I'm back but updates will be slow. There's people in my house... grr!
The scorching sun was merciless and unprejudiced. It brought unbearable heat to everyone, making them uncomfortable and hot. All the animals in the forest sought refuge by the river, all of them in a playful mood as the cool water refreshed their moods. The river was not usually such a popular spot nowadays since the days were becoming colder now. However, for the last few days, the weather had been unseasonably hot. It would be many moons before the days would start being cold and remain so but most of the animals were already stocking up on food or any other necessities. On such a day as this one tough, they took a break fro m their jobs and worries and decided to have fun. All except the guardian of the forest.
As seen by past experiences, San and her brothers knew that such days were not just bothersome because of the heat but also very dangerous for the forest. San's wolf brothers had spread out to cover the big area that was their dominion to make sure that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. San was crouched on a tree branch, her vigilant blue eyes on the look out for any sign of trouble. She wasn't alone. A few branches away from the same tree she was currently sitting on was an ape, dark in color and quite bigger than the ones that had previously resided in the forest.
"You should not worry so much," said the ape, his voice deep and throaty but assuring all the same, "it is not the season of heat anymore and the trees are still wet from the last rainfall. They will not catch fire."
"Yes, I know," said San confidently but worried nonetheless, "It does not stop me from worrying, though."
"I understand," responded the ape and gave her a knowing look, "but that's what the Ape Tribe are here for."
Sighing, San nodded and opted to stop crouching, h er legs began to hurt and so she sat on the branch, swinging her legs back and forth like a small child would.
"I suppose I should go refresh myself," she said in a conversational tone, "I'm staring to smell like a human."
The ape snorted but said nothing.
She jumped from the branch and landed softly on the grass. Now that the apes had returned, the forest showed its health. The trees, though still quite small in comparison to what they had once been, were growing healthy and quickly. She had been most relieved to see the Ape Tribe after she had come back. It had only taken them a few moons to return but she had been so excited and relieved. She remembered she had run over to Ashitaka's house and burst in through the window. She had scared the living daylights out of Chandra, who now lived in the human's village and had been paying a visit to Ashitaka that day. After her heart had resumed beating, Chandra and Ashitaka had congratulated her. The trip had been... strange to say the least but it had gotten the job done.
One thing less to worry about, thought San happily as she walked to the river. She could hear the animals who were obviously enjoying themselves out there. Her eyes met the unbelievable sight of (what seemed to be) almost all the animals of the forest playing around in the water. Discarding her clothes by the river bank, she joined in their activities, surprised to see her brothers already in the water and playing around as well.
"You two were supposed to be on the look out," she reprimanded them, swimming nearer toward them, "not playing around!"
She glared at them.
"Have you been playing all this time?"
They nodded shamelessly.
"You two—"
"Relax San," said Kendo lazily, "you worry too much."
"I worry too much! Me!"
"Ahh, San," said the youngest of the two wolves (but only by a few seconds), "The Apes are back, that's their job. Let us relax and enjoy the day for once."
Muttering something about lazy animals, she relented. She was rather exhausted herself and did not feel like arguing. In fact, she thought they were right. They had been too stressed out with so many things, it was too much for them at times. They wrestled in the water, which was no small feat anymore. Her brothers were becoming bigger as the days passed and soon, their games wouldn't last too long. They could sit on her and win the game easily. So she appreciated the time she had to play games with them before it was too late.
After a while, San declared victory and supremacy over her brothers, called herself the Queen of the galaxy, stuck her tongue out at them and got submerged by her brothers because of it before calling it a day and getting out of the water. She put on the same clothes she had worn since her teenage years, a dress with a white shirt that resembled a rice sack. She did not care what she wore. She had no one to impress. Besides, even with her dirty clothes she had managed to impress someone anyway.
She and Ashitaka were doing well as far as she was concerned. He had returned to his town after their trip and San had returned to her forest. He still visited as he had promised he would. However, slowly but surely the gap between man and nature was closing in on them. It was not a big change but instead a slow and subtle feeling that hung over their heads. She often did not wish to think about it. What would come would come and she would have to meet it when it did.
But for now, she decided to lie down on the soft, wet grass and let the sun bring some color into her skin.
San was not the only one getting some color. However, while she was willing to let the sun's ray toast her skin into a lovely brown, Ashitaka had no choice. He thought building houses was tough but this was something else.
Iron Town had changed a lot since he was gone. It could no longer be called iron Town since they made no more iron. Still, they kept the name for no other reason other than it had always been called that. Now, they had started plantations all around the town. San had been right. Fire was a natural part of the forest's life and since the town had been destroyed, the land around them had become fertile and excellent for cultivation. They figured out that they would grow vegetables by season. There was a rice field near the lake since the lake flooded those parts each year. The rest of the area was left for growing any other types of vegetables that they could according to their setting. Though it sounded easy, Ashitaka soon realized it was not.
The whole town had been working nonstop to get the last of the crops out before the cold season would begin. The rice had been planted and picked already and they had enough for the whole town and more. Because of their new found job, the town was now completely independent. And since both men and women worked on the fields, they prospered from the abundant goods they now had.
Ashitaka was not the only suffering from the heat. He was in a small group of men and women who were hard at work picking the goods from the fields. It was a hot day and Ashitaka had not been able to stand to wear his sticky shirt so he took it off. His skin glistened with sweat under the sun for he had been working for a couple of hours.
Finally, tiring out, he decided to atop working and rest. Walking back to the small hut at the end of the field, he could feel every tired bone in his body calling out for a well-deserved rest. Inside the hut, it was cooler since it was under the shade of a tree. He accepted a bowl of cool water gratefully.
"It was about time, Ashie," said Toki, her voice light and bubbly, "any longer and you'd look like a sun burned potato--- though you're looking awfully close to it."
Smiling, he shrugged his shoulders but quickly regretted it. His back, shoulders, and chest were all burned but his shoulders were the worst. It was an angry color, a bright red all over his broad shoulders.
"Maybe taking off my shirt wasn't the best idea."
"Probably not," replied Toki brightly with a teasing smile on her face, "but it sure gave allthe girls a thrill."
He smiled at her and sat down at the nearest chair.
"Koroku is still out there?"
Toki nodded, her lovely face turning into a frown.
"He's been out there almost as long as you have. He's going to get a heat stroke or something."
He laughed. She did care about her husband, even though most of the time she was chasing him up and down the streets with a broom.
"Is it almost sundown?" asked Ashitaka, getting up with a bit of trouble.
"Not yet," said Toki, helping him up, "are you visiting your wolf princess today?"
"Not today but I do want to see her," he responded back, his very bones aching with tiredness, "I think I'll go take a bath now."
Saying bye to Toki, he walked back towards the town, in need of a good long bath. He barely registered the walk through the town but before he knew it, he was out of town and back home. Picking up some clean clothes, he wearily climbed on Yakuul and headed straight into the forest. It was not too long before they arrived at the river and Ashitaka quickly dismounted Yakuul and began taking off his clothes. He entered the water and could not contain the moan that escaped his lips. The water was cool and clear, doing a real number on his heated body. He jumped in, letting the water take away whatever headache wanted to rear its ugly head. How long he stayed he did not know but the water felt exquisite.Before he knew it, he became wrinkled and pruney. Deciding to finally get out, he took his time with everything. Once refreshed and fully clothed, he looked around for any signs of the guardian of the forest. Once he saw none, he decided to return home.
The thought of an ordinary human walking into the forest so nonchalantly was unthinkable. Better yet, for a human to use the river as a personal bath was utter suicide. However, Ashitaka was not an ordinary human. As he liked to joke around with San, "He had an 'in' with the forest's protector."
She allowed him and only him (with Yakuul, of course) to enter her forest. Though he did not do it often, the times he did he hoped to catch San on days they did not plan his visits. Walking back alongside Yakuul, he let his mind wander off.
When was the last time he had seen her?
They had returned from their trip about a month and a half ago. After some days (a lot, actually) he had visited her. She had been very excited about the return of the Apes that she had been on high spirits all day. There had been no real trouble between them but it was because they made sure they kept their conversations light. Neither of them wanted o talk about serious things lately. Instead, they continued to travel around the forest, speaking about the animals and trees, they bathed together when it got too hot, and looked for shapes and pictures on the never ending sea of stars at night. San was not as scared of their relationship as she had once been. She initiated their kisses at times but very shyly, to his surprise. The truth was, Ashitaka had a hard time controlling himself around her. He knew he had the willpower to stop them from doing anything that they were not ready. He also knew that even if he felt his control slipping, he would find some way of stopping. He did not want to ruin what he had with San because of such a stupid thing. Besides, there was a right time to go that far and a wrong time.
Even so, with all the progress they had made, they also had some setbacks. Only once had they talked about the future but once had been enough. To say it had not gone well was a big understatement. Not that they had a big fight, on the contrary, it had been a quiet conversation, under the cloak of night and the eyes of millions of stars.
"We could make our place in the world, San," Ashitaka had said, his voice sounding awfully loud in the deathly silence around them, "Our own small corner where you and I could live."
She had said nothing, her eyes seemed to have been lost in the multitude of stars around them.
"You speak of so many wonderful dreams, Ashitaka, such wonderful things for us— but you and I live in a divided world and here, your dreams will always be just dreams."
Needless to say, they had not talked about it again after that.
It was not that Ashitaka had not expected a negative response. It was not about the negativity, that he could handle. However, to have San say it so easily, with no hope in her voice, not willing to fight for what they wanted was worse than if they've had a screaming match.
Finally reaching his home, he dismounted Yakuul and patted his head gently, bidding him an early good night. Yakuul had plenty of food to eat and if there was any trouble, he could always count on his friend to warn him. Without any worries, Ashitaka entered his house and collapsed on his futon, asleep before he even hit the pillow.
Ashitaka awoke late at night and could not regain sleep. Annoyed at tossing around, he got up and went outside. Yakuul was happily sleeping away and Iron Town was closed off and mostly quiet. Having no other place to go, he walked towards the closed gates and knocked. A guard cocked his gun and pointed it at him from above. As soon as the guard saw who it was, however, he put it away and vanished for a second. He came back, carrying a latter and securing it tight before throwing it over. Ashitaka began climbing it and thanked him as soon as he arrived at the top.
"Couldn't sleep?" the guards asked amiably.
Shaking his head, Ashitaka gave him a courteous thanks and began climbing back down, on the inside part of the town, and tugged at the ladder. The guard began hauling it back.
The town was mostly quiet, there were a few houses still lighted by candles but most of them were turned off. He walked aimlessly, no real destination in sight but it was all he could do on such a night. It was cool enough to be called chilly but Ashitaka did not mind. The air refreshed him, cleared his head, and his lungs lavished in the purity of the oxygen. It wasn't dangerous for him to walk around so late. The town was not small but they all knew each other and Ashitaka was very respected as well. Not just by the townspeople but by their mistress as well, who at the moment had been spotted by Ashitaka.
"Good evening, Eboshi," said Ashitaka, bowing his head.
"As to you. Couldn't sleep?"
He shook his head. He walked along side her, her presence beside him as peaceful and unruffled as ever.
"It is a beautiful night for a walk," said Ashitaka softly, he felt like he did not want to disturb the peace around him.
"To those who chose it. However, I would like nothing better than to be asleep at the moment."
"Insomnia?"
Eboshi nodded ruefully.
"It's ok, it's given me time to check around town. Everything seems to be in order, the town is prospering."
"Have you thought of another name for it?"
Eboshi laughed softly.
"Why? No matter what it is called, it will always be our home."
Ashitaka saw no need to argue this and left the subject.
"No trouble, I gather then?"
"No," said Eboshi, heading back to her home, "not even a word from Asano."
She grimaced slightly and she saw the distrust in her eyes.
"I find it strange indeed."
She shook her head, not wanting to think of anything else that might interrupt her sleep.
"Thank you for walking with me, Ashitaka."
He nodded at her and turned. Before he left, he informed her he would be leaving the next day to visit San. She said nothing at first but then nodded.
"We'll see you in a couple of days."
It sounded like a question to Ashitaka, who nodded at her. She smiled softly and walked away, back to her home. She disappeared in the darkness without a sound.