Chapter 4

WARNING: This is the chapter where Kira finds out a lot of her past, and even i find it confusing at parts. If you are from The Clan, and have any questions, just PM me, Agwang. :)

Chapter 4

Kira awoke the next morning at sunrise, and ate some bread. Then she turned to the bow, stroking it lovingly. She carefully hid it under her sleeping bag and left her shelter. The birds were singing at this early hour, and Kira wondered why she had awoken so early. She yawned and stretched, but was unable to get the strange emotion out of her stomach. She felt like something was happening, something exciting and thrilling. But she had no idea what. She shook her head trying to clear away the emotion. It scared her. Kira tried to do something else, to get rid of the feeling. She sneezed.
“That’s not it!” she laughed. Then she turned away from her camp and went to explore.

The figure slept till Kira snapped a twig. Then he was wide-awake, watching her. Yawning, he got up and crept slowly after her. What did she have planned today? He thought. Yesterday’s performance, from pick pocketing to stealing a bow, had proven that the girl had talents that he could use. But he must be very careful…

Kira sighed and walked out of the forest. She sat down in the dirt and listened to the music. Music? Kira opened her eyes and looked around. The music was coming from around the corner. Picking herself off the ground, Kira went to see who or what was making the music. She turned the corner and stumbled back in shock. A small tepee, fit for one person, was positioned at the edge of the Forest. The music was coming from the inside. Cautiously Kira poked her head through the gap and cried,
“Hello?” It came out as a hoarse whisper.
“Hello, Kira. I have been waiting for you.” Came the reply. Kira gave a yell and pulled her head out of the tepee, walking backwards, tripped over a rock and fell on her back. Raising her head, Kira saw an old woman appear at the mouth of the tepee. She was wearing an old American-Indian dress. Kira guessed she was an Indian gypsy. The old woman had sharp grey eyes, and her features reminded Kira of a hawk, from a long nose to talon like nails. “Do not be frightened dear. Come inside and have a drink,” the lady said, shuffling back to the tepee. Weary, Kira got up off the ground and followed her inside. The inside of the tepee was scented, but she couldn’t tell what of, and gave the look of mist. The music had stopped abruptly. Kira could hardly see two steps in front of her, but that was also because her eyes were watering, as there were so many fumes. Finally she found the old woman sitting at a small table, drinking. At the other end of the table, there was another glass of something brown, that Kira presumed was for her.
“Who are you?” Kira asked.
“Please dear, sit down and have a drink before we begin,” was the answer. Doing as she was told, Kira sat down on the empty chair and took up the glass of brown liquid. It smelt of honey, and Kira took a sip only to find a warm sensation creep down her throat and into her entire body. She drank more.

The figure saw Kira go into the tepee, but she hadn’t come out yet. How long would she take? He didn’t know. Quietly he moved outside the closed entrance and put his ear to the flap.

Kira licked her lips. She had finished the drink and was staring at the old woman.
“Who are you?” She asked again.
“The real question is, who are you, Kira,” The reply was confusing so Kira clamped her mouth shut, puzzling over it. The woman sighed and said
“My name is Madam Meldina.” She looked at Kira, and knew this was going to take a long time.
“I always knew you were special, right from the beginning.” At this, Kira looked up, frowning.
“Me? How am I special?” she asked. Madam Meldina looked at Kira with a steady gaze. “You, my dear, are a Menphur,” she said. Kira’s frown darkened.
“A what? What’s a Menphur? How am I…” her voice trailed away.
“How can I explain this?” Madam Meldina stood up, strode to a bookshelf and took a dusty book off it. Walking back over to the table, she put it down and opened it. Once she had found what she was looking for, Madam Meldina twirled the book around so it was facing Kira.
“Read,” she said. Kira looked down at the book:

‘Early legend tells us of a creature like no other. The name is Menphur. This creature has the ability to switch its soul with that of another. A Menphur that has only just learnt it has powers will only switch souls when the circumstance is life threatening, but one that has known its powers and knows how to use them can switch when they please. To understand this creature will take many years, as it prefers to be alone. Many people are frightened of Menphurs, we do not know if it is because the people think the Menphur will take their soul, or because they are afraid of difference. Menphurs are not an evil creature although they, if in form of a human being, can be quite mischievous, as the soul inside the body may be of an animal. We do not yet know the full of a Menphur’s power, but it is believed they have more powers than just to switch souls.’

Kira gasped.
“Y-you think I’m? A-a WHAT?” Frightened, she gripped the chair. Madam Meldina sighed. Longer than I expected, she thought.
“Kira, why are you so frightened of your past?” She asked.
“I’m not, it’s just- it’s just…I can’t be a-a Menphur! Can I?” Kira stumbled on her words, deep in thought.
“Tell me,” she said finally.
“Tell you what?” asked Madam Meldina, cheekily.
“You said before, ‘I always knew you were special, right from the beginning’, that means you know, that means, you knew my…parents,” Kira felt her heart torn open as she said the word ‘parents’, she had no memory of them.
“You mean, I know your parents,” Madam Meldina replied.
“What?” asked Kira, suddenly alert.
“I will explain later, after I tell your story,” Madam Meldina sat in her chair again and began,

“It was long ago. About thirteen years, and you had just had your eighth month of life. You could crawl and stand by yourself by then. It was nearing mid spring when, one night, there was an attack on your parents and the village. Only few survived. Your parents among them. But you had gone missing. What had happened, that only I realized, was that you have crawled off and switched souls with an animal. I found a den later, it was a wolf’s.”

Madam Meldina stopped, allowing Kira to think.
“So I went into a wolf den, switched souls with a wolf and?”
“Not a wolf, a wolf pup. The pup was dying, and you were a healthy infant, so you switched souls with the wolf, her soul going into you, your soul going into her.” A life threatening circumstance, Kira thought.
“May I continue?” Madam Meldina asked.
“Yes,” Kira said, hungry for more.

“While your parents and the other village survivors looked for you, you were found by the mother wolf, which thought you were her daughter, and you then joined the wolf pack. Your soul was wolf, so you had wolf instincts and heard, smelt, had the reflexes, ran, felt and saw the way a wolf does. Then, when you were about four years of age, a group of farmers came after the wolf pack you were in and saw you. Now you have to agree, seeing a young human child with a pack of wolves comes as a shock!” Madam Meldina laughed and carried on, “They took you away, of course. Like a wolf you howled and bit, but they managed to take you up to the orphanage. The other children saw you and were frightened; they did not know you were wolf on the inside. You learned to talk, and do what other humans do but you still couldn’t get it right. The other children teased and taunted you, but on the inside were frightened of you. You looked human enough, but had very sharp teeth and amber eyes, wolf eyes, you scared the dogs and did bad things, but now I look at you, I can see no trace of the wolf you used to be.”

Kira looked up, and saw tears forming in Madam Meldina’s eyes. She blinked, and felt, on her own cheeks, tears. Wiping them away quickly, Kira asked,
“Why did the wolf mother think I was her daughter?” Madam Meldina frowned and said, “Souls are funny things Kira. The mother wolf thought you were her daughter because, you were - you are. You body may not have been, but your instincts and senses were - are - wolf. Your soul is the most important part in you. It controls your personality, your emotions and so on.”
“So I’m a wolf?” Kira spat.
“Yes.” Madam Meldina looked up, and saw Kira glaring at her.
“What’s wrong Kira?” She asked.
“I don’t believe you!” Kira hissed.
“How should you know anyway? I don’t believe I’m this creature who can change souls! Wouldn’t that mean I was in a wolf body? I wouldn’t be here listening to you would I?” Madam Meldina stood up. Kira sat down.
“Listen Kira. I don’t know the full extent of what happened. No one does! All I know, is you went in there with a human soul and came out with a wolf's.”
“I still don’t understand,” Kira muttered.
Madam Meldina sighed and said,

“The wolf pup died. You had a human soul, and your human soul went into the pup, but then the pup died, so your human soul left. You have a human brain, so you think your parents are human and have died, because that is what the orphanage taught you to believe. Your real parents, who are wolves, have died. They died a while ago but you did not know. Your wolf parents knew you were a wolf, but your brain, since it is a human brain, thinks it has human parents, and it thinks you are a human. Your body is human, your brain is right there, but your soul is not, and that’s where your brain is wrong. Soul and brain are opposite. Do you understand now?” Madam Meldina was tired, so she sat down in her chair and took a drink of the criligino that she had made herself.
“The wolf put in you is a Menphur; your human soul was not,” Kira understood that,
“So my Wolf soul switched with my human one?”
“Yes,” was the answer.
Kira re-thought.
“How do you know so much about Menphurs?” Madam Meldina knew the conversation was coming to an end.
“I am one,” Kira was not surprised.
“What animal soul have you got?” Kira asked.
“Ahhh! That is where Menphurs get tricky! I have the soul of a human. An Indian mage, of long ago!” Kira, confused, replied,
“So the mage - you - were dying, but you switched souls with another and let their soul die?” Madam Meldina smiled.
“Kira, souls do not die! They get sent to the heavens, were they are reborn with a new body, or stay as an angel, as a friend of god,” she continued, “it is getting late dear, and you must go.” Kira stood up and walked to the door. She was about to push the fabric when she turned and asked,
“Madam Meldina, will I ever see you again?” The old woman stayed seated in her chair but said,
“Maybe, Kira. Maybe one day, when you need help.” With those last puzzling words, Kira slid out of the tepee, and walked into the night.

So he was right. The girl, whose name was Kira, was special. He had heard of these creatures Menphurs, everyone had, but they had been pure fantasy. Now, as Kira disappeared silently into the Forest, he wasn’t so sure. Deep in thought, he tripped, and fell forward. Scrambling up, he ran after Kira. He must be very careful now, because, once oblivious to the fact, Kira now knew that she had the senses of a wolf, and would be able to feel his presence. The figure was a master of disguise, ruler of the shadows, but now had a dangerous enemy - Kira…

Kira was tired, lost and confused. The scenery around her kept changing; she was in the middle of a field, in the middle of a war, standing on a cloud, on a bridge, standing on a rock surrounded by lava, in the middle of the Forest. Eyes gleamed in the shadows behind the trees, she could see them out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned, they were gone. The wind blew, making the trees whisper,
“Hass ell minessa, coorrssa thyy nekkkdall,” somehow, Kira thought the language sounded familiar. To her right, there was a wolf howl, followed by another, and another. There was one very close to her, and Kira thought she had done it.
“Kira, Kiiirraa! Bbee ccarefull, tthheyy arre watchhingg” A blood-curling scream from behind her made Kira run for her life. Wake up! She told herself, wake up! Not noticing the trees becoming shorter and shorter, Kira only managed to stop before the cliff. She turned in time to see a dark, screeching, shape soar out of the sky, lightly brushing her on the back, before she was tumbling down in darkness…