Thanks to everyone who told me what you thing about the longer vs shorter chapters; it was unanimous, all seven of you who gave me responses said you liked the longer chapter – just remember that you said it was okay for me to be wordy… but if I do start getting too descriptive or if I start chasing too many bunnies (getting off topic) let me know and I'll fix it. I wanted to make sure I thanked everyone properly, so…

Thank you Jen Konoha, Fairy Demon26, and kagome13cdj for your opinions, its was super nice to hear some input from first time reviewers!

Thank you for iheartanime43 and The Anti-Strategist for your previous encouragement and for participating in this little survey.

Thank you, Sesshomaruluvr14, it was your first review and you gave me a lot of good feedback, don't worry, I love when people "blab" at me like that, keep it up.

Last, but definitely not least, Haltia, you review all my chapters and always give me such encouragement. Thank you so very much for being a loyal and verbal reader!

Frog Prince: Chapter 14

Sesshomaru sat twenty feet back from the entrance of Ah-Un's den against a boulder. He could see inside the little cave just fine. At first the twins had corralled the girl back into their cave and crowded her against the back wall with themselves between the opening and her but she had not liked it. She had positioned herself so that she was in full view of the entrance, though it seemed she did it unconsciously (probably her own version of a beast acting on instinct, Sesshomaru reasoned, but what is it that there are telling her; that she needs to be closer to the exit or that she needs to be closer to…) and she had been crying for almost an hour.

While she cried he could not help but listen to it with a strange mixture of strange thoughts and feelings. The sound made him uncomfortable, partly because he was generally bad with emotional outbursts and partly because he knew that he was the root of many of the ones that this girl cried now. It was not guilt that he felt but a sense of responsibility, a need to protect her. He thought for a while on his own emotions and how strange It was to have intellectual instincts beyond his beast. And thoughts of his beast brought him back to considering the miracle that he had seen the girl perform; never had he known a human capable of what she had done.

Once again his eyes, that had never left the girl, focused on the sleeping figure. He watched her as her heaves calmed to the occasional sniffle and finally she fell into an exhausted slumber curled into a ball with the dragons body curled around her protectively, Ah's muzzle laying on her shoulder in comfort and observation while Un kept a wary eye on the imp outside their shelter.

Ridiculous animal! Sesshomaru told it with body language while he wondered to himself, Why is it that I enjoy watching them sleep, this girl and Rin. Perhaps it is the miracle of silence…

Un just snorted and rolled its eyes, Whatever, buddy.

Sesshomaru could not be completely displeased with the creature. It was treating the miko the same way they treated Rin, much as he had been finding himself doing, and he was pleased that the twins had decided she was worth protecting and caring for like Rin. It matched his own growing intellectual instinct to keep her safe and happy.

She is, after all, the means to my restoration, he tried to reason away these feeling, but he felt a tiny seed of untruth in that thought but quickly dismissed it (for now) by focusing on her obvious humanness, that is if she could manage to remain conscious for any reasonable amount of time.

As he watched the dragons sheltering the girl with their body and tried not to think about her his mind went to the other human who enjoyed the twins as a bed roll. Rin. He had finally come to admit, to himself and through his action to those around him, that he was fond of the human child. For better or worse she was his either way because Rin had been changed by her resurrection by a demon blade. While she looked and acted just like any other human girl she had been granted a small thread of spiritual energy that was unique. It was not the same as a human reiki or a demon youki, it was something almost between the two, but it allowed her some very simple communication with the beasts of those in her pack, except Jaken who had completely sealed his away. Since it had happened while she was so young the difference would most likely by more severe and humans would most likely not accept her.

They do have such issues accepting differences, he thought for the millionth time of destroying the village that had shunned his ward. His face transformed with a demented sneer that just did not fit the imp face, but on his regular made armies reconsider. He had hated humans for their weakness and inability to endure through time, now he hated them for their treatment of others; youkai, hanyou, humans, animals, the land, everything. Humans are stupid, he thought with renewed conviction.

That thought made him consider the sleeping girl again. She was unique as well, like Rin, and she did not judge (just look at the group that she surrounded herself with), like Rin. But she was powerful. Powerful like no other human he had met in hundreds of years and she was constantly helping others. He found himself pondering how she fit into her society. Do they shun her for her differences or do they accept her for her power over demons. Most likely they do both, exploiting her generous nature for what they need without ever accepting her. But then again, she with her power level would she ever truly be understood by anyone?

Sesshomaru had always had a great intelligence and millennia of life to consider the details of the world and all the life therein and power was one of his topics of keen interest. He had observed many youkai in his youth and found their differences fascinating and with a few well worded questions and a patient ear he was able to gather a great deal of information from a variety of sources. As he had grown far fewer were willing to share with him so he used hypotheses formed from the data he had been able to collect and began using his amazing observation skills to test them.

His findings then helped him understand now how truly amazing the miko in front of him was. Low levels youkai with little power were more or less all animalistic so that there was nothing other than the instincts and drive that makes up their beasts, with what little true thoughts they had fully integrated into their beasts. Middle level powers were split in which half dominated (instinct or thought) but all were the same in that the dominate half subjugated the other and controlled it for its purposes, much like what he had seen generations of priestesses and monks do. One of the reasons that he thought humans were lesser was because even the most powerful of them only ever displayed this level of power, while most were like the lesser youkai with so little power that their energy could be fully integrated with their consciousness. He had never witnessed a human that was like a daiyoukai, the highest power level, until now.

There were few true daiyoukai in the world, those youkai that were so powerful that there was a need for an almost separate consciousness to help them manage their awesome power and instincts, and they were a lonely and dangerous bunch. Sesshomaru had always thought that it was actually a gift from the gods that the most powerful youkai were granted separate beasts within themselves, so that they would have a constant companion when all others were so distant. There was no way for a daiyoukai to have an equal as a companion for a long amount of time, no other understood what it was to have such power or instinct or the beast that controlled it and any other daiyoukai were too valuable to their own territory to be gone for long.

Most daiyoukai mated with higher mid-level youkai but on occasion an arrangement could be made for two dais to mate. It was not a simple process and needed the consent and cooperation of many other dais. They would arrange a few years to be together and create an heir but for that time they had to leave their domains in the care of trusted hands because the instinct to protect and care for the mate and child were too strong to allow for anyone or anything to interfere. When the appointed time for them to return to their lives came they had to have another dai or 2…or 3…or in his parents case all 10 of the daiyoukai of Japan and 2 from the continent, step in and separate them forcibly. Then they were secluded in specially made cells for another year or two to overcome the instinct to destroy everything to get their missing child or mate back. Thankfully most dai matings bare twins so one child can go with each parent to help calm them. It was a great misfortune of his parents that only one child was born. When the other dais separated the mated pair they had to choose; one parent would be given their son to care for, protect and anchor their sanity, the other would be deprived of mate and pup and would go mad with rage and loneliness.

Sesshomaru shook his head almost violently to derail his train of thought. He rarely thought of his mother, this was the most he had thought of her at one time since he was young and traumatized by his father's telling of it and his reaction to just the telling. That day his father had sat down and explained it to him was a horrible day, it was the only day he had ever seen his father cry. He was physically restrained while he told his son, his father's beast fought the whole time to deny it and break free enough to stop the tale. The young pup had feared for his father's sanity with just the telling of the tale, for he sobbed, cried out and howled his anguish and loss and eventually the restraints were not enough and he had slipped his skin, the beast finally winning out and escaped from the Western Palace. He was gone for almost six months before he returned to find his son stuck in his demon form. His beast never allowed more than a passing thought of his mother or that incident with his father because it understood the horror of what had happened to them, and to him as a pup deprived of its mother forever, and could not bear any thoughts of it.

This time Sesshomaru squeezed his eyes tight to stop the flow of memories. Without his beast his mind was free to wander and dwell on his most painful memories. He had never missed his constant companion more than he did at that particular moment. He opened his eyes to glare at the girl who was the cause of all of this thought and blinked not at the girl but at his nightmarish thoughts manifested before him.

As if summoned by his trip down memory lane he saw the figure of his father standing outside the dragon's den. He closed his eyes again and opened them. He watched as the apparition ducked into the cave, squatted down by the dragon and placed one hand on the Un's head and the other reached down to caress the flushed cheek of the sleeping girl.

He rubbed his eyes vigorously. The apparition remained. So the beast is a safety devise for our sanity as well… it looks like I will be taking after my mother from here…

"Yes and no." Sesshomaru heard the calm, deep voice of his father say. The ghost lay his hand on the girls cheek, cupping it affectionately and bent down to lay a kiss on her temple before turning and rising to face his son. "Yes, the beast helps protect our sanity but no, you are not insane…yet. Though I do not wait too much longer before gaining your tail, but since you are here it should not be too much longer, I wager."

Sesshomaru's brain was stopped. He was overcome for a moment by that strange sense of relief that everything will be all right that all children get when their parent arrives on the scene of a disaster. Then his brain restarted and he wanted desperately to hide his shame and ugliness from the being he most admired and respected, the great Inu no Taisho.

The ghost, knowing his son, read this thoughts in his eyes clearly, "Silly pup, I have had a hand in this transformation of your so there is nothing for you to hide. If anything, you should have been ashamed of how you were before. I did not raise you to be so cold and callous."

Sesshomaru stood in an instant, back stiff and hackles raised (well, they would have been if he had had them). "I am a good ruler. I keep my lands and my people safe, just as you taught me. I have done nothing to besmirch our family's reputation…"

Inu no Taisho chuckled at his son, remembering that this is the way a child reacts to a parent's reprimands, even if Sesshomaru was not a typical son or he a typical parent. "My son, how young you are still. The lands are fine; it is you who are not. Or at least, were not. Thankfully you found yourself a very effective catalyst for the little misadventure you have going here."

He turned soft eyes back to the girl sleeping ignorantly in the protective circle of the dragon's body. Sesshomaru was not sure about that look. "Come out here, away from her, so that we can talk," he tried to coax with a voice tried to make sound indifferent.

His father was not buying it. "Protective, aren't we, even without your "tail" I can still see your protective instincts, but for you, in this time, that is a very good thing, a good thing indeed. However, I am unfortunately limited in my manifestations, all things considered, to the range of my part in this intervention. I will step away from her but if I do then I can only go to the other one."

Sesshomaru thought furiously to interpret the ghost words. He was feeling overwhelmed by the whole situation, feeling like he was missing the important points and being led around by the nose by the ghost's words. Still he could not think straight. "Other one?"

"Poor little puppy who lost his teeth, no one can tell that he is the chief. Who will see thru the empty toothed smile, only the one who is cared for in style." He looked at his son for a moment to see the words recorded in his brain if not comprehended. "It is a father's place to have mercy on their children, so I will tell you your "trick" for which I give the "treat": you have learned to care. I argued that you already had but He wanted to make sure it wasn't a fluke. I will be waiting with your teeth with the other one. Don't want to make it too easy on you…" and with that he took two steps into the cave and melted away. His voice called out, "Don't forget to get your tail before your teeth or you might end up biting the hand that feeds you without realizing it."

Sesshomaru was befuddled. He had spent more time than he cared to admit thinking over the reincarnated miko's words with no more clue as to what she was getting at. Now the ghost of his father shows up and says that he is in league with the evil wench and has taken his "teeth". The big question mark was on the other "He" that his father mentioned, a being more powerful and in charge of this hellish prank. But it meant that he had more clues and he could work with that.

Teeth… but I should have my tail, or beast, first… so of the things I am missing that might bite – my youki. My father has stolen my youki!, he realized with a shock. That basta…

Of course the girl chose that moment to stir. Ah-Un, who had seemed completely ignorant of the exchange between deceased father and bespelled son, looked down at the rousing girl. She blinked her eyes open and looked up at the half-brothers with a radiant smile. "You guys…" she started before she thought about it. Then the air around her seemed to shimmer for a moment and she started again, this time with her beast to the front so she could really talk with the creature(s). "Thank you guys, I think that I've just been a little overwhelmed with everything."

The dragons considered her and bleated. Sesshomaru could only guess that they inquired after what exactly had been happening to her, but it was a good guess considering that they had been his mount for nearly 500 years. The dragons, while fairly simple in their thinking, were always interested in others. They would listen for hours to Rin's inane prattle and the shot at a real story excited them.

"Oh, I don't know, telling Inuyasha that I don't really love him anymore, running away from him and all my friends just to go help one of our all-time worst damage dealing enemies, and just everything from being caught up in this mess with Sesshomaru."

Bleat.

"Yeah, your master, Sesshomaru. He's right over there. I was trying to tell you before. That's him. He's been cursed, I guess."

Six eyes all turned to look at him. He decided it was as good as any time to approach, though he still remained outside the opening to the den. The twin creature turned back to her and bleated again. Her eyes changed from what he guessed was her own consideration of him to a look he had never seen on her face before, almost admiration, as she listened to what his mount was saying about him.

"I didn't know you guys thought so highly of him, and I assure you, that is him. I know, he does look like Jaken and he doesn't have his normal…presence, but its him."

Sesshomaru looked at the dragons and considered the girl's words. They think highly of me? Well, of course, they have seen me in battle many times. However, I doubt that that would equate to the same high regard as she holds true… makes one does wonder what exactly is being said behind one's back.

They were looking at him again, then they looked back to her to receive a nod of confirmation, and once again looked at him and shook their heads in disbelief.

"Here, look at this." The girl closed her eyes, finally not looking at him, and her brows furrowed in concentration. "See. I think it's him. You know how he can do anything, right? Well, he was able to teach me how to do this, talk to you like this, and I'm a human. If anyone can do the impossible like teach a flunked miko to talk to dragons it's him."

It was Sesshomaru's turn to stare at the strange girl and wonder what she was showing the dragons and not saying out loud. He had a great deal of evidence to her oddness but this was beyond any of it. The sincerity in her belief of him was astonishing. Anyone who had met him acknowledged his power, it was plain to all, but few creatures really believed in him. There was only one other who had done it in such a short time and so completely – Rin.

Rin! The other one. It's Rin. I can get my youki back if I go to Rin! Sesshomaru turned to find the girl but stopped as his father's warning echoed through his head, "Don't forget to get your tail before your teeth or you might end up biting the hand that feeds you without realizing it." The wheels in his head started turning rapidly putting the few pieces of the puzzle he had together.

"What were the words of the undead miko?" Sesshomaru turned again to the scene in the cave, asking the girl to confirm the words that he remembered. For some reason he felt that he had to hear her say them to confirm his suspicions.

"Oh! Um…" The girl struggled out of the nest of dragon she was laying in and went to the far corner where her nearly empty pack had ended up. "It's a good thing I put this in the big zipper pouch in front," she mumbled as she pulled out her bound papers. Ah kept his eye on his charge while Un continued to watch the imp in question at the cave entrance, still not ready to believe it was their master. "Here it is: Poor little puppy who lost his tail, running in circles to no avail. Look to the left, look to the right, look both ways and see it you might."

As she concluded she looked up at Sesshomaru in question, there was a lot going on and this was the first thing that he had said to her. His eyes shone with intelligence and excitement as their eyes met and slowly he turned to look at the dragons. She shifted her eyes as well and saw the dragons, heads turned in opposite directions, considering both of them.

"OH MY GODS! LOOK LEFT AND LOOK RIGHT, LOOK BOTH WAYS! IT'S YOU GUYS!" She squealed with delight and launched herself at the dragons' necks, wrapping one arm around each, drawing all of their attention back to her.

They clicked in her ear for a moment and she looked up at them with a radiant smile. "You guys are a piece to our Sesshomaru-puppy puzzle."

"Hn," came the very displeased grunt from the imp.

She looked up apologetically, I'm sorry. "It's what I call it in my head and with this double talking, out loud and in my head it gets confused. I did not mean to offend you. I swear."

Her sincerity and obvious concern over his insulted pride made him repent and he nodded his head at her. He redirected his gaze and with a tilt of his head considered the dragons. Now how do they fit, he slicked his eyes to her for a moment with a slight smirk, into this "Sesshomaru-puppy puzzle"?

She caught the look and the meaning. She looked down for a moment guiltily, seemed to consider for a moment, and then looked at him with an unrepentant smile. "Sesshomaru-puppy puzzle" seemed to have become an inside joke between them (if only he could see the mental image she had to go with that label he might not have been quite so accepting…). They both shifted their focus back to the dragons, considering - intently.

The dragons were beginning to realize that they were the center of attention. They looked at each other in worry. They smelled trouble…