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~Chapter 26 – Cygnets and complications ~
The addition of fish to Kagome's diet marked an improvement in her endurance and in Sesshoumaru's temper. The opportunity to kill things, even so paltry an opponent as a fish gave him an outlet to vent frustration and Kagome had more fish than she could eat.
A routine began to from, beginning with a hard march south from dusk to dawn and finishing with setting camp by a watercourse, if one was found. Usually followed by fish terminations and Kagome's improving skill at fire lighting. Conversation, of a sort, had become almost common.
"I wonder what has happened to Tenseiga…" Kagome pondered aloud as she tugged at the lacings of her boots. The night was near done and though there was no sign of a waterway Sesshoumaru had indicated they would pause for the day by gracefully dropping to sit at the base of a tree.
"The last few tales it's arrived in the story with one or another of us…" She flexed her hand, remembering the eager buzz of youki from the sword, the way it had vibrated through the bones of her fingers. A shiver danced across her spine at the memory. Sesshoumaru watched the fading stars in silence. She had almost forgotten she had asked the question out loud when he answered.
"My father's sword will find it's way back as it has several times before. I cannot be rid of the useless thing."
Kagome bit her tongue on a comment then decided to voice it anyway.
"I don't think O-Tensaiga is useless. It helped me greatly when I was bargaining with the Kyoujin."
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow but did not question further for which Kagome was unspeakably grateful. They watched the cold dawn break in silence, a tentative truce having been reestablished.
~o0o~
A cold wind laced with chips of sleet, fierce as wolf teeth, hammered on the far side of the hollow tree Kagome and the swan-formed Sesshoumaru had taken cover in. Heavy dark clouds had rolled in shortly after mid morning and had sent Kagome scurrying for cover. Sesshoumaru had followed her when the hail started. The swan-taiyoukai did not appear to feel the cold but Kagome was freezing. She pulled the threadbare cloak in closer to herself and willed her teeth to stop chattering, trying not to think of extra socks, self-warming cans of coffee and kotatsu*.
A particularly violent sneeze rocked her frame and she cursed as she wiped her nose on her sleeve, trying to curl herself further into the back of the hollow.
Sesshoumaru, dozing near the entrance, roused and blinked sleepily. Kagome sneezed again eruptively and sniffed, muttering an apology. The swan stretched, shook his feathers then delicately stepped up on to her knee. Kagome had a brief, terrified remembrance of the tale of 'Leda and the Swan' and hastily tried to stand, bumping her head on the wall of the tree, sitting down again abruptly. Sesshoumaru wobbled and nearly fell then hissed at her and stomped his feet on her thigh through the cloak as if he were perching on a particularly irritating log. He didn't seem to register her brief panic and imperiously tight-rope walked up her leg until he was almost resting against her torso. The swan-youkai fluffed feathers and tucked his long neck into the plumage of his back and sank into a crouch perched on her leg. The warmth of his feathers gradually soaking through her clothing and Kagome dared to snuggle a little closer.
"I hope you don't have mites"
The swan huffed irritably but did not rouse. He seemed more personable as a bird. A lot more personable even when not a swan these last few days. He was also now blocking most of the draft from the entrance and Kagome found her self gradually warm enough to drift off to sleep.
~o0o~
Kagome woke in darkness. Outside she could hear the sleet still lashing down. It had to be late in the night and yet Sesshoumaru had not woken her to move on. A momentary panic seized her - Had he left her behind? Then there was a faint stirring of fabric and Kagome held her breath, listening. As she lay still she realised there was a warm presence at her back, a solid lump of heat that she had firmly wedged her shoulder against in her sleep. She didn't dare look, wouldn't have be able to see anything in the dark, but a warm glow bubbled up in her chest. Sesshoumaru was letting her wait out the weather.
~o0o~
The blizzard passed during the next day, leaving Kagome well rested and Sesshoumaru eager to be away. Everything was crusted in white frost and ice. The few small water-courses they passed appeared frozen solid in the moonlight. Then they came upon The Lake.
Beyond it, situated close to the bank, with lights reflecting in the waters, was a castle with surrounding township. Between there and where Kagome and Sesshoumaru stood there was forest, marsh and rising mist.
A soft rippling of the waters surface caught Kagome's eye and she looked for the source, drawing a startled breath when she found it. Suddenly there, bathed in moonlight, were eleven very young girls standing in the shallows. Eleven children, none older than Rinn, each clad in a thin gown of white silk and feathers. As Sesshoumaru turned to look upon them they all curtseyed low, remaining there, knee deep in ice water.
"Quick! Come out!" Kagome yelped to them, reaching for the nearest, as she herself waded out into the chill pond, "Come out of the water, you'll catch your deaths standing there."
The children looked to Sesshoumaru, at his slight inclination of head they curtsied again and obeyed.
There was something almost eerie in the silence but his companion didn't seem to notice. Kagome was almost frantic, chaffing hands, feeling foreheads and scooping up every piece of nearby wood in reach to make a fire. Sesshoumaru stood aloof watching. The children seemed to have taken no harm from the water.
He scented the air. They did not seem to be youkai. Their scent was human enough, considering the amount of feathers surrounding them all… but their composure was unnatural.
Then one child stirred as though waking up, shivered, a second followed, a third let out a soft birdlike keening sound and they all drew closer, clustered together around his feet like ducklings.
"Enough. Silence!" Sesshoumaru barked and they obediently went quiet. Still but for a shiver that now ran through all eleven of the swan maidens.
There was a sharp "Fwump" and a small burst of flame behind him, reflecting off the trees, indicating Kagome had gotten the fire lit. The pulse of reiki that accompanied the blaze set Sesshoumaru's teeth on edge. She was not happy with the situation.
Like a mother hen she shepherded the young girls away from Sesshoumaru, chivvying them over to the fire, firing off questions about names and parents. The children mutely shook their heads but allowed them selves to be fussed over in silence. Sesshoumaru frowned into the darkness, looking towards the lights and their reflections in the distance.
~o0o~
Kagome sat staring at the fire for some time trying to figure out what the presence of the children meant to their own situation. They had setup camp in a sheltered lee of the lake shore – in the distance on the far side of the water the twinkle of lanterns indicated the presence of a town of some size.
When the sun glimmered on the horizon Kagome woke surrounded by fuzzy grey cygnets. Taking a fortifying breath she decided on her course for the day and turned to the irritable white swan who, in humanoid form, had stood guard through the night. She extricated herself from the young swans and brushed off her knees feeling guilty for what she was about to do.
"I am going to walk down to the town now."
Sesshoumaru straightened and glowered the miko, feathers hackled. Kagome took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips, ready with her argument. "There's no use waiting until tonight – there isn't likely to be anyone around to question. You won't want them following us and I won't leave eleven young girls alone in the forest at night. During the day I can go down and find out what I can quick enough. You can't as a swan." Sesshoumaru hissed and snaked his head at her, his hackles not quite so bristled.
Kagome ticked off points on her fingers. "Look you have to stay with them Sesshoumaru-sama. I'm no use if anything happens here – at least as you are now you can lead them off into deeper water. They are a part of the ballet story, they might be important for us too. I don't have your abilities but I can do this at least. I should be able to find out what we need to know and get back before sunset."
Sesshoumaru snorted irritably and turned his head away but his feathers had relaxed back into place.
Kagome, taking it as leave to do as she would, bowed deeply.
"I promise I'll be back as soon as I can!" She turned on her heel and, swinging her threadbare cloak over her shoulders, headed off for the town at a trot.
~o0o~
* Kotatsu (こたつ) A low table with a quilt over it and a heater under it used in winter. Very warm but, according to a friend of mine who is an engineer and pulled one apart once: the wiring is often really dodgy and they are a major cause of house fires.