So, quick one shot inspired by listening to Hozier while cleaning. After years of not really writing anything, I have found it really hard to get back into the groove so I'm doing this as a personal challenge, I was thinking of doing a few of these one shots based on their songs...let's see what happens...
They'd find us in a week
When the buzzards get loud
After the insects have made their claim
After the foxes have known our taste
After the raven has had its say
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
Hozier - In a Week
...}{...
'Just a little longer…'
A small hand gripped the leather of Ah-Un's reigns, the other held fast to the gaping wound at her side.
The dragon turned a head turn to her, it's twin issued a low whine.
At the sound, the hard lines of concentration around Rin's eyes softened and she offered the creature a pacifying smile. She released her side and gently pet the beast's head, "Do not worry Ah-Un, I will be fine."
He snorted, momentarily pacified, and turned his head away from her.
Her hand returned to the injury, but the messy red print of her palm remained on the dragon's scales; a cruel admission of her lie.
She frowned.
"Please," she urged "we must hurry." Ah-Un hissed and quickened its pace through the clouds.
Rin pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, biting down on the soft flesh in an effort to ground her mind on something other than the effects of her injury.
Still, her vision swam and her body swayed. Against her best efforts, she could feel her grip on the reigns loosen as darkness teased the edges of her sight.
She groaned, a low pitiful sound that assaulted her ears with its weakness.
Her eyes fluttered shut and for a moment, she gave in to the beckoning call of the weightless calm on the other side of her eyelids. She slumped forward and relaxed into the warmth that licked at her senses, tempting her to slip into the familiar darkness.
Silence passed in the slow beat of her heart, then 'No!' The voice was her own, but stronger, determined.
She forced her eyes open, sucked in a pained hiss of breath and righted herself in the saddle. She wouldn't go yet; she would finish this.
Ah-Un growled, the sound tethering her senses more firmly to reality.
Slowly, with great care paid to the woman on its back, the beast began to descend into a clearing in the woods.
She blinked away the last vestiges of darkness and searched the forest floor frantically until she saw what had drawn the beasts attention.
Laying, half propped against a tree, haloed almost perfectly in a beam of light, was a mess of silver and red.
Rin sucked in a gasp much too large for her battered chest and threw herself off the dragon before its feet fully reached the earth.
She stumbled, her legs wobbled dangerously and a fresh wave of warmth flowed down her side, but she made it to the fallen demon.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Her hands grabbed hold of his moko-moko as she crashed to her knees before him.
She counted each second that ticked by in silence, too focused on the man to inhale.
The familiar sting of tears pricked the corners of her eyes as her fingers dug desperately into the fur, "Lord Sesshomaru..."
One. Two. Three. Four more seconds passed in silence.
Her hands shook.
"Rin." The word was soft, the texture of sand, and followed by a breath even more ragged. Warmth blossomed in her chest and the breath she was holding escaped her in a short puff. "You found me."
"Of course, Milord," she released his moko-moko and cringed at the red that now marred the fur. "Ah-Un brought me to you." She threw an offhand gesture to the dragon who was curled up not far from them, one head lazily licking a wound on its leg.
Sesshomaru cracked open his eyes and looked to the beast before he brought his gaze to her. His jaw clenched as he took in her form.
Her long dark hair was a windswept, blood caked mess. Her pale skin was tinged pink and spotted with dirt and scrapes.
The lavender kimono he had gifted her was a tattered and torn almost beyond recognition, and exposed glimpses of the bleeding flesh beneath. On her side was the largest rip in the garment, and a vibrant bloom of crimson was rapidly spreading across the fabric from whatever mangled flesh was beneath.
"You are hurt." He frowned. She looked away, embarrassed by the weaknesses exposed to him so clearly in red.
"Yes, Milord." She murmured, before her eyes cut back to his. "So are you." His frown deepened as her eyes raked over his wounded form.
He fought the urge to scoff at the concerned knit of her brow.
Of course, she would be the one to see him like this; clinging to life against a tree deep in some unnamed forest.
It was fitting.
The fact that this, their last meeting, be so similar to their first, almost pushed him -a Lord who had always believed in nothing but his own strength- to call it fate.
Or a cruel irony at the very least.
Perhaps it was the knowledge of deaths encroaching grip, but he allowed himself a smile at the thought.
Her clothing rustled, her body shifted and she moved to lean her back against the tree next to him.
Her shoulder brushed his arm.
"Is there much pain?" He asked. He watched as her eyes drifted shut, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips.
"As much as you would expect, my Lord." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "How about you?"
"Hn."
She chuckled softly for a moment. The light sound giving way to a moist cough.
Her breath rattled.
His body ached.
Time passed in easy silence.
Sesshomaru moved. His head found its way to her lap and he lay supine in the low grass. Her hands wound into his hair instinctively.
His eyes to drifted shut.
A lazy wind rattled the leaves around them and Rin turned her face up to the sun. A contented sigh moved past her lips.
"The castle?" His voice was deep and soft, it lulled her to a peaceful state beyond the pain, where she could pretend this was a normal spring afternoon spent in the gardens with Her Lord.
"The priests and monks have taken it, my Lord." Her eyes remained closed as she stroked his hair, gently working out any knots she encountered.
"The servants?" His words were fainter now, she was unsure if he was fading or if it was her.
"All gone, Milord." Her fingers smoothed another knot in his long hair. "They took great pride in protecting the castle while you fought." She brushed aside his bangs and traced the side of his face before returning to his hair. "They were quite honored to die the last of demon kind, fighting for the Lord of the West."
His lip twitched up, "And Jaken?"
She released a labored breath. "He brought me to Ah-Un but stayed behind." She paused and frowned. Her fingers worked a stubborn knot in his hair. "The last I saw of him; he was fighting off a group of monks to enable Ah-Un's escape. Whatever fate met him afterwards, I know Master Jaken felt nothing but joy these years he spent with you." She released the knot with a satisfied "ah!"
"Very well."
He opened his eyes again and took in the sun flecked tree tops above them. Somewhere nearby, a bird chirped.
He lifted his hand to her cheek, distantly acknowledging the new heaviness of his limbs. Her brown eyes cracked open and locked with his. She nuzzled into the clawed appendage.
"And what of you, Rin?" He asked. "What have these years with me brought you?"
She paused for a breath, then her eyes crinkled as a slow smile pulled up her lips.
She brought her hand atop his and dropped a soft kiss to his palm, then gently led his hand to rest beside him.
Her small fingers slipped beneath his head and lifted it from her lap.
The carefully combed hair had become red and damp. Whether it was her blood or his, she couldn't tell.
She slid away from him and rested his head on the soft grass, reverent in her care.
Her movements were slow, her breath escaped in pants and hisses, but her smile didn't waver as she stretched her body alongside his in the soft grass.
Her head found a home on his chest. His arm reached around her small shoulders and pulled her closer to his side.
"These years have brought me life, my lord." She pushed herself up to look at him, her smile brightened when his free hand returned to her cheek.
"These years have brought me more joy than I ever thought possible." Her body trembled from the effort of keeping herself upright, but she was undeterred. These were her final words, and they would be said. "I am privileged to have been able to follow you in life," her eyes softened, "and I am honored to know that I will be allowed to follow you in death as well, my dear Lord Sesshomaru."
His thumb skimmed her cheek and the sides of her lips before he gently guided her head back to rest on his chest. "As you wish, Rin."
She released a contented sigh.
The trees rustled gently above them.
"My body is so heavy, my lord." Her words shook. "And I fear my sight has begun to dim."
His hand rubbed her back, making long, slow circles. "Rest now, my Rin." His voice rumbled. "And do not fear, I will find you soon."
Her lips curled up in a smile and her eyes drifted shut. "You always do, My Lord Sesshomaru."
...}{...
Until next time!