Seeing that the danger at hand was gone, the wolf turned its gaze on Ashitaka. It advanced on him threateningly, growling and snapping its jaws aggressively. San immediately stepped between them.
"Stop it!" she ordered.
"Not this time, San!" the wolf glared her down. "That boy is as good as dead! The fox already is toying with him!"
"What are you talking about?" San demanded.
"It touched him." the god gently tried nudging her out of the way. "Twisting his mind to bend to it's will."
"You're being foolish!" she stubbornly refused to move. "and you're jumping to conclusions! What's wrong with you?"
"Trying to save your LIFE!" the wolf pushed San aside and attacked Ashitaka. The boy was knocked onto his back, but he rolled out of the way before the beast could crush him. He leapt backwards into the tall grass, refusing to draw his weapon. The wolf lunged at him again and caught his arm in its mouth. Ashitaka screamed as the dagger-sharp teeth sank into his flesh, but managed to pry himself from the animal's grasp.
Before the god could pounce again, San jumped to Ashitaka's defense.
"Get out of the way, San!" the wolf growled. "It's for your own good!"
"No!" she bared her teeth. "I won't let you touch him!"
"San,..." Ashitaka said, gripping his bleeding arm tightly. "Please, let me speak..."
San stood speechless as the bleeding boy she was protecting came out from behind her to face her wolf brother. Ashitaka winced, keeping an agonized scream silent in his throat. The wolf god curled its lips into a snarl, it's fangs glistening pink with blood in the moonlight.
"I don't understand what I have done to infuriate you so," the boy spoke as calmly as his injury would allow. "but whatever doubts you have of my integrity, I assure you that my mind and actions are still my own. I would never do anything to bring harm to you, to San, or to the forest."
"LIAR!" the wolf snarled. "You humans have always sought to destroy the forest to satisfy your greed. To mold, to break, and to tame the woods to your liking. You are weak, and the fox will toy with you like it does to a mouse before it eats it."
"Why would a god of the forest want to destroy it?" Ashitaka gripped his arm tighter.
"It's not the forest, boy," the wolf said. "it's the gods who guard it."
"I remember Mother saying how foxes and wolves hated one another." San spoke. "But that was so long ago, I don't even remember the reason."
"This forest is the home of the late Forest Spirit." the great beast growled. "For a fox to reside here would be dangerous. They seek to kill off the last of the wolf tribe to add insult to what there already is."
"What is this hatred between the foxes and the wolves?" asked Ashitaka.
"Inari, the great god of rice and grain, used foxes as messengers to the Earth." the wolf licked its lips. "Their fur burned with a bright flame that could be seen many mountains away. Once they came to Earth, some chose to live in packs and tribes, living and working as a group rather than alone. But by living this way, their fires burned out, but they did not care. These burned out foxes became wolves."
"But why the hatred?" Ashitaka nodded for him to continue.
"Those that kept their flame looked down on those who did not." a low growl rumbled in the wolf's throat. "They made a mockery of us and told Inari that we had rebelled. For that, Inari banished us from heaven. The foxes mock us to this day, and in return we kill them when we can."
"Is there no way to make peace between your tribes." Ashitaka spoke up.
"Don't be stupid, boy!" the wolf bared its teeth. "It has been this way long before your ancestors took their first breath."
"If a truce can be made between the humans and the forest," the boy tensed, a hint of anger touching his voice. "why can one not be made among the gods of the forest?"
"Go away, boy, before I kill you." the wolf shoved Ashitaka back roughly before turning away into the woods. "Come, San."
The girl glanced toward Ashitaka, as though looking for an answer. Ashitaka only looked toward the retreating wolf god silently before nodding to her, a gesture conveying that they would meet at another time.
"Will you be all right?" San asked.
"I will live." Ashitaka said plainly. "Thank you."
Reluctantly, San ran into the forest after her brother, leaving Ashitaka behind.
****************************
After bandaging the wound from the wolf, Ashitaka decided that he'd need some quiet time to think. He came to the cliff where San and wolves frequently resided, but found none of them about. The cliff, with its great view of the forest below, was just the sort of peace Ashitaka was seeking. Climbing the steep rocks, he passed through the interior, an old bed of dry leaves crumbling under his feet.
The view never bored him, and the wind rustling through his hair welcomed him back. In the distance, he could just make out the neverending clanking sound that echoed from Iron Town. Ashitaka sat himself down by the edge of the cliff, and in doing so, accidently put weight on his wounded arm. The injury stung, despite it having been treated carefully. He had been quite relieved that none of his bones had been broken by the bite, but that knowledge didn't make the wound feel any less painful. He gripped it tightly, holding in an agonized cry.
"Does it hurt?" came a deep, feminine voice behind him.
Ashitaka turned around sharply, surprised not to have heard anyone approach him before. Laying quite relaxed on the top slab of the cave, staring down at him in an all-too-familiar manner, was the fox god.
"You were expecting Moro, I know that." the creature grinned slyly. "This old rock still reeks of that wolf and her pups."
"I feel as though something isn't right." Ashitaka said softly. "I dreamt that this whole place was destroyed, and there was nothing I could do to stop it."
"That's too bad." the fox licked her chops. "I didn't think there would be such doubt in a warrior's heart such as yours. Perhaps I should bite your other arm to make it more convincing."
"You are not native to this region, and have come quite a long way." Ashitaka glanced toward the forest below. "What could bring you so far from home?"
"Go back into the cave, boy, if that's your only care." she sported a bored look. "The splintering of wood and the screams of death touch my ears long before any of it even comes to pass. I lie here, listening to it and knowing I have done all I can to stop it. I wait for the evil to show itself so that I may burn its flesh with my flames!"
"Kitsune, is there no way to stop this?" Ashitaka asked. "Can nothing more be done?"
"Man and the forest are at odds again." the fox replied. "Their hatred will grow even now, pointed stupidly in the wrong direction."
"And what will happen when the truth comes out?" the boy carried a hint of anger in his voice. "Will the forest and the ironworks still turn to shambles?"
"Typical!" the creature spat. "How like a human to want the future handed to him on a plate of gold. The future is not changed by knowing it. When it comes, you will know it."
"There must be another way!" Ashitaka flared. "We can't let this happen!"
"Quiet, boy!" the fox snarled angrily, her fangs glistening by the light of the stars. "How dare you use that tone with me? Even the gods have their laws and limits to follow, and I have done that which the fates bade me do. Now, there is no turning back, for man or beast. This sad, living, dying world is that in which we are put to live. What do you think you can do!?"
"I don't know..." Ashitaka calmed his temper. "but I will not let it all be destroyed without a fight!"
The fox threw her head back and laughed loudly, more of her long fangs coming into view.
"How?" she grinned. "Can you draw a bow with an injury like that? Or do you intend to bite like a creature of the forest?"
"I will fight to the best of my abilities, no one else's." he responded sternly.
"There is nothing you can do, boy." the fox lowered her voice. "The evil will come, and no one will see it until it is too late. Go now, or I will bite you."
Ashitaka bowed politely to the fox before retreating through the cave. As he climbed onto Yakul, he glanced back to see the beast god watching him from the cliff. She shifted into a blaze of blue fire and flew away.
~~~~~~~~~~~
This is Chapter 6. Where would you like to go next?
