A/N: Anyone that knows me knows...I like to write crazy AU fics with really different storylines lol. And this is really different XD Of course K and Hiro...what can I say XD But there is a little Shu and Yuki as well, because I can't resist adding them too. Playing around with Gravi characters, because doing this as an original just wouldn't be as much fun. That's what it's about for me and I wish to share it with you I must admit I'm highly inspired by the series Clan of the Cave Bear, which I read ages ago. But to challenge myself to write a fic during this time is fun!

All the plants, herbs and such are researched with real names. I like to add that touch to a fic, it's fun for me to research XD I love writing about nature!

Anyways I made a gigantic chart for all the characters in this fic but it's too big to put here. There are 3 clans:

Winchester
Nakano
Uesugi

All have some of the Gravi characters in each clan, including the manga characters. So there's a lot of people in this fic. They all have a spirit animal and you'll discover what they are as I progress in the fic. Each have a skill that they offer to their clan to provide etc. And all clans believe in gods, spirits and stuff like that. Remember their ideals would be nothing like it would as if they were in the modern world.

I imagine the characters are plenty OOC at times. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1 – Land of the Rising Sun

Under the clearest, most magnificent blue sky lay an endless vista of solid ice, snow and mountainous terrain. It was so cold, so unremitting, it was dangerous with every mile. The air was so bitter; it froze moisture inside each nostril with every intake of breath. Nothing grew in this region, the vegetation scarce as were the animals. Yet the sun shone warm light, keeping what little life there was, alive. But for the past decade the ice that came forth was now receding, slowly, the water returning to the earth below and into the sky above.

And one clan journeyed over this barren terrain, in search of warmer lands, prosperous and fruitful, a place that would encourage their growth and numbers. They had no choice, unless they wished to ascend to the heavens, to Aurora—the god in the sky who awaited them from her heavenly perch when it was time to leave this earth. However, a person wished for nothing less than to feel Her warm embrace at death. Death in itself was a welcomed part of the cycle. Because they knew they would return again, to live and breathe this air once more and that only a female god could give them life again.

One man from this clan dangerously tempted fate, as he knelt on his fur-lined knees that were strapped to his body with leather laces, on thin ice. Hide and fur from elk and bear provided insulation against the elements, grasses stuffed under it kept in body heat. And in his hands he held onto a tough line of dried out sinew with a barbed ivory bone hook, which he jigged in the murky depths of the water. The tall man sat ice fishing in a hole he'd made in the ice over a lake. With a head of long yellow hair, the man hoped to catch some food for his newly acquired clan, a small group of forty where many had already perished due to starvation and the cold. Naturally he coped with the position, seeing as he was promised headship from the day he was born. But the job came too early for him, the earth taking his father and mother in such a horrific way. Their departure came with a roar so loud that it deafened him for the last three days.

He recalled the dash over the snow, watching as a whole shelf of ice began break and crack, separating him from them entirely. In seconds it began to sink away like it was being pulled on by an earth-sized giant—disappeared like it had never existed. He'd slipped onto his rear in his haste almost slid down into the vastness. But stopping at the edge, he could only watch as his birth mother slipped away into the abyss as well as his clan-chief father. In moments they became no more. It had happened so fast…

But the ice continued to break and they did the only thing they could humanly do, escaped.

Just as the rising water levels in their valley forced them to leave and find a new home…the earthshakes kept them moving in fear, quickly over the glaciers. With every step the force of nature seemed to test their strength. They had even crossed areas where tree-tops stuck out of the ice. Indicating they were walking over an entire valley or a body of water that had risen above the tree line and then froze rapidly. The group travelled for three days since the loss of their chief, only stopping to rest quickly. But the reserves were scarce and there were minimal medicines left. After a harsh three days, they'd finally reached a place with a frozen lake. This gave the group higher hopes, because it meant they had finally come to a lower altitude, which also meant that they were closer to finding tundra, semi-solid land.

Squinting against the glare off the ice, flexing his muscles to keep the blood flowing to ward off hypothermia, the man felt a nibble. Hope swelled within, and the cold momentarily left his mind, he needed this fish.

"K!" hollered a man from a few feet away.

The man nick-named K heard the call only as a muffle, his eardrums still agitated and his mind distant with thoughts. Feeling himself being watched he turned around, still holding the sinew wrapped around his gloved fist with a fierce grip. "Ark, come help me here, I don't want to lose this!" he ordered in their language, breath puffing out around him.

Quickly the other man came and knelt gently by the fishing hole, careful not to disrupt the ice and to help his friend. They were lucky to find such a spot with thin enough ice for fishing. "Oh, there it is!" Ark announced, "See if you can pull it up enough so I can grab it under its gill."

K nodded, stopping the motion of loosening and reeling to tire the fish out. Instead he gave one steady pull, hoping the line would hold up just once. A grand size mackerel shot up from the hole splashing water onto its two pending captives. "Now!" K shouted. Ark grabbed the fish and hauled with a loud, yet painful grunt. The forty-inch king mackerel lay there on the ice, flopping and wriggling its bluish stream-lined body.

K smiled for the first time in three days.

"Oh thank you," Ark mouthed towards the heavens, hands smeared with red. The gills were sharp and had cut into his palms. But he settled his chestnut brown eyes on K, "Your father's spirit is looking out for you, why don't you go show Judy's parents…they'll be proud too."

The smile leaving his face, K nodded and picked up the tail end of the fish. With Ark at the head they returned to their camp, situated off of the lake. Their shelter consisted of a series of tents made of raw hide. There was no fire; they had not had one for almost a week which meant the fish would have to be eaten raw. Coming upon the camp all dusted by the gently blowing snow, K called out to rouse people out of their tents.

Out came many, to see what all the noise was about and to see what their new leader wanted. The group looked dismal under their fur-lined hoods, bodies bulky and asexual under enormous layers of skins and furs.

In front of Ana and Keith, Judy's parents, K dropped the enormous fish at the feet of the clan's eldest members. "My token to you, share this with the rest. May you find your spirit's strength," K said sternly and watched his clan family gather round.

They both nodded gratefully. "Just as your father predicted, you're a born leader Claude," said Judy's father, face weathered but green eyes gleaming brightly. "There was a reason you were bitten by the wolf and saved by a mammoth; I knew it meant great things."

Yes, the wolf and the mammoth. K recalled this story a handful of times. He didn't really remember the event but he'd heard of it. When he was only a small child a stampede of mammoths ran close by their village. They were being chased by a pack of hungry wolves. Having wandered away from the secure area of his cave, he too became the object of prey for the wolves. But just as one sunk its teeth into his leg a giant mammoth charged the wolf and saved his young life. From that day forward his father had come to believe that his totem was that of the wolf, seeing as he was branded with the scars to prove it.

"He was just lucky the whole pack did not jump on him, or I'd be the leader now," said a spiteful voice.

It was Reiji the only female hunter among the clan, the one that bore the fox spirit. Her quick-wit and strong demeanour was not tested by the men in their group. It was after all the female that was the symbol of strength among the clan.

"Mind your tongue girl," demanded Bill, another male in the group.

"Oh be quiet," she barked back. "At this rate we will all be dead and frozen because you all choose to follow his path. We are going to starve."

"That will be enough!" spouted Judy. "Now is not the time Reiji dear."

K's blue eyes landed on his promised mate, Judy. Although she was best friends with Reiji, recently she got in her way. He could have said a few words to Reiji but he wasn't in the mood to play her games today. She was lucky because often she had to dodge a rogue spear when she pushed his limit. In his mind Reji was just bitter because she had yet to be promised to another, but all feared the woman warrior. "I will follow my father's wishes," K said and simply walked away, feeling their eyes all burning at his back.

He crawled into his own shelter. He would not eat today. Reiji was right, it was more important to feed his clan family first. Instead he began to remove the straps from his legs to dig under the clothes and remove the wet grass. He'd have to let this dry and re-use it before moving again. Once it was all removed he burrowed under layers of furs, still wearing his coat of skins and fur hat. Rest was what he sought even if he shivered himself to sleep.

Then the dreams came…

In his dreams, he saw a figure…it looked like a man. He was always fishing by the water's edge, under the hot sun. There was no snow here and it was as green as anything he'd ever seen. The man had long wavy brown hair, but never would he turn around and show his face. Not once. No one else ever showed up in this repeated vision and the man never seemed to notice him there, watching. Mmm, he would tilt his face towards the sun and feel its warmth, as if he were really there. His body blossomed like a flower, opening to soak up as much light as possible. He felt as if he were bathing in the warmest water, waves washing all around him. Even in this enchantment he became aroused and his breath came faster. Eh? This was never a part of this dream before, his eyes fluttered open in silent alarm. He could feel a wonderful sensation. Oohh…" he murmured half sleepily.

"Sssh," crooned Judy, who was buried under the furs, attending to him.

Realising that this wasn't part of his dream, K laid back to enjoy it. It wasn't uncommon for her to come to him this way and he was delighted that he rarely had to ask either. She was after all his intended mate, yet they have not had their first rites. Meaning they haven't been blessed by Aurora herself during a union of flesh, a sacred ritual undertaken by all clan members when they formed a marriage. But until that day came, finding pleasure in other ways was gratefully rewarding. Though, he often wondered how Judy never came to be with child from this kind of pleasure.

K's cold fingers found themselves gripped into Judy's blond curls under the covers. His release was emphasized by a loud sigh and a giggle from Judy. Once she tucked him away, she came to lie next to him, all bundled in her own winter garb, resting her head in the nook of his arm. K held her close and sighed with contentment, for now.

"I'm sorry that Reji is so callous my dear, really don't pay her any mind," Judy soothed.

K replied, "It's not your fault…really forget about it."

She did forget it, it seemed, when she changed topics. "Won't it be great when we finally find a place where we can shed our clothes and roam bare? A place where there is fruit on the trees and lots of free time for pleasures?" she whispered.

Feeling a smile tug at his lips, K said, "I want to find it right now, so that I can have your father do our ceremony." He pet Judy's hair softly.

"I wish we didn't have to wait for that…I want a child now. In case we don't make it, and my life ends up meaningless."

"We'll make it, just be patient Judy," he told her. "I want him too," K said. "He'll carry my blood and be leader one day too.

Judy gave a mock gasp, "How do you know it will be male?"

"Because, I know…trust me," he said with a smirk, turning onto his side and fingers groping past her layers of deer skin clothes. He found Judy's warm moist spot between her legs. He smiled devilishly when she gasped again and attempted to pull away.

"Not until our rites!"

"Sshh," K pleaded and stifled a laugh. "It isn't anything they haven't heard before." It wasn't like he was a virgin, but future to-be-mated pairs were off limits until their rites. Now, other women or men were perfectly acceptable. But it was believed that a child was blessed to both parents if a pair waited until their rites.

She moaned loudly, involuntary, as his fingers caused her sweet ache. "Maybe we won't live to produce a child, she wouldn't mind. A god should understand hmm?" she murmured rocking her hips as if to guide those fingers deeper. "Oh, Claude I don't care about the rites, please just have me now!" Judy cried, climbing on top of him.

K removed his fingers and held her close as she lay on top. He sighed. "I'm sorry, but we might anger the heavens and right now it wouldn't be safe to give you a child until we find proper shelter and food." He felt a little guilty now. "We will follow the rising sun. The closer the sun, the warmer, don't you think?"

Her face momentarily held a sulky look and she huffed. "You're so stubborn Claude, but soon I'll be your leading woman," Judy said.

"You never answered my question..."

"Sure I suppose you're right, we'll follow the sun," she said and snuggled against Claude's chest. "I hope we meet some new people…it's so boring. I wonder if there is some soap root growing around her somewhere…what I wouldn't do for a bath."

K yawned and closed his eyes again.

"Claude? Are you listening to me?"

"Mmm-hmm"

Behind his eyes K saw that dark-haired man again, he watched him fishing from a distance. It would be so nice to go fishing in a river like that. Soon, he told himself in his dream...very soon.

"Claude?"

He walked towards the man at the river, stripping out of his clothing piece by piece, letting the sun warm up his soul. Swimming, that's what he was going to do. That and take a closer look at his companion in his this vision. From somewhere in the distance he heard an echo… "Aww Claude, you always fall asleep…asleep…asleep…"

Somewhere else…

"I swear Hiro, if you stand around here fishing all day, we'll never get ready for the gathering."

Hiro, who sat on a rock, legs dangling over the edge, looked back at his brother Yuuji. "You're just hoping you find a mate that will put up with your laziness at the ceremony…really I don't see the big deal," he said nonchalantly. "Father thinks I'll unify our clans. Why does that have to be me?"

Yuuji scoffed and came to sit on the rock next to his brother, "Are you insane? You have the worlds most beautiful woman waiting for you…it's an honour to be paired with someone from the Uesugi clan. Besides, they invited us there for the gathering this year."

"It's a ceremony," Hiro reminded his brother, "and I feel like I'd only be doing this to make father and mother happy…"

Yuuji fixed a few loose strands of Hiro's long reddish-brown hair behind his ear tenderly, "Can you honestly say that you feel nothing for Ayaka?"

Hiro closed his eyes at his brother's touch, accustomed to male companionship that was very accepted within their clan. Not incest, because he would never go that far, but affections he accepted gratuitously. After all, he learned to kiss because of Yuuji. Their people, just like the Uesugi's believed in a god for every element of nature, there was even a god of love. Within the Nakano clan there was no discrepancy between male love and female love…both was a learning and appropriate process. For them, learning how to be proper lovers meant successful breeding. But it was customary for a man to have a wife and a sexual male companion as well, or even for the wife to have sexual female companionship. A man that chooses not to have a wife at all is looked on as wasting his life-given essence that the god Gaia—the stellar god of all living things—had given them.

"Of course I feel something for her, she's my chosen mate. But, I don't know…lately I've been having this dream. I'm here fishing and someone is watching me," Hiro turned around and pointed over by an oak tree a few paces away, "He stands over there and I have yet to clearly see his face." Dreams to him were very important; he believed that a dream were messages from the gods themselves. "What does it mean?"

Yuuji contemplated this, "Do you think it's a spirit?"

Hiro nodded and sighed at the lack of nibbles today on his fishing line.

"Do you think he is a god himself?" Yuuji asked wondrously.

"I don't think so…he doesn't even look like us. His skin is lighter. But sometimes it's a wolf by the tree and sometimes it's a man. I wonder if it's his spirit animal."

"Hiro, it's alright to be nervous. Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you. Forget that I said anything…the gathering is not for two moon cycles from now. But it will be a long journey south so I'm glad the sun is hotter then it was yesterday. The escort should be arriving any day now too."

Pulling up the line Hiro agreed with Yuuji and urged for them to return to camp. The sun was indeed hotter and it felt wonderful. Even though the glaciers still harboured just north of them, buds on the trees were beginning to come forth here; hopefully they would bear fruit this year. Too long has the land been in a dormant state and maybe they wouldn't have to travel south to live if it lasted. For now the Nakano clan lived on meat and root vegetables. On lucky days it was fish. Even part of their camp was made using mammoth bones and mud, constructed to build small huts for storing. Their main camp was in a cave like most tribes, it was the best assurance to keep the elements out. And this cave was enormous enough to fit a group of at least one hundred people, but sometimes Hiro felt like he had no privacy. He could hear things constantly, tool making, mumblings, scratching sounds, but, he did enjoy the sounds of pleasure. It would make his body ache and he too would pleasure himself.

There was nothing to be ashamed of…

Often one of the women would visit him and share his cot, he didn't mind at all...seeing as he was eager to learn to be the best mate-lover he could. And they showed him the ways, sometimes one of the men showed him too in the dim light of the cave. Sometimes women became with child before their rites, but to the Nakano clan this meant that one of the Gods had blessed them instead. This was perfectly acceptable, and that woman became even more sought after. A man knew that his child wasn't created unless they had the ceremony in the springtime at the Uesugi camp, and spring was noted when new plants began to grow. It was very important to have this ritual and join mates together with ceremony.

It was after all the epitome of their survival.

A/N: Will post again soon! Thanks for reading!