The air was cool and warm when she stepped outside. The sun was out and Kaylee shielded her eyes, eager to find its location from high up in the clouds. She could not determine which way was North by herself. Therefore she thought that the best way to uncover which direction she needed to go in was to first watch the sun. She decided to stay in the same spot for about fifteen to twenty minutes and watch how the sun cast shadows on the ground. She knew that the sun rose in the east and set in the west. Therefore it stood to reason that when the sun moved and cast shadows she would be able to pinpoint which ways were West and East. And from there, she could extrapolate North and South. In order to determine which way North was, she first needed to see the sun move a bit. And sure enough, after about twenty minutes of standing motionless, the sun moved. Because of this, Kaylee was able to determine that her hut was located in the center of it all and that the North, was behind the cottage.
She took a deep breath and smiled, obviously proud at what she was able to accomplish in so little time. She walked past her little cottage, and sauntered off into her first direction.
“Okay, and here we go. North it is,” she thought to herself while looking around at her ever changing surroundings. The dirt seemed softer and her feet sunk into the ground just a little bit as it gave. She scanned the horizon in front of her. The grass fields that she and the cottage stood in gave way after about a mile or so to a grove far off in the distance. She could not tell if the grove was more or less more forest or a group of other trees or bushes. “Gran told me to locate a small item, a totem from this direction. Something that speaks to me and lets me know that it is part of the spirit guide that I will be talking to. Ugh, this is not going to be fun. This thing could be anywhere.” Still, she was confident that the she would find something to use for a totem off in that direction. That was her goal and she was determined to find something sooner or later.
She looked down at her feet and the ground. Rich, black dirt covered her mocassins and left small Kaylee-foot prints behind her. She hoped that the prints stuck around as it would help her to backtrack and perhaps relocated the cottage if she got lost. She did not see any stones or sticks lodged in the ground that could appear to be as totems. She sighed and continued her trek towards the horizon. It took her deeper and deeper further North. The sun continued its own path overhead and by the time it shone brightly over her head, she had finally walked up to the grove of bushes that she had seen when she first started out on her journey. They were taller than her, almost tree-like. Thick and knotted wood trunks wove an almost impenetratable maze of brambles and branches. Dark green leaves hung high and low on the brown branches. Some of them still contained a few light brown acorn nuts of some sort.
Kaylee stepped into the bramble, carefully attempting to avoid getting her skin cut or scraped by the branches that hung everywhere. She stepped high over some low brances and crouched deep under overhead ones. She looked down on the ground and was amazed at how barren the ground really was. She had hoped to find one of the strange acorn nuts lodged into the dirt on the ground, as she did not want to pick a fresh one off the bushes. She still did not know who owned the orchard and did not want to upset any god-like caretakers in the process. She was a visitor here and wanted to make sure that everything she was doing, was done for the right reasons and not destructive.
It took her twenty-five minutes to reach the center of the orchard. She had to carefully navigate branches that twisted and tied themselves together. But when she reached the center, she was quickly treated to a wonderful sight. It opened up into a large clearing of trees that allowed Kaylee a grand view of the cloudless sky and all four directions. Try as she might, she was not able to see further past the vast orchard. It seemed to spread out and carry on for all directions. Kaylee thought about climbing one of the bushes. She put her right foot on one low branch of the nearest bush and felt it give a bit under her weight. It did not seem to want to hold her weight.
“Hmm,” she said, “I know I am going in the right diretion. But I do not see anything that can be used as a gift or totem for my pouch. Just not sure. I would keep moving forward but what happens if this is it and I get lost and then when night comes… I would rather try and stay close to the cottage. I need it for warmth and comfort.”
Kaylee rested her weary bones for a bit more and started drawing spirals and images in the almost sand-like dirt. She was about ready to give up and go home when she felt something hard and sharp hit her head.
“Ouch, what the..” she said, rubbing the spot where her head throbbed a bit. She got up and turned around and looked up into the bush that she had been leaning against. On the ground next to her feet was a small and whole acorn nut. Half of it was a muted gree and the other half seemed brown and rip. She picked up the tiny nut and clasped her fingers around it.
Then she lifted it to her nose. A strong scent of dirt and tree musk came from the nut.
She whipped her body, turning it rapidly around. Her eyes darted from the ground where she had just been sitting to the various branches in the tree. There were many branches and she looked long and hard for something small and furry. Something like a squirrel who could have tossed the nut down upon her. Finally, her eyes found what she was looking for. High a top a branch, just a bit to the left of where she stood was something lying in the tree. There, high up in the tree sat a long, black, sleek creature. It wore a mask over its eyes and its nose twitched at Kaylee.
“Er, hello there,” she said, greeting the furry beast. “Um, I do not know why you threw something at me but I hope you do not mind if I keep it. This is the first thing that I have seen and “found” that fits a description of a totem gift that I can use to put in my pouch. I thank you for helping me locate the item and wish I had something I could give you in return for the present but alas, I do not have anything to share.”
The furry thing twitched its nose and whiskers and then shimmied its way down through the branches and trunk of the tall bush. When it came to a rest in front of Kaylee, she could see that it was a Weasel. Two black eyes peered at her and it sat on its haunches, cleaning off dust and debris from its whiskers.
“Hi,” she said again, bending down to let the creature sniff her fingers.
The weasel looked at her and then licked his lips. It took a few steps towards her and sniffed the mocassins Kaylee wore.
“We were told you were to be coming,” Weasel said suddenly, startling Kaylee. “I had to come see for it has been such a long time since one of the two-leggeds under took the akalam.” Weasel started to inspect the girl who had come in search of her true guide. He was not afraid of the girl, more curious than anything for it had been such a very long time since a two-legged arrived in Vellum Hollow to seek out answers and knowledge. The council had sent him out first, to not only be a scout but to make first contact and determine whether or not this two-legged was going to pose any threats. And here they were, staring face to face at each other.
Kaylee stared in disbelief. She was not sure if she was really seeing what she was seeing, a talking weasel? She watched it as it did a loop around her and sniffed every inch of her being. It was strange because she knew it spoke, even though she did not see its mouth move a single muscle. She wondered if she was going crazy from heat stroke or hunger and was not sure what else to think.
“Yes two-legged, I speak. Although not in the way that you would think of. I may not move my mouth to form the same words and syllables that you and your kind do but we spirit guardians can and often speak. We just prefer this higher level of communication as it does not mistranslate the message unlike your choosen form of communication which lies and twists things around.”
Kaylee nodded, “Okay. Fine. Um, thanks. So what are you doing here. Why have you shown yourself to me?”
Weasel stood in front of Kaylee once more and winked, “I am here as the first of many you might meet in Vellum Hollow that you have the opportunity to learn from. I am here because you called me.”
“I do not recall having called anyone or anything to me,” she replied a bit baffled.
“You may not have consciously thought it but you wanted help in obtaining your first totem. And here I am,” Weasel bowed. “I am a fighter and a clever animal, strong not in strength but in cunning. It was I who took the nut from the bush and it was I who cut it and offered it up to you as a present.”
“Thank you, I really do appreciate it,” Kaylee said. “But I still do not have anything in return to give you.”
“Oh,” Weasel said, “but you have already done something for me two-legged. You have given me the opportunity to possibly become your spiritual guide. The advisor who can teach you powerful majicks that will help you unlock the secrets buried deep in your mind. For if you take me, I can teach you to be quick and cunning and to learn the truth behind what others really want. Not everything in this world is black and white, two-legged. As you will learn, there are some people out there that want to hurt and twist you and hir family and destroy your old ways of life. It is only in learning to be cunning, to use all your senses and fight for what you desire, can you gain advancement. And this is the thing that I can teach you if you decide to walk with me, for I am Weasel.”
Kaylee smiled and nodded, “Thank you Weasel. I will keep this in mind. You speak very convincingly and have a convicted heart. I have no doubts that you are cunning as your breathern on my side of the world. I will not forget you or how you helped me today. And I hope that we can talk more soon. I know that by the end of my quest I will have many questions for you and any of the others, if tere are others, that I meet in my time here. I guess my journey for today is over now that you have helped me with getting the nut.”
She took off her medicine bundle and dropped the acorn nut down into the bag, to sit along with the four stones her gran had given her.
She looked up at the sun and realized that she had only a few hours to get back to the cottage in the middle of the field. “I guess I better get going so I can get back to the cottage soon. That and I also need to figure out what I will do for meals while I am here. I do not suppose you know anything about what a girl can do to get some food around here, do you?”
She smiled and chuckled at her cleverness of her joke and stretched.
Weasel blinked his black eyes and licked a paw, “You do not have any need to worry about finding food. The ancients and the council have always provided food and sustance for those who undertake the akalam. All you need to do is return back to the domicile and food and drink will be provided. Oh, and do not look in the cabinent until you have acquired all four totem items. Once you have gotten all of the items then you can use the items inside the tall cabinent located under the loft to help prepair you to make a choice.”
Kaylee nodded, dumbfounded, “Um, okay. Right. Do not do anything with that tall cabinent until I have found all four things. Got you.”
Kaylee turned around and then back to stare at Weasel. But nothing was there, he had vanished deep into the winds. “Thank you again,” she said and made her way back down to the field and the cottage.
The sun was beginng to set by the time Kaylee worked her way out of the orchard and brambles. She found herself subconsciously reaching out and touching the pouch around her neck. It still felt light against her chest but she was strangely aware that she was building and creating something wonderful, something that she could be proud of. She only hoped that her gran would also share in the same pride that she felt when all this was said and done.
The sky painted a colorful orange and red sunset when she walked into the cottage. And true to his word, just as Weasel promised, another bowl and spoon and earthen ware mug had been set atop the table for Kaylee. A steam of hot stew, just like the type that Daniel had made for her and her Gran, steeped out from the bowl. A small loaf of bread also sat next to the bowl and it was just enough to feed her appetite.
Kaylee spent some time that evening up on top of the sphere, looking out at the stars in the sky and wondering what her gran was and where they were. She hoped that everything was alright in the reservation and wished that they gave her some way to contact her gran so she could tell her all the wierd and wonderful things she had already seen in such a short amount of time.
That night, when she laid her head down to sleep against the pillow, she slept so soundly that she did not dream.
