Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Princess Mononoke except the few that I have added :)

Crystal Ashes

Blushing Petals

Chapter 6: Look Through the Eyes of Another

He was vast, even among the steep cavern ceilings. His eyes, like glowing rubies, seemed to flicker—flames dancing in his velvet head. He was truly the vision of an ancient god. His eyelids lowered then, a dark veil dragging across the world that lingered within the stunning red of his eyes.

Her eyes at first had opened, expecting to see the damp golden crown of morning in Ashitaka's world… But instead it was Dai that her gaze settled on—a shadow lost in hues of red. Splayed against the icy umber rock of the cavern she could still feel Ashitaka's warmth as it clung desperately to her body. His smell still surrounded her, filling her lungs and head—but he was far from her ruby tinted world...

"It is my gift… to soothe your spirit while you wait to reach the ones who you care for..." The huge bat hummed, his voice carrying like the wings of a million bats beating against the cool air. Pushing herself upright her eyes searched the darkness until they landed on the searing white form of Alkine. Alkine's golden eyes widened as he watched her.

"San?" Alkine whispered through sharp teeth. Slinking towards San he lowered his nose, nudging her and sniffing, checking for injuries, as though she were a fragile pup. At last his luminous eyes flickered upwards and he smiled. "You're alright…" He whispered, watching her with eyes full of relief. Dai watched them, an ancient, wise figure, towering above them.

"It is rare that I send mortals into the spirit realm." He said at last, his great sigh pressing against the cold walls… Alkine's eyes flashed upwards.

"It is rare when Gods are capable of such feats." Alkine bowed his body low against the floor.

"It is an art of the ancient times, and I have carried it with me all my years. It is nothing amazing, young wolf God. Though your complements have made my chest swell." The Bat's eyes sparkled with soft joy and laughter as he spoke. San had not imagined such a gentle being before… She imagined the Bat had always been kind and careful with the emotions of others, and that even mortals would respect the mercy that he carried within his old soul. Alkine straightened himself sheepishly.

"Now, let me tell you the events that have passed, for knowing such things will certainly help you in this task."

"Yaro is the spirit that gives our clan strength, and I suppose that this is the best place to start…" Dai whispered, his voice unraveling like a long thread, spinning the colors of the story together. "When Asha, my young and beautiful mate, and I came here this land was young and fierce. In those times we were both weak, and new to the world, with minds clouded by our young love... But Shishigami saw this," Dai's eyes were almost closed now, as though he were gazing into the past. His face was etched in soft, longing concern… Smiling warmly he continued with a soft sigh—the sigh of an old man looking back on years that he could not change, though he truly, with every inch of his being, longed to.

"Though the lands were well suited to our race, we remained weak—for that is the price we pay for being able to gaze into times that have yet to occur… So far from Shishigami—life giver and taker—we would not survive… But Shishigami knew this, and as our wise father he sent us Yaro, a spirit of the sheer cliffs… Yaro appeared to us, a strange bat, barely the size of a human, with huge, golden eyes—eyes that blazed within our minds' eyes, even when our own, almost blind eyes could not see them.

The day he arrived, I remember so clearly, for it was the first day I saw." Dai's eyes squinted, and his lips curled into a small grin. "You see, our race cannot see—we see through our visions of the future, and through the echoes that our voices make, but we do not see the lush colors of the present. But Yaro let Asha and me look through his eyes. And we saw, for the first time, the world before us—a plethora of colors dripped across a palate we'd known to be nothing but rigid shapes and things yet to be… he said it was a gift that he did not need to give—a gift that was purely from the kindness of his timeless soul.

On that day he made a pact with us, promising to provide us with the physical strength we needed to survive here, so long as we used it to protect our lands if the need were to ever arise.

Decades and centuries passed peacefully, and Yaro provided us with the strength of body we needed… Yaro was a part of our clan, a brother that stood beside us, a friend…" Dai's voice was mournful, rain carried in a screaming wind—a world bowing before the dawn of a new day. "But one day members of our clan began to speak of humans upon our lands. Visions of them building, and scarring the earth came to both the eldest and the young... They lasted for months—horrible nightmares of men mutilating our home—until finally the first of them arrived.

Asha and I journeyed to the Forest Spirit to ask for aid, and wise words, but Shishigami said nothing but that we were to remember the kind gifts… We left confused and unable to understand we, Gods of Bats, sources of immortal fear to the humans, and angry beings, harmed by the humans, could possibly give them kind gifts."

Dai's eyes were brilliant now as his voice grew louder. San could see the torrents of rain and wind beating against the onyx cliffs as. Staring straight ahead his eyes darkened, like drying blood… Never did his eyes flicker away from his memories.

"When we arrived back home the humans had built their village and their farmlands… And we decided that so long as they did not destroy more land than they needed to live upon that we could welcome them… and forget that our visions had captured them defiling the land that they did not need. We lived for a year, suspicious and hidden from the men until we heard the sounds of the land wailing, crying for mercy. I assembled my clan and we discussed what we should do, but Asha had already left… she had always been rash, and quicker to act than think.

The sounds of the battle were horrible. Her screams echoed through that black night as she tried to find the humans that attacked her… By the time we reached the grounds where the battle had occurred she had already been slain—driven from the humans' homes, and onto the edge of the tallest cliff. She, unlike us, was not afraid or hesitant to protect the land… And in the end she paid for the human's and our own mistakes.

The bodies of mortals surrounded her, each with hands that would destroy our lands. Their leader, Erokai, lay in the front of the masses of lifeless men, his wounds fatal for a mortal. None of these deaths made up for her own…

And it is this battle that caused Erokai's people to trap Yaro within him. They saw how Yaro gave our clan strength, so in order to keep their leader alive they captured our brother… And after only a few months Erokai was healthy once again—healing that only our spirit could enforce. He is important to them—I suppose much in the same way that I am important to my clan—and his survival has helped them prosper.

Those events were barely eleven years ago… But I can feel our clan weakening with each day that passes." San could now see dozens of pairs of eyes watching Dai as he shivered with sorrow. "Shishigami told us to remember the kindest gifts, and when I foresaw your arrival I began to understand that you're destiny is closely entwined with our own." Alkine shifted, tilting his head.

"Has Erokai, leader of the Southern humans, lived this long then?" Dai chuckled, sorrow drifting in the soft laugh.

"Of course. As long as the spirit resides within him he will live—the power of Yaro is so great that if it is in the possession of a mere human that their years will stretch on forever. Those fools do not understand this though, and in their desperation they have only doomed themselves and my Clan…" San nodded, her fierce eyes glittering like dark crystals.

"And I am human—something they need not fear." San finished. Dai grinned, blind eyes flickering.

"Yes. So now you understand our position. But I also remember Shishigami's words and Yaro's kindest gift. So I suppose you are indeed the one we needed to find." Nodding he unfolded his wings—vast velvet darkness against the red world. "Perhaps you will find the mercy within yourself that I, an old, injured God, could not."

The sun was a glaring stain in the pale sky, beating on San's back with hot talons. Here the sun was paler than it had been where Dai's Clan resided, though it was still painfully bright. Her mind for awhile was lost in thoughts of Ashitaka and his warm world… It seemed like he was forever away now, or just a fading dream.

Mostly her thoughts were on Erokai. In her mind he was a huge, towering man, with withered pale skin and tiny ice blue eyes that looked much like Haro's ocean in the face of the coming winter. Shivering, she would cast a cautious look towards the graying sky, and spend a moment wondering what the winter in this land was like. Occasionally her thoughts would even wander away into daydreams of what life would be like if Ashitaka had never left.

But all the thoughts that varied from the weather to her purpose in life halted when she arrived at Asha's cliff. The realization that she was just a single soul in a sea of millions hit her…

The crisp cerulean sky and pewter clouds seemed to twist around the single cliff… And above that the sun was just a sinking blot, leaving stars, like dust, in its trail. Her breath had caught in her throat as her eyes followed the onyx cliff upward until it reached a place where it seemed trapped in the limitless sky.

All mortal words failed her as she tilted her head back in vain to see the top through the dense fog that seemed to only circle this one cliff.

Wading through the feathery grass San fought her way up the cliff, until at last she was lost in mists. The sense that she now stood in a place of epic value overtook her once again as she stood on the highest cliff. From here nothing below seemed real or important, and all she could do was simply hold her heart, emotions of a decade past. At last her eyes darted to the platform that was lined with sharp rocks where Asha had breathed her last breath.

Kneeling she watched the wind flicker through the soft blades of jade grass, and longer blades of pale green weeds. Further away from the edge of the cliff she saw small wooden crosses and plaques… And flowers of every color splayed out beneath the memorials… Closing her eyes she let her body sink to the earth.

In her mind's eye she could see Lady Eboshi and her white clad women placing flowers across her mother's and Okkoto's grave, whispering their apologies.

Had Lady Eboshi and her women lost people important to them as she had? Had they lost lovers as Dai had, and mothers as she herself had? Of course.

Swallowing she let the tears slip from her tightly closed eyes. Whimpering she could see the thick black smoke of the battle that had taken her people's lives… And she could clearly imagine the battles that had taken place here.

With her eyes open she sat up and scooted over to a cross. Allowing her fingers to trace across the worn letters etched into the decaying wood she sighed, her body quivering.

Brother & Son You're passing has been brave, and you're life has been a blessing.

Flowers were carved around the graceful letters. Inside she felt the heavy weight of sorrow press against her chest.

That was when the sound of feet thudding against the damp earth began to ring through San's head. Shoving herself up without a moment lost she dashed, hiding herself within the shade of the sharp rocks.

The sound of young sobs filled the air making San blink and wipe her own tears furiously away. Peeking around the thick tree her eyes caught sight of a young blonde girl with a bouquet of pink flowers and several fruits. The cool wind ripped past her, making her blush colored dress flutter from her small form, and making petals rush, like rain, from the bouquet and across the stunning azure skies. She walked only a foot further until she collapsed beside the wooden cross that San had been studying only moments ago.

She arranged the gifts, using the heel of her small hand to push the tears away. The girl looked to be maybe sixteen… Though as she sat beside the grave she was much younger… As Dai had been, she was lost in memories and sorrows and regrets. Her eyes watched the clear sky, puffy and red, and her lips moved, speaking words that San could not quite hear.

She has lost as much as Dai has from this war… And the war kept going as the mortals refused to hold back, and the Gods were forced to protect their earth.

Standing San continued through the forest, out of the young girl's sight, heading towards the town.

Humans are still disgusting. Her mind hissed. But she couldn't stop herself from looking back one last time at the petite girl surrounded in a wind of pink petals and sorrow, glittering tears trailing down her tender cheeks…

A/N: Thank you so much for reading :) and for the reviews, they really mean a lot to me. So anyway tell me what you think!

Blushing Petals