Silver boy with golden eyes
~Kitty
Hickory Dickory Dock
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
His ears twitched as they reacted to the birdsong and the wind rustling outside the box.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
He sat cross legged inside the metal shelter, ignoring the sunlight that filtered in through the shoji window.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
His nostrils flared as he inhaled deep into his lungs. Nothing, she was not here. With a groan, he let out the breath into a long, restless sigh.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
The clock sat across from him, mocking him. Still ten more hours until she returned.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
He tapped the ground with his clawed finger in time with the modern device.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
It developed gradually, the irritated growl that rose out of his chest. He didn't think time could move so slowly once you started measuring it.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
"ARGH!"
The young man stood up abruptly and spun on his heel, barging out the door and stomping out into the meadow. He didn't often venture into the space outside his box, not when Kagome wasn't there. It wasn't that he was afraid, or that he wasn't curious. Something kept driving him back into the shelter of his box. But today, fed up with the agony of watching just how slowly time ticked by, his agitation fueled his legs and sent him crashing into the forest.
The forest was a light, warm, welcoming place. Dappled sunlight shifted and danced around him and felt good when it rested on his skin. But it was a disorienting place. There was a wrongness that his senses pressed upon him. The forest did not want him there.
He wanted to see Kagome. Almost needed to see her. Her tears from last time stayed on his red outer coat and he could still smell the salt of them. But they weren't her. The faint scent that clung to the gifts she'd brought for him, the books she'd left him. But it wasn't her.
It was almost a physical force now, something that clawed at his legs and feet as he tried to press onward. Holding him back. Keeping him away. He pushed on stubbornly, refusing to be swayed from his quest. He was going to her. He had to see her.
Eventually, the invisible resistance waned, the sense of wrongness subsided. His eyes brightened as he felt each new step easier than the last. Excitement buzzed in his veins and his breath rushed in and out in shallow pants.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
The clock mocked him as he burst into the opening, his eyes immediately recognizing the meadow and the box and the sound emanating from within.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
He gnashed his teeth together with a fierceness that made his jaws creak in protest.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
And then the frustration gave way to a different emotion. One he had been holding back for a long time. His hands trembled as they hung at his sides and he tried to forces his lungs to breath.
Tick…
Tock…
Tick…
Tock…
The strength fled from his legs and brought him down to his knees at the edge of the meadow. Head downcast, he stared at the open hands resting in his lap. Rough, calloused, dangerous hands. What was the purpose of this purgatory? Why was he cursed to stay forever trapped in this strange dimension? A fragile heart quivered inside his chest and blood dripped from his lips where a fang pierced the flesh. Golden eyes trembled, blinked, and resettled. A deep breath. And then another. And then the lonely figure stood, back straight, fists clenched. With even steps, he returned to the metal box, slipped inside, and shut the door.