Runa made the first attack, slicing towards his stomach before dodging to his right and landing a punch squarely on his jaw. But he took her aback when he rubbed at his sore jaw and laughed again. He unsheathed one of the swords at his hip, gripping the golden hilt lightly, and swinging it in a circle to show off his skill.

His opponent took this opportunity to crouch low and pivot until her leg swiped at his ankle. Her kick connected but not hard enough to knock him down. He jumped back a few feet, a frown forming on his face. "Just who are you, my feisty sprite?" he asked, cocking his head in confusion. Apparently he wasn't used to pretty women attacking him, Runa thought.

"I am Runa of the dog demon clan," she stated simply, before rushing him again, dagger flashing in her fist.

"Ah," the black haired demon clucked, "I have heard that dogs tend to get terribly testy," he responded while he dodged her attack and somersaulted over her head. "I am Niko, lord of this small land and it's lakes," he explained, though she hadn't the faintest idea as to why as she really did not care.

Runa shrugged with a blank look on her face, running at him again, but this time jumping into the air and spinning until her foot slammed into his face. He fell back a few paces before steadying himself and taking a swing at her with his sword. Runa gasped and ducked, feeling the whoosh as the blade swung over her head, nearly grazing the top of her thick silvery tresses. As he went to swing again Runa slammed her wrist into his, blocking his movement, before twirling out of his way.

"Are you a warrior? You fight well for a lady who seems to be of noble birth," Niko remarked with a small smile, watching as she arranged her body into a perfect fighting stance.

"Being a lady does not preclude me from also being a warrior," she scoffed back, rolling her eyes at him again. The nerve of this guy! This time they both ran at each other, Niko brandishing his sword, and Runa gripping her small dagger. The woman shocked him when her small blade caught the edge of his sword and held it steady. The handle of the dagger gripped in her hand, while she pressed the tip flat in the other, created a perfect block. Runa used his moment of surprise to push back hard against his sword and then slammed her fist down upon his in one fluid motion. It happened so fast Niko did not even realize he had let go of his sword until he watched her catch the dropped weapon. The dog demoness swung the blade around at him, a cocky grin appearing on her face before she gave him a hard kick in his bare chest, sending him flying to the ground. The next thing he knew, a bare, cold foot was pressed into his chest, his own sword pointed at his throat. Niko took in the beautifully defined face and white waves of hair that appeared over his face. Runa smiled, stabbing his sword into the dirt beside his head, in a very pointed gesture. She held her hand out to him as she moved her foot from on top of his sternum.

Niko took her hand, staring at her in awe. "You fight amazingly well, Lady Runa," he told her with a bow, dwarfing her small hand in his own large one.

The water demon still had her hand in his grasp when a voice interrupted their gaze into one another's eyes.

"Runa. Cover yourself," Sesshomaru said, eyeing the pair warily. Runa snapped her hand back from Niko, clearly surprised to have been found by Sesshomaru. She met his glare, only to see him giving her near naked form a once over, with a hard stare. A pink blush sprang to her cheeks and she all but ran over to her clothes and began dressing.

"What kind of lecherous man attacks a girl while she bathes?" Sesshomaru spat at the dark haired man before him.

Niko glanced over to Runa, who shrugged while turning her eyes to the side. Sorry pal, but you're on your own, she seemed to say. "My apologies, my lord, but I did offer her clothes to her before she so rudely attacked me," he responded with a smirk while he put his shirt back on.

"Now you're just twisting the story, Lord Niko!" Runa called out as she came to stand beside him. "But I needed a good fight, so I thank you for that," she said with a laugh before Sesshomaru's expression caused her to go silent and look away awkwardly.

"Hn," Sesshomaru murmured before turning away, "Come Runa."

Runa stared after him getting the distinct feeling he was angry at her. Turning to Niko, she gave him a grin,"It was nice to meet you. But you probably should stop creeping on women who decide to bathe in the lake," she pointed out.

"I did not mean to intrude on you, truly," he told her, putting his hand on the back of his head and shrugging, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a smirk,"but I am glad to have met such a beautiful warrior in the pale moonlight," he said, taking her hand and bending down to kiss it. "If there is anything I could ever do for you," Niko offered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively," then call on me and I shall do my best to assist."

"Actually," Runa began, eyeing him before pulling her hand away,"have you ever heard of or seen a shadow demon? They strike fear into your heart and are huge ugly creatures," she explained, watching him for a reaction. "We have been hunting for them. They took my brother and we are trying to get him back."

Niko's expression immediately grew dark, all playfulness leaving his blue eyes. "Yes, I have witnessed the power of these creatures. Even an experienced fighter such as yourself would struggle to take one down," he said, shaking his head.

Runa ignored his dark expression, and perked up at his response. "Come with me to our camp, Lord Niko. What you have to say could help us find my brother and kill these shadow demons."

She looked up to call to Sesshomaru to wait but when she saw him he had already stopped and was giving her the coldest glare she had ever seen. Then she noticed his glare fell upon the water demon too.

Niko grimaced and glanced to the woman at his side,"Is that guy always like this? He seems to have some anger issues."

"Uhm, yeah.. that's just kind of his personality. It will be fine!" she chirped, pulling Niko behind her as she followed after the angry lord of the west.

Dinner would certainly be interesting tonight.

Thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed. I let some of my stories drop for awhile and getting alerts to my email really inspired me to get back to it. I know Sesshomaru is crazy quiet so far but I don't want him to come across too OOC so I'm trying to let him build up to talking and showing his personality a little bit more.