The Longer I Live

Chapter 5: Don't Be Such a Sour Wolf

Stiles soaked in the aningan's appearance. Derek Hale was certainly handsome. Devilishly handsome. The slim fit, tight, V-neck white t-shirt that he wore showcased the perfect symmetry of his muscular chest displaying each square groove of pectoral curves. Small cuts of his six-packed abdomen protruded from his shirt, as the tall man flexed his amazing biceps to cross his arms. Striking an angry pose in the tight jeans that hugged his rock hard posterior, he cocked a disapproving dark eyebrow as he shot a brooding scowl at the teenager.

"Who granted you permission to enter this reservation?" Derek demanded.

Stiles nervously gulped an answer. "I...I was invited. My teacher made arrangements for a special project..."

"Derek!" Laura clucked. She slapped him hard across the shoulder. "Don't be rude. Stiles is our guest. Adrian asked permission to do a research assignment about our people and I authorized his presence here."

"Laura," Derek whispered loudly to the older woman's ear. "We have a rule about bringing strangers into the tribe. It's dangerous."

"Derek hush!" The older woman snapped. "Stiles poses no threat. He's a high school student. As I said before, he's here to save us! Now kindly step aside so I can show him around."

"Laura..." The green-eyed man scowled with a brooding sigh.

Suddenly it dawned on Stiles to how he recognized Derek Hale. He was the man that appeared in his dream a few nights ago. Coincidence? The teenager did not think so.

Laura walked over to Stiles, took him by the hand, and led him back inside the cabin. He turned his head to see an angry Derek staring daggers directly at him.

"I'll be watching you!" The aningan warned.

Stiles could only hope. Feeling himself pulled by the eager shamaness, the older woman led Stiles toward a group of animal masks on the wall of the cabin. At the center was the coyote mask meant to represent the Aeiwa's creator O-let-te while a fox mask with a sun painted on the forehead was placed at the top of the coyote.

Drifting down, his gaze caught the mask of a wolf with a moon painted on the forehead positioned underneath the creator. Instantly, the young man felt a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I told you about the Aeiwa's belief in our creator O-let-te," said Laura smiling. "Well there is more to the story."

"Is this folklore similar to Greek myths?" Stiles asked.

"Quite similar," the older woman agreed. "Just like other cultures, there is a common belief in a grand Creator and their gods and goddesses. The ancient Greeks had their Olympian gods which influenced the Romans. The Vikings had their Valhalla and their Norse gods. Hinduism has their deities. Even Islam and Christianity had a belief in an omnipotent being like Allah or God. In every culture, there is some belief in a higher being. For the Aeiwa, it was the Coyote Man O-let-te."

"How does the story begin?" Stiles inquired with curiosity.

"Long ago, the universe was ruled by the great Creator, O-let-te, known as the Coyote Man. The Coyote Man grew lonely that there were no people on Earth to talk to, so he took a feather from one of his children and created the first Native American tribes which later became the Aeiwa. To make sure the Aeiwa lived harmoniously, he anointed two of his children, Wi and Hanwi, to oversee the people. Wi the Great Fox Spirit controlled the sun and ruled over the sky while his wife Hanwi, the Great Wolf Spirit, controlled the moon. Night and day worked together and the Aeiwa were happy."

"Night and day," noted the teenager. "Easy enough to remember. Two animal gods who controlled the sun and the moon."

"But there is more," Laura frowned. "Other animal spirits were jealous of the relationship that Wi and Hanwi had, particularly Kalona, the evil Ravenmocker Spirit, who ruled the underworld. Kalona tried to seduce Hanwi into leaving her husband, but she refused so Kalona took her by force."