((A/N: Meowzy: My turn again! Oh, this'll be fun! Thanks for all the reviews, and sorry this chapter is so late. Itried to ask Spiritua Masquerade's opinion on something, but she hasn't been online for a while. I had to finish this chapter without her input.))

Chapter four (Yuan's PoV)
The Starved

'Damn that Kratos' I thought, stomping through the forest. I could hear him following, but blandly ignored him. Next time we'd encounter one of those flesh-eating plants, I'd shove him into those huge jaws, and leave him behind.

"What was that sound?" he asked suddenly, snapping me out of my evil plotting.

"What sound?" I snarled, slightly irritated.

"A growling sound." He stopped in his tracks and glanced around. I did the same. Then I heard it too.

"Some kind of wild animal?" I guessed.

"… I think it's your stomach." Kratos suddenly grinned.

"What the-" I glanced down and clasped a hand over my stomach. I actually was feeling kind of hungry… A feeling I hadn't had for over four thousand years.

"Now that our Cruxis crystals are being subdued, we're going to have to start eating again." Kratos concluded.

"Oh great…" I sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. Reduced to a mere mortal. What joy.

"Let's go find some fruit or something. I think I saw an apple tree a short while back." Kratos turned, but I didn't follow, as my eyes caught sight of something much more interesting.

"Forget fruit. I want to eat that." I said with a grin, pointing upwards. Kratos followed my gaze to see a small rodent sitting on a tree branch.

"You want to eat an innocent little creature?" he concluded.

"It's not innocent. It's evil and vile and I'm sure it'll taste good." I wrung my hands evilly, before reaching for my double-edged blade.

The rodent, apparently smelling danger, hopped down from the branch and landed in front of me, its nose twitching. It was taunting me.

"Try to get behind it, and make sure it doesn't escape." I hissed, readying my blade.

Kratos shrugged faintly and drew his sword before stepping behind the little monster. I counted to three in my head, and charged towards it with a loud war-cry. Just then, the rodent hopped aside, and I nearly speared my human companion. Luckily, he jumped back just in time.

"How many more murder attempts should I expect today, Yuan?" he asked, slightly amused.

I didn't bother to respond, whipping around to see where the rodent had gone. It had slipped into a small hole in the ground at the foot of a tree. Presumably its lair.

"That little bastard." I growled, throwing my blade aside and falling to my knees to try and pear into the darkness. I could faintly hear the creature titter in delight.

"You just got outsmarted by an animal." Kratos said, smiling wickedly.

"No need to rub it in." I snapped, glaring at him.

"Let's just go get some fruit, okay?"

"No! I will have that rodent for dinner!" I roared, sitting back.

"Heh, suit yourself." Kratos shrugged again, and walked off, leaving me alone with my hunger.

It wasn't until a few hours later that Kratos returned to find me standing next to the lair, clutching my cloak. He dropped a pile of fruit on the ground, and chuckled.

"You still haven't given up?" he asked, lazily taking a bite from an apple.

"Be quiet." I hissed, staring determinedly at the hole. "The second it comes out, I'll cover it with my cloak and club it to death."

"What did that thing ever do to you?" Kratos questioned.

"It ticked me off." I snapped in response.

"Well, atleast have an apple while you wait. Or some berries." He gestured at the large pile of fruit.

"No. I'm fine. And is it just me, or is the ground spinning?" I leaned sideways against the tree, holding my forehead. Okay, so I hadn't really eaten in four thousand years. That didn't mean I was going sick with hunger, right?

"Stop being such a fool." Kratos snapped. Apparently, he was getting a bit angry.

"I'm not a fool. If you want to become a vegetarian hippie, so be it. I'm not gonna- Whoah…" Suddenly feeling another dizzy spell, I sank to my knees.

"Okay, that's it." Kratos grabbed a few berries from the pile, and sat down in front of me. "Here comes the rheaird." He sang, waving one in front of my face.

"Get lost." I growled, trying to swat his hand away.

"Open the hangar bay…" he continued, a slightly forceful look in his eyes.

I didn't respond, but clamped my lips firmly shut.

"Come on, you stubborn bastard."

I glared at him determinedly, crossing my arms.

"You leave me no choice." Kratos sighed, suddenly moving forward and sitting down on my lap. Before I'd even processed what was going on, he had placed the berry between his teeth, and was trying to force my mouth open with both his hands. He wouldn't…!

Maybe it was because of my slight state of shock that he actually did manage to force my jaws apart. Mildly horrified, I watched him close the distance between us, until he pressed our mouths together, and dropped the berry. Then he pulled back, smirking triumphantly.

"Swallow." He ordered.

I looked away, blushing heavily. But now there was nothing left to lose anyway. Reluctantly, I chewed, before gulping down the sweet fruit.

"Very good." He said, pulling my left cheek playfully.

"Stop that." I snarled, pushing him away.

Kratos reached for another berry, but I stopped him.

"I can feed myself, you know." Growling slightly, I grabbed a juicy red apple.

"Sure you can." Kratos said, trying very hard to suppress a smile. He failed miserably.

"And I will have that rodent for dinner." I added, before taking a bite.

"Whatever you say." Kratos grinned, and grabbed an orange from the pile.

((Meowzy: Not really my best chapter, but as I said, I had to do this without my co-writer's help. Pray she appears online again soon, because it's her turn now.))