The Western Lord landed silently besides the newest member of his pack while he figured her out and studied her as a few rays of light peaked through the trees in the early morning. She hadn't moved from the position he had put her in when he laid her on the white pelts she slept on and slept quietly. As Jaken started snoring loud enough to grate on his ears, he kicked a rock at him to wake him and the mute child stirred at the sounds.
The child grinned up at him before crawling out from under her pelts and immediately moved to roll them up and put them into the leather bag that carried them when traveling. Jaken got up and immediately started tending to the dying fire, neither noticing the sleeping woman. Sesshomaru sat down against a tree near the sleeping woman as the child grabbed Ah-Un's reigns and led him out of the clearing as she went to go scavenge for food. Jaken scampered after the child, squawking at her about her carelessness after the fire was taken care off, brandishing the two-headed staff as he ran.
A slight hitch of breath alerted Sesshomaru to the young woman near him and he looked down at her as violet eyes opened and stared up at the trees above her. A quiet sigh escaped her lips before her arms came above her head as she stretched, her back arching off the ground as she did, but her legs didn't move other than a slight shift from the stretch. She left her arms above her head and turned her head to the side towards him, her eyes locking onto his.
"I guess it wasn't a dream," she spoke quietly.
"The paralysis was temporary," he mused.
"Except I still cannot feel my legs. I apologize for making you have to inconvenience yourself for my sake," she frowned as she slowly sat up, having to use her arms to push herself up and sighed. He noticed one of her hands grip the cloth over her heart even though she was looking around the camp. "Is there any chance that after the feeling returns to the rest of my body that I could visit a healer for a couple things?"
"Your heart is weak, onna."
"I know."
"This is your illness."
"I know my fate, but with the time I have left, I wish to live the best I can. This place… this world… none of it is familiar to me… I know what you are, but until a couple weeks ago, I did not even know that youkai were real. My guardian and protector had to transform for me to believe it."
"Why would a youkai care for a dying ninngen?" he scoffed.
"That is a question I cannot answer," she smiled as she looked back at him.
"Come back here you stupid child!" Jaken screeched and he saw the woman flinch at the sound before the child came into view with several fish in her hands. "Lord Sesshomaru, why is that wretched ninngen wearing your outer haori?!"
"Jaken, prepare Ah-Un for travel. After the ninngen eat, we depart," Sesshomaru spoke before walking out of the clearing.
Ivanna watched as the inuyoukai disappear into the forest before focusing on the remaining group as a two-headed scaled beast lumbered into view that was as big as a horse. The beast came over to her and lowered both heads to sniff her and she lifted a hand to each head and was met with forked tongues across both palms. She smiled up at the beast before it laid back down besides its saddle on the ground by several bags. The child had speared the fish she had caught and they were cooking and she came over and tugged at the pelt that covered her from the waist down.
"You want these?" Ivanna asked, confused that the child hadn't uttered a sound.
"Don't bother asking that child anything. She hasn't spoken a word since the day Lord Sesshomaru brought her back from the dead," the toad-like blue creature squawked as he pulled the saddle onto the scaled beast. "Gather up the supplies while your food cooks. Lord Sesshomaru does not like to be kept waiting."
"There is only so much I can do, you stupid toad," Ivanna huffed quietly as the child started rolling up the top pelt. Using her arms, she scooted backwards off the pelt and the child stopped rolling the pelts and ran over with a confused frown on her face. "No need to worry about me, little one. I have more feeling in my body than I did last night. Finish cleaning up while the food cooks."
The child only nodded and went back to rolling up the pelts and put them in a bag while the toad that she assumed was Jaken started tying bags to the saddle. Moving so that she could pull her body over to the two-headed beast, she pulled bags closer and held them up to Jaken so that he could tie them to the saddle and soon, the child was bringing bags to her so that she could lift them up to be tied.
Once they were done, Jaken muttered a thanks before the child brought her one of the fish. The child sat down beside her and ate her own fish while Jaken worked on stomping out the fire before sitting to eat his own. Ivanna ate what she could, never eating a fresh fish and held out the rest of hers to the beast beside her and the left head ate it with a gentle growl.
"Help me out if you can," Ivanna spoke gently as she wrapped her hands around his reigns and held tightly as he lifted his head up. The scaled beast easily lifted her up and turned his head around and managed to sit her onto its saddle sideways. "Thank you."
"His name is Ah-Un," the Inuyoukai spoke, coming into view.
"We are ready to depart, Lord Sesshomaru. Both the disabled ninngen were able to help pack up camp," Jaken squawked as he climbed up behind Ivanna. Ivanna helped the child climb up and sit on the saddle in front of her.
"When I can feel my legs again, toad, you will regret calling me as such," Ivanna muttered as she gripped Ah-Un's reigns as the creature started following it's master as he turned and walked back into the forest.
"And what could a weak ninngen do to the great Jaken?" the toad laughed and she turned to look at the toad behind her before pushing him off Ah-Un, grinning as he toppled and landed on his face in the dirt. "You ungrateful little…!"
"Jaken," Sesshomaru warned and the toad fell silent as he hurried and climbed back onto Ah-Un.
Sesshomaru stopped walking and turned back to face them and Ivanna watched him, confused as he looked at her. Soon, he walked closer and pulled her off Ah-Un, and back in his arm before jumping into the air. Ivanna felt all air leave her at the sudden movement and gripped his armor as they broke through the trees and kept going higher.
"What are you doing?" Ivanna gasped, trying to get air back into her lungs.
"You need proper clothing and this one will not tolerate you continuing to insult my retainer," he spoke simply.
"Tell him to watch his mouth. I don't do with people disrespecting me just because they don't know me or the situation and I feel that just because I am a ninngen, he is even more spiteful. If he is in your service, my lord, he should know better than to speak so disrespectfully to anyone while in your presence or even while in your service," Ivanna snorted as she let go of his armor and crossed her arms across her chest. "But that's beside the point, what does having to pull me off of Ah-Un accomplish to getting proper clothing?"
"While you cannot feel your lower limbs, you cannot properly ride Ah-Un when flying without chance of sliding off."
"Ah-Un can fly? Wait… how can you fly? Aren't you an inuyoukai? Neither of you have wings."
"Ah-Un is a dragon and as a lord, this one simply needs jaki," he smirked.
"Right," Ivanna frowned as she watched the landscape zoom by. "The air is cold. What season is it here?"
"Mid-summer."
"I get cold easily and sadly if I cannot keep my body temperature somewhat regulated, it causes further strain on my body."
"Hn."
"It's bothersome, I know," Ivanna sighed. "Guess that was the only good thing with the paralysis."
"What is the name of the one who's energy is within your amulet?"
"Kahi Yukimura but I don't know if that was his actual name. He said he had protected my family for many centuries but I do know that he is inuyoukai with hair the same color of yours, blue eyes the color of the sky and the shape of a blue rhombus on his brow." She looked up at him and saw him frown slightly, his eyes focused on land as they flew. "Do you know him?"
"Hn."
"You don't talk much, do you?"
"This one does not feel the need to talk unless necessary."
"I guess that makes sense. Oh, I just realized that I never introduced myself, talk about bad manners," Ivanna chuckled as she looked back at the land zooming past them. "I am Ivanna Yukimura."
"Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands," he spoke as she saw a bunch of buildings coming into view.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, my lord. I apologize that I do not have more control over my body."
"Your control is returning slowly. You are indebted to this one now until otherwise spoken. If I give you an order, you will comply with no complaints. Disobedience and disrespect will be punished accordingly."
"That is fine," Ivanna spoke with a small smile. "I will do the best that I can and hope that my illness does not interfere."
"For a ninngen, you are oddly compliant about this."
"My dreams became connected with yours and fate brought me to your world. I would rather do my best to help another than sulk about knowing that my time is limited. It gives me purpose."
"You seem knowledgeable of your illness."
"In my world, there are many medicines and treatments for almost every disease and sickness known except for the type of illness I carry. Our doctors haven't quite learned how to cure cancer yet and I had a form that was more rare than most heart cancer. The heart I carry within me now is not the one I was born with and will eventually fail due to the illness that my doctors have not been able to cure. I am eight years past the life expectancy I was given."
"The scar on your chest…"
"Open-heart surgery and transplant. The tattoos done was my guardian's idea and at a side glance, most miss the scar," she spoke as he descended and landed outside of the village. "What is this place?"
"A village within my lands. There is a healer and clothes maker here."
"If you are Lord of the West, why do you travel so much with no soldiers to protect you?"
"I do as I please," he spoke, amusement in his voice as he walked into the village and she noticed most of the people cowered away from them as he walked past. They entered a large hut and Ivanna noticed shelves full of cloth of every color. The mute child ran past them and sat at the low table, looking around with a smile on her face. "Nuri."
"Welcome my Lord. If my cousin finds out that you came to me instead of her, she will be most upset. I just sent a shipment of silk up to your palace for her," a female voice spoke before a woman came out with long lavender hair to her knees and she wore a two-layered black kimono while a yellow lightning bolt sat on her brow. "Oh, who are these two? It's not like you to travel with ninngen, my Lord."
"It does not concern you. This onna needs clothing."
"And why are you cradling the onna like a child?"
"This onna is Ivanna," Ivanna huffed, annoyed that she was being ignored when they were talking about her. "I am indebted to Lord Sesshomaru, but an incident happened and temporarily became paralyzed. I am still recovering from that and have no feeling from my lower body yet."
"You found quite a spitfire, didn't you?" Nuri grinned before pulling Ivanna into her arm. "I suspect you will be leaving them in my care for a little while?"
"Hn."
"Very well," Nuri chuckled.
"My lord?" Ivanna frowned as he turned and headed towards the entrance.
"Don't worry about him, he will be back," Nuri spoke as Sesshomaru disappeared without glancing back.
