Wet earthy smells surrounded Kai as he knelt by the stream, his hands trying to scoop cool water into them. He splashed some across his face, feeling the cold drops rouse him. Morning light filtered from above, casting nice patterns on the ground. It was still here, away from the watching eyes and quiet talks of Elderwood.
Kai leaned back and gazed into the woods: around every bend and turn in the trails, clumps of ferns, and the secret places where wild flowers blossomed. He had been everywhere, known its quiet rhythms, and yet sometimes felt there should be much more.
The words of Lena from the day before just seemed to circle in his head. "If you ever feel something strange… anything unusual…" He scrunched up his face. What did she mean? What did she know about his scar-about him-that she didn't tell? So often with Lena, he felt she was keeping something back, that she knew more than she wanted to tell.
His fingers wandered over the scar on his cheekbone, feeling the light warmth in his skin. Sometimes it seemed to pulse, as if it were beating, but he had no idea why, and so knew he should ignore it. The feeling of being watched, however. that was new.
Kai pushed all this aside and decided to inspect his traps. He was an average hunter, but it was adequate to keep him alive with the traps. He walked through the bushes, his mind filled with the image of his childhood: the sound of his mother talking to him, the words of encouragement in his ears, pressing him to go out into the world, and those weird comments about his "special gift.".
As a child, he believed her and thought that he was meant for something greater, but at an older age, reality finally set in. People in the village distrusted him, and he was all alone. All this took his dreams, leaving him with a hard fact: that he was different indeed, but not in the manner his mother had promised.
A sudden scurrying flash ran through his eyes and he was stock still, his regards fixed rigidly. He saw that one of his traps had been successful, and a hare was struggling in its meshes, its little body tense, its great scared eyes staring at him. Kai stooped, and drawing the laces out with soft tugs, freed the beast. He had meat enough for today, and the hare's terror went to his heart.
"Go on," he said softly and let it go. It hopped away, disappeared with the rustling leaves in the bushes. Kai smiled, doing so having given him an unusual comfort.
He turned to his hut and felt a voice from amongst the trees telling him to stop.
"Kai."
He spun around, his hand falling instinctively to the dagger at his waist. It was Lena, her face half-avant in the dark as she drew near, her expression wary.
"Kai, I've been looking for you," she said softly. "I. wanted to talk with you alone."
Kai frowned, surprised. Lena rarely sought him out, though she was always kind to him in the village. He gestured for her to sit, brushing leaves from a fallen log nearby.
They were still for a while, the woods around them also quiet, as if to listen.
"Kai," Lena says, "I got something to say to you. about your mom."
His heart leaped out with the pronunciation of her name, for a long time now not having heard anybody mention her, as years had cast a spell of forgetfulness on the village so that she never existed.
How about her?" he was asking in that low, hardly audible voice.
Lena let out a resigned sigh and turned her face until she was looking at him. "Your mother was different, had special powers, just like you. That scar on your cheek, Kai-it's not just a mark, it's a sign of power, an ancient sign of a bond."
"A bond?" he breathed, his tone fearful and hopeful both. He had felt that the scar was more than this, yet he had never, ever dared to believe it.
Lena nodded solemnly. "A bond with the creatures of this forest-your mother never told you because maybe she wanted you to be safe-but she had a special gift that was linked to things most people just don't understand. She thought you had that same link.
Kai said nothing, as all of his memories, from his past, combined into a something that he could never fathom. His mother's stories, her beliefs that he was special. were they all true?
"Why are you telling me this now?" he said, his voice trembling slightly.
"Because I'm afraid the connection you feel to this forest is waking up," Lena said. "And there's those in this world that would exploit it-or destroy it."
Kai swallowed hard as her words felt heavy upon him; always he had felt he was different, but to have someone confirm it somehow made it real, almost scary. "Do you think… that's why I have this feeling of being watched?" he said almost in a whisper.
Lena's face turned grave. "Perhaps. There are things that live in these woods which can smell power, which are attracted by it. Your mother believed they'd find you when the time came.
They sat in silence, the truth hanging on them like a heavy blanket. Kai felt an odd excitement, a sense of purpose welling up inside of him, but it mixed with a deep-seated fear. He had wanted other than Elderwood-a life that mattered. But it would seem it was happening now, and he wasn't so sure he wanted it.
As she sat, Lena reached into her bag, pulled out a very small, very old amulet, and placed it in his hand; it had symbols on it that Kai did not know. She looked him square in the eye. "This was your mother's," she said softly. "She gave it to me for safekeeping, in trust that when it was the proper time, I would give it to you. Kai looked down at the amulet, cool and smooth, feeling that there was a slight warmth in it beating out a rhythm promising in time with the beating of his heart.
It felt like a part of her, part of her strength, and he closed his hand around it, making a quiet promise to himself. "Thanks," he said quietly, feeling the weight of the amulet steadying him. It wasn't until then that Lena finally nodded and softened. "Be careful, Kai. You never know what's in store.
Trust your instincts, and most of all, don't ever feel that you're alone. Saying this, she got up and left him to his thoughts in that quiet, misty forest. Kai sat on the ground, the amulet in his hand, while thoughts whirled in his head. He had always known that he was different, but with Lena's words still echoing in his mind, there was a new sense of mission.
The forest was a witness, treetops standing to attention like silent sentinels. For the first time, Kai felt they were not regarding him with skepticism but with benevolence. He did not know what he expected, but he realized whatever it would be, he could never turn his back on it.