Elementals

Chapter One - Keezheekoni

Chapter One: Keezheekoni

I hear a soft crunching noise to my left. I crouch lower to avoid being seen and nock an arrow in my bow. The doe's favoring her injured leg, causing her usual grace to disappear, making her easier to track and catch. A nose comes into view as she lowers her head to the ground to graze. I can tell by her posture she's poised to run, but doesn't sense me in the undergrowth yet. I debate taking my chances now and risking a wild shot in my haste or waiting for her to wander closer.

          I decide I'd better go ahead and attack as quickly as possible before the wind changes and the chances of her limping toward me are slim anyways. I jump up, startling her. I hit her uninjured back leg before she can scramble away and she falls to the ground, flailing helplessly. Stomach rumbling, I put another arrow in the poor thing, ending its life.

          I walk over to it slowly, making sure it's really dead. When I'm satisfied it is, I attempt to remove my arrows, but both of the stone tips are broken off. Deciding I don't really need the stone tips, I pocket the shafts and pick up the doe's hind legs, wanting to get the carcass home before it starts to rot in the muggy weather and preparing myself for the grueling journey back home.

         Dropping the doe's feet, I slump to the ground, leaning on a nearby tree. I take my waterskin out of my pack and tip the contents into my mouth, the water rejuvenating my parched throat. There isn't a lot left, though, and I empty it in one swig. I'm relishing the sweet shade created by the massive oak when a glint catches my eye a short distance away. Too tired to get up, I crawl on my hands and knees to investigate the strange object.

          It's a reddish stone, reflecting the sunlight with its subtle golden hues. Interested, I slip the stone in my boot and make my way back to the deer. I make a mental note to examine it later.

I slip through the underbrush to the entrance of our camp. The tribe is busy with the chores of the day, the men out hunting and the women doing the domestic work. Dragging the deer to the center of camp, I abandon it to let Howling Wolf, the Hunting Chief, know what I've caught. I walk over to the animal skin hut, rustling the thin roll over the door to announce my arrival.

          "Come in," a deep voice responds. "What do you want, Fox," the Hunting Chief sighed.

          "I shot a doe," I say proudly.

          Wolf, who had been working on something on a desk in the back of the room, swivels his head toward me in surprise. "What do you mean, 'you caught a doe'?" he asks sharply. "I thought you were out gathering, even though you're technically not supposed to do that either."

          "I lied, brother," I say with a mischievous gleam in my eye.

          "Did you now?" He's returned to his work now, obviously not believing me.

          "It's outside," I say proudly.

          "Even if you did catch a doe, Fox, you know you weren't supposed to be out," he scolds, turning toward me again. "You're a woman."

          Offended, I stomp out of my brother's tent.

          "Sister!" I hear him plead impatiently behind me. I don't turn around. I stomp my way to the boys' Apprentice quarters, refusing to sleep in the girls' any longer. If I was going to be a Hunter, I couldn't sleep with the other girls who were training for domestic work. "Stop," Wolf says gently, putting a hand on my shoulder.

          "Why should I," I shoot back, but stop anyway.

          "Why do you want to be a Hunter so badly?" he says, attracting attention.

          "Because I actually want to help this tribe!" I shout, louder than I mean to. The women working around the camp turn to me with disbelief on their faces -- I shouldn't have said that. My face burns with shame and I do the only thing I can think of. I run back out into the woods.

          I twist and turn, trying to make sure no one follows me. Convinced I'm not being tailed, I take the shortest way there. It's the ancient, burned portion of the Silenda Tribe. The carved wooden headstones are long gone, turned to dust by the raging fire that wreaked havoc on the forest centuries ago. The once-open clearing is now overgrown with weeds and trees, turned wild. It's the perfect spot -- afraid to disturb the infamous spirits of our ancestors, the Silendan children and adults alike are forbidden to visit. Not even our tribe's Witch Doctor, my mother, is allowed here without a direct sign from the spirits themselves.

          But one day, as a child, I was lost in the woods. I'd been playing a game with the other children of our tribe and wandered away....

Where am I? I think, pushing aside weeds and vines, tearing the tender skin that could only belong to a child on my hands. I look around and find myself in an overgrown clearing. I dive behind a large fallen tree, almost completely withered away by time, thinking it was the perfect hiding spot for my game. 

          Time passes, and no one's found me yet. Wow, this is a really good spot, I think to myself excitedly. They'll never find me here! I roll over onto my back to look at the patterns in the clouds while I wait, picking out common animals and shapes. A cool breeze suddenly washes over me, dropping the temperature by at least ten degrees, making the welcoming shade bitter cold. Shivering and bored of cloudwatching, I sit up, about to sprint off to find my friends, when I notice a wrinkled old man sitting next to me.

          "Hello!" I say brightly, but very confused. "What's your name?"

          "My name is Tupi," says the man, a friendly twinkle in his eyes.

          "I'm Little Fox," I say, puffing my chest out with pride.

          "From now on, I name you Keezheekoni, or Burning Fire." Seeing the puzzled look on my small face, he continues. "You, little one, have been chosen to Embody Fire. You haven't found that stone by accident," he says, motioning to the orange stone hanging around my neck. " It is the Stone of Embers, symbolizing the courage, strength, and perseverance you must have to survive. You have the power to control flames of any kind. It is a rare but useful gift. You must harness this power alongside three of your peers, also gifted." His face fell a little. "You must defeat a being higher, stronger, and cleverer than you."

          "W-what if I don't," I say, lower lip quivering.

          "You and your tribe will die," he says, looking guiltily at the ground as tears well up in my eyes.

          "What if I say no?" I shout defiantly.

          "I wish it was that easy," Tupi muttered before dissipating before my eyes.

          I sit there, shocked on the ground. The first portion had been a memory of myself as a child, but where had "Tupi" come from? With a start, I realize I couldn't have just forgotten those details, the ancient chief had spoken about the stone I found earlier on the hunt today. Wracking my brain to think of what it could mean, I stumble on another old memory: 'Tupi' is Ancient Native American for 'wisdom', but other than that, I have no leads.

Hey guys, its Liz(: This was a really fun chapter to write! Just so you know, I'll be writing from Keezheekoni/Little Fox's perspective the whole story while Emma takes care of someone else... *evil grin* Comment, vote, and fan if you liked it! And if you actually read this then comment.... SPACE BANANAS. Thank you so much to @marauders4ever for the super SHAMAZING cover.  ~Liz<3