Here's the second chapter! It's kinda short but that's because it felt like a good place to stop and I'm going on vacation (AGAIN) and still have to pack.
I love athrun: Ok! You da boss!
Disclaimer: I do not own THE Shaman King, but I do own the others…JUST KIDDING!
P.S.- I'm using the English names because I'm so used to them, only watch the dub on "4KidsTV". Also, I'm calling it Patch Village for the sole purpose, that I don't know how to spell it the English way, if you could tell me that'd be great.
P.P.S.- This and probably the next chapter will be all about Kari's past. Just so you know.
Patch Village seemed deserted from the naked eye, but if you were to look hard enough, people were working constantly in their cool clay homes, staying away from the harsh desert heat.
The Village Chief, Goldva was sitting in his cave, a crackling fire burning in front of him. He was wearing his usual tan Patch dress and long eagle feather headdress, covering most of his white long hair. Around his cave were carvings and stories telling legends of old.
To his right was another Patch tribesman, Silva. Silva wore his beige cloak and robe with traditional artwork decorating it. He also wore a red headband over his eyes and two eagle feathers behind his right ear, along with several bracelets and rings.
"Silva, the time draws nearer everyday." Goldva spoke in his raspy old voice.
Unfortunately, Silva wasn't listening; his attention was out of a hole in the cave wall. The young man was looking far out into the distance, past the village and into the desert on the horizon.
"Silva, are you listening? Silva!"
His eyes widened as he looked over at his chief, "Did you say something, Goldva?"
The old man narrowed his eyes, "Weren't you listening?"
"I'm sorry," Silva replied, "My mind as been wandering."
Goldva growled softly and stood up, walking over to Silva's side. He looked out the window as well as the young man, but he didn't see anything.
"What is so important out there that your mind wanders?" the chief questioned.
"I see something in the desert."
"What do you see?" Goldva narrowed his eyes.
"I am not sure, it is too far away."
"Where is it?"
Silva pointed to a spot, quite far away in the desert. Goldva narrowed his eyes and gasped. From this distance, it looked like a black dot waving in the heat rising in the air. Both of them knew something was wrong, it didn't look like a cactus and it appeared to be moving, ever so slowly.
The young man walked towards the entrance of the cave, his chief following soon after. They paced quickly through the huts of the village, a few heads popping out from inside with curious faces. When the two reached the edge of the parish, they squinted their eyes to try and get a better look.
Silva shook his head, looking down at the feeble old man beside him. The chief nodded and he stepped forward, ready to make the journey out into the desert. At first, the tribesman was in shock, before concentrating on the dark figure in the distance.
The two journeyed for hours, right when the sun was about in the middle of the sky. Silva stopped, and then rushed forward seeing it only a few hundred yards ahead of them. It looked like a person, a young child. It had collapsed long before and was lying with its head in the sand.
Goldva huffed as he jogged behind Silva, muttering something about "Being too old for this". He gazed down at the child, who was wearing a pink t-shirt and short blue shorts. The kid had short light brown and red hair that went a bit past the shoulders, wildly tangled through its head and matted to the face.
Gently, Silva rolled the child so that its face was out of the sand, seeing a young girl's face. Goldva leaned closer, checking for a heartbeat and breathing. The old chief sighed in relief when a soft, constant thumping and slow, shallow breaths were occurring regularly.
"What should we do, Goldva?" the young man asked, tucking some stray hairs behind the little girl's ear.
The elder thought wistfully, "We should take her back to the village. She does not look in the best shape."
"Right."
The younger of the two picked up the girl carefully and placed her on his back piggyback style. Then his senior led the way as they made the long trek back to the village.
The girl's eyes squeezed together, although already shut. She tried to move her arms, but found that to be useless. Her body was so sore; she didn't have the will to wake up.
There was a constant rustling sound by her ear, it started soft but grew louder and louder as her mind started to wake up. She tried to down it out and ignore it, but it just wouldn't go away. Carefully and painful, she tried to shift her body away from the noise, trying to get across that she didn't want to be disturbed. The racket, however, didn't comply and instead got louder, moving closer.
Finally, her eyes slowly fluttered her eyes open to reveal two bright blue eyes, tainted by pain and sadness. She lazily looked around the room to see someone to her right with their back to her, working on something. Glancing around the room, it seemed to be made of rock, with runes and pictures painted on the walls. There was also a good-sized fire burning heartily beside her.
She turned her head a bit too much and it fell to the side with the fire. Not feeling the energy to move it, her eyes stared at the crackling flame for a while before looking down. She couldn't see her clothes, just the animal skin blanket she was lying on and a bear's skin on top of her to keep her warm.
Hearing her shift, the figure turned around, its tan robes rustling to reveal a wrinkled old face. It broke out into a kind smile at her giant curious eyes, as the body turned around to reveal an old man with a long feathered crown.
"Glad to see you're awake."
She looked into his eyes, at first feeling fear. Her body scooted further away, until she winced and halted in pain, her body still too exhausted. The old man gave her a distressing look and turned to the fire, looking at it for a good solid moment before going back to what he was doing before.
In his lap was a mortar and pedestal with a green looking paste in it. The elder turned and grabbed a few more herbs from baskets against the rock wall and placed them inside the bowl. He then, started to crush everything together into a sauce.
"Eat this. It will help with your injuries." the raspy voice spoke.
He held out a spoon with the green much on it close to her head. At first she seemed skeptical, but gave in to his kind gaze and opened her mouth. The slime tasted strangely bland as she strained to finally swallow it.
The old man continued to feed her until all of the mush was gone. He put the bowl aside and pressed his wrinkly hand to her forehead, relieved that she didn't have a fever.
"Tell me child, how did you come to be alone in the desert?" the elder asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
The girl looked away, not ready to talk. The old Indian respected this and turned back towards the fire. He heard a sound and looked over, seeing tears covering the young girl's face as she struggled visibly and mentally against herself. His attention went back to the fire until he heard a mumble.
"My…name is Kari."
The old man watched as Kari fumbled with the blanket, curling up into a ball as if she was cold, or fighting a bad memory, her voice raspy, making her unable to speak very clearly.
"My parwents and I… we wa gonna go on vacafun. We got on da plane and they swaid everyting was fine… but den… the endwine bloo up. My parwents gave me da parachute and twold me to jump… I was so scarwed and everyone was scrweaming, I just did as Mommy told me. Da next thing I rwemember… I was on the grwound and I couldn't see the airyplane. So I stwarted to walk around… then I don't rwemember."
(My parents and I… we were going on vacation. We got on the plane and they said everything was fine… but then… the engine blew up. My parents gave me the parachute and told me to jump… I was so scared and everyone was screaming, I just did as Mommy told me. The next thing I remember… I was on the ground and I couldn't see the airplane. So I started to walk around… then I don't remember.)
The elder looked on in sorrow, this orphan had nowhere to go and no other family. Yet, he sensed a familiar aura around the girl, the one of everyone in his tribe. He could tell that his girl could see the spirits and either was or could be a shaman.
"Child, do you know what a shaman is?"
She shook her head, a few teardrops flying every which way. Kari uncurled herself a bit, growing warmer to this old man.
"Would you like to stay here and become one?"
The elder reached out his wrinkled hand and she started curiously at it. For being a young girl, she was incredibly smart and she knew that her parents wouldn't be coming back. Having nowhere to go, she grasped the hand weakly and stared into his eyes, full of kindness.
"My name is Goldva, I will watch after you from now on." he whispered.
Kari was fading fast, not able to stay awake any longer. Her hand became limp in Goldva's as her head bowed down into the pelt pillow, her eyes drooping.
"Thank you…" and then she fell into a deep sleep.
A few days later, Kari had almost fully recovered from severe exhaustion and dehydration. She had been clothed in the traditional Patch shirt, which looked like a poncho, and shorts decorated in the tribes unique markings. On her head was a blue headband with a few markings, placed to keep her wild hair out of her eyes.
Goldva had made her an official member of the Patch tribe, giving her the initiation ceremony. The girl was now part of the tribe and would remain that way forever. Even if she could leave the village and go back to civilization, she didn't want to.
The chief was teaching her about how the Patch connects with nature, and things about the outside world. He told her about the Great Spirit and she listened especially well during that part. When Goldva came to the part about the Shaman Commissioners, Kari was intrigued.
"Goldva-sama? Can I be a commissioner too? I want to become a shaman and bond with the Great Spirit!"
The elder chuckled, looking down upon her shining eyes, "If you want, I could teach you to be a shaman."
She jumped up immediately, her hands in fists, "Of course I do! I wanna be just like the others of the village! I want to be a powerful shaman and connect everyone to nature!"
"What an admiral dream." he replied with a smile, "Then I shall teach you in the ways of the shaman."
Before Goldva knew what happened, Kari had run up and hugged him. She was squeezing tightly and buried her head in his cloak, tears streaming off her face.
"Thank you, Goldva-sama!"
The old man couldn't help but smile as he placed his hand on her head, patting it. He looked up at the great stars, shining brightly above them. He could see the Great Spirit all around them, in the village, the forest, the people, and hopefully a noble spirit like Kari would become the Shaman King.
Yey! It's over!
-sama: to put on the end of someone's name and give him or her great respect.
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