Author's Note: Another ficlet written for LJ's Dokuga_contest. Placed third. YAY.

Unmated

Our mates are always our mothers, reads an old inuyoukai saying. But you know well my attitude toward tradition, brother. Our Lord Father's infidelity, for example: how could someone of his breeding, privileged to have my esteemed Lady Mother's heart, lower himself to the claiming of lesser bitches? Perhaps I remain unmated because I am my father's son and would eschew the excesses of his chosen path.

But you, Inuyasha, have chosen boldly, and more bravely than I presumed. You have taken as your mate—or she has taken you—a creature of youthful passion and brash self-confidence. In truth, I did not entirely disfavor the first priestess. In her quiet, determined way, she reached above her weak blood. But this one is a breed apart. She is never the self-effacing flower your mother was, wilting at first frost. And she desires you for all that you are, and even that which you are not.

Perhaps that is the lesson of the adage. As I observe the change in you and see the open, smiling face of its cause, I recognize that I could, at certain moments, wish for such a mate.

That alone is reason enough to remain apart.