It was different now.

He heaved himself onto the moss-covered log. "San!" He stood up, and called again: "Sa-ah-n!"

There was no reply. He jumped off the log, continuing deeper into the forest.

Yes, it was definitely different.

And not just the way you would expect. After all, it was a different one. A different forest. It was wonderful. Younger, fresher. The trees yet not so gnarled, still not so tall, and so many new trees poking out from the earth. Its mossy ground was yet untouched. It looked sacred. Yes, sacred, that was the word. After all, it was the land of the gods.

He stepped up, onto the root entwined path, barely visible beneath the greenness.

This forest was fresher. It was newer. It was still in its prime; in its bloom.

But the old one…

His forest, the old forest, had something in it, something that this one lacked, badly. He sensed this absence as soon as he stepped onto the forest ground. It wasn't there, and the hole in its place stood out like a hungry stomach. Yes, this something was lacking– Ashitaka missed it.

Wisdom. Depth.

His forest, or so he called it in his mind, had gone through many things. It had seen Beauty, and Ugliness. Light and Dark. Happiness and Pain. Upon those gnarled tree trunks, history had been written. Blood had been spilled. Food had been shared. It was in the old forest, not this one, that the mighty wolf goddess Moro, had prowled the earth. It was in the old forest, not this one, that Lord Okkoto, the god of boars, led his troops to war. There, not here. It all happened there. All of it.

It was there.

There, he saw her for the first time.

He could picture it perfectly: the wolves, the muddy river. He could see her sucking the blood from the huge wolf's wound. Suck, and spit. Suck and spit. And then.

Then she turned around.

Her face was covered with blood, her eyes fierce, dangerous.

She spat out the blood, and wiped her mouth.

He felt something strange when he saw her: Wilderness in a walking body. He felt a…a sort of warmth. More of a burn, yet it wasn't unpleasant overall. It made him want to run, to just fly into that forest. To rip off his clothes, to fling himself upon the earth. To merge with the forest; the wild; the nature. To become one with the earth.

And when he yelled at her from across the river, she simply told him to: 'Go away.' And that was it. She left then, left with her wolves, taking a dead ox with them.

But then he knew he wouldn't ever be able to forget her.

'Clickety-click.'

He spun around.

A small, funny looking figure was standing before him, shedding a warm, pale light. Its head twisted, giving another 'clickety-click.'

"A Kodama." Ashitaka whispered. They were the spirits of the forest, the souls of the trees. The old forest had been full of them. But this was the first Kodmama he had seen in the new forest, recovering forest.

"Little one," Ashitaka said, smiling. The Kodama's head turned upward to meet his face. "Can you lead me to the Princess of the Forest?"

The Kodama clicked its head again, its hole of a mouth twisting up into a smile. It turned around, and sped off.

"Wait!" Ashitaka yelled. He pushed away a branch, and broke into a run, following the small glowing figure before him.

The Kodama, now a pale, translucent yellow, ran fast. Over logs, stones, around trees. Its little feet moving quickly, its movements seemingly flowing. Ashitaka tore after it, barely evading trees and stones. Suddenly it stopped.

'Clickety-click. Clickety-click-click.'

"Is this where she is?" He asked from behind. The Kodama rattled again, and faded, then disappeared all together. "Huh?" Ashitaka twisted his head. "Where've you gone, little one?" Silence. "Well, it seems, you brought me here….so, uh, thank you!" He called into the forest. You, you, you…It echoed. Wait, echo? Here, in a forest? Ashitaka, turned back, and pushed away the leafy branches blocking his path.

It was a cliff, a large cliff. Below it, he could see the churning waters, deep, clear, and blue, the early morning sun playing on their surface. The water itself cascaded down a waterfall from a stream, up on the cliff. There, by the stream, drinking from it was–

"San!" He yelled. San, san, san… the cliff echoed back.

She stood. "Ashitaka!" Taka, taka…

"Saaaan!" Saaaan…Saaaan…

Then, he ran. Slowly at first, then faster, faster. He curved around the cliff. Faster, faster. It began sloping upwards, but he kept running. Faster. It was steep now. Faster. Very steep; too steep. He threw himself at the wall, and began to climb. Faster, faster, faster…He pulled himself up, and leapt up onto the ground. Faster. He sped forward, faster. Leapt over the stream, faster.

He tumbled into her. "San!

"Ashitaka!"

"San." He whispered, pining her down."

"A-Shi-" She struggled beneath him. "Taka!" She cried, as she slipped out from under him.

"San." He let it roll around on his tongue, once more. It was short, simple. He liked it.

"Ashitaka!" She laughed. In truth, she had never been so glad to see someone in her life, save for perhaps her mother after the long hunting season. She hadn't realized just how much she'd grown accustomed to the strange human– to Ashitaka. He…he seemed like a...brother to her. "You're back!"

"Yes, San," He said, laughing as well. "I'm back."

"But I thought…you said you were going to rebuild…"

"Yes, but I came back. I missed you."

"But it's only been three days!"

"Not long enough? Should I go back?"

"No!" She threw her arms around him. "No, I don't want you to go back! I want you here," She laughed again. "With me. I missed you too, Ashitaka!" It was the truth. She really did want him to stay with her, right here. She wanted to show him– the way the new flowers were opening, the small grove of trees she had found earlier. She wanted to show him the cave where her clan had lived for generations. The stream where the water was so cold, and the one where it was hot. He would like it, she knew, and she wanted to show him.

"I missed you more."

They stood up, still clinging to each other. "So you didn't go back?" San asked.

"No, I did go back."

"But you still came now?"

"I did."

"Did they do anything to you?" She had seen them shoot at him – Their own kind! It wouldn't be surprising to her… "I'll skin them alive if they did!"

"San, I was only helping Eboshi's people rebuild their town."

San let go of him. At the sound of that…that creatures name, she felt as if needles were pricking every part of her. She was a giant lake, threatening to spill over. How she hated her…it. No thing like that could even have a proper gender. "That woman." She muttered.

"San…"

And suddenly, she burst. How could Ashitaka, smart brave loyal Ashitaka, go to that awful…thing? "No!" She yelled. "How can you go back to her? After what she did?"

"San, I…"

"She killed the Forest Spirit! She killed the forest!" San growled. It was her forest. Hers. And that –that woman…she…demolished it. It was her home. If it was anybody's, it belonged to her. She was its princess.

"San." Ashitaka put an arm around her, trying to gain her attention. "San! Look around you, don't you see the forest? It's all around us, and you know the Spirit lives on…in our hearts." He said. "It's alright, see?"

She pushed his arm off. "It's not the same anymore." She muttered. "And I'll never forgive her!" She growled. "Why did you save her? She deserves death! Death, you hear me? Death!" She yelled. "And you go back to that evil creature! And you help her!" San ripped off her fur cloak. "I want her to die."

"Shhh, San, listen, stop… It's fine now, the Spirit healed everything." Ashitaka murmured.

"I hate her, you hear? I just hate-!"

"San stop it! Stop it!" Ashitaka yelled. San froze. She never heard Ashitaka yell before. He was always so calm, so… He knew she hated that woman… Why did he have to yell? She breathed in. It was so strange of him. It was even…No. She wasn't afraid of him, no, she only stopped because she was…surprised. And because he asked her to. And she still hated her.

"Stop hating everything! We will live in peace!" He took a deep breath. "If you kill her, it wouldn't change anything. It would only cause anger and pain. Your mother avenged your clan. You saw it yourself."

San, despite the situation, felt a burst of pride. Pride mixed with grief, and regret. Even in her last moments, Moro, her mother, was fighting. "The woman." She spat. It was the worst insult, really. "Such a human. It's not enough for her!"

"She regrets it. I'm – I'm sure she does. Toki told me she was going to rebuild Iron Town anew. She's starting afresh, and so must you."

"Still…." She growled. "Who's Toki anyway?"

"A woman from Iron Town. I think you'll like her."

"I'm not going into that filthy human town!"

"San, we are human. You're human too…

"I'm a wolf!"

Ashitaka wasn't one for giving up. But nevertheless… He breathed slowly, and calmly. "Yes, San you are a wolf." So when he said that, he told himself, that he was only putting it back for later.

"No, I'm a–! Oh." She glared at him. "Good." Another pause. "Alright. How's Yakul?"

"Oh, he's fine. He's still tired. I would've brought him, you know. He likes you." Ashitaka said.

"I know. I…I like him too. Otherwise I would have let Takuri eat him. He's good meat." San put on her cloak again. "But he's too smart for eating."

"Yes, Yakul's a very wise Elk." He said. He loved Yakul, and to him, he was more than a steed for riding. "He saved me…many times."

"Do all people in your town ride such red elks? There aren't any in my forest." She didn't want him getting any ideas. It was her forest. And she hadn't seen red elks before.

Ashitaka sighed. "Yes. But I don't live in a town. I live in a village."

San looked up. "What? A Vlich?"

"A village." Said Ashitaka, slowly, spitting out every consonant.

"Village." She repeated.

"That's right. It's like a town, but smaller. And it doesn't make so much noise." He explained.

"I like that better. What is it called?"

"My village is called Emishi."

"I've never heard of it before."

"It used to be a…" He stopped. It was a secret, and he wasn't allowed to tell anyone. Anyone. "I….I can't tell you San." He hesitated. "It's a secret, I cannot tell you. I cannot betray my people."

"Don't." Her gray eyes bore into his. 'To betray your kind… It is like to kill your own mother.' Her brother always said. "Or I'll rip in you in half."

"I won't, " Ashitaka said laughing. "Don't worry, I won't tell you."

"Are you…going to go back to them?" San asked. She didn't know what she wanted the answer to be. She did want him to go back to his own kind.

But.

But she was used to him. She even liked him. She maybe even felt something towards him, something, she wasn't yet sure what it was. It was something…else… He was different from other humans. He had helped her before.

But he was a human.

And she – she was a wolf. A true wolf.

The humans hurt, they killed, and he was one.

When she looked at him, she didn't see a human. She wasn't sure what she saw.

He meant something to her. She missed him when he was gone. She even told him that.

But he was a human.

"No." He said. There was a touch of finality in his voice, as if he had just discovered the answer to a mystery, and now there was nothing left to figure out.

And San recognized it, really, she did. But she wanted to know. She herself knew that she would go back to her wolves, even if that meant leaving Ashitaka. So she asked: "Why?"

"I can't. I was banished." Ashitaka said, sighing.

That– that was purely awful. Why on earth would he be banished? He was a good person. A heroic person. "You-you were?"

"Yes." Now that left no room for conversation. None. Zero. So, it would have to wait for another time, San decided. "How did you find me?"

"A Kodama."

"You can see them?"

"Of course, all humans see the Kodama. Everyone does."

"I didn't know that."

That, for a reason unknown to San, seemed to amuse Ashitaka. "You didn't know that, of course… not…No. Oh San… Would you…" No. Of course she wouldn't. He had to give her more time, to cool down a bit first.

"What?" San asked.

"Nothing…I just…never mind." Ashitaka stood up. "I must go now. I need to go back." It was true. He needed to get back before the townspeople noticed his absence.

San stood up as well. "Alright."

"Goodbye San."

"Goodbye Ashitaka." She answered. Goodbye. Why not? He had to go to his Iron Town. To his humans. To that woman.

Ashitaka turned around, heading back.

She watched him leaving. He was walking slowly, barely even. It was even a bit amusing. He ran up so fast, going up, faster. He looked right that way: Running as fast as the wind. Now he was leaving, slowly. Sloooowly. She saw him bend over, and hang his feet over the stone cliff he climbed earlier. Just moments, it seemed.

Suddenly, she felt a tug. A wolf always listened to its instincts. And it was telling her… She ran to the edge.

Ashitaka saw her speeding towards him, as if he forgot something, and she was running to return it. But he didn't forget anything. Maybe…a sly thought crossed his mind, and though it was very unlike him, he let it pass. Maybe, it was she who forgot something.

"Ashi-taka!" She gasped. Why had she run off like that? "When –when will I see you again?"

So that was it. He smiled. "Meet me tomorrow, by the edge of the forest." He jumped down, his feet landing on a ledge barely big enough for them. He grabbed a handhold and started climbing down. There, now he reached the bottom, and turned back…

"When?" San yelled.

"When the sun has set!" He called back.

He turned away from her and walked onto the animal trodden path leading back to the forest.

When he reached the edge of it, with the forest standing there, looming over him like a huge green wave, he turned back once more.

There, falling with the waterfall, he saw a little white figure, diving down into the clear blue water.