Brother Bear: Little Sister

Coming of Age

Tomorrow was the day. I was finally going to receive my totem. I felt a mixture of excitement and nausea. Was that a good sign? Probably not, but I didn't quite care at the moment. My best friend Ahanu was going to receive his totem along with mine and he seems much more nervous than I was. I couldn't wait for everyone to get here. Kenai and Nita were coming here with their 4 month cub, Aiyana, and Koda, who was now a fully grown bear, was coming with his mate Tayen. I couldn't believe that I am finally sixteen years old. So much has happened these past four years since Kenai and I turned into bears.

Denahi was still the same as ever, but I've noticed that he's been eyeing Tanana's granddaughter, Istas, who was the same age as him. Also, now that I'm turning sixteen, I will be preparing for marriage. Denahi and Kenai still can't wrap their heads around that part. I would love it if I could marry for love, but that may not be possible because marriage is needed to survive out here in these harsh conditions. Man cannot survive without women and women cannot survive without men. That's just the way of life around here and Denahi, Kenai, Sitka, and I were rare exceptions because the four of us had to learn much in order to survive. Usually, it is the father that decides who marries his daughter, but, since mine is gone, Denahi is the one who is in charge, but I know that he wants me to marry for love, but I still have a while before I need to sort that out.

"There she is! Excited about tomorrow, little sis?" Denahi questioned throwing his arm around me and messing up my bangs as he always did. I swiped his hand away and laughed saying, "Is it normal to feel nauseous?"

"That's just your nerves your nerves talking. You'll be fine. There are some people outside waiting to see you." Denahi said that last sentence in an almost sing-song voice. My eyes grew wide with excitement. They were finally here! I rushed outside leaving Denahi chuckling behind me. Outside of our home, I saw Kenai, Nita, Aiyana, Koda, and Tayen.

"Auntie Tey!" Aiyana exclaimed jumping up into my arms. Aiyana has been calling me that since she couldn't quite figure out how to pronounce my name when she was younger and the nickname just stuck.

"Aiyana, you've grown so much! I can't believe it!" I exclaimed then began tickling her stomach. Aiyana shrieked and said, "Put me down!" I put her down then hugged Nita and Kenai.

"I still can't believe that you're sixteen and receiving your totem. It only seems like yesterday that your were twelve and I was receiving my totem." Kenai said. I laughed and nudged him the shoulder. The only other person I wished was here was Sitka. If he were here, he'd probably give some big speech or tease me to no end about how I wasn't little anymore.

"This is going to be so much fun! What totem do you think you'll get? I wonder if it would have anything to do with a bear since you were turned into one. Kenai has been telling me about the different totems." Koda said and he kept rambling on an on about what totem I could possibly receive. I laughed and said, "I'm not sure. But, we'll find out tomorrow." I loved that while Koda is now fully grown bear, he still has the same bubbly personality that he had when Kenai and I first met him those many years ago.

"Alright, everyone! It is getting late and Tehya has a big day tomorrow. We should all get some rest." Denahi announced. All of went inside and we settled down. After a while, everyone drifted off to sleep, but I stayed awake because I couldn't stop thinking about what tomorrow would bring.

Soon, I gave up on trying to sleep and went outside for a walk trying to clear my head taking my spear with me just in case anything happens. The village was quiet and I looked up and the moon was shining bright and the stars were as dazzling as ever. I remember how Sitka would take me out sometimes just to look at the stars.

"Are you okay, Tehya?" A voice behind asked. I whipped around with my spear and discovered that I was pointing it at Ahanu.

I sighed in relief and lowered it saying, "I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep. What are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep either and decided to take a walk as well. I can't believe that we're going to get our totems tomorrow." Ahanu said.

I smiled and said, "I can't believe it either. Whatever totem we receive is what we'll live our lives by."

"Do you want to go to the lake?" Ahanu questioned. I smiled and nodded. We headed towards the lake that my parents used to take my brothers and I and it's where Ahanu and I met many years ago. We didn't bother to grab a torch because the light from the moon was enough and we knew the way.

Once we got there, we curled up next to a tree and Ahanu wrapped his arms around me and curled into him just as we did when we were kids. He said, "Remember the time the two of got so lost that the tribe had to send a search party to come get us?"

I chuckled at the memory and said, "Yeah. Sitka, Denahi, and Kenai wouldn't let me out of their sights for weeks. Remember when Denahi pretended to be some viscous animal and jumped out of the woods to scare us?"

Ahanu laughed and stated, "I don't think that I've ever seen you so scared!"

I playfully nudged him and retorted, "Like you were much better."

Throughout the night, we shared stories of our childhood together because tomorrow, we would no longer be kids and we soon drifted off to sleep in each others arms.