Ivanna sat beside the fire, her wool lined robe wrapped tightly around her as she sat near the entrance of the cave. Her hair was in a messy bun that she had not bothered to deal with for several days now. Two week had passed since Sesshomaru had disappeared and she had made the decision to start traveling south with the cold weather bearing down on them until they had found the cave they now resides in the past week. She learned quickly to understand the mark on her neck with Jaken's help and could feel the pull of her mate, knowing he was nearby having watched from a distance.
It was late into the night and she had yet to sleep. As Sesshomaru worked through his thoughts and emotions, she could feel them course through her. There were times he flipped through them so quickly that it started to cause some pain and difficulty breathing, making sleeping difficult as she constantly had to counter the pain with her ointment. Even then with his absence because of her decision to remain silent, she tossed and turned.
Rin was lying on multiple furs with another on top as she was tangled up in Mokomoko. Ivanna had done her best so far to keep the child happy but now that it had been a week, even she was smiling less. Even Jaken went out of his way to go out on Ah-Un to bring back food and things that usually would cheer her up.
Hearing a twig outside the cave snap, she lifted her eyes from the fire to see a white figure come into view. Blood stained his armor, clothing, and hair, while silver strands were tangled as he stepped into the cave. His molten eyes finally met hers, longing pulsing through the mating mark, not the first thing she honestly thought he'd feel when he came back.
"Come with me," she whispered as she got to her feet.
She grabbed the bag that held his clothing and walked down a side tunnel in the cave to the hot spring that had been the reason she chose to stay in the cave instead of continuing south. He remained silent as he followed and once they were beside the natural spring, she set the bag down and started working on loosening the straps of his armor. He lifted it off once she finished and she helped him peel off the bloodstained clothing, revealing a healing wound across his left arm as he stepped into the spring.
"You have not been sleeping well," his voice was emotionless as she grabbed a cloth and started to scrub the blood from his armor.
"No," she spoke simply, focusing on her task.
"Why?"
"As you have processed your thoughts and emotions, it has come through the mating mark and has caused frequent episodes of pain."
"How has this one not noticed?"
"Jaken taught me extensively and helped teach me to mute my end. You couldn't have properly worked through everything if you had realized what it was doing. Had I sent Jaken to ask you to mute your end, it would have been known what it was doing to me and it would have added further conflict to your thoughts."
"Mate..."
"The new year is less than four weeks away and me refusing to give you information has put you in such a state, how will you possibly be okay when I die?" She whispered as she finished cleaning his armor and tossed the bloodied cloth into the pile of his stained clothing.
She moved to sit on her bottom and pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms under her thighs. She buried her head against her knees, hiding her face as she winced in pain as guilt flooded through her from both of them. She heard movement from the water before feeling his hand lift her head up and she met his gaze.
"Forgive this one," he spoke softly, stroking her cheek softly.
"What happened to you?" She asked as her eyes fell to the healing would on his arm that reached the stump.
"This one encountered the hanyou's pack fighting Naraku," he frowned and her grip around her legs tightened.
"I see," she muttered sadly.
"What happened that she sacrificed herself for him?" Sesshomaru murmured, his tone melancholy.
"She saved him from an attack that would have been fatal to him."
"How was she able to see an attack he missed?"
"I don't know," she shook her head as she spoke honestly. "Even he didn't understand how she managed it as he said she wouldn't have lasted much longer after that day. His enemies had ignored her as she had been too weak to even cause them to glance her way."
"She expelled her spirit?"
"That's the only thing I can think of, I'm sorry," she whispered. "No matter what we do, I will die."
"Then let us merely focus on the days we have left," he spoke simply. "Will you join your mate?"
She released her knees and immediately undid her obi and shrugged off her kimonos. Jerking off her armor top and bra, she wiggled her bottoms off before scooting forward to lower her legs into the water. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he brought her to him and kissed her gently.
"You are my greatest weakness," she murmured as she broke the kiss so she could look at him.
"As you are mine," he replied.
"Please don't go away again."
"This one promises," he spoke as he brought his face to her neck.
"I wish there were other options and I don't care if the west crumbled, but my love for you requires me to put my duty first and you have to live," she spoke sadly before whimpering as he bit into the mating mark on her neck and she felt his jaki enter her. "Please don't hate me..."
"This one could never hate you, mate. One day at a time," he replied as he pulled back to look at her.
"Then I want you inside of me," she breathed.
She saw the white of his eyes bleed pink before he kissed her deeply. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clung to him as his tongue slid into her mouth tasting her. She shivered as his hand slid down her back before reaching under her and stroked between her legs stirring the heat in abdomen to rush down to her core and she groaned against his lips.
He slid two fingers into her and a quiet moan escaped her. He moved them in and out of her, preparing her and soon added a third as he swallowed her moans. The heat built up in pressure before it exploded and her body stiffened around him as she came. He released her lips as she struggled to breath and she felt him move in the water before finding a place to sit in the spring.
The water was around her waist as she felt her knees against stone as she straddled his waist while the water hit mid chest on him. He brought his lips to her neck as she felt his hand between her legs but not touching her before finding his arousal positioned at her core. She started to lower herself onto him and his hand came up to squeeze her breast, his thumb brushing over her nipple. By the time she found herself fully seated on his lap, she was trembling in anticipation and breathless as he continued to play with her breast and nip at her neck.
Allowing curiosity to take over, she rolled her hips towards him and a moan escaped her at the movement and a quiet growl escaped him. A mild constant pain filled her chest as she rolled her hips again and his hand came to her hip as she eased into a steady rhythm of riding him. A louder moan escaped her as he helped guide her movements and his fangs pierced her skin, feeding her some more jaki, dulling her pain. He groaned as she lifted herself up and rocked her hips as she fell back to his lap and she slid her hands into his hair to repeat it.
"Our mate," he growled deeply as he pulled back to look at her, the pink having faded to crimson but his eyes were still molten gold meaning Sesshomaru was still mostly in control. "Don't hold back your moans. They will not hear you."
She tightened her grip in his hair and pulled, causing a deeper growl to escape his parted lips and increased the pace she was riding him. The pressure inside her was quickly building up as she relaxed her jaw and moans steady escaped her. Soon that pressure exploded and she stilled as everything went black as she closed her eyes to ride the pleasure.
He did not move until she came down from the pleasure and lifted her off of his still hard erection. As he stood, the water doing little to hide his impressive size, she grinned at him and turned to face the edge of the spring. He hummed in approval and aligned himself back up with her entrance and thrust back into her completely from behind as she gripped the side and a cry of pleasure escaped her.
"Let your control go," she moaned as he pulled back so he was almost out of her and a quick jerk of his hips, he slammed back into her.
"You might regret that," his voice was deep and she felt him nip at her shoulder.
"Doubt it," she hummed before crying out as he thrust back into her.
His claws came to her hip and pierced skin as he built up a stead and violent rhythm of thrusting into her. His growls echoed around the spring's cavern along with the slapping of flesh and her cries of pleasure. She felt herself quickly fall into another orgasm but he did not stop thrusting into her. As another started to build up inside her, she felt his pace start to become unsteady and soon she was thrown into yet another orgasm. As he groaned and stilled inside her, she clung to the edge as feeling from the waist down disappeared. He quickly wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping himself deep inside her both of their chests moving rapidly as they gasped for air and he brought her with him as he sat back down in the water.
"Are you well?" He murmured breathlessly as he nuzzled her shoulder.
"Mhm," she hummed and brought an arm up to wrap around his neck, sliding her hands into his silver strands and his arm moved from her waist to cover her chest as a slight shiver ran through her. "Can't feel below my waist."
"That perhaps is for the best. You will most likely be extremely sore when the feeling comes back."
"I'm okay with that. Does blood not need to be shared every time?"
"No. Only during the official mating, though since giving up control, we are now tied together until this one's knot recedes," he hummed before she felt his body tense and his head left her shoulder. "Rin."
She looked over at the tunnel and saw Rin come into view, rubbing partially sleepy eyes as the pale arm over her breasts tightened slightly. A yawn escaped the child as she looked at the discarded armor beside her and frowned. They kept silent as they watched Rin slowly look around at the discarded clothing at her feet before her eyes widened and lifted to immediately lock onto them. She didn't utter a sound as she stared, her mouth open in surprise and Ivanna felt her skin flush in embarrassment at her predicament.
"Rin," Sesshomaru finally spoke and the child jerked in surprise as her brown eyes lifted to the inuyoukai behind her before she squealed and spun around as she covered her eyes.
"Rin...is so sorry..." she stammered but Ivanna frowned as she watched the child seem to be dancing. "Rin had hoped you two would marry... Does this mean I will get a baby brother or sister soon?"
"Go take care of your needs then return to the main cave," Ivanna cleared her throat. "We will be along shortly."
"Okay!" The child cheered before dashing off to another tunnel to be able to relieve herself then dashed back towards the main cave.
"That was... unexpected," Ivanna frowned, confused at Rin's reaction.
"Hn," Sesshomaru hummed.
"When are children educated on sex and babies?"
"Most humans tend to sleep in the same room as their young. They tend to be educated as soon as they ask questions and learn to not interrupt or watch."
"Oh..." she huffed before his arm lowered back to her waist and lifted her off his lap, withdrawing himself from her. "Wait, she said baby sister or baby brother..."
"Have you not realized she thinks of you as her adoptive mother?"
"No," she whispered as her heart felt heavy.
She grabbed the edge of the spring as he got to his feet and pulled herself over to where their clothing sat. Grabbing the innermost layer of her kimono, she set it apart from the rest and pulled herself out of the water and pulled the inner layer around her body as a slight chill hit her. She quickly used the inner layer to dry off and jerked on her underwear, bra and dragon armor as he got out. Sesshomaru stood there naked, allowing his body to air dry and pulled his hair over his shoulder to wring out the excess water. She pulled herself to sit on the dry outer two layers and pulled them around her and tied each layer before securing her obi and pulled her outer robe around her as he quickly dressed, no longer having any difficulty with missing an arm.
"At least you don't need help getting dressed now," she sighed quietly as he slid his swords into his obi then pulled her up into his arm.
"If you do not cease with these dark thoughts, this one will punish you," he growled and nipped her ear gently that was scarred from him previously bitting her.
"Leave my ears alone," she whined.
"Then perhaps you have learned your lesson?"
"If it means you don't bite my ear again, yes," she complained as he started walking towards the main cave, leaving his armor and bloodied clothing where they sat to the child bouncing in place as she sat on the pelts.
"Rin," Ivanna couldn't help but smile at the excited child as Sesshomaru set her down on the pelts and went back towards the spring to most likely retrieve his armor. "Can this conversation wait until the sun rises?"
"No, by then you find some excuse to give me," Rin spoke, her voice serious as she stopped smiling. "Did you not marry Lord Sesshomaru?"
"No, we did," Ivanna spoke as she pulled herself towards Rin as Sesshomaru came back into view, holding his armor and placed it along the wall before moving to sit beside her as he set his blades above the pelts. "Did your parents tell you everything?"
"That people had sex to try to make babies so that means you are trying, right?"
"No, Rin," Ivanna sighed. "I cannot have children, my heart is too weak for that. When two people have sex, there is more to it than trying for children. There are emotions that are brought out during sex and it is that reason most couples do it. When you are old enough to marry, you will understand that but it's not something that could be described."
"But people are always crying out in pain during it..."
"I can assure you that the sounds that happen during sex are not of pain. It's because of the happy feelings that happens. If it was ever because of pain would be because someone is forcing another or because their bodies do not work together."
"Then does that mean you felt nothing? Rin didn't hear sounds of sex," the child frowned.
"This one had created a barrier to prevent sounds from waking those asleep," Sesshomaru finally spoke.
"Oh... so does that mean that every time you couldn't walk, it was because of sex?"
"The temporary paralysis happens as a way to lessen the strain on my heart so no, it's not always because of sex. Now it is still some time before the sun rises, so try to go back to sleep," Ivanna spoke as she laid down, her place in the middle of the pelts and rolled to face Rin.
"Okay," Rin smiled as she grabbed a pelt and covered Ivanna before laying down beside her and pulled up her own pelt cover. Sesshomaru laid down behind her and draped his arm over her waist, pulling her against him. "Night Vann, night Lord Sesshomaru. Rin is happy you came back safely."
"Hn," Sesshomaru replied and Rin slid her hand into Ivanna's as she settled down.