Hey there lovelies! I have returned with awesomeness in tow. Enjoy!
Kagome awoke the next morning with her face snuggled into something warm and soft. She opened her eyes groggily to be met with a face full of fur. She frowned as she remembered what had transpired the night before and then an amused smile grew on her face as she glanced up and saw Kouga sprawled out eagle style on the pelt next to hers, mouth wide open and drooling onto the furs. She had to keep herself from laughing as he snored lightly. She noticed that his hair was down, and despite the comical sight before her, she thought he looked absolutely handsome with it down. Her eyes followed his hair down his back until it stopped just above his butt, which was luckily covered by a blanket and she noticed she couldn't see any evidence that he was wearing clothing. 'Did he really sleep naked?' She wondered and her face turned beet red as she began visualizing things that she shouldn't be in the presence of polite company, whether said company was conscious or not.
Her mouth suddenly went dry and she would've killed for something to drink at that moment. And as though the Kami's took pity on her, she noticed what looked like a bucket and ladle. Figuring that it wouldn't hurt to look, she got up and quietly made her way over to the bucket and to her delight it was filled with water. She quickly brought the ladle to her mouth, eagerly taking a sip and delighted at how cool and clean it tasted. At that moment her belly had decided to inform her that she was hungry and she blushed at just how loud it was. She quickly glanced behind her to make sure she hadn't woken Kouga, luckily she hadn't. After she pulled her socks and shoes back on she made her way over to what she assumed was the entrance and pushed the heavy pelt to the side and had to shield her eyes from the sun. She realized that she didn't know where to go from here since she had been to the den only once before and had only stayed in one place. She looked around at all the unfamiliar faces until she spotted Ginta hovering over a fire. She smiled and headed towards him and was about to poke him on the shoulder when he suddenly stood and turned, effectively startling her.
"Sorry Sis, are you okay?" He asked, putting his hands on her shoulders to help steady her. "Yeah I'm okay, thanks." She said with a smile and was about to ask if she could have something to eat when her belly beat her to the punch. She blushed fiercely and she offered a sheepish smile when Ginta struggled not to chuckle. "Here you can have some of mine Sis, it's really good." He said handing her what looked like beef jerky. She took a tentative bite of it and found that it was soft and absolutely delicious. "This is really good, what is it?" She asked before taking another bite and Ginta beamed at her. "It's smoked boar, I made it myself, I'm glad you like it, I can go get you some rice as well if you'd like." He answered, his voice proud at her approval. "Mm, yes please." Was her only answer and Ginta laughed lightly. "Okay Sis, I'll be right back, why don't you go sit by the fire and get warm." He suggested and she nodded in agreement, it was pretty chilly. She sat and continued to nibble at the boar thoughtlessly when she felt something being draped over her shoulders. She looked at the fur shawl and then behind her to see that Kouga had finally woken up. He had his fur pelt on around his waist, his customary wrist and leg wrappings and his hair was loosely tied up and in place of his usual armor, he wore a fur pelt draped over his shoulders. She couldn't help but stare he looked so different, he looked so…relaxed. She was brought out of her musings when he had made his way to sit beside her. "Good morning, you want some? Ginta made it, it's really good." She said, offering him the meat, trying to fight off a blush. He chuckled and slung an arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, effectively making her blush even more.
"Don't worry about me love, you go ahead and eat, I'll grab something in a little bit." He said, his voice still a bit husky from sleep. She was about to say something else when Ginta had come back balancing 3 bowls of rice and some dumplings. "Figured you'd be getting up soon, here you go." He said, handing Kouga and Kagome their respective bowls before sitting down to enjoy his own breakfast. "Here Kagome, try a dumpling, they're pretty good." Kouga offered, picking up one of the pastries and handing it to her. She took it graciously and took a bite and was surprised when she bit into fruit instead of meat. Her surprise must've shown on her face when Ginta informed her that the filling was peach and pear before asking her if she liked it. "It's delicious, I'm sorry, I was kind of expecting it to be a meat dumpling." She said and the two wolves shared an amused glance before laughing slightly and Kagome felt confused, had she said something funny? Kouga shot her an apologetic smile while Ginta had gone back to eating. "Sorry Kagome, I didn't mean to laugh, but just because we're wolves doesn't mean we only eat meat." He explained and Kagome blushed suddenly feeling stupid for assuming. She muttered an apology as though she had offended him and silently went back to eating. Kouga was confused about her silence until he noticed the blush on her cheeks and she looked almost as if she wanted to cry. Had he embarrassed her? He wasn't sure but he vowed to get her out of her slump and show her the best time that he possibly could, hell maybe if she was in a good enough mood she may accept his proposition.
They had finished the rest of their breakfast in silence before Kouga stood and reached out his hand for Kagome to take it. She took his hand as she stood and she blushed a bit when her arm brushed against his chest. "Kagome the festival is probably going to run late into the night, would you like me to take you to get your things now instead or did you want to wait?" He asked and she smiled. 'He's so thoughtful.' She thought before actually contemplating what he said. She needed to brush her hair, she could feel the snarls in it when she tried running her fingers through it earlier, and a bit of deodorant wouldn't hurt either. "Um it's okay if we go now I guess." She said and he nodded before excusing himself and headed towards his den, emerging a few minutes later with his armor back in it's place. "Ready to go?" He asked her and she nodded before he kneeled down so she could climb onto his back. Once she was settled he took off, leaping gracefully from cliff to cliff until he was on solid ground and took off running. He made a conscious effort to not go as fast as he normally would for Kagome's sake as he made his way towards Edo.
The trip there was a mostly silent one, since neither could think of anything to really talk about, but other than that Kagome found it rather pleasant. Riding on Kouga's back was much more comfortable than it was with Inuyasha since he didn't go bounding through the wilderness with heavy footsteps that made her feel as if she were going to fall off. Kouga was not all too surprisingly light on his feet and he held her tightly against him, making her feel secure as she leaned against him, she didn't really even need to hold onto his shoulders if she didn't want to. Kouga smiled as she relaxed against him, he was glad she was comfortable. He'd noticed that whenever the mutt would carry her like this she always seemed to look concerned for her safety and he could smell fear on her and he couldn't blame her the mutt ran like an elephant, you'd be able to see him coming a mile away from the vibrations alone. He stopped a couple miles away when he smelled Inuyasha's scent and he turned his head to look at her as she crooned her neck to look him in the face. "What's wrong Kouga?" She asked, slightly curious. "I can smell dog breath from here, do you want me to get your things so you don't have to deal with him?" He asked and she shook her head with a small smile, flattered by his concern. "It's okay Kouga, I'm gonna have to deal with him eventually." She said and he nodded and headed towards the village.
When they got there the hanyou was nowhere in sight, but Kouga could tell he was close and once he caught their scents he'd be here in no time. Kagome headed into Kaede's hut where she left her things and began stuffing her bag while Kouga waited patiently just outside. Kagome was done in no time at all and she came out of the hut with her pack slung over her shoulder and was about to leave when Inuyasha came bounding out of the forest. "There you are, I knew you'd come back eventually, so are you finally tired of the flea bag?" He sneered and Kouga growled at the insult, but Kagome placed her hand on his arm and he did his best to calm himself as Kagome turned giving him a sort of bored look before ordering him to sit, causing him to crash face first into the ground. "Let's go Kouga, I don't know about you but I really don't want to miss the festival." She said, looking quite proud of herself and Kouga nodded taking her bag from her and slinging it over his shoulder as he picked her up bridal style and headed back the way they came, leaving the hanyou to grumble profanities into the dirt.
As they made their way back to the den, Kouga couldn't help but look down at the young woman in his arms. He was concerned about just how she would handle the mutt being near, but she had surprised him. Not only had she kept him calm, but she never even bat an eyelash at the hanyou, even though he had tried to degrade her and insulted him. His feisty little woman was stronger than she knew and he was very proud of her, she would make a wonderful alpha female one day if she ever accepted him. "Hey Kouga, what goes on at this festival anyway?" She asked curiously and he wondered if he should tell her the complete purpose of the celebration. Figuring that she was more than likely going to find out the truth by the very nature of the festival itself, he decided to tell her everything. "Well, to be honest, it's meant to celebrate the spring, crops and animals becoming more fruitful, and fertility." He said, hesitating on that last part as he gaged her reaction. She looked thoughtful before looking up at him. "Fertility huh? You're not planning anything sneaky on me are you?" She said, her voice having an almost teasing air to it and he chuckled. "Not unless you want me to." He said with a wink and grinned in triumph when she blushed prettily. The rest of the trip was relatively quiet and as they approached the Cliffside, their stomachs began to rumble in response to the delicious smells coming from the den. They blushed before laughing it off as they hurried home to enjoy the festivities that were obviously already under way.
