Chapter four

"Japanese"

"Drow sign language"

"…" a sign Kagome made that she messed up

"Drow language"

Eventually Kagome and Drizzt came to a steep gorge with a wide river cutting through it. Kagome looked around the enchanting place and nodded her head. She could see several caves dotting the rocky cliff face and the river would provide plenty of fish and she had gathered quite a few seeds from the surrounding foliage as they were traveling. All in all this place was a perfect sanctuary to weather out the winter. She knew it was coming soon she just wished she knew how long the winters were here or whether or not they got snow. She couldn't ask Drizzt he was as new to this place as she was. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair a habit she had picked up from Sesshoumaru. When she turned back to Drizzt he was rubbing his belly and contemplating one of the several pools that the fish lived in.

Kagome smiled and put her hand on Drizzt's shoulder. "You find cave deep no wind Kuro and I fish yes?" Drizzt looked down at her and nodded walking off to find them a shelter. Kagome smiled as she pictured all the times she and Rin used to fish together while she was under Sesshoumaru's service. "Kuro I miss them Sesshoumaru, Rin, I even miss Jaken. I knew I'd never see Rin again but I always thought…" She smiled sadly as she pet Kuro who had jumped onto her shoulder to nuzzle her cheek. "Don't mind me I'm just feeling sorry for myself" she shook her head and clapped her hands together as if closing a book. "That chapter in my life is firmly closed. No more feeling sorry for myself. After all I never really belonged in the feudal era I always knew the well wouldn't let me stay there." She nodded sharply once then set to work catching enough fish to feed two people and a demon cat.

"Kagome are you done fishing? Come on I'll show you the cave. Is there a reason we needed a deep one?" He took the fish she handed him and waited for her to pick up the bundle of sticks laying at her feet.

"Yes it get cold need fire to not die. Too much wind make hard to build fire." Drizzt nodded and watched as she set up the twigs in the middle of the cave he had chosen. She quickly had the fire going and she turned to him with a smile and took the fish he was still holding onto. It never ceased to amaze him how accepting she was of him. She was never afraid of him had even become angry when Kellindil had told her she should be. She would never know just how deeply her angry defense of him had affected him he himself didn't even understand the full depth of it. But he did know that her words left a warmth in his chest that seemed to grow a little bit with every smile she directed his way.

As if knowing where his thoughts had taken him Kagome looked up and smiled at him. "Teach more silent talk now? We teach Kuro too he not say but he understand."

"Alright tell Kuro to hide."

"You … no not right show again? okay You hide" she laughed and made the sign again several more times to cement them in her mind before moving on to the next set. She did that for every sign he taught her while Kuro sat watching the lesson intently. After the lesson Kagome spent the rest of the night telling Drizzt some of the funnier pranks Shippou had pulled.

They went to bed at dawn and Kagome needing only two hours of sleep a night woke up way before Drizzt. She had learned quickly that while she didn't need as much sleep as she had when she was completely human she needed to eat ten times the amount to function properly.

"Kuro wanna come with me to get breakfast? I say we get deer sound good to you? We'll get a couple and bring one back to store for winter. We'll have to go hunting every day until the snow hits. Otherwise we'll have to live on fish all winter and while you might not mind I know I will." Kagome and Kuro spent the morning hunting and when they got back she set about drying the meat "hey Kuro would you mind heating up one of the pools so I can take a bath? I could really go for a hot bath right about now." Kuro mewed and hopped on her shoulder so she could take him to the pool she had chosen. "this one doesn't have any fish in it so it should be okay to heat up." She stood back and watched as Kuro changed into his larger form and spat fire at the pool "you know that will definitely come in handy this winter. I don't know what I'd do without you Kuro. You're absolutely wonderful." she kissed his forehead then hopped into the water with a blissful sigh.

After her bath she went back to the cave and sat outside soaking up the sunshine while she waited for Drizzt to wake up so she could practice more of the drow sign language. She sat with her back to a boulder and looked up at the sky her thoughts turning toward Drizzt. She admired him. He had grown up in a place that held morals opposite of his own. A place where people would turn against their own brother if it would help them advance. But he had come out of it whole his morals uncompromised. She looked up as she heard Drizzt approach. "watch sunset with me?" Drizzt nodded and sat down next to her to watch the beautiful array of colors as the sun sank below the horizon.

The next several days were spent much like the first with only the nighttime routine changing sometimes they would stay in the cave and sometimes they would light a fire outside so Kagome could watch the stars. She found herself even more fascinated by them. Back home she knew the name and story of every constellation. But here everything was new. Since she didn't know any of the constellations she and Drizzt had taken to pointing out shapes the could see in the stars, something she used to do with clouds but she was finding out was just as fun with stars. Tonight Kagome and Drizzt were outside sitting side by side before the fire Guenhwyvar at their backs and Kuro in Kagomes lap.

"That one like Kuro and Guen hunting." Drizzt looked thoughtfully at the cluster of stars she had pointed to and nodded. It did kind of look like them if he squinted. He looked back down at her and smiled she was fascinating and indefinable and he found himself more amazed by Kagome with each passing day. She had an innocent joy in life her face an open book displaying every emotion she felt, and yet he had seen her eyes go cold and hard as she fought for what she thought was right. He knew she took no joy in killing and yet was proud of her ability to do so. She had saved his life, healed his injuries, had powers he had never seen before, she didn't hate him for what he was, and had never once been scared of him. Drizzt reached down a hand and rubbed Kuro's head gently. The kitten opened one eye and mewed at him before burring his nose deeper into his twin tales.

Kagome looked at the two a content smile on her face. She loved it here the air was pure like the feudal era of japan but she didn't have to worry about trying to keep up with a second life. Sure she missed her family but at least they had said goodbye to each other. She had had no idea about how the final battle would go or if the well would let her through without the jewel so everyone had thought it best to say goodbye before she had jumped into the well for the last time. She smiled again and looked back up at the sky and noticed out of the corner of her eye an owl about to take flight. She noticed unfortunately for Drizzt he did not.

Drizzt rushed to his feet his scimitar and dagger in his hands. He chuckled when he realized that the bird was no threat and looked at Kagome who was going red in the face in an effort not to laugh at her friend. She lost it when she saw the twinkle in his eyes she burst out laughing arms around her waist and Drizzt fell to the ground at her side threw an arm around her shoulders and let out his own laugh.

The owl was friend to a ranger named Montolio and had been sent to watch the two in the valley especially the drow. He had watched them for a while and now would report whet he had seen to the ranger who understood the animal tongue. He sat upon a wood and rope bridge connecting three trees and rang the bell placed there so he could call Montolio. He waited a moment then rang it again.

"Patients Hooter let a blind man move at the pace that suits him best." If it could the owl would have smirked as it rang the bell a third time.

Montolio was a wiry with a large gray mustache wild gray hair and white sightless eyes. He stood straight and tall with one hand crimped up so that it looked like the claw of a bird.

Anyone who happened to be watching him nimbly pick his way across the somewhat treacherous bridge would never know that he was blind. Unless of course they knew him, and even then they wouldn't describe him as blind merely stating that his eyes no longer saw. Then they would go on to say that he didn't need his eyes to see. The skills he had spent many years developing as well as the help of his animal friends helped him "see" more than those with fully functioning eyes ever could.

He held out his arm for Hooter who hopped onto it, his claws digging lightly into Montolio heavy leather sleeve.

"you have seen them then?" Hooter responded with a whoo then a series of complicated whoos and chattering hoots while Montolio took it all in. He had asked his animal friends to watch the drow and his female companion for several days wondering why a dark elf had wandered into the valley. At first he had thought the drow was connected Graul the orc chief of the region and the woman was his captured slave, but as time passed he began to suspect differently.

The woman showed no signs of being a slave captured or otherwise, and neither she nor the drow had made any contacted with Graul which was good he was powerful enough without the help of the dark elves. What he couldn't figure out was why the orc's hadn't tried to contact the drow. It was possible they hadn't seen him he hadn't exactly advertised his presence he only went out after sunset. More than likely though they had seen but hadn't worked up the courage to make contact.

Either way the whole thing was providing a welcome distraction as he set up his house for winter. He didn't fear the drow didn't fear much of anything, and if the two companions and the orc's weren't allies then the resulting fight might be well worth watching.

"By my leave, go and catch some mice!" Hooter immediately swooped off with a fierce hunting shriek. "just take care not to eat any of the mice I have watching the valley!" He shook his head as the owl gave another shriek before disappearing and as he descended he vowed that he would soon strap on his sword and find out what this particular dark elf was doing in the region.

He had made many such vows.

Kagome looked up at the sky and smiled as the first of the winters snowflakes fell all about her while beside her Drizzt looked on in wonder. She laughed and grabbed his hand pulling him with her as she danced in the snow. She had always loved winter but thanks to the feudal era she also had a healthy respect for the deadliness of it. She had seen far too many people die do to winters chill and hunger brought on by too little food, but she knew they were well stocked and the cave was insulated and warm so she had no worries that they would survive.

Drizzt let go of her hand and watched as she danced and laughed. He had never seen anyone express themselves so freely and he found that he enjoyed watching her do so.

"You dance to?" he shook his head with a smile

"I do not know how" she shrugged and took his hand again

"I show no one here to see no worry" he slowly nodded and she pulled him into a simple dance with a laugh. He stumbled many times but Kagome never criticized him she just smiled and showed him the steps again, and slowly he forgot his nervousness and let himself relax and enjoy the dance.

"see it's fun when you no worry." He laughed and nodded and Kagome looked up at the sky again. The snow had stopped and a few stars were peeking out of the clouds. She laughed and fell lightly to the ground her hands stacked behind her head. Drizzt sat down next to her one arm resting on his bent knee.

"we not able to do this much soon." Drizzt nodded sadly. She had explained to him about winter as best she could substituting words in her own language when she had none from his own. He didn't fully understand yet but he did understand that they couldn't be outside to often anymore or they could die. After a while Kagome stood up and brushed her pants off.

"we should go inside no want to catch cold." Drizzt nodded and fallowed her in. he had no desire to catch a cold whatever that was.

It was a few days later that Kagome woke up to see that it was snowing. She squealed excitedly and ran outside to catch the snowflakes on her tongue. Her cry woke Drizzt and he jumped to his feet scimitars in his hands to see Kagome outside spinning in circles with her mouth open. "Kagome what are you doing?" She giggled and pointed to the sky

"Look Drizzt snow." He nodded and held out his hand to catch the white flakes and watched them melt on his warm hand.

"So this is snow not at all what I imagined when you said frozen water falling from the sky." She giggled again and pulled him farther from the cave teaching him to catch the flakes on his tongue. A few dances and a snowball fight later and they were both soaking wet and cold but happy.

"let's go in now and get warm" Drizzt glanced at the sky one more time then nodded getting warm did sound good.

The winter was long and Drizzt was sure that if he hadn't had Kagome to reassure him that it would end he would have despaired long ago. She seemed to really like the winter she was always outside when he woke up. She had made several snow men and snow angels, and she had once talked him into helping her build a fort. Then she had set about making a family for the fort consisting of a man a woman and a boy but when they were done she burst into tears and ran into the cave. Drizzt fallowed her in unsure what to do but finally he put his arm around her shoulders and let her cry. She threw her arm around his neck and sobbed into his chest.

"sorry I miss them never got to say good bye." She sighed then gave a watery smile "I'm fine now thank you." Drizzt nodded and gave her a small hug before letting her go. After that she went outside less often and seamed to become more sad then one day he saw her talking to the snowmen inside the fort telling them goodbye than she came out and nocked the fort down, after that she was back to her usual self. It was a few weeks after that that the cold seamed to break and Kagome told him that winter was over.