Ashitaka returned to the glade of the late Forest Spirit to gather his thoughts alone. Yakul grazed quietly nearby, nipping at the green, tender blades of grass there. Several kodama approached, watching silently; they didn't even make their little clicking sounds.
A stray leaf fell from the thick branches above, landing on the water and stirring little swells on the ever-changing surface. A lazy breeze rustled through the dense vegetation, and the boy took in a deep breath to appreciate it fully.
Watching the tiny fish that wriggled through the water, Ashitaka concentrated hard on everything that had happened up until now regarding the fox god. Death and destruction were slowly rising to a boil, hidden from where anyone capable of stopping it could undo it. The encounter with the fox had been of little help, despite her having said that she had done all she could......
What could the beast have done? She had been rather cautious in keeping secret whatever her methods had been, and yet the only thing Ashitaka could remember her doing was kicking the cauldron in the forge.......
"That's it!" Ashitaka jumped to his feet suddenly, accidently sending several kodama flying into the water. They climbed out of the water and clicked their heads, shaking the water from themselves. Yakul looked up from where he had peacefully been grazing, a startled twitch of his ears indicating his surprise.
"Come on, Yakul." Ashitaka quickly climbed onto the animal's back. "We have to hurry back to Iron Town!"
Yakul reared back a moment before galloping away. Ashitaka clung tightly to the reins, but never so much so as to hurt his four-legged friend. They raced through the forest, anxious to return to the smoking ironworks. If they weren't already too late, there might be still be a chance to prevent the oncoming chaos.
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San was lying in the grass with her brothers on the edge of the forest when she noticed the wolves' ears perk up suddenly. She immediately sat up, listening intently. Hoofbeats. Something caught her eye and the beasts with her growled softly. It was Ashitaka, and by the look of him, he seemed very much in a hurry towards Iron Town.
"Something's wrong." San breathed. "I have to go to Iron Town. Will you take me there? Please?"
The older wolf simply looked the other way, not wanting anything to do with the human boy or the town after the encounter with the fox. The other wolf gave her a silent stare that seemed to ask if she was sure about her decision. San climbed onto the younger wolf's back and they raced after Ashitaka.
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"Open the gate!" yelled Ashitaka as he and Yakul neared Iron Town. The heavy gate was raised as quickly as possible, allowing the boy inside.
Not far behind him, San was approaching the town fast. Fearing for their lives, the soldiers hurried to shut the gate on her. The wolf girl had already anticipated this and put her plan into action. Just as the gate was nearly shut, the wolf lowered its head and stopped suddenly. San slid off neatly and under the gate just in time.
It wasn't so much her clever infiltration that had the people worried as was the fact that she was wearing her battle mask. A couple of the guards attempted to strike at her, but she pushed them aside cleanly and dashed after Ashitaka.
The boy was already in front of the forge when he heard a commotion behind him. Moments later, he saw San, no, he thought as he noticed her mask, Princess Mononoke, heading straight for him with a rather unhappy crowd behind her. She stopped in front of him, then turned to face any of her would-be pursuers.
"San?" Ashitaka blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you a similar question." she replied, keeping her focus on the gathered mob.
"What are you up to, wolf-girl!?"yelled several angry bystanders. San only glared them down aggressively.
Ashitaka dismounted and put himself between San and the other people.
"What's going on, San?" Ashitaka asked softly.
"I saw you in such a hurry and had to find out what was wrong." she replied, still not taking her eyes off the crowd.
"I think I know what has been going on, but I need to see some things for myself first." he informed her. "Can you come into the forge with me?"
San pushed her mask back and peered in through the open door of the forge. Intense heat and the endless stink of molten metal aggrevated her wolf-trained senses. She rubbed her eyes, but reluctantly nodded. Needless to say, the brothel girls were more than shocked at having the Princess Mononoke in their midst and not slashing wildly at them. Naturally, Toki was the first to approach.
"Hey, what made you want to stop by?" the brothel girl said as boldly, yet politely as possible.
"There's something in this forge that the fox is trying to tell us about." Ashitaka explained. "We're going to have a look around."
"You mean the melting cauldron?" Toki blinked curiously as she glanced at the said object behind her. San did the same.
"Is this the thing it keeps kicking?" San rubbed her eyes irritatedly again.
"Yup." Toki answered plainly. "It shows up, kicks it, then gets out. No one can figure out why. If it wanted to knock it over, it could easily have done it by now."
"Princess Mononoke! Ashitaka! How good it is to see you again!" Rin approached suddenly.
"Hello." Ashitaka greeted her. "How well are you adapting to life here?"
"Oh, aside from a couple of bumps and bruises, I'm doing just fine." she smiled, rubbing the back of her neck and wincing slightly.
"Are you alright?" he inquired.
"Yeah," she replied simply. "Just a little sore. I was practicing my fighting skills earlier and got a little carried away. It's nothing a couple of days won't heal."
No one, not even Ashitaka, seemed to notice how San was watching Rin suspiciously. Something was very strange about the new girl that only the wolf-girl seemed to notice. She kept quiet, choosing to bring up the matter later with Ashitaka.
After a brief conversation, Rin and Toki returned to their work, leaving San and Ashitaka to look around the forge.
"Ashitaka?" San said as quietly as she could above the noise of the forge.
"What is it, San?" he answered.
"Don't you think there's something strange about that younger girl?"
"You mean Rin?"
"Yes."
"For a newcomer, I'd say she's pretty sure of herself." he scratched his head. "But other than that, no, I don't see anything strange. Why?"
"I'm not sure." San glared at the floor, then at the cauldron. "She doesn't smell right, and her eyes aren't human."
"Huh?"
"Forget it." San sighed, slightly impatient. "I don't expect a human to notice it."
Ashitaka blinked, a bit shocked by the bite in her words, but recalled that this was San he was talking to, a girl who had been raised since she was a baby by a pack of wolf gods. Then again, with that kind of upbringing, San was likely to be more perceptive of her environment than a normal person.
"Tell me what you saw, San." he rested his hand on her shoulder.
San was hesitant at first, but she sighed and hoped that her explanation would make sense to her only human friend.
"When we saw the fox fighting with my brother," she began. "Did you see how it was bitten in the back of the neck?"
"You think Rin is the fox, don't you?" Ashitaka nodded.
"I didn't say that!" she snapped. "I'm just saying it's a coincidence!"
"But she already said that she got that injury practicing fighting."
"She didn't say that anyone was with her."
"Good point." Ashitaka glanced at the ceiling. "What about her smell? You told me she smelled different."
"Alot of the women around here reek of sweat and iron, but she smells like she's been running through the forest all her life. Doesn't that sound a little odd to you?"
Ashitaka let the words sink in. It was quite a coincidence, but he wasn't willing to approach Rin if it all really was just that. And if she was the fox, what could he do? What if she turned on him and thrashed him lifeless? If that was the creature's intension, same as if it had meant to knock over the cauldron, it could very easily have done so already.
"Ashitaka?" San stared at him curiously.
He snapped out of his trance and looked at the girl beside him. It was unlike him to space out in that kind of manner, but it happened nonetheless.
"We can discuss this some more at my hut." he nodded. "If you don't mind, let's go."
"I don't want to be long." she mentioned. "My brothers may worry about me."
"Alright, then, I won't keep you long. Oh, and San?"
"Yes?"
"You might want to take your mask off when you come to Iron Town next time."
"Why?"
"Because people tend to think you're going to kill them with that mask on." he smiled.
"I was expecting trouble!" she explained. "I wasn't going to leave it behind!"
The two of them hopped onto Yakul and trot down to Ashitaka's place. There, they settled down and discussed what they had to work with. Little did they know that they had not gone unnoticed by a pair of glinting eyes in a dark corner. A light chuckle escaped its owner.
"Aren't you a clever pair!?" it whispered to itself.
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This is Chapter 7. Where would you like to go next?
