The Search For A Mate
The Search For A Mate
Chapter 13
Beth was frowning after Hiei dragged Rayna out of the house. "I hope he shows a little patience." Kurama put his arm around his mate. "It'll be ok. They'll work it out." Keiko huffed. "I didn't even get to ask what kind of demon she is." Yusuke laughed at her. "She's still shopping for what she wants to be." He explained to the others. Kurama looked to Keiko. "She manifested lightning last night, so I would guess an elemental of some kind. Since there was no rain in the forecast Friday night, I suspect she was the cause of that as well."
Kuwabara had to laugh at that. "And we all know how much the shrimp loooves the rain." Yusuke chimed in his two cents. "She can cool him off whenever he gets hot under the collar." He laughed at his joke. Kuwabara thought it hilarious as well. Kurama rolled his eyes and the girls just shook their heads. They were all used to the two idiots making jokes at Hiei's expense. No one ever said anything to the two. Hiei was more than capable of holding his own with them. In fact more often than not, he came out on top.
That was something that had never changed over the years. There were times they acted like the fifteen year old boys they used to be. It was times like this that Beth was glad her mate was well over a thousand. He rarely lowered himself to their childish levels. His jokes were more subtle, his retaliations more cerebral.
Like the time that Yusuke had pissed her off by giving her a lizard as a pet. It was a deliberate taunt about that hated nickname he called her. She smiled as she recalled her mate telling her he wanted to train her how to properly throw his thorn darts. He had told her to close her eyes and get a feel for the weight and substance of the dart. He wrapped an arm around her waist from behind and closed his other hand over her throwing hand to guide her. When she opened her eyes to find her target, she saw a struggling Yusuke bound to the tree by vines. Kurama had whispered in her ear. "Don't worry about hitting anything vital. Yukina and Genkai can heal any mistakes."
She had laughed so hard that she missed with all four darts she threw. She did get close with one though. The one between his legs. Mere inches from… She'd been aiming for his belly button. It had been a good three months before he called her lizard again.
They continued to talk among themselves, all waiting for Hiei and Rayna to return, wondering if the two would manage to work things out. Yukina was concerned for her brother. She wanted more than anything for him to find the happiness he deserved. She hoped he didn't let his stubbornness get in the way. She knew first hand how stubborn he could be. If it weren't for someone she refused to name, she probably still would not know he was he brother.
She remembered the night she found out. Her anger that he had kept it from her was great. Her friends had been surprised that she could even get angry. She'd reminded them that she was a demon after all. It had taken a while after that for Kazuma to relax around her again. He told her he had dreams of her appearing before him wearing a black cloak and brandishing a katana. She giggled. Her mate could be so weird sometimes.
Kiran came running in the front door followed closely by Tara. He skidded to a stop in front of Beth. "I'm thirsty Mama. Can I have a glass of water?" Beth smiled at her youngest son. "Of course you can, sweetie." She got up to get it for him. Tara had slowed her pace and was now leaning over the chair her mother had left. She seemed about to say something when the back door opened.
Hiei stood aside so that Rayna could enter, then he quietly closed the door behind them. Kiran finished his water and went to stand by Rayna. He looked up at her with innocent eyes and sniffed the air. "You smell like Uncle Hiei. Does this mean I can call you Aunt Rayna?" Rayna looked behind her to see Hiei leaning against the door frame. His arms were crossed and he had a smirk on his face.
Rayna turned back to the child. Dropping down to her knees so she would be on his level, Rayna answered him. "I guess so. It won't be official for a while, but I don't mind if you want to get used to it." Kiran hugged her and placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek. He then went running for the front door to tell everyone they had a new aunt.
Tara was beginning to fidget. Kurama noticed it first. "Did you want to tell us something, Tara?" She looked down at the floor and then straightened. Her spread fingers were tapping against each other in a strange almost clapping motion. Kurama arched his brow at his daughter, a clear sign that he was waiting patiently for her to speak. "Well… ah… Kaishou… you see… he…" She looked up when her father's patience began to run out. "What about Kaishou, Tara?" She looked into her father's eyes. "He… was… finally able to…" She looked to her mother, who was now listening intently, and back to her father. "Able to what?" Her next sentence was run together in a breathless stream. "He changed into his animal form and now he's running around the yard and I don't know if he's playing or if he can't figure out how to change back." There. It was out. She looked around and her parents were gone.
Kurama hit the door at a run, Beth right on his heels. The kids were all laughing at something in the tree a few yards from the house. Kurama followed their eyes to a branch above their heads. On the branch sat a small brown fox. He leaped quickly to the branch where Kaishou was giving a distressed bark. His little body was shaking. He calmed as his father came to rest on the branch beside him.
Kaishou leaped into his father's arms. Kurama spoke quietly, his voice soothing the kit. He set him back on the branch and shifted his own form. The small brown fox nuzzled the larger silver fox. Kurama could now communicate with his son telepathically. "Can you shift back, Kaishou?" "I thought I could, but it isn't working." Kurama continued to soothe him. "You're distressed and trying too hard. Do you remember how you changed the first time?" "Yeah. It was really easy. I just thought about it and it happened. I guess I kinda panicked after that."
Kurama nuzzled his son. "Relax and concentrate on your human form. Just like you do when you shift back from your demon form." Kaishou listened to his father's voice in his mind. He was already calmer and able to shut out the other kids. He concentrated and in a few moments he was sitting on the branch with his legs dangling down.
Kurama changed back and hugged his son. "That was very good Kaishou. Now that you have made your first change to your animal form, we will add it to your training so that you can practice. I will also take you for runs like I do Tara." Kaishou hugged him back. "Thanks Dad." They both jumped down to land gracefully on the ground.
The adults had all gathered by now trying unsuccessfully to stop the other kids from taunting Kaishou. Rayna had an uncomfortable memory of her older sister as she saw that Kaishou was close to tears. Her heart went out to the boy, and without a second thought, she clapped her hands to get the kids' attention. "Challenge time." When she had their attention she held up her hand. "Can any of you change to an animal form?" She looked at all of the kids. "Come on. If you can, raise your hand." No hands were raised. Tara was still in the house and she was the only one of Kurama's kits that had mastered that change.
"I see. So you are all making fun of Kaishou because he can do something you can't. That's very interesting. I, myself have always been more interested in having someone teach me to do the things I can't. And making fun of someone who can teach you is hardly the way to gain information." The kids were now all staring at the ground as they thought about her words. She didn't know enough about them yet to know if they all had animal forms, or just Kurama and Beth's kits, but she had chosen her words to give them pause.
One by one, the kids all began to mutter apologies to Kaishou, his younger brothers actually asking if he'd help them. Kurama left Kaishou to return to the house. He smiled at Rayna. "You're quite the diplomat. That was well done." She shrugged. "I have a sister, I can relate. It seemed her favorite pastime when we were growing up was to taunt and belittle me."
Hiei hung back as the others went into the house. "Tell me about your sister. Some of the things she did to you." Rayna giggled. "I can't say it was one sided. I gave as good as I got. I remember her getting new clothes when she had reached courting age. She was always more feminine than me. In looks and behavior. I wanted some rare books, but I was told that would have to wait because Briara needed new clothes. With a child's logic I told my father that she had lots of clothes, so she didn't need more, and if she did, I'd share mine with her."
"Later that night, Briara rubbed it in my face, telling me that she was much prettier than I'd ever be. Father was making sure that she would be dressed properly to attract a powerful mate. After all, someone had to take care of me since I would never be able to attract a mate. I was ready to cry. Instead, I told her that Father wasn't trying to get her a mate, he was making sure the slave traders would offer a good price for her when they came around again."
Hiei chuckled at that. "So what happened?" She grinned. "Briara went crying to Father and I was punished of course." Hiei frowned. "What did he do to you?" "He confined me to my room for a week. All I had for company were my books. Best punishment I ever got. I got to read my books with no interruptions and I didn't have to see Briara for a whole week." He was chuckling again as he led her back to the house.
Kaishou was waiting by the door when they walked in. He gave her a tentative hug. "Thanks, Aunt Rayna." She ruffled his hair. "You're welcome, Kaishou." He then hugged Hiei. "Thanks, Uncle Hiei." He too ruffled the boy's hair. "For what?" Kaishou grinned up at him. "For making Rayna my aunt. That's almost as good a present as my katana." He ran off without waiting for a reply.
Rayna giggled. "Wow I rank right up there next to a man's weapon. I just might get a swelled head." Hiei smirked at her. "Of course you should be flattered. Nothing compares to a man's weapon. It's the one thing he can truly count on." She glared at him. "Anybody ever accuse you of being antisocial?" "What do you mean, accuse? I'm quite proud of my antisocial status. It keeps me from having to deal with assholes and idiots." There was a loud thump in the living room. Yusuke had tackled Kuwabara and they were rolling in the floor. Hiei's smirk disappeared. "Well for the most part." Rayna giggled again. "Go see if you can help Kurama break it up. I'll get us a soda."
By the time Rayna got back to the living room with the sodas, Yusuke and Kuwabara's little fight was over. They were sitting on opposite sides of the room glaring at each other. Shivering. It had been Yukina who broke up the little skirmish by freezing the air around them. Hiei was sitting smugly in a chair, quite proud of his sister. Genkai had been training Yukina over the past several years to use her ice powers more effectively. She could now adequately defend herself if necessary.
Rayna handed Hiei his soda. He pulled her down onto his lap. When she protested, he held her tighter. "Stop struggling. You see Beth in Kurama's lap. It is the most effective use of the space available. Unless you'd prefer to sit on the floor like a dog. I am not sitting on the floor when the chair is capable of accommodating us both." Well that certainly made her feel wanted. But she did stop struggling to get up.
Keiko finally managed to ask Rayna the all important question, well to Keiko anyway. "What kind of demon are you?" Rayna had forgotten that had not come up before. Hiei hadn't asked. "I am an elemental," she told Keiko. "So you don't have an animal form?" Rayna shook her head. "No. Pretty much, what you see is what you get. The only thing that changes are my eyes. When I invoke high levels of power my eyes turn kind of silver."
Keiko nodded. That was sort of what she had been considering. Something that didn't involve changing to another form completely. "So what are your powers?" "I control the weather." Rayna heard the growl from behind her and the amused chuckles from Beth and Kurama. Oh Gods. She had forgotten she'd called on the rain to make him leave after he walked her to what he thought was her home. She should probably run, but he was way too fast. She was so dead.
To be continued….