A/N: The song used here is by Celtic Women, called "The Voice." Beautiful song, talented ladies. I definitely suggest having a listen. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: All rights to the anime referenced here remain with the show's writers and creators. I'm only using the characters and plot for the entertainment of this fiction.
"Lady Kagome! Lady Kagome!" a chorus of pup wails trailed after me as I walked towards the mouth of the cave. With a musical laugh, I turned to watch a small swarm of wolf demon pups rush towards me adoringly.
"Yes?" I asked kindly, though I knew exactly what they would ask of me.
"Sing us your wolf song!" a little girl with auburn eyes and silver hair begged. Her many companions followed with a chorus of "yeah!"s and "Oh please, would you?"s. I'd only sung the beautiful Celtic song once or twice before, and only in the sole company of the pups. But, I had to avoid a tantrum.
"Of course! Let's go outside so we don't bother the adults—oh!" I was dragged to the side of the cave's mouth, and a cluster of eager cubs encircled me.
"Our parents won't mind!" Tamaki, a young warrior of a pup announced. He caught my gaze and blushed, "Please, my Lady? Your singing is the most beautiful in the tribe."
I sighed; well, if I sang softly, I probably wouldn't distract the busy tribe members bustling about in the monstrous main cave area. And I couldn't leave the cave. Since Kouga left with most of the males to hunt, I—being his mate-to-be—volunteered to look after all the children and supervise the tribe with the help of Ginta.
"Alright." And chorus of cheers followed, making me giggle.
I cleared my throat softly before I began the song. A soft tune resonated.
"I hear your voice on the wind
and I hear you call out my name
'Listen, my child,' you say to me
'I am the voice of your history
Be not afraid, come follow me
Answer my call, and I'll set you free.'"
The first verse was delicate and hypnotic, riveting the pups and making a few curious nearby wolves slow in their work to listen to the music. They all seemed pleased, so I sang a bit louder, my tune coming from deeper in my diaphragm. Little did I know, Kouga and his hunting party had just returned.
"I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice, I will remain
I am the voice in the fields when the summer's gone
The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow
Ne'er do I sleep throughout all the cold winter long
I am the force that in springtime will grow."
By now, the entire tribe was enjoying my song, most watching from their places of work, some coming to sit with a youngster in their lap. Kouga was wide-eyed at my unexpected talent, but unrestrained pride was oozing from every pore in his body, and his delighted loving smile gleamed at me. I quickly returned my smiling eyes to my intended audience: the pups.
A light tune followed my verse; since it was a Celtic song I'd picked up in theater in my era, I couldn't really replicate the fiddle as well as I'd have liked to. But, my humming worked nonetheless.
"I am the voice of the past that will always be
Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields
I am the voice of the future, bring me your peace
Bring me your peace, and my wounds, they will heal
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice
I am the voice of the past that will always be
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice of the future
I am the voice, I am the voice
I am the voice, I am the voice!"
I stretched the last note before opening my eyes in surprise; I hadn't even noticed it'd closed them during the song.
The silence was heavy in the wake of my impromptu performance. Then, all the children cheered and sprinkled me with thanks and compliments. A loud buzz ran through the adults in waves. Everyone wore delighted, if not surprised, expressions.
"Wow, my Lady! I had no idea you could sing!" Hakkaku grinned, "We need a good voice around here more often." A murmur of agreement resounded. I blushed furiously, looking down at my folded hands.
"Th-thank you, Hakkaku. The pups requested it; I hope I didn't bother anyone."
"No! You actually made our day much more interesting," Yamiki assured me. More than a few, "thank you, my lady"s and, "such a beautiful voice, my Lady"s sounded out. I nervously accepted the myriad of compliments, and work resumed—mostly.
"Kagome." Kouga's sultry voice permeated the air around me. I started, suddenly anxious about taking such a liberty without him there. He quickly quelled my fears.
"That was so amazing," he murmured, hugging me and pulling his head back to beam at me, "If you're not careful, the pack might start adoring you as much as I do."
I giggled, blushing.
"Why didn't you tell me you had such a beautiful voice?"
"Well I haven't told anyone, not really. Back in my era, I sing at plays and stuff to help out my friends, but I've only ever sung or danced here for the pups when they get too wild and I need to distract them." I put a thoughtful finger up, "though maybe I shouldn't have done that, because now they want me to sing and dance all the time!"
Kouga's eyes widened, "You can dance, too?"
"Oh! Yeah, but not any kind of dancing you or the pack have ever seen. It's all styles from my time, even from other countries. America, mostly." His brows furrowed at the mention of a country that he'd never heard of.
"What dancing to you do?"
"Well, I've always been into dance. So, I do a bit of everything: some jazz, I used to do a lot of ballet for theater—I still have pointe shoes somewhere—and contemporary modern, even a bit of hip hop. But I didn't get much out of hip hop except how to dance…er…provocatively." I looked down at the floor, my mind filling with memories of how to move my body in very non feudal-era-ish ways.
Suddenly, Kouga spoke: "well, if the foreign dancing you do is good enough for the pups, it's good enough for the rest of us. It would be a wonderful opportunity for the pack to have a break and enjoy a nice performance. Only, save that 'flip-hopping' for when we're alone," he winked at me before brushing his lips on my forehead and whispering "my beautiful Kagome."
Quickly, he turned to leave and help skin and gut the catch.
I stood, blinking owlishly, for a good 15 seconds after that, a single thought running through my head.
Dancing for 250 or so wolf demons solo? What had I gotten myself into?