Mo Yuan watched her walk away, but the anger at having been aroused so thoroughly only to be tossed aside increased his anger. But he did not attempt to stop her. If she did not want him, then so be it, he would no longer pursue her, he thought to himself. Turning away from her in anger and defeat, he returned to his own side of the forest.
As she had rejected him, he too let her go. He forced her from his thoughts, and returned to the days of peace and solitude that he had enjoyed before he met her.
Many times after that night, he had heard her calling for him. He had heard her stumbling steps through the forests undergrowth searching for him, and many times she came close to his hut which was now overgrown and difficult to find. He had even found gifts she had left for him, but he ignored them. He did not want anymore to do with her.
Though, one time saw her through the thick bracken that surrounded one side of his hut. She had been calling out to him over and over again. Her eyes darted about in every direction as her head sniffed at the air, searching for his scent.
She was not wearing her furs, instead she wore a dress and a full length robe, clothing he did not think was suitable , but with her hair flowing about her shoulders, she looked so beautiful, he almost ran to her. But he held back, he thought at the time that he might see her again one day. But he never did, rejection was far too painful, that in the end, he quietly said goodbye to her and instead turned his back, entered his hut and softly closed the door.
Days, weeks and then months rolled by until eventually she became a distant memory. He stopped all bartering with her, and he no longer took the route home from the lake that would bring him closer to her, instead he used a different path, one she had not even bothered to look for.
Though having found a different path to take, he had also spent a lot of time scouting the new area and because of it, he stumbled upon a river that was also teeming with fish, that in the end, he no longer had to avoid her, he no longer needed her lake at all. For Mo Yuan, his days of ease and comfort had returned.
He slept better, ate well and hunted only when he felt like it. And if he had the urge to return to his old fishing spot, he would wait until the evening when he knew he would be alone. He loved to fish at night. Lying down in the tall grass under the stars was a luxury that he loved to indulge in.
His life was once again full and he was happy with his solitude and lack of company.
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Turning away from him, she walked back towards her cave with a soft smile on her lips. The heady scent of his arousal was making her dizzy, but the thought of that man releasing her from the painful ache in her loins, was all that was on her mind.
Purposefully her steps took her forward, she was not that far away from her cave, it was only a quarter of a mile away, but it was when she was almost at her caves entrance, that she realized she was completely alone.
Confused, her eyes sought out his form in the mist, but unable to see him, she wondered if perhaps he had not been able to keep up with her and had been left behind. So turning back, she retraced her footsteps only to realize he had gone.
Dumbfounded, she wondered what had happened. Had he not realized she had wanted him to follow her? Did he not understand her desire for him? She knew she had not mistaken his arousal, she could still taste it on her lips. She had thought she had shown him her own desire for him, had he not understood? she thought to herself as she ran towards his side of the forest.
Calling out to him, night had already begun to fall, and after stumbling around in the dark for over an hour, she returned to her cave dejected having been rejected. Angry, upset, on heat and in no mood to eat the meal she had prepared for him, she went to bed and cried herself to sleep.
The following day, and the subsequent days that followed she searched his side of the forest. The days turned into weeks and then months without even a glimpse of him, even though she called for him continuously, he never answered and she never found him. He had even stopped bartering with her.
She left gifts for him on the path he would have to take to the lake, and even on his side of the forest, but they were never touched when she went back to check on them.
In the end, she decided that he must have mistaken her intentions for rejection. But that he had completely cut her off, was painful. She had not meant to lose him, she thought she had shown him what she wanted, she thought he had understood and had wanted her too. But obviously he had not, and had chosen to see her mistake as rejection. In the end, he had forced her to accept his decision because she was not in a position to challenge it, not when she couldn't even find him.
She had also never taken the time to seek him out before. Had she followed him home, she would know where his home was, had she taken the time to seek him out during the day of their bartering, she would have known what side of the lake he sat when he fished. But she never once thought of to do that, because he had always come to her.
And it was as she was thinking on these things, that she came to realize he had purposely sought her out. Had taken the time to go gently with her until she was used to seeing him, then opening a friendship through bartering, and that was because she had been afraid of him. He knew she did not trust him, and it would have been obvious in the way she refused to allow him to get too close, even standing at his side so she could run away if she had to.
And the conversation he had tried to initiate, also came back to her. She had kept her answers brief and her demeanor calm and stoic. Not because she didn't like him or want to know him, but because she didn't know how to talk to him, or how to tell him that she wanted to know him. She liked his eyes, they were kind and gentle, he always smiled under his fur hood, but she never gave back the smiles or her hand in friendship. And nor did she ask him any questions about himself, even though he asked her plenty.
And that was because, she felt there was no need. He came at the same time, they talked, they bartered and then then they went their own way. It had become so predictable, that she did not bother to understand why he had suddenly appeared before her, she just assumed that he had one day turned up, and after a while he became a habit that was just there. There was no need to question him because he was always there, and always brought what she wanted.
But as she turned these thoughts around in her head, she began to understand him a little more. He had obviously noticed her much earlier, because he had taken the time to let her know him by just walking by without approaching her. Surely, if their first encounter had been his first, he would have been just as wary as she was, but he hadn't been, he had merely kept his composure as he walked on by.
And after waiting until she got to know him, he must have wanted to take it further. And that had her wondering if he had also purposely allowed her to see him bathing. Had he tried then to tell her he wanted her, but had left it up to her to make the first move? she wondered. If so, then she had completely made a mess of things.
It was so easy for her to see this now that he was no longer there for her. She had made a big mistake in assuming he would just follow her without an explanation. She had assumed far too much and taken his offer of friendship for granted. He must have been hurt by her actions, she thought sadly to herself.
Months had passed with no sighting of him, not even a footprint or even a whiff of his scent. It was as if he had never been. But she was not ready to give up. For the very first time since her arrival she left everything she knew and searched areas she had yet to discover fearlessly and without reason or thought other than, she had to find him.
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Heading to the River, Mo Yuan turned his face to the sky. In the warmer months, he swam and fished in the river that he now spent most of his time. Other forests also bordered the river, and he had also spent some time exploring the new surroundings and much to his surprise he stumbled upon many beautiful waterfalls, hot pools and streams. His excursion also saw him discovering more food sources and medicinal herbs which he gathered regularly.
However, in the colder months, the rains would come and with it the cold damp gray that cast it shadow in all direction. But he had enough furs to keep himself warm and dry when he needed to leave the hut to fish or collect vegetation. But with the rains, also came the eels, a delicacy that he thoroughly enjoyed, both for the catching and the eating.
And from the look of the sky, the rains would soon be upon him, but with eels on his mind, he didn't give it a thought. Making his way to the edge of the river, he quickly removed his spears from the back of his jacket that were lightly tied to his sash.
With his eyes firmly on the water, the eels soon began to make an appearance as the first drops of rain fell. With his spear in his hand and raised, he did not notice the shadow that suddenly fell around him.
Moving slowly, the bundle of fur raised its head and sniffed the wind again. The scent was close, so slowly and carefully it edged its way towards the river where the man suddenly came into view. Stopping in its tracks, the eyes watched as he removed a spear and slowly raised it above his head.
Close. Only a few steps away when the mans scent was carried on the wind to the nostrils. Sweet, musky and masculine. Heaving with excitement, its breath quickened as the footsteps took it closer. Then without warning, it pounced.
The roar echoed in all directions as Mo Yuan went down. He wasn't sure if it came from him or the animal that was tearing into his flesh. His head ached from the powerful thrust of its paws against the side of his head.
Bear! he thought as his sight began to dim. Usually he was more careful, he knew they visited from time to time, but he had not seen it, nor caught a whiff of its scent, that by the time he realized what had hit him, the bear had already stripped the fur from his back.
Suddenly another growl rose into the air as another flew towards him. It was his last memory as he lost consciousness.
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It was the scent of water that drew her towards a path she had not seen before. Every day for almost a month she had explored the outer regions of her forest before returning to her cave before night fell. And in that time, she had seen and found many interesting sights that made her smile. She found new herbs, new edible roots, and even waterfalls and hot pools.
Though she never liked to travel too far in the colder months, preferring instead to keep warm by her hearth and play with the ochre the last inhabitant had left behind, creating new colors. An idea that came to her after the voice came back to her. A voice that always carried the sound of water.
"Yellow and Blue make Green." it whispered softly in her head.
Smiling, but not understanding why the voice spoke to her, or even who it belonged to, that thought was on her mind when she left the cave that morning in the search of more ochre. She had yet to find any, she had no idea where to find it, but suddenly she wanted a colour she could only envisage, one she did not know the name of, but it felt warm like blood or sometimes scorching like him, she thought to herself.
Heading back to the path she had found, she soon found herself among the new plants she was still learning about, but because the weather had turned, there was little in the way of wildlife to study, so she did not touch many of them, instead leaving them for the warmer months when the insects would return and she could learn which ones were edible and which ones were not.
Staying on the path, she soon caught a whiff of a familiar scent. Water! she thought, as her steps quickened. Then the sound of running water hit her and before she knew it, a large river appeared.
Smiling, she ran to the waters edge and looked at the rushing water. It was crystal clear, that she could see all manner of life in it, but it was the sight of an eel that had her quickly jumping back. Having never seen one before, she wasn't sure what to make of it. But then there was another and another, that she quickly moved forward again to watch them swim onward.
But it was when her eyes raised to follow them, that she saw him. Suddenly her heart lurched.
"It's him." she whispered as she watched him draw a long spear from the back of his jacket. Breathless and excited, she stared at him in disbelief. She had finally found him.
Not moving a muscle, too shocked to even think, the sight of him had her suddenly hunkering down on all fours to observe him. His hood was covering his face, but she did not need to see it to know who he was. The physique, the way he moved, the way he confidently drew back his spear were his own markings, she knew it was him.
The wind was blowing towards her, and the moment his scent hit her, the heat within her began to throb from deep down in her core until it rose steadily upwards. And it was the only evidence she needed, she knew that scent as if it were her own.
Suddenly the sight of another came into view. Wide eyed and terrified, she knew what kind of animal it was, they visited the lake sometimes and when they did, she knew instinctively to leave them in peace. They also traveled in packs, which only made her more fearful of them.
Only this one was alone and it looked weak. But the man had not seen it stop behind him, that she immediately raised up onto her feet.
Screaming as it suddenly leapt forward, she saw the mans body spin as he went down, but the roar from the back of his throat had her running. Terrified beyond reason, she did not know what she was doing, but she drew her dagger and her short handled spear the man had swapped for fur boots.
But the moment she saw the claws rip into his back, a roar as mighty as the one he had released, suddenly exploded from the pit of her stomach as she attacked. She could not say where she had learned to fight, but the bear did not stand a chance against her. With her dagger already raised and her spear clutched tightly in her clenched fist, she tore into the animal with as much strength as the animal itself.
The power and speed of her attack took the bear by surprise, that it had no chance to defend itself. Instantly her dagger tore through its throat, face and paws while her legs kicked wildly. Spinning so fast, the bear was immediately thrown onto its back, and before it could take its final breath, the spear was thrust into its heart.
The adrenaline was rushing through her as she clambered over the dead animal to get to him. Not a sound could be heard other than the river and her harsh breathing, but the moment she tentatively drew back his hood, her eyes widened in fear.
There was so much blood, his face was too pale and no amount of shaking would rouse him.
So gritting her teeth, she quickly stripped him of his furs to lighten his weight while ignoring he vast amount of blood that mingled with the rain to seep all over his garments. Then removing the large fur coat she was wearing, she rolled his body onto it. It was all she could do to get him back to her cave, there was no time for any thinking. Then taking hold of the hood, she slowly dragged him back to her cave.