Chapter 10: The Paw Print On the Wall
By the time Kenai and Kia had gotten all cleaned up, and their clothes had dried, it was time to go to dinner.
Kia walked beside Kenai, looking nervous. "Kenai, please don't leave my side tonight...I'm not sure what to say to all those villagers, when we tell them our message!"
Kenai chuckled, and held her hand protectively in his. "Don't worry, Kia. I won't ever leave you, not if I can help it. We're in this thing together. Try not to worry about it anymore." he said reassuringly.
Kia nodded after a moment. "Okay, I'll try not to get too worked up about this." She said finally.
"I'm starving! Let's go eat!" Kenai said. Kia nodded, laughing.
"Me too!" She said, as they both ran towards the group of villagers who had gathered to eat.
"Quiet! Alright, calm down." Tanana called out over the many voices of the chatting villagers.
After a few more repeated attempts, the villagers fell silent. All, that is, except for two young talkative boys. K ia giggled to herself as the children continued on with their noisy discussion. Seeing the two chatterbox's made Kia feel homesick for the chatterbox she and Kenai had left back home, at the Salmon Run.
True, Koda could be a pain, and he talked way too much, but still...The bear cub had grown on Kia during her stay with Kenai and Koda. He had almost become like...well, like a little brother to Kia.
All of a sudden, Kia was snapped out of her pleasant day dreams and back to reality at the sound of loud clapping.
Startled, Kia glanced at Kenai. "Kenai, what's going on?" she asked.
Kenai stared at her, looking surprised at her question. "We're about to go warn the villagers of those wolves. Haven't you been paying attention?"
Kia flushed. "Well, I.." Tanana started to speak then, so Kia turned her attention to the old shaman.
"I am sure you all remember Kenai. He and his friend Nakia have traveled a long way, and overcome much, I'm sure, to give you all a message directly from the Great Spirits. So please show them some respect and listen up."
The villagers fell silent as Kenai and Kia approached Tanana.
She nodded at them, and they looked out at all the people, then Kenai started to speak. "Well, my brother gave Kia and I a message for you. it's not what you'd expect, so you better brace yourself..."
Kia groaned, growing impatient with Kenai's stalling. Uttering a low, frustrated growl under her breath, Kia pulled Kenai back and stepped up in front of him.
"You're all in danger!" she blurted out.
A few murmurs arose from the crowd, and Kia heard lots of sharp gasps.
"How are we in danger!" A villager suddenly asked, and all the villagers' gazes shot towards Kia expectantly.
"Please everyone- listen to me!" Kia said. "An evil wolf pack is planning to kill you all!" she cried.
Kenai stepped beside the girl. "The only problem is we don't know when they're planning to strike." he said.
"Yeah, so you all need to be ready at all times!" Kia chimed in, relieved that Kenai was helping her explain now. "So after dinner I think you should go prepare for war. This is going to be quite a battle!"
Loud yells arose from everyone in the crowd, and they pumped their fists up in the air, shouting,"We will be ready. We'll conquer, and destroy!" Kia and Kenai rejoined the crowd, having said all they could.
Tanana held up one hand then, silencing all the war cries. "Alright, now that Kenai and Nakia have given their message, let's eat."
As she spoke, men approached the villagers, each of them carrying a large basket. They placed their baskets on the ground, and joined the hungry villagers.
From where she stood, Kia saw massive amounts of salmon in the baskets. A few of them were also filled to the brim with many berries. Kenai glanced over and saw that Kia was eyeing the salmon.
He nudged her gently. "Hey," he whispered to her, "We may be human, but we still get to eat like bears tonight! Salmon and berries!"
Kia grinned, and nodded, her mouth watering. Tanana called for everyone to get in line, and they did.
The shaman even let Kenai and Kia go to the front of the line, since they were only visiting. Kenai and Kia both grabbed a flat, stone plate.
Then Tanana placed two salmons on their plates, along with two big handfuls of berries. Once their plates were full, Kenai and Kia walked off to find someplace to eat.
They decided to sit down over by the wall with the villager's ancestors' hand prints. Kia stared curiously up at the wall, as she took a bite out of a salmon.
"What is all of this, Kenai?" she asked.
Kenai smiled at her, then looked up at the hand prints.
"There's a time in everybody's life, when the Great Spirits reveal our totem to us. It is the animal that is supposed to help guide us, and most embodies with our spirit. When we finally manage to live by our totem, we are given the privilege of putting up our hand print on this wall. It's the sign that we've truly become a man--or a women." he explained.
Kia stared at the wall in awe. "...Wow..!" she turned to Kenai. "Which hand print is yours?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
Kenai smiled. He put his plate on the ground, and got up, motioning for Kia to do the same.
Kenai took a hold of Kia's hand, then placed it on a paw print that was on the wall.
"This one is yours?" Kia asked softly, as Kenai kept her hand pressed to that very print.
Kenai nodded proudly. "Yeah...I got to put my print on the wall, even though I became a bear...It was an act of love to stay a bear, to care for Koda...And since love is my totem, that meant that I learned how to live as the bear of love."
He grinned at Kia, who was still staring in amazement at the bear's paw print. She turned and smiled warmly at Kenai.
"That must have been the proudest moment of your life.." she said softly.
Kenai chuckled. "Well, one of them. The absolute proudest moment of my life was anytime you were there sharing it with me." he winked at her.
Kia smiled, flattered by what the boy had just said.
The two settled back down to eat after a little bit more talking.
The salmon was delicious, thought Kia, as she sank her teeth into a salmon hungrily.
"Excuse me, can I join you?" came a voice.
"Hmm?" Kia glanced up- and choked as she saw who was before her..