Tomorrow was the day The Great Spirit would deem me worthy of getting my spirit gaurdian. So today I had to be on my best behavior.

Tocagee village usually sat peacefully in the Forest of Naruka. Only the streams, the rustling of trees in the wind, and the calls and songs of animals were all that were heard. Yet on this day, the village was stirring. Not with the chants of a hundred voices around a campfire ... no. But the excited hollars of fifty triblings waiting to see if they'd be chosen.

"I bet I'll be chosen first," Tuma grinned. He was a short, stubby boy who reached under his loincloth to scratch his rear. "Probably a Coyox or a Canolf spirit."

Onwae's lips raised and curled, bubbling her cheeks. "You'd be lucky if Pachu, the papoose killer, would eat you for lunch."

The other kids chuckled nervously ... it was no secret Pachu was the most feared spirit animal in all of Naruka Forest. And if the tales were true he was big, mean, and always hungry. But I only wanted to be picked. And wouldn't shy away if he looked my direction.

Tuma's lips sunk. He crossed his arms and gazed at Onwae with a look as menacing as Pachu's face ... or at least what most triblings imagined it to be, for none of them had seen him. They only knew of his tales that spread around the village like wildfire by the lore shaman, AzarJi.

"I'd take Panchu if he were the only one to have me," Tuma snarked. "It's better to have a guardian and become a shaman then to be passed up like the shaman's living in the shadow territory. What says you, Kai?" I glanced up from the the spear I was carving to a point. Tuma pointed. "you are the most gifted out of all of us. Which Spirit Animal will choose you?"

I hacked once more taking a sizable chunk from the wood with my stoned blade. I shrugged. "The Great Spirit will determine that. We are only to wait and be chosen."

Mowak, a short-haired girl, with too many tribal markings on her skin, rolled her eyes. "Indeed. But you know you will be chosen above all else. My guess is by Kutari, the three-eyed eagle."

"Kutari is the Chiefs Guardian." I chopped the spear with force. "She's already bound and can't be bound to another."

Onwae was the sweetest of the three. And the cutests. Her skin golden. Abd eyes a golden-hazel. She rubbed her chin. "what about Kataru? It is said whomever he chooses will be the next chief. That has to be you, right?"

I sigh at the thought. Becoming chief was my dream. One I had since I was a boy. But there were several villages within the forest. And several young shaman to choose from. Surely I wouldn't be the only one considered.

"If the Great Spirit deems me worth-"

Tuma slashed his a hand from his right brest to his left. "Stop saying that! You know that you're the most worthy. It's an insult to the rest of us when you pretend you don't know it."

"Whatever you say ..."

I must stay well-headed. The Great Spirit was watching. And gloating and praising would only think less of me.

I hacked once more at the spear tip, prodded a finger on the point and then was off towards the falls, ready to spear supper. The other three followed on my heels like stray wolves. I didn't mind the company, although Tuma wouldn't keep his snare shut.

"If you wouldn't be named Chief then who? Who would do a better," he grunted, stepping over a log, "I can't think of anybody ..."

There was on name that came to mind. One name that was always on the tip of my tongue. Always lingering at the back of my head. Though I would not speak his name. Not even The Great Spirit could make me-

"Kangee is the only one I can think of," Mowak chuckled. "He's beaten Kai at every tribal competition."

"Oh,right. Kangee!" Tuma nodded, giving a crooked grin. "I heard he killed a dire boar at ten."

Onwae nodded. "Mmhmm. And he chased away a Wendigo at twelve. They say he's fearless. That not even The Great Spirit can bring fear into his heart."

I jabbed at the air. "We'll see about that. I almost knocked him down in our last duel."

"Almost?" Tuma snickered. "He danced around you like a cougar ... and you hacked at him with the elegance of a sloth."

My blood boiled and I turned the tip of my spear on the boy. He gulped. I grinned. "Don't make me test this point on you ..."

Mowak snickered and placed a hand on the spear, pushing it away from the boy's throat. "If you waste your time gutting Tuma, the guardians will surely pass you up."

Tuma rubbed his throat and nodded, "I-it's true." He winced, checking his palms for blood. "Gutting me will only get you a spirit pet like Panchu."

"And what's wrong with Panchu? He'd be a strong companion."

The three kids stopped. Their eyes widen. Mouth dropped. Terrifed like Panchu walked out of the woods, ready to maul them all.

"You know the tales." Tuma whispered. "What he did to Kawah ... Panchu abandoned him. And a spirit pet that abandons his man spirit, well ... he is forsaken by the Great Spirit. Left to wander the world alone."

I chuckled, "maybe he didn't like Kawah."

"It doesn't matter," Onwae said. "no guardian is allowed to leave his shaman."

"Which I never understood." I replied sharply, looking down the trail through the woods. Wthout another word, I was off in that direction. The three others ran after me.

Mowak rubbed her short hair. "Why would you say that?"

"Because shaman abandoned their gaurdian all the time. And I believe guardians and shaman need to be mutually respected."

"Yes." Tuma nodded. His rounded cheeks wobbling. "But we have that right. We are the guardians masters."

I ducked under a branch and waved a hand at a second. My nostrils filling with the fresh, spring air. We were getting close. "I believe a gaurdian and a shaman are one." I looked over my shoulder at the three. "And as one, we must act together ... in victory and defeat. Many Shaman will abandon a Spirit Pet that is too weak. When it is they who is the weakling."

Onwae nodded. "I agree with you Kai. Gaurdians are our friends.

"Says you," Mowak shrugged. "In my opinion, I can't blame one for leaving them? Who wants a weak spirit?"

"I know I don't," Tuma said, sharply. "I'd get rid of him right away."

"Youd be lucky to get one at all." I chuckled, leaping up onto a log. The bark felt firm, and rough against my feet. I welcomed the slight pain knowing it would only harded the bottoms. "I've seen how you fight, Tuma. You look like a dying ape."

I chuckled and the girls snickered. Tuma frowned, while his cheeks reddened with anger. He grabbed at the club at his hip. A short, white-wooded ugly thing that hadn't a single kill. "Don't make me use this."

"I won't." I said, reaching the rooted end of the tree, where it'd sat yanked from the dirt, from a storm or being knocked over by a beast. "Wouldn't want you fainting from taking a swing."

The girls and I laughed. Tuma's face purpled. He was always quick to anger, and that only made him stupid. He pulled the club from his hip and climbed up the log, wobbling. He held out his arms to maintain balance.

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"I'll show you," he said, charging towards the end of the tree, flat-footed, and sluggish. "Nobody insults me!"

I stood upright, leaning my chin out for an easy target. Tuma reeled back his arms, his club now behind his head. He swung with all his might. A strong swing. A sure swing. And an untimely swing. I leaned back, felling the wind as the club head wooshed by. Tuma groaned. His momentum carried him around. He spun then pummeted into the bushes down below, being swallowed up by them.

The girl giggled.

When I located him, legs up over his head, but alive and not seeming to be hurt I too chuckled. I cupped my lips. "You sure showed me."

Tuma frowned, "I'll get you next time ..."

I laughed and climbed down the rooted end of the tree. Onwae and Mowak met my sides and we howled with laughter as he struggled like a rollie pollie on his back.

"A little help," he squealed and grunted, "would be much appreciated."

The girls pointed, whispered, and giggled. I followed their eyes, looking upon Tuma's loincloth. It was flappd upside down. Concealing nothing. And revealing everything.

"Why?" I chuckled. "That's a good look for you."

Tuma must've felt the branches prodding into his loin, or heard the girls giggles. He grabbed at his cloth, pulling, doing his best to conceal himself though achieving little.

"Pleas. Help me."

"Say it ..."

"Oh, come on ..."

"I said, say it."

The boy frowned, but being upside down, one could mistake it for a smile. I decided to do just that. I crossed my arms, and gave him the look that told him, 'I am waiting.' After I lifted an ear, the boy sighed and grunted.

"Tuma is a big, clumsy puma ..."

"And don't you forget it." I prodded the flat end of the spear into the bushes, keeping it just out of reach. Tuma swung his arms wildly, unable to grab ahold. We laughed. He griped. And I finally I gave in, allowing his sweaty hands to get a grip. He rocked and grunted, and after a time, rolled while I tugged until he fell from the bushes onto the ground, grunting on impact.

"Well, that completes your fall," Onwae said, giggled.

Mowak rubbed her head. "What are we going to do with him? Maybe we can pretend he's a spirit pet, and abandon him out here."

I chuckled. "No. The Great Spirit would never forgive us for abadoning something so hopeless ..."

Once Tuma caught his breath, he raised up onto his feet, grunting the whole way up. He pulled down his loincloth, finally allowing our eyes some comfort. "I'm not hopeless ..." He reached into the bush and yanked out the club. "I just need a little more time to blossom."

"You blossom any more and you'll be a watermelon." We chuckled. He reddened like a ripened melon.

Tuma closed his eyes and inhaled through his large nostrils, catching his breath. "Calm your inner spirit ... calm your inner spirit."

"What are you doing?" Mowak asked, crossing her arms.

"What does it look like I'm doing," he snapped, then took another breath. "The wise woman said if I wanted to control my anger, I needed to control my inner spirit."

Onwae giggled, placing a hand to her lips. "The only thing you need to control is which way your loincloth is hanging."

Tuma raised an eyebrow then peered down. His cheeks were round, reddened, and out for all the animals of the forest to see. He frowned, eyes widening. "Look away you monkies!" And with that, tugged until his flesh was hidden. I was thankful for that ... Infact, I think we all were.

After a few more laughs at Tuma's expense, I guided the four of us to the waterfall springs. Sunlight shot through the trees, sparkling the water that fell over a cliff, a hundred feet high, collecting at a crystal, blue pool at the bottom. Birds dove between trees. Fish leaped and slipped beneath the surface. Rodents, coons, and squirrels drank and played in the limbs. Butterflies twirled. And dragonflies skipped off the surface.

We reached the bank and held out our spears. "Get positioned," I said. "We need enough fish for the feast tonight."

"Or one spirit fish," Onwae winked.

Mowak shook her head, "Even the best fishermen can't catch Vhiva. She is the most elusive catfish in all the world, even at ten feet, and a thousand pounds. At least that's what my father told me."

"Mmhmm." Onwae nodded and giggled. And with a hint of sarcasm said, " And you best not wade too deep or she'll swallow you whole."

"It's true." Tuma nodded. "I've seen it happen."

"No you haven't," Mowak sneered.

"Have too!."

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

"Have not!"

"And who was it that got swallowed?"

"Ummm ... it was the water chiefs former son-in-laws, daughters, tribling." He nodded, looking to convince himself. "I mean, I wasn't there, but I heard about it. He waded too far from the shallows and Vhiva did one of her whirlpools, and sucked him up. Slurp. And he was gone."

"Liar!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Will you too shut up?" I pointed my spear down at the spring. "You're scaring away all the fish."

Mowak grimaced. Tuma stuck out his tongue. Onwae giggled. I began the hunt.

We waded out to our knees beneath the high sun. Out towards the edge where the spring sank into an abyss, which seemed endless and black to the eyes. How far down it went nobody knew except Vhiva and the Shaman who were swallowed whole. There were several pools around spring falls. Some that weren't connected to the main pool where Vhiva resided. The largest fish were in her pool. Many of the tribesmen and shaman risked fishing in her presence in order to gain a meal worthy of a Chief.

Tuma looked between his shoulders for any sign of the monster. "My folks told me never to hunt in this pool ..."

Mowak whispered, "as did mine, and you don't hear me whining about it."

"That's because your folks don't care what happens to you." He grinned and chuckled.

Mowak's face twisted. She slung her arm back behind her head, rolled her fingers into a ball, and with might, threw it forward. She connected to his arm with a thud.

Tuma groaned. "Hey, what was that for?"

"For being a liar!"

"I'm no liar!" Tuma's face reddened.

Onwae snickered, "just a fabler."

"Will you all be quiet!" I said, glaring at each and every one of them. "There's something out there ..."

I squinted against the sunlight sparkling off the falls and the pool's surface. Even in the black abyss, I could see the shadow slowly rising. She's coming. I thought. The tales are true.

Onewae eyes grew. "What is that?"

Tuma squeaked, "run!"

"No!" I waved a hand. "You run and she will hunt ..."

"We stay and we get eaten ..."

I glared at Tuma, and he rolled his lips until they sealed. I then turned to the others who stood frozen, their faces twisted in terror. Knowing I had to be strong, I twisted at the hips, facing forward. Eyebrows furrowed. Teeth clenched. Holding my spear ready for battle.

In the center of the spring, an enormous ball of water rose from the surface. It lifted and slid around the concealed creature. Each stream of liquid running off, exposing blueish-green scales that flickered like emeralds and sapphires. Two large, rounded eyes, bigger than even Tuma's head, gazed upon us. They flickered bluish-green while a large flipper-like brow sunk on his forehead sank.

Tuma took a step back, "she's bigger then a boulder ..."

"Whom disturbs my pool?" Came a deep, drowning voice, that was neither male nor female, but something in-between. With each word, the gaping hole that was her mouth snapped, drawing and spewing water. "Are you shaman? Have you come to challenge me?"

Tuma shook his head. The girls eyes widened. I stood tall, chest out, eyes forward. "Great spirit of the pool. We only come to take enough fish to feed our families."

"Your families?" Water spewed from her lips, streaming across the pool. The girl scream as it connected, dropping them off their feet. I shielded myself with an arm, fighting the pressure. "You eat my spawn to feed your spawn?" She gurgled. "How darrreee you!"

I raised a hand. "Our apologies, oh great one. We did not know they were yours. Please. Forgive us."

The large iris's rolled until they fell upon me. My heart skipped and my legs trembled, but I kept still, trying to hide my fear. At least it was not some kind of wolf spirit. They could smell the fear ... fish spirits normally only used vibration.

Vhiva mouth stretched upward, gaping, and forming a strange, eerie smile. "I'll give you forgiveness, by offering your corpses to my brood ..."

The fishe's mouth opened into an abyss as dark as the one beneath her. Water pulled against the back of my legs, strong as a river current.

"She's creating a whirlpool!" Onwae said, pointing towards the fish as she slipped back below the pool, sucking the water into her mouth. "We'll be swept away!"

I whipped around on my heels. "Lock arm!"

Onwae and Tuma raised to their feet and stretched their arms. They locked. Mowak and I met at the forearms, our hands and arms intertwining. The four of then came together. "We step on three," I yelled above the hiss of receeding water. "One. Two. Three!" We took a step. "One. Two. Three!" And then another.

Behind us the center of the spring spun in a blue and white current, quickening with every turn. A coon that strayed too close to the bank was swept in, crying out to the others on the shore as it spun, slipping out of sight to endure a fate I tried not to imagine.

Tuma gasped, "we're going to die!"

"No we're not ... just keep going!" We'll get to the bank if I have to drag you, I thought.

Step after step we fought against the swirling current. When one fell, the others picked them up. We walked with all our strength, until we were close enough to dry land. Mowak yelled, "jump for it!" and we did, rolling, and falling together. Each stone bruising our legs and arms on impact. We groaned and cried out. When we stopped, I looked to each of them, caught my breath, and then chuckled. Onwae and Mowak gazed upon me then joined my song with chuckles of our own.

Tuma frowned. He crossed his legs and his arms. A dreaded look in his eyes.

I walked over and looked down upon the boy. "Lighten up, Tuma ... we're alive ... and as Shaman we'll face far worse than that."

"It's not that we almost died," he snapped, tightening his arms and legs.

Onwae and Mowak snickered, pointing at the boy. I followed their fingers. Where the loincloth used to be was only a palish-tan ass, left out to be seen for all the world. I raised my chin and chuckled.

"Looks like Vhiva took one thing from you afterall, Tuma." I chuckled. "Your pride."

The grils and I chuckled. And for time, Tuma stayed quiet, until he too was grinning from ear to ear. "She can have them," he said. "They were dirty anyway."

I looked back at the pool and saw that the water was still, and sparkling. And the great beast that resided inside, now quiet, with a belly full of coon. I was thankful that we survived ... and maybe ... just maybe, it'd be enough to make The Great Spirit see that I was worthy of a spirit gaurdian.