The Little Wolf [A Princess Mononoke Fanfic]

Chapter 6

Ashitaka gazed at Y/N's peaceful face as she lay beneath her pelt, snuggled into a bed of leaves, breathing softly. A small collection of wooden statues lay around her form, some only half carved, others already stained with bits of paint and fruit juice. He noticed one peeking out from the edge of Y/N's pelt and with gentle hands, he reached out and pulled it from the fur, holding it up to the light of the moon that streamed in through the open mouth of the cave. It was a carving of him. It hadn't been stained yet, but Ashitaka knew his face well enough to recognise what he was looking at. He smiled and set it down back where he had found it. Maybe he wasn't the only one who felt a little strange whenever he was with Y/N. Maybe she felt the same way he did. 

Sudden, pain flared up in his wrist and he grimaced, turning away from the girl. He sat up, clutching his wrist. This pain was worse than anything he had felt before. He knew what it meant. The curse was spreading. Quietly, he kicked off the pelt blanket that Y/N had given him before they went to bed and walked to the mount of the cave. 

The forest shimmered in the light of the moon. It was a beautiful sight, and it reminded Ashitaka of the way his village had looked the night of his departure. How the leaves had sparkled like gems, and how the cool nip on the breeze had threatened another deluge. But he had left before the rain had come. And now, as he stood in front of the wolf's den, he could smell the scent of rain once more. 

"You know you could always jump, boy. End it all."

Ashitaka turned, releasing his wrist as he did so. 

Moro sat atop her den, staring at him. 

"As soon as your strength returns, the mark will spread and destroy you."

Ashitaka sighed and turned back to the forest. "It feels like I must have been asleep for weeks. I had a dream that Y/N was by my side, nursing me."

"I was hoping you'd cry out in your sleep. Then I would have bitten off your head to silence you."

For a moment, the boy said nothing. "It's a beautiful forest. Are Okkoto and the boars on the move yet?"

"Yes, the boars are marching. The trees cry out as they die, but you cannot year them. I lie here. I listen to the pain of the forest and feel the ache of the poison in my blood and dream of the day when I will finally crunch that gun woman's head in my jaws."

"Moro, why can't the humans and the forest live together? Why can't we stop this fighting now?

"The humans are gathering for the final battle. The flames of their guns will burn us all?"

Ashitaka's hands clenched at his sides at the thought of Y/N being thrown into battle because the forest and the humans couldn't live together in peace. "And what happens to Y/N? What's your plan, to let her die with you?"

Moro scoffed. "Typical. Selfish. You think like a human. Y/N is my daughter, as is San. She is of the wolf tribe. When the forest dies, so does she."

Ashitaka shook his head. "You must set her free! She's not a wolf, she's a human!"

"Silence, boy! How dare you speak to a god like that. I caught her human parents defiling my forest. They threw their babies at my feet as they ran away. Instead of eating them, I raised them as my own. Now my poor, ugly, beautiful daughters are neither human nor wolf. How could you help Y/N?"

"I don't know," Ashitaka confessed. "But at least we might find a way to live."

Moro laughed, her eyes wild, her jaws bearing canines sharper than any dagger Ashitaka had ever seen. "How? Will you join forces with Y/N and San and fight the humans?"