A large room surrounded two teenagers that sat in chairs beside a table made out of dark-colored wood. A crackling sound could be heard from the fireplace as the fire kept the room warm. Multiple spears aligned in an orderly fashion, along with a few fishing rods sat against the cold walls of the home.

"Kinwa," a younger teenage girl said as she looked at Kinwa, "Congrats on becoming an adult today!"

"Thanks, Hiwari," Kinwa smiled, "But your older brother isn't an adult until he gets his totem today."

"But that's only half an hour away!" Hiwari pouted, "I might as well just say it now."

Kinwa let out a small laugh as he head pat his sister before getting up. He grabbed one of the longer spears lying on the side of the wall as he turned around and looked at his sister.

"Wish me luck," he smiled before opening the door.

A cold breeze blew through the boy's white hair as the door slammed shut because of the wind. Kinwa shivered for a moment, before beginning to trudge his way through the cold, white snow.

"Hey Kinwa!" shouted a man with black hair and a black beard from his log cabin, "I heard you'll have the totem selection today!"

"That's right Mr. Lawa," Kinwa replied, "I'll be excited to join your trading voyages!"

"Then you better get one of those totems!" Mr. Lawa laughed, "There's going to be a lot of you this year, so lots of competition to become an adult!"

"Don't worry," Kinwa said with a smug look, "You think I won't get one?"

Mr. Lawa looked at Kinwa for a second before acting like he had to think about it.

"Maybe one of the common ones!" Mr. Lawa laughed.

"Just you wait!" Kinwa shouted agitatedly, "I'll get a bear!"

"Yeah, right!" Mr. Lawa laughed as tears began to come out of his eyes, "We haven't seen one of those since Ziwa! And that was three hundred years ago!"

"Just you wait!" Kinwa squabbled as he rolled up a snowball and threw it at Mr. Lawa.

"I'll get you back for that one!" exclaimed Mr. Lawa right as a horn blew across the small village.

"Sorry Mr. Lawa, guess it'll have to wait for later!" Kinwa said as he dodged a snowball, "I have a bear totem to get!"

"Silly kid," Mr. Lawa muttered, "One of these days he's going to be the death of me."

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A large bonfire sat in the middle of the crowd of people. Forests surrounded the crowd of people with the village sitting on the west side of the forest. Little kids laughed and played around in the snow, as men played drums near the bonfire. The beat of the drums went from melodic to rhythmic, as Kinwa and twenty others formed a line in front of a woman. The elderly woman wore a soft fur coat, with her hood up and paint on her face. The woman made a hand gesture, stopping the men from playing the drums along with the crowd going quiet, as she walked up to a girl in the front of the line.

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"What is your name dear?" asked the elderly woman as she handed the girl a piece of wood with a small carving indent in it.

"Alice," replied the girl as she looked at the elderly woman.

"Well, Alice you get to go first in the totem ceremony," the old woman said as she pointed to the piece of wood given to Alice.

"It would be my honor," Alice replied as she pulled out a small knife from her pocket.

"Give it your best try," the elderly woman smiled as Alice finished carving a message into the piece of wood.

Alice shortly after put her knife away before carefully tossing the piece of wood in the bonfire. An echo came from the forest surrounding the site as the carved wood burnt. The girl then turned toward the elderly woman and bowed before sitting on a log to the side of the line. The crowd clapped as the old lady pulled out a totem with a snow fox on it and tossed it toward Alice.

"Hello young man," the woman said as she handed the boy a piece of wood, "What might your name be?"

"Kinwa," he replied as he began to carve the wood with his spear, "This was the first spear I made."

"I figured I'd use it once more on such a special occasion," Kinwa grinned, "Before I put it on a shelf or something."

"How thoughtful," she replied.

"Finished," Kinwa stated, as he tossed the carved wood into the fire, "I think that'll persuade a creature."

The crowd went silent as they listened to the forest, yet not even a peep came from it. Kinwa sighed, as he began to walk away from the elderly woman and sat beside Alice. As the crowd began to talk again, they watched as the next teenager began to create his carving to persuade an animal.

Roar

The forest echoed and shook by the loud declaration from a creature. The crowd went silent, and the girl in line dropped her knife as the forest rapidly shook. An entity began to walk out of the forest as it batted a tree branch in the way. A few children ran to their mothers or fathers quickly as they attempted to hide from the creature they couldn't see very well yet. As the creature went in to view the crowd had a look of relief as they looked at the snow rabbit that hopped over to Kinwa. The elderly woman looked into the eyes of the rabbit and stared as it jumped onto Kinwa's shoulder.

"Thank you," Kinwa whispered.

The rabbit shortly after jumped off Kinwa's shoulder as it pulled out a totem from the bonfire. The rabbit made a quiet noise, before handing the totem to Kinwa who looked at it. The rabbit then looked up at Kinwa, once more before pushing its small nose against the totem and vanishing. The crowd clapped as they watched the girl begin to carve into the wood once again.

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"Kinwa!" the village elder called out, as she walked over to him.

"Yes, great elder?" Kinwa replied as put the totem in his necklace.

"You may be down by getting such a common animal to choose you," she stated, "But an in-person meeting is rare even with common animals."

"I'm just thankful an animal chose me," Kinwa replied.

"Also one more thing," the elder said, "You remember how it vanished when it touched the totem?"

"Yes, great elder," replied Kinwa.

"Well, it has given you its complete power," the elder smiled, "Instead of just gaining a trait or two such as the love for plants."

"You'll gain most of its traits and abilities, even its speed," the elder finished.

"So your saying I'll be eating carrots for all my life?" Kinwa asked looking at his totem.

"I hate carrots," he muttered as he looked back at the elder.

"I don't believe so," the elder laughed, "There hasn't been an in-person meeting in decades."

"But who knows," the elder said as she began to walk away.

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Darkness enshrouded the room, as Kinwa lay asleep on his bed. His totem glowed as the shape of the rabbit began to change form into an elk. As the form finished its change, it glowed as an elk came out of the totem. It looked around at the room before shifting its form back into a rabbit and hopping onto the bed. The rabbit then flopped its ears back as it closed its eyes and drifted off to sleep beside Kinwa.