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"A spirit born 'tween brothers brings fire..."

To the Malima'ka, fire meant many things. That which had protected them from the beasts on land, and served them with its heat for warmth and for food, was also a subject of curiosity, uncertainty and fear.

"It is the courage shown by Ora'ne while guarding the spirits," one might say.

"No, it is the sign of mischief in Ora'na dancing with the spirits. It is the flames of the fire which tell so," others would argue.

Still others would say that it showed passion and warmth, not unlike the feeling a kela'dur would inspire in a couple that so often meant a new pup would soon be born.

And perhaps a few would let their harbored fears come to light and admit to others what they saw fire as: a raging storm upon the sea that brought destruction, chaos and death to the village. A frothy, mad churning of the waters as the result of the lela'kura, or lightning fish, locked in a feeding frenzy.

But Jakala cared not. All she knew now was pain, her face etched with agony and exhaustion, her heart skipping wildly in her chest. Her first pup was being born.

"Again, Jakala...your little one is strong..." a soothing voice came to her.

Kneeling beside her, the tribe's mid-wife, Katiana, smiled and stroked Jakala's head slowly, cooing to her, making soft chirrups and chitters. "Just once more, Jakala. Come, you can do it..."

Jakala held her breath once more, then gasped and cried out as the last of the pains left her, and her newborn plumped into the sand, writhing and mewling loudly.

Katiana wept openly, as she always did, and wrapped the baby into a prepared bamboo covering, holding it to her breast for a moment. It was traditional for the mid-wife to give the first milk to the "new spirit" for luck and good health.

Katiana smiled, watching the pup suckle eagerly from her, then looked at Jakala, who was settled back in the sand, panting. "Now you must rest," she touched Jakala's belly, stroking her webbed fingers along her fur.

"Did I have a girl as I prayed for?" Jakala asked, still a bit short of breath.

Katiana grinned and pulled the pup away from her breast, nuzzling it before lowering the small one to her mother's chest. "She is beautiful," she whispered softly.

The two women watched the pup suckle, never realizing that something else wonderful and mysterious had happened just a moment before.

The third moon of Ora'ne had risen over the horizon.

And with its arrival came Ora'na, hurtling across the sky in the form of a blazing spirit.

The brothers had chosen.

Jakala's daughter would be very special indeed.

**

From the time she was a little girl Malana, as she would come to be called, began to exhibit some of the wonderful gifts given her. From as young as four years old, she demonstrated a far greater intelligence and curiosity than a normal malima'ka pup would have. And always, her dark sea-green eyes would be wild with excitement, as though the fire of Ora'na himself were burning inside of her.

One particular day she was playing with other pups in the woods away from the beach. They had found a gathering of large trees and were gazing longingly at the ripe fruit hanging from its branches.

"Too high," one pup, whose name translated to DarkWave, squeaked unhappily in Malima'kan.

"No get?" replied another boy pup named ShinyTail.

DarkWave grinned and turned to look at ShinyTail, "You get. We watch."

ShinyTail flustered a bit. "Why? You get too."

DarkWave shrugged and nodded, going over to one of the trees. "First to top. Go!"

Both boys scrambled up the trees, trying to cling to the low branches. But as their weight could not be supported, time and again they fell to the ground with a thump, amidst giggles from the other pups.

"I show how!" Another pup raced for the tree and tried to climb, this time using his arms to wrap around the wide trunk. But soon he was weak; unable to move any higher than a few feet, and reluctantly let go.

"Wait...you all do wrong." The boys turned to watch as a black-furred malima'ka joined them. Her green eyes flashed and burned into the boys, causing them to lower their gaze.

The girls however smiled and milled around Malana, knowing full well the respect she had already earned from them.

"Malana show all," the girls giggled. "She always does."

ShinyTail watched as Malana stepped over closer to him than the other boys and smiled. "Move, I show. I learn this from Ne'vadur." The Ne'vadur were the demigods of the trees, according to the Malima'kan legends, and were the chief guardians of Ka's chosen ones on land.

DarkWave sneered, stepping up almost nose-to-nose with Malana. "You talk to Ne'vadur too? Everything talk to Malana? You are just girl, and too young to play with us. Go home, or I tell elders I saw Malana here."

ShinyTail laid a paw on DarkWave's shoulder. "No. I not tell. You not tell. Let Malana show us." His own emerald eyes bore into DarkWave's and the other pups backed away, fearing for a moment a fight would break out.

But DarkWave stepped away, and folded his arms defiantly. "If she not get, I tell elders." And moved quietly away to sit against a clump of bushes.

Malana turned her gaze to ShinyTail again and smiled. "You get first fruit." And with that she walked over to the tree and began to climb. Everyone watched carefully as Malana used her paws to grasp the edge of the tree and her feet to push against its trunk, shimmying up the tree slowly. As she would come to a branch, instead of grabbing for it as the boys had done, she would find new purchase with her paws past it.

Soon she was nearing the top of the tree, with shouts of encouragement from the others carrying up to her. She reached up and swatted at one of the dangling fruit, sending it down to the ground near ShinyTail, and a wild cheer arose from the other pups. Except DarkWave.

But Malana continued to the top of the tree and, with some help of her thick tail, attached herself around a large branch, waving down at everyone. ShinyTail grinned up at her and their gazes met. And though he would never tell anyone this, he swore he heard her say quite clearly, "Malana do good for ShinyTail..."

He watched as the little girl climbed back down from the tree, and was greeted by the other girls, hugging her gently and still cheering. He saw DarkWave get up from the ground and sulk back towards the village, his tail twitching side to side.

"You see?" Malana grinned, still holding paws with the girls, "Ne'vadur show me everything. They tell me lots." They all giggled and hugged her some more as ShinyTail watched with a lop-sided smile.

"Malana do good for ShinyTail..."

It wasn't the words themselves that had alarmed him. Only how they were spoken.

He was quite sure Malana's mouth had stayed closed when she said them.