Chapter One
When the spirits told me that I was going to the mortal world, I nearly screemed in delight. Yep, I almost screemed. I had wanted to go there in my real body since I had first been there in spirit form, when I was 6. Every year I had visited, and every year I wanted to go more and more. So now, almost ten years later, I was finaly getting the chance to go. I stood up and bowed respectfully, but I couldnt stop myself from running up and hugging the head of the spirit council. He stuttered a bit, and straightened his robes when I pulled back, but I didnt care. I was going to the mortal world! I was grinning from ear to ear, and I was probably bouncing on the balls of my feet.
"But you wont be going alone." The head counclman said in his deap booming voice. "We are giving you an animal guide, to protect each other and to teach you proper resposibility. A baby flying mongoose-bear." I gasped. Mongoose-bears are kind of rare, almost to the point of extenction. They look like a ten ton mongoose, with a triangular shaped head and a long fluffy tail, only there shoulders are bigger and broader and there fur tends to be more dark brown with white ringlets on there tails. I didnt think the spirits would go through so much trouble to get me a rare animal guide instead of just getting me a common one, like a flying bison or dragon or artic dog or somthing. It would have been a lot easier, but it might have been showing favoritism to one of the four nations. The mongoose-bear is found pretty much anyware, exept in the water tribes, because the only animals you find there begin with artic-. One of the council members steped forward and handed me a little bundle. 'Little' wasnt exactly the right word, as it was already two feet long and five pounds. The baby mongoose-bear had dark brown fur that was hardly more than a bit of fuz, and the end of its tail was tinted with red and had three white rings around it.
"Awww." I cooed and lifted it up for a moment, before bowing respectfully again to the council members as well as I could.
"You will leave tomarrow." The head councilman boomed, and the council members strode from the room. After that, I was allowed to 'retire' to my chamers, because the 'adults' were brining out the alcohol (or at least I assumed- but I'm usualy right when I assume that) but I didnt really see the point because they could hold alcohol just as much as I could. And its never a good thing when your alcohol tolerance is equal to a sober sixteen-year-old. One would think that spirits didnt drink alcohol because it was impure or they didnt belive in it or something, but I guess no one told them that. When I was a kid, I used to think that spirits didnt eat or drink, but then I met Kimio, a crazy and totaly insane spirit who eats and eats and never gains a pound.
When I got to my room, I was literaly shaking. I had to put, or half drop, the baby mongoose-bear onto my bed and pace the length of the floor. Were was I going to start? Earth kingdom? Fire nation? Water tribes? Air temples? It was just so big! The baby mongoose-bear most likely wouldnt be able to fly soon, and even after that it would be a while till it could cary a sadle, much less a person. Suddenly, the animal in question made a weird nose that sounded like a cross ebtween a squak and a growl.
"Oh!" I exclaimed. "Are you hungry or somthing? You probably are. Think, what do baby mongoose-bears eat?" I tapped my temple in concentration. "Meat? Do they eat meat at this stage?"
"Yes they do, and if you will remember correctly, they eat meat and pretty much everything else." A voice said behind me. I whirled around and saw Ami standing in my doorway, a wicker basket in one hand. Ami is pretty much the nicest spirit I know, and she looks the part; she has long, dark brown hair, friendly, warm brown eyes, round cheeks, and a face that pretty much just says 'Nice person' all around.
"Ami!" I shouted and ran up to her and hugged her. "Can you belive it? Finaly! I'm going to the mortal world!"
"Yes!" She laughed in her tinkering way. "Congradulations, and happy birthday! I made you this. Happy sixteenth." She handed me a small blue box and I snapped open the lid. Inside was a beutiful siver charm braclet, that wasnt smal and thin or big and clunky. It already had four charms on it. One was a light blue cresent moon on a ocean blue backround, the next one was a dark green backround with a light green square outlined in gold in the center, another was golden flames centered on a red backround, and the last one was three orange spirals spiraling inwards on a light blue backround.
"Wow, Ami.." I was speachless. "It's beutiful..." She pressed her fingure tips under my chin and forced me to look up into her eyes. As a kid, I would get uncomfortable under her stare that could sometimes see straight through my soul. I would say that now Im more mature or used to it and could look right back at her, but I couldnt. I figited uncomfortably and my nose wrinkled a bit, like it always does when I'm uncomfortable or thinking hard. Ami smiled.
"You havent changed a bit, not from that little hyper-active toddler who was exploring before she could walk." She pulled me into a tight embrace. "I wouldnt want it any other way." She whipsered in my ear. I hugged her tightly back, and then it finaly hit me. This would be the last of Ami I see for a long time. She had been my mother growing up, and now saying goodbye to her was like saying goodbye to, well, everything. I forced my tears down, but that didnt stop them from giving me blurry vision when Ami pulled back. I felt her thunb stroke my cheek before handing me the whiker basket.
"Here." She forced it into my arms. "Its not a lot, just some stuff I thought you might need and that you probably dont have." She looked behind her at the setting spirit sun. "I better go. I'm probably going to be missed at the party soon, and its nearing twighlight. You'd be amazed at what some drunken spirits can get up to at twighlight." She winked, and I inwardly thought, Oh Ami, I think I know. But I kept the thought to myself and gave her one last hug.
"It's an ankle braclet by the way." She tuned and began to run back to the party. "Be up and ready an hour after dawn tomarrow!" She called over her shoulder as she ran. I walked back into my room, wich was basicaly carved into a griant tree trunk, and plopped down onto my bed. I turned the basket over and emptied its contents onto my sheets. The mongoose-bear came over to investigate this strange new stuff. There was a brown and blue side water pouch with a triangular pattern over it, a map of the world, a map of each nation, a few rectangular package's wrapped in cream-colored paper, a soft, purple cloak with a simple but elegant clasp, and a glider. Ami obviously didnt know this, but I had my own map of the world and glider.
On further inspection, I opened one of the packages and found a slab of raw meat. The second I opened it thoguh, the mongoose-bears eyes snapped open and it's little ears pivited in my direction. Relisation dawned over me, and I cut the slab in half with my nails. The some what smaller half I placed in front of the mongoose-bear on the wrappings. It sniffed it, then sank its little baby teeth into the meats flesh hungrly. I watched as it devoured the half slab of meat then made its way back to its previous spot at the foot of my bed.
"Wait." I sighed as I realised something. "I have to come up with a name now, dont I?" Its ears swiveled in my direction but it didnt open its eyes or move other wise. But that changed when I picked it up and looked for any sighns of gender. It made another weird sound that sounded like a mix between a growly and a squak of protest.
"Well," I placed it back down and it seemed to huff at me while it settled down once more. "Your a girl then. Okay, girl names for a mongoose-bear. Umm..." I trailed off when I realised this was going to be harder than I thought.
A minute or two I settled on a name, I wasnt big or fancy or meaningfull, but it was a name for a female mongoose-bear. "What do you think of Susami?"