I decided to put up another chapter before another year had passed. Any of you who have continued to read the story, I am really sorry. I also commend your patience with me. Not sure how good this chapter turned out. Hope you all enjoy it.
San and Ashitaka were sitting on opposite sides of the clearing. The wolves were sitting on the edge in between them. Kana had a mixture of amusement, worry and frustration on her face. Kitha looked like he wanted to kill something. Since that was his normal expression, no one paid much attention to it. Yakuul walked over to the wolves first to greet them before going over to Ashitaka. He bumped him with his head to get his attention.
"Where have you been?" Ashitaka asked and then glared at his long time comrade when he saw the packs Yakuul carried. A weird barking noise was coming from Kana and Ashitaka assumed that she was laughing. "We can't go to the village. If I could, I would have gone back long before now."
"Is that the only thing keeping you here?" San spoke, her voice ice-cold.
"No, there are many other reasons I stayed and that's not the point. I am not returning to the village." Ashitaka shouted which startled everyone, including Yakuul. Ashitaka never raised his voice unless he was trying to get people to hear him.
"Why not? Aren't you the one that told me not to throw my life away? Why is it ok for you to do the same?"
"This is a completely different situation"
San and Ashitaka continued to shout back and forth at each other. Yakuul had retreated to where the wolves were sitting. The animals' heads moved back and forth watching the two humans. Yakuul was really worried about Ashitaka. He never held onto his anger, instead he would think about the situation calmly and try to find a peaceful solution. Eventually the two wolves grew bored with the fight. They stood up and walked in between the two humans.
"That's enough," Kitha growled. Both humans jumped. It was clear they had forgotten they weren't alone.
"This is not getting us anywhere. The sun has almost set. The someone has to start the fire and ready the camp. We also need to prepare something to eat. You're also making yourselves easy targets. We all need to eat and get some sleep. In the morning we can decide what to do." Kana said in the wake of their silence.
"I'll go hunt for the helpless human," San responded jumping onto Kitha's back.
"That's if you didn't scare all the game away," Kitha grumbled as they left the clearing. He knew that the fight had scared off all the big game.
"Why don't you set up the campsite and I'll get some firewood." Kana said walking over to Yakuul and taking the packs from him. She left them by Ashitaka before leaving the clearing.
Ashitaka was exhausted despite not doing anything all day. Yakuul came over and nudged him on the shoulder. Ashitaka absentmindedly petted Yakuul's head. After a bit he stood up and got the camp ready. He had a place for the campfire ready and the sleeping mats were laid out by the time Kana returned with pieces of wood. He took the wood from her and started the fire. With everything done, he leaned back against a tree and promptly fell asleep.
San didn't think about anything other than the movements of the wolf beneath her and the sounds of the forest around her. The night air was pleasant. Kitha's paws didn't make a noise as he ran through the woods. His pace never slowed as he weaved between the trees. Suddenly he stopped and San slid down off his back. A young buck stood downwind from them. His fur was a beautiful red, in fact the color reminded San of Yakuul's coat. For being all by himself he was really relaxed, almost like he was waiting for something. It was the perfect opportunity, taking a deep breath to make sure no other predator was around, she ran forward. Her feet barely touched the ground as she moved from one tree to the next. As she got closer, she raised her spear in preparation for the killing strike. She jumped on his back and was lowering her spear when it got knocked out of her hands. Startled she looked around. At the same time, what she now saw was an elk, bucked her off. She landed on the hard ground. The elk ran off as Kitha ran toward her. A rain of pebbles bounced off his coat, more to try to scare him then to hurt him. Still, he didn't appreciate the disrespect and howled his displeasure.
"Kitha, relax. Who's ever out there, show yourself." San said projecting her voice so anyone within the vicinity could hear her. The pebbles had stopped at the howl. Kitha helped San stand, then took on a protective stance. San wiped off the dirt from her fall and picked up her spear. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Speak for yourself." Kitha growled.
"Not now Kitha. Those pebbles were thrown to protect me from you."
"L-" Kitha started to say, but movement from the brush on his right quieted him. A young girl peeked out from the bushes.
"You can come out," San said and the girl jumped out a dagger in her hands.
"Why'd you try to kill Zeikul?" the girl asked.
"We're hungry and he was the first thing we've come across all night." San answered honestly.
"That doesn't give you any right to eat someone's pet." The girl replied.
"We didn't know he was with anyone." San said. Now that she had affirmed she wasn't a threat she looked over the girl. She was young. San would have thought her still a child if she hadn't been alone. Her clothes had tares and she was filthy. The reason they hadn't smelled any humans around was because she smelled like the forest. She looked half-starved. There was something familiar about the girl, but San couldn't pin her down.
"Oh, is the wolf your friend?" The girl asked. Throughout the entire conversation the girl's eyes hadn't left Kitha.
"Yes, he's my brother." San said scratching Kitha's shoulder.
"You're a wolf?" the girl exclaimed.
"What of it?" San said defensive.
"You look human," the girl replied surprised by San's tone. There was an awkward silence as San tried to figure out what to do with the girl. She could just leave her, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do it. Sighing loudly, San jumped onto Kitha's back and reached out her hand to the girl. She looked at it confused.
"I can bring you to my camp where you can rest and get food." San explained.
"I can't stop. I've wasted too much time already. I have to find my brother. " The girl said backing away from San.
"It's almost night fall and if you don't rest you'll be useless if something decides to attack you." San said impatiently. Restless, Kitha took matters into his own hands. He grabbed the back of the girl's shirt and deposited her on his back before she could respond.
"Call your elk," Kitha said. "I'm not going to eat him."
The girl sent out a piercing whistle and the elk appeared from behind a tree. He looked hesitant, but saw his friend with the two strangers and stepped closer hesitantly. He didn't trust them, but he couldn't leave her.
"Zeikul, follow the wolf. They're going to bring us somewhere to get food." The girl called to him. At the sound of the word food, he stopped being hesitant and obediently followed. Upon closer inspection, the elk looked just as exhausted and hungry as the girl. San wondered what had happened to them to get like this.
"Hold on tight or you'll fall off," San said as Kitha ran through the forest towards the clearing.
I wonder if anyone can guess who the new character is. I'm not giving out the answer though. You'll just have to wait till the next chapter to find out who she is.