Chapter one
Birthright
The moon's light was swallowed by the titanic mass of clouds that circled the sky. It was a full moon; the radiance of the hidden light seemed to glimmer out of the clouds, if only for a second. A howl ripped through the night. We turned Our ears to the sound, and started to lunge off into that direction. For a few moments, my heart burned and head churned with different thoughts and ideas; some morbid, others happy. Master Daraku summoned us, but We have taken some time to traverse along the land to the large temple he was located.
Funny, he always hated those buildings. The way those ugly men hiss and mutter about Us, as if We would damn them all. They don't need Our help to do that.
We came upon the courtyard. Master's mate, Kontan, was sprayed out upon the ground, blood streaming out. At first We observed, until Daraku made a growling noise from deep in his throat. A fat monk— or so they call themselves— hobbled forward, as if to help. Instantly, We were there, all growling and snarling. The fat priest fell backward, yelling a profuse chant.
"So that is who you are!" the fat monk screamed, bringing his hands up to protect himself. The human language flooded through Our mind.
I growled, "Leave Us, pathetic one. Or We will drag you down to hell and watch you burn!" The humans and their many religions confused Us. I didn't know where hell was, but it seemed to take effect. The monk backed up, then ran away, muttering useless chants as if to ward us off.
I looked down at Master Daraku. "What did that mongrel do to her? Shall We rip him?" His eyes were a panic, his thoughts cut off from Ours.
"No... Nothing like that." His eyes traveled up and down Kontan's body. Then it hit me. His mate smelled like fresh life. A couple of Us turned their heads away.
A growl escaped my throat, startling even me by Our ferociousness. "New Life is hardest to resist... We shouldn't be here. Any other demon would have ripped her apart by now." My growl subsided. One of Us wined, but I took a quick snap at his neck. He subsided, backing away.
Daraku looked at Us. "You calm me through bad situations. And this..." I could see the strain, not only on his soul, but it was physically tearing away at him. Worry and doubt always harassed him in desperate times.
I rested my muzzle on his shoulder, sitting down to rest my tired legs. All of my pack mates have run off into the dark forest to look for enemies or to simply escape the smell of new life.
Our Master seemed to tremble through every breath, every scream that escaped Kontan's throat. I stood and walked over to a clump of bushes, proceeding to consequently throw up. A sent drifted toward Our nostrils, and an intoxicating smell seemed to overpower all of Our senses.
A child.
This is the form of being that New Life takes on, and the newer the soul, the purer it is, and the better it smells. The smell lasted for another intoxicating second of stillness, before crying broke the calm.
Our ears perked. All of Us ran toward the baby. A large mountain lion, about larger than one of Us, slunk out of the bushes. A wild demon, one that relies on brute strength rather than the strength that comes from being in league with a human, stalked through the bushes. It has scented the child, the New Life.
We snarl and bared Our fangs, all of Us together now. An even more ferocious growl comes from Kontan to Our right. She had gathered herself up and into a defensive position over her child. Daraku had an emotionless look on his face.
It seemed like he didn't care for his new child that sat in harms way. Finally a snarl escaped his petrified lips, but it was directed at Us instead of the cat.
"Leave her..." Kontan's face swarmed with a mixture of different emotions. Finally she understood, leaving the baby and stalking back, daring the cougar to move.
We jumped in front of the child, but Daraku snarled loudly, and We backed off, eyeing the demon cat. The demon seemed to smile, long fangs piercing out of its mouth. It walked forward, sniffed the baby a couple times, then opened it mouth large enough to swallow the child in a gulp.
A long and sickly pink tongue lolled out of the cougar's mouth as it began to lick the child. The large silver-grey cat curled up beside the child, licking its paws contently. Kontan rushed forward, squeezing the child into her chest. The child was defiantly a Mikoyose. His eyes were glowing eerie silver.
Daraku looked at me, reading my thoughts in the way only a Mikoyose can.
"It's a girl."
Kontan looks at Daraku with an emotion unknown to Us, probably love or something along those lines. Daraku sat down beside his wife.
"What should we call her?" Daraku said nonchalantly, as if that was the most important thing at the moment.
Kontan looks at him again, then a large small spread across her face. "How about Kagai?"
Daraku smiled. "Yeah... Kagai...."
2