A lost bird caught mid-migration
Far away to a foreign land
Offspring of a secret nation
A new day has begun
- Feel it turn by Great Big Sea
Kagome snuggled further in to the soft bed, the warmth chasing away the bad dream that she was having. Feeling there was another presence in the room, she groggily opened her eyes and peered blearily, sighing, "Mama, you won't believe the craziest dream I just had."
"What kind of crazy dream?" An unfamiliar childish voice replied, "I dream all the time and sometimes my dreams are just too crazy! Like this one time when I dreamt that Inuyasha and I..."
"Inuyasha?" Kagome interrupted, sitting up and suddenly feeling very much awake. She looked down at the bed she was laying it and it definitely was not hers. The pieced together patchwork blanket was keeping her warm, as was the cheery fire burning in the fireplace in the far side of the room. The walls of the house were stone with heavy glass windows that allowed the dim sunlight of the winter to filter through.
All in all it looked like a normal, albeit strangers house. The current occupant, however, was unlike anything Kagome had ever seen. A little boy with bushy orange hair, animal hands and feet, and a bushy tail sat on the bed post, jabbering on about whatever he had been talking about before she opened her eyes and her world flipped upside down.
"Who are you?" She interrupted again. The boy didn't seem to mind and steered his stream of conversation to introducing himself.
"I'm Shippo!" He replied cheerily, hopping off the bed post to walk across the comforter. "I live here! Inuyasha told me to watch over you while he was gone. Pfft and so far you have been so boring! All you did was sleep!"
He seated himself on her leg and the weight was surprisingly light. "It's usually so boring when he is gone but now you are here and we can play games!" He pulled a small spinning top out of his pocket. "Do you want to play with my top?"
Kagome started, looking incredulous for a second. "Uh, maybe later Shippo, I'm still feeling a bit...out of sorts."
"Spending time with Inuyasha will do that to you!" Shippo replied cheerily, "Oh! He told me to get you some food when you woke up! Are you hungry?"
Without waiting for her to answer he walked over to a black pot hanging over the stove. Grabbing the ladle he climbed the stones of the hearth before hanging over the edge and scooping some soup in to a waiting bowl. The bowl caused him more difficulty given his small size and when he tried to carry it over to her it spilled.
"Oh dear," She moved to stand up from the bed but the sudden movement after so much time made her woozy. On uncertain legs she made her way over to where Shippo was struggling with the bowl and picked it up with ease.
He looked embarrassed after having so much trouble with it, and Kagome couldn't help but feel her heart soften as he reminded her of Souta. She kindly gave him an excuse. "I didn't want to get soup in the bed, so I thought I would come over here and eat it at the table."
Shippo smiled, "Good idea! I can already tell you're a smart lady!" He waved her towards a small nook with a pair of stools and small table. "We just have a small table because we don't often sit down to eat."
"We?" Kagome inquired as she took a small sip of the soup. It wasn't the best thing she'd ever eaten, really just boiled meat, but she would take what she could get without complaint.
"Inuyasha lives here too! Like I said, he had some business to take care of with some fur traders so I'm not sure when he'll be back." Shippo spun his top on the table as he spoke, obviously not very interested in talking about Inuyasha, "until then you and I get to play all we want!"
"I'm Kagome, by the way." She introduced herself, uncertain if that was necessary.
"I already knew that!" Shippo replied, "we have seen you working in your home and collecting herbs. This house is not that far from your village."
As the events of yesterday were lurking beneath the surface of her composure, Kagome felt a stab of fear. "Not far, you say..." she trailed off, looking nervous. She had slept in the dress she had been wearing when...well when it all happened. She could see her shoes sitting by the door in the small one room cottage. If she had to run it wouldn't be too hard to get away.
She returned from her reverie by Shippo's small paw touching her hand "Don't worry, those villagers will never find you here." He nodded confidently, "I can make illusions so I have hidden this house from view. Trust me, no one will be able to find you here. I'll look after you, Kagome!"
Seeing the earnestness in his sweet face, Kagome rubbed his head affectionately. "Thank you, Shippo."
He looked at her in awe after such a small gesture and it made Kagome's heart clench. "Is Inuyasha your...dad?" Kagome asked, confused what such a small boy was doing here by himself.
"No! Ew, No!" Shippo exclaimed, wrinkling his nose up. "My parents are dead. They were murdered awhile ago. I'm actually older than Inuyasha, I just age very slowly." He nodded solemnly and then went back to spinning his top.
For awhile the only sound in the house was the spinning of his top while Kagome sipped her soup. Her skin itched from where she still had dried blood on it. Her brain felt like it was going through thick pea soup. Just too much had happened in such a short period of time. Was her family okay? Would she ever see them again? What world had she come in to where there were talking foxes? Where women were bears?
"So, what should I do now?" Kagome thought aloud, any prospect terrifying. Her life had changed so much, she had no idea what to do now. She couldn't go home, but knew no where outside her village to go. She was a skilled healer but had never had to live in the woods alone. The future appeared to be a big question mark, full of unanswered questions.
She felt as if a wave of water had overwhelmed her and she put her head down to reorient herself. The tears started to fall before she could stop them, billowing in to full out sobs. Distantly she felt a small tapping on her head where Shippo was patting to comfort her.
When she had cried all her tears out, she leaned back in the chair and gave Shippo a shaky smile.
"Don't worry, Kagome." Shippo smiled brightly at her. "Things here aren't so bad. Even Inuyasha isn't that bad, you know, once you get used to the smell."
Kagome laughed a little. "Thanks, Shippo." Turning her head to her arm, she took a whiff of her own odour. "Speaking of smell, maybe it would be best if I took a bath. I must smell terrible!"
Shippo shrugged. "It's not SO bad." He hopped off the table to the back portion of the cottage, where he tapped his little paw against a metal tub tipped against the wall. The hollow clang echoed through the home. "We do have small tub here for laundry. Inuyasha and I usually bathe in the pond at the back of the house, but I think it would be too cold for a human."
Kagome tilted her head to the side, considering the answer. "So you aren't human?" she asked before she could consider if it was a rude question or not.
"Nope. I am a demon." He replied, distracted by the task of trying to get the tub out from its position against the wall. His little arms tugged at it until the tub fell with a large thump against the wooden floor boards. As the dust settle around him, he turned to smile at Kagome. "Fox demon, to be exact."
Kagome stood and gathered her dishes. As she made her way to the sink she queried, "Is Inuyasha also a demon?"
Shippo jumped on to her shoulder as she placed her dishes into the sink. "Kinda. He's only half demon. I don't know the whole story but I think his mother was human. His father was a very famous Qimmiq demon from the North West."
"Dog..." Kagome tapped her lips in thought as she processed the information. His heritage did help to explain his ears and unusual features.
"If you wanna get the water from the pond, I can heat it up for you!" Shippo offered, hopping down off her shoulder to sit back on the table. He pulled his top back out and began spinning it.
Kagome picked up a bucket to draw the water and hesitantly made her way to the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door just a crack to peer around, eyes alert for any sign of angry villagers.
The woods were silent. No footprints marred the snow around the small cottage. Cautiously Kagome crept around the side of the house, pausing every few minutes to listen for any signs of disturbance. She made it to the small pond, which was oddly not frozen considering the time of year, and drew the water she needed. She then practically ran back to the warmth and safety of the cottage, nearly tripping over the bucket in her haste.
She was making her way over to hang the bucket over the fire when Shippo stopped her. "Just dump it in the bucket. I can use my foxfire to warm it for you."
Kagome looked at him for a moment, then shrugged and proceeded to pour out the water. Shippo jumped up in excitement, his eyes practically glowing as he asked her, "are you ready? You might want to step back."
Kagome prudently took a few steps back from the tub. Shippo jumped up and exclaimed, "Foxfire!"
Unexpectedly, blue translucent flames erupted from his palm and were hurled towards the metal basin. Almost instantly the water gave a quick boil, steam rising from its surface to heat the already warm cottage.
Kagome stared at it in shock. She turned to look back at Shippo, who was beaming at her with pride. "Thank you...Shippo." She managed to stutter out, still amazed at the physics-bending abilities of this young boy...demon.
"No problem! Any time!" He hopped down and started making his way towards the door. "Take all the time you want Kagome. It is too hot in here for me so I'm going to go out to play in the woods for a bit."
"Be back before dark!" She called after him as the door swung shut. Never mind that he obviously lived in this house alone while Inuyasha was gone for protracted periods of time. He reminded her too much of her brother to want him to gallivant around the woods alone at night.
Once she was certain she was alone, Kagome stripped off her stained dress and slid in to the warm water. Sinking down until she was submerged up to her nose, Kagome blew out bubbles as she pondered her situation.
And she pondered.
AN: Qimmiq, or Canadian Eskimo Dog, is a spitz breed that is similar in appearance to the Akita Inu. I know it's splitting hairs but there were dogs indigenous to Canada so I thought I would throw that in there so there wasn't a random Japanese dog in the middle of Ontario.