Demon's lullaby
It was a dark, starless night. The village was hidden in the blackness of it. The last house at the end of it was silent. An old woman was snorting in the front room, her mouth open. But the other room, with windows leading to the garden, was not so quiet.
The little girl was struggling. She was tossing in her bed, groaning and yelping with fear, cold sweat on her forehead. She kicked the covers down already, being only in a white kimono she wore for sleeping.
But the little girl's struggle went on unnoticed. Only her and the nightmarish dreams.
Suddenly the wind had changed. A man appeared out of nowhere, standing on the village square. His eyes were fixed on the little house. It seemed like he didn't need to see inside but knew about every move behind the walls. He calmly headed to the door and pushed the handle, not making any sound. Like a ghost he made his way through the front room, giving a short glare to the puffing old woman. Soon the door of the other room closed behind him.
The demon lord approached the bed the little girl was sleeping in. His face didn't give away any sight of surprise or concern. Yet somewhere deep in his eyes, the warm light of compassion was hiding. He sat down on her bed.
Rin... How can I help you?
It was the nightmare she kept having from time to time. The only thing she had never told him. Why? Why didn't she tell him?
The demon lord's eyes half-closed with affection. Almost without acknowledging it, he moved his arm and touched her hand with the tips of his fingers. She got a hold on his hand immediately, reflexively, wrapping her fingers around his thumb.
But when she muffled a cry of fear into the pillow, the demon lord couldn't stand it any longer. He gently shook her shoulders.
"Wake up, Rin..." he whispered, careful not to disturb Kaede out of her sleep. Rin opened her eyes quickly, gasping. But when she laid her glare upon his face, her muscles relaxed and she breathed out with ease. A remembrance of her nightmare ran through her glassy eyes then and they glimmered with tears.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" she breathed out, jumping up and throwing her arms around his neck. He could feel the warmness of her body against his own in the tight grip of anxiety. Not having the right words to say, he simply stroked her back with the palm of his hand.
When she calmed down and seated herself back on the bed, he gave her a serious look.
"Tell me, Rin, what happened the night your family died," he demanded. Rin lowered her eyes on the floor. She was silent for a few seconds but then she started talking very quietly.
"It was a deep night. Without stars and without the moon. My brothers were sleeping on the floor near the door and my mother and father on the opposite side."
She shifted in the bed.
"I... woke up... I heard them...coming. They stormed inside. I... hid myself under the covers in the corner. And through a hole in it I saw them... They came to my brothers first and slew them... Stabbed a sword through mother's neck and slit my father's throat..."
Rin made a short pause.
"Took all they could and left. I didn't move the whole night. The blood seeped to me and it was cold... And I was laying in it till the morning came..."
Rin's voice died out. Sesshomaru was listening, feeling her sorrow in his heart.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know... I thought... when I wouldn't speak of it... It would disappear... But it wouldn't... It wouldn't go away..."
She covered her face, sobbing. The demon lord watched her. Some wounds, he thought, were too deep to heal.
"Are you still afraid of them?" he wanted to know.
"Sometimes... When you are not around and it's such a starless night like tonight..."
She looked up, her eyelids heavy with tears.
"I'm afraid... afraid something would take you... away from me... just like the thieves took my family..."
The tone of her voice, he wondered, so serious, so mature for such a girl. And he understood her fear. He too was suffering from it. Something or someone, taking her away.
But how could he soothe her? By lying nothing would ever happen to him? Although the possibility was ridiculous, he could not take it as granted. And he had a feeling it wouldn't comfort her anyway. Was he really so hopeless when facing her fears? Was a pat on the shoulder the only thing to do?
The demon lord moved closer to the little girl, letting her lean over his left leg. Again, the odd feeling in his chest... The urge to protect... By what means should he protect her from the pain inside her mind? The nightmarish memories and fears?
He wandered in his thoughts, trying to recall a nightmare he had when he was very young. That horrible dream... He dreamt a father's enemy came to their house and murdered his father savagely. He could still see the dark blood trickling down the marble walls.
He was so upset he couldn't sleep the following week. One evening, his father came to ask him about it. But Sesshomaru wasn't able to tell him. He didn't want to appear weak in front of his powerful, magnificent father. The yellow eyes he inherited were looking at him softly.
"Don't withdraw, my son. It's foolish to nourish pride instead of love..."
Even then Sesshomaru couldn't bring himself to speak. Yet, his father stayed and sang him an ancient lullaby. Sesshomaru would never forget that moment. His father's shadowy figure, so big and tall, so admirable... And he was singing the old words of a dead yokai language... The voice that commanded demon armies was singing a melody thousands and thousands years old. A sacred song. He had never heard anything like that before, nor did he hear something like that after.
"Istima yatee, shintawa ifa..."
His father's hand resting upon his forehead...
"Sleep well, dear child..."
Although he heard it only once, he kept the slow, gentle melody and words in his mind all the time. Without actually realizing it, he started singing it silently. The sacred words had a strange taste but he remembered every single one.
Hashee-ka nay,
lakhsi sen,
hashee-ka nay,
illta sur,
hashee-ka nay,
tuulne d'un,
washnai myar-lin, washnai lin...
The lullaby was flying above the village, not sung for hundreds years and almost forgotten. The demon words sung by a demon. One more time. The sacred language preserved its power, putting to sleep all the village dogs, deepening people's slumber, casting the nightmares away.
Rin fell asleep as well and her breathing got regular, her face relaxed. He could tell just by looking at her expression no nightmares would return, at least not that night. The tall figure of the demon lowered above her. The pale hand with thin, long fingers and claws caressed the little girl's head. He closed his eyes for a moment, placing a soft kiss into her hair.
"Istima yatee, shintawa ifa..." he murmured. Sleep well, dear child...
Hope you liked this oneshot. I had an idea of Sesshomaru singing a lullaby and this was possibly the only way I imagine it could ever happen. Or if he were drugged, of course:-) Let me know what you think and R&R. Thanks!
Note: I've made the words of the lullaby up, so they do not exist in any language. However, I had old american native languages as my inspiration.