Navia

I woke to find my uncle pacing our small hut. He had a frown on his face.

"Morning." I yawned and sat up.

"Morning," he stopped pacing and came over, crouching next to me. "Do you know what day it is?"

I blinked at him, "of course not. I've never known the date a day in my life." I frowned back.

My uncle grinned, "let's go find a seal."

"Okay? You're not making sense." I sprang to my feet, pulled on my jacket, grabbed my spear, and followed him out into the cold Arctica winds.

We found a breathing hole and had just laid down to wait when I heard a sound behind me. I slowly lifted my head and saw a figure stumbling through the snow.

"Uncle," I whispered.

"Yes?" His eyes stayed fixed on the hole.

"There's someone out there!"

Uncle finally glanced away from the hole, "you're right." He responded, his whisper hissing through clenched teeth. He hated being interrupted during a hunt.

"What're we going to do?" I asked lowly.

"I'll go, you stay here and catch us some breakfast." Uncle carefully scooted backward, making sure put a large amount of space between himself and the hole before getting to his feet and walking towards the figure.

I grinned and settled down to wait. Not long after, a seal appeared and hauled itself onto the ice. I waited till it was clear of the hole before throwing my spear. It flew straight and true, piercing the seal's heart. I got to my feet and headed over to it. I crouched beside the downed animal, bowing my head and mumbling, "I'm sorry, friend. But we need your meat to survive, forgive me."

"Nice job, Nav."

I spun around to find my uncle supporting another man. "Thanks." I glowed at his praise, then gave the man a questioning look.

He shrugged, looking just as confused as I did. "We'll ask once he's warm and awake."

We made our way back to the hut and went inside. Uncle carefully laid the man onto the floor then grabbed the seal from me.

"I'll prepare this, you keep watch of our visitor."

I sat down on the ground beside the man and picked up my spear, cleaning the blood from its tip.

He woke with a loud groan and immediately tried to sit up.

"Hush," I carefully pushed him back down, "wait until you've fully regained your strength."

The man opened his eyes, "where am I?" He murmured blearily.

"You're in a hut." I answered. "In Arctica. Do you remember how you got here?"

"Who are you?" He ignored my question in favour of asking his own.

"I'm Navia." I replied, "who are you?"

"I'm Alex." The man slowly sat up, and this time I didn't push him back. He shifted, a splash of green showing from under his parka.

"You're a Greencloak." I remarked with wonder.

Just then, my uncle reappeared with bowls of the prepared food.

"Ah, you're awake." He set the bowls down, "hungry, Nav?"

"I'm always hungry," I joked in return, grabbing a bowl and offering one to Alex.

"Thanks." Alex accepted and we dug in.

When we finished, my uncle took the bowls and left me to 'entertain our guest'.

"Do you have a spirit animal?" I asked, curious now. I'd never met a Greencloak before. To be fair, I hadn't met many people at all, really.

"Of course!" Alex rolled up his sleeve to show a tattoo of a squirrel leaping over his elbow, "do you?"

I paused. "Oh my Tellun." I smacked my head. "That's what today is!"

Alex stared at me. "I'm not following."

"Today's my thirteenth birthday." I explained, my cheeks hot with embarrassment. Who forgets their own birthday?

Alex blinked, then laughed. "Did you forget your own birthday?" He teased.

"No!" I protested. "I just– okay, yeah, I did." I rolled my eyes. "I'm bad with dates, okay?"

He laughed again. "Are you nervous for your Nectar ceremony?"

"I mean, I would be," I replied, "but we don't go to a village for the ceremony, so..."

Alex tilted his head in surprise. "How do you get a spirit animal then? Don't you need the Nectar?"

"Well, yeah." I scratched my head, "I've never seen one before, so I don't really know?"

Alex paused. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flask. "I mean, I could do one for you. I have Nectar with me." He lifted the flask and smiled sheepishly.

I stared at him in astonishment. "What, really? You don't have to!"

"No, no!" Alex shook his head, "I offered. Of course I'll do it!"

"Okay, wow!" I laughed, still awed. "When can we do it?" I asked eagerly.

"How about now?" My uncle's voice from behind startled me.

"Sure!" Alex grabbed his jacket and pulled it closer. "We should do it outside, just in case you summon something massive." He said, heading to the exit.

I nodded and followed, excitement buzzing through my veins.

"Do you have any animals?" He asked as we stood outside my home. The freezing winds whipped my hair into my ears, but I was too full on anticipation to care.

"Well I have my spirit animal," my uncle suggested, rolling up his pant leg to show a tattoo of a fox.

"That'll be fine," Alex nodded.

Uncle summoned his arctic fox, Hivitt, and Alex started the ceremony.

"Kneel before me." He instructed me and I was quick to obey, kneeling at his feet. "Navia, receive the Nectar of Ninani."

He lowered the flask to me and I sipped it. The fluid tasted like sugared seal brains, sweet and syrupy. Alex pulled back before I could steal another sip.

"Navia, stand."

I stood shakily, there was a kind of electricity in my body that hadn't been there before. It made my hands shake and my vision blur.

A blinding flash of light split my vision. It was so quick I thought I'd imagined it.

Then I saw the wolverine.

He– how did I know it was a he?– stood tall, a dark silhouette against the white snow. I held my breath as it took slow, deliberate steps toward me. I wanted to step back as it approached, but something held me in place. He butted his head against my leg and the electricity vanished.

"The wolverine?" Alex breathed.

I glanced up, confused.

Alex had turned to my uncle, "your niece is part of a prophecy to protect Erdas. She must come back to Greenhaven with me."

My uncle walked up to me, "if what Alex says is true, I think that going to Greenhaven would be best for you."

I stared at him, horrified, "but what about you?"

He managed a sad smile. "I'll be fine." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small gold ring. "Your mother told me to give this to you when the time was right."

I held the ring up and looked through it, "thank you."

"Nav," Uncle gripped my shoulders, "go to Greenhaven and help save Erdas. But never ever forget about me and who you are, got it? I'll be waiting for you when you're done saving the world. Go make me proud, Nav."

I nodded, tears threatening to spill, "goodbye. I love you."

My uncle merely smiled and nodded at Alex, who put a hand around my arm. He led me away with gentle firmness, but I twisted around to watch my uncle's figure get swallowed up in the distance. The wolverine– my wolverine– trotted at my side as if he'd always belonged there. And he had, I supposed. Even if I didn't know it.

Chapter one done! Woohoo! Please comment and vote! Also, should I add a part that is just the description?

edit: 16/03/21
so i tried to keep this one mostly the same (i think i succeeded at least a little bit)
anyway i hoped you enjoyed my lovelies xx