Aleu stepped back, looked at him, and then hugged him tightly.

Seph: (Laughing) Hey. Don’t worry. We’ll see each other again.

Aleu: Ok.

            Aleu turned to Muru.

Aleu: It was good to see you again, Muru.

Muru: As it was to see youagain, Aleu.

            Aleu started to walk away. When she was about ten feet away from them, she looked back.

Aleu: Bye.

Muru: Good-bye.

Seph: Good night, Aleu. Sweet dreams.

            When Niju was on the other side, he quickly went back to the corner he was sleeping in, and laid down. And right when Aleu walked in, he closed his eyes.

            Aleu walked over to her spot, circled it twice, and then settled down into a little ball and closed her eyes. Niju opened one eye slightly and looked at Aleu. It looked like she had already fallen asleep, completely still, with her nostrils and her belly being the only things moving from breathing steadily. Niju smiled at her, and then went to sleep.

            A few minutes later, Aleu opened both her eyes tiredly and looked around for Niju. He was a few feet to her right, fast asleep. She slowly got up and walked over to Niju. She laid down and crawled over to him. She started to cuddle in next to him, rubbing her head against his neck, and her back against his belly. The second Aleu touched him, he was awake. Aleu had never been this close to him before; to the point he was practically holding her. Niju gave his surprised look and then started to smile again. She slid her head under his arm, and rested. Niju looked at her happily as she slept. His attraction for Aleu that he noticed was growing stronger. He had never felt such a feeling in all his life. He felt love for the first time, and it felt so right to him. He now knew, for definite, that he was in love with her. He then rested the bottom of his neck on top of her head, closed his eyes, and they both fell silently asleep.

Chapter 20

            When Niju woke up, it was about ten minutes past dawn. He looked a little droopy. He shook his head awake then looked around tiredly. Aleu was nowhere in sight. Not again, he thought. He looked in the room she was in last night, she wasn’t there. She looked around outside the cave. He couldn’t find her. Had Aleu really gone home this time? He hoped not.  

Niju: Where is she now?

            Niju stepped out a little further and looked around some more. He still couldn’t see her.

Niju: Maybe she just went for a walk. She’ll be back.

            Although doubting that it was true, Niju went back into the cave and lied back down.  

Niju: She wouldn’t leave me… would she?

            Niju set his head down and went back to sleep. When Niju woke up, the sky was finally blue. It had been an hour since he woke up the first time. He figured he had gotten enough sleep. So he got up and looked around, and he saw that Aleu still wasn’t back yet. He looked out side again, and she still wasn’t there.

Niju: Where is she? She should’ve been back by now.

            Niju started to think that she wasn’t coming back. He started to feel bad. If she left without saying good-bye, he thought, that can’t be a good thing. 

Niju: Maybe she didleave me. 

            Niju sounded hopeless. He slowly turned around and walked back to the cave with his head down… Then all of a sudden, he heard something moving in the bushes, and his ears shot strait up. And his hopes returned in a heart beat. He turned around quickly, hoping to see Aleu. He didn’t see anything. Then he turned back around and kept walking. Then he heard it again. He turned around again. Still, no one was there.

            Niju was getting annoyed, and a little freaked at the same time. Niju kept looking in to the bushes.

Niju: Is someone there?

            He started to turn around again, but still looking in the woods. Then the second he turned his head, he heard another it again. Now Niju was annoyed.

Niju: Alright, I’ve had enough. Show yourself!

            Niju started to sound threatening only at first, and then he felt like he was being stalked, so he started to feel a little scared. Niju began to slowly walk towards the bushes. As he got closer and closer, the more they moved. When Niju got to the point when he was standing right in front of them, they stopped shaking. Niju was confused. He got closer and looked in the bushes. He could see a little bit of what was in there. He couldn’t tell what it was. But when he took a closer look, his eyes widened; then, right when he started to back up, a wolf jumped right out and tackled him. Niju landed on his back with the wolf standing right above him. Niju started to panic. Since they were in the woods and the sun was a little over the wolf’s head, Niju couldn’t see his face.

            Niju was breathing hard.  

Niju: What do you want?

            The wolf started to laugh. Niju could then tell that hewas a she.

Aleu: (Laughing) what are you talking about.

            As soon as Niju heard her talk, he was relieved and shocked at the same time.

Niju: Aleu?

            Aleu moved her head from the sun, and he saw her face. She was smiling.

Aleu: Good morning. 

Niju: Good morning…uh.

Aleu: Oh, sorry.  

            Aleu backed up and off of Niju and he got up.

Niju: Where were you this morning, I woke up and you weren’t there. I thought you went home.

Aleu: No, of course not. I went up to the water to get us some breakfast.

Niju: Y- you went to catch fish?

Aleu: Yeah. You must have woken up right after I left. Sorry I took so long. I had some trouble at first. After all, I had only just learned how to catch them, thanks to you of course.

            Niju was so relieved. He knew that she would never leave him like that. He almost felt a little shamed to think that she would. It was too bad that he couldn’t keep that thought to him, since he already told her.

Aleu: Why did you think that I left?

Niju: Well, I didn’t at first. I thought that you had just gone for a walk. But when I woke up again, at this time, you still weren’t there. I wouldn’t have thought that you were out to catch fish.

            Aleu started to walk back to the bushes to get the fish that she set down.

Niju: But don’t get me wrong! That was very nice of you. Thank you.

Aleu: It’s ok. That’s what friends are for, right?

Niju: Uh, right.

            But right then, Niju just realized something. He hadn’t told Aleu how he really feels. She still thought that Niju thinks of her as just a close friend. He hadn’t said anything since last night. Niju knew that this would be an awkward time to talk about it, so he helped Aleu bring in the fish.

            For the rest of the morning, Niju was sort of nervous around her. But that didn’t mean he stayed away from her. He still sat next to her while they ate they’re breakfast. But from time to time he would glance at her just to make sure she didn’t have an idea about what he was thinking. Niju wanted to tell Aleu how he felt, not have her find out about it. But he was sure that she might have had the slightest thought, but he didn’t want to show it just yet. He thought that making it obvious at the moment would be improper. He wanted to have a sit down talk with her; that way she would be more open minded. Though he wasn’t sure how or when he was going to do it.

            Other than that, he thought about the reactions he might get from Aleu’s clan and her family. But just then, Niju remembered. He still had to apologize to both her family and the clan. He thought to himself, how could he be so forgetful, so distracted? Then he thought of Aleu, about all the time he spent with her. But he couldn’t blame her for being so distracted by her. Besides she was a very beautiful girl, smart, kind, and Niju’s dearest friend. He only had himself to blame. He knew that he would have to work this out sooner or later. But now he needed to spend as much time as