So I'm so sorry it took me ages to get this uploaded! but anyway, now that I'll be doing my own editing the process should be a lot quicker. This is a chapter from Kaio's persepctive and his dreams of the past, I originally wanted something of a naughty nature to happen in this chapter but I decided against it, to make it more of a romantic scene rather than sexual. I hope you all enjoy! As always this is a M/M romance, adventure, post apocalyptic story. All characters in this story belong to me and may not be used for anything without my given permission. This chapter does not contain sexual content and is safe for viewers of all ages. So without further ado, here is chapter 3 of T.N.O.L.!

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The Nature of Life ~Chapter 3~

Ghosts Of Our Past:

Where am I? How did I get here?

The words spun around in my head as I desperately tried to remember what had happened last. I remembered being on the surface with Arian, he had just had a vision of the Great War and we were heading home. Then I remembered that I had found a rose and picked it for Arian...

The thorns!

I remembered now, I was poisoned by the thorns and I was resting now, resting so the medicine Arian gave to me would work. My body felt hot, probably a fever due to the thorn's toxin, and I felt dizzy. Even though I wasn't really awake I could feel Arian sleeping next to me.

Arian...

Affectionate, loving, honestly the best boyfriend I could ever ask for. He always supported me, through all the hard times in my life. I'm not sure if he even remembers but I remember him from long before we met on the surface. It was Siphe 30, Ciel 165 The only reason we had a calendar time was due to the Great Elder Miesh, who recently had passed away. Many of the Colonists were actually glad to be rid of Elder Miesh and his 'Naturist ways' but a few of his followers were devastated by his passing. I knew Elder Miesh and had a respect for the Elder, but didn't know or respect him as well as Arian had. I stood there, watching things play out like a movie in front of me, watching my memories unfold.

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Siphe 30 Ciel 165

I stood there, in the shadows watching as the funeral service for Elder Miesh was held. I saw him, from a distance, he was one of the few followers that bothered to show up and show his devotion and respect to the late Elder. I had watched him a lot, curious to know more about him, but he didn't know I existed. He was one of the late Elders most devoted followers, and it crushed him when the Elder died. I could see his muzzle moving, speaking to the portrait of Elder Miesh, I could see as tears started to form in his eyes. I slowly approached, hearing his sobs of pain and misery, it made me want to hold him, make him feel better. I was young but even then I knew I was in love with him, knew that one day he would be mine. I got closer and put an arm around him, it startled him for a moment but soon after he hugged onto me tightly, sobbing into my chest. I started to cry too, moved by his emotions.

"He was a great teacher..." Arian said through sobs.

"Yeah... he was a very kind man..." I replied.

After a while of crying he wiped his eyes and broke the hug.

"I'm sorry..."

I looked at him and pulled him back into the hug, "Don't be! You just looked like you were in so much pain... I wanted to help you feel better..."

He smiled and a light blush covered his face. I noticed his brother Tyrus had showed up sometime later and was calling for him. He said goodbye to me and I watched as he faded into the mist of my dreams.

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It all seemed so real, it was like watching a movie and being in the movie. It was one of the more fond memories I had of Arian, but I had more important memories.

Feil 16 Ciel 173

On the first day of the hunt for those who had just turned of age it was traditional to wear tribal clothing, it was a rite of passage, to prove that we were just as worthy as our great ancestors who originally tamed the earth. I wore a few bangles on my arm, some tribal paint that my family had made from an old recipe, and a loin cloth, but nothing much else other than that. I wore A quiver around my waist and carried a bow and spear as my hunting weapons. Of course we all had breathing masks, otherwise we would probably all die from the toxic air.

Everyone else wore things similar to me, but everyone's tribal paint was always different. Instantly I noticed Arian's body, the muscles on his body were strong and his nearly bare body really made me blush. I did notice that he did not have any tribal paint, but instead a tattoo on his left shoulder was visible. It was a sword with a diamond shape inside the circle of the top hilt, thorns of a green color wrapped around down to the point of the sword. After that there were a few tribal tattoos and on the back of his paw was a green pentacle. It looks much cooler than anyone's tribal paint and it made him look that much sexier.

It was bright, very bright as I emerged on the surface for the first time to hunt. I had gone to the surface occasionally with my father, so he could point out to me the best places to hunt when I was ready, but it had been awhile since I was on the surface. I stumbled about as the blinding light of the sun above hit my eyes. It took me awhile to get my vision back and I could finally see the wonderful surface world around me.

It wasn't just me on the surface, it was all of us who had just turned of age to hunt. Each of us was matched into a pair so we had a "hunting buddy" to make sure that we didn't get lost and had a better chance of making it back to the colony. In my head I was silently praying to get paired with Arian, I wanted to know him better, I hadn't spoken to him since eight years ago at Elder Miesh's funeral. I wanted to know if it would be wise to let him know that I liked him, but to know that I first had to know more about him.

As if the universe was favoring me I was partnered with Arian, though he seemed to be agitated that he had to have a "hunting buddy" at all. It looked as though he'd prefer to go off on his own, though I had no idea why. I walked over to him and smiled as I was about to introduce myself to him but he spoke first.

"Listen, I don't want to talk at all. Just follow my lead on the hunt and don't say anything to me." his agitated look didn't waver.

I frowned a bit, feeling discouraged and I didn't say anything, just stared at the ground and began living in my own little world. The two of us moved out and began our hunt, leaving behind the others. We headed deep, deep into the forest, where many of the others would probably dare not go, even I was hesitant to follow Arian. A few hours had passed and we found ourselves in a grove of sorts that Arian seemed to know well. He sat down on a stump and stared at me for a moment, but I didn't entirely notice because I was still kind of off in my own world.

"Now we can talk." he said simply, as he looked me over.

I looked up and stared back for a moment, what was the point of leading me out all this way to talk? Why couldn't we have talked back then? I wore a bit of a hurt expression on my face as I thought things out in my mind.

"Well? You wanted to talk didn't you? This is you chance." he stated after I remained silent.

"...." I said nothing for a moment as I thought of what to say, "Why now? " I asked.

"Because now we are alone to talk. I don't like talking to people in the presence of others, especially when the person that wants to talk seems to have many things to say." He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to read me.

"Well... My name is Kaio. I guess I want to know more about you, I see you around a lot, but know almost nothing about you." I stated.

He stared at me for awhile which caused me to look away, "Nice to meet you Kaio. I'm Arian, what do you want to know about me? " there was a cautious tone in his voice, as if he didn't trust me yet.

"That tattoo on your arm... what does it mean? And where did you get it? " I pointed to the elaborate tattoo on his left arm.

He looked over to it and frowned slightly, "I got it in one of the other colonies when I was traveling a few years back... it represents that I am a fighter of the Earth and Mother Nature and that I embrace the old traditions of Magick as well as embrace my ancestral heritage..."

I looked deeper at its design, it was very well done and I thought it looked amazing, "It's really cool."

We sat in silence for a moment and then I noticed that his eyes had gone blank, as if he was drawn away from this world and into some other dimension.

"Hey! Arian! You ok? " I asked, trying to get a response out of him, but there was only silence.

I approached him and shook him gently still trying desperately to get a response out of him. Nothing, just silence. Moments later his eyes returned to normal and he was shaking slightly, behind the breathing mask I saw that he was crying, tears slowly cascading down his muzzle.

Why is he crying? I asked myself.

"Are you ok Arian..?" I asked him, putting an arm around him.

"I... I'm fine, I'm sorry... it's just... sometimes I get these visions..." he paused, seeming unsure if he should continue, "Visions of the past, during the Great War... I see things that happened before the Great War and what happened during..." his sobs got a bit louder and his shaking became a bit more intense.

I held onto him, wanting desperately to protect him, "Hey... calm down, it's ok..." I let him rest his head against me, he appeared to be strong, but on the inside he was very gentle.

After a while he calmed down and looked up at me, "This isn't the first time you've comforted me like this... is it Kaio?" he stated, which threw me off guard for a moment.

I looked down at him and smiled, "Eight years ago... at Elder Miesh's funeral."

He smiled softly, "So it was you."

He got up and pulled me to follow him and after a little walking we came to a burrow entrance, "We should go down this burrow and clean out our filters." he stated as he led me down. "I found this burrow while exploring one day."

We got down far enough and took off our masks, it would take us a while to clean the filters so we could stay on the surface longer. He seemed to be happier around me now, but I wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps it was because he was grateful that I allowed him a shoulder to cry on?

He walked over to me and looked me in the eyes, "Kaio..."

A light blush covered my muzzle, "Yes..?"

Unexpectedly he leaned in and kissed me softly, which made me blush deeply. It left me confused and wondering if what happened really did happen or not. After he broke the kiss I stood there, with an expression of confusion. He frowned just slightly and stared at the ground.

"I... I'm sorry I just..."

I pulled him back close and kissed him back softly, the two of us closing our eyes and enjoying the passionate kiss. Now it was his turn to be confused, after I broke our kiss he stared at me in confusion.

"I've really liked you for a long time Arian... I wanted to get to know you better, I wanted to know if you liked guys because... I want you to be mine Arian... I want you to be with me, be my boyfriend." I was blushing deeply and he was blushing too.

He smiled at me, "I've noticed you sometimes, watching from afar... I wasn't sure if you were planning something bad, that's why I waited to talk to you, but now I remember you from eight years ago, you comforted me in a time of great sorrow, so I know I can trust you... I know I can trust you with my heart."

We spent that night cuddling together in the burrow and emerged the following day to actually hunt. Later that day we returned to the colony with our first kill to prove ourselves worthy of our ancestry, and we also returned with a much deeper connection for each other.

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I watched the scenes unfold before me like a shade that was not visible to the representations in my memories. This memory too faded into the mists. I loved him so much, we always took care of each other, and we both loved each other dearly. We had been together ever since that day and our love for each other only grew with the passing of time. I opened my eyes slightly only to feel nauseated and sick still, I felt Arian sleeping next to me still and it caused me to smile.

But as I looked around I noticed a shadow out in the hallway and felt the eyes of anger rest upon us. Tyrus. He stood in the hallway glaring at the scene of us sleeping together, but he soon turned away and left the place, probably to think over what he had just seen. It was then that I knew that we were in for trouble, that now life would not be so easy as it had before. As I fell back into my dreams I felt my heart racing, because even now I could feel the drums of war just on the horizon.