A decade- such a short time in a lifespan of demons.
Like a tradition, a large gathering of great demons was organized. Most of demon nobility and Lords attended, coming together to mingle, collect information and asses the other high-ranking competition.
The polite conversations served as a façade, trying to weasel important information, the wide smiles under a glare, the high pitched laughs at things that are not jokes, the make-up that hid or enhanced their markings and the stench of perfume… all in an attempt to keep the farce of a pleasant gathering.
Usually, the meeting place was appointed to a neutral ground. Often times- the dog demon's sky castle. The castle was large and lavish, with minimalistic, yet expensive décor fitting for the dog demons. Their colours were mostly white; simple and calm- much like most of their clan, intertwined with purple, showing wealth and power interlinked with the neutral façade. In there, no demons were at an advantage, save for the lady occupying it.
The lady of the manor had made a tradition of her own over the years: to complain in great lengths how her son should be at an advantage in her castle; after all, it should have been his home, but the pup (long since grown up) is simply never around. He spends so little time there; he would meet his end there sooner than anywhere else. Surely, he knows every corner of Japan better than his mother's home. Tragic, truly- he must've inherited the wandering streak from his father.
Said son could not help the slight impassive roll of his eyes at his mother's very dramatic complaints, never commenting on them. He only ever attended to save his ears from even more whining dare he miss it.
He had never had any interest in spending time at the castle, nor did he have any interest mingling with the demon nobles or their contrived, deceitful conversations. As for judging the competition- there was none. He was more powerful than any of them, and they all knew it. It is why they didn't bother, or dare, to make up gossip about him, least they unknowingly challenge him in any way. Most challenges to the demon Lord ended in death, unless they were of enough importance to be able to weasel themselves out of death's grasp with significant compensation, followed by humiliating grand apology from the challenger.
All that, though, was nothing compared to being around his mother. She was impressively well informed for someone living in such a desolated place.
"… He even started mingling with my late husband's bastard child! OH! Even half breeds seem to be preferable company to him. What other lengths will he go to avoid his poor mother?" Her delivery was very dramatic, deceitfully emotional and earned her many compassionate nods from other high ranking, older ladies whose main occupation nowadays seemed to be to complain about their offspring.
'Any.' He thought dryly. It hasn't even been a year since he stopped trying to kill the surprisingly resilient half breed, leaving him be to protect the humans taking care of his ward… and she's already harping on it like they became close acquaintances. Thinking about it, he knew consciously that it was impossible for her to know everything, but sometimes he wondered if she was an all-seeing witch.
He turned to see the sun fall for the second time after the event has started, officially signalling the end of the minimum required time for him to be there. He put his sake cup down, still half full and got up. He left with nothing more than a curt bow of his head towards the hostess, his mother, and left wordlessly as he did every other time.
10 years is such a short time.
The guest list this time was far longer than any previous one.
The gossip travels at a speed not even the fastest demon can match, and so, the word of dog demon Lord's human mate reached virtually every guest there, even convincing few, that would otherwise not be present, to arrive.
His mother was equally interested the first time she had heard of it, though she could've only guessed it was the human child she recently revived. She knew him well enough to know this was no fling. Her son would use women, ladies of high rank, for pleasure, but those would usually be discarded after a single night, few months at the most. To think that the woman he would keep himself entertained with would not only be human, but a child as well... Her son's preferences worried her.
She remembered first time he brought her in front of her. She almost sighed in relief when he arrived accompanied by a young woman.
She was not overly pleasing to the eye, nor was she ugly, but she has, at least, grown to an adult, though surprisingly fast.
…
The couple of most interest arrived late, as Sesshomaru usually did, attempting to spend the least time possible there. As soon as they were announced, most conversation stopped, and all eyes turned towards the entrance. The dog Lord entered as soon as he was announced, impassive as always, tall and prideful in his every movement. His mate… not so much.
She was shy and withdrawn, clinging to her mate's arm for the entire evening. She obviously didn't know how to act around the other guests. She didn't talk much and virtually all guests simply ignored her, gossiping about her just loud enough to be heard... though not by her human ears.
Sesshomaru conversed with other guests, wearing her like a decoration. She did not leave his side as a lady should, nor did her nervous hands unlatch from his bicep. Where he went, she followed, even when he met other lords to discuss state affairs. The other Lords tensed as Sesshomaru touched on delicate topics, as if the human woman, who should definitely not know anything about these topics, wasn't present and listening.
Sesshomaru didn't care. Very few things were not shared between mates, state affairs being among of the few only ones. Though Lord Sesshomaru seemed to disregard that particular rule. In his head, his demon heritage, her human blood and their other, numerous differences were far greater obstacles than a squabbling of petty state officials. He didn't care if she heard of any of it. She would hardly know what to do with information. And he tells her everything he can about anything that she shows interest in anyway. The others glared and spoke in shushed whispers.
It was obvious to anyone- she was not welcomed in this society.
The grand party lasted for four days, and she was the only one who slept during that time. She tried to stay awake, but even with her best efforts, she managed two and a half days, before the comfort of the futon lulled her to sleep, missing an entire day of socializing, which many ladies laughed at openly, others snickering quietly.
Mother offered to let her new, unfortunately human, daughter in law rest for a day before they made their way back, but Sesshomaru swiftly refused.
"We'll be faster in the palace if we fly."
Without any other goodbyes, he turned and started descending the massive staircase. Rin quickly bowed to the Mother and followed him.
She glanced nervously at him, walking down the stairs behind him. She was surprised she didn't see Ah-Uh nearby, but she kept quiet. She didn't want to annoy him by asking stupid questions, seeing as she already manged to embarrass him in front of other high-ranking demons.
"Sit." He instructed her once they reached the end of the platform. She briefly wondered what he meant, looking at the clouds below, not quite daring to sit on the edge of the sky castle. Only moments later her eyes caught the mokomoko moving. She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
"On your fur?" Her disbelieving eyes were met with a simple nod. It took her a few seconds to process his order. She gulped and lowered herself to sit on top of fur close to his feet. She looked at him warily, not sure what to expect. He jumped lightly, furs slipping from the marble and pulling her after him. She shrieked in shock, her hands jumping to his fur for safety, pulling on the hairs. Her hair whipped around her wildly and her eyes shut when adrenaline rushed through her. The fur moved, growing, white mass expanding around her, encircling her back to keep her from moving too far from him. Her eyes opened wide when she felt it, and she watched the expanding fur around her in marvel. The muscles under white mass flexed, stretching enough to encircle her mid-section, effectively keeping her where he wanted her.
His head turned slightly, checking her position. She stared at the clouds below them in shocked awe.
They moved lower and she yipped, holding a firm grip on his fur, feeling her stomach jump into her chest, as her body lifted from the speed of their descend.
The fur wrapped itself around a portion of her legs and she could feel her stomach returning to its original position when he changed direction and moved forward. His flight has been as graceful as ever, and she could see his back was fully relaxed as she struggled to keep her composure. She never realised what speed he travelled at when he flew, always looking as if he was lightly gliding through air. She never could've imagined it were something like this. The trees that zoomed past them seemed to slow down. His head turned curiously towards her.
"I'm fine!" She quickly yelled. She had put in too much effort into convincing him she loved him as a demon, she refused to be scared of something so normal to him as flying, especially since she's done it on Ah-Un so much in the past. Granted, never so fast.
His eyebrow rose elegantly- her clutch on his fur told him otherwise. He knew she has never flown so freely before, but he hoped she would be more resilient to it after riding Ah-Un. He turned back forward, thinking of the how much distance they covered.
Concluding it was decent enough, he supposed they could rest.
He descended, landing elegantly on his tip toe, taking several more steps to reduce his initial speed. On his last step, just before stopping fully, he turned back on his toes, digging the heel of his other foot to anchor him in the ground below, just in time, as inertia threw the body of his mate into him.
With an oof, she suddenly found herself in his arms. The fur retracted and moved from her body as he put her back to her feet. She sighed in relief at the feel of hard ground.
"We'll make camp here." He simply scanned the area and Rin, grateful to be on the ground, ran to get some firewood.
When she returned she found him sitting under a tree. She placed the wood near him before spotting a skinned rabbit nearby. She smiled and thanked him as she prepared fire.
The evening was pleasant, far more than the draining banquet they left. Nature was something she understood, having spent her entire childhood wandering it. It was familiar, and it made sense to her. Court etiquettes… not so much.
Once she finished with her meal she walked up to him, smiling brightly. She was slightly nervous, but decided to sit on his furs, as it obviously didn't bother him. She was full and rested on her mate's shoulder. He made no move to stop or move her, being content with her so close to him.
It was times like these she wished he was not a high ranking Lord, but a simple, lower demon, and they could wander the Japan, just the two of them. No court, no palaces, no generals or servants... She felt his cheek on top of her head, and his furs encircling her, providing warmth no fire could replace; and her thoughts left her.
No. She would not change him for anyone.