(This is a continuation of where I left off previously, and is not a new chapter.)
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The winding trail of white sands took through trees, shrubs, flowers and grass that Sendoh had never seen before. There was something familiar about those plants, he felt, but even after twenty years growing up in the forest, he could not identify the specimens.
"They are extinct to the human world," Rukawa eyed him coolly.
"Extinct?"
The deity did not bother to elaborate, knowing that Sendoh understood the statements. It was time the mortals, at least one of them, learn about the loss their greed had brought, "Every single specimen lost to mortals would be brought here,"
The woods suddenly cleared, leaving view of a vast plain of greenery. The grass grew to the height of their shins and exotic animals of all kinds roamed the plain. The white sand path continued, and the grass seemed to part for the Prince.
"The animals…they are extinct too?"
"Many of them," Rukawa surveyed the beautiful lands with a gentle passion burning in his previously cold blue eyes, "Animals known to mortals, presently, are also here," He gestured towards the herds of grass-consuming beasts [1].
A cheetah stepped gracefully over the grass, its taut muscles flexing beneath the golden skin spotted with dark dots, towards the duo. There was a ripple of air as the golden creature morphed into the form of a ruggedly handsome young man. Sendoh saw that his eyes are blue, like Rukawa's, only in a darker hue.
"Mitsui," The Prince nodded towards the newcomer.
"Your Highness," Mitsui bowed slightly, "I see we have a mortal here,"
"Hn," Rukawa eyed the man walking behind him.
"The Prince is not up to formalities, huh?" Mitsui quirked the ends of his lips, "I am Mitsui Hisashi, Wanderer of the Lands,"
"Sendoh Akira," He introduced himself quickly, recovering from the shock of seeing another animal turn into a human form, "I'm a hunter,"
"I know," The Wanderer chuckled without mirth, "You have my child's [2] skin in your living room,"
Sendoh's eyes widened with astonishment, before those blue orbs darkened with guilt, "I…I'm sorry,"
"I don't blame you," The Wanderer turned and gestured for them to continue the walk, "Ika had never been very smart to begin with. In this world, you either be predator, or turn prey,"
"Not very smart?" The hunter pressed his deerskin cap firmly, "He stole five of our pigs before we managed to snag him, and it took ten of our best hands to hold him down and…" His voice trailed off at the sight of Mitsui's troubled blue eyes, "Sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for," The Wanderer walked on without turning.
The three men continued down the path. Along the way, animals turned to bow in the presence of their Prince. Sendoh was awed at the sheer sensuality and power that Rukawa radiated. He felt blood rush to his face at the sight of Rukawa's long dark tresses brushing against his behind.
'Nice arse!'
Stop it, Akira; you are not a stupid young girl. Usually they blushed for you, instead. Remember?
'Oh yeah, but he's really got a nice arse.'
A herd of deer raised their heads from their grazing. A large male deer wandered forth and turned into a delicate featured young man. His auburn locks of hair fell across his shoulders in glossy waves. Mitsui ran forth and embraced him, before planting a chaste, loving kiss on his lips. Sendoh felt that there was no end to surprises, "But…he is a deer," Gorgeous one, that is, "And he is a cheetah,"
Mitsui heard the comment, "Are all mortals as mundane as you are?" He released his hold from the deer-deity, "Now, when you look at Rukawa, what do you see? A panther or a man?"
"A sexy man," The words came out before he could stop them. Rukawa glared at him.
"Ohhhh, a sexy man," Mitsui raised an eyebrow, "So you don't see a big fat ugly panther?"
"Hey, Rukawa was a sexy panther," Sendoh replied more boldly, seeing that Rukawa did not react too badly to his previous statement. He received a sharp whack on his head.
"Shut your trap, thou impertinent flap-mouthed maggot-pie [3],"
"Even though we take the forms of animals, we are still deities, in other words, this human form is what we really are. Animal forms are but disguises," The deer-deity's eyes glowed warmly, "I'm Kogure Kiminobu, the Healer."
"Healer? Wouldn't you be…the hare…?" Sendoh stumbled over his words in anxious concern. He didn't know when he had started to develop sentiments and affection for animals.
Akira, you are going soft.
"She is with Jin," Kogure replied mildly, "In bad shape. You got her shoulder and she might have died had Sakuragi not come into your path and saved her. Although Haruko is a deity, she isn't that strong."
"I didn't know…" The hunter knitted his eyebrows in confusion and remorse. Everything that he had done in the past was catching up and he felt like a monster for killing these creatures. For the twenty years of his life he hadn't thought of them as beings with intelligence and emotions.
"You are a hunter, and a predator. You have all the right to hunt for food. But because you are human, you are supposed to stick to the codes of honour so that you will not go overboard and submit to the control of your greed and bloodlust," Mitsui slipped an arm around Kogure's as the couple took the lead. "Taking prey for food is your right, but you must understand that whatever is not meant to be yours will not stay for you. Ika was destined to be prey, and you got him. Haruko was not meant to be prey and yet you pursued her. Did you not notice that she was the first not to fall from your arrow?"
That's it. I'm never ever going to break the codes anymore. But…will I even get out of this place?
Sendoh peeked at the silent Prince beside him. The desire to leave was no longer strong.
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The seemingly endless walk through the vast plains suddenly ended to reveal a castle, looming majestically over each one of them. Sendoh was puzzled. He had not seen the structure over the grass, and it looked like it appeared out of nowhere. Still, the logic of how magical lands function was probably not to be questioned.
The castle was white, in its entirety. The snowy stones glistened in the warm sun of the magical lands – Sendoh thought the castle looked beautiful. The glass panes of the windows reflected the sunlight, casting a golden hue on the structure. The courtyard overflowed with trees of different breeds and species. Brightly coloured flowers adorned the branches and littered the earth beneath the trees, looking like bits of rainbow thrown haphazardly everywhere.
A white chimpanzee sitting on a large oak tree in the middle of the courtyard waved to the contingent.
"A white chimp?" Sendoh voiced out loud, understanding that it was another deity. The said beast cocked its head to examine the hunter, and dislike marred its wizened, apish features instantly. The chimpanzee jumped off the tree and lumbered towards the party, morphing into a wild-haired young man as he approached.
"What is this?" He eyed Sendoh with revulsion, "Why do we have a common mortal at our royal dwelling? A hunter, no less?" Sendoh noted that his voice was loud, brash and rather reminiscent of the beastly form that he took. However, the statement by the chimp-deity made the same guilt well up within him again.
"Kiyota, Sendoh is our guest, be polite," Kogure patted the wild mop of hair affectionately, "Sendoh, this is the Guard, Kiyota Nobunaga," Turning to Kiyota again, the brunette asked, "Where's Fujima?"
Kiyota guffawed wildly at the mention of his fellow Guard, "The moronic Puma was ashamed in my eminent presence and went to hide, of course!" A large mountain lion flew off a pine tree and pounced on the shamelessly laughing Guard, transforming into a man with a glossy mane of tawny hair. He had Kiyota on chokehold, "Who's hiding from your slow-witted presence, eh?"
Sendoh laughed along with the other deities, watching the friendly bantering of the two Guards. Fujima snorted and ruffled Kiyota's hair before standing up. Upon locking gazes with Sendoh, the friendly glow on his finely chiseled, almost effeminate features disappeared, and was replaced with an aloof, almost cold demeanour, "So you are the hunter who shot Haruko? I heard about you," He gestured briefly towards the castle entrance for them to enter, "I was pretty surprised that Sakuragi didn't eat you,"
"Sakuragi is the wolf?"
"Yes, the Guardian of the Jungle,"
"Is he…here?"
"No, why would he?" Fujima stepped slowly and confidently over the white flooring of the castle grounds – The white stones were pure marble, Sendoh realized.
"Is he angry with me?" Sendoh inquired tentatively. The contingent moved into the large halls of the castle. Huge, white pillars of marble formed an ancient, Romanian structure and the corners of the ceiling were adorned with engravings of animals.
"He isn't angry," Fujima raised an eyebrow lightly, skeptically, "He is furious, livid, purple with rage. After all, the girl's his fiancée. They were going to tie the knot next summer,"
Sendoh swallowed visibly, "And he didn't eat me?"
"I did tell you that I was surprised, did I not? Yet this morning, the Queen told me that someone special is coming along. Someone very important to the Kingdom – and I presume that 'someone' is you," Fujima shrugged. They had arrived before a large gate. The brunette touched his palm to the dragonhead engraved on the door.
"I thought dragons were from the Orient,"
"Dragons, are enigmatic creatures of the old," Mitsui spoke up, "We do not speak of them in frivolity. They exist to be as old as time and they were part of the Gods who created our beings. We honour them by casting their forms on the assets that we hold dear."
The dragonhead glowed from Fujima's touch and a snake materialized from another engraving on the door. It slithered to the ground and transformed into a man, whose eyes were sharp with wisdom and glittered with shrewd. "Your Highness," He greeted Rukawa, bending a knee, "Minami is honoured to have you in his presence. His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen awaits your contingent,"
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[Post-script A/N: Again, this story is chopped off due to its length. Something very important I would like to know is whether anyone would be interested in an updates mailing list of mine? I am starting junior college this year, and would predictably be very much busier than I was – which means that my stories would be updated even less frequently. Those who are interested please leave a note in the reviews section with your name and email address, thank you!]
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[1] – I know they are called herbivores, but scientific terms like this are not coined yet.
[2] – Deities refer to animals of the forms that they took as their children. So, Mitsui took the form of a cheetah, and all cheetahs would be considered under his paternal (fatherly) protection.
[3] – Shakespearean insult! Handy things, aren't they? I'm not sure whether ancient deities know Shakespearean language, though. But it doesn't matter. ^___^ I'd dearly like to use Ru-chan's "aho" but I figured it wouldn't fit.