shoulder to shoulder, as perfect as a picture on a postcard to the Outside. Once all twelve of them were lined up, Dinahei and Natu at the far end, Socco took the twisted handle section of the rope and smiled at the other guy. He had taken another dog out of its crate, and this one too was trying to tear him apart and run off. To the team’s surprise, the raggedy Musher burst out laughing.

“You know this is where the Iditarod mushers come to get their dogs checked out right?”

“Sure.”

“Well boy, they’re not a team, that’s a trained circus of house pets. They won’t take you more than a hundred miles before they quit.”

As though they were one dog, every single member of the team snarled. Mak was loudest. His ears were flat back against his skull, hackles rising. Socco held out a hand to the team, and by degrees, they each dropped their anger. But every single one of them still stared at the human musher.

“What’s your name friend?” Socco pushed his fingers into his sister’s ruff as he spoke, because she was closest on his end of the rope.

“Caulden.”

“Let me guess, you’re from Colorado or some such right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good to know, least I’ll probably never see your name written down on a checkpoint form.” Socco clicked his tongue. “Come on kids. Let’s go get checked.” The dogs instantly strung out behind Dinahei, all tails wagging. When Socco turned to enter the clinic, the musher, Caulden, called after him.”

“Hey!” Socco stopped and turned. “You’re a cocky son-of-a-bitch. What’s your name?”

“Sabaakax. You’ll see me on the lists.”

“Where’re you from?”

“Right here buddy. We’ve run most of the route already this season. Have a fun race.”

“That was mean Soc.” Cenai kept her head low as they entered the clean, disinfected building of the clinic.

“Yeah well, he was rude about us.”

“He deserved to be taken down a peg.” Mak growled. “Little fucker.”

“You wanna beat him bro?” Dinahei asked carefully.

“Yeah. Him and any other prat who thinks they’re better ‘an us.”

“That’s the spirit.” Socco grinned and laid his arm on the reception desk. “Hi, Sabaakax team for shots and microchips?”

All the staff cooed over how well behaved they all were, and the dogs got plenty of fuss while they waited for the beat up looking Caulden to have the last of his dogs signed off. No one went near the musher as he was bodily dragged away by the raving canine.

The vet introduced himself as Naema, and he was pleasantly surprised to find himself treating such a well behaved team.

“They’re lovely dogs. They are all yours?”

“Yup. This here is my best wheel dog Sam, and his buddy Mike. They’ll go first.”

The vet had a table with a slope at one end, so it wasn’t necessary to lift each dog up from the gang line onto the surface, and Suda trotted up and sat nicely, with Mak close behind him. Naema surveyed them again.

“And all such good colours. I see you need all the shots for the race and microchips too. You want to fill in the numbers as we go? Saves getting confused.”

It took about ten minutes to deal with each dog in turn, because after a pill for worms, and nose drops for kennel cough and, there were subcutaneous injections for corona and rabies, and a combined injection for a bunch of diseases Socco couldn’t even remember, let alone pronounce. Finally each dog had to have their microchip administered. The coding seemed to take forever, and it was the most painful of all the treatments, because regardless of speed, inserting a rice grain sized piece of metal under the skin of the neck hurt. Socco held the ruff of each and every dog, stroking their muzzles and ears, apologising without words. Only Mak bit him, but not hard.

Cenai licked Kipa’s sore neck as she waited, because by the time Dinahei trotted up the slope, they had been at the vets for over an hour and a half.

“Last one.”

“This is Dinahei. He’s the lead dog.” Socco kissed the top of his head quickly. “One of my two best boys, hey?”

“You know Sabaakax, you’ve run a big risk never having them all treated before, especially without chips.”

“They’d never run.” Socco spoke with conviction.

“I can see that. They love you right enough. And you’re taking them all across the border next month? You’ll have to bring them in for a check over no more than seven days before, and again when you get back. It’ll be close enough to the race day we can combine your visit with their pre-race check.”

“OK.” Socco looked rather confused and Cenai sighed and rolled her eyes.

“I did give you the forms Soc.” She barked quickly.

“Yeah, yeah.” Socco obviously figured he was in the right sort of company where talking to the dogs wouldn’t seem too strange. “No worries.”

“Make an appointment with the front desk on your way out.” Naema smiled. “We’ll block you in for the whole afternoon. The pre-race checks can take a while.”

When it was time for Dinahei’s microchip, Socco wrote down the number on the form and the vet signed it, then the young man they were all trusting to mush put his face against the blue and white mask of their leader and exhaled softly.

“Sorry pup. I’ll make it up to you.”

As the chip went in, Dinahei squeaked in pain, and licked Socco’s face.

“I know babe.”

Cenai turned away with a shake of her head.

“I dunno about everyone else, but I could really do with a good run after all of this.”

For the first time since they’d entered the vets, every member of the Sabaakax team set to joyful barking. They were on their way.