AN: Wow, I haven't posted anything in a long LONG time. Sorry 'bout that. I wanted to add more to this chapter but found that it ended well and couldn't think up what to put next. Please bear with me cause I really don't know when the next update will be and R&R please.

Chapter 2: Fallen from Grace

Lika's bare feet sunk into the soft mud as she headed towards the outskirts of the small village. Spring had finally returned to Wep'keer bringing with it the promise of growth. All around the young Oina child the world was waking up from its long winter slumber. Above her head the once barren trees now sported tiny green buds which colourful birds and furry squirrels ran through. Lika was enjoying the freedom that came with spring. She had grown considerably in the four years since the defeat of the twin owl demons and the wolf goddess's return to the heavens. Lika let her mind drift back to the days she had spent with the goddess who had rescued her from Orochi after she had traveled back in time. At the time Lika hadn't understood why she could feel the goddess's presence even before she was in sight. Whenever Amaterasu was within a certain range Lika had seen a red glow. Now after being trained to become a priestess she knew that she had been seeing a God's Aura. Lika sighed and continued up the path that lead to the lake where the ark of Yamato used to reside.

Kai watched as her younger sister headed off in the direction of Ezofuji. Lately Lika had become restless often taking long walks by herself. Kai wasn't sure if her sister even realized she was acting strange. Lika had also taken to visiting Oki who still lived outside of the village. He claimed that he preferred to be alone when he was training, but Kai knew deep down he looked forward to her sister's visits. Though Lika never talked about what the two of them did together, Kai didn't question the odd friendship knowing that the warrior would never harm the young girl. Sparing one last glance in the direction Lika had gone Kai returned to sweeping the front step of their wooden hut, marking the start of her spring cleaning.

Lika had to push the large wooden door that led to the lake with all her strength. The bottom part of the door was still stuck in the thawing ground making it hard to move. She shifted her feet burying them deeper into the mud to steady herself before giving the door one last shove. There was a loud snapping sound as the door flew open causing the young girl to stumble forwards and fall hands first into the wet mud. She cursed lightly under her breath then scolded herself. Clearly she had been spending too much time around a certain foul-mouthed warrior. Lika tried to clean most of the mud off her skin, using some left over snow from winter to wash it from her hands and knees. She wasn't looking forward to going home and having Kai scold her for getting so dirty. After a few minutes of trying to get the stains out of her kimono she groaned and gave up. Lika moved her masked gaze from her now soiled clothing towards the stone altar that stood before the lake. She had made it a habit to visit it regularly often times praying to the gods just to feel connected to them. But as her eyes found the similar structure they widen in shock and a scream ripped from her lips.

"What the hell was that?" Samickle asked Kai as he whipped his head in the direction of the scream.

"That's Lika, I know it is." Kai clenched her broom tighter in her hands as fear filled her veins making them run cold. "I have to go help her!" Samickle grabbed Kai around the waist and held her there as she tried to make a break for her sister. "What are you doing?" Kai screamed in frustration "Let me go to her!"

Samickle shook his head. "No Kai, I don't want you to get hurt too, just stay here, please." The large man waited a moment until Kai nodded her consent before letting go of her shaking form. Then suddenly out of the corner of his eye Samickle saw Oki running up the path to the village with a murderous look in his eyes. The Oina warrior didn't stop running as he passed the two on his way to Lika. "Don't worry Kai, we'll protect Lika and bring her back." Samickle called over his shoulder to the worried older sister as he ran to catch up to Oki "I promise we will." The two vanished out of her sight as Kai broke down in front of her hut crying harder than she had in four years.

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Kemu woke with a start causing his head to jerk upwards from where it had been resting on his chest. "That smarts" he mumbled under his breath silently cursing his old age as he rubbed his sore neck. Kemu rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn before reposition himself against the evergreen tree he had fallen asleep under. Vaguely he could recall that something had woken him but he couldn't remember what. Kemu scratched his large stomach and closed his eyes. No one would miss him for another few minutes. Then he heard it again and knew that that was the sound that had awoken him. Kemu turned his head to the north towards where the scream had come from and felt a cold shiver run up his spine. Shifting his gaze up to the heavens he muttered, "There are some dark days coming huh." He watched from his vantage point on the hill where the tree stood as two figures, one tall and blue and the other shorter and more purple in colour, raced towards the lake. Then knowing that he wouldn't be getting much sleep after today, he shifted his raccoon mask and drifted off into a troubled sleep.

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