The sky was getting lighter as it started to become morning and the Western Lord silently walked the halls of Nuri's home, planning to check on the two ninngen of his pack since he had been out patrolling the area during the night unable to sleep after what the onna had told him about her future. Sliding the door open to their room, he frowned seeing only the mute child asleep on her futon. The other futon had already been folded up and put in a corner with the blankets folded on top of it. Using his nose, he could sense that she hadn't been gone long and followed her scent out the back door of the house down to where he could hear the river.
He stopped walking when he spotted the onna near the water's edge going through the meditated motions of Tai Chi, wearing a black chest wrap and a pair of white hamakas. Clothes were folded up at the base of a tree nearby and Sesshomaru frowned as he studied her state of undress. She had mentioned many times how the cool air was hard on her and since being properly dressed, she had worn a heavy winter robe over thick multi-layered kimonos. His eyes studied her gentle movements, not strained or forced as she moved, her hair swaying gently against her back.
"Onna, why are you half dressed in this chilled air?" Sesshomaru spoke as he started walking towards her again.
"Oh…?" She flinched slightly as she turned to face him and he saw a bandage around her neck and dark bruising across her left arm before she hurried over to her clothes and started to dress. "I'm sorry… I didn't expect anyone to be awake this early. Ever since uncle taught me those forms, I try to keep up on it every morning. It helps…"
"That doesn't answer this Sesshomaru's question."
"Oh, right… I was warm when I started and didn't feel it. Guess I had cleared my mind well enough to not feel the elements…" she chuckled as she finished dressing. "You're up early, did you sleep?"
"No."
"Right, Youkai don't need to sleep as often as ninngen."
"Where did you acquire those bruises? They were not there the first night."
"It was from yesterday when you dropped me on the ground. My left hip and upper thigh look similar. Hell, even from the child pulling on my wrist for several seconds yesterday morning caused a bruise," she spoke as she pulled up her sleeve to reveal the massive bruise before pointing to a small bruise in the shape of a hand around her wrist. "Since I first became sick, I started to bruise easy."
"You do not fear this Sesshomaru?"
"It's not the first time you've choked me. The first was during the second shared dream. Besides, I cannot allow fear to overtake me, nor any strong emotion really. Too much laughter, too many tears, anger… it causes more pain than it's worth. I've had to work hard to be able to have the control I have, though when I can't get any air, my body fights me on that," she spoke as she wrapped her outer robe around herself.
"If this Sesshomaru abandoned you?"
"Then I would accept my fate, but I know that you are too proud for that. From the moment you dressed me in your own haori, instead of leaving me there, I knew. I cannot guarantee to obey every order since I do have a pretty stubborn streak due to uncle raising me, but I will try."
"That is acceptable for now. Come, Nuri is preparing the morning meal," Sesshomaru spoke before heading back to the house.
"Thank you Lord Sesshomaru," she spoke from behind him, an emotion foreign to Sesshomaru laced with her words and when he glanced back at her, he noticed a faint smile grace her face.
As they entered the house, Ivanna noticed that Sesshomaru disappeared almost immediately and shrugged it off as she entered the kitchen. The mute child was awake and under Nuri's close supervision, cutting up vegetables to help with the morning meal. She noticed two separate piles of raw meat, one slightly darker in color than the other, off to the side that had already been cut and was ready to be cooked.
"Good morning," Ivanna greeted as she pulled off her heavy robe and placed it in a basket, folded and tied back the sleeves of her haori so she could assist.
"Morning, you were awake early," Nuri responded while the child looked up at her with a giant smile.
"I woke just before dawn and couldn't fall back asleep. What can I help you with?"
"Take over here so I can start preparing the meat for the two of you and our lord."
"He is actually going to eat?"
"Youkai eat different meats than ninngen. The meat we eat would be poisonous for you since it carries remnants of jaki from the beasts we hunt."
"Is there a way to tell the difference?" Ivanna asked as she walked over and examined the two piles of red meat.
"Youkai meat is darker and has more of a purple hue to it while the meat you can eat is a bright red. If you didn't have meat to compare, there is a scent difference as well. To you, it would smell off," Nuri spoke as she held up a piece of the darker meat so she could smell it.
"It smells like the meat has gone bad," Ivanna winced as the smell hit her. "That's terrible..."
"Youkai can smell the richness of the meat that to a human would smell rancid. When cooked, that smell would still be there just not as strongly," Nuri smiled as she held the meat out to the child so she could sniff it, and her nose immediately scrunched up in disgust. "Now if you two are ever offered meat, you can tell the difference so you don't end up being poisoned by the remnants of jaki in the meat. Remember that smell, little one."
"I don't think I could forget it," Ivanna frowned as the child nodded and went to stand behind the child as she stood on a stool and went back to cutting vegetables. "Watch your fingers, little one. Tuck your fingers a little so the side of the blade rests against your knuckles and don't lift the blade up higher than them so it gives you a support so you don't hurt yourself. Good."
"Ah," the child grinned as she followed her instructions.
"That's a good start. Keep verbalizing what you can, and soon we'll be able to get your speech back so you will be able to talk. Just don't ever try to interrupt our lord if he is busy, we don't want to be disrespectful."
"Ah."
"You seem to know a lot about our lord," Nuri commented as she placed the brighter meat into the pan to cook.
"Not really. I have taken etiquette classes and know how to act towards those with title or rank above my own. After all, we are traveling with a Lord of the lands who expects nothing less than the highest respect towards his person. I just forget myself some times since I never had to actually act properly. Back home, everyone was of equal standing. There were no lords who interacted with the rest and if they did, it was discreet because most of my home did not like being treated so differently," Ivanna spoke as she grabbed a parring knife and started to carefully cut off the skins of several peaches that sat off to the side.
"You come from an odd place."
"You could say that," she chuckled, cutting the peaches in half and pulled out the seeds before cutting the halves into slices and put them into a fresh bowl. "Then again, compared to my home, this place is a much simpler place to be even though there is war and conflicts constantly."
"I'd like to hear more about this place you called home."
"Maybe one day."
"Not even a little elaboration?"
"Nope."
"So mean," Nuri sighed but her smile stayed in place. " I feel that you'll be leaving some time today. Our lord does not like to linger in one place for too long unless his duties force him to."
"That's a shame, but I'm not really all that surprised," Ivanna spoke gently as she finished cutting up the peaches that had been set out. "The business he had in this village has been completely, now it is time for him to return back to patrolling his lands."
"You astound me, Ivanna. I've never come across a ninngen like you before, but that is not a bad thing."
"You have taught me much in the short time we have stayed within your home. Thank you, Nuri. I feel that my questions would not have been answered if I tried to ask our lord, he doesn't talk much, not unless he has too. I've never been camping before so I don't know how well I will adjust to traveling and sleeping outside, but all I can do is try."
"You could always ask to remain in the village, you and the child..."
"My fate was tied to that of our lord before I arrived here, it is my fate to follow him wherever he goes. Besides the child would follow him no matter what. From what I hear from Jaken, he saved her and now a bond has been created from that," Ivanna spoke as Nuri finished cooking the meat.
"You really are a strange ninngen," Nuri spoke, shaking her head gently.