Through Wolf's Eyes (Princess Mononoke - San's POV)

Chapter Eight- Pretty

As the sun's rays peeked across the land, awakening a new day, San awoke before Ashitaka. 'I must go and fight for the forest.' She thought to herself and stood up, placing the brown fur pelt over him, just as he had done to her. She grabbed his sword and head cover and folded it neat and placed it next to the wrapped food near his head. Then silently she headed out of the cave, her mother already left for the morning. Ichi and Ni were standing near waiting for San.

"Stay here until Ashitaka awakes; show him the way out of the forest." San instructed to her wolf brother Ni. She was about to get onto Ichi's back when she noticed a raspberry bush baring ripe fruit. 'Perhaps something sweet would be nice, to say goodbye.' She decides and gathers a handful and wraps it up in a smaller bundle of leaves. Quietly entering back into the cave she places it next to the larger leaf bundle containing the jerky. She looks upon Ashitaka's sleeping face one last time and whispered,

"Goodbye, Ashitaka."

An unfamiliar ache clenched in her stomach as she looked upon his peaceful face one last time and walked out of the cave. It's wasn't the ache of hunger or thirst. Or the ache of injury such as when he knocked her unconscious and she awoke with a sore stomach. 'I don't understand this feeling? He is cursed. Very soon the demon mark will kill him. Why, Great Forest Spirit did you save this human? He is not our enemy. But is he an ally?' She wondered as she jumped onto Ichi's back and he carried her to their mother. Moro lay hidden in a grove of trees, watching the humans prepare for the final battle down below. San jumped off Ichi when they arrived, she approached her mother's side and moved the mask up off her face to see well.

Brown smoke was rising in various places over the mountainside. The humans appeared like little ants, building strange things as they prepared for battle.

"It stinks, and it burns my eyes." San commented, rising her hand up to cover her nose.

"That's what they want. They're trying to kill our sense of smell." Moro explained to her daughter.

San's eyes widened when Lady Eboshi came into view, "It's that damn woman again. She knows we're out here."

"It's a trap and a stupid one." Moro said,

San looked over at her mother confused, "What?"

"They're trying to lure the boars out of the forest." Moro explained,

"No." San retorted, 'The humans will be at a disadvantage if we fight them within the forest, the boars must know that.'

"The humans are planning something." Moro said, though the wolf god herself wasn't entirely sure what it was the humans were preparing to do.

"Then we have to find Okkoto while there's still time to stop him or else they'll be killed!" San retorts, her hands clench in reflex as the sudden adrenaline to take action sets in.

"Okkoto is too stubborn. He won't listen. None of them will. They may even know it's a trap. The boars are a proud race. The last one left alive will still be charging blindly forward." Moro states, knowing this battle was in vain.

San looked back at the humans once more, noticing something else strange. "Why chop the trees down?"

"To make them angry, which makes them stupid." Moro stated.

San turned her spear around and plunged it into the ground then approached her wolf mother, "Mother, I have to go. Okkoto's blind. I must be his eyes. You understand?" she asked as she buried her head within the white, soft fur upon her mother's face.

"Do as you must." Moro replied, the wolf god recalling the conversation she had with Ashitaka and added."You know that boy wanted to share his life with you."

"I hate him! I hate all humans!" San immediately stated, though much conviction lacked in her voice.

San heard the approaching footfalls of her brother Ni as she approached her. She turned to face him and saw something blue dangling in his mouth that he held open. It was a blue, crystal dagger necklace. Three inches in length and secured by an earth red colored rope.

"From Ashitaka for me?" she asked her brother, who gave an affirmative nod. Her face held great shock as she took it from his mouth and gazed at the dagger. "Pretty." She said, though her voice was quiet. 'No one's ever giving me anything like this.' She thought.

"You two, stay with San. I must go to the Forest Spirit." Moro instructed Ichi and Ni.

She broke the redrope with her teeth then tied the dagger around her neck. "Right. Let's go."San said, reverting back into fight mode, mentally preparing for the battlethat she was about to face. She grabbed her spear and jumped onto Ichi's backand the three wolf pups ran to meet up with the boar tribe.