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Irene was an Unknown who lived in the forest. Not many people knew of the place so she was left pretty much alone. She always wore an ankle-length dress that she'd made herself. In a way, she was comparable to the story of Mowgli, never knowing much about mankind outside her forest but she knew of them. Often, she watched them from trees or overhangs when they invaded her space. Like Mowgli, she also had a best friend, but hers was not a panther. She called it Mtebi, an adult bear she'd befriended when still young.
One day, Martin and Alvin went to Irene's forest. They planned to stay for a couple months to try seeking out a presence that they'd felt was there. Alvin, the elder of the two, decided to make the camp more comfortable while Martin went looking around.
A flock of birds had told Irene of the new strangers and she went to investigate. From a distance, she watched as Martin wandered around. His senses told him he was being watched, and when he peered carefully into the brush around him, he saw the figure of a woman. When Irene saw that she'd been spotted, she ran silently back to her shelter in a cave. Unfortunately for her, he was already a seasoned tracker and found her trail, following her home.
As Irene watched him come, she scolded herself for being sloppy in running away. She was about to go out the back when she heard his voice. "Hey! Don't run away! Please?" His tone caught her in midstep and she cautiously went out to where he stood. "That's better. I'm Martin. What's your name?" Her eyes questioned his. "You don't understand me." He added hand movements and spoke slowly. "My name is Martin."
Irene's eyes suddenly brightened. Deeper knowledge filled her and from somewhere long ago, she remembered this strange language he spoke. She slowly tried forming words, feeling the strangeness of them on her tongue. "I'm Irene. I live there in the cave," pointing to the cave she just came out of.
"You understand me! Oh my gosh! Who are you? Wait, you just told me. Where are you from? What are you doing here all alone?" Irene's confused look told Martin he was speaking too quickly for her, and chuckled at himself for being so inconsiderate. "Here. Why don't I take you back to camp?"
Fear filled her eyes and she vehemently shook her head no. "I stay here. This is my home. I belong here."
Martin tried to change her mind, but she refused to budge. "Okay then. Can I bring Alvin here? Maybe we can get to know each other then." She agreed and Martin went slowly back to camp.
From the moment he came back, Alvin knew something was different. "You've found her, didn't you?" All it took was Martin's nodding and he relaxed. "We'll go after her tomorrow."
The next day, they went to her home and found her tweeting with a bird. For a moment, the two watched as the two communicated with each other. Surely this is the one who's presence we were searching for, Alvin thought to himself. Irene finally noticed the two and chirped to the bird rapidly as it flew away. "Hey Irene! How are you?" Martin picked her up and easily swung her around before setting her down and hugging her. Irene was obviously embarrassed but happy. "Irene, I'd like you to meet my best friend, Alvin."
"Hello. Nice to meet you."
"My pleasure." Alvin took her hand and kissed it as he looked into her eyes. She blushed even more. Martin took her arm then and steered her away. The three talked into the night before the gentlemen left. Alvin watched Martin and saw the desire in his eyes for Irene. He noticed how Irene reciprocated those feelings. Something inside him told him that it would be all right, but still, he had to make sure. When they got back to camp, Alvin had a talk with Martin. "Martin, I don't know how to say this. I just don't think it would be wise if you saw Irene these next few days." His friend started to protest but he went on. "There's something about her. It's true she could be the one, but I want to make sure, but there's indication of a darker one around nearby as well. Let us observe her awhile before jumping to any conclusions."
"But we promised to come back tomorrow!"
"I know. It's a promise we'll have to break though."
Martin sullenly went to his tent. The next day, the two continued to work on the second reason why they'd come. Alvin was helping Martin finish some training for the Council. News of what they were doing reached Irene's ears by her friends of the forest. The birds and beasts all went to her, proclaiming their wonder and surprise at the powers of the two strangers. She brushed it aside though. They had hurt her in not coming back. She didn't want anything to do with them.
A couple of weeks later though, news came that the two had been caught in a trap. Without a second thought, Irene hurried over to where they had told her they'd be. Irene saw that a bear was investigating them. It had stood up and sniffed them. Alvin and Martin cowered under its great height. "Mtebi!" Irene came out of the brush and stood in front of him, between him and the men, waving her arms. Mtebi came down and Irene hugged him while continuing her dialogue. Indicating to the traps, she asked Mtebi to free them from the traps. While that was happening though, Irene felt another presence behind her, this time, a darker one. She gave Alvin a sorrowful look before telling Mtebi that she was going to find out the other stranger whose presence bothered her. When Alvin and Martin were free, Mtebi hobbled to follow Irene while the two took care of themselves and limped off after them.
By then, Irene had come to a clearing. There was another huge bear, ambling away from her. "Camayo?" The beast turned around to look at her. "Are you alright? I've been trying to get in touch with you for a long time. How come you didn't answer? What's wrong?" Camayo had turned and started to come at her aggressively. "Camayo, stop this instant! What's wrong with you? Stop!" Knowledge filled her and she knew it wasn't Camayo but someone in Camayo's body. She tried to scramble away but it was too late. It swung a massive paw at her, hitting the side of her head. Irene fell from the clearing, which was on top of a small hill, to a small stream below.
The three others had arrived then. Martin and Alvin hadn't understood a word Irene was saying, but figured there was an argument taking place. They too, felt the dark force and could only guess that the dark force had invaded the older bear's body. Mtebi sat on his haunches, waiting for Irene to ask for help. Martin yelled out as Camayo hit Irene. "No!" Mtebi too, had seen and when he saw how Camayo'd hurt his friend, Mtebi charged. A fight followed in which Mtebi eventually won. As Camayo struggled to stand back up, the two watched as a dark mist separated itself from Camayo and evaporate. Mtebi gave a short nod and then went to Camayo, now offering it help by nudging it down the hill to the water to clean off his wounds. Martin stumbled down the hill's slope ahead of the others to get to Irene's side. "Irene? It's Martin. Are you alright?" Irene groaned as Martin tried to shake her awake, but didn't regain consciousness. "She needs healing, Alvin. Can you help her?"
Alvin was of Hyam and knew the ways of healing. He had seen her true self and knew she was the one they were waiting for. Looking her over, his diagnosis was a positive one. "There are only a few serious cuts in her face from the fall, but nothing really major. She'll be all right in a couple of hours. The blow just knocked a bit of wind out of her." They brought Irene back to the cave Mtebi's help. Alvin attended to her wounds and soon, she was all better.
After they straightened things out, Alvin and Martin caught Irene up on her people's history. Despite this new knowledge though, Irene refused to leave her home in the forest. She insisted on staying behind to make sure that the Balance was not lost among the wild. And so Alvin and Martin parted from her, knowing that when the time came, she would be by their side to fight.