Chapter Two: The Name Returns

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"Okay now, children, pay attention. This is the most important part."

He straightened up and looked at the man who spoke. He glanced at the teenager who stood next to the instructor, grinning nervously. He received an encouraging smile from the older boy, which caused his uneasiness to melt away. He refocused his attention on the instructor.

"When you get ready to make the change, try to drive everything else out. Concentrate wholly on changing your shape. Distraction will only result in failure. Sisku? You go first."

A boy his age with tousled sandy hair stepped forward. Everyone went quiet, and Sisku scrunched his face up in concentration. As the onlookers watched, Sisku began to change slowly, his hair changing color from sandy to red orange. He began to grow smaller, and the next thing everyone knew, a small animal with red orange fur stood in Sisku's place.

"A pine marten, eh? Well, that explains a lot," the Instructor said with a smile.

The crowd laughed, excitement for the young boy's success running through them. The pine marten that was Sisku bared his teeth and gave a playful hiss.

"Mokuba? It's your turn."

He stepped forward, ready, and…

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Myst woke up, breathing hard. He looked around at the sleeping bears, then settled back down, confused by the strange dream. Something was telling him that it was not just a dream; he was remembering the memories that had been lost.

Henu had told the little boy that he was a Shape Bender and had the ability to transform, or would eventually. That fact, at least, explained why the boy had changed into a pine marten in his dream. Was that boy a friend?

Myst sighed, rolling onto his back. He stared up at the night sky. There was one other thing about that dream…the teenage boy who had smiled at him. Who was he? Myst had gotten a feeling of extreme encouragement and love coming from him. Was he a family member? A brother or a cousin?

Myst sighed and closed his eyes. Amnesia sure was frustrating…

"Can't sleep, little one?"

Okkeanos had noticed Myst wake up; the huge bear God had already been awake, keeping watch over his clan. Now he stood next to the little boy, watching him with unblinking dark eyes.

Myst rubbed his arm. "No, Okkeanos-san. I had a strange dream. It woke me up."

Okkeanos said nothing for a few minutes. Then he spoke.

"You were reliving the memories you lost."

Myst hugged his knees to his chest. "I think so," he whispered. Suddenly, he remembered something from his dream that he had forgotten. "I…I remember my name! Someone in my dream was talking to me, and they called me…Mokuba, I think." The little boy looked up at Okkeanos. "I'm sure of it! That's my name-Mokuba!"

Okkeanos gave the boy a stolid glance. "If you sure that is your true name, do you wish to be called by it?"

The little boy considered for a moment. "Yes."

"Very well, then," Okkeanos replied. He then did a rare thing for a bear God as old as he was-he smiled at Mokuba. "Do you think you can get back to sleep now? We will be moving out first thing in the morning, so you need as much rest as you can get."

Mokuba nodded. "Okay, Okkeanos-san. I'll try to go back to sleep." He watched as the large bear went back to his vantage point over the whole bear clan. After a moment, he settled back down, snuggling up against the bears who had taken charge over him. Sleep came quickly; soon the young boy was once again lost in his dream world.

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The night did not last long; soon the morning sun began to rise and burn away the faint mists that swirled over the ground. A lone bird chirped, then fell silent as something went past its hiding place in the forest.

Seto had abandoned riding his horse; he had left Borrego and told him to find his way to some place safe. Where he was headed certainly was not safe, he knew that much. The land Seto was preparing to enter was devoid of so many trees that it seemed a mistake to call it a forest. Seto had never been here before in his life, but he had heard the stories told of this place back home, and he recognized it for what it was, what it hadbeen.

The woods of the Forest Spirit.

Seto looked around, shocked at the state of the "forest". In the stories, this forest had been a place of beauty; tall trees abundant everywhere, beautiful streams, flowers, insects, fish, and animals of every kind, and several Kodama spirits playing around the foliage of the trees.

It was not like that anymore.

Seto once again looked over his new surroundings, disgust evident on his face now. Whoever had done this was no better than the demons that were wandering more and more around the earth.

With a sigh, he proceeded into the former woodland, and then hesitated. Humans might have been the ones who had done this; he had no doubt that the animal Gods here, if any were left, would be angry with humans in general. In addition, Seto knew, even though he was not a human, he looked like one, and the animals would most likely attack first and ask questions later. He was not safe in his normal form. If he were hurt seriously, he would never find Mokuba.

He needed to blend in…what animal form should he take? Seto thought for a while, then remembered: The two main animal Gods in this forest were wolves and boars. He did not want to be a boar, but a wolf…Seto's main animal form was the wolf.

"Well, I'll be comfortable with that," He remarked to himself.

With that, Seto had transformed into his brown and grey wolf form. Now knowing that he was safe, he continued into the remains of the forest.

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Iron Town, once a bustling, fortress city that made iron to earn a living for its citizens, was now little more than a bright green hill covered with flowers and little tree shoots. Here and there, some of the old dwelling houses had been cleared of plant life and repaired enough to make them livable again, but for the most part, the people of Iron Town lived outside of their former homes.

As the morning sun warmed the waters of the lake that surrounded the town, Ashitaka returned from the forest, accompanied by Altren and Yakul. Altren often visited town with Ashitaka, gathering information and reporting it back to San. The humans and the animals had become tolerant of each other, though it was obvious by the way Altren kept sending glares at some of the men that it would be quite some time before the animals forgave the humans for killing the Forest Spirit.

Ashitaka got off Yakul's back once his destination in the town was in sight. He patted the red elk's side.

"You and Altren head on over to the stables now. Get yourselves a bite to eat and some rest. Altren, I'll come see you after I'm done with my business."

Altren nodded, turning to follow Yakul to the stables. He was looking forward to some nice food and a chance to rest his sore paws.

Ashitaka watched them go; the two seemed to be having a conversation. He shook his head, shrugged, and went into the nearest repaired building.

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"Ashitaka, you certainly were gone a long time. How are things in the forest?"

Ashitaka ate the rice he had been offered. He swallowed, then replied, "Everything's fine, or as fine as it can be under the circumstances. Altren came with me today; he wanted to see what was going on in town right now."

Ashitaka was in the home of his friends, Toki and her husband Kohroku. After the whole incident with the forest spirit, he had needed a place to stay, and Toki and Kohroku were kind enough to offer up their house.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, but Lady Eboshi wants to see you as soon as you've finished eating," Kohroku said. "I think it's important."

"Really," Ashitaka replied. 'I wonder what she wants now. Whatever it is, I'll be sure to tell Altren once I find out.'

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Riding on the back of a bear was fun at first, but after a few hours, Mokuba's legs began to cramp.

Henu looked at the young boy. "You can walk beside me if you want to stretch your legs."

Mokuba nodded, sliding off the bear God's back and onto the ground. He soon fell into step next to his bear guardians.

Bosa the red-furred bear cub was never still. He ran ahead of his parents, climbed up trees, dug in the dirt, then ran back to his family and did it all over again. After awhile, he got bored with this and bounded up next to Mokuba.

"Hey, Mokuba!" The young bear said excitedly. "Let's play tag!"

"Okay," Mokuba said with a smile. He liked the energetic little bear a lot. As the two youngsters chased each other, Henu watched them, smiling. His father, Okkeanos, came up beside him.

"He's doing better today, isn't he?" Okkeanos asked.

Henu nodded, watching as his daughter started playing with Mokuba and Bosa. "Yes. He's still wearing that bandage around his head, but he won't need it anymore in a few days. So, he remembered his name last night?"

Okkeanos gave a small smile. "He had a dream about one of the memories he lost, and he was called by name in it. It's a small step in the right direction of regaining his memories completely."

Mokuba came up to the two bears, carrying Bosa in his arms. "Henu, how much farther is it to where we're going?"

Henu shrugged. "Another day's travel, at least."

"Okay," Mokuba said. He hesitated before asking his next question. "Will there be anyone who looks like me there?"

Okkeanos answered him this time. "There are humans there, but I do not think that any Shape Benders like you live in that area. However, some of them might have come in this direction."

"If there aren't any, should I just pretend to be a human if they see me?"

Henu nodded in agreement. "That would probably be for the best."

Mokuba followed the bears deeper into the forest, the now sleeping Bosa still held in his arms.

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Seto's paws were beginning to get sore.

He had traveled several miles in a few hours, and was beginning to get tired. He came upon a river that rushed over some rocks, and he lapped up the cold water greedily. He raised his head after he had his fill and took stock of his surroundings.

Nothing new here; the forest was just as desolate as it had been where he had entered it.

Suddenly, he saw them.

A human girl and a large silver wolf were watching him on the far side of the river.

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I am so evil. What a place to leave off….well, read and review if you want me to write more!