Glancing at his mate from the corner of his eye, Kouga placed his finger to his lips. For the last two days, he had kept his mate away from the den, choosing instead to give her a crash course in hunting, something she should have already known how to do. WithIn the first day after returning to the East, Kouga had been proven right about her not knowing how to do nearly anything on her own, and he was determined to rectify that problem. There were female cubs in his clan literally half her age that could bring down a demon boar on their own, and the fact Kagome didn't even know how to track an animal left the ookami very, very concerned.

For Kagome, the move was a culture shock. When she was told she was leaving with Kouga, she had asked what she should take with her. His answer had been 'not a damn thing'. Though she had been confused at the answer, all questions were answered not a full hour after they arrived when she had her silk kimono taken from her and replaced with a fur outfit much like the one Kouga wore. She protested rather hard at first, but when she realized it fell on deaf ears, she tried to reason with Kouga, who also wouldn't hear it. All he would say on the matter was she needed to be able to move freely, and a kimono she could barely walk in wasn't gonna cut it.

The rest of that first day in Kagome's personal hell was spent avoiding the animals roaming the cliffs and just watching. Though she certainly wasn't happy, Kouga found he was wrong in his assessment of her being angry. Mostly, she observed the other cubs she guessed were about her age, and when everyone gathered for supper that evening, she had made the quiet remark about how much they were able to do compared to her own abilities. It wasn't even one on one training like she had periodically. They learned by playing games, even the younger cubs joining in when they thought they understood what was going on, the older cubs helping the younger ones when they had difficulty. When Kouga told her she was welcome to join them as well, she shook her head with a frown, telling him she couldn't begin to figure out the rules, let alone anything else.

She hadn't slept that well the first night, her morose thoughts keeping her from falling into anything resembling slumber. She hadn't realized until how little she knew. She had other skills, though. She doubted any of the cubs knew how to read or write like she did, but it didn't seem like an actual education mattered on the mountain. They seemed to rely on instinct, and that was something she didn't know how to do. Her actions were deliberate, thought out, and planned. They reacted without thought and if plan A didn't work, they had a plan B lined up and ready to go until they found something that did. She didn't know how to do that. They were able to assess a situation in seconds, react, and either attack or run as the situation called before she was able to make heads or tails of what was even happening.

It was midnight when Kouga pulled her into his arms, whispering in her ear it would get better, but it was still nearly sunrise before she was able to fall asleep, only to be woken up not much later for breakfast. That morning was spent much the same way the whole first day was, but after lunch, Kouga coached her into a game with the other cubs, even taking part himself to make her a little more comfortable. She had been surprised at the patience they showed, but was slowed down by her thick, waist length hair getting in her face and her long tail getting under foot.

One of the male cubs actually asked her if she could even move the fluffy appendage, making her smirk wide as she snapped it at him, taking out his legs at the knee, causing many of the watching wolves to laugh. She looked down at him as he looked up at her, her arms crossed and smirk still in place. "Of course I can move it. I can't help it's long and fluffy." Though, were she to tell the whole truth, she would have to admit the less restricting clothing she wore made it much easier to do so since they were designed with the fact she had a tail in mind while what she usually wore restricted her tail to the point there was barely blood flow.

The game continued after Kagome had her hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Though the length in itself made it difficult since it would still find its way around her arms, it stayed out of her face so she was always able to see. Kouga made a mental note about the issues the length of her tail caused, but knew there was little that could be done about it. Learning how to maneuver quickly and not trip over or step on it was just going to take time and practice.

As it started getting darker, Kagome bowed out of playing with the others, knowing she would need to pay closer attention to herself and less to others if she didn't want to have an accident. It wasn't missed by anyone she stayed far away from the surrounding trees and rocks, going out of her way to avoid the developing shadows. It also wasn't missed her mood started to turn either. Her mood turned even worse when she heard Ryushi order torches lit.

What was missed was when she left the main cliff.

When Kouga found her, she was well within the fire light, but she was as close as she could be to what lied beyond it. He watched her as she held a hand out into a shadow, seeing her hand vanish and heard her growl as a result. He listened as she scolded herself for it, and would try again with the same results. Slowly and silently, he moved around her, watching her face. Her brows were drawn down and lips pressed hard together. When she once again failed to keep her fully solid form when she put her and into a shadow, she snarled loud and turned, storming away from her place, grabbing a small torch and leaping into the air, climbing up the mountain. He gave her a minute before he followed her, grinning at her continued ranting as she sat next to the fire on a rather warm night.

For the couple, they had one of the most open conversations either one of them ever had in their lives. Kagome wasn't used to actually being listened to, so when Kouga told her to lay it on him, she did just that, and she didn't stop. One thing led to another and by the time she was done, Kouga knew literally every grievance the young onna had almost since the day she was born. She showed him how she could no longer keep even a semi-solid form in the shadows anymore, even though she used to be able to, and couldn't understand why since she was only half shadow.

Kouga scratched his brow, clicked his tongue, and was as blunt as he always was when he told her she wasn't a child anymore and didn't have the abilities of one. He continued on, telling her she would need to work on it as it developed and not wait until it was completely out of her control to do so.

Though she was still in a pretty foul mood, when she went to bed that night, she was able to actually sleep, a fact Kouga took advantage of. It was barely past dawn when he woke her up and, without waking anyone else, he took Kagome off the mountain where she could make all the mistakes she wanted and not have to worry about what others thought when she did. She made plenty of them, too. However, with it just being the two of them, Kouga easily corrected her, and she didn't make the same mistake more than once. To both his surprise and delight, she was eager to learn, most probably because of her time observing others close to her age and seeing what they were actually capable of.

Except with it came to tracking and hunting. This shit was about driving Kouga mad.

He wouldn't say she wasn't trying, she was. She was also excited, which made her loud, which told the rabbit exactly where they were... every time. The night before he came to her rescue, catching dinner for them but flat out told her he wasn't doing it again. If she wanted to eat, she needed to catch it. However, he did make it easy for her, pointing out what she was missing and trying like hell to keep her quiet enough to get close enough for it to matter.

Prior to that afternoon, Kagome had no idea just how fast a jackrabbit was, but damn. Not only were they fast, they were limber, which made them agile as all hell. Twice, to Kouga's great amusement, she ended up face first in a puddle of mud because the rabbit bobbed and she weaved. The second time ended in a fit for the ages, but Kouga just chuckled as he wiped her face off, telling her it took practice, but she would get it.

"It's why we teach cubs at such a young age how to do this. By the time they reach your age, they have it mastered."

Mastered... what a novel concept. She would love to master just about anything at this point. She was getting frustrated and the more times she missed the fucking bunny, the more frustrated she got. She was nearly convinced the damn thing had it out for her at this point.

Looking up at Kouga as he held his finger to his lips, Kagome licked hers and nodded, turning back to look through the leaves of the bush they were crouched behind. She could see the fluffy little bastard and had to fight back the urge to growl at it. After all the grief the pint sized irritation had given her all day, all she could do was hope she finally caught the stupid thing. When she did, and she convinced herself it was a when, she was gonna enjoy every fucking bite, and she didn't even like rabbit.

Kouga grinned as his mate began to take more notice about what was on the ground around her. The biggest thing she had working against her was her tail. The fucking thing was so long when she couched, it dragged the ground behind her. It had taken her a while, but she figured out how to keep it out of her way as well as off the ground. She was certainly trying, anyway, and that was as much as he could ask for.

Kouga was ready for anything, or so he thought, when Kagome once again failed to get her nonexistent claws on the rabbit. He was ready for a fit. He was prepared or a tantrum. Hell, he was even ready for her turn to on him when the rabbit moved at the last moment. He was not, however, ready for her ground shaking growl or the snarl that rattled his bones.

Kagome's vision went hazy as the leaves on the other side of the clearing danced with the wind the rabbit kicked up when it took off. Her fangs were bared and fingers dug into the ground below her. Her tail snapped behind her and she pushed herself up to hands and knees. She heard Kouga behind her, but she only had eyes for the fucking rabbit. That son of a bitch made a fool of her for the last time.

Her temper finally snapping, she shot from her spot and, in a brilliant flash of light, vanished from the clearing, tearing off into the woods on all fours.

Having had to cover his eyes from the brightness, when Kouga lowered his arm, he looked around the vacant clearing, calling out for Kagome. Glancing down, his growled himself when he saw a giant paw print in the grass. Dropping his head back on his shoulders, he growled out 'Mother Fucker', and took off after her, following the paw prints she left in her wake, because she no longer had a scent to follow and she was still close enough for his blood not to call to him.

Kouga was fast, but very little was going to keep up with an inu in their true form, so it took him a decent amount of time to catch up to her, but when he did, he slid to a stop in the clearing she chased the rabbit into. Standing back, he watched as she toyed with it like it had her, and had to bite back a chuckle at the sight of an eight foot tall dog playing with a six inch tall bunny rabbit. When the rabbit tried to dart past him, he snatched it up by it's ears, cocking a brow when Kagome barked at him. Glancing down at the rabbit in his hands, Kouga then looked back to his mate, who only had eyes for her nemesis, with a chuckle in his throat. "Well, that's one way to do it, I suppose."

Baring her much sharper fangs at Kouga, Kagome growled low, snapping her teeth in a clear sign the ookami was pissing her off. He had the one thing in the world she currently wanted, and he was picking on her.

It didn't take genius to know the inu was ready to take out anyone she had to, to get her jaws on the rabbit so, with a grin, Kouga tossed it to her, Kagome catching it in her teeth with a crunch. While she was occupied with what would now only be a snack, Kogua took the time she was eating to actually get a look at her in her true form. She wasn't as big as he thought she would be. From what he knew of inus, she should be nearly twice the size she was. She was taller than he was, but she should tower over him. He could stand flat foot and touch the top of her head.

Height notwithstanding, she was actually quite pretty for a dog. Unlike her hair in her humanoid form, she wasn't mostly silver with black streaking her fur. In this form, she had spots that showed her hybrid parentage. Her face, both front and back legs, chest, and belly were all mostly silver fur, but marred by slashes of black where her demonic markings were in her humanoid form. Her sides, neck, and back had spots that overran the silver fur, literally making half of her silver, and half of her black. Her tail was the only thing that didn't change, though the streaks of black were wider.

Finishing off the rabbit, Kagome licked her chops and sat down, using a hind leg to scratch behind her ear, before standing again and shaking out her fur. Turning her sights on Kouga, she dropped her chest to the ground, her hind legs still straight, her tail wagging as she barked at him again.

Crossing his arms with a brow high on his forehead, Kouga grinned at her. "Oh, so you wanna play, do you?" Her answering 'arf' widened his smile and his nodded. "Alright, but you'll need to give me a head start." He watched as she dropped to her belly, but there was a gleam in her eyes he wasn't sure he liked. Dropping his arms, he took a half step back, his own eyes narrowing. "Kago..."

Before he could finish her name, Kagome shot from her spot and launched herself at him, Kouga responding exactly like she thought he would. He jumped in the air and she was ready. Leaping after him, she caught the surprised wolf on her back, and her feet were moving before she touched the ground.

This was not, even slightly, what Kouga had in mind when he consented to playtime. Grabbing fists full of her fur, Kouga pressed his chest to her back and tightened his thighs against her sides. His first thought was just how soft she was. She was actually as fluffy as she looked, and her fur felt like the finest silk in the world. That thought was quickly followed by she was a lot faster than he thought she was. He could feel his hair pulling at the roots as his ponytail whipped around behind him.

It took him a few minutes to get used to the way she moved, but once he did, he sat up slightly and immediately wished he hadn't. Ducking back down, he braced himself for impact with a tree he thought she was going too fast to avoid. What happened next he couldn't describe. It felt like he was underwater, like time itself stopped. It passed as soon as it happened, and Kouga looked back behind them, seeing the tree he was prepared to collide with directly behind him.

Eyes wide, he turned back around, looking at what he could see of his mate's face with shock on his. "Did you just..."

When he didn't finish the question, Kagome chuckled in her throat, barking in answer.

Though the dialect between inu and ookami was slightly different, they were similar enough to get that yes, not only did she travel through a shadow, she took him with her. A slow smirk grew on his lips until a fang poked from behind them. Settling himself in, Kouga spoke in her ear. "Alright, Mate. Let's see whatcha can do."