The day is hot and the sky is mostly clear. Occasional fluffs of clouds move lethargically across it but they never block the sun. The lush green of forest trees blocks most of the god-like rays from touching the earth, however. Here, many creatures seek refuge from the heat.
Creatures are quiet on this lazy day as a snow-colored wolf pads through silently. Her thick fur is decorated with crimson tribal circles and lines and her eyes, the color of fertile earth, survey her forest. With each footfall, lush, brightly colored flowers spring up from beneath the grass leaving a trail of life behind her.
Her sensitive ears flick as she hears something in the distance. She turns her stout muzzle toward it and realizes that it is not a forest sound. Long, well-muscled legs tense just before the guardian bounds off to find the disturbance. Thick, chorded muscle ripples under thick fur and tough skin as they work to make the agile body move. Life bearing paws hardly touch the ground as she almost glides through.
She slows to a walk as she gets near the noise and laughs inwardly; it is only music. Staying mostly hidden, she peeks around a tree trunk curiously. What she sees both shocks and captivates her. Intently, she watches a slim, somewhat tall human move to music coming from some contraption sitting nearby. Most of his dark, unruly curls are hidden by a red cap and his chocolate eyes are narrowed with concentration. His movements are precise giving a whole new depth to his lanky frame. Sweat glistens on his exposed skin and soaks his smoke-colored shirt.
His music stops and he moves to fiddle with the box that was putting it out. Obviously exhausted, the human falls onto his rump with a smile on his lips and air rushing into and out of his lungs. He leans back against a tree. After a moment or two, the human rummages through a large, coal black bag to pull out a bottle of water.
The frost furred wolf moves away from her hiding place and approaches slowly stopping only when deep chocolate eyes meet her lighter ones. They gaze at each other in silence examining on another, each sizing the other up. The human smiles suddenly.
"Hey there," he greets softly. "I'm Robert Alexander the third, but everyone calls me Moose."
The guardian notes his not-quite-deep voice and concludes that he is not likely an adult yet though he looks very close. She bows her head and projects in a clear velvet alto,
"Hello Moose, I am Okami, the keeper of these woods."
Moose's eyes widen for a moment but her catches himself quickly. He swiftly gets to his feet to bow making Okami giggle.
"You are very open-minded for a human," she tells him.
He offers her a grin.
"Thanks goodness for that! The way I see it, most people would run screaming if they found a talking wolf!"
Okami nods her agreement and pads toward him ignoring the flowers springing up at her paws. Moose, however, seems awed by the wolf and her obvious link to something otherworldly. He sits down just as she comes to rest beside him.
Silence falls between them as they listen to the quiet of Okami's forest. Okami can hear more than quiet, though. She hears the slight breeze barely rustling the plant life, the shifting of the animals in their nests and dens, and the quiet, steady breathing coming from Moose, the open-minded human.
A large hand falls on her head and Okami tenses. Moose gently strokes the wolf's head and ears until she relaxes. Then, he runs his hand down her back to feel the thick, course, tangle free fur between his fingers.
Okami closes her eyes and breathes a deep, content sigh. Interaction with humans isn't usually something she risks but here is something different, something worthy of exception.
"Okami," Moose addresses her quietly.
"You have a question?" Okami replies.
"Yeah."
"You may ask whatever you would like."
"You're like a deity, right?"
"A deity to many but not all," Okami answers slightly impressed by his thoughtful assumption.
"Does God exist or is he something made up by humans to give the world law through fear?"
Okami looks up at the young man and finds that he's gazing back and his eyes are searching for the truth because his heart so yearns for it.
"That is for you to decide, Moose," she states evenly.
"Do you even know?" Moose asks slowly.
Okami chuckles at his question.
"Whether or not I know, there are questions that are not meant to be answered. Faith is the ability to believe something without being provided evidence of its truth. What you choose to believe is yours alone and it is not my right to tell you what is true and what is false. That would mean that I am taking your right to faith."
"I never said I have faith."
"That is true but each individual believes something, be it true or untrue, and everyone has the opportunity to change their minds."
Moose offers a bright smile.
"That makes sense, I completely understand where you're coming from," he informs her.
"That is a very good thing, I find it quite difficult to explain why things are the way they are," she replies honestly.
Moose nods and leans against the tree again to relax as he strokes Okami. They sit in comfortable silence as the air begins to cools and the creatures that were quietly hidden from the waning heat begin to stir, ready to take full advantage of the cooling day.
"It is going to storm," Okami states turning her muzzle to the hidden sky.
"Really? Wasn't it just sunny a little bit ago?" Moose asks.
"The weather is really an unpredictable thing. You humans try and you make progress but you will never truly be able to know."
"Can you predict it?"
"Like any other creature, instinct allows me to read signs but things can always change."
"Like faith."
"Yes."
Okami rises and Moose follows suit. She gestures to him to follow as she begins to pad away and he does, leaving everything where it is. As the guardian walks, everything seems to move aside and it does the same for Moose, her human follower. Respectfully, animals move away and plants seem to revel in her touch, getting out of her way but brushing against her fur.
It's not long before the par finds a huge clearing. The grass is lush and green and the flowers glow with life. There is a pond in the center and it is perfectly clear and full of koi. The sun no longer shines, instead, dark clouds swirl in the sky threatening to drop rain on everything.
They move to the pond and the wind picks up, whipping around the clearing to flatten the grass and flowers against the ground. The wind seems to whisper into the pair's ears and Okami flicks hers knowingly. Moose shivers against the whipping wind and the whispers that he can't understand.
"Come," Okami's voice rings clear over everything.
Suddenly, warmth wraps itself around the young human like velvet ribbon and he feels strong and confident. Though he doesn't understand at all what's going on, he realizes that he will follow Okami wherever she feels he must go.
The powerful guardian steps out onto the pond sending ripples through its surface so Moos kicks his shoes and socks off to step onto it and stand by her side. They advance slowly toward the middle of the koi pond and the fish follow curiously. As they get closer, the whispers become clearer and clearer.
"Okami," they beckon softly. "Okami."
Moose's hat is snatched from his head and thrown into the water by the wind just before he and Okami reach their destination but he follows faithfully without looking back.
"Here," Okami tells him stopping right in the middle of the smaller body of water.
Turning their eyes skyward, they stand together, fearless and strong.
And then Okami whimpers.
Moose turns to find her shivering with her hackles raised. He falls to his knees and holds the wolf close.
"Okami, I don't know what's going on and I get the feeling that you can't tell me but I have faith in you and I know that no matter what you have to do, you'll do it well and come out alright," he tells her confidently.
Okami looks up into honest, deep brown orbs and sees her own fearful, lighter ones reflected back. She swallows and nods at him. Slowly, she steps away from him and he lets her go.
Rain begins to come down in sheets soaking through clothes and fur instantly. It is nearly as dark as it would be in the dead of night and the voices continue to beckon the guardian.
"Robert Alexander the third," Okami calls over the maelstrom.
"Okami," he calls back.
"In the short time that we have spent together I have found that you are the most interesting human I have ever had the opportunity to meet. Kind, strong, and open-minded, you will go far in your work and could even go far in mine, as well. It is unfortunate that I cannot stay longer. My time here is up so these woods will go into someone else's care and rarely does a guardian share itself with a human."
He takes a shaky breath and nods his thanks at the huge compliment completely unable to speak.
"Know this, Robert Alexander the third," she continues, "your presence in this world proves that the human race still has a chance. This, I now have faith in."
Suddenly, the water gives under Moose and Okami's strong and beautiful form is lost to his eyes as he is plunged into the depths.
He wakes what feels like moments later. Sitting up to look around he realizes that he is by the koi pond and the clouds are clearing. Stiffly, he stands to stare at his reflection on the water as Okami's words play through his head:
"Each individual believe in something, be it true or untrue, and everyone had the opportunity to change their minds."
He turns his face to the sky just as the sun finally breaks the clouds and it warms his face.
"I've never really had faith in anything other than dancing and I've never really believed in anything other than myself and my friends. Thank you, Okami.