Dog
Dog used to lay in a white pile on the ground, in some shady place, scratching her ear, lazy and happy.
This dog was laying in a white pile under a shade tree. But it didn't look happy, not smiling with its tongue hanging out like Dog had.
Rin crept out from behind the tree to stare at the demon she'd stumbled upon. It was one of the youkai, those terrible creatures who haunted the forest, who ate little children if they didn't go to bed when they were told.
It just lay there. It looked half-dead. Cosmetics like the rich merchant's wives wore made jagged lines like wounds across its jaw, its clothes were ripped and filthy, its hair was singed. And there it lolled, until she stepped out of the bushes.
The youkai raised up at her and snarled, eyes filled with blood, teeth bared, hair standing out.
Rin cowered.
Sometimes Dog would make a face like that, when Rin came too close while she was eating. Fangs bared, hackles raised, ears down.
But she was determined.
Rin stepped into the clearing, and the demon stared at her, looking frightening yet weak. It closed its mouth and regarded her, seeming to calm down.
She stood firm. Then Rin turned and left the demon dog.
Rin took her evening bath at the river. She brought the youkai a pail of water back with her.
It watched silently.
Rin returned to her village, speared a fish from the villager's nets, cooked it, and placed it next to the pail on a large leaf. A few mushrooms that her mother had taught her to pick were strewn about the seared fish.
Dog had liked it when Rin gave her fish. She would sit and rip the head from the body, taking the spine out, and wolf down the insides as though they were sweets.
Rin turned to go. She assumed the youkai did not want her to watch it eat.
"Don't do such useless things," the demon told her. "Human food doesn't suit me."
A boy. The youkai was a boy. His voice was deep, like her father's had been. But he was very pretty.
Dog had not been a pretty dog. She was old and lived in the forest, missing an eye and an ear and most of her tail, her tangled fur exposing old scars from battles fought when she was young. But had she been pampered and groomed, she would have been stunning, for her fur was silver like moonlight, her remaining eye dark like deep water. Dog was muscular, built like a mountain.
Rin returned to her village to find herself dinner. Her family had not had the foresight to teach her to fish for herself before they were killed. It was expected that she would marry a man who would do the fishing, and that Rin would work the fields and tend to the children.
So she waded into the village men's catch, and was in the process of securing a wriggling silver fish when the men found her.
"Do it again and we'll beat you to death!" they roared, slapping her face, punching her, surrounding her with their sweaty, huge bodies.
Then they threw Rin to the ground and kicked her in the back. She crawled forward, picked herself up, walked back to the forest.
Perhaps the demon wanted wheat instead. He didn't seem to like fish...
Rin took it to him, plucked from a field close to the forest. As she walked towards him, his eyes opened.
They were beautiful, the color of amber. There was intelligence behind them, the same as had been behind Dog's eye. Cold, composed intelligence.
"I don't need it," said the beautiful demon. "I told you, I don't need anything."
Rin sighed in defeat. She was sore all over, and where they had hit her she was bruised, one eye swollen shut and burning. Perhaps he didn't like her. Dog hadn't liked her at first, but had at least eaten what Rin brought her. Dog hadn't been one for playing, but once in a while she would retrieve a stick that Rin tossed, and lick the little girl with her pink tongue.
And then, the youkai asked, "How did you get the wound on your face?"
Rin gasped. Not since her family had died had anyone asked about her well-being. No one. They merely glared at her and accused her of stealing and hit her.
"If you don't want to say anything, that's fine."
But she did. He was being kind to her. She just didn't know what to say...
Why was it, that all the humans were so cruel, and yet this devil cared? If just a tiny, miniscule bit?
The youkai turned to face her. His eyes were so wonderful...
Rin closed her eyes and smiled broadly. Her missing tooth showed, but she wasn't embarrassed.
"Why are you so happy?" he inquired. "I just asked you what happened."
But that was enough to make Rin happy.
She hopped on one foot most of the way to her house. Her home was rundown, an eyesore, the villagers said, but they didn't offer to fix it for her. And she was far too young to fix it herself.
But that didn't matter. The day was warm and sunny, and she wanted to play.
Rin missed Dog. Even if Dog wouldn't play, it was nice to have her around to lie in the sun with and watch the birds, the clouds, the play of shadows and leaves in the sunlight.
Rin walked to her home by the river and was met with a terrible surprise.
A filthy demon, reeking of canine, was drinking from the water jar in the corner. He was old and ugly and missing an eye, with a flattened, poorly-healed broken nose. His clothes were old and threadbare, and the dark fur vest he wore was mangy.
"What? This rundown house is yours?" the ugly youkai asked, turning to her.
There was dirt under his long fingernails, and he was balding, his ponytail filthy.
Rin nodded, pressing herself against the rickety tree door.
The sound of wolves howling rang in her ears, then, and as she turned, the wolf youkai shoved her aside, running, his revolting face twisted with panic.
She watched, frozen with terror as the wolves ripped apart the villagers, as the young, handsome wolf youkai killed the old, dirty one.
Dog. She wanted Dog. Dog had fangs, had claws, just like these demons did. And she would gladly fight for the little girl who fed her, who patted her nose, who kept the old beast company.
But Dog was dead. Had been, for years now. So all Rin could do was run, run as fast as her small legs could take her. Down the dirt path, strewn with pebbles that nicked at her feet, into the forest, which was growing dark now, taking on an otherworldly air, moon shining starkly overhead, barely filtering through the treetops, Rin ran.
Rin heard the wolves behind her, their feral howling tearing through the cold night air, felt the sharp rocks under her feet, her own heart pounding excruciatingly fast in her chest, hot tears tracing trails down her pallid cheeks.
The wolves. The air. The rocks. Her heart. Her tears...
Never had Rin felt so alive before. So filled with terror and fear that her brain chased itself in circles, spun round and round, the black forest whirling until it was only Rin, and at the epicenter of the darkness, a ghost of the dog youkai, who turned and moved away into the murkiness, leaving Rin behind, tears spilling from her eyes.
So involved with her hallucination was Rin that the little girl did not see the aboveground tree root in her path.
The last thing she knew was the ground rushing up at her, knocking the wind from her lungs, and the heaviness of wolf bodies on her back, their fangs ripping her throat out...
And then she awoke, in the arms of the youkai, drawn close to his body, her aching head supported by his clawed hand.
The youkai seemed surprised by something. His amber eyes were wide, staring into Rin's brown ones. Something was squawking nearby, but Rin was transfixed by the beautiful demon whose hair in the moonlight was the same color as Dog's.
The youkai let go, and Rin stood, still mesmerized by his eyes.
The youkai stood and walked away, silent. The squawking thing was there, still, but Rin stared after the true demon.
There in the moonlight, Rin saw, superimposed over the beautiful human-shaped youkai, Dog's magnificent form. Shining brighter than the moon in heaven, Dog bounded through the trees, even though the white-haired youkai didn't seem to notice.
And so Rin followed.
Dog used to lay in a white pile on the ground, in some shady place, scratching her ear, lazy and happy.
This dog was laying in a white pile under a shade tree. But it didn't look happy, not smiling with its tongue hanging out like Dog had.
Rin crept out from behind the tree to stare at the demon she'd stumbled upon. It was one of the youkai, those terrible creatures who haunted the forest, who ate little children if they didn't go to bed when they were told.
It just lay there. It looked half-dead. Cosmetics like the rich merchant's wives wore made jagged lines like wounds across its jaw, its clothes were ripped and filthy, its hair was singed. And there it lolled, until she stepped out of the bushes.
The youkai raised up at her and snarled, eyes filled with blood, teeth bared, hair standing out.
Rin cowered.
Sometimes Dog would make a face like that, when Rin came too close while she was eating. Fangs bared, hackles raised, ears down.
But she was determined.
Rin stepped into the clearing, and the demon stared at her, looking frightening yet weak. It closed its mouth and regarded her, seeming to calm down.
She stood firm. Then Rin turned and left the demon dog.
Rin took her evening bath at the river. She brought the youkai a pail of water back with her.
It watched silently.
Rin returned to her village, speared a fish from the villager's nets, cooked it, and placed it next to the pail on a large leaf. A few mushrooms that her mother had taught her to pick were strewn about the seared fish.
Dog had liked it when Rin gave her fish. She would sit and rip the head from the body, taking the spine out, and wolf down the insides as though they were sweets.
Rin turned to go. She assumed the youkai did not want her to watch it eat.
"Don't do such useless things," the demon told her. "Human food doesn't suit me."
A boy. The youkai was a boy. His voice was deep, like her father's had been. But he was very pretty.
Dog had not been a pretty dog. She was old and lived in the forest, missing an eye and an ear and most of her tail, her tangled fur exposing old scars from battles fought when she was young. But had she been pampered and groomed, she would have been stunning, for her fur was silver like moonlight, her remaining eye dark like deep water. Dog was muscular, built like a mountain.
Rin returned to her village to find herself dinner. Her family had not had the foresight to teach her to fish for herself before they were killed. It was expected that she would marry a man who would do the fishing, and that Rin would work the fields and tend to the children.
So she waded into the village men's catch, and was in the process of securing a wriggling silver fish when the men found her.
"Do it again and we'll beat you to death!" they roared, slapping her face, punching her, surrounding her with their sweaty, huge bodies.
Then they threw Rin to the ground and kicked her in the back. She crawled forward, picked herself up, walked back to the forest.
Perhaps the demon wanted wheat instead. He didn't seem to like fish...
Rin took it to him, plucked from a field close to the forest. As she walked towards him, his eyes opened.
They were beautiful, the color of amber. There was intelligence behind them, the same as had been behind Dog's eye. Cold, composed intelligence.
"I don't need it," said the beautiful demon. "I told you, I don't need anything."
Rin sighed in defeat. She was sore all over, and where they had hit her she was bruised, one eye swollen shut and burning. Perhaps he didn't like her. Dog hadn't liked her at first, but had at least eaten what Rin brought her. Dog hadn't been one for playing, but once in a while she would retrieve a stick that Rin tossed, and lick the little girl with her pink tongue.
And then, the youkai asked, "How did you get the wound on your face?"
Rin gasped. Not since her family had died had anyone asked about her well-being. No one. They merely glared at her and accused her of stealing and hit her.
"If you don't want to say anything, that's fine."
But she did. He was being kind to her. She just didn't know what to say...
Why was it, that all the humans were so cruel, and yet this devil cared? If just a tiny, miniscule bit?
The youkai turned to face her. His eyes were so wonderful...
Rin closed her eyes and smiled broadly. Her missing tooth showed, but she wasn't embarrassed.
"Why are you so happy?" he inquired. "I just asked you what happened."
But that was enough to make Rin happy.
She hopped on one foot most of the way to her house. Her home was rundown, an eyesore, the villagers said, but they didn't offer to fix it for her. And she was far too young to fix it herself.
But that didn't matter. The day was warm and sunny, and she wanted to play.
Rin missed Dog. Even if Dog wouldn't play, it was nice to have her around to lie in the sun with and watch the birds, the clouds, the play of shadows and leaves in the sunlight.
Rin walked to her home by the river and was met with a terrible surprise.
A filthy demon, reeking of canine, was drinking from the water jar in the corner. He was old and ugly and missing an eye, with a flattened, poorly-healed broken nose. His clothes were old and threadbare, and the dark fur vest he wore was mangy.
"What? This rundown house is yours?" the ugly youkai asked, turning to her.
There was dirt under his long fingernails, and he was balding, his ponytail filthy.
Rin nodded, pressing herself against the rickety tree door.
The sound of wolves howling rang in her ears, then, and as she turned, the wolf youkai shoved her aside, running, his revolting face twisted with panic.
She watched, frozen with terror as the wolves ripped apart the villagers, as the young, handsome wolf youkai killed the old, dirty one.
Dog. She wanted Dog. Dog had fangs, had claws, just like these demons did. And she would gladly fight for the little girl who fed her, who patted her nose, who kept the old beast company.
But Dog was dead. Had been, for years now. So all Rin could do was run, run as fast as her small legs could take her. Down the dirt path, strewn with pebbles that nicked at her feet, into the forest, which was growing dark now, taking on an otherworldly air, moon shining starkly overhead, barely filtering through the treetops, Rin ran.
Rin heard the wolves behind her, their feral howling tearing through the cold night air, felt the sharp rocks under her feet, her own heart pounding excruciatingly fast in her chest, hot tears tracing trails down her pallid cheeks.
The wolves. The air. The rocks. Her heart. Her tears...
Never had Rin felt so alive before. So filled with terror and fear that her brain chased itself in circles, spun round and round, the black forest whirling until it was only Rin, and at the epicenter of the darkness, a ghost of the dog youkai, who turned and moved away into the murkiness, leaving Rin behind, tears spilling from her eyes.
So involved with her hallucination was Rin that the little girl did not see the aboveground tree root in her path.
The last thing she knew was the ground rushing up at her, knocking the wind from her lungs, and the heaviness of wolf bodies on her back, their fangs ripping her throat out...
And then she awoke, in the arms of the youkai, drawn close to his body, her aching head supported by his clawed hand.
The youkai seemed surprised by something. His amber eyes were wide, staring into Rin's brown ones. Something was squawking nearby, but Rin was transfixed by the beautiful demon whose hair in the moonlight was the same color as Dog's.
The youkai let go, and Rin stood, still mesmerized by his eyes.
The youkai stood and walked away, silent. The squawking thing was there, still, but Rin stared after the true demon.
There in the moonlight, Rin saw, superimposed over the beautiful human-shaped youkai, Dog's magnificent form. Shining brighter than the moon in heaven, Dog bounded through the trees, even though the white-haired youkai didn't seem to notice.
And so Rin followed.