Authors note: I realized chapter 7 was a mess only after it had been up a week, I will re-edit that soon. I also noticed that my scene breaks in the chapters were removed when the chapter was uploaded onto ! I will go back and try to fix those. My apologies for the confusion! This chapter I tried to emphasize the characters accents in their dialog, I am not sure how well I managed that. ^_^; Reviews are appreciated.

Chapter 8 - Snow Dog.

This was unbelievable, inconceivable, unimaginable and absolutely ridiculous! Here he was, the Inu no Taishou, a Daiyoukai that was once mighty and feared, backed into the corner of a crumbling little shack in the middle of nowhere, glaring death at some old balding fat man with too much facial hair and some obnoxious impression that he could get a leather dog harness around him! Never in his hundreds of years of existence did he ever thing he would ever be put in such an embarrassing position!

Alright perhaps he was rather angry at the moment with his current situation, he gave a long exhale through his clenched teeth as his golden eyes closed and tried to regain his composure. It was an embarrassment beyond anything he'd ever had to experience and he thought he knew humility well until he was hauled off over the shoulder of some Yeti-woman and shoved into the back of an old, half rusted truck. There he quickly discovered the bearded man who was bothering him at the train station was sitting contently in the front seat, that was his first horrible surprise. His second horrible surprise was when they drove out in that rickety vehicle for a good hour into the forest where the snow was so deep, he could only assume there was a road under it. The house itself was horrible surprise number three, it was a large cabin that looked ready to fall in on itself, it's walls surrounded with wooden supports and a roof that was sagging under 6 feet of snow.

He tried to escape several times but the two young boys had a firm grip on him and only his pride was preventing him from biting their arms off and freeing himself. Once inside that creaky cabin he'd searched again for a quick escape out, only to become dumbfounded when discovered that the windows and the door were all lined with metal rods and bolted shut. It made him stop and wonder, but he could only ponder the mystery for a couple of minutes when that bearded man suddenly appeared beside him and draped the leather straps of a harness over his furry back. Which landed him in this current position, backed into a corner of the cabin with his ears flattened back and flashing the old man the most vicious looking expression a dog could manage without baring teeth.

Behind the man the Yeti-woman was busy lighting the fire in the hearth, exchanging a few words in Russian with him as he tried to catch the white dogs head in the harness. Not having an easy time of it as his head bobbed away from him each time. The youkai's expression turned more angry by the moment, this human was relentless and he seriously considered taking his whisker covered head off his shoulders. All it took was a single bite and this harassment would end, the Yeti-woman would be next and then the boys…

…Alas those two boys.

The boys were what stopped him from acting out his murderous thoughts, he could not bring himself to willingly kill innocent children. In his turbulent past he had been times where he was force to or accidentally killed little ones before and his heart mourned each and every time. Even when he could use the Tensaiga to bring the little ones back the horrible guilt from the tragic act alone lingered. There was a fine line between being a demon and being a monster.

As much as he could not bring himself to kill these two boys he could not bring himself to orphan them either. He would have to deal with the Yeti-woman and the old bearded man the hard way, his golden eyes locked on his current tormentor before he came charging out of the corner of the room for him! Giving a deep, thundering bark as he caught the old man by surprise! The bearded fellow tumbling backwards with a startled yell before scrambling away on his hands and knees. The two boys watching this in amusement started giggling uncontrollably as the Yeti woman rolled her eyes and stood up to her full height in front of the hearth.

Despite the ridiculous circumstances he marveled over the fact that she didn't feel the need to bend down while walking around in this little cabin. The top of her head was barely a half inch away from brushing against the rafters supporting the roof above them, she had to have been the tallest human woman he'd ever seen. He didn't muse long on it as he watched her pick up the flustered looking bearded man and helped him to his feet. Finishing her little deed by placing a little kiss on his balding head, the white dog watching that old fool blush a little before realization sunk in. So this was a whole little family living here in the middle of nowhere? It took this long to dawn on him, perhaps it was all the emotional trauma of being taken in as a pet against his will had taken his ability to think logically and thrown it out the window? None the less he watched the muscular woman carefully as she picked up the harness and tossed it to the two giggling boys, addressing the two in Russian.

He may have been clueless on the language but he had a good idea what the woman said as the two kids smiled brightly and took off running towards him. He gave a soft grunt as he back pedaled in a vain attempt to escape, this was not fair, did this woman already know he couldn't harm her kids so she sends them to finish their foolish father's task? He flashed the yeti woman a sour look as the smallest boy threw his arms around his furry neck in an effort to 'restrain' him. The dog youkai cursing the yeti-woman further in his head while the older boy draped the harness over him and started to buckle it into place. His look of utter annoyance and half lidded glare remaining unchanged as the younger boy hugged his neck and enjoyed the softness of his the thick fur. While the boy's brother finished buckling the harness in place before calling out happily and reaching out to pet him between the folded back ears.

A plan formulated in his mind, the idea of waiting till night fall when the family was all asleep to slip out of the house, his half lidded eyes rolling slowly to the overly latched door only to realize that it was framed in weapons. Shot guns and hunting rifles to be exact, his gaze traveled to the boarded up window and saw a similar set up. There were more rifles than humans in this little house, who was supposed to use all of this? His train of thought derailed as the older boy decided to climb onto his back, using the harness to hold on as he made some triumphant hoots. A vein popped above the dogs dark bushy brow as the younger boy released his neck and scrambled up his side to join his brother. Honestly…now he was a pony? Things grew worse when the eldest boy decided to spur him, the dog youkai responding with a grunt as he stubbornly sat down on his hindquarters and tried to shake the two kids off.

With the aid of the harness though both children managed to stay in place, he gave another shake in an attempt to knock them off. Their giggles starting to get on his already very frayed nerves as he let a golden eye roll back to them.

I will not hurt the kids….

This time the youngest one decided to try and spur his sides, only he was sitting so far back he missed the dog demons ribs and kicked the soft sides of belly instead. The dog giving a bigger grunt as another vein popped!

I will not hurt the kids…

I will not hurt the kids…

I will not hurt the kids

The eldest suddenly grabbed the ends of his droopy ears and tugged on them light reins, pulling his head back as he took on a nasty expression on his canine face and another, much bigger vein popped above the first two!

At this rate I'll eat them instead!

"WOOF!" He gave another thunderous bark that made both little boys jump before he promptly rolled over onto his back in an effort to get the two of them off of him! He was no saint, he had limited patience and he had just reached the end of it! Forget waiting for the family to go to bed, not a single one of them would remain alive long enough to go to bed if this embarrassing harassment continued! The two kids scrambled away from him while still laughing merrily, they were obviously still amused by this completely unaware of what it was they were teasing! He'd had more than enough of this and quickly rolled back to his feet , trotting away from the still giggling kids. Reaching the door he reared up on his hind quarters and pawed for the latches holding it secure.

He may have lacked opposable thumbs in his canine form but he had the next best thing, Dew claws. Using that he hooked the latches and slid them to the side one by one as he braced himself on the doorway with his other paw. Behind him he heard a commotion as the fat man came running for him and the Yeti-woman started to yell. He disregarded both of them as he managed to unlock the door and pry it open enough to let him slip out into the snowy world outside.

It was absolutely freezing, the wind was blowing hard, whipping the steady snow fall around through the dark trees that surrounded the little cabin. This was salvation from the insanity, as cold and unwelcoming as it was but as he started away from the door he heard the frightened screams coming from inside the house. His golden eyes narrowed as he continued to trot through the deepening snow, let them yell he had no intention of staying in that…Wait…frightened screams? He paused several yards from the door and turned his head to look back, only to see the terrified looks on the two boys faces as they hide behind the door jam. The Yeti woman was grabbing one of the shot guns and cocking it while the train man was busy trying to pry another rifle free. A dark brow arched as the winds howled around him and drove a horrible cold that pierced even his thick fur. Did they intend to shoot him for running away?

He snuffed a little and prepared himself to leap out of harms way when the direction of the wind changed and brought with it the scent of his answer. He immediately turned back to look out over the blowing snow, beyond the rippling white he could see the deep shadows of the forest. Where up until now, the weather helped conceal the scents of several wolves lurking within it.

He guessed they were wolves at least, the scent was not quite right for a wolf, yet he could not place what exactly was off about the scent. He gazed over the dark forest, noticing then that it surrounded this little house this strange family lived in. Another quick glance to the crumbling cabin revealed the claw marks and damage along the walls and windows left by attacking creatures. The cabin was not in fact ramshackle as he had first thought, it instead was silent testament to the repeated attacks it had suffered, as did the little family that sheltered inside it. He had to wonder why hadn't these people abandoned this place already if it went under siege so often? His golden eyes widened a little as the winds changed again and carried with it a new scent, the dog demon's. It was faint but fresh, the inuyoukai was far away but still around this area!

His golden eyes narrowed again as he heard the snapping of brush, something large was moving through the forest and trying to circle around him. He lifted his head as he considered investigating when a terrified wail rose behind him. The youngest boy sounded like he was pleading, his gaze returned to the door way once more as he saw the young boy on the verge of tears. He was trying to make his way out the door and was fighting his older brother who was holding him back. Both boys calling out to him, while the younger one, unable to get free made a waving motion with his hands. Trying to coax the youkai back to the house while their mother held that rifle aimed over his head, presumably at the moving creature in the forest.

He wondered what would happen if he left, would these two boys try to follow him into the forest? His furry ear twitching as another snap was heard to his left, he was either being stalked or maybe investigated. In any case only option was clear to him now as he slowly turned and started towards the open door. Giving a gruff sound as three sets of hands grabbed him and pulled him back inside the moment he came within reach, the Yeti woman slamming the door shut and started to fasten the latches as quickly as she could. The youngest boy wasted no time in wrapping his arms tightly around his neck and burying his face in the youkai's furry shoulder. He was sobbing something but it was completely muffled and incoherent, the bearded man started to say something in a scolding tone only to stop mid sentence when the youkai flashed him a warning look.

He didn't fully understand what was going on here, he had so many questions and no easy way to get the answers. He did realize though that the mystery of the Inuyoukai that bore no markings was deepening further here. He gazed to the family as they started to recover from that frightening moment outside and began to wonder what their true intentions are here. Why are they living here when there were wolves ready to attack them every night? What were they doing here that was worth dealing with such great danger? His parental instinct stirred a little as he looked to the two boys and he wondered why they were here? If one of the wolves broke through this crummy little shacks defenses they would be the first to die. Only a stupid parent would put their children so close to death's grasp, he never once allowed his pup to be in obvious danger.

He looked down to the floor at that moment and snuffed, that last thought wasn't true, Sesshoumaru followed him everywhere beginning at a young age. Despite the dangerous path he walked he let the puppy trail him like a shadow. Of course he was protective of his child, any of his enemies who crossed paths with him while Sesshoumaru was present met a Daiyoukai father that was far more dangerous than ever before. His gaze drifted back to the younger brother who was now getting a hold of himself, he was perhaps the same age as Sesshoumaru when he first took a hold of his tail one day and refused to let go. Refused to be left behind and he had to take his son with him knowing full well the danger he was putting the puppy in. Sometimes you did what you had to do, it was a hard choice for him as he could imagine it was a hard choice for the Yeti-woman and the bearded man here.

He poked the boy in the cheek with his cold nose and gave a little smirk as the child's crying was interrupted by a small bout of giggles while his little hand clapped over his cheek. Behind the boy the Yeti-woman was going about the motions of making dinner while the bearded man sat at the table and laid his newspaper flat as he poured some odd smelling liquid into his glass. Everything seemed perfectly normal despite the threat of wolves and who knows what else lurking outside. These people were either confident or crazy. Then again he was no better as he sat there with the two children who were clinging to him as if he'd run off again at any moment. Maybe he was both as he decided to stay and discover why they were doing this and perhaps find a way to save them from the dangers lurking outside. Maybe it would bring him closer to finding out who this strange InuYoukai was.

The older boy suddenly grabbed his harness and climbed onto his back again, the youkai gave a grunt and scowled as best as a canine face could. Maybe it would also bring him closer to losing his sanity? He was pretty sure he would gain a few grey hairs before this was all over.

….

Next morning…

….

BAM! BANG! BAM!

He went from a light sleep to a panic attack in five seconds, instinct kicked in and he transformed into his human form without even thinking. His reward was the numerous bruises he no doubt suffered as his head and limbs slammed into chair and table legs! Last night he had taken shelter from the children under the kitchen table and ended up sleeping there through most of the night. Albeit being a very light sleep as he could not bring himself to lower his alert state, yet it was enough to leave him disorientated as he lay on his side half curled with his legs tangled in a kitchen chair and his arms covering his head. Blue orbs blinked in shock as he looked around blearily only to hear another string of very loud bangs that shook the little cabin. "What in the sevens hells…are we being bombed now!" He yelped and struggled violently, smashing the chair and sending the table flying as he leapt to his feet and charged immediately for the front door. What could be attacking them this early in the morning, had the wolves suddenly returned ? He grabbed the door handle and threw the door open, ready to leap out join in the fray.

Only there wasn't a fray…outside the bearded man was half buried in the engine compartment of that old, rusted truck. In the driver's seat was the eldest boy who hung out of the window and waited for instructions while the youngest boy was in the truck's bed looking over the tail gate at the exhaust pipe. The bearded man raised a hand and the boy quickly withdrew into the truck cabin to turn the key, the engine turning over and running for a few seconds. Before giving a string of loud BANGS that shook the thing on it's struts so violently that it sent the younger boy falling over the tail gate and into a snow pile.

The youkai stood there in the doorway, his jaw dropped and a large sweat drop rolling down, even the machines these people used were completely out of the norm. A sense of relief did wash over him though as he raised a clawed hand to rub his face, it was amazing how these people survived this long. He gazed up in time to see the Yeti-woman coming towards the door with a pile of wood in her arms and suddenly realized what he was doing! "Shoot!" He hissed and quickly shut the door, pressing his back to it as he looked around at the destroyed kitchen. "Shoot!" He hissed again as he quickly moved to try and right the furniture again, only managing to fix a single chair when he heard the door knob turn. "Damn it!" He swore and quickly raised that blue glow of light around him, transforming back into a dog just in the nick of time.

The Yeti-woman pushed open the door and crab-walked her way into the house with her load before she stopped and saw the over turned kitchen table. The vase that was on it smashed on the floor, a chair not looking much better beside it and one very miserable looking white dog sitting in the middle of it all. He looked over to the woman who stood motionless in the doorway and gave her an apologetic look, his tail wagging a little. Looking back the youkai could not recall exactly what happened in those next few moments. All he remembered was the yeti-woman's hands wrapping around his neck one minute and the weightless sensation of flying through the air the next. The only thing he could clearly remember was the snow pile he landed in outside and laid on while he regained his bearings.

Once he finished recollecting his marbles again he rolled to his feet and shook off snow from his fur. Cursing that Yeti-woman as he made his way off the snow pile and took in his surroundings. Well the house no doubt was off limits for a while and he was not interested in hanging around that loud truck while the bearded man tried to squeeze some life out of its dying motor. The sound of another motor rumbled nearby caught his attention, the youkai spotting a green colored jeep fighting it's way through the mornings fresh snow. Realizing that this was a good opportunity to explore the forest and investigate what was lurking within it last night. He waited till the bearded man and his sons attention were drawn to the approaching jeep before the youkai took the given chance and trotted off into the snowy forest that surrounded the cabin.

He kept his nose up in the air as he quickly enough picked up the scent of the wolves from the night before. The scent was still very fresh which he could confirm meant the creatures were lurking around here till morning. What he couldn't find though was the scent of the InuYoukai, just as mysteriously as it had appeared last night , it had vanished. He gave a snort as he tracked the wolf scent for now, making discontent noises when the brush and bramble he pushed through hooked onto that cursed dog harness he wore. When the brush finally cleared he emerged into a small clearing where the snow was filled with paw prints. The scent of wolf hung heavily in that clearing meaning that the creatures were hanging around here most of the night.

He made his way to the trampled snow and noticed right away how large the prints were, they defiantly had the shape of a wolves paw but were the size of dinner plates. Much larger than any normal wolf could produce, coupled with the strange wolf scent the youkai quickly surmised that whatever creatures were out here, they had to have been supernatural.

Then he came across a set of prints that made the rest look humble, from heel to toe the print was two and a half feet long. The monster that owned these if it were indeed a canine had to be easily eight to ten feet high at the shoulder. He stood there a moment and simply inspected the huge print, if these monsters were harassing that cabin it was amazing that it was still standing right now. This wolf would have crashed through the wall and brought that little cabin down like a house of cards without much trouble.

His furry ears perked a little as he heard more footfalls in the snow and realized someone was coming his way. He lifted his head then and took off running up the snowy bank and back into the brambles where his grey and white fur let him blend into the snow. At the edge of the clearing two figures pushed their way through the brush, the bearded man lead the way huffing and puffing as he held a handkerchief to his face. He looked back behind and spoke to someone in English as he waited for them to emerge. " Here my friend! Here we have where Bodark was. Almost took my new dog!" The youkai perked an ear, the Russian accent was thick but he could understand English somewhat well. He watched quietly as the second person broke through the brambles next.

"You are sure these is Bodark yes?" Both of the youkai's ears perked then as he realized that accent was defiantly…Japanese. He lowered his head to take a good look at the man as he pushed out into the clearing, he was wearing a tan fur lined coat and dark colored slacks. A snow cap covered his head and hid his hair but his face had the delicate features more commonly seen on an asian.

"My friend it must be a Bodark! These moonsters have been here in these woods for many years! They took my good dog, Viden last week and now they want new dog!" The bearded mans mustache bristled a little as he moved closer to the man and pointed to the prints on the snow. " Believe me my friend, I knows Borark when I sees Bodark!"

The asian fellow smiled some and gave the older man a patient look, waiting for him to finish his rant before he added. " Sorry, but I thinks is can also be's Wawkalak." He squinted an eye closed as the bearded man practically exploded next.

" This is no work of Wawkalak! Wawkalak harms no one, Wawkalak is a cursed soul! This is Bodark my friend, Bodark!" If the old man's face turned any redder he would look like a tomato as he jerked a finger at the paw prints with every word. In true Russian style though he started to laugh and clapped a hand over the asian mans shoulder. " My apologies Mr. H, I had stressfulls night."

Mr. H smiled again to his bearded friend as he returned the friendly clap to the shoulder and began to walk around the prints pot marking the snow. " Is alright, I see sir is very unhappy. I will do what I ca…" He stopped then and stared at the massive paw print the youkai had found before, crouching down to a knee then and reaching a hand down onto the snow. Fitting his palm and fingers into the paw print beside the huge wolves…the youkai's print. The dog blinked a moment as his curiosity mounted, his tracks had to be insignificant compared to the monster prints everywhere else, unless?

A frown grew visibly on H's face as he looked over to the next track and reached out to fit his hand carefully in that one too. His slender fingers fitting into the splayed toes of the print, his frown quickly turned into a look of concern as his head turned to follow the path the tracks took from the bramble. His look becoming more troubled by the moment as eyes followed the other tracks that went up the snow bank before he instantly froze. Causing the youkai hidden in the brush also to freeze as he only now noticed an important detail.

In that moment, two sets of golden eyes met.

…To be continued.