I woke at dawn; the heat of the coming sun stirred me from my sleep. I sat up and yawned; then got to my feet and stretched my arms over my head. Once I was fully awake; I looked down at where I had been sleeping. My eyes beheld a blanket and bedroll. I furrowed my brow; I was positive that I didn't bring anything, especially any form of bedding. I looked next to the makeshift bed and saw Senri sleeping next to it. My heart stopped and sank as my stomach lurched and knotted itself. I began to walk quickly to the outside of the camp; before I got to the outskirts, I fell to my knees. I then began to crawl as quick as I could, trying to get away and not get sick at the same time.

Not long after stopping only a short walk away from the camp; I had successfully gotten sick. I clenched my stomach as wave after wave of pain shot through, this was not going to be a good morning. I had to get back to Moss Mountain; I had to go back home. The question now that stood before me was; where exactly was home? Which way do I go? Just as I was about to stand back up, I heard Cooro, Husky, Nana and Senri coming my way. I was in no mood to have them accompany me, which I had a hunch that they would ask.

"Nicoma? Is everything all right?" Nana asked as she stood at my side; I closed my eyes as I stood to my full height which I towered over all the children, except Senri.

"I'm fine. Now if you excuse me; I have to find my way home." I didn't look at any of them and started to walk back to the desert border.

"Back to the Caravan?" Cooro asked, "Then why did you run away if you are going back?" I stopped and turned to face the four.

"Not the Caravan. That was never home to me. My home is on Moss Mountain; I am needed back there. I have to go back. I have family there." I couldn't look anyone in the eye when I spoke the last words. There was too much pain in the memories of being home the day I was taken as a slave.

"Can we come too? We can help you there! We know where Moss Mountain is!" Cooro chirped. I was about to refuse their help but stopped when he had mentioned that they had been to Moss Mountain.

"Have you been there recently?" I crossed my arms and quirked an eyebrow.

"Yup! About three months ago! Will you take us then?" Cooro asked as he tugged on my sleeve.

"I guess so; you'll have to show me the way." I sighed. "I forgot the way ever since I had become a slave."

"How long were you a slave?" Nana asked, as we made our journey to Moss Mountain.

"10 years." I looked straight ahead as we began to enter a forest. Everyone fell silent and stopped short, while I kept walking forward. But after recovering from their shock, they raced to catch up with me.

-2 months later-

We stopped for the night and I had helped them gather food, water and firewood. I watched Senri build a fire and prepare dinner; I got up from where I was sitting and decided to take a walk to the nearby stream. I bent over the water and looked into the water and watched my reflection with a grim expression. I looked like my mother, but had my father's stern eyes; my gaze drifted to the red bandana that was around my forehead. I pulled it off of my head and held it while grimacing. I threw it into the stream and watched it float downstream, never to be seen again. I then took the black bandanas off of my ankles and tied them together and used it as a hair tie. I left the two on my wrists alone since they represented my parents and their untimely death.

Throughout the night I had slept soundly in the branches of a tree that was in the camp. I had felt safe and secure, but most of all, free. It was the best I had felt and slept in 10 years. Not to mention we were only now a day's journey away from Moss Mountain.

- The Next Morning-

I woke as the sun began to rise over the horizon, bringing the new day. I stretched and yawned while still perfectly balanced on a branch. I looked down and saw that I wasn't the only one up at the crack of dawn; Senri was fanning the hot coals in the fire ring, attempting to get the fire going again. I sighed and silently leaped off of the branch. I landed on my feet and stood to my full height. Senri looked at me and cocked his head to the side. I looked at the others and turned to the direction we were going to travel. I looked back at Senri and then spun on my heals and began walking up the mountain. I was stopped short when a hand grabbed my wrist. I looked over my shoulder and saw Senri standing behind me. I turned around and faced him with a concerned expression.

"Don't go." He spoke as he pulled me closer. I pulled away and stepped back a pace while not taking my eyes off of him.

"I have to go. I am no longer needed in your group. I can find my way from here." I explained while backing away. I was speechless and upset with myself as I saw the others come into view. As I kept backing away, Senri kept advancing; and shortly I was backed into a tree.

"What's going on?" Cooro asked as he, Nana and Husky arrived to the scene. I looked down at the three children with a helpless expression.

"Nicoma…leaving…." Senri said as he watched my every move.

"What!" Nana shouted.

"Nana, calm down!" Husky pulled her arm, trying to hold her back from storming to me.

"What do you mean by 'leaving'?" Nana bellowed as she struggled to free her arm from Husky.

"I can find my own way now-"

"But you haven't been here in 10 years." Cooro spoke up.

"Yeah! What makes you so sure that you know where you are going!" Nana fumed as she broke free and stepped forward.

"Because unlike any of you, I have great tracking instincts and am able to climb this mountain faster than any of you!" I pushed past Senri and faced off Nana. "I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP ANYMORE!" I screamed and stormed up the mountain without looking back. The four of them stood still and watched silently as I disappeared into the forest never to be seen again. Senri looked around at his friends as if questioning them on what to do now; but no one seemed to look at him or even speak a single word. Finally, making up his mind, Senri ventured forward to the mountain. Cooro, Husky and Nana snapped out of their stunned states and went after Senri.

I stopped half way up the mountain at a small creek. I decided to go refresh myself, so I went to the water's edge and knelt down to get a drink. I looked at my reflection in the water and saw my mother's face staring right back at me. I closed my eyes and tried to shake the horrible memories out of my mind. I opened my eyes once more and looked around at my surroundings; everything looked so familiar…a flashback of me playing in the water while my mother cleaned the morning dishes flashed before my eyes. I sat back on the ground stunned; this was the same spot where all my troubles began, where my parents were horribly murdered and I was taken into slavery. I numbly got to my feet and stepped into the cold clear water. I slowly walked across the creek and climbed the bank. Once I was on firm land once more I looked around before walking northeast. After walking several hundred yards, I stopped on the edge of a small clearing which only held occupancy to a small abandoned longhouse. I was frozen to the spot as I stared at the small dwelling. A small breeze blew making my hair sway as it blew past me and rustled the curtain door. The sight of my old home brought too many memories of my life before slavery back. I could see me running about the clearing laughing as my father chased me, eventually swooping me off my feet and into his arms, before lightly tossing me into the air and catching me. I could almost see my mother smiling as she sewed a buckskin dress for me by the door to our home. A single tear slid down my cheek as I watched my past fly by my eyes.

Suddenly reality came rushing back when I felt a strong presence known behind me. I spun around ready to punch my attacker but was stopped when a hand grabbed my fist. Out of the shadows appeared Senri with Cooro, Nana and Husky. I tried to pull my hand away but Senri refused to release me. I glared and spun around and flipped him over my body making him land onto the ground. Unfortunately he didn't release me and in turn flipped me onto the ground. I went to get to my feet but was quickly stopped by Senri pinning me down. I growled low in frustration as the other children approached the both of us.

"What do you want with me!" I gritted out when Cooro and the others reached my side. I refused to look away from Senri as he stared back blankly.

"We were only following Senri; we weren't following you." Cooro said as he bent down to look at me.

"Well then…GET him off of me!" I yelled as I struggled once more.

"Why should we!" Nana put her hands on her hips. Everyone grew quiet and looked at Nana with shock and surprise. She glared at me and I matched her expression. "All you ever did to us was be mean and then when you start being our friend you leave us without a good enough excuse." She huffed.

"Not good enough-" I curled my legs up to my midsection and kicked Senri off of me. I got to my feet and stormed over to Nana. I grabbed her by the front of her dress and lifted her off of her feet and looked her in the eye. "YOU listen here! Who are YOU to tell me what to do and where to go? WHAT do I look like to you? I'm not your child!" I screamed and shook her sternly. She swallowed hard and now had the expression of fear written all over her face. I fell silent and just looked at her as she cowered in my grasp; flashes of me being carried away to be sold in the slave market flashed in my head. I blinked and looked away; I took a deep breath and dropped Nana as I began to fall to my knees. Senri quickly got to his feet and caught me before I hit the ground. I was now hyperventilating and looked around quickly as if I was lost and couldn't find my way. Cooro and Husky helped Nana to her feet; now all three of the children's attention on what was now happening to me.

"What's going on?" Cooro asked as he looked at me now gripping at Senri's tunic.

"I don't know…" Nana trailed off as she tried to touch my forehead to see if I was having a fever. I flinched away from her hand and buried my head in Senri's chest.

"Let's get her inside that house." Husky instructed and walked over to the entrance. Nana held open the curtain and looked inside before looking over her shoulder to see Senri gather me in his arms and walk over. He walked inside the longhouse and set me on my old makeshift bed that consisted of furs laid out on the ground and handmade blankets to cover up.

It was nightfall and everyone was fast asleep; all except Senri. He looked silently around at his friends and his gaze finally rested on me. He crawled over to me as quietly as possible and leaned over me. I was still out cold from the earlier event and didn't seem to want to wake anytime soon. He leaned forward so that his face was within inches of mine; suddenly my eyes shot open to find Senri's face a little too close for comfort. I reacted without even thinking and shot up, my head smashing into his. We both landed back on the ground, holding our heads in pain. Surprisingly, the others didn't even flinch in their sleep. I quickly recovered and jumped to my feet and walked outside. Senri shook his head and followed. He found me standing outside the longhouse gazing up at the stars. He walked up next to me and looked up at the night sky as well.

Our heads snapped down when we heard a stick snap under the weight of someone coming. Senri pushed me behind him and pulled out his sword. I glanced over his shoulder and pushed past him and ran to the edge of the clearing where I was met up with the chief of the Shuros tribe, Si Mukar. I bowed to him; he smiled and touched the top of my head. I looked up and smiled back and hugged him. Senri sheathed his sword and straightened back to his full height.

Cooro, Husky and Nana woke when they heard some people talking; they were shocked when they saw Senri and I among the missing in the longhouse. The children got to their feet and stalked out of their shelter to see me being hugged by Mukar.

"What's going on?" Cooro asked as the three of them finally reached Senri's side. I looked over my shoulder to see Nana, Husky and Cooro staring at me with shock written all over their faces.

"Si Mukar is my uncle." I turned around to face the three children and smiled sadly.

"Your uncle!" the three practically fell back with astonishment.

"So what is your decision, Nicoma?" Mukar spoke up; I looked back at him and then returned my gaze at Senri.

"I would give anything to come back to live with you, but…." I looked down at my feet and felt shame cloud my thoughts. Mukar rested a hand on my shoulder, encouraging me to finish my piece. "I have come to love someone. Someone who I think couldn't bear to part with his friends." I looked up at Senri with a sad expression and allowed a single tear to fall. "I am so confused." I choked out the last of my sentence and hung my head so no one could see the other tears fall.

All was silent as I composed myself enough to look someone in the eye. Senri walked up to me and looked me directly in the eye; he looked as if he was searching for something to help ease the confusion and stress on the situation. He then looked over at his three younger friends with a troubled look.

"I will go with you." He spoke out loud.

"What?" I couldn't help but ask the dumb question; I couldn't seem to choke down what he had decided. Senri looked down at me and smiled.

"I go with you." He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. I glance nervously over at Cooro and the others to see them as shocked about the whole thing as I was.

"Very well; Come along." Mukar motioned both me and Senri to follow. Senri pulled me with him and all three of us disappeared into the dark forest never to be seen again. Leaving the three children all alone.

-1 year later-

Senri lead his horse through a grassy field with me on its back. He was taking me to see Cooro, Husky and Nana who were living with Harden. We were almost there and we were both very excited about seeing them after being a year apart. Senri stopped the horse outside the simple house and helped me get off of the animal. I smiled and kissed him gently; we walked to the front door and we were greeted by Margaret who invited us in. I sat down in front of the fireplace as Senri stood behind me. We smiled when the bundle I was holding murmured and whined. Margaret walked over with Harden now in tow to see what we had brought. The four of us smiled and whispered cheerfully about what happened throughout the year we were separated from the three others.

"Senri? Nicoma?" Nana popped her head into view soon followed by the two boys. We looked at them and smiled joyfully. The three children smiled and ran to greet their long lost friend. All celebrating was put on a pause when the small bear skin bundle in my arms squirmed and whined.

"Huh?" Cooro leaned in closer and went to touch the fur blanket. I looked down at the bundle and gently unfolded the top flap to reveal a beautiful baby boy. The three friends gasped, Nana squealed and held her hands in front of her mouth to keep herself under control.

"Cooro, Husky, Nana, we would like you to meet our son, Baine." I smiled and stroked the small patch of hair on his head. "He has the +Anima of a wolf like his great uncle."

"He looks just like Senri!" Husky smiled as the infant groggily to open his eyes. Senri knelt down next to me and smiled down at his son, as the infant scrunched up his tiny face and began to cry out of hunger. Senri removed his shawl and draped it over me; I thanked him and draped the end of the shawl over the baby's head allowing some privacy as I guided his mouth to my breast so that he could get his nourishment. After discussing many topics, Senri and I decided that we would live in both worlds. We would live a year or so with the Kim-un-kur and then do the same, here with Harden and Margaret so that we could spend time with all five of Senri's friends. After Baine was finished feeding, I patted his back waiting for him to burp. After a small burp escaped him, I allowed him to be passed around for everyone to enjoy and get to know the new member of the family. By the time he got to Husky, he began to make a face and burped up his meal all over Husky's shirt. Cooro couldn't help but laugh at Husky's misfortune. Husky pulled out his staff and gave Cooro a good wack on the head. We all laughed as the two boys fought, Margaret helped Nana clean both Husky's shirt and Baine's face and tunic. I smiled and sighed watching everyone fight about who could hold Baine; eventually Harden got a chance to hold the small Kim-un-kur and smiled with a twinkle in his eye. One would swear he was the child's grandfather; Margaret helped him with Baine's small tunic as it was place back on him from the earlier incident. I was glad to have finally felt whole in the fact that I now had a family; people who needed me. I closed my eyes and sighed as I reclined into Senri's arms; I felt so safe there and knew I would always be.

-The End-