Wep'keer is always a quiet place. Few visitors ever arrive in the far northern reaches of Kamui, and the citizens tend to stay inside near the fire unless work or errands force them outside. The daily sounds of the city are usually limited to the quiet whine of the cold northern winds, and the incessant sound of the city's lone merchant fidgeting, trying desperately to warm himself.
Today was no exception. Snow slowly drifted from dark clouds, which obscured the sun and made it impossible to distinguish night from day. The city citizens were nowhere to be seen on the winding trails the connected various parts of the city. Except one.
A girl of seventeen was marching through the accumulating snow, her head held high. She was pale, which may be because she lived in a land of little sun, and her hair was as white as the snow that fell around it. As was the tradition of every tribe member, she wore a mask any time she went out into public. But under the mask, which depicted a roaring grizzly bear, her eyes were alight with indignation.
The merchant glanced up from his merchandise as the girl walked bye. "Hello Koori!" he said cheerfully, despite his chattering teeth.
The girl didn't respond or even look at the freezing man, just continued her determined strides forward.
The merchant watched her go and whispered under his breath, "Temper-tantrum." He then began vigorously rubbing his numb arms against his sides, still shivering.
Tenka was tending the fire when Koori arrived at his hut. "Koori," he said, without turning around to face the door, "How can I help you?"
As the chief of the Oina tribe, Tenka was used to the villagers seeking his help. But as he turned, he saw that Koori definitely didn't want help. When you live in a society that masqueraded each and every day, you became skilled at figuring out the emotions of those around you, even if their face is covered.
Right now Tenka could tell that the girl was clenching her teeth with anger. In fact, she seemed so angry that the chief half expected the snow on her deerskin jacket to begin steaming.
Koori paced over to the old man and shoved a crumpled piece of paper at his masked face. Tenka knew what it was without looking at it. It was a beautiful sketch done hastily by firelight, depicting a crying baby lying in a snowdrift, surrounded by a crowd of masked people. At the bottom there was a small label that simply read "baby found in snow" and the date. It was drawn exactly seventeen years ago.
Tenka gave a sad sigh and handed the artwork back to Koori, who snatched it away furiously. The old man opened his mouth to speak, but the girl cut him off.
"Is that me?! You found me seventeen years ago in a snowdrift, and never told me!?"
Tenka opened his mouth again, but Koori continued her shouting.
"You were never going to tell me that my 'family' isn't even related to me!? How many lies did you have me believe!? Do you even know who my real parents are!? Where I came from!? I HATE you and I HATE this city and I HATE everything because I don't know what's true and what's just another lie that you fed to me over the years! I HAT-"
Tenka slapped her across the face, her wooden mask falling slightly askew. "Control your temper, child!" The chief shouted harshly. "It was for your own good! We were going to tell you when we felt you could handle the truth, which, obviously, you can't."
Both stared at each other for several seconds, the tension as tight as bowstring. The silence was ended by Tenka. "Where did you find that?"
Koori looked disdainfully down at the sketch she was holding. "In father's storage chest, buried deep under piles of old useless crap. Or, should I say, the person who pretends to be my father?"
Another few seconds of glaring at each other, and then Tenka turned away and sighed quietly. "We were going to wait another few years before we told you, but we can't change the fact that you know now." He whispered to himself, just barely loud enough so that Koori could hear. "But I do not know where you came from. Only one person can reveal to you your true origins."
"Who?" Koori's glare seemed to bore through Tenka's mask, penetrating his soul and mind.
Tenka sighed again. "At the very end of the cursed forest, Yoshpet, there stands an ancient stone gate. The person you seek will meet you there. Perhaps in a few days you can…"
"I'm going now." Koori called over her shoulder as she exited the hut.
"No, wait!" Tenka sprinted to the doorway. "You'll never make it without a guide!" But it was too late. The girl was gone.
Isus was cold. Really, really cold. It didn't help that the snowflakes were nearly as big as he was. Life as a poncle can really suck sometimes, he thought to himself. Standing near the entrance to Yoshpet, he crossed his arms and drew his small cloak around his tiny body. It didn't help much.
I just had to know what it was like outside the forest, he thought, mocking himself. No one told me it was this frickin' COLD!
Shivering, he surveyed his surroundings. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but snow. And a few trees.
There's not even anything cool out here! He huffily turned himself around and began hopping back into the forest. Amaterasu dammit, I'm going back to Ponc'tan.
"Wait!" A girl's shout made him stop.
Koori sprinted up to the small man, panting from her long run to the forest from Wep'keer. "You poncles know how to get around the forest, right?" She asked between gasping breaths. "Can you lead me to the stone gate in inner Yoshpet?"
Isus stared at the girl for a few seconds before turning and hopping back into the forest. "Fat chance," he said as he bounced quickly away.
"No…no wait!" Koori called after the retreating speck, but Isus paid no mind. Soon the poncle had completely disappeared into the trees.
Koori immediately shed her thick clothes and her wooden mask, revealing her attractive face beneath. Taking a few deep breaths, she stood there nude among the snow. Then she began the change.
He muscles bulged against her skin, almost as if they wanted to escape their bodily prison. Her bones pushed and grinded against each other, realigning into new structures and patterns. She fell onto the snow and began convulsing as pure white hair grew from every square inch of her skin.
Her fingers shortened and recessed into paws; same with her feet. Another convulsion, and her mouth and nose elongated. She felt her teeth burst through her gums, growing long and sharp. Her ears grew and turned pointed while her body made the final adjustments. She righted herself on all four legs as her organs and muscles found their correct place and settled into their new home. And it was done
The entire event had lasted less than five seconds. Where the young woman Koori once stood, there now crouched a pure white wolf. The beast stretched luxuriously before sniffing the snow in front of her. The smallest whiff of a scent trail led into the forest, left by the poncle. The wolf gave one long, low growl before launching into motion, kicking up a large wall of snow behind her. The hunt was on.
Every member of the Oina tribe gains the ability to change into a wolf at a young age, so the fact that Koori could transform at will was accepted as normal. However several things about the transformation were not normal at all.
Oina tribe members usually undergo their first transformation between the ages of seven and twelve. Koori had undergone her first transformation at the age of fourteen, something almost unheard of.
Also, Koori's bear mask did not alter her transformation at all. Oina tribe members gain their mask at age seven in a sacred ritual, and the mask itself becomes their most valued possession. Usually when a tribe member shifts to their wolf form, some features of their mask are carried with them. Tenka's wolf form had a ring of beautiful blue feathers around its neck, due to his mask, which depicted a crane. But Koori's wolf form was plain and simple. A pure white wolf, with no features at all reminiscent of a Grizzly bear.
And, of course, there was the transformation itself. Usually tribe members slip easily into their wolf forms without any trouble. But Koori convulsed and suffered from massive seizures when she changed, only cementing the fact that she was different from all the other tribe members. She had been teased often as a child, but bullies soon learned that Koori had an explosive temper that was potentially dangerous to any child that made fun of her.
Isus heard something crashing through the underbrush behind him. Turning, expecting to see a deer of large rabbit, his eyes went wide as he saw what was trailing him. A white wolf came storming towards him, plowing through thick snowdrifts as if they didn't exist. The beast's eyes were full of anger, directed fully at him.
The young poncle almost wet himself as the hellhound approached. He was finally stirred into action as the wolf was almost upon him.
Hopping faster than he ever believed possible, Isus darted between trees and across small frozen streams, desperate to reach Ponc'tan and safety.
"Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!" He shouted somewhat stupidly. He had a sudden thought. I don't want to look like a sissy coward when I get to Ponc'tan. "Isus is running from the big bad wolf, look at him! Ha ha!" The poncle felt somewhat more confident now. It's just a stupid ol' wolf, what harm can he do?
Isus looked over his shoulder, sure that he had already lost his pursuer, only to see the wolf's many sharp white teeth, a few inches away and ready to gobble him up. The poncle nearly doubled his speed. "WOLF! WOLF! WOLF!"
Koori was having fun. She stayed slightly behind the fleeing poncle, snapping at him if he slowed down. They were surprisingly going quite fast.
I should have just attacked him in the first place, she thought gleefully. She snapped at him again, tearing a small piece off of his cloak.
Isus had never been so glad to see Ponc'tan in his life. The stump that housed the poncle city was just ahead, just a few short hops away. I'm gonna make it, I'm gonna make it! He thought with immense relief.
Suddenly, everything went dark as something huge leaped over Isus, landing in a cascade of snow between the poncle and Ponc'tan. The white wolf, covered in a light layer of snow, pounced on Isus.
Isus struggled to escape from under the wolf's paw, but it was too large. His entire body was pinned down, with only his head sticking from underneath the beast's paw. The wolf looked down at her trapped prey and made a deep, throaty sound that sounded strangely like chuckling.
Isus had heard that sound before. "Wait a sec'! You're one of the Oina wolves." The Oina and the poncles were on friendly terms.
Realizing whom this mysterious wolf probably was, Isus gave a sheepish grin. "You're that girl I met at the entrance right?" He gave an unconvincing chuckle. He was still shaken from the chase.
"Well…the whole chase was fun and all, but I better be back in Ponc'tan before dinner, so maybe you could just let me…" He was interrupted by angry growling.
"Right, right, the stone gate…of course I'll lead you there! I'm a nice guy an' all." He gave another weak chuckle.
Koori slowly lifted her paw, keeping her eyes on the poncle that clambered from underneath.
"Uh…my name's Isus. What's yours?" The poncle took a stab at friendly conversation. Koori replied with another deep growl.
"Right, right, the gate, of course, the gate, I'll show you the way!" Isus was frantic as he hopped further into the forest, his voice nearing hysteria. Koori followed with another chuckle. She could get use to this.
The wolf and the poncle arrived at the stone gate a short while later. It was placed in a quiet clearing, where little snow seemed to fall. Large and imposing, it's strange stonework and it's seeming isolation only made it more mysterious.
"So here it is, the stone gat just as I promised." Isus, slightly calmer, led Koori into the clearing.
Koori approached the gate, gazing upon it in awe. This, she thought, is where I learn the truth. However, as she looked around, she realized there was no one but Isus in sight. Where was the person she was supposed to meet?
Isus watched the wolf for a while, and then turned back. "Well my job's done. I trust you can find your way back out…" He took a few hesitant hops, then turned and checked the wolf. When he noticed the beast was preoccupied with looking around and not attacking him, he began leaving.
"Wait, Isus." An old voice, echoed the clearing. Koori looked up in surprise, but she could see no one. Isus halted, pivoted around and faced the gate. "Aw, gramps, why do I have to stay?"
The voice echoed again. "So, young wolf, you came to learn your origins, huh? Took you long enough."
Koori finally found the source of the echoing voice, and stared in shock. There, standing upon the stone gate, was the former celestial envoy, Issun.
To be Continued…
So there's part 2. Sorry if it seems a little hasty, but I wanted to get both Denkou and Koori introduced into the story before the real adventure begins. Constructive criticism is always accepted.