Ashitaka woke up in the morning, early enough that dew still soaked much of the ground outside, and just late enough that sunlight had made its way in through the window. He rose up from his mat on the floor, and found that the room was empty. For the past few weeks this building, or rather, what was left of it, had been used to house many of the men still without homes of their own.

It was a relief to wake up with them gone, already up to work, no doubt. Not that he disliked them, but some time without them was more than welcome. Normally, Ashitaka would be among the workers, rebuilding walls and the structures that had been wrecked in the battle weeks prior. But not today. He'd made arrangements to spend this day up on the mountain, in the thick of the forest.

Eboshi had been more than understanding when he requested the time off. She didn't say so, but Ashitaka suspected she was surprised he hadn't requested it sooner. He hadn't left town in many weeks, and had spent each and every day of that time working. Even so, he hadn't felt right asking to leave until everyone in town had a roof over their heads.

He left the small commune, taking care to gently shut the door behind him, lest the old rickety thing need to be rebuilt as well. It was still fairly quiet, though the sound of hammers banging and axes chopping could be heard from nearly every side of town.

He hadn't told anyone but Eboshi that he was taking this trip to the forest, and yet, of all the people who saw him heading to the stables, not a single one questioned him, though a few shot him a curious glance. Perhaps they'd known it was only a matter of time until he left town and went up the mountain. He had been putting off this trip for much too long. It was something he'd been avoiding for nearly a month now, simply because he didn't know how he would be received should he chose to show his face to San after everything that happened. She was, after all, the only reason he'd made the time for this little excursion today.

Ashitaka entered the stables, and stepped to Yakul's side, putting a hand against him gently to make sure his presence was known. The elk seemed unfazed by his company, as usual. His head lowered in a gesture resembling that of a nod of acknowledgment, mouth still full of hay. It seemed he had interrupted Yakul's breakfast at this early hour. He fastened the saddle on Yakul's back, and the animal grunted in mild irritation. With a gentle hand, he encouraged his steed to be quiet. "You'll have plenty of time to eat soon enough." He whispered to the beast. "The grass on the mountain likely tastes better anyway."

Yakul breathed heavily out his nose, but made no protest when Ashitaka fastened a harness on him, and coaxed him out of the stable. He closed the stall gate behind them, and swiftly swung himself atop the elk. He was pleased to find that the elk had no trouble holding his weight. After the injury Yakul sustained in the battle, he had done his best to avoid riding him so his leg would have time to restore itself. Luckily, it seemed the care of the townsfolk and himself had been enough to repair the damage done. Still, he made a note not to let Yakul go any faster than a trot for a while.

The enormous gate that had once separated the wild from the town had long since been destroyed, and the village was still working hard rebuilding more important structures to bother repairing the wall yet, if they ever would. The Emperor had no need of this town, now that the iron was gone. And with the war over, the beasts didn't need to be kept out either.

Ashitaka and his stead made their way quietly down the dirt trail away from town, and not once was he stopped or questioned. Once beyond the village, Ashitaka rode on down a trail that was familiar to him in memory, and yet, every blade of grass was just a bit different than before. Likely a result of the Deer God's death, and the subsequent rebirth of the whole mountain.

The only sound as they went was Yakul's hooves against the rocks and dirt, which sounded loud against the silence of the foggy morning air. Ashitaka let out a heavy breath against the cold. The weather was getting cooler. Summer was coming to a close.

There was too much time to think now. Every step of Yakul's hooves brought them further up the mountain and into the deep of the forest, but much too slowly. The path was easy on the elk, and familiar enough that he didn't require much direction. There was nothing much for Ashitaka to do now but think. And now, as he headed up the mountain, his thoughts had much time to wander. And naturally, as his thoughts had been prone to do of late, they centered on her. He thought that his thoughts of her had been invasive before, but now it was all there was.

He found himself thinking of her so often lately. It seemed it wasn't possible for his thoughts to linger on anything else after everything that had been done and said between them. While he'd been living with the villagers, helping to repair the damage that was done there, he could usually push away the thoughts of her with other things. Now that there were no distractions, all he could do was vividly remember her, and wonder what she would do now after all that had happened.

Ashitaka grew more and more restless. He hadn't realized until now how badly he wanted to see her. Needed to. He needed to know she was well. And also, that perhaps she thought of him as often as he did her. But everything had changed since last they spoke, there was no telling whether she had too. Perhaps now that the war was over, she'd have no interest in his company anymore. The thought chilled him more than the early autumn air. He shivered in an attempt to drive out it, but it refused to be banished entirely.

The trees were slowly growing taller as Ashitaka rode on. Not the giants that once grew in the forest of the Deer God, but tall enough to hide away the sky. The sight of a small, white forest spirit in the distance informed him that he'd indeed entered into the dead god's domain. He slowed his stead, and spoke softly to him. "You've got a better nose than I do. Lead us to the wolves, Yakul" he said, letting his grip on the reigns loosen as the red elk began walking deeper into the forest, through a trail of short grass surrounded by thick underbrush.

The wolves were likely hunting at this early hour, some distance away from their den near the center of the forest. And wherever the wolves were, he knew he'd find San. He hoped he'd have enough time to spend the journey to her deciding what to say once he finally saw her again.

The fawn did not cry out as it was brought down. She was disappointed by that, but not for the same reason as her brothers. For them, the cries drove their instinct to hunt and slay, and the lack thereof was simply frustrating. To her, the silence was a painful reminder that of all the animals in the forest that remained, only what was left of the wolf tribe could speak human words. It unsettled her to think that such a thing was lost to nearly all the forest now. Something that had once been fairly common in this forest.

She leaned back against the trunk of a tree while her brothers ate away at what there was of the carcass to be shared. Ichi turned to glance at her, concerned that she wasn't eating. In silent response to his worry, she slowly shook her head. Hesitantly, Ichi returned his attention to his meal. She had barely eaten a thing for a few days, but had gone out hunting with her brothers simply for the sake of their company. Ever since the war ended, she and her brothers stuck more closely together than they had since their youth. And yet, they'd barely spoken a word to each other since the day everything came to an end.

Truth be told, none of them were quite ready to talk about it. There was scarcely anything to say at all anyway. For the time being, they did their best to live as they did before everything had all gone to hell. They hunted each day, wandered the boundaries of their territory, and even continued to sleep most nights in the mouth of their rocky cave den.

San was startled from her quiet thoughts by the sound of her brother cracking the bones of the fawn between his massive teeth. The sound probably shouldn't have shocked her as much as it did, but she had been on edge all week. Most likely the result of how little sleep she was getting and how weak her appetite was. She sighed and did her best to settle her nerves.

"You won't feel better unless you fill your belly" Ni said, breaking the silence between the three of them for the first time in a long time. Both Ichi, and San looked up at him. His gruff voice was almost foreign.

"I'm not hungry, I'll eat later" she insisted.

"You may very well starve yourself out of melancholy" he muttered.

"I'll eat when I feel like it" she answered again, in a bit more of a growl than before. It was enough to quiet her brother, and he did not speak again. She knew he meant well. They needed their strength so they could hunt before the season turned cold. But she wasn't going to let her brothers treat her like a pup.

Her brothers had stopped eating now, having converted the carcass to a small pile of bones, and laid out on the grass for a rest. And now, with the sun rising higher and heating up the ground, a nap on the grass was definitely appealing. But San remained awake and upright, not quite able to settle herself into sleep like her brothers could.

She wondered idly if she should just wander off on her own for a while, give herself some alone time so she could let off whatever it was gnawing at her. But she didn't want to be alone. Not really. In fact, she'd stuck closely to her brothers the past few weeks for that very reason. But at the same time she wanted to be away from them. It was such a strange feeling. Wanting to be by herself, but also with the company of another. And who else would be with her now that Mother was-

She stopped her thought before it could finish, suddenly clutching her hand very tightly to distract herself with a different kind of pain. No. not today. She wouldn't think of this today. Perhaps after the winter had come and gone, she'd worry over the things that had already happened, and let out the horrible weight in her heart. But not now.

Her brothers unexpectedly rose to their feet, drawing her attention. For a split second, she feared that some human had wandered into the forest. If someone had found its way into the forest, there was a good chance it had only accidently stumbled upon her and her brothers. But a blunder like that was no excuse for such an intrusion. She would be very tempted to teach such a human a lesson about keeping its distance from her. She stood up quickly, instinctively preparing to fight, if needed. Even now that the war was over, there wasn't a single human she could tolerate that sort of behavior from. No one. Except maybe for…

She followed the gaze of her brothers, a familiar scent drifting toward her now. In a moment an elk was visible through the trees, and so was its rider. He didn't seem at all startled to find her brothers' sharp stares upon him when he left the seclusion of the trees and underbrush. In fact, he hardly seemed to notice. As soon as he was through the trees, he was focused on her.

She was unsure whether to run toward him or not. She almost didn't believe it was him. He was like a ghost, with all the memories the sight of him carried. But somehow, they were not the bad memories. He dismounted the red elk, letting it stand at a fair distance from the wolves while he approached her. Before she had any idea what to say or do, he was standing before her.

"How have you been?" he asked with a slight smile. His voice was pleasant and even, as though they were simply making pleasant exchanges, like neighbors would. It was the strangest thing. San was overcome with an unfamiliar emotion, something she didn't know the word for. Whatever this feeling was, it made her want to embrace him.

She couldn't answer him, she only smiled back at him, her eyes getting damp with that strange emotion she felt. To her surprise, he reached out to her, and grasped her hand in his. She didn't reject his touch, after all, she'd been mysteriously afflicted with the desire for contact anyway. She found herself relieved somehow to feel his hand on hers. She impulsively ran her thumb over the space where his curse had once been, and found nothing there but soft, warm skin. She smiled again. She already knew the curse had been lifted, but still, it was a relief to see it gone.

"I can't be doing as well as you must be now" she murmured, not answering his question directly. He didn't need to know how poorly she'd been handling herself the past few weeks. Ni let out a loud huff, in the same way a man would cough to draw attention to himself. San turned to look at her brothers, both of whom were watching Ashitaka and her. San met their gaze with a well-placed glare, they rose to their feet and left the clearing. When she looked back at Ashitaka, she lowered her gaze, and nervously let his hand slip from hers. It felt odd now, for some reason, to be holding his hand. Not uncomfortable, but a little embarrassing, somehow.

Strange. Ashitaka hadn't been here for more than ten minutes, and because of him, she'd already gone through a whole range of emotions. More than she had in weeks, honestly. She must have been lonelier than she'd thought. No matter, she had plenty of time to dwell on the reasons behind this odd swell of feelings later.

"Walk with me?" she offered, stepping just ahead of him.

AN: this chapter was deceptively short, but the next one is roughly twice as long.

This whole fic 'll probably be much longer than my last pm fic, and since I'm in college, it'll take me a long time to finish chapters. But hey, I hope some of ya will stick around to see where this goes anyway.