Kaylee spun on her heels and went to go put the mask down before she threw it against one of the walls and smashed it to bits. She was so very angry, and feeling betrayed, although she was not sure why and where the feeling came from. “Was I just a pawn? And if so, who has been working on playing me?” she thought as her hand shook as she gently set down the mask on the shelf where she had uncovered it from a pile of pelts.
“All fuck it all to hell,” she continued, “this whole thing is a mess and now I have no idea what to do to set it right. I mean, will I have to start this whole thing over? Am I just stuck here now forever? Or do I go to sleep tonight and find myself back in Kansas, safe with the knowledge that I screwed up, Gran will die and that dickhead of an apprentice will take over and screw things up even more for the culture I once was a part of. Speaking of which, do I even have a job to return to in Port Riverbend. I promised Mark that I would call him and here I have been stuck all these days in a world where telephones do not exist. God I feel screwed.”
She shut the heavy wooden doors of the large cabinet as hard as she could, not caring about anything but the damage done by the spirit guardians. She spun back around and looked at the mess of items on the floor.
“I guess I will have to clean that up tomorrow,” she said to the now empty room. “Do not know why I feel compelled to do so seeing that my new ‘career’ is over and I will probably be really banned from the reservation this time.”
Kaylee felt so absorbed in her own self pity and wallowing ways that she did not see the tiny creature who slipped into the room and sat in the middle of the Medicine Wheel where she had only been sitting in minutes earlier. It crawled in from the door of the cabin and skittered along the floor, jutting out from the corner of the fireplace. It was heading straight for the center of the Medicine Wheel, where it watched Kaylee rant and pout from the safety of the circle. Finally when it seemed as if the two legged had calmed down, the little creature made its prescence known.
“Excuse me,” a tiny voice called out to her. “If you are done wallowing, I would like to speak to you.”
Kaylee scanned the room at waist level and did not see anything. She felt like she was going crazy or was being talked to something that she could not see. She backed up and started opening the door to the cabinent once more to get the mask to see if it could help reveal the location of the voice.
“Down here two legged,” the disembodied voice called, “I am sitting on the Medicine Wheel that you created. I thought it was quite lovely and now that I am in the center I can see how perfect you made it. Very well done indeed.”
Kaylee pushed her eyes down to gaze upon the Medicine Wheel. It took her eyes a bit to adjust and focus through the anger and depression that welled up inside her but soon her eyes found the small creature just as if it had always been sitting there. It was about the size of her palm and had soft grey fur and a long flesh colored tail that quivered and trembled almost absent mindedly on the hard wood floor. Long whiskers were attached to a stout nose and two tiny grey ears sat atop the creatures head. Black eyes blinked beedily at Kaylee. The creature sat up from its croutch and attempted to settle itself down in comfort.
“Oh, hello,” she said feeling a bit dejected and worried, “Let me guess, the council brought you here to evict me, right? I am sorry but I just could not pick those others. They seemed okay but when they started arguing and making all those weird sounds I just could not stand it. I can not deal with arguments and it had to go away.”
The creature twitched its whiskers, “No the council did not send me. I came here on my own accord. And I understand how you feel about arguments. They are loud and loud noises tend to scare me off. So if you would, can I ask you to refrain from all the anger and the upsettedness? I do not think you want to scare me off, at least not just yet, for we have much to discuss. By the way, I am Mouse.”
Kaylee sat down and stared at Mouse. “Hello there,” she said again as if they had just been introduced for the very first time, “So if the council did not send you this time then why are you here?”
“Because you called me,” Mouse answered.
Kaylee looked confused, she did not remember having called any of the spirit guardians back. And if she did she was not in the mood for their games.
“Uh, no I did not,” she responded to Mouse, “I am sure that I would have known if I called another spirit guardian out from where ever you guys collect from. But in any case you are here. So what do you want from me?”
Mouse twitched hir whiskers and scratched an ear with hir back paw. Hir felt hir was in for a challenge in trying to change the two legged’s mind, “Well, you see… I have been here all along. From the moment you walked into Vellum Hollow to just now when your heart and mind were still enough to accept the idea that I was here. You see, I am the one true and only partner for you.
Sure the others were louder and appeared because you needed to hear them and they helped you understand some things that you needed to know. And yes, I am very sorry that my brethern got into that horrid and downright rude argument. You see, when one of us pulls coyote trickery on one such as yourself, we take it as a very serious offense. There is always trust to be built up in the relationship of this magnatude.
But I am rambling on now,” Mouse paused and sniffed the air, “What I am trying to say two legged is that I am your guide. I always have been from since the moment you were born. That is how it actually starts. The bonding ritual that you did not attend when you came of age was just the formal period in which the leaders of your tribe and the shaman go through to make sure that there are no others who vy for your energy and talents.
I have been watching you for a very long time and I can say that I am very happy and excited for us to work together. Oh, do not let my size or shape fool you. I know that you must be thinking that I am too small and can not possibly have or weild the power that a spirit like tretcherous Bobcat can or all knowing Barn Owl, but you are wrong there. We all have the same, powerful powers. Just different aspects of it.
For example, I have the power that allows you to see the truth into situations. And it came in handy just now when you exposed the other four for what they really were. You instinctly knew that they were not the right guides for you. They all seemed a bit eager to jump out and give you presents and talents. But that is not what you wanted. You wanted only to help your peoples and the family you love. This is another gift I give to you, the gift of being able to do what is best for your family and friends.
Even through all the years you were gone and away from your birth home, I was there. I teach people that they must follow their own path and do what they need to do to survive on their own. You saw a bigger picture and decided that you wanted to learn on your own. And that is strength that no one else but you can carry. You see the world as it really is and can bring that knowledge in and back to your tribe. No one else has done that and that is why you are such a right person to take on the mantle for shaman in the Ser’lapham ways. Do you not see it?”
Kaylee listened to Mouse speak with all her intent. The things Mouse said seemed a bit deceiving but also struck a chord within her body that also made sense. She felt comfortable sitting there with Mouse. It was as if she was talking to a long lost relative without having skipped a beat.
“I guess so. I am still confused by all this and am not sure what to say but yes, you do feel familiar.”
Mouse nodded and attempted to encourage the two legged to come to the conclusion all on her own, “Good. That means you are open to the possibility that what I am saying is truth. Think about it more. Feel free to pick me up or ask more questions about this partnership. I am confident that you know that what I say is truth and that I am not trying to deceive you. I am so very sorry and do not worry, Bobcat will be taken care of. He is a trickster that one. But his teachings are also very strong.”
She layed down next to Mouse and tried to experience the world through the eyes of the small creature. She felt very comfortable with the spirit guide there and more at peace than she had in the past day. The world looked big and scary from her new vantage point but it did not scare her off. Instead, she found herself wanting to explore it more from her vantage point. she looked up and for the first time saw the patterns and lines etched in the ceiling of the cabin. They mirrored and matched the lines of the constallations the Ser’lapham believed in. It was puzzling but a welcome surprise that made Kaylee smile again.
“Okay, so let us say that I decide to take you in. What next? Where do we go from here?”
“Why spoil the surprise when you can see first hand,” came the cryptic answer. Mouse winked and brushed hir whiskers on Kaylee’s cheek. “Only good and positive things come from this. Trust me.”
Kaylee rolled over on her back and touched the spot where Mouse’s whiskers touched her. The place tingled a bit and almost tickled. She closed her eyes again and exhaled deeply.
“Okay,” she said dreamily. “I think that you are the most right guide to walk this new path by my side. You have not attempted to deceive me yet and have a large and familiar feeling when you are near. I would love to call you my guardian and have you walk with me.”
Mouse smiled and called out in a rather high and booming voice, “Your will is done. Kaylee Morgan welcome to the house of Mouse.”
Kaylee’s eyes snapped open and she could barely believe what she was seeing. The room no longer seemed there. The whole cabin had been removed and she and Mouse were lying in the grass of the field. Surrounding the two in a circle of ephermal illuminence were the many spirit guides of the council. Kaylee made out the forms of Bobcat, Weasel, Barn Own and Frog in between the numerous other animals that now sat around her. It was an astonishing and overwhelming sight.
Sitting on the ground in between her and Mouse sat the medicine bundle that she wore around her next for the past five days. It appeared fat, as if all the gifts and stones she collected had reappeared in the bag. Mouse closed hir eyes and the bag levitated off the ground. It began to glow and pulste, alternating between a bright purple and white. Kaylee shielded her eyes with her hand as she watched the bag glow.
A line shot out from Mouse first. It connected and mingled purple energy with the bag. Then another line shot out from another animal sitting in the circle. And then another and yet another. Finally, each and every spirit guide cast their own line into the medicine bundle connecting and intermingling all their energies in with the bag.
And as quickly as the light appeared, it disappeared, sending small white sparks down into the soil of Vellum Hollow. The pouch dropped and gently landed on the ground. It continued to glow and pulsate for a more minutes and then Kaylee reached out to pick it up off the ground. It was warm to the touch and sent small electrically charged sparks up her spine.
Mouse looked tired but satisfied, “And now, your magicks are ready. The pouch is charged with all the energy of all the council. You have our blessing to become the next shaman of the unified tribes of Ser’lapham. May the power serve you well and guide you to answer all the spiritual questions of your peoples.”
Kaylee nodded and bowed her head, “Oh wow. I can feel it,” she said as she placed the charged bundle back around her neck, “it feels lighter. As if nothing is inside of it.”
Then she paused. Her vision shifted and Kaylee felt like she could see the whole spectrum of creation in her field of view. “Oh wow,” she said again.
“I take it you feel it?” Mouse asked.
“Feel it?” Kaylee replied, “Oh yeah. I do not only feel it, but I see it. All around me. This is amazing. Is this what you guys see every day? And feel it? Wow, I can not believe how beautiful this looks.”
Kaylee looked all around her and kept feeling startled at the beauty and strangeness that appeared. It seemed like the whole world was alive and with a color spectrum that was slightly different and off colored than what she was used to. The grass waved and floated in a sea of green, while the trees off in the distance slowly pulsed with a deep red heartbeat.
Mouse smiled and nodded, “Welcome to our world. And soon you will feel the knowledge of your ancestors enter your mind. Eons and eons of thought and recipes and information on all the things you will be expected to do will enter your mind. Do no be afraid. We are all here for you.”
Kaylee nodded and then clutched her head. She heard voices and felt years of memories flood into her from out of nowhere. It felt as if she was going to pass out from the noise in her head. She attempted to keep balance by breathing steadily and closing her eyes but the pain grew louder and louder. Each noise, each voice of the past ancestors threatening to overwhelm her and drag her down deep into the unknowm with them. And then it stopped.
