A/N: I really really want to apologize for not being able to update sooner. Something was wrong with FF and I couldn't upload nothing for the last few days. Had me a bit worried to be honest, I couldn't even contact the admin because it kept giving me a "Server Not Found" message. But YAY it worked now!

Also I want to apologize for not realizing that Anon reviewers were disabled. I had NO idea! Because at one time they were on. FF must have changed it long ago, and I never realized it XD Thanks to Dancing Coconuts for pointing this out! Thanks!

Chapter 4 - The Wolf Appears

Into the morning sun K crawled out of his tent, satisfied, sleepy eyed, and walked towards the river to bathe and drink. After being away from fresh running water for so long, he enjoyed the freedom. He was also looking for some slate which could notoriously be found around river beds. The metamorphic rock, although flaky, made excellent tips for spears, sharp throwing projectiles and cutting tools. Now that he was situated and not on the move, he could do more things he found contentment in—that was making weapons and preparing for a massive hunt. Since he was a boy he'd managed and orchestrated some of the clan's most successful hunts, the wolf inside of him very strong. But his mind wasn't on only hunting; it was also on the abundance of sexual pleasure that was now at his disposal. With a simple request he could have his new mate right in the middle of day. He was chief, it was expected. The men smiled and boasted, the women giggled and smirked…it was exactly how it should be.

Things were definitely improving.

K peeled off his thick first outer fur when he felt his six senses kick in. Craning his neck back, he looked behind him, into rows and rows of thick trees. But there was nothing. Making sure it wasn't another bear or some other hungry lowland beast, K studied the bush meticulously. He spotted naught and turned back to his task at hand. He dropped the fur onto the bank and removed the rest of his garments. Standing, he toed the water and gasped at its coolness, the water was really cold. Besides it was rushing too fast from the melting glacier. Maybe he would wash at the edge instead of getting into it he thought and bent to scoop up a handful of water.

Fsstt!

His peripheral vision scarcely caught sight of some object whizzing past his ear, but he heard it, he felt it zip past fine hairs. Just as he turned around, now catching a glimpse of some movement in the trees, something struck his temple violently. Red flashed behind his eyes. The impact hit so hard it sent him stumbling into the river.

Into the cold water he fell, gasping, shocked by cold water...inhaling some of it. But K surfaced in the swift moving water unable to swim against the current or even to the shore. The river simply grabbed him and wouldn't let go, sending him sailing over churning peaks, which frothed and boiled angrily. His vision blurred in and out of focus and his body began to turn numb from the cold. He couldn't even feel the bruises, or scrapes delivered by the river bed and jagged rocks. Absolutely powerless, the river swept him along.

Death angels whispered in his ear. It was as if Aurora was beckoning to him.

But he had no time to think of dying; attempting in vain to get air into his burning lungs. Then in a moment of pure weightlessness he got all the air he wanted as he fell a few hundred feet over a waterfall...

The sun shone brightly as Yuuji laid back, arms behind his head, lazily blowing up at a dandelion fluff. He tried to see how long he could keep it up before it grounded or got away. The breeze was nil and the morning dew was all dried up by the sun, so it was cozy on the grass. Listening contently to the gurgling river close by, he could almost drift off to sleep. But he couldn't sleep when he felt that urge to empty his bladder come on strong.

He blamed Hiro and one of his wild concoctions this morning. Dokudami, fish mint or whatever medicine he drank had sent him to the bush much too frequently. Plus the stuff stank so badly of fish. Yuuji would be sure to tell Hiro when he came back from hunting rabbits nearby.

Only, he was so comfortable, it would take great effort to move and go to the washroom. He sighed and willed the urge to urinate to simply disappear and come back in a few hours. How could he be bothered to work on packing stuff to go on this journey in two days? His father and mother and those Uesugi folks seemed to have it all under control. Instead he thought of the gathering and wondered if he'd possibly find a mate. It seemed wishful thinking as Hiro always pointed out how useless he was. Like a sloth his brother called him the other day.

Yuuji wondered what a sloth was...

Sigh, he pulled out a blade of grass and slipped it between his lips. He nibbled on the sweet end and shrugged at his thoughts, perhaps they were right, he was a lazy bum. But how come he didn't feel bad about that? He chuckled, because they were the ones being all uptight and working their lives away.

Win. Win.

Plucking another fluffy dandelion he waved it around to send a bunch of its bracts into the air. He blew at as many as he could until he felt dizzy and the urge to tinkle returning.

"Aww nuts," Yuuji complained, pushing himself up begrudgingly.

He wandered to the river to do his business. He stood on Hiro's favourite fishing rock and let it rip. Looking around he saw a trout jump under the shade of a willow tree across the bank and dragonflies jetting over the calmer surfaces. It was peaceful and quiet, just the way he liked it. Looking down the bank on the other side, he blinked. For a moment he thought he saw the body of a man? Or…was it a woman? There was so much hair. He looked harder into the crop of cattails growing at the side of the river. It was a human body! He felt cautious suddenly and bellowed for his brother, who couldn't be that far away.

What if it was a spirit or some evil entity, a monster?

"HIIIIROOOO!" he cried in vain and worked his way closer to the body on the shore. It looked so weird, was it human? He'd never seen hair so pale, bright like the sun…well, except those Uesugi people, but theirs was so short. A closer look proved that it was not woman, but the frame of a male. He'd never seen a man like this before, so gangly and long, pale and…Yuuji turned the man over and made a face at his bleeding wounds and naked body. He called again louder for his younger brother. As he waited, Yuuji found some nerve and thread a finger curiously through some of the matted yellow hair.

"Brother?"

Yuuji jumped away spooked from the body.

"What the blazes are you bellowing about? I had a hare within a foot until it heard you and ran off," Hiro exclaimed annoyed with his troublesome brother. He walked closer and stopped in his tracks when he saw what Yuuji was looking at. He was thunderstruck for a moment; Hiro immediately gazed over at the oak tree and back down at the yellow-haired man.

It couldn't be…

Shaking his head in bewilderment; he dropped his spear and knelt to inspect.

"Is he dead?!" Yuuji asked loudly.

Shocked by the scene, Hiro brushed hair aside from the man's long face, past blue lips and dug under his chin to feel for the life vein. It beat weakly, very weakly. Hiro jumped up and barked at Yuuji, "Go get mom! Tell others to bring the radish root and lots of blankets, be quick Yuuji; this man doesn't have much time!"

Frantically, Yuuji ran off to obey his brother's urgent orders.

Kneeling back down Hiro thought, he was a thinker, and he thought of things in a common sense way that some thought odd. Like why did clouds turn grey? And how did fire burn? Where did stars come from and why did he dream? How did babies grow inside of women? He also thought of things like, if something was lodged, that with enough force the item creating the blockage would be blown out—exactly the same way when he blew a stone out of a pipe. This was how Hiro saw things once when he saved a young child when she choked on a chunk of meat. He'd grabbed her and forced the air out of her lungs, which consequentially drove the object out of the girl's throat. Saving her young life…

He was thinking of this now as he hauled the long naked man out of the reeds. Securing him on dry grass and covering him up with his buckskin poncho, he knelt and listened to the raspy breathing against his ear. Hiro thought it sounded as if the man's lungs were full of water, like one might be if congested with cold. But unable to grab him from behind, like the little girl, he had to press from the front. So he did, he pressed hard.

Nothing happened.

He pushed with more force, but still nothing. Hiro grit his teeth in frustration as to what to do. It seemed he felt a drive to save this man's life.

He felt as if he knew him…

Why me?

Shaking off that feeling again, Hiro wondered what if he gave the man some of his breath. Then his chest would be full of air and pressing down would be more affective, right? He would try it. As Hiro moved around so he could get a better position to cover the man's mouth with his, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Immediately he thought it was his brother and clan members but it wasn't. Instead he saw a beautiful grey wolf watching him from the oak tree; it sat with its moonlit eyes focused on him.

It was just like in his dream...

Unsure if he was dreaming now, Hiro continued his task anyways. He leaned in again and placed his mouth over the blonde's. He blew hard past cold lips, watching the chest rise and pulled away. Hiro went quickly back to the chest and pumped once really hard. He could hear the air being expelled from the lungs as well as a horrible gurgling sound as water bubbled out of the man's mouth. The man's diaphragm contracted by itself now to make him cough involuntarily. Hiro helped the man turn to his side so he could cough out more water or obstructions.

It was now that Hiro noticed the horrible blue colour of the stranger's body, looking very hypothermic. There was also a large gash on his thigh which bled steadily, plus large black welts randomly placed. The man's lip was split and he bled from a gash above his brow, not to mention one at his temple. Astonished, Hiro wondered from where he came? Obviously the river, but by the looks of him he wondered if he went over the White falls? That meant he came a pretty fair distance, because the river water wasn't as rushed down here as it was farther north.

He took notice of how different he looked from himself. Exotically long, cheekbones higher and lips that must have once been so pink. It looked as if he'd been starving and in need of nourishment. Questions filled Hiro's young mind.

"Where did you come from?" he asked whimsically, not expecting an answer. "Are you from my dream? Are you a spirit?" Maybe Gaia was testing him? Hiro had to wonder, if there was one of these foreign people, were there more?

"Hiro!" his mother called.

Hiro looked up to see his mother, brother, Sakano, Shuichi, and many other faces. "Please help me mother. This man's dying we must do something. Where's the carrier? It'll make it easier to take him back to the cave," Hiro explained, but his father came forward, standing ahead of the rest. He stood with his hands on his hips, looking stern.

"My son, perhaps it's best we let Gaia claim him. His clan will come looking for him and they could mean to harm us in the process."

Taken aback Hiro tried to word something but failed.

"I know you want to help him, but he isn't one of us, he's…different…just look at his colouring," the chief said, his face expressionless.

"Father stop!" Hiro cried with shock, "You mean to say that the Nakano clan is nothing but a bunch of cowards? I'm sure that if his clan came looking for him that we could talk to them friendly—"

"—or they could just slaughter us my boy!"

Hiro shook his head. "You're wrong, he's injured and helpless and it's Gaia's wish that we help him. I thought all children on this land were blessed by Gaia and Kiyoshi." He looked at Eiri, Tohma and Tatsuha. "You even said so yourself!" Hiro cast a look at Shuichi that walked up to the scene but settled frustrated grey eyes on his father once more.

The chief went to speak again, his brows furrowing with Hiroshi's contesting. Then his mother spoke up, "I think Hiroshi is right my husband. We're not defenceless and powerless; we will not run with our tails between our legs. Let us offer our knowledge to help a man that might die anyways, Hikaru…it could be Gaia's test. How can we let a living thing die…?" Tears welled in her eyes.

It was just as Hiro thought too. What if it was Gaia that brought this man here, Hiro couldn't ignore his visions. He gave his mother a faint smile; she always seemed understand him when his father did not.

The Nakano leader sighed and looked at his sentimental wife, "You are right Cho…Hiroshi, please keep watch over this man. Do not let him out of your sight." Hikaru scanned the crowd, "Everyone, please lend my son a hand."

With that he walked away.

"Ark! Ark!"

Ark looked up from his task; he was knapping a piece of flint into a spear tip. Situated at the front of his tent, he sat peacefully on a blanket next to a small fire.

"Where is Claude? I haven't seen him all afternoon and he only said he was going to wash up by the river this morning," Judy questioned the sound of urgency in her voice.

Ark sighed at a distraught woman…even if he pulled the stars down from the heavens for her, she still thought about him, Claude. Why couldn't he just win? He got up and with a hand over his over his brow, he looked around for signs of a blonde head. Where the heck did K run off to now? There was nothing. "I don't know Judy, he'll be back I'm sure. Maybe he's just caught up exploring the area; maybe he's tracking a rabbit. Watch, he'll come back with a load of fish or have some new patch of herbs to tell you about. Men do these things."

Judy rolled her eyes at Ark's speech and thought about the child growing in her belly. She looked at Ark contemplatively and said, "I just have a bad feeling that's all. The chieftain shouldn't go off alone, it could be dangerous."

"He's a grown man Judy. He'll be fine, don't worry…if anything ever happened to Claude I'd take care of you," Ark offered truthfully.

She blinked at him, and then smiled softly; she had no doubt about that. Maybe one day she'd even tell him that the child inside of her was his. "Yes Ark, I know you will. You already have." Judy looked away and said, "I'm going to go ask Reiji if she seen Claude. Maybe she knows."

Ark nodded and watched the woman walk off. Frowning he sat back down at his station to continue the knapping, but he couldn't concentrate on the task no more. He stared off into the sun that was beginning to set in the west, its pink haze marking the sky as if daubed by a paintbrush.

Feeling restless now he got up and wandered towards the river, just for the hell of it he'd make it look as if he too was looking for the chief. Hrmph, Ark balled his fists by his side as he heard their sounds of pleasures in his mind. It wasn't fair! He couldn't understand Judy. One minute she was in his tent, giving him tea to sooth his hunger pangs, the next undressing and riding him into the stars. Groaning Ark couldn't stop the throb that coursed through his loins. But Judy broke the rules…he wondered if She would be angry? Why couldn't Judy have waited until after the ritual? K might've decided to share if she wanted too…women were free to do as they wished after their rites. K didn't seem like he wanted to share and Ark couldn't blame him, but that wasn't the point.

But how could he resist when she'd come to him? How could he? He wondered how K ever managed to deal with that. Ark kicked at the rocks at his feet, "I must get over it!"

"Get over what?"

Ark spun on the voice and sighed when it was only Reiji. He didn't answer her.

"Get over what?" she repeated, crossing her arms over a deerskin pullover.

"Nothing," Ark said curtly, eyeing the slingshot that she'd obviously been practicing with and looping it onto her belt at her hip. "I was just out here looking for K…seen him anywhere?"

"Me, see that buffoon? Nope," she said sweetly and turned to walk away. She wandered down the riverside, only she stopped and picked up a large rounded stone. "Oh a nice one for hunting buffoons," she muttered and placed the stone into a pouch. She stood up and turned around, "Oh by the way…you'll thank me Ark. You'll thank me, you just wait and see." She turned to walk off again and left Ark staring after her, stupefied.

A/N: Rivalry can be a nasty thing and poor K, I'm SO sorry K! I'm torturing my muse. But I don't think it's beyond Reiji's capabilities to do nasty things XD But maybe she did K a favour winks I got a comment on FF about how marriage is a more modern thing compared to prehistoric times. Of course! If I used the term marriage of course I don't mean it in the Christian sense... Anyways I'm no historian lol nor am I buff on word origins lol. This fic is just my sinful pleasure sorta, so I'm sure there are many things that seem out of place. Anyways, K and Hiro finally meet YAY, well more so in the next few chapters. More drama is to come, but some lovlies too Hiro is after a free spirit in this tale...

Reviewers:

Dancing Coconuts: Weee! I'm so happy you're enjoying my new fic. I really enjoyed the little history lesson and I'm sorry if I've used anything that seems out of place. It's very hard to remember to keep everyone and everything in a more simple concept, the modern world forgotten. I really didn't know that about Marriage. But as I said above.. I'm no expert lol. Feel free to educate me on anything hun! I love details. Any oh! U know I wondered what happened to anon reviews. It never occurred to me that it was disabled! Thanks so much for pointing that out! I really had no idea XD