Rai noticed the human draw near, but instead of being grateful or even happy at his prize, Slan seemed horrified. His friend stumbled back and tried to run away from him. Rage burnt in his heart as he realised that Slan was running away again. How dare he? With another loud growl, Rai pounced at the boy, pinning him just as he had the were. He raised his bloodied hand, but didn't bring it down. Leaning in close, he bared his sharp teeth and stared down with rage.

"If you run from me... And betray me again... I... I will kill you..." he almost roared, his eyes glowing red as he stared down at his prey. He could easily kill Slan right now. His grip tightened on one of the human's wrists, drawing blood.

The human let out a yell as he was pounced upon by his friend. Slan didn't know what to think, or how to react. All he could hear was Rai's menacing, angry, voice and the frantic beating of his own heart. A whimper escaped his lips as pain flashed into existence from the wound upon his wrist and blood trickled to the forest floor. Slan took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He needed to think, needed to find some way to calm the anger in Rai's heart.

He was terrified, but even so Slan did regret his hasty, instinctive, actions. That was what had caused him to hurt Rai in the first place. "If you want to kill me so badly, then go ahead." Slan sounded resigned as he spoke, opening brown eyes to glance up at his friend." I know I hurt you, Rai. I'm sorry..." There were a multitude of excuses he could have tacked on to that, but a simple apology seemed like the best course of action, in fact it was the only route to take.

"

Rai blinked and calmed, frowning slightly as he looked down at Slan pinned and at his claws digging into his friend's flesh. He slid off the human, his ears drooping in sadness. He couldn't believe how easily he had snapped at Slan. How fragile the man's body was despite the muscle. He blinked as tears began to fall from his green eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry..." he whimpered, sounding almost like a harmless kitten again.

He rubbed his bloodied hand into the dirt, suddenly feeling very unclean. He didn't want to look over at the young werewolf he had killed, but he knew that they had to get rid of the body. He didn't want other werewolves to be able to track them down. Glancing about he noticed some droppings nearby. He went over to it, relieved to have found bear leavings. "Put some of this on you. I know it's gross, but werewolves hate bears... They won't hunt one down for killing one of their own..." He smeared some of the stuff on his face, hands and feet, going back to the body.

He gulped back sick and forced himself to butcher the carcass, to make it look more like a bear mauling. He then returned to his friend and hoped Slan had listened to what he had said and hadn't run away.

Slan relaxed, letting out a long breath as Rai slipped away. For a moment he actually doubted that the neko meant his words, but the way Rai sounded, the way the other man was acting, it all served to convince him that green eyed neko spoke truth. It made Slan angry with himself, more then anything else. He should never have left his once innocent friend alone.

The mention of bear droppings had him grimacing, but the human didn't argue how necessary such actions were. He'd come across such knowledge during his years of flight, and didn't hesitate to use what was available to cover his scent. That was something Slan had no trouble dealing with. Rai's fear of his departure was another matter entirely.

Once the neko had finished his gruesome task, the young man moved to hug the cat eared man gently. "We can't stay here too much longer, Rai." They had to get moving, and then once they were at the house they could finally take some time to relax, and to lick their wounds .. The invisible kind that stuck with you no matter how well you looked on the outside.

Rai nodded, glad that Slan hadn't ran away. Again rubbing his claws into the dirt, he straightened up and picked up his bag. He followed Slan to the abandoned house silently, not speaking about the monster that had shown through. His ears and tail drooped and tears were still leaking from his eyes as they approached their destination.

Slan guided Rai even more carefully then before. Each step was taken cautiously, and he made sure to peer about and listen to every sound. Of course, the neko could probably figure things like that out far more quickly then he ever could, but if he hadn't done so Slan would have felt rather useless.

He let out a relieved sigh when the decrepit house loomed before them. It was covered in greenery, but it was a blind, a disguise. No one would peek inside, unless they had to, and see the well kept interior. That place, it brought back fond memories for Slan. It was a peaceful place, a safe haven.

Shaking his head, the young man turned and caught Rai's hand in his own. "Rai ..." His eyes caught on the tear tracks running down his friend's face. Slan reached out to brush away the drops of water with a guilty expression. "I shouldn't have done what I did, I'm so sorry." Sighing, he shifted both hands to hold his friend's face cradled gently in the palms of his hands. "Running from you was probably the worst decision I ever took." Even if the hunters had found him there, at least he'd have had a friend. Slan should have trusted himself enough to keep Rai safe, and now this .. Now Rai was a half wild creature who barely trusted him.

Rai nodded slowly, staring down at his dirty claws and Slan's hands. He didn't care that by wiping the tears from his face, the human had smeared it with smelly bear dung. It was nice that Slan cared for him enough to be apologising and not liking to see him cry. He blushed slightly as he looked up at the man, seeing how worried he looked. "I'm... sorry too... I didn't think... I've just... Become so used to... Used to killing..." He wouldn't admit that he had found killing weres fun, and would sometimes hunt them down just to destroy them. He couldn't tell his only friend that, so he made it sound as though he had done it in defence and in times of desperate need.

He shook away his friends hands and smiled back at him, to show that he wasn't sad any more. Slowly, he approached the house, his head tilted and his tail swaying in curiosity. The place looked interesting, and Rai grew excited to go and explore this old castle-like building. He rushed forward and quickly found a hole in the brush, squeezing through and falling softly onto the dusty floorboards. He sneezed slightly and stood, glancing about the dimly lit room he was now standing it.

The young man relaxed, and smiled slightly. It was nice to see the Rai he had known beginning to shine through again. The feeling grew to be more as the neko swept away, moving quite like a cat would across the forest floor and somehow finding a way into the house. Slan didn't follow.

He looked at his hands in disgust and slipped away, towards the back of the property where a deep stream lay. Soon the human had put his clothing aside and dived into the chilly water with a sigh. It felt good not to smell like bear dung anymore, or it would soon enough. He scrubbed at his skin to rid himself of the filth it had gathered during his many travels, or rather his flight.

Rai explored the house quickly, smelling every part as if making sure there wasn't anyone else living there. Before long he wondered where Slan had gone to. His heart started pounding as he left the house and searched about, relieved to find that his friend was bathing himself in a stream. The current wasn't too fast and Rai was half-by convinced to join the human. His tongue could only clean so much.

He carefully took off his own clothes and dived in next to Slan, making sure he could still touch the sandy riverbed. He still didn't know how to swim, and he disliked the feel of the water running over him, but he needed to clean the dirt from his body. He followed Slan's example, scrubbing the dirt off with his hands and avoiding the use of his claws. He didn't get his hair wet, as he hated to get water in his ears. His tail felt heavy and strange underwater, soon he climbed out and lay naked on the bank, letting the sun dry him and watching his friend.

Slan glanced up and smiled slightly upon finding his friend in the water. He worried though. Water and the neko didn't mix well, Slan wasn't going to forget that anytime soon. The young man dipped his head down, wetting his hair and scrubbing his scalp thoroughly, before finally taking a good look around. His eyes fell upon the neko, lying out in the sun with water drying upon his skin...

The human swallowed, feeling awkward and uncertain all of a sudden. Slan shook his head slightly as he walked carefully out of the water. He didn't know quite what was going on with him, but the sight of Rai just lying ther... Carefully, he knelt by the neko's side and reached out to spill water carefully on the neko's hair. Then he started scrubbing, massaging, and teasing his fingers over the neko's scalp and through his hair.

Rai flinched as water hit his head and tried to shake it off, glancing up at his friend and wondering why the human didn't realise he hated getting his hair wet. But as soon as Slan started to massage and clean Rai's hair, the neko closed his eyes and began to purr. It felt cool and refreshing, as well as nice to be touched by his friend. It him want more, even though he couldn't understand what that feeling was exactly.

He lent against the human's warmth, realising dimly that they were both naked. He turned his head slightly and licked Slan's belly, as if trying to taste the water that dripped down from his friend's head. He stopped licking after awhile, realising that Slan's composure had changed slightly and certain things were happening with the man's body. Rai tilted his head and looked up at his friend, giving him a questioning look.

A shiver ran down Slan's spine at the neko's actions. He glanced down, knowing already how his body had reacted, with a blush. Letting out a long breath, the human shifted slightly to trail his hands down the other man's spine. Lightly, he let his fingernails scrape across skin and he wondered ... How would Rai react to this? Would that wild side of the neko's make it's appearance again?

Slan didn't even know why he was acting the way he did. It had been almost instinctive, bending down letting his hands slide down, and now his head lowered to press a kiss to the back of the neko's neck. He just couldn't seem to stop himself, as if the time apart from Rai had made being as close to him as possible that much more of a priority.

Rai made a strange loud meow sound at the affectionate scratching and kissing of his friend. He couldn't understand fully what was happening to his body, but it seemed that he wanted more from the human. An odd passion began to burn brightly in his heart, causing him to pounce on his friend and pin him down. Purring loudly and making small squeaking noises, he clawed the human softly, licking his neck and chin and nuzzling Slan's chest.

Oh it felt so good to have his skin pressed up against Slan's, even if they were both wet from their baths and his tail was wagging like a dog's. "I... I want more..." he whispered between purrs, closing his eyes at the nice sensations running through his body.

Slan laughed a little at the odd sounds coming from Rai, though that was soon cut short. He shifted as he was pinned down, moving to press himself closer to the neko, so close that he felt like the skin separating them fused together. "Rai ... Oh yes, more sounds good." Slan's hands moved to prove his words true, and his lips pulled back to reveal surprisingly white teeth to nip lightly at the other man.

Rai let his impulses take control, his instincts guiding him what to do to get rid of the mounting lust that his friend had invoked. The constant moving and touching of skin fuelled him as he found the right spot, licking and kissing until Slan was moaning loudly. "I... How do you...?" he stopped to ask, falling back abit and moving his tail. Still on top of the naked human, the neko slowly positioned himself, gasping at the sensation that filled him.

It was a whirlwind of ecstasy and pleasure, before the neko knew it, he was spent. Rolling off Slan, he nuzzled into the sweaty man, purring loudly and licking his face slowly. "I... We... Are we lovers now?" he questioned, blushing slightly at his question. He had never known that two men could preform such a ritual, and to feel so much love for one another.

Exhausted, Slan groaned slightly and shifted to drape an arm over the neko possessively. "That's exactly what it means.." He let out a long sigh as the neko licked his face so. It was such a sweet gesture, and made him want to show just how much he appreciated what they'd just shared. He just didn't know how to do that.

Maybe a present? That thought was a good one, now Slan just had to find something that the neko would like... And do so without Rai realizing. Smiling, he leaned over to press his lips against Rai's. "We need to get come clothes on, and get some food. " How was he going to sneak away? It would take some time to plan that little escapade just right. Slan didn't want to worry the neko over much over something so small, though between them disappearing was so much more then just that it seemed.

Rai sprung up with all the energy of a kitten. He threw on his clothes, beaming widely at the human who was still pondering over something on the ground. "I'll do some hunting. I can catch us something good! Better than mice," he was very eager to show his friend how good of a hunter he was. As he was about to run off into the trees, he paused and glanced over his shoulder at Slan.

"You belong to me now, and I belong to you... Anyone will be able to sense that," he told the man, smiling and running off into the brush. He slowed down when he found the signs of a rabbit nearby, crouching low and watching as it hopped through the trees. In a quick and swift movement, he caught and killed it, slinging it over his shoulder in search for another. After an hour he had returned to the house, carrying three medium-sized rabbits and a duck he had found. He hoped that the food would be enough for a few days.

The human chuckled and moved to pull on his own clothing t a more leisurely pace. He didn't need to hurry, since then neko was already running off to grab them some food. Once dressed, he moved towards the house and crawled inside. Cobwebs and dust, debris and decay, they all littered the place... In the basement at least. Boxes and boxes of things lay about, unopened and long forgotten.

Slan began rummaging through them all carefully, though he somehow managed to make them fall upon him. Not only that, the human gained quite the collection of cuts and bruises all along his arms, but then he saw it, just a glint of gold in the growing gloom. Hastily, he reached out, fingers brushed against the cool metal until he was able to fish it out of the debris. A necklace, or a pendant rather, lay in the palm of his hand.

It was round, with the impression of a rose upon it's surface. Such a pretty coin ... Slan rummaged around some more and found a sewing kit and a silky sapphire blue ribbon. Soon he had the coin sewn to the ribbon, and the necklace was complete. Quite proud of himself now, and having undone the day's bath already, he found his way upstairs.

He slunk about, searching for Rai and smiled when he saw the neko. "Hey! No mice this time, that's a surprise." It was indeed, but a pleasant one.

"I hope I did good, Slan," he purred, rubbing his face against the human's and kissing his cheek. "We should have enough for two days... If we can find a place to keep these while we don't eat them," he showed Slan that one of the rabbits and the duck were still alive, just knocked out by shock. He turned around again and noted the cuts and bruises on his friend.

"What have you been doing?" he questioned, sniffing Slan's scent. He smelt dusty and mouldy, as if he'd been in a place where old things were kept. Rai sneezed.

The human laughed and lifted a hand to ruffle the neko's hair affectionately. "You did more then good, and I can make a pen for them." But that wasn't what his first priority was. No, Slan very much wanted to know how Rai would react to the necklace he'd made for him. It was a necklace after all, made with sapphire silk and a golden pendant. The jewelry was somewhat feminine, and suddenly he worried that the neko wouldn't like it.

"I uhm, made something for you ..." Nervously, he lifted the length of ribbon. The gold pendant glinted in the sun, and the ribbon shimmered beneath the light. Strange, how well the length of cloth captured the eye.

Rai stared at it, reaching to touch it. It was a simple thing, but beautiful nonetheless. He had already received a necklace from his friend, but this one reminded him more of a collar, as though Slan was telling the neko that he belonged to him. Rai smiled at the thought and turned around, lifting his hair to let the human tie it around his neck.

"It's beautiful," he purred, licking Slan's fingers.

Relief washed through Slan when he heard those words, followed by a smile. Carefully, he lifted the cloth and wrapped it around the neko's neck. He placed a kiss upon the skin just above the collar, and hugged the cat eared man for a moment after the neko was done licking his hand." I'm glad you like it," murmured the human.

Reluctantly, the dark haired man released the neko and moved to begin gathering wood. "Rai, I'm just going to start getting the things I need to make the fence. You make sure they don't get away, I wouldn't want all your hard work to go to waste." It was going to be nice, being able to have fresh meat instead of simply surviving on roots.

Rai nodded, placing the dead rabbits on top of a bench he found in another room, and holding onto the alive ones. The duck was flapping about quacking loudly and the rabbit sat there with large eyes, as if it knew its fate and accepted it. Rai almost felt sorry for them.

Once the fence was done, he placed the rabbit inside and then, after breaking one of the duck's wings so it couldn't fly out, he put the duck in as well. Looking at the fenced up animals reminded him of his farm and off his youth where he used to chase chickens. His ears and tail drooped slightly as he felt the pang of sadness and wished that he could go back to his days of innocence.

Slan felt sorry for the animals, but decided then and there that he would use every bit of them he could. The rabbit's fur could be used to make mittens, for when the weather got colder, and the duck's feathers could be used to make a nice pillow. Yes, that way none of the animals would be wasted, and their deaths would have more meaning.

He snapped from his thoughts when he noticed the way Rai's ears were drooping. The human moved quietly to wrap an arm around the neko's waist. For a moment he didn't realize why the cat eared man was so sad, until he noticed just how similar the enclosure seemed to the ones which had once been at the farmhouse he'd stolen from so often. "Rai, why don't you come inside? Let's choose a room." He didn't doubt for a second they'd sleep in the same bed.

Rai nodded and smiled, snapping from his moment of despair. He crawled through a hole in the wall and ran about the house, the collar on his neck making slight ringing sounds as he did. He came across a large room that still had a dusty four-poster double bed in it and jumped onto it, curling up and sneezing at the dust. It was quite comfortable and just the right size for him and Slan to be able to fit on it.

"I found this one!" he called, waiting for the human to catch up to him.