Hope you like the new chapter! Yay :D
The first day of their journey was incredibly awkward. Kee-Ara couldn't help but idly wish for something to attack them, if only for the momentary distraction that killing it would make. If the thick silence did not cause her anxiety to soar, then the incredible tension between the three of them would cause her to rip her hair out. It was undeniably horrible, the silence, the carefully guarded stares, the awkward attempts to make conversation that inevitably failed. Kee-Ara had given up trying to make her boy talk around the fourth monosyllabic answer. Even the demon horses, whose cheery and confident personalities made them almost immune to these situations, had been muted under the atmosphere. They walked silently, not nudging each other or teasing their riders for once.
She would strangle one of them soon, and at this point she wasn't sure which. Sesshomaru hadn't even mouthed a syllable, his frozen cool presence making her wonder why he even wanted to be present in the first place. She didn't know it but he was actually considering the same question, the roiling sense of discomfort she felt was of course absent in the controlled demon but he still doubted his reason for being present.
The half demon child didn't glare at him openly per say, but the way his gaze bore into the distance with such intensity was obviously Sesshomaru's fault. Kee-Ara didn't bother ignoring him, she openly sent him looks, her eyes darting between the two of them were alternately anxious and annoyed.
Sesshomaru simply ignored them, striding forward confidently. It was with the ease of years of practice that he did not allow them to bother him, for they were not of any importance. He was here, simply put, to consider the half demon child that had stolen his blood. He was unworthy of this, and yet Sesshomaru could not deny that it was his child. And so he was to be judged.
"Ok, just because we are traveling does not mean our time has to be wasted," Kee-Ara abruptly announced, her voice seeming unnaturally loud in the silence, causing everyone to look at her except for Sesshomaru. The demon horse's ears flicked towards her, waiting for her to finish but her son turned back around.
She nudged Tsuki over, bringing her in reach to elbow her son gently into the ribs, effectively capturing his attention. He glowered at her which she returned with arched eyebrows and a pointed look of disapproval. Sesshomaru could hear the small sigh, inaudible to Kee-Ara, but she still saw the small fall of his chest. She elbowed him again.
"Come on, I use to train in the saddle, not every day of a Trainer's work is used up in sword work my lad. There were many a boring day, but as we say, no time spent training?" she started, waiting for him to finish her sentence. Takeshi sighed again, louder this time before looking at her, his eyes almost puppy dog sad. Kee-Ara grinned, fighting the urge to rub his ears.
"Is a waste. But what do you expect me to learn on Yorugin? I am pretty sure she wouldn't appreciate me swinging my sword around her ears," Takeshi told her, and Yorugin shook her head in fervent agreement.
"That day will come when you are much better with your sword, shan. At this point I wouldn't trust you not to take off her ears," Kee-Ara teased him, and he glared at her again as the ears in question were tucked flat against Yorugin's skull for protection.
Tsuki whinnied in under her, and Kee-Ara joined in, laughing in mirth. Takeshi glared once again, before nudging Yorugin faster until they were galloping away. Kee-Ara sighed shaking her head.
"Perhaps a good mother shouldn't laugh at her children," Sesshomaru observed, watching the young boy disappear from view, the first thing he said to her since they had left. Kee-Ara snorted, eyes glancing over to watch him coldly.
"That you think he left is because I teased him shows your ignorance more than you know, Lord Sesshomaru," Kee-Ara told him, the very picture of politeness. Then she nudged Tsuki and they were after the children. They merely trotted letting them get away and giving them time to cool off. Thankfully, Sesshomaru took the hint and did not immediately follow but she could feel his eyes watching her as she left him behind again. As soon as she was out of sight she shivered. Tsuki agreed, the man was unnerving.
Kee-Ara found her son like she thought she would, leaning against a tree, his head bowed and ears tilted in guilt. Yorugin felt no such emotion, and so she was enthusiastically eating grass not far away. Here crimson eyes glanced at her boy frequently, making sure we was safe. Her presence was the only reason Kee-Ara had felt secure letting her boy get ten feet away from her actually and she grinned at the mare before turning back to her son.
"Are you ok?" Kee-Ara asked kindly as she dismounted, watching his head come up slowly and his soulful eyes find hers with unhappiness.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left," Takeshi immediately apologized and Kee-Ara sighed before pulling him into a hug. He accepted it gratefully, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her kimono as she rocked back and forth.
"It's ok, my little one. You've had quite a day," she reassured him and he tilted his head back to look up at her.
"We both have. Are you ok, Mom?" he asked her and Kee-Ara squeezed him tight. How did she get so lucky as to have such an amazing boy? He just met a family he did not even know he had, the father he thought would kill him on sight, and was now being forced to travel with said father, and he was still thinking of her.
"I will be just fine. This is just a really weird situation, isn't it?" she asked him. She sat with the tree against her back, pulling him down beside her and holding onto his small hand. Takeshi didn't say anything in reply, but Kee-Ara could see the thoughts whirling behind his golden eyes.
They watched Tsuki nip Yorugin affectionately and soon they were prancing around each other in a mock fight. They whinnied excitedly, half rearing and dancing with each other. The sun shone off of their silver coats and Yorugin's midnight mane and tail. They were beautiful.
"I don't know why he is here," Takeshi finally announced, the sentence becoming an angry accusation without him meaning it to. Kee-Ara tilted her head and watched the demon horses for a moment more before finally turning to answer him.
"I'm not sure either. I'd be surprised if he knows himself actually. I'm sure he has a logical explanation that has absolutely nothing to do with emotion and it makes sense to him but honestly we are all just trying to make sense of this sudden change in our lives. He didn't know about you, Takeshi, and he didn't react the way I thought he would when he found out. He is trying to process, just like we are," she told him, rubbing his head affectionately. He made a face at her and leaned away, but he didn't let go of her hand.
"I knew about him, but I didn't ever really think about a person. Do you understand? I mean, I knew he was real but seeing him standing in front of me just isn't what I was expecting. Am I allowed to be processing too?" Takeshi asked her, his eyes round and she felt her smile wobble. It hurt her heart to see him hurting and she kissed his crescent moon before she swallowed her emotions to reply.
"Of course it is, Takeshi. We all are, and it is perfectly normal. I knew the man, and I'm still shocked that he is here. I never thought this would happen," she told him and she saw the tension slowly leave him. He rested against the tree, his golden eyes almost haunted.
"Now, are you ready for that training I was talking about earlier? " Kee-Ara asked him and Takeshi wrinkled his nose.
"Can't I have the day off?" he asked, and Kee-Ara shook her head in mock disapproval. He dramatically threw himself down in the grass, kicking her in process, as he sighed piteously.
"But, I am so tired!" he announced and she kicked him lightly with one foot. He rolled over, laughing as he rose to his feet. He offered her a hand and she took, standing by herself without putting any pressure on him. He rolled his eyes and ran away when she went to swat his head. Where in the world did he get such an annoying habit she wondered, glaring at him.
He laughingly bounded into Yorugin's saddle, the young mare having waited for him once they noticed they were ready to go. She whinnied excitedly, prancing as Takeshi rubbed her ears.
Sesshomaru walked towards them, his face blank and Kee-Ara wondered how much of their conversation he had heard. He gave nothing away if he thought she coddled her son, or if he was angry at her description of him but already she could see Takeshi's muscles tensing as he saw him. Time for a distraction. Kee-Ara knelt and picked up a handful of pebbles, placing them in the sash around her waist much to Takeshi's confusion.
Tsuki walked beside her and she mounted him, letting his forward momentum slide her into the saddle.
"Now that we are all here, let us get back on the road. Now, avoid this!" Kee-Ara announced, ignoring Sesshomaru's frosty glare, and tossing a pebble at Takeshi's back. It bounced off of him and glanced off of Yorugin making her whinny in surprise, before skittering across the road.
"Why did you just throw a rock at me?" Takeshi asked her calmly, completely composed as if she did this every day. She frowned, wondering how weird she normally was that he took this in stride. Sesshomaru watched her as well, waiting for an explanation as they once again started traveling. She let them walk ahead of her, making Takeshi twist around to watch her.
"Not a rock. A pebble. There is a distinction," Kee-Ara told him, raising one and tossing it again. Takeshi caught it out of the air, his demon speed making it an easy task and Kee-Ara rolled her eyes at him before making herself stop. Oh, right. She decided to arch an eyebrow at him instead.
"Not with your hands, they will be busy holding your sword," Kee-Ara told him and he tossed the pebble back to her. She fumbled once before catching it, ignoring the way he grinned at her and Tsuki and Yorugin nickered. She might deserve that for the teasing earlier. But she would get even. She tossed another one, and he nimbly dodged it, simply leaning in the saddle.
"Ok, more specific directions are needed. We have already started healing, and as such we know shield work. And earlier we have discovered that you can use offensive magic but now we need to work on using your shield to protect yourself and in certain situations as an offensive weapon in itself. You would be surprised how many people are shocked by their own weapon bouncing off of your shield," Kee-Ara told him and she saw his eyes light up in delight. Excitement coursed through him at the thought of learning more magic , and Yorugin danced in under him feeling her rider's emotions. Sesshomaru's eyes darted towards the boy and Kee-Ara grinned, proud. Yes, her boy could heal, fight, and use magic. Sesshomaru certainly couldn't do that.
"Are you sure? I wasn't exactly," Takeshi hesitated, his eyes darkening before he found the word he was looking for, "myself. Earlier, I didn't know what I was doing when I. I didn't mean to attack you."
Regret made his eyes dim and she could see the pain there.
"Of course not. I do not blame you for actions that were out of your control, leshan," she told him but she could see it didn't reach him, not all of the way.
"I would no more blame you than I would blame Sesshomaru. It is not of any choice, it is blood. And I am not ashamed of it, and neither should you be, my son. You are strong, stronger than you can even imagine and the best things in life come from pain. Consequences make you appreciate what you have," Kee-Ara stared into his eyes, making him understand with the passion that threatened to burst from her veins. His eyes sought the acceptance he saw their as she made him understand. Neither of them noticed Sesshomaru stiffen in shock at her words.
"You did no harm, and you revealed so much that I did not know. Now you must make the choice to train, to practice, so that you control this power that you have. It is when you choose not to control yourself that you should be ashamed. When you have the choice and you choose to harm, that is when I will seek an apology and your regret. But not today. I merely ask for you to start fighting for the control. And avoid these rocks," Kee-Ara told him, lightening the mood as she threw another stone at him. This time a bright light flared to life, catching the rock and throwing it off course but it still hit him in the shoulder.
"I thought you said pebbles?" He asked mockingly, rubbing his shoulder and she grinned at him.
"I might have lied. Good job. Again," He turned forward once more, and trusting Yorugin to keep his path safe, closed his eyes. He felt it when once again, a stone headed in his direction and he urged his power to surge forward to stop it. This time it didn't stop it at all, instead it heated it up making him jump as the heated rock hit his back. He yelped in surprise, opening his eyes and turning to find his mom silently laughing.
"Perhaps, you need to use the words. How many times have I told you not to try a spell silently without practicing it first?" She asked him cheerily.
"But you do it all the time! You make stuff up!" he accused her and a grin flashed across her face before a serious expression settled.
"And I have had many more years of practice than you," she reminded him serenely, hefting a rock in the air. He turned forward once again muttering about how it's because she was old. Sesshomaru's mouth twitched, able to hear exactly what he said. The next pebble thrown might have had a little more force behind it.
Takeshi was quickly absorbed with using his magic in this new way, whispering the spell in under his breath. Soon he forgot to be tense around Sesshomaru and his presence almost completely faded from his mind as he fought to successfully answer his mother's challenge. Kee-Ara was relieved to see him distracted, and corrected him when she saw some mishap or encouraged him. His soft whispers and her warm voice were the only sounds as silence once again settled among them but this time it was almost companionable, a drastic difference to the beginning of their journey. Sesshomaru remained silent but Kee-Ara caught him watching the blue magic light up, casting a soft glow on his silver hair. She wondered what thoughts were lurking beneath his mask.
Sesshomaru was actually trying to decide what he thought of the boy who wielded magic as easily as his mother. When he had first seen the casual way he stopped Kee-Ara's magic, and the blue glow of it he had assumed it was a form of his demon powers. Now he saw the way he easily handled it, forming it the way Kee-Ara did. He was powerful. With not only the power of a demon lord, but the magic of a witch in his veins he was stronger than Sesshomaru had ever anticipated. Kee-Ara stopped and gathered more pebbles and they were moving once more, easily falling into the pattern. Sesshomaru observed the half demon's power, impressed in spite of himself.
Sesshomaru watched him quietly, noting with surprise the ease with which he learned how to turn the stones aside. Pretty soon he never missed, sending them ricocheting off of the path and to the right once he learned to control which direction they went in, away from Sesshomaru. And then Kee-Ara surprised him, forming a small ball of golden light, as fragile as a firefly it glowed upon her finger before she tossed it as her son's back. Sesshomaru tensed as it headed towards him but a dome of blue light lit around the boy. Instead of reflecting the spark it absorbed it, sending small golden zigzags, like lightning across the surface.
Takeshi turned surprised to find Kee-Ara grinning and so he turned forward once more and it started all over again. This time he fought to make only as much shield as needed to stop the spark and they only stopped when the sun started to sink below the horizon. Sesshomaru watched as they automatically made camp.
They easily danced around each other, the boy setting up their bedrolls as she removed the horse's tack, then the boy gathered fire wood as she carried water. Sesshomaru watched in surprise as the boy started the fire, the Persian blue flames leaping eagerly across the dry branches before fading to a natural orange. Kee-Ara squeezed his shoulder in approval before starting dinner as he went to brush the demon horses.
This was all done quickly and efficiently, a routine they had got down with practice in the years since he had last seen Kee-Ara. He found himself wondering if at first she carried him as a baby as she did all of the chores herself. or maybe if she laid him down and used her magic to do them all faster before she once again lifted her baby into her arms.
Sesshomaru settled against a tree to watch as the boy teased Kee-Ara about her cooking and she flicked his forehead in response. He could smell the food start to burn and it seemed as if the boy could as well. He lunged to pull it out of the fire, laughing as Kee-Ara cursed in under her breath. Her attempt to be quiet was entirely useless, and his ears twitched as he heard every word. Sesshomaru couldn't help but feel amused as he remembered Kee-Ara telling Rin that she couldn't cook. It seemed she had not changed as much she appeared. He saw them laugh and smile as they at their salvaged dinner and supplemented it with dried jerkey.
It was an easy relationship, an open one. Discomfort settled over him as he realized that the overwhelming emotions she seemed to hold for him were returned. All of this so openly. He noted the boy glancing in his direction, the hard set to his jaw displaying the unease he felt and he felt disapproval that the boy could not control himself better. It was unbecoming to be so open with ones emotions.
He could already see that this journey would be detestable at best.