Notes:

Aisu: ice

Haligh means "light"

The usually brilliant blue sky had become dark with gray clouds. A heavy rain had begun to poor over the lands of the areas. Lightening flashed across the sky, and the thunder was so loud that it shook the ground. The wind blew a harsh breeze, shaking the leaves on the tall trees. And she had to run through it all.

She could hardly walk, hardly breathe, and yet she willed herself onward. She had no choice. If she did not keep going, They would find her, would kill her, just as They had killed her family, and killed her village, her people.

They were looking for her, the council. They wanted her dead. They held no tolerance for hybrids, no tolerance for those that were like her. A full blood demon, and yet a half-blood, two different demon bloods rushing through her veins.

Her legs couldn't carry her much longer, her steps were becoming slower. Her black hair was sticking to her sweaty, bloody face, and her skin had become sickeningly pale. The scent of her own blood was making her sick, and making her realize just how weak she really was. Her bright green eyes were losing their luster, as she searched frantically in the darkness for a place to hide.

Behind her, she could hear the sound of footsteps, running footsteps. They were headed towards her. The next time she took a breath, Their sickening, bitter scent filled her nostrils. Her mind was racing, and she began to pick up speed again. Using the last bit of her energy, she ran towards the woods in front of her, hoping to find shelter. Her body was soaked in the heavy rain, her wings drooped with water.

The wind buzzed in her ear, whispering words to her like haunting spirits. The next thing she knew, she was falling, falling down to the ground. She attempted to get up, to keep going, but could not. Her body was too heavy; she was too weak from blood loss. Her eyes slowly blinked and shut, and her mind became blank…

She dreamed. How could she not, with so many thoughts running through her head. She could see herself as a child, her parents and brother around her. She could then see herself as an older child, her and her mother talking about why They didn't like her.

"You are a hybrid, Haligh," her mother had said.

"But, mother, what does that mean?" she had asked.

"It means that you are one whole demon, but with two different demon bloods in you," replied her mother. "You see, Haligh, your father and I were not supposed to fall in love with each other. We came from two very different tribes of demon. He came from the Aisu Demons of the North-Eastern lands, and I came from here, the Shadow Demon tribe. We mated and had your brother and you. You are half Shadow Demon and half Aisu Demon. But with you, my little child, the shadow side of you is more dominant then the ice side."

Haligh had smiled. "Is that why I have wings, mama?"

Her mother had nodded. "Yes, my little pixie, yes."

Her memory of that small talk seemed to flash by in a moment. She wanted so badly to hold onto it, but her mind was an awful blur. She was seeing things so quickly, seeing her past. She didn't want to see it all. Her father, her mother, her elder brother…they all ran through her head now.

In her slumber, the young demon smiled, basking in the memory of her deceased mother. But then her mind shot to the scene she had seen not a few hours ago. The village, the men, women and children being mercilessly slaughtered by Them. They had no real name, they had no real form. They did not like hybrid demons, They wanted them gone.

Her body gave one last shudder before her mind went totally blank. She was completely helpless in the middle of the woods…

The gray clouds in the sky had slowly begun to clear away, and the sky was beginning to turn blue again. The sun had begun to shine through the clouds, which were now beginning to become puffy white again.

A little black haired girl, dressed in a simple kimono, was skipping through the forest. She hummed a small tune, a smile on her face. She was followed by a two-headed dragon, whose necks were adorned with necklaces of woven flowers. They, too, seemed happy, especially to be with the cheery young miko girl.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" the young girl called out, turning around.

The demon that stepped out of the shadows, the one that she had called to, was tall. His golden, amber eyes shone in the slight sunlight, watching the little girl as she skipped around the two headed beast. His hair was a silvery-white and came to his midback, his ears pointed at the tops. Three purple slashes adorned both of his cheeks, and a purple crescent moon adorned his forehead. He was dressed in armor, a sword at his side.

His face was still, emotionless. He stood tall and still, showing nothing in his face or eyes. He was stoic and cold. And from behind him, a short toad demon came. This demon carried a large two faced staff.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" the girl called to the tall demon.

He looked at her.

"Yes, Rin?" he asked, his voice emotionless as well.

The small girl, Rin, smiled.

"Do you like what I made for Ah-Un?" she asked.

Sesshomaru looked at Ah-Un, who made a gurgling noise, indicating that they actually quite liked the jewelry the small girl had made for them. He nodded at her but said nothing. Rin knew by now that this was his motion of approval, and she smiled at him once more before continuing to skip throughout the forest.

Sesshomaru and Jaken followed at a slight distance, watching Rin as she played. As they continued their traveling, both began to pick up an odd scent.

The scent was an icy cold, sweet smell. It burned Sesshomaru's nose when he inhaled, but he didn't recognize the scent at all. All he could think of to describe it was that it was sweet, but bitter sweet. Icy sweet.

"Jaken," he said, looking down at the imp

"Aye, me Lord?" the imp replied.

"What is that scent?"

The imp inhaled. His eyes grew rather large, and his hand flew up to his nose.

"I am no sure, me Lord," Jaken replied. "But it is awful!"

Sesshomaru stared at Jaken for a moment, but then looked ahead. He did his best to ignore the awful scent. But as they continued to walk, the scent got stronger and stronger. It seemed to circle around him, entrancing him. It was so strong, and so sickingly sweet, so icy. His nostrils were getting sick of the scent.

"Me Lord!" came Jaken's shriek, suddenly.

Sesshomaru looked down at the imp.

"What?" he asked, his voice steady.

"Blood!" the imp shrieked, pointing to the trail of blood that they had seemed to have followed.

Sesshomaru looked at the trail of deep crimson blood that led even deeper into the woods. It was the blood's scent that they had been picking up.

"It's hybrid blood, Lord Sesshomaru," Jaken said, speaking again. "Smells like…like…"

Sesshomaru took another sniff of the air.

"Shadow demon," he told the imp, causing him to shut his mouth. "Aisu demon. A mixture. How disgusting. Two disgraceful demons reproducing to make something even more disgraceful. Pathetic. "

Jaken nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru, I do agree!" he exclaimed. Then the imp paused. "But, my Lord, maybe this is the demon that the group of demons you killed was after. The ones that destroyed that village miles back! This could be the one!"

Sesshomaru was still sniffing the air, trying to see if he could sniff out the body that belonged to all the blood.

"And that would mean that it is an orphaned demon!" Jaken went on. "All alone, it's entire family slaughtered." He looked up at his master, hopeful. "Will you end it's misery, my Lord?"

But Sesshomaru said nothing. There was a demon still in these forests. A scared, wounded demon. And he knew that wounded demons tended to lash out at anything that came towards it. Only one thought crossed his mind: Rin.

"Jaken, we must find Rin and Ah-Un," he said in a cold tone.

The little imp nodded, and the two began to look for the little girl, silent.

They hadn't made it but a few feet when a loud, high pitched scream filled the forest. Both Sesshomaru and Jaken rushed towards the sound of the young girl's scream.

They found Rin standing in a clearing, hiding behind Ah-Un, staring at a body on the ground. Sesshomaru came to stand between the young girl and the body.

The young female demon that lie on the ground was horribly injured. Her breathing was slow and deep, it sounded as if she was gasping for breath. Her eyes were clenched tightly shut, as if she were in great pain.

Jaken took a step forward, his staff in front of him. He hit the demon with his staff, and she whimpered loudly, in pain.

Rin was staring at the girl with sad eyes.

"Well, Lord Sesshomaru," Jaken said, "she's practically dead already…are you going to do the honor of ending her misery?"

Rin's eyes widened as Sesshomaru and Jaken took a step towards the bruised and broken demon on the ground.

"No!" Rin screamed, rushing forward and standing between the two demons she trusted and the hybrid lying on the ground. "Don't hurt her more!"

Sesshomaru stared at the young girl.

"And what should we do with her?" he asked her.

"Take her home! To the castle!" Rin exclaimed.

"And what would she do there?" Sesshomaru asked the young girl.

"She…she…" the girl thought hard. "She could be my new mother!"

Sesshomaru stared at Rin. It was obvious that the girl needed a woman's care. And as much as hybrids disgusted him, he could see that Rin truly wanted this demon to act as her mother. He sighed. He could not say no to the girl.

"Fine, Rin," he said.

Hope you liked!