Chapter 2

The following days the storm didn't let up and the head shaman spent that time getting to know the small fox that he had named Kona. He made some discoveries such as that Kona was able to walk on two legs, which took him only a couple days to learn how to move on his own, toddling at first like any infant child but becoming more stable at a remarkable rate. Teaching the kit anything major was out of the question at the moment as it remained to be seen what the rest of the community would think of him. It was five days later that the weather calmed down to an unusually warm temperature, almost 0 degrees Celsius, but in "The Land of the Living Skies" Saskatchewan no one could really predict the weather.

It was on that day that the old man decided to reveal the newest arrival to the rest of the community. He had gathered those members of the tribe who were not busy on that day in the central square of their town. Little Kona has latched onto the hem of the head shaman's ceremonial robes that he was wearing for the occasion while he walked to meet the rest of his people. The meeting was a bit tense, as the kit kept hiding behind the old man, poking his head out periodically to look at the humans around him. The old man smiled and turned to the assembled group before him and said.

"A few days ago two of our hunters, who are busy today, found this young creature on their way home in the blizzard and brought it to me. They believed he was a spirit animal and while he is not, over the past days I've seen that he is more human than other animals out there. I have named him Kona and I brought him here before you to ask if you think he should be allowed to live among us," he looked down at the kit, who was starting to overcome his shyness and was slowly stepping into full view, "I believe he was sent to us for a reason but I will not force you to accept him. Please decide amongst yourselves what should be done."

The debate that followed went on for some time, less than an hour but everyone had their say about the arctic fox kit Kona. Some thought he should be put back into the wild while others believed he would be a good addition to the group. Kona watched intently, not understanding most of what was being said, not really understanding any languages at the moment. There were no children present so Kona felt a bit lonely as the debate went back and forth for a while; the slight cold didn't both him even though the fox wasn't wearing clothes as his had still retained some of the heat insulating abilities of his species even in his current form. Eventually a decision was reached around the time people were starting to complain about the cold and one older member of the group, who acted as the representative, came forwards to say their decision.

"For the most part, we're willing to accept him as part of our community, provided that he lives with you for a while, shaman, and you can teach him about our customs." The old man nodded.

"Very well, now I believe we should all return to our daily tasks, I will see to Kona and teach him all that I can."

The teaching proved to be easier than the old man had thought, and at the same time difficult as he had never had a family of his own before; the learning was difficult for the arctic fox as well as he was forced to learn things he never would have otherwise, such as speech, reading, and writing, albeit not any sooner than a human child would.

Once Kona was four years old the elder shaman began to teach him about the customs and history of his people. The old man had thought that doing so would be difficult however Kona showed a great interest in this aspect of his people, more so that most young aboriginals did as well. Once the fox turned five he was enrolled in the community's local elementary school. This was a real trial for Kona at first, mostly of uncertainty, however he was pleasantly surprised to find that he was readily accepted into the school by his peers, some twist of fate seemed to make his differences more appealing than segregating, but Kona never really questioned it and just accepted it as it came. However the arctic fox often wondered about what he really was and when he was eight, he finally got up the courage to ask the head shaman the question. It was a Saturday so the fox had nothing to do when he questioned the man whom he had been living with about what he was. The man in question was sitting on his couch and drinking some tea when Kona walked over to him. The man looked up and asked.

"Nice to see you Kona, how are you doing in school?"

"I'm doing alright but I wanted to ask," he paused unsure how to proceed, but swallowed hard and did anyways, "do you know anything about what I am?"

The head shaman sighed and set his cup down before replying, "Truthfully I have no definite answer for you, but I do believe that the spirits of our world changed you from an ordinary animal into what you are now in order to provide my people with a greater understanding of our world."

"The spirits?" Kona took a seat next to the old man; he had heard vague references to the spirits while he was growing up but had avoided most of the subject matter regarding that as it had not interested him, until now that is.

"The spirits that give everything in this world life and create all of the changes that we experience in our lives." Kona looked up at the man and asked.

"Can you teach me about the spirits?"

"Of course, Kona."

That day marked the start of the fox's education and training as a shaman himself, learning about the spirits fascinated him and not only that but when he began his training it was discovered that he had a real talent for the shamanistic practices, learning to commune with nature easily; some speculated that this had to do with the fact that he was at least partly an animal. Kona kept his training up with an enthusiasm that pleased his teacher, as he was very interested in what he was doing, unlike some of the people the old man had taught. Kona's progression was astounding for someone so young and by the age of 12 he was already advanced enough to start learning some of the magic that a shaman could usually not even start to learn until they were in their adult years at least. This magic was not the supremely powerful stuff that RPG players would expect it to be rather they were simple things such as wards to help keep things safe or small ways to work with the spiritual energy in his body.

By the time Kona entered high school he had become very well versed in this art; it was deemed that it was time for him to start living on his own. There was a small house that had been become unoccupied recently, as the previous resident had moved to another part of the country. The house was basically a small bachelor pad and it needed very little cleaning up to be made habitable for the arctic fox. When Kona moved in he was told that he would be supported by the members of the community as long as he was in high school, but once he graduated he would have to start providing for himself. Kona took those notes to heart as he began high school, the trial of which wouldn't compare to the prejudice he would face once he visited the big city.