The next day soon came. Kenai and Koda were soon walking along the snowy path with their old friends.
"And that mammoth stood there watching the whole thing," Koda told the others a story which seemed to take a while. "So I told Bucky, 'The next time you have to sneeze, please take the walnuts out of your mouth first'. Oh, and then I started laughing so hard, guess what came out of my nose?" he then asked them.
Akito, Estelle, Felicity, and Vincent looked at each other from that.
"Uh, Koda, speaking of food...?" Kenai spoke up.
"I know what you mean," Koda replied. "All this walking has made me crazy hungry." he then sniffed the ground a bit before he found a spot and began to dig it up like a dog.
Kenai smirked as he got Koda to stop digging so he could dig the rest of the way. "All right, step aside, kid, and let a real bear show you how the digging's done." he then told his little brother.
"Sure it's easy now," Koda replied. "I gave you a head start."
"Oh, did ya now?" Felicity teased.
"Yeah!" Koda smiled as she then laughed.
"Jackpot," Kenai smiled as he found some food for him and Koda. "All the roots you can eat, buddy."
"I knew I was onto something." Koda smiled back.
"Sure you were." Akito teased.
"Ah, what can I say?" Koda replied. "I've got killer instincts."
"Yeah, right." Kenai rolled his eyes playfully before they would begin to eat.
"I'll see if I can find some food for you guys." Ingrid told her human friends.
"Great." Vincent smiled.
Ingrid soon came to check the bushes for some berries.
"I really admire your closeness and guidance to your friends." A raccoon said to Ingrid as it was in the bushes.
"Heh... Well, yes," Ingrid replied. "They're new around this sort of environment, so it's my job to guide them."
"You have a deep resemblance to my element of guidance," The raccoon said to her. "My name is Mapachin."
"It's nice to meet you." Ingrid smiled.
"You must be the one going on the spiritual journey." Mapachin said to her.
"Yes, I am," Ingrid nodded. "Does this mean I have your element now?"
"Yes, you do," Mapachin replied. "Just be very careful. This is going to be a strange new adventure for you and all of your friends."
"I will." Ingrid nodded.
"Good luck, young one." Mapachin said before he disappeared.
Ingrid looked surprised at that before she then decided to collect some berries and other safe foods she found for her friends, though Koda began to sense something.
"Oh, hey, look, is this a tuber?" Kenai asked the bear cub as he carried something in his mouth.
"Get down!" Koda gasped as he jumped on Kenai's head before coming to the other side to look out.
"What is it?" Kenai asked his little brother.
Felicity began to look concerned. Koda continued to sniff for a while before he and Kenai took a look through the woods as they both sensed danger.
"Is it a hunter?" Estelle wondered.
"I think so." Akito nodded.
They soon saw two hunters and where it seemed only one of them had a spear.
"Oh, no." Felicity whispered worriedly.
"Quick, hide in here!" Kenai told Koda as he put the bear cub into the log beside him as he ducked down to hide.
"What should we do?" Estelle whispered to the others.
"Hide away." Vincent suggested.
"But I'm gonna scare those hunters way too." Akito then decided firmly.
"No." Vincent shook his head.
"No?!" Akito glanced at his brother.
They then got very quiet suddenly as it looked like one of the hunters was passing them. Koda looked and felt scared as he hid in the log, even more so as the hunter soon stepped on top of the log he was inside of and as he walked a little in the log, it creaked. The hunter acted quickly and brought out the spear firmly. Kenai panicked at that since Koda was just a little cub and soon came up to the hunter and roared loudly at the hunter, knocking the hunter away from the log with a swat of his paw to keep them away from Koda. And before he could get closer to the hunter, the first hunter blocked his path and looked ready to handle him as he shouted some words before growing bigger.
"What's happening?" Estelle whimpered and shook with her eyes closed. "I can't watch."
Akito held onto his twin sister protectively before looking over in shock. "Whoa!"
Kenai looked surprised at the other hunter growing so large, but still growled as he had to protect his little brother from the hunters.
"That hunter must be 50 feet tall." Felicity said.
The bigger hunter protected the fallen hunter as best as he could. Kenai growled as he tried to swat at the bigger hunter, but that wouldn't do much.
"It can't be... Unless... That's Apache Chief...?" Ingrid muttered to herself.
Akito soon went to handle the bigger hunter. The bigger hunter glared from under his hood as he came to also deal with Akito. The other hunter began to creep away, though she tripped a bit and hit the ground before she looked up as her hood slid down to show her face.
"...Nita?" Kenai tilted his head at the female hunter as she looked familiar.
Nita soon got scared and hit him with her spear handle because she thought he was just a regular bear. The bigger hunter soon did his best to handle Akito which wasn't a problem for him.
"Go away!" Akito glared. "These bears have done nothing to you! It's people like you that make me mad!"
The bigger hunter gave him a bit of a look.
"Ow! Watch it!" Kenai cried out as he tried to stop the hunter that tried to get him as he knew who this hunter was. "Hey, no, Nita! It's me, Kenai."
The bigger hunter looked surprised when he heard that as he looked down at Kenai.
"What's the big idea, Gigantor?" Akito glared at the bigger hunter as he looked so tiny compared to him.
"Kenai?" Nita asked the bear in front of her. "Is it really you?"
"Yeah, it's really me." Kenai smiled as the bigger hunter heard his voice.
"Kenai!" The bigger hunter looked relieved before he shrunk down and Akito fell in the snow from that.
"Whoa! Hey!" Akito complained as he fell in the snow.
The bigger hunter was soon shown as Micco.
"Micco, is that you too?" Kenai asked.
"In the flesh," Micco chuckled as he looked at the bear. "Well... I guess you really are a bear... That's just... Wow."
"Yeah," Nita added. "We heard you were a bear, but I didn't realize you'd look so much like a bear."
"Well, yeah, but what about you two? You've both really changed." Kenai said before looking surprised. "Wait, you can talk. I mean both of you can understand me?"
"Yeah," Nita nodded. "The spirits did it so when we found you, we could talk to you."
"Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute," Kenai replied. "You... You've been looking for me? Why?" he then asked them.
"Well, this is why," Micco said. "Show him, Nita."
Nita then reached into her bag and brought out the amulet to show Kenai.
"You've kept this? After all these years..." Kenai smiled after seeing the amulet.
"The great spirits told our shaman that this amulet bonds us as one." Nita explained.
"Really?" Kenai smiled.
"So now you and I have to go to Hokani Falls-" Nita continued.
"Together?" Kenai beamed out of excitement. "Like when we were kids?"
"And burn it." Nita soon concluded.
"And burn it!" Kenai repeated until he realized what she just said. "Burn it? What?"
"It's no big deal," Nita told him. "It's only a little trinket."
"Little trinket?" Kenai asked with a slight glare.
"Ooh. I don't think Kenai liked that very much." Akito said as he patted some snow off of his clothes.
"Uh, well, what I mean is, we were just silly kids." Nita explained.
Kenai growled a bit from that.
"They won't let Nita get married until it's destroyed." Micco added.
"Uh... Well, then." Akito said in surprise.
"You okay, Akito?" Estelle asked her twin brother.
"Yeah, I'll be alright," Akito replied. "Just annoyed with that big guy."
"Hmm... Let me think about this," Kenai said to Nita as he paused for a few seconds. "Sorry, can't help you." he then told her.
"What?" Nita gasped from that.
"So, have fun burning the silly little trinket on your own." Kenai told her in a huff.
"Kenai, you don't understand; you have to come with her to Hokani Falls and burn the amulet or else it won't work." Micco said.
"What won't work?" Koda asked the others as they soon came to see Nita, Micco, and Kenai.
"Uh, Nita, this is my brother, Koda. Koda, Nita, Micco. Nita, Micco, Koda," Kenai quickly introduced. "Also that's Akito, Estelle, and Vincent Fudo with their cousin, Felicity Forte, and a kid from my village, Ingrid, with her Kabutops."
"So, you're Nita," Koda said. "Kenai was just dreaming about you."
"That makes sense to me." Micco chuckled a bit.
"I was not." Kenai said as Nita giggled herself.
"Was too," Koda smirked. "You should hear him. 'Nita. Nita'." he then imitated.
"Well, it's been nice talking to you, but Koda and I have big plans to go to Crowberry Ridge." Kenai said as he covered Koda's muzzle before moving the bear cub to sit on his back.
"Kenai, you're really not going to help?" Felicity asked.
"Nope." Kenai replied.
"Kenai!" The others scolded.
"I don't see why I should." Kenai shrugged at them.
Nita looked a bit firm with her old friend. "You know, neither of us can get on with our lives until we burn this amulet." she then told him.
"I'll take my chances." Kenai replied.
Akito glared before getting an idea before whispering it to the others. The others listened as Kenai decided to keep walking away with Koda, even though his old best friend needed his help and once they heard Akito's idea, they knew that would do the trick into getting Kenai to going to Hokani Falls with them. Nita and Micco looked curious of what was going to happen next.
"Okay, fine, Kenai," Akito acted a bit. "I guess we'll wait for your ancestral spirits to turn you back into a human to send you to find Nita."
This soon caught Koda's attention as he got off Kenai's back. Kenai looked concerned about Koda getting off like that.
"Would they do that?" Koda asked his big brother.
"No," Kenai shook his head. "No, buddy, of course not."
"Well, how can you be sure?" Micco asked.
Kenai looked soft from that.
"What if they did turn you back into a man?" Koda then asked sadly. "Then we wouldn't be brothers anymore."
"Oh, Koda..." Ingrid frowned for the bear cub while Roshan also looked unhappy from that.
"No, Koda, it's... That's not..." Kenai tried to tell Koda, though he sighed a bit as he thought about it before he felt like he had to give in to Nita and Micco's offer. "Hmm... Fine. Okay. We'll go to Hokani Falls, but right after that, buddy, just the two of us, we'll race down to Crowberry Ridge." he then told his little brother.
"Pinkie swear?" Koda asked him.
"Pinkie swear." Kenai smiled before they laughed and made it official.
"Then it's settled," Nita remarked. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Kenai heaved a sharp sigh before he walked off one way.
"Um... Hokani Falls is this way." Micco said to the bear.
"I knew that. I knew that." Kenai muttered as he went the other way.
"Just try to be patient, Kenai, it's the right thing to do." Ingrid told the bear as noble as she could.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Kenai rolled her eyes. "Just try to catch up."
Ingrid continued to get some food with Roshan for their trip before a fox tail came out of the bushes, touching her face. "Hello, there." She then greeted.
"Don't you recognize me?" The female fox smirked at her. "I found you when you lost your memories during that wolf quest that Balto had to go on to find his daughter while that boy was looking for his sister."
"Oh, Tokala!" Ingrid beamed as she hugged the fox who nuzzled in her touch. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"I'll always be around." Tokala smiled.
"I missed you so much," Ingrid said to the female fox. "Even though I've found my family. I must stay true to them of course and help my friends whenever they may need me."
"Yes, Ingrid, you are very noble," Tokala smiled warmly. "Just like me."
"Does she get an element then?" Kabutops asked.
"Of course she does," Tokala smiled. "She was born especially with it."
Ingrid briefly glowed and beamed as she hugged the female fox again. "Thank you so much, Tokala."
"Of course, my child," Tokala replied. "Also, you might wanna check your underarm, just a suggestion." she then winked as she suggested something.
Ingrid looked curious before doing just that. On Ingrid's arms, there appeared to be prints of a dove, a raccoon, a fox.
"See?" Tokala smiled.
"What do these marks mean?" Ingrid asked the fox.
"Those are you receiving the elements of the animals such as myself," Tokala smiled. "You will also be rewarded once you meet all of the animals you have to meet during your adventure."
"Great." Ingrid smiled back.
"Good luck, Ingrid, but I don't think you need it." Tokala smiled.
"I missed you so much," Ingrid smiled back as she hugged the fox one last time. "I gotta go."
"Goodbye, Ingrid." Tokala told the girl, nuzzling in the hug before the girl let go of her to keep on going.
"Here we go." Kabutops said.
"I hope I have plenty of food for you guys." Ingrid said to her friends as she carried a sack.
"I'm sure it'll tide us over," Estelle smiled. "This should be a fun journey."
"Yeah, even though someone turned into a human giant all of a sudden." Akito remarked with a glance at Micco.
"You can thank my grandfather." Micco said.
"Yeah?" Akito asked.
"It's a long story, I'll tell you later." Micco replied.
Akito looked curious, but shrugged at that as they kept going.