HALTA-DANCE

The howls dwindled the same as the stars, muffled by the fingers of sunlight creeping into the sky. They clamored back to the mountain top with less enthusiasm than they'd had just hours prior, where the fires still glowed and spat thick gray smoke, the plumes just dark enough to hold off the inevitable, to hold onto some of the night. With his breath ragged in his chest, Sesshoumaru watched as they vanished, as his father's bright blue eyes faded into the yellowing sky until there was nothing left of the ghost save for clouds as soft as fur.

They returned to the castle, had to pick their way back down the mountainside, but his cousins and the other dogs still had the energy enough to yip and whine and tussle, nipping at each other's flanks as they made their way into the entry yard. He cared little for it, too old to wrestle with pups and his blood still simmering hot and thundering through his veins, his vision unfocused and the scent of smoke still heavy in his nostrils. He needed a different sort of release, for what little energy he had left, but it wasn't until they'd passed through the barrier that he realized exactly what that was.

With needlepoint clarity, his nose found that familiar scent―

He left the rest behind, shedding his skin to stalk the halls on two legs instead of four; his face still hot and his blood thrumming beneath the skin, his flesh trembling and his fangs protruding past his lips, his form barely restrained in its humanoid guise.

He only cared for that dull scent trail, weaving its way through hallways and stairs, as his feet thudded hollowly against the floorboards. He could taste it on his tongue, just as strongly as the blood, that electric scent, sharp like just before a crack of lightning, soothing like a summer rain, a storm brewing just beyond the horizon, and he would…

Burning eyes and throbbing flesh, his breath faltered, his mind flooded with thoughts and images and ideas―the urge to throw her down on her knees, to wrap his hands around the nape of her neck and press her down into the floor. To make prey of her, have her at his mercy, bare to him as he speared into her, sheathing himself inside her with all the savagery his skin struggled to contain.

Would she scream? Would she fight him? Weep? Or would she moan and open herself wider to him?

If he fisted his hands into her hair, would she press herself against him? He wanted to, to dig his claws into that insufferable bind, free the strands and haul her up against him. He would have to steady her, to dig his claws into her hips and keep her still as he used her. Blood would trickle down her thighs, staining his hands, and the scent… he would want more of it. He would want to clamp his fangs into the juncture of her throat, to feel that thrumming pulse, to pierce the flesh there and draw out more of that divine blood... But that wouldn't be enough, he wanted to continue down, leaving a trail of bites and bruises down her spine, gouge out that scar between her shoulder blades until it was only his marks on her skin.

If he pressed her down hard enough, his hands around her wrists to stop her struggling, would her bones snap? Would they be hollow, like a bird's? Nothing but the wind beneath her skin, her bones brittle underneath him as he had his way with her. He wanted to have her scream for him, make her hurt. Make her know nothing but him. He could, he would―

The door slid open with a rattle, and he hissed through his fangs.

"I was wondering when you'd show up."

Kagura wasn't looking at him, a dark silhouette against a yellow sky. The doors to the veranda were open, and she leaned one shoulder against the frame, a finger twirling through her loose hair and watching the courtyard below.

"Are you all always this… excited?"

He didn't care to know why she asked the question, only cared for the fact that she wasn't looking at him.

Not even when he came up behind her and wound his arms around her waist, pressing himself into her backside as his other hand found its way to her throat, his claws scratching against her skin as he buried his nose in the hollow behind her ear and inhaled deep.

"I guess you ain't any different," she chuckled, but he felt her stiffen, fidget against his hold as he pressed himself against her back. Her scent changed, turned to something a little sweeter when his claws bit into the fabric at her hips. She hissed. "What're you―"

She gasped when he bit down on the flesh just below her jaw, hard enough to bruise, holding her steady as he ground her hips back into his. Her hands snapped to his wrists, she dug her blunt nails into his skin even as the rest of her moved with him, arching into him with a hiss that left him breathless―mindless―fixated only on the salty taste of her skin and wanting more―He pulled away for the briefest second, enough time to spin her to face him, to cage her between himself and the wall, ripping the fabric from her hips in the process.

Her hands scrambled across his chest, but his teeth returned to her shoulder before she could reprimand him. He pulled her robes apart, and this time when he bit down it was hard enough to draw blood.

Kagura choked on a scream, but Sesshoumaru hardly heard it, hardly felt the fingers that knotted in his hair, tugging at the base of his scalp―he did feel when her hips canted, legs opened just enough that he could feel the heat of her through the fabric of his pants. He ground into her, his hands roving over chilled skin, he gripped her thighs and lifted her, claws dug into her and the tangy scent of her blood met his nose as he lapped at the broken flesh at her shoulder, biting and sucking bruises along her collarbone.

With her heat against him he ached, burned hot deep in his belly, he needed―but his mind couldn't think past the sensation of her movement.

She bucked against him, hissed through her teeth, but it only served to cage her further, flattened against the wall when her motion opened her legs wider. She kept pulling at his hair, tried to scratch at his chest, but she could only yank apart his robes, with how tightly they were pressed together. She clawed at his arms, his wrists, any bare skin she could find. He returned in kind with an impotent thrust against her, so rough that he thought he might have heard the wall crack―

Blunt nails found his throat.

He choked, her fingers clasped around his windpipe and she yanked him back, her grip fisted in the hair at the base of his scalp.

"Oi."

He had to stare down his nose at her, with the awkward angle she forced his neck. Their breath fogged the air, and Kagura glared up at him, glassy eyed, mouth hanging open as she tried to take in a breath, her lips just as red as the stain across her throat―

"Bad dog."

With a snarl he snapped his head forward, crashed his lips onto hers, the taste of her blood still on his tongue―only for her to bite down on the flesh of his bottom lip.

Sesshoumaru jerked back and the salt of his own blood flooded his mouth.

Kagura cackled. She took advantage of his shock, bucking off the wall hard enough to make him stumble―

"Down, boy."

―A gust of wind lashed at his calves, probably hard enough to break skin, and Sesshoumaru didn't have the sense of mind to brace his fall or to keep Kagura from crashing down on top of him, her hand still fisted around his throat―it knocked the wind from him and would surely leave him bruised, but her grip didn't lessen.

Even when he thrashed and bucked against her, dug his claws deeper into the flesh of her thighs, Kagura held firm.

"A little warning, maybe, next time, hm?"

His chest began to ache, the longer she held, her palm pressed flat against his windpipe and her fingers digging into his veins and cutting off his blood supply… She stared down at him, one eyebrow raised, a wild woman―clothes disheveled, her robes open and ripped, hair tussled, blood and rouge smeared across her lips, the bite marks along her shoulder wept, blood pooling in the divet of her collarbone and spilling over, winding a trail between her breasts and to her belly… Sesshoumaru stilled, even as his vision swam he stared, mesmerized by that drop of red that danced a line down her skin…

"That's much better, isn't it?"

Her grip loosened, yet he found that he couldn't move, frozen there with her thighs bracketing his hips and her heat pressing down on him… Gods, he was trembling―Kagura smoothed a thumb over his lips, toying with his elongated fangs―

"What a terrifying face you have there." The sun must have crested the mountain top, because when she spoke the room suddenly began to glow with light, setting her eyes aflame as she leaned back just enough to play with the tie at his waist. "Now, use those big scary fangs to tell me what it is you want."

A growl rumbled in his chest. He lay there, aching, and she wanted to play―? He went to sit up, but a hand slammed against his throat pushed him back down.

"No." She smiled and tugged at the tie. "What do you want, Sesshoumaru?"

His jaw worked, throat sore from her hold and fangs too long to properly speak:

"I want―"

His voice was raw. Kagura pulled the tie free, but did not touch him.

"―You."

She freed him from his clothes. "Is that it?"

"Kagura."

"There," her smile turned wicked, "that wasn't so hard was it?"

And she impaled herself on him.

She laughed when he snarled and bucked against her, dug his claws deeper into her flesh. He'd scented her arousal, but he hadn't expected how hot she'd be, how wet―she ground down on him so roughly he had to bite his lip to stifle a sound. She did not wait, began to move as soon as he bottomed out inside her; she scratched welts into his chest as she rode him, rolled her hips against his thrusts. Fog clouded around her head, from them both, as she laughed and moaned, and he snarled, tried to keep hold of her even as she pressed him deeper into the floor―her hair just as unkempt as the rest of her, blood red eyes that rivaled his own, bloody lips and clothes in disarray as if she'd been the one in battle―

A wild woman, a storm made flesh, and gods―

Beautiful.

Kagura's hips stuttered, her nails dug into his thighs when she leaned back, presenting him a full view, that trail of blood leading down and staining where they joined. She cried out as she came, twitching around him even as he kept moving, until she couldn't hold herself up any longer and slumped against his chest. Sesshoumaru caught her, laved at the bloody bruises along her throat, one hand splayed across the scarred skin between her shoulder blades while the other kept her hips moving, keeping a steady motion until her breath hitched and she was shivering around him all over again.

He followed soon after, exhaustion getting the better of him as he spent himself inside her.

The heat of his skin slowly dwindled, replaced by the icy chill of winter, but Sesshoumaru took a moment, buried his nose in the crook of her shoulder and inhaled…

Kagura shifted, and as remorseful as he was to let her do it, she pulled away from him, just enough that she could look at his face.

"Feeling better?"

He didn't have it in him to respond, his throat too raw, so instead he pulled her close once more, brushed her lips with his as he rolled them over so that he could cover them both in his furs. Kagura didn't object this time, more than happy to get comfortable under his weight as he languidly licked the remaining blood from her throat. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and nosed the crown of his head when he lowered his head to her chest, reveling in her scent and the sound of her still fluttering heart beat, a steady sound that mirrored his own. Sesshoumaru let his eyes drift closed when Kagura's hands came up to tangle in his hair, he breathed in deep, content and warm in her arms, because he…

Because he…?

…

Her legs had gone numb hours ago and her skin was more than a little clammy, sticky with dried blood. Still, Kagura didn't move.

A breeze drifted in and she didn't bother to redirect it. She was warm enough, cocooned in fur and the arms of the man that had fallen asleep on top of her. She wound a few strands of his hair through her fingers, admiring how they shimmered in the light of the setting sun. Her other hand lightly traced a line up and down his spine, in tune with the slow rise and fall of his chest when he inhaled, exhaled.

He'd looked… unhinged, when he'd come for her in the morning. So at odds with the usual stoic facade he liked to wear. She'd known that it was all an act, that there was rage swimming behind that icy stare, she was more than a little ashamed to admit that it had frightened her when he'd first laid hands on her. At the same time…

It had been exhilarating.

A thrill shooting up her spine at the sight, seeing him all feral and savage, blood-eyed, hardly able to speak past his fangs. She'd always liked his pretty face, to be sure, but Sesshoumaru as uninhibited as he'd been? That power had always been intoxicating.

That hadn't meant that she'd let him do as he pleased. He hadn't been in his right mind, and the only thing to be done with a rabid dog was put them down.

His breath faltered and she was almost remorseful when he shifted, coming to wakefulness slowly―she felt the brush of his lashes against her skin, the way his breathing sped up, the subtle way his weight lifted from her. But he didn't move quite yet, so Kagura continued with her ministrations until the sun began to shine a little too brightly into her eyes.

"I know you're awake."

He went still.

"If you wanted to cuddle all you had to do was―"

Sesshoumaru sat up, and she almost whined at the loss of his warmth.

But he didn't go far. He stayed cradled between her thighs, his arms bracketed beside her waist, only far enough that he could look her in the eye, and she did have to stifle a chuckle at the state of him―and the state of the thing prodding at her thigh, ready and awake. His eyes had returned to their usual gold, but his pupils were still blown wide and the lines across his puffy cheeks were still a little jagged, his hair a frizzy mess and there was a spot of dried blood on his cheek. From whatever prey he'd devoured last night. Or hers. She supposed she fit under the category.

Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered down to her mauled shoulder, a furrow formed between his brows and his lips parted as if he might speak, but then he just turned his head and looked out the doors. "...How long?"

His voice was rough, raw, like he'd spent the whole night screaming. She didn't need to clarify what he meant, so instead she merely waved a hand outside.

"Can't you tell? It's been the whole day."

His squinted, like he was trying to think. Coming up with an insult or a denial, maybe, indignant about being caught sleeping the day away. She wanted to ask how long it had been since he'd last slept―but then he tilted his head, presenting her with a pointed ear, as if trying to hear her better, and when he opened his mouth his voice was soft:

"You stayed."

Something pinched, deep in her chest, stealing her breath, and she could do nothing but stare at the side of his face. Her lips parted and her mind went blank, unable to think… and he noticed, because he turned back to look at her, and the sunlight cut through his eyes just perfectly, so warm and luminous and―

Oh.

Oh.

"...What else am I supposed to do when a foul smelling dog collapses on top of me?" she snapped. Or more like tried to snap, but the words came out softer than she'd intended. And instead of rising to the bait, Sesshoumaru just kept staring at her, still puffy faced and heavy-eyed.

"You hardly seemed to mind."

And she wanted to fight it, but instead she just sighed and lifted a hand to his cheek to trace his stripes with her thumb. He leaned into her touch and her chest ached again.

"Shut up," she hissed, "and come here."

…

Every dog she passed looked the same: ragged, listless, and pleasantly exhausted.

There were no festivities tonight, the hosts too drowsy to even try to put on a show. But there were still guests crowded in the main hall, strangely somber even as they told and retold stories of the scene they'd witnessed the night before. Momiji was probably at the head of that little gathering, but Kagura hadn't cared to make an appearance.

Fresh from the bath, her skin still steamy in the cold air, she gingerly picked her way through the outer verandas of the castle, eavesdropping on the candlelit shadows against the paper screens, their muted conversations and whispered laughter, interrupted only by the wet slap of fat snowflakes as they crashed into the earth. The clouds had moved in while she'd been bathing, but the night was still, nowhere close to a winter storm, just gentle snowfall and silence echoing across the valley…

"Watch what you're doing, brat!"

Or, maybe not.

Kagura stepped off the veranda into the rapidly building snowbank and picked her way across the yard to the stables. Even with the wind as quiet as it was she knew what she'd find before she even turned the corner.

"Maybe if you weren't so small you wouldn't need my help!"

Then came a squawk and the sound of something crashing to the ground, followed by a sigh and squealed excuses and apologies.

When she did round the doorway, she wasn't surprised to see the frog and the fox scrambling over a box that had fallen from the dragon's saddle and spilled its contents into the dirt; fabrics and foodstuffs that had only been saved by their packaging. Sesshoumaru stood off to the side, dull eyed as he watched the pair's sorry excuse for packing. He turned his gaze when she entered, and she swore she saw his posture straighten.

The other two kept bickering amongst themselves, trying to reorganize the mess they'd made, both of them went for a bolt of cloth at the same time and wound up in a futile tug of war, hissing at each other. Kagura shot Sesshoumaru an incredulous glance, he offered a shrug.

Neither the imp or the kit noticed her presence, even as she stepped up behind them. Not until she reached out and plucked the fabric from their hands, making the fox shriek in surprise.

"Well, this is quite nice, isn't it? Who's it for?" she drawled, already knowing the answer as she held up the ream of sky blue cotton dotted with pale pink cherry blossoms.

"Kagura!" The frog was quicker to get over his shock. He had to jump to try to snatch the fabric back, but she merely held it higher over his head. "―That is for Rin! How dare you! Give it back, I can't have you sullying it!"

She almost laughed. She'd never thought the little gremlin to be fond of the girl, but she supposed that in trying to insult her he would sing the girl's praises if he had to. She ignored him, even as he kept squawking at her, saying how the fabric was a gift from Sesshoumaru-sama, this and that. He held off on outright insulting her, knowing better than to throw curses at his master's mistress, and settled for screeching at her instead, figuring that a gift for the girl still held greater importance than her.

Kagura just folded the bolt as cleanly as she could and handed it off to the fox. He'd always been much more agreeable than his counterpart.

"I'm sure the girl will be glad for it," she said, meeting Sesshoumaru's gaze with a sly smirk, "though I have to admit that I'm a little jealous of you showering gifts on another woman."

The comment had its intended effect. Sesshoumaru blinked, taking a moment to absorb what she'd said before he sneered and rolled his eyes. The fox looked away, wide eyed. And she was sure she'd broken the frog's tiny brain, because he just stuttered and stared at her, frozen and incredulous.

Sesshoumaru's voice was the only thing that broke his trance, the bark of his name made the little thing jump back into action, scurrying to fix up the mess. Kagura chuckled and moved to stand beside Sesshoumaru, his left, so she could easily see his face. He didn't look at her, but his weight shifted in her direction.

The fox gave up on helping, instead he lept up onto the dragon's flank and tried very hard not to stare at them, his eyes pointedly on his hands in his lap. She spotted the flea, trying to stay inconspicuous hidden in the boy's hair.

"Shippou." The boy flinched at Sesshoumaru's voice. "You will say nothing of what has transpired here."

He nodded sharply, but still didn't raise his head.

"The same goes for you, Myouga."

Something like an affirmation sounded from the boy's head. Kagura stifled a laugh into her fist just as the imp loudly announced that he was finished.

The dragon followed his lead when the frog pulled on his reins. Such a calm beast, to willingly follow the little green thing out into the snow. Fat snowflakes caught in her hair and on her shoulders, soaking through the fabric. They were lucky that the weather was as calm as it was, Kagura could feel the winds―her sense sharper now that they'd lifted the barrier that kept them inside―miles away, all just as drowsy as the ones that blanketed the castle. It wouldn't be a pleasant ride, with the temperature and the snow, but they would surely reach that little human village by sunrise.

The imp said his goodbyes, well wishes, and cries of grief of how much he would miss his precious master. Sesshoumaru acknowledged none of them, and merely ordered the imp to ensure that the packages were to be delivered, unharmed, and Kagura was sure that the frog understood the true meaning behind that.

Sesshoumaru shot another pointed look at the boy, who flinched and wished them both well for good measure.

"Have a safe trip!" Kagura called when they took to the sky. "See you never."

Jaken squawked something back, unintelligible, while the boy stared back at them, never taking his eyes off of them until they disappeared around the mountainside. Kagura watched them go, and with one last act of kindness, asked the winds to ease their travel.

At her side, Sesshoumaru didn't move until they were out of sight, and only then did he turn to look down at her, just as a snowflake kissed her nose.

He reached out to brush it away with his thumb. She should have been nervous, when his claws ghosted in front of her eyes. Instead, she met his gaze and smiled, resigning herself to this stupid fate, whatever it meant.

Winter was far from over, so Kagura looped her arm with his, surprised when he let her, and led them back inside.

…

A/N: well this concludes part… 2 ish? Of this story. There may not be an update for a while, so just bear with me for now. As always i'm grateful to all of you that have left kind reviews, and to the guest who offered to proof read for me i really appreciate it!