Rai jumped slightly as Slan went crashing through the undergrowth towards the herbs, flinching at his touch. The last time Slan had touched his tail, they had been... He shuddered and tried his hardest not to get excited. The stinging pain soon changed into blissful numbness and Rai grinned, rubbing his face against the human's hand. "It worked, thank you," he said, purring softly. He glanced up at the sky. It was getting dark, as night time finally decided to come. His stomach rumbled loudly and he thought of the food that they had to leave behind.

"We should make camp somewhere soon. I can try and catch some food for us," he suggested, straightening up.

The young man smiled with relief when he saw that the herbs had worked. It had been a little risky to use them on Rai, not knowing exactly what they would do, but it had been worth it. At the mention of the growing darkness, Slan tilted his head to peer up at the sky just as the neko did.

Stars were beginning to twinkle up high. The sight of them was reassuring in a way, since after all they had lived for another day. "You always do the hunting," mumbled Slan. It was slightly annoying, but he couldn't deny that the neko was much better at it then he was. "I'll find us a camp site."

Rai grinned and sped away into the trees, searching for any signs of animals. He found a pheasant nest and managed to catch one, breaking its neck instantly. He draped it over his shoulder and went in search of Slan once more, hoping his friend would enjoy the catch. As he stalked through waist-high bush, he came across one that was growing bright red raspberries. Excited to give Slan a gift, he picked a couple.

"I got a surprise for you," he called once he found the human. He set down the dead pheasant near where a fire would be lit and showed Slan the berries. He grinned again and held one with his teeth, waiting for Slan to take it from him.

Slan gathered branches quickly, bending down to grasp the rough bark in his hands and then moving to the firepit he'd created with stones he'd found nearby. He set up the branches carefully, then plucked up his precious flint. Just as he was poised to start the fire, Rai returned with his prize, and a few delicious looking berries as well. Slan's eyes narrowed, examining each piece carefully. They were bright, red, and ... yes they were indeed raspberries. They weren't poisonous, but he would have to warn the neko about that.

Shaking his head, he moved nearer the other man and tilted his head up to snatch the berry with his mouth, all the while pressing a sweet kiss onto the neko's lips. It was delicious, and made the dark haired man hunger for more.

Rai grinned, leaning down to kiss Slan a second time, his tongue invading the other's mouth as he pushed him over and landed on top of him. He didn't care that they had to make a fire and food before it got too dark. He wanted Slan again, he wanted to feel the passionate love that they had felt before they had been caught by the humans. Purring loudly, Rai licked the man's face, rubbing gently against the human's warm chest.

A wince slipped across his face when the hard ground met his back, but Slan was quite beyond caring about that. That young man shifted, trying to roll them both over so that he towered over the neko with a grin of his own. Regardless of what happened, he moved his hands to slip them up and under Rai's shirt so he felt warm flesh meeting his questing fingers. Of their own volition, his hips shifted and pressed against the other man. The motion had the beginnings of a soft moan leaping from Slan's lips. That just brought memories to the forefront of his mind...

Rai closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the other's hands against his chest, purring loudly as if fuelling the human's lustful intentions. His cat-like animal instinct guided him, causing him to growl loudly in ecstasy and claw at his lover's back. It had lasted a lot longer than their first time and once they were both spent, Rai felt far too tired to do anything more. He cuddled up to Slan and purred, closing his eyes and nearly falling asleep.

A loud booming from the sky above caused Rai's eyes to snap open and he jumped up, glaring at the dark clouds swirling above them. A thunderstorm... He whimpered and tried to crawl under his lover, covering his ears as another loud crash sounded. The smell of earth assaulted him as the clouds cracked open and unleashed a torrent of rain upon the world below.

That had been enjoyable, no, it had been amazingly wonderful and breathtaking. Slan didn't even mind the scratches upon his back, in fact he ... kind of liked them. He shook his head, wrapping his arms around the other man and pulling Rai close, as close as possible. It was so comfortable, he just wanted to doze off, and nearly did until Rai moved from the circle of his arms.

Then it was the exact opposite happening. Slan made a soft shushing sound, all the while trying to guide the neko under the cover of the trees. He knew how Rai hated getting wet. Once settled down, Slan wrapped himself around his cat eared lover in an attempt to keep him nice and warm, as well as feeling safe.

Rai nuzzled into the warm scent he had grown so attached to, his ears drooped and his tail wrapped around both of them as it start to pour. From the shelter of the trees, the rain roared loudly, as if angry at the two for hiding from it. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, making Rai's fur stand on end. He clawed at Slan's arms, not realising that he was hurting his lover. The primal energy that was fuelled by the fear of the storm caused him to hiss like a feral cat.

He had to make the other man forget about the storm. Slan took a deep breath, wincing at the claws drawing blood from his arms. He knew Rai didn't mean it, and it sent an odd thrill to his stomach. He tilted his head to capture the other man's lips, nibbling and teasing at them with passionate insistence. One of his hands traveled to Rai's tail, massaging the appendage firmly. Rai had to be distracted by now, that fear turned into something else.

Rai's eyes widened and he tensed up, wondering why Slan wanted more so soon. He soon relaxed, his ears flicking every time the thunder crashed above. He began to purr louder than the rain, his body relaxing as he let his lover do as he pleased to him. It felt strange but also good to allow someone touch his tail. He had never done so before.

Relief washed through the young man, even as he shifted to tangle his fingers into the other man's grey hair. Soon Slan was writhing about in pleasure despite his previous exhaustion. Dimly, he was aware of the thunder rolling away and the rain becoming nothing more then a drizzle. He barely noticed any of that as he curled up with Rai, clinging tightly to the neko, his hand petting Rai's head as the human sighed contentedly. Everything would be alright, he was sure.

Rai was exhausted. He sighed softly and curled up next to the human, watching him with half-open eyes. The thunder had died down and only the steady dripping of water from the tree branches above broke the complete silence that followed. He sneezed at the earthy smell that assaulted him and moved even closer to Slan, sighting the deep scratch marks and feeling bad. He licked them carefully, purring in apology. He hadn't meant to hurt his lover.

His stomach growled loudly and he remembered the food that they had abandouned in the now muddly ground. The berries and meat would be spoiled.

He shivered lightly when he felt a rough tongue against his wounds. Slan chuckled a little, hugging the neko tight against him. "It's alright, you were scared out of your mind." And that was why he'd done his best to distract the other man. He smiled indulgently when he heard a rumbling stomach.

"I get to find more food for us. You rest. " So saying, Slan untangled himself from the other man and moved so slip on his pants. Then he was off, walking away to peer at the underbrush with an expression of pure concentration. He grasped his shirt, and bent down to pluck up berries and herbs. Then he moved even further and bent down to dig in the ground for roots. That done, Slan sauntered back to the neko's side to lay his food filled shirt before the neko.

Rai sniffed delicately at the food presented to him. He wrinkled his nose in distaste at the roots, but picked up a few of the berries to chew on. He was a carnivore mainly, eating sweet things other than meat. He climbed a low branch and curled up on it, his big green eyes glowing with the moonlight that filtered in through the leaves. His ears picked up any small sound around them, the drip of water onto the leafy floor, the distant shuffling of a hedgehog grubbing for worms... And in the far far south, the low growling of an unseen creature.

Rai rested his head, allowing his still stinging tail to droop down and brush the top of Slan's head.

Slan nibbled on one of the roots after handing all of the berries to Rai. He could survive on the little he'd gathered well enough. It was all he'd been doing for years after all. The dark haired man smiled when he felt something brush his head, and reached up to poke gently at the hanging appendage. "Will you be sleeping up there?"

He was oblivious to the growl, to the fact that a true wild creature was slinking towards them. It had sniffed out Rai's wound, the meat lying by the campfire, and with the humans around those parts stealing it's game .. The beast had been hungering for food, and now it finally had some.

Rai nodded, watching Slan eat with half-closed eyes and listening to the growling of the monster approaching. It seemed to have caught their scent, and the blood from his tail... It would be near soon. "It'd be best to join me," he spoke, trying not to panic the human. "There's something coming and it doesn't sound friendly." Perhaps they could hide in the tree... Rai jumped down nimbly and told Slan that he would be back.

With his tail dragging along the ground, he ran through the forest, trying to leave confusing scent trails away from where they were sleeping. He lifted himself into a nearby tree and climbed, running along the branches until he reached where Slan was. "It won't be enough to lead it away, but perhaps we can confuse it enough to leave us alone."

Something was following them? Slan froze at the idea, panic in his eyes. He began searching for a way out, and vaulted into the tree at the neko's suggestion. He watched Rai run away with a tight fist of fear gripping his heart. He couldn't loose the dark eared neko, simply couldn't imagine not having the other man around now after having spent more time with him. As time passed, Slan's breathing became shallower as he forced himself to remain exactly where he was, clutching onto the tree's rough bark as if his life depended on it, and it did.

The creature tracking them followed the false trail only a moment. It was a misshapen beast, clawed and horned, scaled and furred with a man like shape and features. Perhaps it had been human once, or a shifter, it was hard to tell. With it's above average intelligence, it knew after a while that it had been tricked and retraced it's steps. Soon the smell of smoke filled it's nostrils. The creature slunk forward, and paused to gobble up the abandoned rabbits.

Rai watched the mutant sniff about below their tree, holding Slan's arm tightly. He had heard about these creatures in school, but never believe that they existed. Before the wars and dividing of the nations, humans and weres lived together in harmony. Some humans used science to try and become weres. Terrible things came from those experiments, or so it was said.

Being the human's eyes in the dark, Rai watched the creature move closer to their tree and realised it could climb it with ease. He tensed up, ready to fight.

It sniffed at the ground and growled. Slowly, it moved forward until it stood directly bellow the hiding pair. It reached out, claws extended, and began to climb up the trunk. Deep gouges were left behind, a testimonial to the creature's determination to get it's prey. Slan shivered, and turned wide eyes to Rai. He didn't speak, but instead tried to point to another tree whose branch lay very nearby. He didn't really wait for an okay, but instead took the leap.

The branch he was clinging to now cracked and broke. The human landed on the ground with a sickening mewling scream. The branch's sharp end had pierced his arm, but at least his legs were okay. Slan struggled to rip the wood from his limb with a grimace, and then he was doing his best to escape. He knew the creature was turning it's attention to him, the easiest target.

Rai lunged at the creature, knocking it from the tree and pinning it with difficulty. He roared and ripped at its flesh, dodging the lashes from it's rat-like tail and jumping off when its razor-sharp teeth tried to hone into his neck. He saw Slan stumble away through the forest and tried to distract the creature. Moving quickly, he grabbed its tail and bit it, rushing away from its counter-attack. He kept quickly moving in circles, taunting it and dodging its attacks until the creature stopped moving. It growled again and lunged, catching Rai off-guard.

Pushing at its face to keep it from delivering the killing blow, the two thrashed and clawed at each other until they lost balance and fell down a small cliff and into a river. Rai panicked and kicked away from the creature, which hit its head on a rock and went under. Keeping his head above the surface, the neko tried to swim back to the shore, bumping against rocks as the river pushed him along like a leaf. He mewed in distress, feeling something grab his leg and drag him under. He kicked out, his foot connecting with the mutant's skull and killing it instantly.

Struggling against the fastening current and icy-cold water, Rai kicked himself to the surface, gasping for air and trying to reach the bank. He hit a rock and it knocked the breath from him, though with quick reflexes, he grabbed ahold of it and pulled himself out of the water. He was aching all over and bleeding from many deep scratches and cuts. He gasped for breath and lifted his head, hoping Slan wasn't too far away.

He was hiding in the trees anxiously watching the battle. The neko and his adersary disappeared from sight, and that was when he heard Rai's mewing sound. Slan moved as fast as he could, crading his arm and binding it as quickly as he could. The moment he noticed the rushing water below, his heart sank. No, not now! His arm twitched convulsively, sending a jolt of pain through Slan.

Shaking his head, he dove into the river anyway. He let himself be carried to a certain extent, then moved to slam into the rock where Rai clung. "It's okay, I'll get you out of here." Slan smiled reassuringly. One of his hands snaked up to push Rai into the water, whom he then grabbed and then proceeded to guide and push onto the banks. "You'll be alright." The words were a murmur, spoken as he felt one of his hands slip away from the neko. Slan smiled, even as he was swept into the undertow of the river.

Rai hit the bank, feeling grateful to have earth beneath his feet. He turned just as he saw Slan be swept away. He screamed and ran along the bank, searching for the human and feeling as if his heart was going to burst from his chest. No. Not like this...

Panting heavily, Rai saw Slan resurface, looking tired and gasping for air. He desperately looked around for anything to help them. There was nothing but rocks and trees and by the time Rai looked back at the river, Slan had disappeared from sight. "NO! SLAN!!!" he cried, running until he could run no more. The river slowed and ended up in a large calm lake. The moon reflected in its surface as it lay nestled between trees. Rai crawled along its banks, looking for any signs of his lover.

The water was cold and unforgiving, especially towards stray wanderers that fell in. She had seen the human struggling against the current and heard the cries from his companion. She watched as it seemed that the human had lost all will to survive and became still. Frowning, she moved towards the suspended body, pushing it towards the bank and bringing his head into the air. She pushed the human ashore and climbed the bank, her silvery tail glinting in the moonlight. She breathed into the human's mouth, pushing on his chest to pump out the water. Once he spluttered and started to breathe again, she heard the companion approach and quickly dove back under the water.

Rai rushed to Slan's side, pleased to see that he was breathing and wondering slightly why the mermaid had decided to save him. He was very lucky and Rai felt extremely grateful. He would find a gift later. He dragged his lover towards the trees, quickly making a fire and stripping him of his wet clothes. "Slan..." he spoke, cuddling up to the naked body to help keep him warm.

For a while the young man splashed around in a desperate attempt to keep his head above water. Then his lungs filled, his eyes drifted open and he simply let himself float. Slan spared a thought for Rai, a regret, a deep sadness, filled his heart. He didn't want to leave the neko behind ... That was when something silver flashed through his muddled mind. No, wait ... Everything faded to black, and a blissful kind of feeling filled Slan. He didn't need to worry about anything anymore.

A voice was calling him away from the dark. His name, whispered by someone he didn't want to leave behind, had him struggling to fight off the eternal sleep calling to him. A loud groan escaped his chattering lips. Slan tried to shift closer to the other man, seeking warmth to stave off the shivering of his body. He was so cold, so cold and so glad to be alive.

"Slan!" Rai cried in happiness, snuggling closer to the naked human. The wet clothes lay near the small fire, steaming and drying slowly. He knew that Slan could get sick if he stayed cold for too long, so he pulled him closer to the fire, wishing that they had a blanket. "Slan, I am so glad..." He thought about the mysterious mermaid that had saved his lover. He had thought their tribe was long extinct and wondered if she was the last of her kind.